| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Manchester
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their assessment of the contribution which Manchester makes to England's international visitor economy. [HL2750]
Lord Davies of Oldham: In 2005, overseas visitors made 1.08 million visits to Greater Manchester, and spent £405 million (Office for National Statistics). This represents almost half of overseas visitors’ spend in the north-west region and 3.3 per cent of the total spend for England. Greater Manchester has the third highest number of overseas visits of all UK cities, behind London and Edinburgh.
29 Mar 2007 : Column WA318
VisitBritain features Manchester prominently in its Enjoy England campaign, and the Northwest Regional Development Agency regards Manchester as one of four “attack brands” in the region.
Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2007 will allow only veterinary surgeons to carry out rubber-ringing to castrate bull calves and to remove lambs’ tails, or whether it will still be permissible for farmers to carry out this procedure. [HL2728]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Competent stock keepers will continue to be allowed to carry out rubber-ringing to castrate bull calves or dock the tails of lambs. The Farm Animal Welfare Council is currently examining the issues of tail docking and castration in sheep and is expecting to publish its report in the summer.
National Insurance
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many national insurance numbers are currently held on the Department for Work and Pensions customer information system database; and how many of these numbers cover non-British citizens who are (a) citizens of other European Union countries, and (b) not European Union citizens. [HL2934]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): Approximately 76 million national insurance numbers are held on the department’s customer information system. Information on nationality is not available.
National Lottery
Baroness Noakes asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the basis for the statement by Lord Davies of Oldham (Official Report, 22/3/07; col. 1342) that “the lottery was established to fund unique projects and aid regeneration”. [HL2985]
Lord Davies of Oldham: One of the guiding principles from the creation of the National Lottery was that it would support projects that could not or would not realistically have been possible without lottery funding or with mainstream government funding alone. Lottery funding has duly supported many unique projects of national importance that have aided regeneration—for example, the Tate Modern and the Eden Project.
29 Mar 2007 : Column WA319
Lottery funding in all the good cause areas—the arts, sport, heritage, the millennium, charitable expenditure, health, education and the environment, and the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012—has demonstrably supported activities contributing to physical, economic and social regeneration.
NHS: Finances
Lord James of Blackheath asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 27 February (HL2003), whether they will indicate how much revenue saving previously assumed has now been taken into the detriment of the current forecast of a £13 million surplus for the current financial year; and [HL2354]
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 13 March (WA 118), why the Question for Written Answer (HL2354), tabled by Lord James of Blackheath on 27 February, had not been answered by 13 March; and when an answer can be expected. [HL2715]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): As reported in the quarter three National Health Service finance report, published on 20 February 2007, the NHS is forecasting a net surplus of £13 million. Strategic health authorities have identified savings of £450 million through their continued prudent management of central NHS programme budgets. These savings are available to offset the deduction made to NHS resources in the current financial year in respect of prior year overspends.
Northern Ireland Assembly
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the significance of the 26 March deadline for devolution of power to the Northern Ireland Assembly. [HL2812]
Lord Rooker: The date of 26 March was chosen as it was considered that this provided the optimal time period, from the first meeting of the Transitional Assembly on 24 November 2006, for the Northern Ireland political parties and the two Governments to engage in discussion leading to the restoration of the devolved institutions. The deadline has been prescribed by statute in the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006.
Olympic Games 2012: Archaeologists
Lord Luke asked Her Majesty's Government:
When the Museum of London Archaeological Services will gain access to the Olympic site; what their role will be; and what powers they will have regarding Olympic facilities. [HL2895]
29 Mar 2007 : Column WA320
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Museum of London Archaeological Service and Pre-Construct Archaeology (MoLAS-PCA) has worked in partnership to provide archaeological services to the London Development Agency (LDA) regarding the Olympic Park since 2003, and continues to do so for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which has now taken over the role of developer.
As a part of the planning application process it is incumbent upon the developer to fund an archaeological assessment of the proposed development site, and to undertake measures to either preserve in situ or record any archaeological remains found within the designated footprint.
MoLAS-PCA has already undertaken some archaeological field evaluation and has been monitoring geotechnical investigations across the site since 2005. In addition it has prepared detailed desk assessment and written schemes of investigation for archaeological work, which will allow fieldwork to commence as soon as relevant parts of the site become available for assessment. Furthermore, MoLAS-PCA is in regular contact with English Heritage’s Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service (GLAAS), which also provides advice to the five host boroughs and the ODA Planning Decisions Team.
Olympic Games 2012: Construction
Lord Luke asked Her Majesty's Government:
What financial penalties are built into the contracts for those awarded work on the Olympic site; and what mechanisms they propose to resolve potential disputes. [HL2896]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The main construction contracts are yet to be let by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), but this process will commence over the next few months.
The new engineering and construction (NEC) form of contract, which reflects current best practice and has been used successfully on similar large infrastructure projects, such as Heathrow terminal 5, will be the main form of contract used by the ODA. Within this there is scope for both financial incentivisation and penalties, as well as dispute resolution provisions.
It is not the ODA’s intention to implement measures which hamper its ability to work with its suppliers and contractors. The principles which the ODA will adopt in regard to withholding retention money and/or use of bonds within each contract will be considered on the merits of each case. In the event that disputes arise, it is important that they are dealt with in an appropriate and expedient manner. The form of dispute resolution will be determined by the circumstances.
29 Mar 2007 : Column WA321
Olympic Games 2012: Faith Adviser
Lord James of Blackheath asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have yet appointed an expert faith adviser to oversee architectural designs for Olympic stadiums to ensure compatibility with the needs of diverse faiths so as to facilitate maximum utilisation of the washing, changing and lavatory facilities by the community after the 2012 Olympic Games. [HL2960]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has published a draft equality and diversity strategy which recognises the need to ensure that inclusive design principles are being incorporated into the venue and park designs. The ODA is also in the process of recruiting design advisers whose responsibilities will include designing for different faith groups as part of the wider inclusive design approach.
Ottoman Empire: Armenians
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the names of the British historians whose advice they rely on in reaching the conclusion that the treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-16 should not be described as genocide. [HL2803]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We do not rely on the advice of any particular historians or, indeed, historians from any one nation. We note contributions from a variety of historical sources and works, ranging from Bryce and Toynbee’s Blue Book to more recent studies by historians such as Malcolm Yapp. What this tells us is that historians question each other’s accounts of exactly what took place. The key now is to ensure that the full truth about these events is brought to light and that both Armenia and Turkey look to the future.
Police: Northern Ireland
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
When members of An Garda Siochana transferred to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, what oath of service they took. [HL2880]
Lord Rooker: All police officers who transfer to the Police Service of Northern Ireland from another force, or join the service as a new recruit, must on appointment make a declaration as provided under Section 38 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000.
Prisoners: Remission of Sentence
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will review the policy of making a 50 per cent remission of sentence available to prisoners in Northern Ireland. [HL2843]
29 Mar 2007 : Column WA322
Lord Rooker: Last year, following extended public consultation on a review of the existing sentencing framework, the Government announced proposals for a radical change to the structure of sentencing in Northern Ireland. These proposals would put an end to automatic 50 per cent remission. I refer the noble Lord to the Written Statement made on 5 December 2006 (WS 117), which outlines the proposed new framework.
Regional Development Agencies
Lord De Mauley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much financial support they provided to each regional development agency in each of the past three full years. [HL2961]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott): The table below shows the amount of grant-in-aid funding the RDAs have received from the DTI in the past three years.
| RDAs/Year £000s | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
Roads: Ballybogey Road
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proposals they have to reduce road deaths on the Ballybogey Road between Portrush and Ballymoney. [HL2742]
Lord Rooker: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the noble Lord in response to this question.
Letter from Dr Malcolm McKibbin to Lord Laird dated March 2007.
As this issue falls within my responsibility as chief executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |