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Young People Remanded to Local Authority Secure Accommodation
Baroness David asked Her Majesty's Government:
- By what mechanism the youth justice system will monitor and review the individual progress of a young person placed on remand in local authority secure accommodation given that the secure accommodation regulations do not apply to such young people.[HL233]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The local authority designated by the court to receive a young person remanded to local authority secure accommodation has a responsibility to safeguard the welfare and monitor the progress of the young person. In addition,
a court-ordered secure remand may only be made for up to eight days in the first instance and up to 28 days for subsequent remands before the individual has to appear again before the court, which will review the security requirement.Social Inclusion Action Plan
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the statement by Lord McIntosh of Haringey in his letter of 17 November that "in the next couple of weeks the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will publish a revised draft of its social inclusion action plan which will set out in more detail how we propose to implement the recommendations of the Policy Action Team (PAT) 10 report for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport2" when the revised draft will be published.[HL314]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State expects to endorse a new draft DCMS social inclusion action plan, revised following the successful conference in October, before the Christmas break. It will then be made available to the members of the advisory team, which will help DCMS implement the action plan proposals, to the members of the Policy Action Team on Arts and Sport, to those who attended the conference and to the many others who have read and commented on the Policy Action Team report.
Television Licence Concessions Review
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- With reference to their review of television licence concessions which they announced would be completed by the end of November (a) how many responses were received from individuals and from organisations; (b) whether they will place a copy of the responses in the Library of the House; and
(c) when they expect to publish their response.[HL198]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: To date we have received around 2,000 responses from individuals and organisations on the independent review panel's recommendations on the future funding of the BBC. The closing date for the public consultation was 1 November. We will consider all the panel's recommendations in the light of responses received and hope to announce final decisions in January, at which point we will publish a summary of responses to the consultation and place copies in the Libraries of both Houses.
Include Me In Report
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their response to the findings in the research report Include Me In, published by the Broadcasting Standards Commission, that broadcasting lags behind the society in reflecting the multicultural nature of the United Kingdom, and that programmes are not representing everyday life.[HL316]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government welcome the Include Me In report as a reminder to broadcasters and regulators of the need to ensure that programming keeps pace with the evolution of the United Kingdom's multicultural society. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport intends to explore these issues with employers in film and broadcasting, focusing on what can be done to encourage greater involvement of people from ethnic minorities in programme making.
Museums and Galleries: Funding and Entry Charges
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How much each charging national museum and gallery has said it would require to allow free entry for all adults in 2001; how much each charging national museum and gallery would receive from the £30 million proposed to be set aside for free entry in 2001; and what is the difference between the two figures in each case.[HL271]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: If universal free access is introduced at the currently charging national museums and galleries funded by DCMS in 2001-02, lost admissions revenue is estimated at £22 million. However the effect of this policy on each museum's ability to recover VAT would need to be confirmed with HM Customs and Excise and is heavily influenced by capital developments such as the V&A's British Galleries and the NMGM 2001 project. We are continuing to evaluate the most effective methods of enhancing access to these institutions in 2001-02, but decisions will ultimately be taken by the trustees.
Regional Theatres
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their response to the statement in the 22nd annual report of the Theatres Trust, published this month, "that in many places outside London's West End theatre now faces a greater crisis of confidence than at any time since the war".[HL317]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government are conscious that many regional theatres face problems, some financial, some artistic, but all rooted in
difficulties going back certainly for two decades. This is why my right honourable friend the Secretary of State agreed with the Arts Council the need for a thorough review of regional producing theatre and we expect that report in the first half of next year. The Government expect the report to recommend steps that will lead to the securing of the long-term future and worldwide reputation for excellence of England's regional theatre.Bosnia: UK Troop Levels
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What are the United Kingdom troop levels in Bosnia.[HL426]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean): NATO has agreed to revise arrangements for manning the headquarters in the UK sector of SFOR. We have worked closely with our Dutch, Canadian and Czech partners on plans. This will allow a reduction in UK forces in Bosnia from around 3,300 to some 2,000 in the course of next year, while fully maintaining the operational effectiveness of SFOR. This reduction is in addition to the withdrawal of some 900 UK troops announced in late October and will further reduce overstretch in the British Army.
Gulf Veterans: Number and Causes of Deaths
Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What information they have regarding the number of veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf conflict who have died and the underlying causes of death.[HL 424]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The Ministry of Defence has reviewed its records and has found that between 1 April 1991 and 22 November 1999 (the latest date for which information is currently available) there were 413 deaths of UK Armed Forces Gulf veterans (out of a total of 53,462 deployed). The causes of death for 387 of the deaths have been determined and are set out in the following table. Sufficient information on the causes of death in the remaining 26 cases is not currently available; work is continuing to establish this.
The Ministry of Defence also has information on the number and causes of deaths in a similar sized comparative sample of Armed Forces personnel in service in January 1991 but who did not deploy to the Gulf. This information has been used by the Ministry of Defence funded epidemiological study undertaken by Professors Nicola Cherry and Gary Macfarlane at Manchester University. The results of this study, commissioned by the Medical Research Council, have been submitted to a leading medical journal for consideration for publication. They will show whether or not the Gulf veterans are experiencing a higher
mortality rate than their peers and if so what the causes might be. It is important that this study is independently peer reviewed to ensure publication in a leading medical journal. To ensure this, my honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces has withheld the information on the comparative group under Exemption 11a of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.| (ICD-9) (1977) Chapter | Cause of Death | Number of Deaths |
| I | Infectious and parasitic diseases | 3 |
| II | Neoplasms2 | 56 |
| V | Mental disorders | 7 |
| VI | Diseases of the nervous system and sense organs | 6 |
| VII | Diseases of the circulatory system3 | 48 |
| VIII | Diseases of the respiratory system | 4 |
| IX | Diseases of the digestive system | 5 |
| XVI | Signs symptoms and ill-defined conditions | 2 |
| E.XVII | External causes of injury and poisoning | 256 |
| Transport accidents119 | ||
| Other accidents53 | ||
| Accidental poisoning9 | ||
| Suicide467 | ||
| Homicide3 | ||
| Operations of war53 | ||
| Undetermined accidental deaths2 |
Notes:
1 Manual of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death. World Health Organisation. Geneva (1977). ISBN 92 4 154 004 4.
2 Neoplasm is the medical term for a new or abnormal growth of tissue. All the deaths included in the table above were from cancers or leukaemia.
3 The term includes heart disease and stroke.
4 The term includes self-inflicted injury and cases where it is undetermined whether the injury was accidentally or purposely inflicted. This includes an open verdict at inquest.
5 The term includes deaths as a result of military operations and exercises.
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