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Russia: Freedom of Assembly and Worship
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make representations to the Government of Russia, following the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Barankevich v Russia (No. 10519/03), concerning freedom of assembly and freedom of worship. [HL1540]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We regularly raise the issues of freedom of assembly and worship with the Government of Russia, through our discussion on human rights issues both bilaterally and through the EU. A recent example of our support for freedom of assembly in Russia is the EU statement of 4 December 2007 on the Russian Duma elections which reported,
- “many reports and allegations of media restrictions as well as harassment of opposition parties and non-governmental organisations in the run up to the elections and on election day, and that procedures during the electoral campaign did not meet international standards and commitments voluntarily assumed by Moscow”.
We do not comment on individual cases but information on execution of judgments is publicly available on the Council of Europe website at: www.coe.int/T/E/Human_Rights/execution.
Russia: National Minorities
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they supported the resolution of the Council of Ministers of May 2007 (CM/Res CMN(2007)7) on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in Russia; and whether the Government of Russia have responded to that judgment. [HL1539]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The UK joined the consensus in the Committee of Ministers on adoption of the resolution on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in Russia. During discussion on the draft resolution Russia accepted the resolution and underlined that it would continue to work on protection of minorities and would publish the second opinion on Russia of the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
Teaching: Qualifications
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of teachers entered the profession via the Bachelor of Education degree qualification. [HL1495]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Lord Adonis): The information requested is not available for all teachers who are currently in teaching service.
Information is available with respect to newly qualified entrants entering service. The latest provisional estimates are for teachers who achieved qualified teacher status (QTS) in 2005 and were in full or part-time service in England in March 2006. Of the 25,460 teachers in this category some 18 per cent (4,040) were recorded as acquiring QTS by achieving an undergraduate degree. These include predominantly Batchelor of Education degrees but also a small number of other first degrees where QTS is also conferred.
The sources of this information are the Database of Teacher Records (DTR) for the numbers of teachers entering service and General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) for the qualifications information. The overall figure provided includes teachers acquiring QTS through all routes including employment-based training and may be slightly underestimated due to the under-reporting of part-time teachers and the late receipt of some teachers’ records.
Young Offender Institutions: Thorn Cross
Baroness Stern asked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have for the 60-bed unit for juveniles at the open young offender institution at Thorn Cross. [HL1511]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Youth Justice Board has announced that it does not wish to purchase beds for juveniles at Thorn Cross. A decision on the future use of these beds will be taken as soon as possible.
Young People: Custody
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Information showing the total number of prisoners in all prison establishments in England and Wales who at one time were accommodated in children's homes is not available.
Departmental records at the Department for Children, Schools and Families show that, out of the 240 children who ceased to be looked after by local authorities in the year ending 31 March 2007 due to being sentenced to custody, 80 were previously placed in children's homes (Source: SSDA903).
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.
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