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Written Answers
Thursday, 29th November 2001.
Universal Primary Education
Lord Judd asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether current trends will mean that the 1995 United Nations Social Summit target of free universal education for all children by 2015 will be achieved; if not, by how big a gap it will be missed; and what action they are taking to correct any inadquate trends.[HL1387]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos): There are widely different levels of progress against the millennium development goal of achieving universal primary education (UPE) by 2015. In sub-Saharan Africa an additional 88 million children will need to be enrolled in school between 1997 and 2015. This requires a threefold improvement in the rate of expansion achieved from 1990–97. If the current rate of enrolment increase were to be maintained, less than half of the 43 countries would achieve even a gross enrolment rate of 100 per cent by 2015. Ten times the previous rate of increase will be needed in countries such as Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia and Somalia. In South and West Asia it is estimated that an additional 40 million children will need to be enrolled to achieve the UPE target and that this will require the same pace of enrolment increase that was achieved from 1990 to 1997.
Achieving UPE requires reform and action at the country level. The international community committed itself in the Dakar Framework for Action that Xno countries seriously committed to education for all will be thwarted in their achievement of this goal by a lack of resources". At the Education for All High-Level Group meeting convened by UNESCO's Director-General in Paris last month, the Secretary of State for International Development called for change in national and international efforts to achieve UPE by 2015. She presented DFID's paper Children out of School which identifies the different circumstances of children who are not in school and proposes an eight-point plan of action for accelerating progress towards the 2015 target.
The Government give high priority to addressing this challenge. We believe that UPE can be achieved by 2015 if the lessons of the past are learned and if governments in developing countries put in place the right policies and receive appropriate external assistance. We have committed over £600 million to support the development of primary education since 1997. We will do more.
M4 Hostage Situation: Police Involvement
Lord Palmer asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many police, and from how many forces, were involved in the recent hostage situation which culminated in the temporary closure of part of the M4 on 20 to 21 October; and at what cost.[HL917]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Rooker): The hostage situation was a complex operation undertaken at extremely short notice. The Chief Constable of Wiltshire has informed me that the force will be holding a debriefing meeting on 18 December to review the operation. When that meeting has taken place the numbers of officers involved in the situation, from how many forces and the cost will be known. I will write to the noble Lord when the information is available.
European Arrest Warrant: XXenophobia"
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the question asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 19 November (HL Deb, col. 978), how they define the crime of Xxenophobia" as listed in Article 2 of the proposed European Union arrest warrant directive.[HL1518]
Lord Rooker: The term Xracism and xenophobia" as listed in Article 2 of the framework decision on the European arrest warrant is a generic description. It is a decision for the issuing state as to how it frames the offence under its national law when it makes a request under a European arrest warrant.
If the United Kingdom were making an extradition request for offences under the heading of Xracism and xenophobia", we would do so in terms of our law on incitement to racial hatred, racially aggravated offences and racial discrimination under the Race Relations Act, where a sentence of at least 12 months applied. All of these offences are drafted in terms of behaviour directed against members of a racial group. A racial group is defined as a group of persons by reference to colour, race, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins. In that sense our existing race hate laws cover hatred motivated by xenophobia.
Terrorism Act 2000: Detention
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many persons have been detained and questioned under the Terrorism Act 2000 (a) since 11 September and (b) in the year before that date; and what were the outcomes in terms of releases, prosecutions, convictions and sentences.[HL1563]
Lord Rooker: There have been a total of 53 arrests under the Terrorism Act 2000 since 11 September. In the year previous there were 43 arrests under terrorist
legislation (Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 prior to 19 February and Terrorism Act 2000 post this date). These can be broken down to the following results:| Since 11 Sept | Sept 2000—Sept 2001 | |
| Charged with terrorist related offences | 6 | 16 |
| Undergoing extradition proceedings | 1 | 0 |
| Charged with other criminal offences | 3 | 2 |
| Bailed for further enquiries into criminal matters | 5 | 4 |
| Released into custody of HM Immigration Service | 14 | 0 |
| Released without charge | 24 | 21 |
| Total | 53 | 43 |
Criminal Courts: District Tier Proposal
Lord Carlile of Berriew asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, in the event of the district tier of criminal courts being created as recommended by Lord Justice Auld, measures would be introduced to reimburse magistrates for lost earnings to enable as wide a cross section of justices as possible to hear cases.[HL1348]
The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg): Justices may already claim some compensation for loss of earnings. If the Government accept Lord Justice Auld's recommendation for a district division, it is not clear that a different kind of allowance would be needed. No decision will be taken on the recommendation for a district division until after the end of the period for public comment.
Jurors and District Judges: Allowances
Lord Carlile of Berriew asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the average cost of allowances and any other payments made to (a) a juror and (b) a district judge in the last financial year for which figures are available.[HL1349]
The Lord Chancellor: Jurors can claim financial loss allowance, travel and subsistence, within specified maxima, for the time they spend at court. The payments made will vary according to the personal circumstances of each individual. There is no information available on the number of people who actually serve on juries each year and so it is not possible to produce an average figure.
The current salary for district judges (magistrates' courts) and district judges (county courts) is £79,767. All district judges appointed to the London area receive an additional London allowance of £2,000 and a London salary lead of £2,000. District judges may, in certain circumstances, claim travel and night subsistence allowances from my department when sitting away from their principal court. District judges (magistrates' courts) may also receive expenses from their relevant magistrates' courts committee (MCC) when travelling within the MCC area to which they are assigned or from the senior district judge's office when travelling outside their MCC area at the request of the senior district judge (chief magistrate). Information about these is not held centrally by my department. It is not possible, therefore, to produce an average figure.
Details of the rates payable to both jurors and district judges will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Freedom of Information Act: Implementation
Lord Mitchell asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When the Lord Chancellor intends to report to Parliament his proposals for bringing fully into force those provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which are not yet in force.[HL1747]
The Lord Chancellor: I have today laid my Report on the Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 before both Houses. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Lord Chancellor's Department DEL
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have any proposals to amend the Lord Chancellor's Department departmental expenditure limit and running costs limits for 2001–02.[HL1748]
The Lord Chancellor: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Request for Resources 1, the Lord Chancellor's Department departmental expenditure limit for 2001–02 will be increased by £22,034,000 from £2,732,900,000 to £2,754,934,000. The increase is the net effect of take up of end year flexibility entitlement of: £9,000,000 in respect of Capital Modernisation Fund; £1,031,000 in respect of DEL capital expenditure; £1,355,000 in respect of an award from the Invest to Modernise Fund; £408,000 in respect of the Invest to Save Budget; awards from the Capital Modernisation Fund totalling £1,888,000 in respect of new projects and £1,174,000 from the Invest to Modernise Fund; transfers in respect of transfers of business from the Home Office in the sum of £614,000; from the Department for Work and Pensions in the sum of £20,000; from the Department for Transport, Local
Government and the Regions in the sum of £100,000 and from the Ministry of Defence in the sum of £176,000. Transfers of business arising from the machinery of government changes of £406,000 from the Cabinet Office and £5,862,000 from the Home Office are also included in this supplementary estimate.The administration cost limit for the Lord Chancellor's Department Request for Resources 1 will be increased by £5,344,000 from £612,786,000 to £618,130,000. The increase is caused by take up of end year flexibility entitlement of £1,355,000; an award of £1,174,000 from the Invest to Modernise Fund; transfers in respect of transfers of business from the Home Office in the sum of £480,000; from the Ministry of Defence in the sum of £176,000; from the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions in the sum of £100,000 and to the Department for Work and Pensions in the sum of £200,000. Transfers of business arising from the machinery of government changes of £406,000 from the Cabinet Office and £1,853,000 from the Home Office are also included in this supplementary estimate.
The increases will be offset by transfers from the departmental expenditure limits of the Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, and the Ministry of Defence, take up of end year flexibility entitlement, an award from the Invest to Modernise Fund and awards from the Capital Modernisation Fund and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
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