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Race Relations
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures they have taken to tackle racist attitudes and ethnic segregation following the disturbances in the northern towns in 2001; and whether they have made an assessment of the impact of these measures. [HL5233]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Home Office has had a public service agreement (PSA) since 2002 to bring about measurable improvements in race equality and community cohesion across a range of performance indicators, as part of the Government's objectives on equality and social inclusion. This PSA target was rolled forward in 2004 to "reduce race inequalities and build community cohesion".
In 2005, the Government published Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society, the first cross-departmental strategy to increase community cohesion and race equality, which includes a focus on ensuring that racism is unacceptable by improving the way in which the police and other agencies handle reports of racist or religiously motivated incidents; improving the reporting of racially motivated incidents; ensuring vigorous prosecution of racially and religiously aggravated offences; reducing racist reoffending; and providing greater support for victims and witnesses. In addition, for example, we have passed the new Racial and Religious Hatred Act; introduced citizenship education in secondary schools; launched a non-statutory framework for religious education; and established Holocaust memorial day. All of that will help with tackling racist attitudes.
The Government are also ensuring that community cohesion is mainstreamed into all areas of work. For example, it has been embedded into the comprehensive performance assessment process. The Home Office and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are also working with Government Offices to incorporate community cohesion into the local area agreements. An action guide on community cohesion was revised in 2004 to assist local authorities and their partners. An £18 million Connecting Communities Plus grants programme over three years was launched in October. It will provide funding for race equality and community cohesion projects from 2006–07 to underpin the strategy.
Measures have been taken to tackle ethnic segregation, particularly in housing, education and the workplace. In housing, one of the practical measures preventing communities becoming more segregated is
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a choice-based lettings scheme, which crucially has provided people with practical support in moving into areas that they may not traditionally have seen as being for them. In addition, we are looking at a new approach to creating what we call "mixed communities" in areas of disadvantage.
We want schools to have well balanced intakes, and we endorse the use of banding in the schools White Paper, as it tends to produce genuinely comprehensive school populations. Building on the good work that already takes place in many areas, the White Paper also sets out our plans to develop further networking and collaboration between schools, such as between schools with very different ethnic populations.
The Government's ethnic minority employment task force is committed to increasing the percentage of people from ethnic minorities and reducing the difference from the overall employment rate. Also, the ethnic minority outreach programme, funded by Jobcentre Plus, involves private and voluntary organisations reaching people who do not normally engage with Jobcentre or other services and helping them to find a job or become more employable. Progress against the current PSA target is published in the annual autumn performance report. We will publish an annual review of progress against the strategy in summer 2006.
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How they have tackled the issues of misinformation and lack of effective engagement with all communities through appropriate communications, which were identified as key issues causing racial conflict in the report Community Pride, not Prejudice, which preceded the disturbances in Bradford in 2001. [HL5234]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: These issues are important themes in the Government's work to build community cohesion and empower people to influence decisions. Community Pride, not Prejudice highlighted how perceptions by one group that it is treated less favourably than another can lead to community tension. To help overcome this, the Home Office and the ODPM jointly published, in 2003 and 2004, advice for people responsible for designing area-based initiatives and for local residents and practitioners who deliver such initiatives. The advice emphasises the importance of preparing established residents for change; involving local people in deciding funding priorities; and keeping residents fully informed of the reasoning behind the allocation of funding. The ODPM is encouraging stakeholders to take account of these principles, particularly in the Thames Gateway programme and the mixed communities approach.
The Government have supported the publication in 2004 and 2005 of guidance by a number of agencies to help ensure that the media report matters affecting cohesion in a way that avoids inflaming tensions and to help councils work with the media to achieve that. The Government believe that that engagement with all sections of local communities is vital to the successful delivery of public policies and services and contributes
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to the building of cohesive communities. Together We Can is a cross-government initiative to empower more people to influence decisions. Practical measures include the establishment of the "civic pioneers" network of local authorities to share good practice on engagement and the "Active Learning for Active Citizens" programme, which provides citizenship education to adults. Youth engagement initiatives include a project with the UK Youth Parliament to explore the use of video to capture community views and to present young people's views.
Revenue and Customs: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What positions are currently unfilled in HM Revenue and Customs in Northern Ireland; and, in each case, why the post is vacant. [HL5236]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: There is currently one vacancy being advertised in HM Revenue and Customs in Northern Ireland. The post is at administrative officer grade and is in the criminal investigation unit in Belfast. The vacancy arose following the transfer of a member of staff to another post.
Schools: Northern Ireland
Lord Steinberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have received from grammar schools and the public in Northern Ireland regarding educational achievement relative to the rest of the United Kingdom. [HL4993]
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Rooker): In response to decisions to reform post-primary education in Northern Ireland, the Government have received representations from grammar schools and members of the public. These have contrasted the levels of educational achievement attained by some pupils in Northern Ireland with those in England and attribute it to the system of academic selection. However, they fail to acknowledge that, although the current arrangements for post-primary education in Northern Ireland do well for some pupils, they do less well for others.
The new arrangements for post-primary education will raise standards for all pupils by ending a system of academic selection where a child's future is determined on the basis of two tests at age 11. They will build on current performance, keeping pupils' options open rather than closing them down, and provide a more flexible curriculum to enable education to be better tailored to meet individual pupils' needs.
Seals
Lord Hoyle asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made to the Canadian Government in relation to the Canadian seal hunt. [HL5138]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Government's opposition to the seal hunt is well known to the Canadian authorities. The Government have made two representations to the Canadian Government in relation to the Canadian seal hunt in the past year. On 13 July 2005, my honourable friend the Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian Pearson, raised the seal hunt during an introductory call with the Canadian High Commissioner. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry also raised the seal hunt with the Canadian Minister of International Trade during a telephone call on 27 February 2006.
Taxation: Corporation Tax
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any nation in the European Union has more than one rate of corporation tax in its sovereign territory; and whether consideration will be given to implementing a system of different corporation tax rates in the various regions of the United Kingdom. [HL4936]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: In certain circumstances, some member states have more than one rate; for example, some have state aid agreements leading to more than one rate, and others have territories and dependencies that have their own rates.
Our corporation tax regime is a UK-wide system, and introducing different rates in different parts of the UK could distort competition. It would also result in a system that would place a significant administrative burden on businesses and on the Government. Many companies trade in different regions of the UK, and it would not be easy to determine which proportion of their profits was liable at which rate. In addition, such a measure could also create opportunities for some companies to manipulate the rules simply to benefit from a lower rate.
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