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Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have performance standards or criteria for the employment and use of Home Office Presenting Officers in immigration and asylum appeals; and, if so, whether they will publish them.[HL2641]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Presenting Officers are either Higher Executive Officers or Chief Immigration Officers and meet the normal criteria for membership of those grades. As part of the Home Office staff appraisal process, each Presenting Officer is continuously assessed against an individual agreed set of performance standards which takes into account the contribution made towards unit targets.
Immigration: Requests for Information
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many requests have been made in each year since the coming into operation of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for information in the area of immigration; how many of these requests were granted in each year; how many of these requests were declined, and for what reason they were declined.[HL2707]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The following table sets out the data collected on requests for information in the area of immigration made under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. This information was collected and published in the three annual reports on Access to Government Information for 1995, 1996 and 1997.
| Number of requests | Number granted | Number refused | |
| 1995 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 1997 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
Law Enforcement: Requests for Information
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many requests have been made for each year since the coming into operation of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for information in the area of law enforcement; how many of these requests were granted in each year; how many of these requests were declined, and for what reason they were declined.[HL2708]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The information requested is as follows:
| 1997 | |
| Number of requests: | 1 |
| Number granted: | 0 |
| Number refused: | 1 |
| Reason for refusal: | Information requested was in a category of information specified in the code as exempt from the commitment to provide information. |
| 1996 | |
| Number of requests: | 3 |
| Number granted: | 2 |
| Number refused: | 1 |
| Reason for refusal: | Information originated from the Security Service, which is not within the scope of the code. |
No requests were received in 1995, the first full year in which the Code of Practice was in operation.
Legislation: Human Rights Compatibility
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether before the coming into force of the proposed Human Rights Act a Minister of the Crown in charge of a Bill in either House of Parliament will, before Second Reading of the Bill:
(a) make a statement to the effect that in his or her view the provisions of the Bill are compatible with the rights in the European Convention on Human Rights; or
(b) make a statement to the effect that although he or she is unable to make a statement of compatibility, the Government nevertheless wish the House to proceed with the Bill.[HL2709]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The duty to make such a statement is contained in Clause 19 of the Human Rights Bill [H.L.]. We have not yet decided when Clause 19 or the other provisions of the Bill should be brought into force.
Association of Chief Police Officers
The Earl of Haddington asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will place in the Library of the House full copies of the annual reports of the Association of Chief Police Officers, England, Wales and Northern Ireland for each year since 1992.[HL2737]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: I have arranged for copies of the annual reports for the Association of Chief Police Officers for each year from 1992 to 1997 to be placed in the Library. The annual report for 1998 is not yet available.
The Earl of Haddington asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer given by the Lord Williams of Mostyn on 24 June (WA20), whether they will estimate the disproportionate cost of obtaining and placing in the Library of the House copies of all invoices paid by the Home Office for, and to, the Association of Chief Police Officers, England, Wales and Northern Ireland for their financial year 1996-97.[HL2736]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Despite a less than disproportionate cost of providing copies of invoices for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) for 1996-97, it would be neither appropriate nor practical to place in the Library copies of invoices for administrative expenses incurred by ACPO and processed through the Home Office's Business and Accounting Strategic Systems. This expenditure is subject to parliamentary approval and audit, as is all Government expenditure.
Independent Commission on the Voting System
Lord Cocks of Hartcliffe asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they are satisfied with the level of security at the Clive House headquarters of the Independent Commission on the Voting System; and [HL2710]
Whether it is possible for citizens to give an input to the Independent Commission on the Voting System at the Commission's office in Clive House; and what general literature is available to the public in the office of the Independent Commission on the Voting System on its remit and other relevant matters; and[HL2711]
Whether the fact that an appointment is needed to visit the office of the Independent Commission on the Voting System to make a general inquiry is compatible with their policies of openness, transparency and accountability.[HL2714]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Clive House, where the Independent Commission on the Voting System has its offices, is a government building and the level of security is set accordingly.
In accordance with the practice in most government buildings, access is restricted. Members of the public are not permitted free access to all parts of the building. Members of the Independent Commission's secretariat are, however, available to receive submissions at Clive House during normal working hours.
What literature the Independent Commission chooses to make available about its remit and activities is a matter for the commission itself.
Lord Cocks of Hartcliffe asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How and when the Independent Commission on the Voting System invited submissions; and what individuals and organisations were approached; and[HL2712]
Apart from the public meetings what attempts did the Independent Commission on the Voting System make to obtain the views of the public on questions of electoral reform.[HL2713]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: I understand from the commission that advertisements inviting the submission of evidence were placed in The Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Sun, Mirror, Western Mail, Belfast Telegraph, Irish News, Belfast Newsletter, Scotsman and Glasgow Herald.
The commission's web site provides details of the commission's address and telephone number.
The Chairman of the Independent Commission invited written evidence in the course of a number of media interviews, including interviews on the "Today" programme and On the Record.
The Independent Commission commissioned National Opinion Poll to undertake research in a series of focus groups.
No individuals or groups were approached individually.
Lord Cocks of Hartcliffe asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What members of the Independent Commission on the Voting System are or have been associated with the Constitution Unit or its financing arrangements in any way.[HL2715]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Two members of the Commission, Sir John Chilcot and Mr. David Lipsey, serve on the Constitution Unit's Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is purely advisory and is not responsible for the Constitution Unit's financial arrangements.
Prior to the 1997 general election, Baroness Gould of Potternewton served on the Commission on the Conduct of Referendums which was established jointly by the Constitution Unit and the Electoral Reform Society.
The noble Lord, Lord Jenkins, was a trustee of the Pilgrim Trust, which made a grant of £15,000 to the Constitution Unit in 1995. Mr. David Lipsey is on leave of absence from his post as political editor of the Economist, which has supported the Constitution Unit's web site with a grant of £3,000.
Death Rates Following Surgery
Earl Howe asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What considerations underlie the Baroness Jay
of Paddington's statement on 8 June (H.L. Deb.,
col. 691) that "hospitals will be weighted for...catchment area" in the assessment of comparative death rates following surgery.[HL2633]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Baroness Jay of Paddington): The clinical indicators which are to be published later in the year will include death rate information by both trust and health authority. This will enable a comparison of "like with like" catchment areas. From this it is possible to make more meaningful interpretation of death rate variations due to factors other than casemix and catchment area.
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