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Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
- On an annual basis how many jurors are selected in Northern Ireland; and how many are actually sworn in and sit on a jury. [HL2585]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: In the three legal years from September 2000 to June 2003, the total number of jurors who were summoned to attend court by juries officers in Northern Ireland were as follows:
| Date | No. of Jurors |
| September 2001–June 2001 | 14,080 |
| September 2001–June 2002 | 13,800 |
| September 2002–June 2003 | 13,755 |
Approximately 28 per cent of jurors summoned are sworn in to serve on juries.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Article 4 of the Juries (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 requires that in each year the Chief Electoral Officer arranges the selection by computer from the register of electors of a sufficient number of jurors for the purpose of empanelling juries.
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: John Halliday CB submitted the report of his independent review of the Law Commission on 31 March 2003. The report praises the high quality of the commission's work while making a number of recommendations aimed at further improving the effectiveness both of the commission itself and of the overall law reform process. The Lord Chancellor welcomes the thrust of his recommendations and has asked the Ministerial Committee on the Law Commission, which I chair, to oversee the action taken on the report.
Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and will be available
on the Lord Chancellor's Department's website (www.lcd.gov.uk).
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister for Trade (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean): The official languages of the Republic of Cyprus are Greek and Turkish. Greek is already an official EU language.
In the event of a settlement in Cyprus, the terms of which the EU has affirmed on a number of occasions that it will accommodate, the acquis in the north of the island would no longer be suspended. The decision for Turkish to become an official language of the EU would be considered at this point in time.
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
From which databases jurors are selected in Northern Ireland. [HL2633]
When the quinquennial review of the Law Commission is due to report. [HL2817]
What are the official languages of the Republic of Cyprus; and, following the accession by Cyprus to membership of the European Union, whether each of these languages will be used officially by the European Union.[HL2593]
In what way would the rights of Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, under the Treaty of Guarantee for Cyprus, be changed as a result of the provisions in the United Nations Plan for a settlement in Cyprus.[HL2594]
12 May 2003 : Column WA6
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The second revised United Nations Settlement Proposal of 26 February 2003 envisages an Additional Protocol amending the Treaty of Guarantee. This amendment reaffirms the full pre-existing rights of the three guarantor powers. In addition, the guarantor powers' rights would be enhanced so that in addition to the independence, territorial integrity, security and constitutional order of Cyprus being guaranteed (as per the 1960 treaty), the amended treaty would also guarantee the territorial integrity, security and constitutional order of each of the two constituent states of a United Cyprus Republic.
The UN Proposal also envisages an Additional Protocol amending the Treaty of Alliance. This amendment reaffirms the rights of Greece and Turkey, as parties to the Treaty of Alliance, to retain troops on the island. In this case too the rights of both countries would be extended, through an increase in the number of troops that Greece and Turkey are permitted to station in Cyprus to 6,000 each (from 950 for Greece and 650 for Turkey in 1960). The amendment also removes references to a Tripartite Headquarters, as under the settlement Cyprus would, in other respects, be demilitarised.
Iraq: Antiquities
Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will veto any motion at the United Nations Security Council to lift the current regime of international sanctions prohibiting trade with Iraq until new international sanctions have been agreed and implemented to make illegal the export of antiquities and other cultural properties from Iraq to any country and also to make illegal in any country the import, export, ownership, sale or transfer of ownership of any antiquities or cultural property of possible Iraqi origin which cannot be documented as already being outside Iraq prior to the Gulf War of 1991 and the original imposition of sanctions.[HL2642]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We support the safe return of Iraqi antiquities to Iraq and we condemn illicit trade in them. We are working with Security Council members to find the best way of protecting Iraq's cultural assets in the event of sanctions lift. However, the UK will only decide how to vote at the Security Council once a draft resolution has been presented before it.
Global Opportunities Fund
Lord Gregson asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they will launch the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Global Opportunities Fund.[HL2746]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs launched the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Global Opportunities Fund (GOF) on 8 May to support the Government's key foreign policy objectives.
The fund was established in the last spending review with an allocation of £120 million for the next three years.
The GOF will be used to support existing programmes on human rights and legal reform, democracy and good governance, the environment and international security. The GOF will also support our growing science and technology work overseas.
In this first financial year, we will be launching five new GOF programmes. These reflect the FCO's public service agreements for 2003–06 as well as the emerging conclusions of the FCO's longer-term strategic review. The new programmes are:
- governance in EU accession and candidate countries and near neighbours;
- counter-terrorism;
- engagement with the Islamic world;
- climate change and energy; and
- stengthening our relations with emerging markets.
Investing in positive change of this kind has never been more important. By tackling terrorism and threats to our security, promoting good governance and human rights, and addressing injustice, poverty and conflict we promote the interests of the citizens of Britain and elsewhere. In doing so, we can only contribute to a safer, fairer and more prosperous world.
Unlawful Sex with Minors
Baroness Cox asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the number of (a) reported incidences of unlawful sex with minors; and (b) convictions for unlawful sex with minors in the years 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2001.[HL2608]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton): The available information is contained in the table.
Figures for Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Office and those for Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Office. lynne
| Number of offences Recorded crime1 | Number of persons Persons convicted | |||||||
| Offences | 1990 | 1995 | 2000–012 | 2001–02 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2001 |
| England and Wales | ||||||||
| Buggery by a male of a male under 16 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 29 | 51 | 67 |
| Buggery by a male with a female under 16 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 7 | 13 | 7 |
| Rape of a female aged under 16 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 113 | 206 | 178 |
| Rape of a male aged under 16 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 2 | 24 | 26 |
| Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 13 | 304 | 178 | 155 | 170 | 110 | 81 | 53 | 54 |
| Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16 | 2,140 | 1,260 | 1,237 | 1,336 | 304 | 203 | 214 | 214 |
| Incest with a girl under 13 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 84 | 21 | 12 | 4 |
| Total | 2,444 | 1,438 | 1,392 | 1,506 | 498 | 456 | 573 | 550 |
(1) Five of the seven offences connected with unlawful sex with minors identified in the conviction figures cannot be separately identified in the recorded crime figures as they form part of larger groups of offences of rape, buggery and incest.
(2) New Home Office rules for counting and classifying crime were introduced in April 1998. Information on recorded offences is presented on a financial year basis from that date.
.. = not available separately.
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