| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Employment Tribunals: Special Advisers
Lord Wedderburn of Charlton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether persons with experience in business or industry as employers or persons with experience in the trade union movement have been appointed as special advisers or expert or section advisers in the Department of Trade and Industry on employment tribunals; and, if so, what are their identities, their experience in the work of employment tribunals or other similar bodies, and the date and term of their appointments. [HL2321]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): There have been no appointments made in the department of advisers of this description to work on employment tribunals.
Higher Education Sector Staff: Racial Equality
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will publish any relevant available information they have, with findings from any conducted surveys, concerning racial discrimination in the higher education sector, particularly with regard to the number of minority ethnic academics occupying posts in the three top ranking positions in British universities. [HL2357]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): Data on the ethnicity of academic staff in higher education are collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 puts a new duty on each university and college to prepare and maintain a written statement of its race equality policy and assess the impact of its policy on students and staff of different racial groups. They must monitor, by reference to those racial groups, the admission and
progression of students and the recruitment and career progress of staff, including senior staff, and publish the findings. The higher education funding councils have the statutory responsibility to monitor the ethnicity of all staff in their sectors and publish the results of their monitoring. The Equality Challenge Unit set up by the higher education funding councils and representative bodies will support higher education institutions and funding councils in carrying out their respective duties.Refrigerators: Disposal
Lord Bowness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they anticipate that specialist plans will be available to local authorities to deal with the CFC-containing foam in the insulation of waste refrigerators and freezers. [HL2414]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): Guidance for dealing with fridges was issued to local authorities in December. Waste fridges may be exported for treatment in other member states, disposed of via high temperature incineration or stored pending treatment in the UK. Next month officials will meet with representatives of local authorities and companies offering disposal services for fridges to raise awareness of the disposal routes available.
We anticipate that a specialist plant for dealing with CFC-containing foam in fridges will be operational in the UK by spring.
Lord Bowness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their estimate of the cost of disposing of waste refrigerators and freezers between now and 2004, when the manufacturers assume their legal liability to meet the cost of disposal. [HL2415]
Lord Whitty: I understand that the current charges levied by waste management companies for the transport, handling, storage and processing of fridges are in the range of £22 to £35 per unit. However, these costs are likely to fall once more plants are operational and the market more competitive.
Lord Bowness asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How much they have allocated to local authorities to store waste refrigerators and freezers until they have the means to dispose of them; and whether they will make any additional payments. [HL2416]
Lord Whitty: £6 million has been added to the provisional local government finance settlement for 2002–03 to cover the costs of implementing the ozone depleting substances regulation relating to the period 1 January 2002 to 31 March 2002. We are continuing to assess the impacts of the regulation and will determine what further action is required beyond that.
Countryside Stewardship Agreements
Earl Peel asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 17 December (WA 18–19), whether they are aware of the Strutt and Parker report which suggests that the financial remuneration offered to farmers entering either the Arable Green Margin Scheme or the Arable Reversion Scheme fails to meet the costs incurred. [HL2471]
Lord Whitty: The noble Earl has sent me a report by Strutt and Parker that relates to three individual Countryside Stewardship agreements. The payment rates that we set within the scheme for annual management options, including field margins and arable reversion, are designed to reflect the average income foregone for these items on a national basis. As every farm is different, it is inevitable that the rates for any given option will be more attractive to some individuals than others, but of course applicants can choose whether or not to enter land into that particular option. I am pleased to say that demand for the scheme, including field margins and arable reversion, continues to be high.
Ardoyne Street Protests
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will publish all correspondence to and from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission concerning street protests in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast during 2001.[HL2186]
The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn): It is not the Government's policy to publish private correspondence between Ministers and private individuals or organisations. Requests for information on this issue should be addressed in the first instance to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
Mutual Respect Between Children of Different Faiths
The Earl of Listowel asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is the value of the investment they are making in cultural, sporting and other activities undertaken with a view to fostering mutual respect between children of different faiths; and what evidence there is for the efficacy of such investment. [HL2420]
The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Baroness Blackstone): The Government are committed to promoting greater cultural diversity and racial equality through the arts, culture and sporting life and in so doing encouraging greater harmony in society. Many of DCMS's non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are taking work forward in this territory, though the specific value of time and resources invested has not been quantified.
For example, English Heritage works with teachers and children drawn from all social and religious backgrounds. Sport England's programmes include assistance in the distribution of £2.5 million from the Home Office in the wake of last summer's public order disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham. The Arts Council of England supports a wide range of projects targeted at young people of different cultures, helping to develop partnerships between community and mainstream arts organisations. The efficacy of all such NDPB initiatives is assessed through ongoing monitoring and evaluation activity.
Treasury Solicitor's Department Annual Accounts
Lord Orme asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When the Treasury Solicitor's Department annual accounts 2000–01 will be published. [HL2549]
The Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith): I can confirm that I have today placed a copy of the annual accounts in the Library.
| Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |