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Lord Carlile of Berriew asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will make it their policy to devolve to the National Assembly for Wales the process whereby all decisions are reached upon proposals for the erection of wind power stations in mid Wales.[2339]
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: Both before and following privatisation, England and Wales have been regarded and treated as forming one electricity network and one electricity market. Inherent in that is recognition of the integrated nature of the electricity supply system. As a result, decisions on power stations over 50 megawatts in England and Wales are handled by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. In reaching her decision on an application in Wales she will consider carefully the views of the National Assembly for Wales and any other representations from Wales.
Lord Carlile of Berriew asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will have a policy for the protection of the Welsh landscape in light of the increasing number of proposals for the erection of wind power stations in Wales.[HL2340]
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The basis for the Government's policy is the planning guidance for which the National Assembly for Wales is responsible. In addition, the Government take into account the formal views that are received from the National Assembly for Wales on particular matters.
Northern Ireland:Gas Transportation Tariff
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the effects of the increase in gas transportation tariff on Northern Ireland was discussed when the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry met representatives of Centrica on 6 December 2001, and what was the outcome of any such discussions.[HL2343]
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry met representatives of Centrica plc on 19 November 2001, and my honourable friend the Minister for Industry and Energy met them on 6 December 2001.
On both occasions a wide range of subjects was discussed in confidence and it would be inappropriate to mention any specific items.
Broadband Fixed Wireless Licences in the 28GHz Spectrum
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many bids for broadband fixed wireless licences in the 28GHz spectrum have been received by the Radiocommunications Agency in the three months since the auction was relaunched by the
e-commerce Minister.[HL2352]
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The award process is designed to give companies an opportunity to obtain licences when market conditions appear favourable to them. No bids have been received to date. However, they may apply to obtain licences at any time up to and including 14 October 2002. When an application is received it will be publicised on the agency's website www.radio.gov.uk.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the reserve limit for bids for broadband fixed wireless licences in the 28GHz spectrum.[HL2353]
The Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The reserve prices for the twenty-six licences available are as follows:
| Region D | (Isle of Wight, Hampshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire), each WT Act Licence (3 Licences available) | £2,000,000; |
| Region E | (Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire), each WT Act Licence (3 Licences available) | £2,000,000; |
| Region F | (Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire), each WT Act Licence (3 Licences available) | £2,000,000; |
| Region G | (Derbyshire, Lincolnshire (other than the Local Authorities of North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire), Leicestershire, each WT Act Licence (3 Licences available) | £2,000,000; |
| Region H | (Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex), each WT Act Licence (3 Licences available) | £2,000,000; |
| Region I | (East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and the Local Authorities of North Lincolnshire and North-East Lincolnshire), the WT Act Licence (1 Licence available) | £2,000,000; |
| Region J | (Tyne and Wear, Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria and Lancashire), each WT Act Licence (2 Licences available) | £1,000,000; |
| Region K | (Bristol, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire), each WT Act Licence (3 Licences available) | £1,000,000; |
| Region L | (Scotland), each WT Act Licence (2 Licences available) | £1,000,000; |
| Region M | (Wales), each WT Act Licence (3 Licences available) | £1,000,000 |
Mineworkers' Compensation: Emphysema and Bronchitis Scheme
Lord Hardy of Wath asked Her Majesty's Government:
- (a) how many applications for compensation under the emphysema and bronchitis scheme for mineworkers or former mineworkers have resulted in full or transitional payments being made;
(b) in how many cases the applicant has died since the presentation of their case; and
(c) how many applications have still to be considered.[HL2260]
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: To date, IRISC, the department's claims handlers, has registered 173,824 claims in respect of compensation for respiratory disease. There have been 14,780 claims settled and 43,904 interim payments have been made, worth £241.4 million in total.
The handling agreement for compensation for respiratory disease was formally signed on 24 September 1999 and claims could not have been settled before this date. The number of claimants who initiated their claim after this date, but have died since registering their claim, is 6,271. Where claimants have died in process, the protocol to deal with these claims was agreed with the claimants' solicitors and put into operation in November 2001.
Ownership of Cultural Property:1970 UNESCO Convention
Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they expect to complete the procedures for the ratification by the United Kingdom of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting
- the Illicit Import, Export and Exchange of Ownership of Cultural Property.[HL2325]
The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Blackstone): My predecessor as Minister for the Arts (Alan Howarth) announced to Parliament in March 2001 that the Government intended to accede to the 1970 UNESCO Convention. I hope to be able to make a further announcement to this House shortly.
Piers
Lord Fearn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many seaside resorts still maintain piers; how many of those piers are listed buildings or structures and how many piers have received grants from public funds towards renovation; and from where.[HL2330]
Baroness Blackstone: There are currently 55 pleasure piers in existence at seaside resorts around the UK. Of these, 25 in England and 6 in Wales are listed. The latest figures do not include matched funding, which itself could include public funds. These figures show that six pleasure piers at UK seaside resorts have received lottery funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund totalling £8,558,357, including two awards to Southport pier totalling £1,734,000. We are not aware of any other grants to piers from public funds.
Children's Television Viewing
Lord Northbourne asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether parents should be responsible for the television viewing of their children; and, if so, what action they are taking to establish whether or not their present policy of relying on the nine o'clock "watershed" is effective in enabling parents to control the viewing of children who have television in their bedroom.[HL2375]
Baroness Blackstone: Under the current broadcasting arrangements material unsuitable for children must not be transmitted at times when large numbers of children may be expected to be watching. Responsibility for children's television viewing after the 9.00 pm watershed applying to free-to-air channels may be expected to be a shared responsibility between parents and broadcasters. Research by the broadcasting regulators indicates that the concept of the 9.00 pm watershed is widely supported by the viewing public and, just as importantly, widely understood.
Images of England Website
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether it is English Partnerships's intention that pictures of all listed properties, regardless of whether or not they are open to the public, should be placed on the Images of England website.[HL2376]
Baroness Blackstone: The Images of England website is operated by English Heritage. The project aims to take and publish a single exterior photograph of every building on the list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest. There is an exemption for buildings visible only from private land, if permission from the owner is withheld, and the English Heritage Commissioners met on 23 January to consider options for other exemption. They will be discussing these options with the Heritage Lottery Fund which has provided funds for the project shortly.
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