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EU Battlegroups
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will accelerate the ready-for-action timetables for the first European Security and Defence Policy battlegroups which are now on standby. [HL1242]
Lord Bach: The two EU battlegroups on standby for the current period, provided by the United Kingdom and France, are already at very high readiness.
HMS "Dasher"
Lord MacKenzie of Culkein asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will release all details of the hydrographical surveys carried out on the hull of the aircraft carrier HMS "Dasher", which exploded and sank in the Firth of Clyde on 27 March 1943. [HL1300]
Lord Bach: Surveys carried out on and around the hull of HMS "Dasher", up to and including information concerning the wreck provided to the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office in October 2000, are available for public inspection at the UK Hydrographic Office, Admiralty Way, Taunton TA1 2DN. Details on access to this site are available on the UK Hydrographic Office's website www.ukho.gov.uk.
The wreck was examined by a diving party in March 1982 and positively identified as HMS "Dasher". A later survey was conducted in March 1984. HMS "Dasher" was designated as a protected military wreck by Statutory Instrument 1761–02.
Copies of the information available for public inspection can be provided to private researchers (the costs for this service can be supplied on request to research@ukho.gov.uk).
Military Transport Aircraft
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their general policy on the installation of defensive suites to military transport aircraft; and how extensively they are installed. [HL1327]
Lord Bach: Military transport aircraft are fitted with defensive aids suites appropriate to their role for any given mission or operation. As a general policy, sets of equipment are procured for a proportion of each fleet as it is prohibitive to procure a fleet-wide fit. All of the Hercules C-130K fleet and about half of the 25 Hercules C-130J fleet are equipped with infra-red defensive countermeasures. Additionally, some of these aircraft have an enhanced defensive capability. Tristar passenger aircraft and the C-17 transport aircraft were all recently fitted with advanced defensive countermeasures for operations in Iraq. Further details of systems fitted to individual aircraft are classified.
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Council Tax
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much the average council tax increase has been across England and Wales in each year since its introduction. [HL1215]
The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker): The average increases in council taxes in England for each year since its introduction are shown in Table 2.2e of Local Government Financial Statistics, England, No. 15 2004, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The table can also be found at www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/lgfs/lgfs15/tables/lgfs15–2–2e.xls.
Figures for Wales are the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly Government.
Devolution and Regional Assemblies: Electors in England
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Filkin on 23 February 2004 (WA 10), whether in the light of their withdrawal of the policy for establishing elected assemblies in those English regions that want them, electors in England now experience a democratic deficit compared to those in Scotland. [HL1195]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): The Government do not believe that electors in England experience a democratic deficit compared to those in Scotland. England continues to have a strong voice at Westminster with over 80 per cent of the Members of the UK Parliament representing English constituencies.
Government Departments: Personal Information Databases
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 4 February (WA 72), which databases that hold personal information on individual citizens are currently maintained by:
(b) the Department for Work and Pensions;
(c) the Department for Education and Skills;
(d) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs;
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Further to my previous Answer, the information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, as no
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central record is kept of databases maintained by government departments. Many departments maintain several databases holding personal information on individuals for differing purposes. For example, my own department's court service maintains a database of court records; the Home Office, inter alia, holds separate information in respect of immigration, passports and the prisons service; and the DWP has separate databases on retirement pension, income support, child support, invalidity benefit and many others.
Pensions
Lord MacKenzie of Culkein asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the United Kingdom does not pay annual increases in respect of expatriate retirement pensions, in line with other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries; and [HL1297]
What criteria are used to decide that annual increases in expatriate retirement pensions should be paid in some countries, such as Malta, Jamaica and the United States, but not in others, such as Australia, Canada and South Africa; and [HL1298]
Whether the matter of indexation of United Kingdom retirement pensions has been raised in bilateral discussions between the United Kingdom and Australian governments since 1997; and, if so, with what outcome. [HL1299]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): The UK state pension is payable to all those who satisfy the conditions of entitlement regardless of where they choose to live during retirement. Where a person is living outside the UK the state pension is uprated if there is a legal requirement or a reciprocal agreement to do so. In some respects these arrangements are more generous than those applied to the payment of pensions abroad by other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries; for example, restricting the exportability of the pension to claims made from within the country and paying exported pensions at a lower rate.
However, the non-uprating of state pensions in certain countries is the subject of an appeal to the House of Lords from a decision of the Court of Appeal which found in favour of the Government. We will respond accordingly at the hearing which is set for 28 February and 1 March this year.
Since 1997, there have been two meetings between the UK and Australian governments at which the issue of the uprating of UK state pensions to persons living in Australia was discussed.
At the first meeting on 12 July 1999, the Australian government stated their intention to terminate the reciprocal social security agreement with the UK, giving the reason as the refusal of successive British governments to uprate UK state pensions paid in Australia. Formal notification was of this given on 1 March 2000 and the agreement was terminated from 1 March 2001.
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At the second meeting on 9 October 2002, the issue of uprating was raised again by the Australian government. The UK Government's response was that the position and policy on the issue remained unchanged.
Fairclough Report
Baroness Perry of Southwark asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Sainsbury of Turville on 27 January (WA 183), whether they have acted on Sir John Fairclough's recommendation that "Government should reconsider its level of investment in research and development to support improvement in the construction industry". [HL1246]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): The publication of Sir John's report was followed by a more major review of government policies which impact on innovation. The innovation report was published in December 2003 and examined investment by the Government in R&D and wider innovation across the whole UK economy.
One of the main findings of the report was that a step change was needed in the way government supported research and development to enable us to achieve real impact from our investment.
The DTI's subsequent business support review led to the development of a number of generic support products within the technology strategy, no longer linked to individual sectors such as construction, but focusing the funds we have available on supporting industry-led technological development in areas with clear market focus and delivering broader public benefits. This mirrored Sir John Fairclough's recommendation that funding programmes should be targeted at competitiveness issues and should withdraw from short-term knowledge-transfer and incremental improvement.
It is too early to say what level of support the construction industry will be able to obtain from the new strategy, and how this will compare to the previous levels of funding available to the sector.
A number of the competitions to date have had a clear relevance to the construction industry and the modem built environment is recognised by the Technology Strategy Board as a key area for improvement. The onus is however on the sector itself to take advantage of funding opportunities as they arise.
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