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3 Dec 2007 : Column WA149
3 Dec 2007 : Column WA149
3 Dec 2007 : Column WA149
Monday 3 December 2007
Abortion
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 29 October (WA 135), whether the Abortion Act 1967 is being infringed when abortions are authorised by two doctors who had neither seen the patient nor read her notes. [HL312]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The certificate of opinion (form HSA1) requires each doctor to indicate whether he has or has not seen or examined the patient. It also requires that the certificate of opinion relates to the circumstances of the pregnant woman's individual case. If the doctor knows nothing of the woman's individual case, he could not have formed his opinion in good faith (as required by Section 1 of the Abortion Act 1967 and the HSA1 form prescribed in the Abortion Regulations 1991, which includes a declaration that the opinion was formed in good faith).
Agriculture: GM Crops
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will always apply the precautionary principle when considering issues concerning genetically modified crops, their cultivation and importation; and, in particular, whether they are applying this principle to genetically modified maize and its possible effects on butterflies and other beneficial insects. [HL461]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): There are strict EU safety controls on the proposed release of genetically modified (GM) organisms, and the Government take a precautionary approach when addressing this issue. Risk assessments of GM crops look at the potential impact on insects, in particular where the crop is designed to be resistant to a specific pest species.
Alcohol
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Why the Department of Health leaflet How Much is Too Much? updated in October states that one small glass of wine containing 125 millilitres (ml) contains one unit of alcohol, when that amount of most table wines containing 13.5 per cent alcohol would be 1.7 units of alcohol; and why the department's web page on alcohol and health states that a 175 ml glass of wine contains two units, when the figure for most table wines is 2.36 units. [HL141]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): In the leaflet How Much is Too Much? the information that a 125 millilitre (ml) glass of wine contains around one unit of alcohol is inaccurate. A 125 ml glass of wine
3 Dec 2007 : Column WA150
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many residential alcohol treatment requirements have been imposed by the courts of England and Wales in each quarter since Section 212 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 came into force on 4 April 2005. [HL316]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The table below shows the number of alcohol treatment requirements made under community orders and suspended sentence orders that commenced under Probation Service supervision in each quarter since they were introduced for adult offenders for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. Information on the number of alcohol treatment requirements made where the required treatment was residential is not centrally available.
| Q2 2005 | Q3 2005 | Q4 2005 | Q1 2006 | Q2 2006 | Q3 2006 | Q4 2006 | Q1 2007 | Q2 2007 |
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the number of places available in establishments suitable for persons subject to alcohol treatment requirements under Section 212 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003; and how many of these were unoccupied on the latest convenient date. [HL317]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There is no specific allocation of places in residential rehabilitation for offenders sentenced to an alcohol treatment requirement (ATR). Offenders on ATRs will generally be managed as out-patients but they can be referred into residential treatment provision subject to an assessment of their suitability, the availability of a placement and the necessary funding being in place.
The Bedvacs residential database indicates that there are 2,148 beds in residential rehabilitation services in England and Wales (this figure excludes the 412 beds that are reserved solely for those with a drugs problem). Of the 2,148 beds, 427 were unoccupied in the week ending 23 November 2007 (the most recent date for which figures are available).
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements they have made for monitoring the subsequent criminal justice history of persons discharged from alcohol treatment requirements under Section 212 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003;
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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Alcohol treatment requirements (ATRs) provide access to a tailored treatment programme with the aim of reducing or eliminating drink dependency. The requirement can last between six months and three years.
Information on the termination of alcohol treatment requirements, the reasons for their termination and the time taken to terminate is routinely monitored by RDS NOMS in the form of a data collection exercise, under which each probation area submits regular monthly data returns to RDS NOMS. However, there is no specific monitoring of the subsequent criminal justice history of persons discharged from ATRs. Reoffending rates of persons discharged from ATRs may be included in future reoffending reports. The first reoffending report in which community orders will be reported on will be the 2006 cohort results, which are planned to be published in late July 2008.
A research study has been commissioned by the Ministry of Justice, which, although not assessing reoffending specifically, will examine ATR retention and completion rates and will consider the different commissioning and delivery models for ATRs. This study will report at the end of 2008.
The Ministry of Justice is not evaluating the comparative effectiveness of treatment in the establishments to which offenders are committed. However, the Department of Health’s Review of the Effectiveness of Treatment for Alcohol Problems (2006) provided a “critical appraisal of the evidence base for the treatments available for people with alcohol problems” which offenders on ATRs will be referred into.
Asylum Seekers: Unaccompanied Children
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they received from the British Dental Association regarding the use of dental X-rays to assist in determining the age of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children; and whether they will place copies of this and other representations on this subject in the Library of the House, together with their responses. [HL458]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): We received 119 written responses to our consultation paper Planning Better
3 Dec 2007 : Column WA152
Carers
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many carers under the age of 18 are unable to attend school or college; and how this has changed in the past year. [HL395]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Lord Adonis): This information is not collected. The parents of all children of compulsory school age have a duty to secure their children's participation in suitable full-time education, whether at school or otherwise. Schools record the attendance and absence of their registered pupils using national codes that show the reason for any absence, but there is no discrete code for absence that results from caring responsibilities. We do not collect absence data for pupils who are not of compulsory school age or children and young people who are educated outside the school system.
Children: Care
Lord Bradley asked Her Majesty's Government:
For each of the 10 metropolitan councils in Greater Manchester, how many children were placed in care outside their own district in each of the last five years; and what was the cost of these placements in each of the last five years. [HL435]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Lord Adonis): For children who were placed in care outside their own local authorities, this information has been collected only since 2005-06 and so is not available for the last five years. The most up-to-date local authority information can be found in Table 22 of the statistical volume entitled Children Looked After by Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March 2006 and is accessible at www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/VOL/v000721/Addition1.xls. An edited version of Table 22 is shown below.
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