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Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June (WA 200), whether the answer that no British citizen in any European Union country had been held for over three months without being charged meant that each prisoner in each country at that date had been told he would definitely stand trial; and, if not, what is the meaning of "without being charged" in the Answer.[HL4678]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: I confirm that in my reply to the noble Lord, Lord Lamont of Lerwick on 6 June, my answer that no British citizen, of whom we were aware, in any European Union country had been held for three months without being charged, meant that each prisoner in each country had been charged with a crime constituting an offence in the country in question.
Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June (WA 200), how many prisoners in each European Union country were held for over six months at 31 March 2003 without being given bail.[HL4679]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June (WA 200), how many British citizens in each country in the European Union held for over three months on 31 March 2003 without being given bail were subsequently released without standing trial.[HL4680]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Lord Lamont of Lerwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 6 June (WA 200), how many British citizens in each country in the European Union held for over six months on 31 March 2003 without being given bail were subsequently released without standing trial.[HL4681]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Ethiopia and Eritrea: Boundary Commission Decision
Baroness Williams of Crosby asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they are urging Ethiopia and Eritrea to accept the conclusions of the Boundary Commission on the location of the border between the two states and to implement those conclusions.[HL4685]
Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The UK has stressed to the Ethiopian Government, at the highest level, that the decision of the Boundary Commission is legally binding and should be complied with. We have stressed to the Eritrean Government, again at the highest level, the importance of engaging in a political dialogue with Ethiopia to facilitate the normalisation of relations.
Racial Discrimination: EC Legislation
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have the capacity and means to ascertain the manner in which member states of the European Union have excluded discrimination based on colour from their domestic legislation implementing the Race Directive.[HL4619]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The Government do have such capacity and means, in as much as they are able to seek information from contacts in the European Commission and other European organisations.
However, legislative arrangements vary from member state to member state and each member state will have to implement the directive in the way most appropriate to its own arrangements. The position on colour in the other states does not necessarily have an impact on, or relevance to, the position in the UK.
Immigration Policy: ECJ Ruling in Akrich Case
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Following the European Court ruling in the case of Hacene Akrich, the United Kingdom remains sovereign in respect of its immigration policy. [HL4627]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Following the European Court of Justice case of Surinder Singh, which was delivered in 1992, the non-EEA family member of a British national, who has legally resided in another member state, may claim a right to enter and remain in the UK under EC law instead of the UK's Immigration Rules. In the European Court of Justice case of Akrich, the court was asked to determine whether a member state could refuse to apply the Surinder Singh judgment to a British citizen who had deliberately moved to another member state with the express intention of creating an initial right of residence in the UK for their third country national spouse.
The court found that third country national spouses of EU nationals can only benefit from EC law if they have legally resided in another EU state before they first came to the UK.
This court ruling supports the UK's view that third country nationals who are illegally in the UK, and marry British citizens, should not be able to use EC law to remain here. It will allow the UK to continue to be able to apply its national immigration legislation in such cases.
Animal Procedures Committee: Annual Report 2002
Baroness David asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they plan to publish the Animal Procedures Committee report for 2002.[HL4903]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: In accordance with Section 20(5) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, I have placed the committee's annual report for 2002 in the Library today. The report includes the committee's consideration of particular licence applications and its consideration of enforcement and compliance issues.
Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, in view of the lack of agreement in the Select Committee on Religious Offences on whether it is expedient to repeal the Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860, they will collect information from the courts of details of the conduct giving rise to prosecutions under the Act, the outcome of the cases, and the sentences passed on conviction, so that Parliament may have the material on which to form a judgment on the susceptibility of that conduct to prosecution under other statutes. [HL3987]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I do not know whether it will prove practicable to obtain the information, but we will look into the matter and I will write to the noble Lord as soon as possible.
Supporting People Programme
Baroness David asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How much has been allocated for the first year of the Supporting People programme, and what are the plans for future funding. [HL4904]
The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker): Supporting People programme went live on 1 April. The programme provides services which help vulnerable people—including victims of domestic violence, older people and teenage parents—live independently in their accommodation.
The Government have today announced a grant allocation of £1.8 billion for the first year of the programme. Officials will be writing to local authorities individually to confirm allocations for 2003–04.
The Government have also set up an independent review to gauge the true picture of how the funding is being utilised. The review will report by Christmas and will inform local authority budget allocation decisions for the next financial year.
This review is in the context of the growth of the transitional housing benefit element of Supporting People, which has increased by £400 million from the original estimates by local authorities, which were announced in February. In all there are now an estimated 250,000 units of housing support, excluding sheltered and community alarms, compared to fewer than 100,000 estimated in 2000.
The review will specifically consider:
- the considerable variations between authorities' costs and patterns of service provision;
- services which were previously paid for out of other budgets where it is unclear how the resulting savings have been re-deployed; and
- whether the programme is meeting its original objectives, including schemes which raise
- questions about compliance with grant conditions.
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory: Key Targets 2003–04
Lord Peston asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What key targets have been set for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory for financial year 2003–04.[HL4907]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): The following key targets have been set for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory for financial year 2003–04:
- propose simpler method of measuring customer satisfaction and at least maintain overall satisfaction and improved customer understanding of Dstl by 2005;
- maintain and by the end of a three-year period show an increase in scores for scientific and engineering capability in the technical benchmarking exercise;
- maintain accreditation to ISO9001: 2000, Good Laboratory Practice, IiP and other mandated quality and safety standards; implement all recommendations arising from the safety, health, environment and fire (SHEF) audits and board of inquiry;
- achieve a return on capital employed (ROCE) of 6.5 per cent for 2003–04 and a MoD dividend of £3 million per year; Capital employed will equate to the total assets from which shall be deducted the total of current liabilities;
- maintain the average charge rate for manpower for 2003–04 and beyond below that for 2001–02 uplifted by GDP deflator;
- achieve planned progress on site rationalisation to meet the 2006 date for transfer of Dstl staff to the new core site; and
- agree and implement a Dstl diversity action plan.
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