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InterTradeIreland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 13 December (WA 208) concerning InterTradeIreland, whether they will place the minutes of the review meetings between the body and its sponsor departments in the Library of the House.[HL921]
Lord Rooker: I have arranged for the minutes of meetings which have taken place from 1 January 2005 to be placed in the Library of the House.
Inward Investment: County Fermanagh
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Rooker: The Government, through Invest NI, promote Northern Ireland as an attractive and viable location for foreign direct investment. They also work to stimulate the development and growth of local businesses and entrepreneurial activity. The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITS) works to secure investment in tourism.
Invest NI works closely with local stakeholders to encourage them to develop regional propositions to maximise the attractiveness of their area for potential investors.
This strategy has resulted in more than £4.2 million of assistance being offered towards total planned inward investment of £15.4 million in the Fermanagh District Council area in the four years to March 2006. Through its Accelerating Entrepreneurship Strategy, Invest NI has also assisted the creation of more than 670 new enterprises which have generated around £20 million of additional turnover in Fermanagh businesses.
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Invest NI has offered assistance of £3.5 million towards the £20.5 million golf resort development at Castle Hume. This project, in its first five years alone, is forecast to deliver £18 million of out of state tourism spend and 122 jobs to the Fermanagh area.
The NITB has also secured £623,000 of support for Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism through the Peace II programme and £3 million under the Natural Rural Resource Tourism Initiative. Under the Tourism Development Scheme 2006-08, five projects in Fermanagh have been shortlisted for financial assistance support totalling around £642,000.
The “Destination Fermanagh” initiative provides the basis for investing in Fermanagh's tourism product in the long term. This unique partnership between NITB, Fermanagh District Council and the industry in the county will play a key role in helping Fermanagh secure its place as one of Ireland's premier visitor destinations.
Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Ministers in the Government of Iraq are supporters of Hojatoleslam Muqtada Al-Sadr; and what are their portfolios.[HL1587]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): There are six Sadrist Ministers, three Cabinet Ministers, and three Ministers of State, in the Iraqi Government:
Dr Yua'arab Nathim Al-Ubaidi (Agriculture)
Dr Karim Mahdi Salih (Transport)
Dr Liwa Sumaysim (Minister of State, Tourism and Antiquities)
Dr Sa'ad Tahir Abd Khalaf al-Hashimi (Minister of State, Governorate Affairs)
Engineer Adil al-Asadi (Minister of State for Civil Society Affairs).
Following their self-imposed suspension from government and Parliament in protest at Prime Minister Maliki's meeting with President Bush in Amman in November 2006, the Sadrist members returned to Parliament on 21 January 2007. However, the return of the Sadrist Ministers to their previous positions is not yet resolved.
Iraq: Study Group Recommendations
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the recent Government of the United States references to Iran and Syria, following the suggestion by the Iraq Study Group that these two countries should be more actively involved in giving advice on how to resolve the problems in Iraq. [HL1536]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): As my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary told the Foreign Affairs and Defence Select Committees on 11 January, the UK continues to have greater direct engagement with Iran and Syria than the US, but the messages we are conveying are not different. As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has said, Syria and Iran face a strategic choice between whether to play a constructive role in the region or face isolation. We welcome the direct engagement that the Iraqi Government have pushed with both countries in recent months.
Israel and Lebanon: Shebaa Farms
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will propose that the Shebaa Farms near the border between Lebanon and Israel be placed under United Nations jurisdiction until their exact status can be determined. [HL1530]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have had wide ranging discussions with the UN Secretary-General and other UN officials about the situation in Lebanon, including the Shebaa Farms.
The UK supports UN Security Council Resolutions 1680 and 1701 which both call for action by Lebanon and Syria to delineate their common border, especially where the border is uncertain or disputed.
The UN has now confirmed that it is working to establish the cartographic, legal and political implications of Lebanon's proposal to place the Shebaa Farms under UN jurisdiction until border delineation and Lebanese sovereignty over them are fully settled.
Israel and Palestine
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they and the European Union are in touch with the Arab League and with the Governments of Egypt and Jordan on the appropriate measures to advance a comprehensive Middle Eastern peace settlement. [HL1529]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The UK and our European partners are in regular contact with the Arab League and the Governments of Egypt and Jordan. My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has visited the region twice in recent months, and met King Abdullah of Jordan on 6 November 2006, and President Mubarak of Egypt on 16 December 2006. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary met President Mubarak and the Arab League Secretary-General on 7 September 2006, and also hopes to visit the region soon. We continue
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Israel and Palestine: Customs and VAT
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made, or will make, representations to the Government of Israel about the proposal that withheld customs and VAT moneys should be paid into an escrow account, against which the Palestinian presidency would have the right to borrow. [HL1527]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We welcome Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas’s meeting on 23 December 2006 and the resulting release of US$ 100 million in Palestinian tax revenues. We continue to call on Israel to release all revenues withheld since 18 February 2006.
Israel and Palestine: Gaza
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the impact that the reopening of Gaza airport, and the short-haul airport at Kalandia, would have on the Middle East peace process; and whether they have assessed the probable costs or made proposals as regards the re-opening of these airports. [HL1528]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The UK has recently funded the World Bank to carry out an investment climate assessment of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Its main finding is that shrinking market access and lack of free movement are the main constraints to growth. Palestinian firms must have secure and predictable access to international markets to be able to grow. The economic impact of providing access through airports or other transit routes would therefore be very large. However, we have made no recent assessment of the probable costs of re-opening these airports, but we have noted the assessments made by international financial institutions.
Our ambassador in Tel Aviv and our consul-general in Jerusalem regularly raise our concerns about a wide range of issues, including access to markets, with the Israeli Government and Palestinian President Abbas. Together with our international partners, we continue to call for both sides to implement the November 2005 agreement on movement and access, which recognises the importance of re-opening Gaza airport. My right honourable friends the Secretary of State for International Development and the Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about freedom of movement and economic access with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni, on 13 December 2006 and 2 January respectively.
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Israel and Palestine: Settlements
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Government of Israel's recent issue of tenders for 44 new housing units in Ma’aleh Adumim constitutes settlement expansion and is therefore in breach of international law; if so, on how many occasions they have made representations to the Government of the United States on this issue; and with what results.[HL1452]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We are concerned about the announcement of new housing units in Ma’aleh Adumim. Settlements are illegal under international law and settlement construction is an obstacle to peace. The road map is clear that Israel should freeze all settlement construction, including the “natural growth” of existing settlements, and dismantle all outposts built since 2001. We are working closely with the US to re-launch the political process and move the peace process forward. My right honourable friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary discussed this with US Secretary of State Rice on 18 January.
Name Changes
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements exist for notifying appropriate government departments and law enforcement agencies of individuals who change their names; and [HL1411]
Which government agency is responsible for registering the name change of an individual so that the name change becomes lawful. [HL1413]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter to Lord Marlesford from the National Statistician, dated January 2007.
As Registrar-General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking which government agency is responsible for registering the name change of an individual so that the name change becomes lawful, and what arrangements exist for notifying appropriate government departments and law enforcement agencies of individuals who change their names. (HL1413 & HL1411)
There is no government agency that is responsible for registering the change of name of individuals. There is no requirement to register a name change in order for it to become lawful. An individual may choose to make a statutory declaration or deed poll in order to provide evidence of their change of name. There is no central record of all name changes. Individuals are responsible for notifying relevant agencies that they have changed their names.
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National Lottery: Taxation
Lord Clement-Jones asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have considered a reduction or abolition of the 12 per cent tax on purchase of a National Lottery ticket in order to meet any costs associated with the raising of funds for the 2012 Olympic Games in addition to the £1.5 billion already committed; and [HL1359]
Why there is a 12 per cent tax on purchasing a ticket to play the National Lottery; and in what ways the money raised by this tax is utilised. [HL1360]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The taxation of the lottery is a principle that has been accepted by Parliament since the lottery was established in 1994. The lottery is a mainstream gambling activity and should, like other gambling activities, make a contribution to revenues for the funding of essential public services.
NHS: Deficit
Lord James of Blackheath asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Warner on 8 January (WA 32—3) whether, without the writing back of the £350 million contingency established by strategic health authorities, the actual National Health Service cash deficit for the current fiscal year is £444 million; and [HL1158]
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Warner on 8 January (WA 32—3), whether the £350 million contingency established by the strategic health authorities is separate from the £350 million contingency released to secure the net deficit forecast of £94 million for the current financial year; and [HL1159]
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Warner on 8 January (WA 32—3) that the £350 million contingency “has not been created from new funding provided by the department” in the current financial year, whether the contingency was provided as a charge against National Health Service funding included for the previous fiscal year; and [HL1160]
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Warner on 8 January (WA 32—3), whether all or any of the two contingencies of £350 million from either 2005—06 or 2006—07 were charged to the closing accounts for the financial year 2005—06. [HL1162]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The £94 million net deficit reported at quarter two, 2006-07, reflects the financial position of the NHS overall, including the impact of the £350 million contingency established by SHAs through their prudent management of NHS central budget programme funding devolved to them by the department.
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SHAs have created one contingency through their management of central budgets. This contingency currently stands at £350 million and has been set against the overall financial position of the NHS, though at quarter two, SHAs reported their ability to create an additional £100 million through their continued management of the central budget programme.
The contingency is not related to previous financial years, either as a charge to NHS funding or as a charge to the final accounts.
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
With reference to the visit of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the offices of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission on 16 January, whether he indicated that he would remove the safeguards on new powers for the commission by amending the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill, currently before Parliament.[HL1472]
Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland met the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission on 16 January. During discussions of the work of the commission, the commissioners raised a number of concerns about the new powers for the commission, which are set out in the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill.
The Secretary of State was interested to hear the views of the commission. He did not indicate that he would remove the safeguards on the new powers. He did confirm that the Government would consider any amendments proposed as the Bill passes through Parliament.
Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights Forum
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Under what standing orders the Bill of Rights Forum which met in Northern Ireland on 18 December 2006 operates; and on what basis the voting is operated. [HL1223]
Lord Rooker: The Minister of State for Northern Ireland (David Hanson) chaired the inaugural meeting of the forum on 18 December as an interim arrangement.
The Government's clear view is that it should be for the independent chair and the forum members themselves to determine the forum's own procedures, including how voting is operated.
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