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Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether there has been any communication between the Government and the Appointments Commission in relation to the conferment of a peerage on Baroness Morgan of Huyton.[HL230]
Peerage Recommendations: House of Lords Appointments Commission
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
- On what basis they decide whether nominations for peerages by the Prime Minister should be subject to the approval of the Appointments Commission.[HL231]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: With the exception of peerages created to enable individuals to serve as Ministers, all recommendations that the Prime Minister makes to Her Majesty are referred to the House of Lords Appointments Commission for scrutiny. The final decision on whether to recommend those names, however, rests with the Prime Minister, unlike those recommendations proposed by the Commission itself.
Legislative Programme: Application to Scotland
The Earl of Mar and Kellie asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which of the 25 Bills announced in the Queen's Speech will be applicable to Scotland.[HL123]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Fifteen of the 25 Bills in the Queen's Speech include significant measures that apply in Scotland.
The following is a list of the Bills and their application to Scotland.
Applies to Scotland: Reserved 1. Tax Credits 2. Pension Credits 3. Welfare Reform 4. NHS Reform and Centralisation (regulation of health professionals only) 5. EC (Finance) 6. EC (Amendment) 7. Export Control and Non-Proliferation 8. House of Lords (following consultation) 9. International Development 10. Safety (advance drafting) 11. Communication (advance drafting) 12. Increasing Women's Representation in Parliament (advance drafting)
Applies to Scotland: Devolved (Sewel Consent required) 13. Adoption and Children (only certain provisions)
Applies to Scotland: Devolved/Reserved (Sewel Consent required) 14. Proceeds of Crime 15. Enterprise
European Community Budget 2001
Lord Bruce of Donington asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they will be publishing the Statement on the 2001 Community Budget.[HL345]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Statement on the 2001 Community Budget, entitled European Community Finances, has today been laid before Parliament. This White Paper is the twenty-first in the series. As in the past, it covers annual budgetary matters and includes details of recent developments in European Community financial management and in countering fraud against the Community Budget. It also describes the Community Budget for 2001 as adopted by the European Parliament, and the United Kingdom's gross and net contributions to the Community Budget between 1996 and 2001.
Supermarkets: Code of Practice
Lord Peston asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When the proposed supermarkets' code of practice will be published and when the relevant supermarkets are expected to give the legally binding undertakings to comply with the remedies set out in the code. [HL193]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has recently received advice from the Director General of Fair Trading regarding the supermarkets code of practice, which she is considering. An announcement will be made in due course.
Mr Ian Stillman
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they intend to raise with the Indian Government the case of the disabled British charity worker, Mr Ian Stillman, gaoled in India, and to ensure that his welfare is upheld during his period of incarceration. [HL189]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos): My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about Mr Stillman's welfare at a meeting on 26 June with the Indian High Commissioner and Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee's Principal Secretary. The Indian High Commissioner asked for a written note highlighting our concerns and the Foreign Secretary duly wrote to the High Commissioner on 28 June.
We will continue to speak to the Indian authorities to ensure that Mr Stillman's appeal is heard swiftly.
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have had discussions with the Indian High Commission about the case of Mr Ian Stillman, the disabled British charity worker gaoled in India. [HL188]
Baroness Amos: My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary held a meeting with the Indian High Commissioner and Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee's Principal Secretary on 26 June. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about Mr Stillman's welfare during this meeting.
The Indian High Commissioner asked for a written note highlighting our concerns and the Foreign Secretary duly wrote to the High Commissioner on 28 June.
Diplomatic Missions: Non-domestic Rates Arrears
Lord Williams of Elvel asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will list the names of diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom that owed more than £10,000 as at 4 April 2001 in respect of National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) for office premises.[HL326]
Baroness Amos: Most diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom meet their obligations and pay the National Non-Domestic Rates requested from them. However, as at 4 April 2001 the following missions owed over £10,000 in respect of National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR):
| Country | Amount |
| Nigeria | 339,925.44 |
| Iran | 105,827.16 |
| Sierra Leone | 66,246.88 |
| Yugoslavia | 46,638.87 |
| Algeria | 39,844.82 |
| Ivory Coast | 33,303.54 |
| Mozambique | 30,564.99 |
| Jordan | 29,048.13 |
| Cameroon | 24,583.30 |
| Egypt | 23,925.02 |
| Uganda | 21,985.39 |
| Libya | 21,358.92 |
| Bangladesh | 16,131.99 |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | 15,765.48 |
| Senegal | 12,253.02 |
| Total | £827,402.95 |
Eight additional diplomatic missions who owe £10,000 or more in respect of National Non-Domestic Rates have made arrangements with the Valuation Office Agency to clear their outstanding debts and have not been included in this list. The total amount outstanding from all missions, including these additional diplomatic missions, is approximately £1,480,218.62.
Lord Davies of Coity asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Amos: The Government do not interpret those arms embargoes implemented by the UK as prohibiting the temporary export for personal use by United Nations personnel, representatives of the media or humanitarian workers of protective clothing on the UK Military List, which forms Part III of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 as amended. The Government will therefore consider, on a case by case basis against the consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing criteria, all applications for licences for the temporary export of military helmets, body armour, bullet-proof or bullet-resistant clothing, flak suits and specially designed components for any of these goods.
Lord Howie of Troon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Amos: At the end of 2000, unpaid fines in respect of parking and other minor traffic violations incurred by diplomatic missions and international organisations in the United Kingdom totalled 5,889. In May this year the Foreign and Commonwealth Office wrote to all diplomatic missions and international organisations in the United Kingdom giving them the opportunity to either pay their outstanding fines or appeal against them if they considered that they had been issued incorrectly. As a result, payments totalling £81,120.00 were received leaving a total of 3,936 unpaid fines for 2000. The attached table details those diplomatic missions and international organisations that have more than 10 fines outstanding.
Whether they interpret the arms embargoes implemented by the United Kingdom as prohibiting the temporary export to embargoed destinations of protective clothing for the personal use of United Nations personnel, representatives of the media and humanitarian workers.[HL295]
Whether they will publish figures recording the number of outstanding parking and other minor traffic violation fines incurred by diplomatic missions and international organisations in the United Kingdom during the year ending 31 December 2000.[HL327]
Position Diplomatic Mission/International Organisation No of fines outstanding
1 Nigeria 1,084
2 United Arab Emirates 272
3 Egypt 148
4 Qatar 145
5 Iran 114
6 Ghana 104
7 Turkey 96
8 Saudi Arabia 82
9 Ethiopia 74
10 France 69
10 Oman 69
10 Ukraine 69
11 Greece 68
12 Algeria 59
13 China 57
14 Cyprus 55
14 Jordan 55
14 Mongolia 55
14 Morocco 55
15 Hungary 48
15 Malaysia 48
16 Mozambique 47
17 Georgia 45
18 Russia 44
18 United States of America 44
19 Poland 41
20 Kenya 40
21 Cuba 38
22 Kazakhstan 34
23 Tunisia 33
24 Brunei 32
25 Uganda 29
26 Indonesia 26
26 Zambia 26
26 Zimbabwe 26
27 Romania 25
28 Albania 24
28 Yemen 24
29 Pakistan 23
29 Commonwealth Secretariat 23
30 Bangladesh 22
30 Philippines 22
31 Afghanistan 21
31 Namibia 21
32 Lithuania 18
33 Cote D'Ivoire 16
34 Peru 15
34 Sudan 15
35 Cameroon 14
35 Italy 14
36 Portugal 13
36 Uzbekistan 13
37 Bahrain 12
37 Germany 12
3,678
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