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Baroness Thornton asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos): The eighth round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue took place in Beijing on 15 May.
The theme of this round was the management of ethnic minority affairs. In this context, the talks in Beijing were preceded by a four-day field trip to Gansu Province where the UK delegation visited both Tibetan and Muslim minority groups. The UK delegation included a senior British expert on race relations.
At the main session of talks in Beijing, the UK delegation raised a wide range of human rights concerns including Tibet and Xinjiang; freedoms of expression, religion and association; Falun Gong; criminal justice issues, incudng the death penalty; North Korean refugees; co-operation with UN human rights mechanisms, including visits by special rapporteurs; the ratification of the ICECSR and ILO Conventions; the blocking of the BBC World Service website and Mandarin Service. The UK delegation also discussed the programmes of practical co-operation between the UK and China to promote human rights and the rule of law.
They raised over 50 individual cases of concern.
Lord Campbell of Croy asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): The available information is set out below. The figures include all incidents in which a police vehicle sustained damage, ranging from minor collisions in police station yards through to more serious accidents on public roads.
Year | Number of accidents |
199697 | 16,908 |
199798 | 16,946 |
199899 | 17,338 |
19992000 | 18,068 |
200001 | 19,266 |
Notes:
(i) The information has been provided by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), to which forces submit statistical returns.
(ii) Data for 199697 are missing from one force.
(iii) All figures are for each financial year.
Lord Jones asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to publish the report of the independent investigation into the circumstances of Paul Wright's death at Leeds prison on 7 November 1996, ordered by Mr Justice Jackson on 27 June 2001.[HL5247]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: We welcome this report, which is today being placed in the Library together with our response to the five findings and 20 recommendations made in the report. The Prison Service has previously accepted partial liability for the death of Paul Wright because failure to provide proper medical treatment was a contributory factor to his death, and in October 2000 apologised to the family, followed by an out-of-court settlement in December 2000. This independent investigation provides a very thorough review of the circumstances surrounding the death of Paul Wright and associated issues. Two of the findings reflect conflicts of evidence that are unlikely ever to be resolved.
This was a unique investigation in circumstances unlikely to be repeated, largely because changes made since 1996, including: provision of healthcare services in prison has been changed through a partnership between the Prison Service and the NHS at local, regional and national level; procedures for recruitment and supervision of prison medical officers have been improved, with training and qualification requirements tightened; and all self-inflicted deaths in prisons are now routinely investigated and investigation reports disclosed to families. In addition, a clinical review of the treatment provided to a prisoner dying in custody from natural causes routinely now takes place. Procedures for investigating all deaths in prison custody are currently under review. In parallel, a wider Home Office and government review of investigations and inquiries is taking place against a background of emerging jurisprudence from both the domestic and European courts. This investigation has provided some valuable insights which will help inform this debate, specifically in relation to the introduction of independence in future investigations.
We hope that the changes which have been made show that we are trying to learn from what has happened as a result of our failure to look after Paul Wright in the way that we should have done.
Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Filkin): This information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only by examining the individual case files of every woman removed under Immigration Act powers over the period in question, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Filkin: Where a person has been arrested and taken to a police station, they will have access to the services of a duty solicitor. Where they are detained in a removals centre, they will have advice about how to contact one of the free legal services. In the case of a minor, the local social services would be informed automatically. They may also be brought in for other cases.
Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Filkin: This information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only by examining the individual case files of every woman removed under Immigration Act powers over the period in question, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Lord Monro of Langholm asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Question relates to evidence in the Lockerbie trial. The prosecution of crime in Scotland is the responsibility of the Lord Advocate and I understand he will shortly be writing to the noble Lord about this issue.
Lord Rogan asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker): All flags, including the European Union flag, are classified as outdoor advertisements and as such are controlled by the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. Under the regulations, advertisements on vehicles may be lawfully displayed without consent provided the vehicle is normally employed as a moving vehicle.
Viscount Astor asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Rooker: The word "Lottery" refers to the National Lottery represented by the Millennium Commission.
Baroness Darcy de Knayth asked Her Majesty's Government:
What policy decisions they are making on the basis of the apparent decrease in the likelihood that special educational needs pupils will be permanently excluded from schools.[HL5104]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): We have no plans to change our policy based on one year's set of figures. We welcome the downward trend in the permanent exclusion of statemented pupils but will continue to monitor the figures closely.
Baroness Darcy de Knayth asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many women known to have been working in the sex industry have been deported in the last 18 months.[HL4803]
What legal and social services are made available to women working in the sex industry after their detention and prior to their deportation.[HL4804]
What details of age and origin are available on women who have been known to have been working in the sex industry and who have been deported.[HL4805]
What plans there are for the disposal of the wreckage of Boeing 747 Pan Am 103 presently stored at Farnborough and in Lincolnshire; what is the cost of the storage at each site; and who is responsible for payment. [HL4247]
Whether vehicle registration plates which incorporate the European Union flag are classified as an "outdoor advertisement" under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992. [HL4886]
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 26 June (WA 138) that, "The division of proceeds between English Partnerships and the lottery has not been fully agreed", what the word "Lottery" refers to. [HL5116]
How they explain the contradiction between the apparent decrease in the number of pupils who have special educational needs statements and who have been permanently excluded from schools and the increase in the number of pupils who have special educational needs statements and who are registered in pupil referral units.[HL5109]
11 Jul 2002 : Column WA105
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Not all pupils registered in pupil referral units are excluded pupils, so it is not necessarily the case that trends in PRU pupil numbers would follow those for permanent exclusions whether for statemented pupils or more generally. We are pleased to see the apparent decrease in the numbers of statemented pupils permanently excluded. There have been changes in the way the figures are collected so we intend to continue to monitor the figures to see whether these figures are sustained.
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