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Baroness Hollis of Heigham: Yes, my Lords. I know that this has been an area in which your Lordships have been very active and noble Lords have been strenuous in promoting this way forward. As I said, I believe that we have a record of which we can all be hugely proud.
Lord Addington: My Lords, does the Minister agree that one lesson that we should take from this legislation is that a very long run-in time leads to confusion? People panic during the initial period; they
discover that they have a long run-in period; they do nothing; and then they panic towards the end. Does the noble Baroness agree that any future legislation should have the shortest manageable run-in period because that makes life far simpler?
Baroness Hollis of Heigham: My Lords, I am not sure that I agree with the noble Lord. The point that I was trying to make in answer to my noble friend's first supplementary question was that the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 helped to change people's attitudes and minds, and I give credit to the then government. People do not now ask, "Am I abiding by the law?"; they say, "It is good to bring services to disabled people and it is good to have a diverse workforce that reflects the customer base of our organisation". That legislation has changed minds and that takes time, particularly if, for example, in the field of transport, extremely heavy costs are involved.
Lord Swinfen: My Lords, I understand that the Disability Rights Commission helpline is already well over-subscribed. Will the Government be making additional resources available to combat that and, if not, why not?
Baroness Hollis of Heigham: My Lords, I presume that the noble Lord is referring to the helpline of the Disability Rights Commission rather than to the helpline of the Government. The noble Lord nods. There has certainly been a substantial increase in the number of inquiries received by the helpline. I believe that approximately a third of its inquiries are now from employers and I expect that number to rise. But the budgets are negotiated between those running the helpline and the DRC, and they have received useful increments.
Lord Skelmersdale: My Lords, we are talking about the extension of rights for disabled people. Does the noble Baroness accept that with rights go responsibilities and that therefore it would be unreasonable to expect more workplace adaptations than are necessary for an individual member of staff or, indeed, customer?
Baroness Hollis of Heigham: My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord—this may be where he is coming from—that we should not expect employers to make adjustments to their premises in anticipation of having a disabled employee, partly because what may be necessary for someone who is hard of hearing—for example, a radio loop—might be completely irrelevant for someone in a wheelchair.
However, it is the case that service providers tend to make "anticipatory adjustments" in order to attract a customer base. In the process they have found that that has increased access not only for disabled customers but for elderly customers, parents with children in pushchairs and the like. While I agree with the noble Lord as far as concerns employers, we should recognise that anticipatory adjustments may be very sensible for service providers.
Honduras: Financial Assistance
3 p.m.
The Lord Bishop of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What financial or other assistance they have provided to the Honduran Government since the beginning of 2000; and what support they are providing for the development of the Mosquitia region in the east of the country.
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): My Lords, since 2000, Britain has provided technical assistance to Honduras to the value of some £3 million. In addition, we provide resources through multilateral donors. In 2001, the latest year for which figures are available, our multilateral contribution amounted to £23 million, including £5 million through the EC. Through the Civil Society Challenge Fund and Joint Funding Scheme, we provided £1.3 million support over the period 2000–04, including supporting a £114,538 grant for a project in the Mosquitia region.
The Lord Bishop of Liverpool: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her Answer. I have just returned from a visit to that region. What is the attitude of Her Majesty's Government to the renewed plans by the Honduran Government to dam the Patuca river in the Mosquitia region of the country, and what assistance might the Government provide to their government to protect the region's indigenous population and the richly biodiverse environment on which the people depend?
Baroness Amos: My Lords, I agree with the right reverend Prelate that the region is very poor. However, there are 62,000 Mosquitia people in a population that includes some 4 million others who are equally poor. One of the things we must do is to help the Honduran Government to raise the living standards for all poor people. That is what we seek to do through our support for their poverty reduction strategy process. We are very pleased that the IMF has just released money through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility.
On the environment, we have helped in many ways, but we have decided that our focus has to be on HIV/AIDS and poverty reduction.
Lord Avebury: My Lords, I recognise that the Government have done something to alleviate the vast problems of poverty in Honduras. However, are not the amounts mentioned by the noble Baroness minuscule compared with the 4.4 billion dollars of foreign debt which burdens Honduras? Has any progress been made in forgiving or eliminating that debt? Can the Minister also say whether Honduras has made any progress in reducing its fiscal deficit to the level required by its 2001 IMF agreement and whether we are giving Honduras any technical help in that regard?
Baroness Amos: My Lords, perhaps I may say to the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, that Honduras is one of
the most heavily aided countries in the world. While our contribution is relatively low, in 2002 net ODA was over 60 dollars per person, compared with 36 dollars in Malawi and 17 dollars in Rwanda. One of the problems is that Honduras has so much aid resource that much of its capacity is used up in implementing that aid.With regard to HIPC, Honduras reached its decision point in June 2000 with an estimated 566 million dollars of HIPC relief in net present value terms envisaged. There was a hiatus in its reform programme. Completion point is now not expected until next year, but currently it receives some 100 million dollars a year in interim debt relief.
Baroness Rawlings: My Lords, what pressure has Her Majesty's Government put on the Honduras Government to set up a foster care programme to take all the homeless children off the streets?
Baroness Amos: My Lords, I am not aware of any pressure from us in respect of a foster care programme. The noble Baroness may be aware that the noble Baroness, Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer, has asked me a number of Questions on street children in the region. In November last year, I placed a document in the Library of the House which set out all the various projects we are funding in Latin America, including a couple of projects in Honduras. We have sought to deal with that by way of contact with individual governments but also on a regional basis.
Lord Hylton: My Lords, are the Government aware of the extent of murders of young people in the main Honduran cities? Have they been able to assist the Honduran Government with gun control and police training? Lastly, is there any hope that Her Majesty's Government might be able to mediate between the United States authorities and those in Honduras on the question of youth deportation?
Baroness Amos: My Lords, the issue of gangs and deportation of criminals from the United States back to Honduras is a major problem not just in Honduras; it is also a problem in the Caribbean, as well as other parts of Latin America. We are very conscious of the impact on Honduran society. We have been working with the Hondurans on this, not through gun control and police training but through our programme which seeks to control illicit drugs in the country.
Baroness Thomas of Walliswood: My Lords, the Minister referred to a dam. Who is supporting the building of that dam? Has an environmental audit been made of its effect, and has any effort been made, as is currently the case with work of this kind supported by the World Bank, to involve local people in coping with the social and other side-effects of the building of a dam?
Baroness Amos: My Lords, I did not refer to the building of a dam. I think that that was mentioned by the right reverend Prelate in his supplementary
question. I do not know whether there has been an environmental audit. The noble Baroness is right; the World Bank carries out consultation processes on such issues. I shall find out and write to the noble Baroness.Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill
3.7 p.m.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): My Lords, I beg to move that the House do now resolve itself into Committee on this Bill.
Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Baroness Scotland of Asthal.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
House in Committee accordingly.
[THE CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES in the Chair.]
Clause 1 agreed to.
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