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Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What their assessment is of the potential conflict between the detention of children seeking asylum and Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.[HL3845]
Lord Rooker: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children are not detained other than in the most exceptional circumstances and then only overnight with appropriate care.
Detention of children as part of a family unit is not a step to be taken lightly. In each case careful assessment of the need for detention is undertaken.
When children and families are detained they are accommodated in special family units within dedicated family wings of the removal centre. These areas provide a safe and protected environment for children, where their welfare and care are a primary concern.
Race Monitor
Baroness Thornton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they intend to appoint the Race Monitor under Section 19E of the Race Relations Act 1976, as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.[HL4048]
Lord Rooker: We are pleased to say that Ms Mary Coussey has been appointed as the Race Monitor and that she has taken up post. Ms Coussey has been asked to make an interim report in September 2002, which will be made publicly available, and to make her first annual report to Parliament in March 2003.
Treasury: Assets of Cultural Significance
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will list and provide valuations for the "250 items of furniture, fittings and artefacts classified as antiques" described in the entry for the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments in the National Asset Register.[HL3741]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Treasury's antique assets comprise 16 items of silverware to the value of £1.2 million; furniture (779 individual items, many grouped in sets, at a total value of £415,000); 127 fixtures and fittings (£95,000); and 42 miscellaneous items (£56,000).
Government Contracts: Security and Competitive Tendering
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether any contracts, apart from the PowerJect contract, have been awarded by government departments without competitive tendering on national security grounds since 11 September 2001.[HL3906]
Viscount Goschen asked Her Majesty's Government:
On what occasions the requirement for the Government to engage in a competitive tendering process has been waived on the grounds of national security.[HL3877]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: No central records are maintained on individual procurements or the procurement routes used. Responsibility and accountability for procurement is delegated to departmental accounting officers. Therefore the information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Janice
Public Sector Jobs
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 15 April (HL Deb, cols. 681–82), whether they will provide a fuller analysis of the figure of 140,000 additional public sector jobs created between 1997 and 2000. [HL3907]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Detailed information is available in an article on "Jobs in the Public and Private Sectors", published by the Office for National Statistics in Economic Trends No 571 June 2001, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. The article gives a detailed analysis, including figures that show an increase in total public sector headcount from 4,954 thousand in 1997 to 5,093 thousand in 2000, which is the increase given as 140,000 in my previous answer.
Privy Council Silver
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 22 April (WA3):
(a) whether they will name the relevant institutions which have been identified to bid at the sale of the Privy Council silver;
(b) who was responsible for identifying the relevant institutions; and
(c) by what criteria the institutions were identified. [HL4002]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Treasury's adviser, Bonhams, has helped to compile a list of institutions which may be interested in purchasing these items for display to the UK public. No more detailed criteria as to suitability have yet been applied to this list. The list of potential purchasers is commercially sensitive and it would be inappropriate to disclose it, as provided for in Exemption 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
shirley
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): Records of the numbers of Fijians who have joined the Army are available only since 1998. There are no records of any Fijians having joined the Royal Navy or the Royal Air Force in that time. The information requested is as follows:
Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Bach: Allocations for mileage covered by tracked vehicles are determined by the role and the required readiness states of units and formations. The track mileage required to support the Army's training programme is provided by the users of the vehicles (Land Command and the Army Training and Recruiting Agency (ATRA)) to the Defence Logistics Organisation by means of a customer/supplier agreement. This process ensures that the activity level planned is supportable and sustainable within resource limits. During the training year Land Command and ATRA monitor and report track mileage so that adjustments reallocations can be made if needed.
Janice
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Bach: I will write to the noble Lord and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Bach: Five key targets have been set for the Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency for the financial year 2002–03.
The first three key targets apply to projects covered by the major projects report which have passed their main gate approval. Key Targets 2 and 3 are consistent with goals set in the department's public service agreement (PSA), adapted to cover cumulative performance. The fourth key target relates to improvements in DPA customer satisfaction and the fifth to the costs of running the agency. The key targets are:
Key Target 1: Key requirements compliance.
Predicted achievement of customers' core requirements for projects 1 97 per cent.
Key Target 2: Average cumulative in-service date slippage.
Average cumulative slippage of in-service dates 2 at 31 March 2003 not to exceed 12.1 months.
Key Target 3: Average cumulative cost growth.
Average cumulative cost variation 3 at 31 March 2003 not to exceed 2.2 per cent.
Key Target 4: Customer survey satisfaction rating.
Customer satisfaction rating 70 per cent 4 .
Key Target 5: Agency running costs.
No excess against DPA resource control totals.
How many Fijian nationals have been recruited by the armed forces in each year since 1995.[HL3801]
Calendar year Officer and soldier intake of those with a recorded nationality of Fijian
1998 17
1999 53
2000 472
2001 364
Total 906
How the Army controls the amount of mileage covered by armoured tracked vehicles; and what measures and methods are used.[HL3849]
Further to the Written Answer by the Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, on 5 November 2001 (HC Deb, 23W), whether they will give full details of the approximately 250 "significant antiques" and 800 works of fine art held by the Ministry of Defence. [HL3865]
What key targets have been set for the Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency for the Financial Year 2002–03. [HL3990]
1 Up to 10 core requirements per project are agreed between the DPA and Ministry of Defence headquarters, defining the essential characteristics of the equipment.
2 Variation between in-service date (ISD) approved at "main gate" (the major investment decision point) and currently predicted ISD. Cumulative target of 12.1 months includes 11.7 months average slippage already incurred on the relevant project population. The in-year target is for no more than 0.4 months average new slippage.
3 Variation between cost approved at main gate and current estimate. The average cost growth already incurred on the relevant project population amounts to 2.2 per cent: the in-year target is, therefore, for 0 per cent average cost growth.
4 Aim is to secure 80 per cent satisfaction rating by 2005–06 which would place the DPA among best performers for analogous organisations; 70 per cent would be an incremental improvement on last year's rating of 67 per cent.
shirley
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