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Government: Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What functions, both public and private, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has fulfilled in Northern Ireland since appointment; and [HL25]
What public appointments the current Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has had, outside Northern Ireland, since his appointment; and [HL694]
When they plan to answer the Question (HL25) tabled on 6 November; and what are the reasons for the delay. [HL783]
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Lord Rooker: I apologise to the noble Lord for the delay in answering. The information requested by the noble Lord is held by the Northern Ireland Office. However, the disclosure of some of this information, including details of internal or interdepartmental meetings with Ministers or officials, would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs.
The information that can be disclosed is set out in the following table. In addition to those functions listed, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State has had a number of meetings with political parties in Northern Ireland and has regular meetings with other key public figures in Northern Ireland.
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Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
On how many occasions since appointment the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has officially visited the United States; on what dates he travelled to and from that country; what was the purpose of any such visits; and what was the cost; and [HL288]
Whether the current Secretary of State for Northern Ireland stayed in the United States on official business; if so, when; at what cost; and how many officials were involved and at what cost. [HL451]
Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State has visited the United States on official business on three occasions since appointment. It is important as we progress towards the completion of devolution to maintain contact with the US Administration and key politicians and opinion formers there. Such visits also enable my right honourable friend to support the devolved Administration in attracting inward investment to Northern Ireland.
Details are as follows. It is not possible accurately to disaggregate the cost for accompanying officials from those incurred by the Secretary of State. The
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Washington DC and New York—10 July to 13 July—accompanied by three officials; estimated cost £21,300
Boston and New York—16 October to 18 October—accompanied by three officials; estimated cost £29,125
Washington DC and New York—14 November to 19 November—accompanied by two officials; estimated cost £19,500.
Government: Secretary of State for Scotland
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the hours of work of the Secretary of State for Scotland's private office in the Scotland Office. [HL605]
Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Scotland Office private office supports both the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of State for Scotland. The office is normally manned from 08.30 until 19.00 Monday to Friday, and beyond those times when required. As with other ministerial private offices, a 24-hour on-call service is operated by private office staff.
Green Belt
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of the green belt in England consists of (a) productive farmland and woodland; (b) amenity land and land used for sporting purposes; (c) land that is built on for housing; (d) land that is built on for commercial uses; (e) land used for transportation; (f) waste land; and (g) land used for other purposes. [HL306]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The 2006 designated green belt covered 1,631,800 hectares of land; this is 13 per cent of the land area of England.
Information on how much of land designated as green belt has a particular land use is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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