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27 Nov 2006 : Column WA23
Written Answers
Monday 27 November 2006
Alcohol
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have proposals to develop a methodology for updating the estimate of £20 billion for the amount of harm caused by alcohol, given in the Cabinet Office's Interim Analytical Analysis of September 2003, to take account of (a) alcohol-related deaths; (b) the amount of alcohol drunk per person; (c) admissions to hospital for alcohol-related diseases; and (d) any other related indices, each year since 2000-01 to which the figure of £20 billion related. [HL15]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The costs of alcohol harm set out in the Strategy Unit’s interim analytical paper Alcohol misuse: how much does it cost? in September 2003 underpinned the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England. The Government are committed to reviewing the strategy in 2007. This review will look at all aspects of alcohol-related harm.
Animal Welfare: Wild Birds
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What statistics they have for the mortality rate of birds imported into the United Kingdom before the temporary ban (a) in transit, and (b) in quarantine. [HL17]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): In-transit mortality rates are available only for Heathrow airport, which is one of the main import points for birds.
| A temporary ban on wild bird imports was put in place in October 2005. | |
The most recent statistics available for mortality in quarantine are from 2003, when there was a mortality rate of 7 per cent. Further information is available in the Report of the Independent Review of Avian Quarantine, which can be found on the Defra website at: www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/control/avian quarantine/index.htm.
In the Government’s response to the report, we accepted that data collection should be improved. They stated:
“Although data gathering is already carried out, the data has been held in regional offices of the State Veterinary Service (SVS) and is difficult to access. Therefore, the SVS will keep a
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Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 9 November 2005 (WA 87), what they meant by the term “unexpected deaths” in a consignment of imported birds in quarantine; and how many deaths lead to a visit from a veterinary inspector. [HL18]
Lord Rooker: If the trade in wild birds resumes, veterinary officers (VO) from the State Veterinary Service, rather than private local veterinary inspectors, will be responsible for the supervision of quarantine episodes. It will be up to the VO supervising the quarantine to decide whether the mortality rate is abnormal and whether an additional visit will be required.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
In view of the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, whether they have established an acceptable rate of mortality for imports of birds which would apply if the ban on imports is lifted by the European Union. [HL19]
Lord Rooker: We have not established acceptable mortality rates for imports of birds. We shall be monitoring mortality rates and taking action where the welfare of birds is compromised.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their assessment of the impact of the duties created by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 on the working practices for (a) traders of wild birds; and (b) quarantine facilities, should the trade in wild birds resume. [HL20]
Lord Rooker: The Animal Welfare Act 2006 introduces a duty of care to all keepers or people in charge of animals. This duty requires them to ensure that the animals’ needs, such as housing, feeding and protection, are met.
Crime: Rape
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many cases have been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission on the issue of rape in each year since the establishment of the commission. [HL201]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The information requested is set out in the following table.
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| Rape cases referred to the court of appeal by CCRC | ||
| Year | Conviction | Sentence |
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make it a specific criminal offence for a police officer deliberately to fail to provide evidence of help to the defence in rape cases. [HL203]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: No. If the police fail to comply with their disclosure duties, a range of consequences may follow: the accused may raise a successful abuse of process argument at or after the trial; police officers may be subject to disciplinary proceedings; they may also be liable to criminal proceedings for perverting or attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Disabled People: Employment
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
What consideration they have given to the Leonard Cheshire Ready to Start initiative to assist disabled people to start businesses; and what assessment has been made of its importance.[HL129]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott): My right honourable friend the Minister for Industry and the Regions, recently wrote a letter of support to the Leonard Cheshire charity, outlining the Government's commitment to disabled people fulfilling their potential through enterprise, and lending their support to the Ready to Start initiative.
The Government believe that self-employment is a valuable route for some disabled people in realising their economic potential and enabling them to attain financial independence. It also allows for greater flexible working, which is often crucial to those with a disability. The Ready to Start initiative is a useful tool in helping to achieve this.
Energy: Carbon Dioxide Dumping
Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether carbon sequestration in the form of dumping of carbon dioxide under the London convention and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) is illegal; and [HL30]
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What efforts they are making to secure international amendment of the London convention and the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) to enable carbon dioxide to be dumped under the bed of the North Sea; and how long they expect this process to take; and [HL31]
Whether they have assessed the viability of dumping carbon dioxide under the North Sea as an effective means of locking up carbon dioxide indefinitely. [HL32]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Government support carbon capture and storage in sub-seabed geological formations as a means of avoiding dangerous climate change and of showing leadership to emerging economies by applying this technology. The compatibility of carbon dioxide storage with international law has long been unclear. Therefore, the Government were a co-sponsor of an Australian proposal to amend the protocol to the London convention to clearly permit the storage of carbon dioxide streams in sub-seabed geological formations. This amendment was passed at the first meeting of protocol parties, held jointly with the 28th meeting of contracting parties to the London convention from 28 October to 3 November, and will come into force on 10 February 2007.
The applicability of the provisions of the OSPAR convention to carbon dioxide storage in the sub-seabed are complex, and depend primarily on the route taken to the storage formation. The UK supports amendment of the convention to clearly permit storage in the sub-seabed for all likely routes and, along with many contracting parties, is seeking to achieve amendment of the convention at its next commission meeting in June 2007.
The oil and gas fields and aquifers in the UK sector of the North Sea are estimated to have large storage potential (~20,000-260,000Mt CO2). A number of projects for implementation of carbon capture and storage technologies in the North Sea, in conjunction with an enhanced oil recovery project, are now being brought forward by industry.
Freedom of Information: Environmental Information Regulations
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
On how many occasions reviews have been held following refusal of information under environmental information regulations; and what was the nature and subject matter of the information withheld. [HL22]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Details relating specifically to internal reviews under the environmental information regulations and the nature and subject matter of the information withheld are not held centrally.
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Health and Safety: Falls
Lord Harrison asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the May-June Health and Safety Executive height awareness campaign, in light of the fact that most injuries occur when people fall from lower than head height. [HL141]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Preliminary findings indicate that the campaign was successful in raising awareness about the dangers of falling when working at low height, which was the key message of the campaign. A full and independent evaluation of the HSE’s “Height Aware” campaign is due to report at the end of December 2006, and to be published in the new year.
Olympic Games: Shooting
Lord Glentoran asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect to issue Section 5 permits to those hoping to compete for Britain in shooting events in the next two Olympic Games; and whether this will allow competitors to store their pistols and train at licensed United Kingdom ranges in the run-up to both the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and the London Olympic Games in 2012. [HL135]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): No decision has yet been taken on whether Section 5 authority will be issued to allow potential participants to train in the United Kingdom prior to either the Beijing or the London Olympics. We have agreed in principle to explore this further and are discussing with shooting organisations and other interested parties what arrangements might be made without endangering public safety and the peace.
Prisons: Vulnerable People
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Statement by the Secretary of State for the Home Department on 20 July (HC Deb, col. 473) that vulnerable people and those for whom mental health treatment would be more appropriate should not be in prison, what is their estimate of the number of people in each category currently in prison. [HL34]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Prisoners who have a mental illness too severe to be treated in prison already can be transferred to hospital under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983. In 2005, 896 such prisoners were transferred to hospital. This number has increased from 2002, when 722 prisoners were transferred. There
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In August, the Department of Health carried out an audit of prisons which showed that 96 prisoners were waiting for transfer under the Mental Health Act at that time. The previous year's audit showed that 120 such prisoners were waiting in August 2005.
Assessments of vulnerability for reasons other than those associated with mental ill health are also undertaken by prisons. Arrangements for transfers may be made, at the discretion of a governor, but these transfers occur only from one prison to another. Records are kept of the overall numbers transferred between prisons, but these data are not disaggregated according to cause.
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