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29 Jan 2007 : Column WA1
Written Answers
Monday 29 January 2007
Aviation: Contaminated Air
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether United Kingdom airlines are required to produce risk assessments relating to exposures of passengers and crew to contaminated air in aircraft under health and safety legislation; if so, by which official body these are examined and approved; and whether the risk assessments are publicly available. [HL1389]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require UK-based airlines to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of their employees and of others, such as passengers, affected by their work.
There is no requirement to submit risk assessments for examination and approval by an official body or make them publicly available. Employers may, however, be asked to produce risk assessments for scrutiny in the course of specific inspection or enforcement activity by an official body.
The official bodies concerned with the application of general health and safety duties on aircraft in the UK are the Civil Aviation Authority and the Health and Safety Executive (or the Health and Safety Executive (Northern Ireland)).
Climate Change
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
How they are contributing to the work of the European Union Environment Agency in Copenhagen on policies to deal with global warming within the sixth Environment Action Programme. [HL1480]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Government participate fully within the European Environment Agency's (EEA-Copenhagen) Environmental Information and Observation Network (EIONET), including on any provision of data for matters relating to the sixth Environmental Action Programme. We also help with the assessment activities that support the programme's own priority actions related to the thematic work being done on subjects such as climate change.
The European Commission is currently in the process of conducting a mid-term review of the sixth Environment Action Programme. The Government are contributing to this review.
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Committee on Toxicity
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the constraints on permitting attendance of members of the public at, and participation in, open meetings of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment. [HL1387]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Members of the public are able to apply to attend, as observers, meetings of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) subject to constraints of space. Members of the public attending COT meetings are asked to abide by a code of conduct for observers.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment is complying with its code of conduct by not responding to a complaint dated 3 July 2006 from Dr Leonie Coxon that her evidence to the committee had been misrepresented by it. [HL1388]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The deputy chairman of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) responded, in accordance with the committee’s code of conduct, to a complaint dated 3 July 2006 from Dr Leonie Coxon on 5 July 2006.
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has members with occupational health or clinical expertise; and, if not, whether they have concluded that such expertise is unnecessary for the effective evaluation of the clinical effects on humans and animals of exposure to toxic chemicals. [HL1391]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has several members with clinical expertise and one member with expertise in assessment of occupational health.
Constitution
Lord Norton of Louth asked Her Majesty's Government:
What courses are provided by the National School of Government on the constitution and constitutional law; and how many officials of the Department for Constitutional Affairs have been on such courses in the past six months. [HL1244]
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Lord Davies of Oldham: This is a matter for the National School of Government. The national school’s principal and chief executive will write to the noble Lord and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Library for the reference of noble Lords.
Dyslexia
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which body provides government funding in Northern Ireland to groups offering help and support to dyslexia sufferers; and how much has been paid to these groups in each of the past five years.[HL1469]
Lord Rooker: There is no specific body that provides government funding in Northern Ireland to groups offering help and support to people with dyslexia. However, during the past five years Northern Ireland departments have provided the following funding to dyslexia organisations.
Energy: Efficiency
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made an assessment of the effects of recent public campaigns to switch off electric lights and appliances to reduce electricity bills. [HL1478]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Energy Saving Trust (EST), which is funded by my department to promote energy efficiency in the household sector, runs campaigns aimed at encouraging consumers to take energy-saving action. EST's evaluation of its current “Save Your 20 per cent” campaign is ongoing. For 2005-06, EST suggests that savings of more than 200,000 tonnes of carbon each year were influenced by its consumer-facing activities. Of this, 4,000 tonnes of carbon each year was attributed to 480,000 people switching off lights in unoccupied rooms (numbers turning off appliances were not recorded).
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Energy: Retrofitted Systems
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will take steps to encourage greater use of retrofitted energy saving systems in old domestic buildings. [HL1334]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Through the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC), we require energy suppliers to meet targets for the promotion of improvements in household energy efficiency in Great Britain. They do this by encouraging and assisting consumers to take up energy efficiency measures like insulation.
For the most vulnerable members of society in private sector housing, the Government's Warm Front scheme provides a grant for the installation of energy efficiency measures. An evaluation of various options for further help for older, harder to treat, properties is underway.
Detail of grants and offers for energy efficiency measures, including under EEC and Warm Front, are available, by postcode, on the Energy Saving Trust (EST) website. The EST is funded by Defra to promote and support energy efficiency in the household sector.
Environmental Management
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the current Eco-Management and Audit Scheme logo system for United Kingdom and European companies' products is an efficient way of indicating effective environmental best practice to customers. [HL1477]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The European Union (EU) Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary environmental registration scheme that aims to encourage organisations to improve their environmental performance. Organisations are encouraged to implement an environmental management system and to issue a public statement on their performance.
EMAS is not designed to apply to products and, with very few exceptions, the scheme's logo does not appear on products. There is, however, a separate EU scheme—the ecolabel—which has been designed for that purpose and which is currently available for more than 20 different categories of product.
EU: Armed Forces
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The EU is not considering any plans to form a European air force or navy. Forces for EU crisis management operations are provided by member states on a voluntary basis.
EU: Initiatives
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the undertaking given on 18 December 2006 by Lord Rooker (HL Deb, col. 1878), when they will place in the Library of the House a list of the current European Union initiatives which depend for their legal base on Article 308 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community.[HL1408]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): A list of current European Union proposals which depend on Article 308 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community as a legal base has now been placed in the Library of the House.
EU: Police Powers
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the proposal from the German presidency of the European Union that police forces in the European Union should have the power to pursue criminals across borders and to have access to each others confidential records, including DNA information; whether Parliament will be consulted before such a proposal is agreed; and, if so, by what method.[HL1443]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): I believe that the noble Lord is referring to the German presidency's plans to transpose the PrĂ1/4m convention into EU law. The presidency initiated a discussion on this topic at the Informal Justice and Home Affairs Council in Dresden on 15 and 16 January but has not yet tabled formal proposals.
The PrĂ1/4m convention was signed on 27 May 2005 by France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Belgium. It is designed to intensify cross-border police co-operation, especially in the fight against terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration.
The PrĂ1/4m Convention offers the potential to improve the exchange of information on DNA, fingerprints and vehicle registrations, which would have a real impact on our ability to bring serious criminals to justice. The Government support better practical co-operation between the police forces of member states and will carefully consider any formal proposals that the German presidency puts forward to transpose the convention into EU law.
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The exact process as to how PrĂ1/4m or some of its provisions could be brought into the EU framework has yet to be agreed. Any EU instrument covering the transposition of the PrĂ1/4m convention into EU law would be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Ministers have given evidence on the PrĂ1/4m convention to the Select Committee on the European Union, with my right honourable friend the Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon, appearing before the committee on 18 December 2006.
Flooding: Enniskillen
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 17 January (WA 156) concerning flooding in Enniskillen, whether any damage occurred in the incidents of water ponding; and, if so, to whom, and from what source, compensation was paid as a result. [HL1482]
Lord Rooker: The Chief Executive of Roads Service (Dr Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the noble Lord in response to this question.
Letter from Dr Malcolm McKibbin to Lord Laird
You recently asked Her Majesty's Government a Parliamentary Question further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 17 January (WA 156) concerning flooding in Enniskillen, whether any damage occurred in the incidents of water ponding; and, if so, to whom, and from what source, compensation was paid as a result.
As this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
I am advised that there are no records of damage resulting from the isolated incidents of water ponding in the Queen Elizabeth Road, Enniskillen. The issue of compensation has, therefore, not arisen.
Food: Bowland Dairy Products
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements have been made for the disposal of the stocks of curd cheese at Bowland Dairy Products Ltd. [HL864]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): In accordance with Commission decision 2006/694/EC, all the curd cheese held at Bowland Dairy Products Ltd was designated either as category 2 or category 3 animal by-product depending on the nature of the milk from which it was made, and has been disposed of in accordance with animal by-products legislation under the control of the local authority. There is now no curd cheese on the premises.
29 Jan 2007 : Column WA7
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