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Police Authorities: Promotion of Racial Equality
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether it is compatible for police constabularies or police authorities in England and Wales which are required to promote good race relations in accordance with the new duty imposed under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 also to provide protection to extremist organisations holding extremist rallies.[HL6008]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Filkin): Public authorities listed in Schedule 1A to the Race Relations Act 1976, as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, are subject to the duty to promote race equality. These include police authorities. The duty requires public authorities, in carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good race relations between persons of different racial groups.
People are free to assemble and to express views with which the Government may profoundly disagree so long as they do not breach the law. Decisions about how to police public assemblies are the responsibility of individual chief police officers. But we would expect these policing functions to be carried out in compliance with the duty.
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What advice the Home Secretary receives, and from whom, on policies and practices to be pursued
- to achieve racial equality and good race relations in England and Wales. [HL6009]
Lord Filkin: The Home Secretary receives advice from a wide range of bodies including the Lawrence Steering Group, the Community Cohension Panel, the Race Equality Advisory Panel, the Race Equality Adviser to the Permanent Secretary, the Commission for Racial Equality and from the Race Equality Unit at the Home Office.
Newspaper Industry: Taxes
Baroness Howe of Idlicote asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What forms of general taxation, local or national, are levied on the newspaper industry; and how much revenue results. [HL5886]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The newspaper industry as a whole pays a wide range of taxes; in particular corporation tax, local business rates, stamp duty, employer national insurance and capital gains tax. The sale of newspapers is zero rated for VAT purposes. Figures published on the Inland Revenue website show receipts of corporation tax for 1999–2000 in the transport and communications sector at £1,285 million; figures for other industries are also given.
A breakdown of revenue from the newspaper industry could be obtained only at disproportionate cost; there is also the issue of how to classify a company with more than one principal activity, with many large media groups encompassing a wide range of activities.
Alternative Investment Market: Stamp Duty
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the revenue yield from stamp duty charged on transactions on the alternative investment market in the last two years for which records are available. [HL5909]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost, as the computer system recording receipt of stamp duty on shares cannot routinely produce reports by listing status.
Immigration: Population Trends
Baroness Masham of Ilton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 3 July (WA 40), what number of people immigrating annually to the United Kingdom would be needed to prevent:
(a) a decline the size of the United Kingdom population;
(b) a decline in the size of the population of working age in the United Kingdom; and
(c) an increase in the ratio between the population of working age and the retired in the United Kingdom. [HL5956]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: These questions were addressed in an article in the spring 2001 issue (No 103) of Population Trends 1 , which is available in the Library and from the National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vink=6303.
In this article future trends in population size, age structure and support ratios (the ratio of people of working age to those of pensionable age) were considered under a variety of different assumptions about future fertility and net international migration. (Net migration is the difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants.) Assumed mortality improvements were taken from the then current principal national population projection produced by the Government Actuary's department.
In the current national population projections, the population of the United Kingdom is projected to continue to increase until around the year 2040 and then to start to decline. In theory, a number of different combinations of future fertility and net migration levels could prevent the total population, and the working age population, from declining in size. For example, the article concluded that with the then current fertility assumptions from the principal, national population projection, annual net inward migration of 145,000 persons a year would produce approximate stability in both total population size and in the size of the working age population in the second half of this century.
The effect of different levels of net migration on support ratios is a more complex issue and is discussed fully in the article in Population Trends 103.
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker): The table below sets out the transport projects approved under the 2000–06 objective 1 structural funds programmes in England.
1 Shaw C. United Kingdom population trends in the 21st century. Population Trends 103, TSO (2001) pp 37–46.
In respect of each English region eligible for objective 1 funding, Cornwall, including the Isles of Scilly, Merseyside and South Yorkshire, (a) for which transport projects application for funding under the European Communities objective 1 programme has been made for the period 2000 to 2006; (b) those for which funds have been awarded; and (c) how much funding from the Government and the European Community has been allocated to each of the latter projects.[HL5906]
Region Name of transport scheme Approved for Objective 1 funding (Yes/No) Total amount of funding from Objective 1 (£M) Total amount of funding from government (£M)
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Connecting Cornwall: project to help develop and implement transport strategy in the County Yes 0.17 0
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Newquay Cornwall Airport Business Development: to develop opportunities to invest in and improve airport facilities Yes 0.22 0
Merseyside Port of Liverpool—Strategic Transport Access Study (Applicant—Sefton MBC) Yes 0.18 0.02
Merseyside St Helens Eastern Approach Phase 1: Corporation Street Bridge (Applicant—St Helens MBC) Yes 0.34 0
Merseyside Axis/River Alt Footpath (Applicant—Liverpool City Council) Yes 0.07 0.009
Merseyside New Pathways Bus Links to Atlantic Gateway SIA (Applicant—Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority) Yes 0.25 0.62
Merseyside Pathways Bus Links (Huyton/Prescot) (Applicant—Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority) Yes 0.94 0.48
Merseyside Pathways Bus Links (Kirkby/Gillmoss) (Applicant—Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority) Yes 0.41 0.62
Merseyside LTP Smart Scheme A—Stage One (Applicant—Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority) Yes 1.55 0
Merseyside Bus Priority Measures One—Chalon Way Bus Gate (Applicant—St Helens MBC) Yes 0.12 0
Merseyside LTP Smart Scheme Q—incorporating St Helens Centre (Applicant —Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority) Yes 1.10 0.3
Merseyside LTP Smart Scheme E (Applicant—Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority) Yes 1.23 0
Merseyside Local Initiative For Transport (LIFT) (Applicant—Liverpool City Council) Yes 0.08 0.14
Merseyside Northwood Star Community Transport) (Applicant—Merseyside Community Transport) Yes 0.05 0.049
South Yorkshire M1 Junction 31-32 Widening Yes (Design Phase) 0.39 0.72
South Yorkshire M1 Junction 32-33 Widening Yes (Design Phase) 0.42 0.78
South Yorkshire M1 Junction 33 Improvements Yes (Design Phase) 0.39 0.72
South Yorkshire M1 Junction 33-34 Widening Yes (Design Phase) 0.42 0.78
South Yorkshire M1 Junction 36-37 Widening Yes (Design Phase) 0.70 1.30
South Yorkshire M18 Junction 2-3 Widening Yes (Design Phase) 0.28 0.52
South Yorkshire Halfpenny Bridge Transportation Initiative Yes (Design Phase) 0.34 0.64
South Yorkshire Supertram Extension Yes (Feasibility stage) 0.09 0.16
South Yorkshire Sheffield—Barnsley—Leeds Rail service—infrastructure and rolling stock imps. Yes (Feasibility stage) 0.04 0.08
South Yorkshire PICASSO (two fully accessible minibuses) Yes 0.21 0.75
South Yorkshire Star Line (one stop shop for access to training and employment) No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.16 0.32
South Yorkshire Dunscroft Community Bus No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.23 0.23
South Yorkshire Heeley Community Transport No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.06 0.06
South Yorkshire North Sheffield Link Service No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.40 0.30
South Yorkshire Transport for all project No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.01 0.01
South Yorkshire Dearne Valley Playbus No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.16 0.16
South Yorkshire Coalfields Community Transport No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.30 0.30
South Yorkshire Community Transport Skillbuild No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.22 0.21
South Yorkshire Sheffield East End Transport Solutions No (approved in principle, working up application) 0.18 0.18
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