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Written Answers
Tuesday, 20th November 2001.
Citizenship
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What plans they have to require applicants for British citizenship to be given a foundation course on the duties and responsibilities of citizenship.[HL1414]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Rooker): The Government have no detailed plans at present to require applicants for British citizenship to be given instruction in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, but the matter is under consideration and our conclusions will be set out in the forthcoming White Paper on asylum, immigration and nationality.
Police Use of Firearms
Lord Graham of Edmonton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What measures they will take to ensure that lessons can be learned from incidents involving the police use of firearms.[HL1481]
Lord Rooker: Under Section 79(1) of the Police Act 1996 we have requested the Police Complaints Authority to report to us on the lessons to be learned from recent incidents. The terms of reference of that review will be:
- "To consider the lessons to be learned from investigations supervised by the Police Complaints Authority since January 1998 into incidents in which shootings by police occurred and which resulted in death or injury, with particular regard to:
the planning, control and conduct of those operations;
the way in which the concerns of the bereaved families were addressed, and how they were kept informed of the progress of the investigation;
the training and skill needs of police officers involved in such operations, particularly at command level.
Youth Justice System
Lord Milner of Leeds asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they will place in the Library the Youth Justice Board's report, Findings from the Youth Justice Plans 2001–02. [HL1482]
Lord Rooker: The Youth Justice Board's report Findings from the Youth Justice Plans 2001–02 was published in August and copies have been placed in the Library. The Youth Justice Board was established in September 1998 to spearhead the reforms to the youth
justice system: 154 multi-agency youth offending teams (YOT) have been in operation across England and Wales since 1 April 2000 carrying out the reforms locally. Summaries of progress reports submitted by each individual YOT form the basis of this report. It shows the substantial achievements to date including: the transition to multi-agency working; meeting the pledge to halve the time from arrest to sentence of persistent offenders; successful implementation of a range of new sentences supported by programmes designed to tackle individuals' offending behaviour; and innovative crime prevention measures in deprived areas.Afghanistan: Future Government
Baroness Ludford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What consideration they have given and what discussions they have had with the United States and other governments regarding the nature of any future government of Afghanistan in the event of the collapse of the present Taliban government, with particular regard to the role of women. [HL1233]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos): We are working closely with the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, and a wide range of other interested governments and parties to help the Afghan people establish a broad-based government representative of all Afghans. As part of this process, UN Security Council Resolution No. 1378, unanimously adopted on 14 November, sets out a blueprint for such a government. This includes a call for the human rights of all Afghans, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion, to be respected.
Barnett Formula
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the statement by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 7 November (HL Deb, col. 262), (a) when, (b) with what regularity, and (c) in what ways they "have been changing the Barnett formula at the margins".[HL1333]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Barnett formula is updated in spending reviews, for example in relation to population shares, and departmental comparability factors. The population shares and comparability factors used in the 2000 spending review were published in the Statement of Funding Policy in July 2000.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the statement by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 7 November (HL Deb, col. 262), whether the fact that the Barnett formula is "updated in each spending review to reflect current circumstances in each country" constitutes a
- commitment on the part of the Government to its annual revision.[HL1334]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The fact that the Barnett formula is updated in each spending review does not constitute a commitment to its annual revision because spending reviews do not take place every year. It was updated in the 1998 and 2000 spending reviews.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the statement by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 7 November (HL Deb, col 262), in what circumstances they would not seek an update of the Barnett formula in each spending review as a means of reflecting circumstances in each nation within the United Kingdom.[HL1335]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Barnett formula used in the 2000 spending review is based on population shares and departmental comparability factors published in the Statement of Funding Policy in July 2000 and is updated where necessary in these respects in each spending review.
Religious Buildings: UNESCO Website
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will ask UNESCO to name on its website the remaining religious buildings in the following categories: (a) Armenian churches in eastern Turkey; (b) mosques and churches in Kosovo; (c) mosques in Macedonia; and (d) churches in occupied northern Cyprus.[HL1189]
The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Blackstone): UNESCO's website contains details of those sites inscribed as world heritage sites under the World Heritage Convention. There are no world heritage sites in the categories listed. I understand, however, that UNESCO is currently planning for a programme of restoration of Kosovo's religious monuments.
British Russian and British East-West Centres
Lord Corbett of Castle Vale asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When the annual report of the British Russia Centre and British East-West Centre will be available.(HL1396)
The Minister for Trade (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean): Copies of the centres' annual report for the financial year 2000-01 have now been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The centres received grant-in-aid of £226,648 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to support their activities in the financial year 2000-01. In addition, the centres secured funding of £109,346 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for direct expenditure on
projects. The centres manage projects to promote and support the development of democratic institutions, the rule of law and society in Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Activities last year included sending election observers to Kyrgyzstan; bidding for and winning a contract for a two-year project to assist in reform of tax systems in Russia and a project to train young lawyers in the South Caucasus in specialist skills relating to the ECHR.Genetic Predisposition to Impairment
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their response to the Disability Rights Commission's call for the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to be extended to people who have a genetic predisposition and for specific legislation relating to personal genetic information.[HL898]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) is structured to cover people with an impairment and a resulting disability.There is no certainty that a person with a genetic predisposition to a particular condition will necessarily go on to develop an impairment or disability. We have accepted the recommendation of the Disability Rights Task Force that at this time genetic predisposition to impairment should not be considered a disability under the DDA but that the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) should work closely with this department to keep this issue under review.
We will carefully consider its advice and that of the DRC.
Jobseeker's Allowance: Drug Treatment and Testing Orders
Earl Russell asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will publish the guidance to be used by the Employment Service in determining whether jobseeker's allowance claimants who are subject to a drug treatment and testing order are available for work.[HL918]
Baroness Hollis of Heigham: Guidance for Employment Services staff on the treatment of people who are subject to a drug treatment and testing order is contained in Chapter 2, Section 4 of the Employment Service Labour Market Conditions Guide. A copy of the guide has been placed in the Library.
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