| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Scottish Department of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries: Funding
The Duke of Montrose asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the sums which are now going to be added to the Scottish block grant, in the form of the departmental expenditure limit of the Scottish Department of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries, will remain separately identifiable under the next Comprehensive Spending Review.[HL780]
Lord Sewel: Following devolution, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
The Duke of Montrose asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What role of management and accountability the Scottish Parliament will have over the annual managed expenditure funds provided to the Scottish Department of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries.[HL781]
Lord Sewel: Following devolution, expenditure on support for the common agricultural policy (CAP) (which will be part of the annually managed expenditure for which the Parliament will be responsible) will be managed, and accounted for by the Scottish Administration in accordance with the requirements of the Scottish Parliament and of the relevant European legislation.
A.7 Trunk Road: Improvements
Lord Monro of Langholm asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will name each section of the
A.7 trunk road between Hawick and the English border that has been improved during the last
15 years, giving the cost and date of each improvement.[HL885]
Lord Sewel: The information requested is as follows:
| Section | Cost | Date |
| Canonbie Bypass | £7.1m | 1984 |
| Colterscleuch Overtaking Improvement | £1.6m | 1994 |
| Mosspeeble--Bush Overtaking Improvement | £1.5m | 1995 |
| Binks--Castleweary Diversion | £2.5m | 1997 |
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When future sentences include drug treatment and testing orders and sentenced persons are willing to accept treatment, whether funds will be made available to pay for residential and day-care treatment.[HL838]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn): The Comprehensive Spending Review settlement provided funds for the pilot and, subject to successful evaluation, national roll-out of the drug treatment and testing order during financial years 1999-2000 to 2001-2002. The probation service will be responsible for purchasing treatment for offenders sentenced to the new order from statutory, voluntary and private drug treatment agencies, both residential and non-residential.
General Pinochet
Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will publish in the Official Report a list of people who have written to the Prime Minister, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Home Office indicating their support for the return of General Pinochet to Chile.[HL822]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: An estimated twelve thousand people have written to the Prime Minister, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the Home Office about the case of Senator Pinochet, either supporting his extradition to Spain or his return to Chile. It is not usual practice to provide the names of individual correspondents unless they have agreed to publication.
Up to 31 January 1999, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister had received seven letters from Members of both Houses of Parliament, of which four supported Senator Pinochet's return to Chile. Other correspondence was largely passed on to the Home Office or Foreign and Commonwealth Office and is included in their total estimated figures.
Up to 31 January 1999, the Home Office had received 226 letters about Senator Pinochet from members of both Houses of Parliament. Fifteen of these supported or covered letters from constituents who supported Senator Pinochet's return to Chile. The Home Office had received an estimated 10,000 letters and petitions from people writing from the United Kingdom and abroad, of which around 1,000 supported Senator Pinochet's return to Chile. One of the petitions received by the Home Office contained an estimated 100,000 signatures from Chilean citizens supporting Senator Pinochet's return to Chile.
Up to 31 January 1999, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had received 44 letters from Members of both Houses of Parliament, of which two supported Senator Pinochet's return to Chile. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office had received an estimated 2,000 letters and petitions from people writing from the United Kingdom and abroad, of which around 100 letters supported Senator Pinochet's return to Chile.
Teachers: Pay Award
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What will be the total cost of the recently announced pay award for teachers in each of the next three years.[HL863]
The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Baroness Blackstone): The estimated cost in England will be £409 million in 1999-2000, £420 million in 2000-01 and £420 million in 2001-02. The equivalent figures for England and Wales are £435 million, £448 million and £448 million.
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether all teachers who qualify to pass through the recently announced performance threshold will be paid at the higher level.[HL861]
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether schools which have a higher than average number of teachers passing through the performance threshold will be funded to meet the higher level of salaries.[HL862]
Baroness Blackstone: The Technical Consultation Document on Pay and Performance Management, published on 1 February, set out our objectives for the design of the funding mechanism for the early years of the new arrangements. These are:
- to ensure that the distribution of resources reflects the extra costs as fairly as possible;
- to get money to schools and teachers quickly and with a minimum of bureaucracy; and
- to minimise any interference in the responsibility of heads to manage their staff and their resources.
Class Sizes
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- By what date they expect all local education authorities to have achieved the target of limiting class sizes for 5, 6 and 7 year-olds; and what sanctions are proposed for any LEA which does not meet the target.[HL864]
Baroness Blackstone: There will be no infant classes containing more than 30 children by September 2001 at the latest. Furthermore, as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review, the infant class size pledge will be achieved in virtually all schools by September 2000. The Secretary of State has made available sufficient capital and revenue funding to ensure that all local education authorities and governing bodies do fulfil their statutory duties to achieve class size limits.
European Social Fund: Repayments by London Boroughs
Lord Bethell asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What action they have taken, in the light of the letter dated 23 June 1998 from Mrs. Anita Gradin, Member of the European Commission, to the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, indicating that "serious irregularities have occurred in the London Borough of Camden and certain other London boroughs in relation to moneys from the European Social Fund from 1989 onwards", and in particular whether the papers on the question have been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.[HL882]
Baroness Blackstone: A copy of the report was sent to the Audit Commission and the Metropolitan Police Fraud Squad. The case is still under consideration by the police and has not been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service.
The report also requested that a number of London boroughs and the Migrant Training Company repay £550,000 of European Social Fund money. The boroughs have now repaid the amount due and the Migrant Training Company have agreed a repayment schedule with the department.
European Union: VAT Rates
Lord Shore of Stepney asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When was the last occasion that the European Commission laid a report before the Council of Ministers, as they are obliged to do under Article 28(2) of the 6th Directive on VAT, on the question of reduced rates; and with what results.[HL835]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The European Commission last presented a report on the scope and impact of reduced VAT rates in member states of the European Community in November 1997. The report concluded that the present reduced VAT rates structure is not an obstacle to the effective functioning of the current EC VAT system and that, overall, there have been no significant Community-wide distortions of competition brought about by excessive disparities in VAT rates between member states.
Next Section
Back to Table of Contents
Lords Hansard Home Page