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Public Spending: Equality Impact Assessments
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 February (WA 48) concerning equality impact assessments in Northern Ireland, what are the public authorities to which Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 applies. [HL2097]
Lord Rooker: Subsection (3) of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, as amended by the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 and the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002, defines the public authorities who are subject to the statutory duties set out in that section. The designation of public authorities is kept under review and a copy of the current list of all bodies subject to the duties will be placed in the Library of the House.
Quangos
Baroness Quin asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will issue an official response to the report of the New Local Government Network entitled You've been Quango'd! Mapping Power across the Regions. [HL1984]
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Lord Davies of Oldham: Appointments to the boards of public bodies are made on merit. The Government encourage applications for appointment from a wide range of candidates—and advertises in national and regional media as appropriate. The final decision, however, is made on merit and the successful candidate will have evidenced the necessary skills and experience required for the role. Where a public body has a particular regional or local focus, every effort is made to encourage applications from the local area. As the report of the New Local Government Network makes clear, the boards of local and regional public bodies—such as primary care trusts and regional development agencies—are already broadly representative of the communities they serve.
The Government note the report of the New Local Government Network with interest. However, they have no plans to issue an official response.
Railways: First Great Western
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the depots and platforms in the First Great Western area are long enough to accommodate any lengthening of trains which may be necessary by the end of the high-level output statement period in 2013; who they expect to pay for any modifications; and what measures they propose to take to alleviate overcrowding on local railway services in the Bristol area. [HL2264]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: As part of the development of its strategic business plan, Network Rail is currently assessing platform lengths and other infrastructure issues relating to capacity enhancements required by the high-level output specification. This includes the Bristol area.
Republic of Ireland: Human Rights
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made to the Government of the Republic of Ireland to ensure the establishment of human rights measures to a level at least equivalent to that in Northern Ireland. [HL2222]
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Lord Rooker: There is no formal mechanism in the Good Friday Agreement for monitoring the progress of each Government other than the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. Human Rights issues have been discussed within this forum, both at ministerial and official level.
Restorative Justice
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 7 January (WA 178), what resource considerations might prevent the use of restorative justice as a commissioned service of Victim Support Plus. [HL2216]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Victim Support Plus is currently being rolled out across England and Wales. Until that is complete, it is not possible to be clear on what demand there will be for the new range of support services and their impact on resources, including grant funding from the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, funds raised by Victim Support itself, and Victim Support staff and volunteer time.
Teaching: Qualifications
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer on 31 of January (WA 146-7), what proportion of entrants to Bachelor of Education degree courses are candidates with less than two A-levels; what is the average A-level attainment of those entrants; and what is the overall average A-level attainment of all entrants, including candidates with less than two A-levels, in table 1 of the Answer. [HL2092]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): The attainment of trainees who enter initial teacher training (ITT) with less than two A-levels is not separately identified.
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