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Countryside Stewardship Claims
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hayman on 20 February (WA 88), what proportion of stewardship payments are overdue:
(a) by number; and
(b) by value;
and by how much they are overdue.[HL1566]
Lord Whitty: Of the Countryside Stewardship claims that were outstanding at the date of the previous written answer, there are 26 which are still partly or wholly unpaid. This represents around 0.3 per cent both by number and by value of all claims received.
We would normally aim to have paid all the outstanding claims within two months of receipt. However, these 26 claims required further investigation, such as field inspections, prior to payment and in some cases these were delayed for biosecurity reasons. All claimants have been kept informed about the reasons for the delay.
Lord Varley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Whitty: We have arranged for copies of the National Forest Company's annual report and its accounts for 2000–01 to be placed in the House Libraries.
Baroness Gould of Potternewton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Whitty: The independent policy commission was tasked in the summer with reporting to the Government by the end of this year. The commission is making good progress and will complete the bulk of its work in that timetable but it will now deliver its final report by the end of January 2002.
Lord Gladwin of Clee asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Whitty: We have now received the reports of the two independent auditors, the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) and Risk Solutions. We intend to publish them, along with a response from the Institute of Animal Health to the issues raised in the audits, at 9.30 a.m. tomorrow (Friday 30 November) and will make the documents available to right honourable and honourable Members through the Vote Office and Libraries.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Blackstone): According to estimates by the Business Tourism Partnership, business tourism is worth some £15 billion per year, of which £11 billion comes from domestic tourism and £4 billion from inbound visitors. This represents 20 per cent of tourism expenditure in the UK.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Blackstone: The Business Tourism Partnership has estimated that business tourism employs some 530,000 people directly and indirectly.
Lord Campbell of Croy asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): The statutory provisions for stakeholder pensions have been introduced as planned. Stakeholder pensions have been on sale since April of this year and on 8 October the requirement for employers to provide their staff with workplace access to a stakeholder pension scheme came into effect.
It is too early to draw detailed conclusions about trends, but early figures show that over 400,000 stakeholder pensions have been taken out in the first six months, which is very encouraging.
Baroness Noakes asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will report on the National Forest Company's progress in creating a national forest in the East Midlands.[HL1695]
When they expect the Policy Commission on Food and Farming to report.[HL1698]
Whether they will publish the reports of audits they commissioned into the sheep brain pool experiment at the Institute for Animal Health.[HL1699]
What is their estimate of the contribution made to the United Kingdom economy by business tourism; and what percentage this sum represents as a proportion of all tourism income in the United Kingdom.[HL1452]
What is their estimate of the number of people employed directly and indirectly by the business tourism sector.[HL1453]
Whether the system of stakeholder pensions is coming into operation in the way in which the Government had intended it should.[HL748]
Further to the answer by Baroness Hollis of Heigham on 23 October (HL Deb, col. 913), in which year were the 50 people she referred to not receiving the winter fuel payments to which they were entitled.[HL1017]
29 Nov 2001 : Column WA70
Baroness Hollis of Heigham: These claims were in relation to winter 2000. The number of claims outstanding for that winter is now 33.
State Pension
Lord Jenkins of Putney asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they intend to bring the state pension in the United Kingdom to the same levels as those in other countries in the European Union.[HL1513]
Baroness Hollis of Heigham: Unlike many member states where there is little private provision, the United Kingdom's pension system is a partnership between the state and the private sector. This ensures both sustainable public finances and sustainable social protection systems. The basic state pension provides the foundation for income in retirement. It has always been the case that people were expected to build up a second pension or other savings on top of their basic state pension and the Government encourage them to do so where this is appropriate. People have been retiring with increasingly good company or other private pensions, and as a result pensioner incomes have risen faster than the incomes of people at work.
Food Standards Agency DEL
Lord Hardy of Wath asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether there are any proposals to amend the Food Standards Agency departmental expenditure limit (DEL) and administration costs limit for 2001–02.[HL1694]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate for the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the overall resource departmental expenditure limit for 2001–02 will be increased by £10,911,000 (of which £4,274,000 is administrations costs) from £111,243,000 to £122,154,000.
The increase is the net effect of the addition of the FSA's end year flexibility (EYF) entitlement. Delays in appointing external board members meant that the overall FSA strategy, and hence certain projects, were also delayed. This amounts to £6,637,000 programme and £2,867,000 administration costs. Additionally, transfers from Scotland (£783,000) and Wales (£609,000) are needed to cover the estimated fall in Meat Hygiene Service income in these countries resulting from the revised charging methodology recommended in the Maclean report. A transfer of £15,000 administration costs from the Department of Health is needed as contribution towards the cost of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.
Finally, the FSA's EYF capital entitlement needs to be incorporated. The move of the FSA to a new office in central London was later than anticipated, caused by building delays. This has resulted in the need to incorporate £433,000 EYF capital expenditure.As a result of these changes, the gross administration cost limit for the FSA has increased by £4,274,000 from £48,908,000 to £53,182,000.
HIV Infected Healthcare Workers
Baroness Massey of Darwen asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What has been the outcome of the policy review on patient notification exercises relating to HIV infected healthcare workers.[HL1697]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: We have recently accepted advice from the Expert Advisory Group on Aids (EAGA) and the United Kingdom Advisory Panel for Health Care Workers infected with Blood-borne Viruses (UKAP). They advise that it is no longer necessary to notify every single patient who has undergone an exposure prone procedure 1 by an HIV infected healthcare worker because of the low risk of transmission and the anxiety caused to large numbers of patients.
In future, the need for and extent of a patient notification exercise will depend on the level of risk of exposure. This may mean that in some instances there is no patient notification exercise or it is limited in its scope. Until now, all patients who have undergone exposure prone procedures have been notified regardless of their level of risk. EAGA and UKAP are in the process of developing these critiera and we will be issuing operational guidance to the National Health Service in the new year.
- 1 Exposure prone procedures are those where there is a risk that injury to the healthcare worker could result in their blood contaminating a patients' open tissues. Exposure prone procedures in general terms include most surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, dentistry and some aspects of midwifery and specialist nursing.
E-democracy
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What plans they have to further e-democracy.[HL1746]
The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn): The Prime Minister has asked the President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons to chair a new Cabinet Committee on e-democracy. The composition and terms of reference of the new committee are: Ministerial Committee on e-Democracy (MISC17) Composition The President of the Council and the Leader of the House of Commons (Chair) Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Minister Without Portfolio Minister of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions Minister of State for Home Affairs Minister of State for Trade and Industry Minister of State for Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary for the Leader of the House of Commons Office Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Skills Invited to Attend The e-Envoy Terms of Reference XTo consider ways of strengthening the democratic process by engaging the public and their elected representatives through the use of the internet and other electronic means".
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