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Written Answers

Wednesday, 7 June 2006.

Belfast Agreement: Release of Desmond O'Hare

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

In view of the release of Desmond O'Hare by the Irish Government, whether they have made an assessment of any increased risk to individuals in Northern Ireland; and what steps they have taken to mitigate any increased risk; and [HL5851]

Whether they regard the release of Desmond O'Hare by the Irish Government as part of the policy of early release following the Belfast agreement; and whether that affects his potential arrest in Northern Ireland. [HL5852]

Lord Rooker: The offences allegedly committed by Mr Desmond O'Hare pre-date the Belfast agreement.

Terrorist-related offences committed prior to the Belfast agreement are being progressed by the PSNI's historical enquiries team (HET). HET became operational in January 2006, with a remit to review all the deaths attributable to the Troubles.

Commission on Integration and Faith

Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they intend to set up the proposed Commission on Integration and Faith; what its terms of reference will be; what it is the commission will achieve; who the members of the commission will be; and which department will be responsible for its operational oversight. [HL5967]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Department for Communities and Local Government will be the lead department.

The Secretary of State expects to make an announcement about the way ahead before the Summer Recess. This announcement will include the proposed terms of reference and the process for appointing commissioners.

Defra: Nobel House

Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much water was used in Nobel House, headquarters of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in each of the past eight years. [HL5905]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Defra was created in 2001 and the data provided are from that time onwards.
 
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The water consumed at Defra's Nobel House building is set out in the table below, which gives figures used in the sustainable development in government (SDiG) return which benchmarks offices on the basis of consumption per head.

Year	Consumption in cubic metres	Occupants	CU Mt per Head
2001–02	5,000	522	10.54
2002–03	6,254	582	10.75
2003–04	6,359	525	12.11
2004–05	5,159	574	8.99
2005–06	8,544	773	11.05

Diabetes: Inhaled Insulin

Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they accept the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's preliminary advice against making inhaled insulin available as an alternative to daily injections of insulin for diabetic patients. [HL5859]

The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): The preliminary recommendation issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the use of insulin inhalers—that inhaled insulin should not be recommended for the treatment of type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, except in the context of clinical studies—is not final guidance to the National Health Service but a draft for consultation.

NICE is an independent body and we trust it to produce clinical and cost-effective guidance to the NHS based on the latest available evidence and taking into account comments it receives during consultation.

Equality

Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why, given that the Department for Communities and Local Government will have responsibility for equality policy with regard to race, faith, gender and sexual orientation, they have not given the department responsibility for co-ordinating all equality policy, including policy on disability and age; and [HL5739]

Whether they expect the Department for Communities and Local Government to assume responsibility for all aspects of equality policy, including age and disability, when the Commission for Equality and Human Rights becomes operational. [HL5741]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for co-ordinating core equalities policy, including sponsorship of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, and leading on the Discrimination Law Review.
 
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The Department for Work and Pensions has responsibility for a number of policy levers which are key to the participation of disabled and older people, and for these reasons lead responsibility for disability and age equality policy remains with that department.

These levers include enabling people to find jobs, supporting people who are out of work, and providing security in retirement, as well as the cross-government disability strategy led by the Office for Disability Issues.

Decisions about the machinery of government are the responsibility of the Prime Minister and are kept under constant review. It is too early to speculate on possible future changes.

Fair Trade

Lord Laird asked the Chairman of Committees:

Whether the House of Lords Refreshment Department has adopted the concept of fair trade in its purchasing policy. [HL6091]

The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The Refreshment Department's purchasing policy for the supply of fair trade products is currently limited to tea, coffee and chocolate, which is used in all restaurant, cafeteria, bar and banqueting outlets. It is the intention to review further opportunities later in the year, when the new River Restaurant and Lords Bar opens, following the completion of the kitchen development project.

Fishing

Lady Saltoun of Abernethy asked Her Majesty's Government:

How the €3.8 million fisheries budget of the European Union for 2007–13 will assist the United Kingdom fishing industry and conserve fish stocks. [HL5974]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The total EU budget for the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) 2007–13 is €3,849 million. This will provide grants for the sustainable development of the fisheries sector as set out in the UK's national strategic plan for fisheries, and an operational programme, which will be submitted to the European Commission.

A first draft of the UK national strategic plan for fisheries has been drawn up by all four UK fisheries administrations. This reflects the Government's aim of a sustainable and profitable fishing sector, which supports strong local communities. We have recently consulted on the draft plan, and a summary of responses is available on the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/fish-strategy/index.htm.

Once the EFF regulation is agreed we will formally consult on a draft operational programme.
 
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Hearing Impairment

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many people in Northern Ireland are recognised as being (a) profoundly deaf; (b) deaf; or (c) hearing impaired. [HL5898]

Lord Rooker: Information on the number of people recognised as being (a) profoundly deaf (b) deaf or (c) hearing impaired is not centrally collected. However, figures from the Continuous Household Survey (CHS) in 2003-04 indicate that 15 per cent of the adult population suffer from hearing difficulties.

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many front-line health service staff in Northern Ireland have received deaf awareness training. [HL5899]

Lord Rooker: Since the introduction of the Section 75 requirement of the Northern Ireland Act (1998), training records available indicate that 2,522 front-line staff have received specific deaf awareness training. A further 6,021 staff attended other training where deaf awareness training was included in the programme. A member of staff may have attended more than one programme. It should be noted that a number of trusts do not hold training records back to 1998.

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