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Police: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the average number of days sick leave as a percentage of total working days recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in each of the past five years; and how this figure compares with the national average. [HL1693]

Lord Rooker: The Police Service of Northern Ireland has advised that it does not record sick absence as a percentage of total working days as its recording methodology is in accordance with the performance targets set out in the policing plan.

The following table provides details of the average number of working days lost, per person, as a result of sickness absence for the period April 2003 to present:

	April 03 March 04	April 04 March 05	April 05 April 06	April 06 March 07	April 07 December 07
Police Officer	16.14	15.30	11.64	11.33	8.58
Police Staff	14.54	15.11	14.92	12.65	8.10

As the Home Offices calculate their sick leave in hours rather than days—owing to the varying lengths of shifts from force to force—it is not possible to provide a comparable figure for the national average.

Police: Tasers

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many persons have suffered serious or permanent injuries as a result of the use of Tasers by police officers in England and Wales. [HL1863]

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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): We are not aware of any persons suffering serious injuries as a result of the use of Taser in the UK. The Defence Scientific Advisory Council's Sub-Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (DOMILL), an independent group of medical experts, examines all the available medical reports where Taser has been used in the UK and is content that the risk of life threatening and serious injuries from Taser is low.

However, no less lethal option is risk free. Any use of force carries some risk of physical injury.

Poverty

The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they can explain the increase between 1999 and 2003 in the proportion of people living in poverty, at a time of overall economic growth, in the 16 African countries targeted in the Department for International Development's public service agreements. [HL1491]

Baroness Crawley: Reliable estimates of poverty rates in the 16 African countries mentioned are not available for 1999-03, as poverty rates are measured only intermittently. In general terms, as population has increased, the numbers living in absolute poverty have been rising in Africa, while the rate of poverty as a share of the population has started to fall.

Silbury Hill

Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:

What information they have received from English Heritage on the additional costs likely to be incurred in connection with the conservation project to stabilise Silbury Hill following the collapse of material into the Mereweather and Atkinson tunnels; and whether they will make additional funding available to English Heritage to cover this expenditure. [HL1617]

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport was informed of the situation at Silbury Hill, including the increase in project costs resulting from ground conditions due to last summer's heavy rain.

DCMS has no plans to make specific funding for Silbury Hill available to English Heritage over and above its grant in aid of £131.8 million.

The EU has agreed to allocate €162 million from the European Union Solidarity Fund to the UK following the floods of June and July 2007 to help cover the costs of emergency operations undertaken by public bodies during the floods. These operations can include immediate measures taken to protect the cultural heritage.

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We are currently working with the European Commission to finalise the implementation agreement for this money, and public authorities will be consulted in due course on the allocation of these funds.

Syria: Damascus Declaration Group

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will make representations to the Government of Syria for the release of 12 detained members of the opposition Damascus Declaration group. [HL1864]

Lord Bach: There has been a worrying deterioration in the human rights situation in Syria recently, with the arrest of a number of prominent members of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration. Our ambassador in Damascus raised these cases directly with the Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister on 29 January, calling for the release of all those detained. My honourable friend the Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, also raised this issue in another place on 28 January 2008 (Official Report, cols. 141-146) and a Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman made a statement on 5 February calling for the release of the human rights activists. In addition, the EU presidency, with full UK support, made a statement on 1 February 2008 condemning the recent deterioration in the situation. Our embassy in Damascus, working closely with other EU missions, continues to press the Syrians to improve conditions in general, as well as to raise individual cases of concern.

Timber

Lord Eden of Winton asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their assessment of the extent to which rainforests in Brazil, the Congo Basin and south-east Asia are being destroyed by legal and illegal logging; and how they are contributing to international action to control these operations. [HL1681]

Baroness Crawley: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN-FAO) estimates that total rainforest loss between 1990 and 2005 in these regions was as follows: Brazil: 42 million ha; Congo Basin: 11 million ha; and south-east Asia: 39 million ha.

Estimates of the extent of illegal logging and forest clearance are unreliable but could be between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of these totals. The primary driver of forest loss, legal or illegal, is not only logging for timber, but is also clearing for cattle ranching and agricultural crops, such as soy and oil palm.

The UK is contributing £24 million to support implementation of the EU's forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) action plan. This involves bilateral agreements between the EU and

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timber-producing countries that will help them develop and implement timber licensing systems. A new EU regulation will ensure that only timber from these countries licensed as legal will be allowed into the EU. The agreements will also seek to address broader governance problems that allow illegal logging and forest destruction in these countries.

In March 2007, the Government announced a £50 million UK contribution to a fund to help conserve the Congo Basin rainforest. Funds will be available for spending in the financial year 2008-09. This will support proposals by 10 central African countries and civil society groups to protect the Congo Basin rainforest from destruction and will strengthen the work of other donors who are already active in the region.

At the Climate Change Conference in Bali last December, inclusion of payments for reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in a post-Kyoto climate change treaty was

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agreed. Projects which reduce deforestation are now likely to attract significant sums of money from private investors. The UK has pledged £15 million to the World Bank's forest carbon partnership facility for pilots to examine modalities for implementation.

Trespass

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many injunctions have been granted against individuals trespassing on government property in each of the past 10 years; and what were the locations. [HL1722]

The Attorney-General (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

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