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Northern Ireland Office: Media Relations
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much the Northern Ireland Office has spent on media relations and related activities in
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Lord Rooker: Traditionally, the Secretary of State hosts a New Year media reception at Hillsborough Castle to which representatives from all key media outlets are invited. The cost associated with these receptions for each of the past three years is detailed below. The information for previous years is no longer available.
In addition, the Secretary of State also hosts periodical media lunches and dinners for broadcasters, newspaper editors and other media representatives. The costs associated with these events for each of the past three years is detailed below. The information for previous years is no longer available.
Northern Ireland Office: Staff Sickness
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the average number of days off through illness for employees in the Northern Ireland Office over the past five years; and how this compares with the United Kingdom average. [HL1768]
Lord Rooker: The following table shows the average number of days lost through illness for employees within the Northern Ireland Office in each of the past five years. The figures given for the United Kingdom Civil Service have been supplied by the Cabinet Office and include Scotland, Wales and home civil servants working in Northern Ireland (including those who do not work for the NIO). For comparison, the table shows the average number of days lost in the Northern Ireland Civil Service departments and the average number of days lost across the UK workforce.
The Northern Ireland Office takes the management of sickness absence very seriously and has robust policies and procedures in place to deal with inefficiency which results from poor attendance. The health and safety of everyone in the department is of paramount importance; we have a duty of care to help prevent staff becoming ill and to support them when they are. The Northern Ireland Office already has a series of effective policies and procedures in place which help achieve these aims.
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| Year | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
| * This figure excludes the Inland Revenue statistics. | |||||
| ** Figures taken from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development website | |||||
Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 5 February (WA 172—3), how much funding they have made available for the cases to be made in Northern Ireland for the need not to have a separate bill of rights; and the need not to have a bill of rights. [HL1884]
Lord Rooker: The remit of the Bill of Rights Forum is to produce agreed recommendations by 31 March to inform the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's advice to Government on the scope for defining, in Westminster legislation, rights supplementary to those in the European Convention on Human Rights, to reflect the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland, drawing as appropriate on international human rights instruments and experience. A budget of £441,600 has been made available for this purpose.
Members of the Bill of Rights Forum reflect a diverse range of opinion on the need for a separate Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. Funding has not been directed at specific categories of opinion.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 5 February (WA 171) concerning the chairman of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Forum, how potential candidates for the chairmanship were identified; against what criteria and by whom the candidates were assessed; and whether they will place in the Library of the House a list of the candidates considered. [HL1886]
Lord Rooker: Suggestions for potential candidates for the chairmanship of the Bill of Rights Forum were provided by officials in the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the then Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Northern Ireland Office, the Irish Government, the UK Mission to the UN, Geneva, and the British Embassy, Dublin. Candidates were then assessed by officials against the following criteria:
experience and understanding of human rights, including international human rights instruments, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights;a track record of leadership;proven ability to establish consensus among a politically and socially divergent group; andproven ability to analyse and make recommendations on complex issues.A shortlist of candidates was provided to NIO Ministers, who determined that Mr Sidoti should be invited to chair the forum.
A list of candidates considered has not been placed in the Library of the House because it contains “personal data” within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What equality impact assessment was carried out in advance of approval of a grant of £441,660 to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Forum; and whether related documentation will be placed in the Library of the House. [HL1887]
Lord Rooker: The Northern Ireland Office completed an equality scheme screening form which determined that the policy being screened would not have a significant impact on equality of opportunity in Northern Ireland. As a result of the outcome of this screening exercise, a full equality impact assessment was not required. A copy of the screening form will be placed in the Library of the House.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 5 February (WA 172) concerning human rights in Northern Ireland, whether the remit of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Forum includes persuasion of the community of the need for a bill of rights or is confined to the grounds the bill should cover. [HL1889]
Lord Rooker: The terms of reference of the Bill of Rights Forum are “to produce agreed recommendations to inform the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s advice to Government on the scope for defining, in Westminster legislation, rights supplementary to those in the European Convention on Human Rights, to reflect the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland, drawing as appropriate on international human rights instruments and experience. These additional rights to reflect the principles of mutual respect for the identity and ethos of both communities and parity of esteem, and—taken together with the ECHR—to constitute a Bill Rights for Northern Ireland.”
Northern Ireland: Good Friday Agreement
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 31 January (WA 141—4), why they used the expression “the Good Friday Agreement” in the Written Answer by the noble Lord on 5 February (WA 172—3). [HL1888]
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Lord Rooker: As set out in the Written Answer given on 31 January, the term “Good Friday Agreement” is a colloquial term that describes the agreement reached at multi-party talks on Northern Ireland signed on 10 April 1998 and set out in Command Paper 3883.
The Government recognise that the “Belfast Agreement” is the official title given to this agreement, and use this title in any legal or statutory references to the agreement but given the wide use of the term “Good Friday Agreement” the Government use both terms in other documents.
Philippines: Justice
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made representations to the Government of the Philippines about the killings of Bishop Benjamin de Jesus at Jolo Cathedral in 1997, Reverend Reynaldo Roda in the church of Tabawan, Jolo, on 15 January 2008 and Reverend Felicisimo Catambis in Abuyog, Leyte, on 23 January 2008; and whether they have received assurances that those responsible will be brought to justice. [HL1781]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): Although no representations have been made regarding the individual cases of Bishop Benjamin de Jesus, Reverend Reynaldo Roda or Reverend Felicisimo Catambis, our embassy in Manila and successive EU presidencies have stressed to the Philippine Government the importance of justice for all victims of violent deaths. In response to international pressure, President Arroyo has made a commitment to address both extra judicial killings and impunity and announced a number of measures intended to achieve this. The president requested technical assistance from the EU to support the Philippine Government's efforts to address the issue. An EU needs assessment mission, including a UK expert, visited the Philippines in June 2007. This was part-funded by the UK. The EU is currently developing a package of technical assistance based on the proposals and recommendations in the mission's reports.
Polygamy
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many women have been granted visas to enter Britain as second or subsequent concurrent wives since 1997. [HL1782]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not record such data. This information could be obtained only by examining individual visa application forms and this would incur disproportionate cost.
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Public Spending: Equality Impact Assessments
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What sources of public funding in Northern Ireland require an equality impact assessment prior to their distribution. [HL1715]
Lord Rooker: Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires public authorities carrying out functions in relation to Northern Ireland to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity and regard to the desirability of promoting good relations.
Section 75 applies to those public authorities which are specified in the legislation as subject to these duties. All functions and policies of those public authorities require an assessment of their equality implications by way of screening and, where evidence exists of potential equality impact, public authorities must undertake a full equality impact assessment.
It is for individual public authorities to obtain relevant evidence and decide what consideration they give to assessments of existing and proposed funding policies, and what steps they should take to improve the impact of funding policies.
Railways: Cancellations
The Duke of Montrose asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many times in each of the past five years main line train services have been cancelled because of flooding or weather conditions. [HL1827]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Train cancellation data for the rail network as a whole are collected and processed by Network Rail. The noble Duke may wish to contact Network Rail for this information at the following address: Mr Iain Coucher, Chief Executive, Network Rail, 40 Melton Street, London, NW1 2EE.
Railways: Fast Trains
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will promote the provision on United Kingdom railways of trains capable of attaining speeds of 220 miles per hour, similar to those planned in France and Spain. [HL1873]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Government’s strategy for inter-urban rail services is to make the best use of existing networks by lengthening existing trains, increasing service frequencies and tackling key congestion pinch points.
In other countries distances are often greater and congestion lower, so in some cases high-speed rail
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However, the Government have not ruled out high-speed lines in the future. Any work done by industry contributes to our understanding of the issues around new lines. We will view any ideas in a multi-modal context.
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