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House of Lords Smoking Policy
Lord Janner of Braunstone asked the Chairman of Committees:
- Whether he believes that the current smoking policy in the Library and Refreshment Department accords with the House of Lords' Staff Handbook.[HL97]
The Chairman of Committees (Lord MacKay of Ardbrecknish): Yes. Smoking policy for staff outside the Refreshment Department, approved by the
Whitley Committee, is set out in Appendix G of the Staff Handbook. The basic principle behind the policy is that staff are entitled to work in a smoke-free atmosphere if they want to, and that staff who smoke should have the facilities to enable them to do so. Refreshment Department staff are covered by rules set out in paragraph 166 of the Handbook. Staff smoking policy is distinct from the rules on smoking applicable to Members.
Lord Janner of Braunstone asked the Chairman of Committees:
- Whether the Library and Computers Sub-Committee has undertaken a study into the feasibility of making the Salisbury Room a smoking room, with the remainder of the Library becoming a no-smoking area; and, if not, whether it will do so.[HL96]
The Chairman of Committees: An informal working group on the House's smoking policy, chaired by Lord McIntosh of Haringey, surveyed the views of all Members on where smoking should be permitted, and reported in May 1999. There was no mandate to change the current arrangements in the Library, under which smoking is permitted in the Brougham and Derby Rooms but prohibited elsewhere. In June 1999 the Library and Computers Sub-Committee agreed that the ultimate aim should be that Xthe Library should be an entirely smoke-free area as soon as possible". The Sub-Committee rejected a proposal to make the Salisbury room a smoking room, as it was supported by neither the present occupants of the room nor smokers. The Sub-Committee recommended that a conveniently placed Xclub" room for smokers should be identified, in which smoking would be permitted. It has not yet been possible to identify such a room.
The question of smoking will next be considered by the Library and Computers Sub-Committee on 13 February 2001.
Lord Janner of Braunstone: asked the Chairman of Committees:
- What steps the House authorities are taking to reduce the risk of passive smoking within the House of Lords.[HL98]
The Chairman of Committees: Smoking policy for Members is a matter for the Offices Committee and its sub-committees, and I intend to invite the Offices Committee and its sub-comittees to reconsider the matter. The smoking policy for staff of the House
outside the Refreshment Department already provides that staff are entitled to work in a smoke-free environment if they wish to. Refreshment Department staff are only permitted to smoke during their authorised breaks and in the designated smoking room. The Health and Safety Commission has proposed the issue of an approved code of practice on passive smoking at work and staff smoking policy will be reviewed in the light of any such code.
Lord Janner of Braunstone asked the Chairman of Committees:
- Whether the Administration and Works Sub-Committee has had any recent discussions with the authorities of the House of Commons about the recent changes made by that House with regard to smoking policy.[HL99]
The Chairman of Committees: No. Any recent changes to House of Commons smoking policy will be taken into account by the Offices Committee and its sub-committees when they next consider smoking policy.
Lord Janner of Braunstone asked the Chairman of Committees:
- Whether he will seek to obtain from the House of Commons authorities and place in the Library of the House any information about the recent changes made by that House with regard to smoking policy.[HL100]
The Chairman of Committees: I have written to the Chairman of the House of Commons Administration Committee requesting information about any recent changes made by the House of Commons to their smoking policy, and will place a copy of my letter, together with the response, in the Library of the House.
London Underground: Delay Incidents
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- For each line of the London Underground, on how many instances in each of the last five years passengers were significantly delayed[HL115]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary, at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty): This is an operational matter for London Underground (LUL) but they have provided the following information.
| Line | 1996-97 Year Total | 1997-98 Year Total | 1998-99 Year Total | 1999-2000 Year Total | 2000-01 Qtr 1 & Qtr 2 |
| Bakerloo | 184 | 223 | 256 | 326 | 118 |
| Central (inc. Waterloo & City) | 547 | 710 | 563 | 478 | 283 |
| District | 304 | 243 | 277 | 316 | 153 |
| Jubliee (inc. East London) | 95 | 107 | 414 | 444 | 124 |
| Metropolitan | 280 | 286 | 238 | 347 | 161 |
| Circle & Hammersmith | 110 | 193 | 196 | 210 | 113 |
| Northern | 303 | 343 | 315 | 297 | 77 |
| Piccadilly | 196 | 242 | 236 | 238 | 96 |
| Victoria | 109 | 186 | 135 | 143 | 37 |
| Total | 2,128 | 2,533 | 2,630 | 2,799 | 1,162 |
Nato Parliamentary Assembly: UK Delegation
Lord Borrie asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What changes have been made to the composition of the United Kingdom Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.[HL268]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): My honourable friend the Member for Barnsley West and Penistone (Mr Clapham) has replaced my honourable friend the Member for Halesowen and Rowley Regis (Mrs Heal) as a member of the delegation.
Common Agricultural Policy
Lord Moynihan asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will place in the Library of the House the Treasury figures and analyses which confirm that further common agricultural policy reform is Xnot necessary for enlargement to take place", as stated by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (H.L. Deb., 12th December, col. 347).[HL150]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: At the Berlin European Council in March last year, the EU agreed to reforms of certain aspects of the common agricultural policy and to a financial perspective for 2000-06. Together these helped pave the way for enlargement. The Government welcomed the CAP reform agreement as a step in the right direction but continue to advance the case for further reform, which many consider to be both desirable and inevitable. The accession process needs to take account of the fact that the CAP is constantly evolving, but it is not necessary to complete the CAP reform process before enlargement takes place.
The precise nature of the new member states' integration into the acquis will depend on the outcome of negotiations with those countries. As in all previous enlargements, transitional arrangements, in which EU policies are phased in over a fixed period of time, are likely to be necessary in a number of areas, including agriculture. The Government are committed to securing early enlargement without breaching the financial ceilings established at Berlin.
Lord Moynihan asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What cost analysis they have done of the application of the common agricultural policy to (a) Poland and (b) Hungary.[HL151]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The actual cost of applying the CAP to Poland and Hungary would depend upon many factors, but would be constrained by the limits on enlargement-related spending agreed at the Berlin European Council in March last year.
The Government are concerned that applying the CAP in its present form to countries such as Hungary and Poland would have an adverse impact upon their economies. The UK believes that using available funds for structural improvements in applicant countries would be more beneficial to them.
Lord Moynihan asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What proportion of the workforce in (a) Poland and (b) Hungary is employed in agriculture.[HL152]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Poland's Central Statistical Office's Statistical Yearbook for 1998 states that 27 per cent of the total working population is employed in agriculture. There are a further 2 million people in rural areas whose main source of income is not agriculture, but who may be involved in some agricultural activity. In Hungary, 6.7 per cent of the total working population is employed in agriculture. A further 500,000 people are involved in agriculture, but have an alternative main source of employment.
Lord Moynihan asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their assessment of the cost to the British taxpayer of the application of the Common Agricultural Policy to (a) Hungary and (b) Poland; and whether they will place any relevant analyses in the Library of the House.[HL153]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The actual cost to the UK of applying the CAP to Poland and Hungary would depend upon many factors, but it would be limited in two ways. First, the financial perspective for 2000-06 agreed at the Berlin European Council in March last year set limits on enlargement-related spending. These limits leave the overall ceiling on spending in an enlarged EU well beneath the current Own Resources ceiling (1.27 per cent of Community GNP). Secondly, also at Berlin, the Government succeeded in retaining the UK abatement for the duration of the financial perspective. The abatement will apply to the bulk of spending in the new member states.
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