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Crime: Fuel Laundering
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people have been charged in connection with fuel laundering in each county in Northern Ireland during each of the past five years. [HL5582]
Lord Davies of Oldham: From 1 January 2002 to 16 October 2007 a total of 7 persons have been charged in connection with fuel laundering offences in Northern Ireland.
It is not the Government’s policy to disclose where individuals have been charged because this may compromise HMRC operations.
In addition to the above, two HMRC fuel laundering investigation cases have been prosecuted by way of information and summons and three are currently pending under the same process.
Criminal investigation and prosecution for fuel laundering form only one part of HMRC’s overall approach to tackling oils fraud in Northern Ireland, together with the investigation/prosecution of wider oils excise offences, combined with a strong regulatory control system and civil penalties regime.
Crime: Northern Ireland Cold Cases
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people are employed in the cold case unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and at what annual cost. [HL5630]
Lord Rooker: The PSNI has two units comprising officers and staff that fulfil the functions set out below.
The Historical Enquiries Team (HET) has 160 personnel with a budget of £6.4 million. Its functions are:
to try to bring a measure of resolution to those families affected by deaths attributable to “The Troubles” in the years 1968 to 1998, by answering their questions; andto re-examine all deaths attributable to “The Troubles” and ensure that all investigative and evidential opportunities are subject to a thorough professional examination in a manner that satisfies the PSNI’s obligation of an “Effective Investigation” Article 2, Code of Ethics for PSNI.29 Oct 2007 : Column WA142
The Retrospective Murder Review Unit (RMRU) has 44 personnel with a budget of £1.871 million. Its functions are:
to re-examine unsolved murders that occurred between the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on l0 April 1998 and the establishment of PSNI's Crime Operations Branch on 1st March 2004; andto re-examine unsolved murders not attributable to “The Troubles” that occurred between 1968 and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on l0 April 1998.Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many charges have been brought as a result of the work of the cold case unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [HL5631]
Lord Rooker: The PSNI has two units which currently fulfil the functions set out below.
The functions of the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) are:
to try to bring a measure of resolution to those families affected by deaths attributable to “The Troubles” in the years 1968 to 1998, by answering their questions; and to re-examine all deaths attributable to “The Troubles” and ensure that all investigative and evidential opportunities are subject to a thorough professional examination in a manner that satisfies the PSNI's obligation of an “Effective Investigation” Article 2, Code of Ethics for PSNI.One file is currently with the Public Prosecution Service.
The functions of the Retrospective Murder Review Unit (RMRU) are:
to re-examine unsolved murders that occurred between the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998 and the establishment of PSNI's Crime Operations Branch on 1 March 2004; and to re-examine unsolved murders not attributable to “The Troubles” that occurred between 1968 and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement on l0 April 1998.The RMRU became operational in October 2007. The work of the RMRU involves a detailed reconsideration of the investigation to identify any investigative opportunities.
To date no charges have been brought by HET or RMRU.
Cultural Objects
Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn asked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures they have taken to enforce the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003; how many prosecutions have resulted from such measures; and how many convictions; and [HL5564]
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What measures they have taken to enforce the provisions, in so far as they relate to cultural objects including looted antiquities, of the Iraq (United Nations Sanctions) Order 2003 (SI 2003/1519) as supplemented by the Iraq (United Nations Sanctions) Order 2000; how many prosecutions have resulted from these measures; and how many convictions. [HL5565]
The Attorney-General (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Any case submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police alleging a contravention of Section 1 of the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003 or the Iraq (United Nations Sanctions) Order 2003 would be considered in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. Crown Prosecution Service records show that there have been no prosecutions under these provisions.
Under Section 4 of the 2003 Act proceedings may be issued by order of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise. The records of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs show that there have been no prosecutions under these provisions.
Cyclists: Footpaths
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is illegal to ride a bicycle which has no lights on a public road after dark in London. [HL5723]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 (RVLR), as amended, require the use of front and rear position lights which comply with the regulations on pedal cycles between sunset and sunrise, and when visibility is seriously reduced. Non-compliance is an offence.
Diplomatic Service List
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
When publication of the Diplomatic Service List first started; and why publication has now ceased. [HL5541]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The Diplomatic Service List was first published in 1966 as the successor to the Foreign Office List, dating from 1852. The case for the continued publication of the list was reviewed in 2006 and concluded that the cost of maintaining and collating biographical and operational data of staff outweighed the benefits. The 2006 edition was the last to be published by The Stationery Office on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) behalf. The FCO public website (www.fco.gov.uk) carries information on diplomatic posts overseas. This may be found by going to directory and selecting UK embassies overseas.
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Embryology
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the light of the oral evidence given to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee by the chief executive of the Medical Research Council on 5 February 2007 (HC 272—1 (Q249)), expressing doubt about support for the use of human oocytes for somatic nuclear transfer due to the virtually zero success rate, they will account for the use of public funds by the Medical Research Council for this purpose as described in its press release on 13 September. [HL5437]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Lord Triesman): The Medical Research Council (MRC) supports research into somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) with the aim of identifying potential benefits and improving efficiency. To this end, it has funded research at the University of Newcastle, as follows:
| Title | Cost (£) |
|
Improving the efficiency of human somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) | |
|
An investigation of the experiences of potential in vitro fertilisation (IVF) donors in egg sharing for SCNT |
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which parts of a child created as a saviour sibling can or cannot be harvested for the purpose of treating conditions that are not life-threatening, as described in paragraph 43 of the Government's response to Recommendation 17 of the report from the Joint Committee on the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill (HL Paper 169—I); and [HL5513]
How early in development the harvesting of any histocompatible tissue from an individual can commence, as described in their response to Recommendation 17 of the report of the Joint Committee on the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill (HL Paper 169—I); at what precise stage this might be precluded by recognition of the need for the individual's informed consent; and whether they will define the parameters within which the regulator will determine the meaning of serious amidst demands for flexibility. [HL5544]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill was published in May 2007. The draft Bill was scrutinised by a Joint Committee. Recommendation 17 of the report related to tissue typing. The Government accepted the committee's recommendation to replace the word “life-threatening” with “serious” in the Bill and also removed the reference to umbilical cord blood. This will give
29 Oct 2007 : Column WA145
The HFEA is required by statute to produce a code of practice. This will continue to be a requirement following the introduction of the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill. The seventh edition of the code of practice (G12.5.6) lists factors that should be taken into account when deciding the appropriateness of preimplantation tissue typing. The code of practice (section G12.5.7) also requires that consideration is given to the possible consequences for any child born as a result of tissue typing. Tissue typing is approved by an HFEA licence committee on a case by case basis based on this guidance. To date, all cases of tissue typing have been licensed for the harvesting of umbilical cord blood to treat an affected sibling. The seriousness of the condition for which tissue typing can be carried out would be subject to HFEA guidance and ultimately decision by a licence committee.
Following licensing approval of the creation and transfer of a “saviour sibling” embryo, this issue falls outside the remit of the HFEA. However, the Human Tissue Act 2004 requires that the Human Tissue Authority must approve any transplants involving organs from living donors. In the case of adults that lack capacity, and children who are not competent to consent, this extends to bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells.
Energy: Coal Gasification
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
What projects for underground coal gasification are currently underway or under consideration. [HL5573]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Jones of Birmingham): To our knowledge there are no UCG projects underway at present but the Coal Authority, as licensing body for coal in the UK, has recently received expressions of interest from companies considering exploiting reserves through underground coal gasification.
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
What priority they have given and what resources they have allocated to research and development in underground coal gasification. [HL5574]
Lord Jones of Birmingham: As part of their technological assessment of underground coal gasification, the Government produced a report in September 2004 on the feasibility of UCG in the UK. They also considered this technology in their carbon abatement technology strategy published in June 2005. These reports concluded that although the technology had a
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Over the past three years the Government have supported a feasibility study into UCG in the Firth of Forth with some £47,000; this project has recently been completed and industry is deciding how to take this work forward. The Government are also funding a collaborative project with the Chinese authorities on developing UCG in China with some £190,000.
Energy: Oil Prices
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the range of oil prices during the past year; and what values of oil prices they use in their economic forecasts for the next 10 years. [HL5744]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The daily one-month future price of Brent crude oil, the European standard, has ranged from $51.7 to $84.6 a barrel over the 12 months to 24 October 2007.
The National Audit Office audits the oil price assumption underlying public finance projections. As outlined in Box B1 of the 2007 Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review, the assumption for the average oil price in 2008 is $68 a barrel, the average of independent forecasts for 2008. Oil prices are then assumed to stay constant in real terms until 2012-13, the last year of the forecast period.
Energy: Undersea Coal
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
What estimate they have made of the extent of underground and undersea coal reserves in the United Kingdom. [HL5575]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Jones of Birmingham): In 2006, the licensing body, the Coal Authority, estimated there was a total of some 1.7 billion tonnes of coal at existing, recently closed and prospective deep mines. No accurate estimate of offshore reserves exists.
Ethiopia and Eritrea
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are engaged in preventing any renewal of fighting between Eritrea and Ethiopia; and what steps they are taking to persuade both states to behave in accordance with international law and practice. [HL5678]
29 Oct 2007 : Column WA147
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We are in constant contact with both parties, including at ministerial level, on this issue. We have urged them to implement UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1767 (adopted on 30 July 2007) including to “show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force against each other” (paragraph 2 of UNSCR 1640 (2005) reiterated in UNSCR 1767 (2007)).
We continue to urge both Eritrea and Ethiopia to behave in accordance with international law; specifically, to implement the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission's decision and to demarcate their common frontier. We continue to press Eritrea to lift its restrictions on the UN Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea to allow it to fulfil its mandate and to withdraw from the temporary security zone.
I met the Foreign Ministers of both Eritrea and Ethiopia in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York in September and urged them to find a peaceful way forward.
We are also working with the UN, EU, the US and other international partners in order to prevent any renewal of fighting.
EU: Regional Funding
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, as reported on the BBC “File on Four” programme, the payment of European Commission funds to six English regions has been suspended due to weaknesses in management and control systems; and, if so, (a) which regions were affected; (b) when the suspension took place; (c) whether the suspension in each case has been lifted; (d) if the suspension has been lifted, when that took place; (e) which funding streams and projects were affected by the suspension; (f) what is the amount of funding in each case; (g) what delays and cancellations in projects have take place as a result; and (h) what actions have been taken in response to the suspension of payments. [HL5664]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): In April 2006 the European Commission held back grant payments for ERDF programmes in the following regions: North-East, Yorkshire and The Humber (Objective 1 & 2), West Midlands, London, North-West (Objective 1 & 2) and Peterborough (Urban). Specific concerns had been identified by the Commission in the level of on-site project monitoring. Her Majesty's Government have carried out intensive work to increase the level of checks, strengthen the control environment and provide the information requested by the Commission. As a result the suspensions were lifted in the North-East, North-West Objective 1 and Peterborough in September; and in Yorkshire and The Humber in October. We are still waiting for decisions on West Midlands, the North-West and London, and are carrying out further work to reassure the Commission as a matter of urgency.
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