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17 Mar 2008 : Column WA1
Written Answers
Monday 17 March 2008
Airports: Heathrow
Baroness Valentine asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many immigration officers were employed at Heathrow Airport on (a) 1 January 2006, and (b) 16 October 2007; and what arrangements are in place to ensure that border control staffing levels at Heathrow are responsive to the expected numbers of passengers passing through the airport at any time. [HL203]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): I wrote to the noble Baroness on 14 March 2008.
Armed Forces: Chelsea Barracks
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any obligation to provide social housing was placed on the purchaser of Chelsea Barracks. [HL2395]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The MoD did not impose any obligations on Project Blue (Guernsey) Limited or any of the potential purchasers regarding the provision of social housing.
However, the department worked closely with the local authority, City of Westminster Council (CWC), in considering the most appropriate future uses of the site. CWC has adopted a strategic planning brief for Chelsea Barracks which provides a planning policy framework for the assessment of planning applications relating to the site. The brief confirms that CWC will expect a residential development, with associated community facilities, to include up to 50 per cent affordable housing (including key workers).
Armed Forces: Healthcare
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What funding has been provided by the Ministry of Defence since 1997 for healthcare for service families abroad; and what is the planned funding for this healthcare over the next four years. [HL2046]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate effort. Individual budget holders do not differentiate between healthcare costs for service personnel overseas and for their accompanying families and dependants.
17 Mar 2008 : Column WA2
Birds
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will next meet representatives of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to discuss new measures to counter the decline of bird species such as robins, song thrushes and blackbirds in United Kingdom gardens. [HL2314]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): My department regularly meets representatives of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to discuss a range of issues including the decline of certain species. The next scheduled meeting between the RSPB and Secretary of State is on 13 March 2008.
Bloody Sunday: Saville Inquiry
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the statement by Tessa Jowell MP on BBC TV's Sunday AM Programme in July 2006 that the cost of the Saville Bloody Sunday Inquiry was “about £400 million” was correct; and if so, why the Northern Ireland Office recently reported the cost as £181 million. [HL2217]
Lord Rooker: I am advised that the figure quoted on the programme was inaccurate. The correct cost as at July 2006, £172 million, was reported in a Written Answer to you on 8 November 2006 (Official Report, col. WA165).
Accurate costs were most recently reported to Parliament by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 20 February 2008 (Official Report, col. 337).
British Citizenship
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What decision has been reached on the application for British citizenship by Ms RKS (HO Ref: W1111067, CTS Ref: M370/8 DW), following the agreement notified in a letter of 14 January by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, Meg Hillier, that her case should be reopened and considered further. [HL2168]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): My honourable friend the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration wrote to the noble Lord on 10 March 2008.
British Irish Intergovernmental Conference
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much the British Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat has cost for each year since its creation. [HL2277]
17 Mar 2008 : Column WA3
Lord Rooker: The expenditure of the British Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat is met by the two Governments. The total costs to the British Government for the past six years are shown in the following table. Costs for 1999-01 are no longer held.
| Financial Year | BIIGS Costs |
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
When the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference has met since its creation; where each meeting was held; what was discussed at each meeting; and when is the next meeting. [HL2278]
Lord Rooker: The details of all British Irish Intergovernmental Conferences (BIIGC) are contained in the following table. Information on the discussions can be found within the official joint communiques, issued by the two Governments after every BIIGC. These communiques can be found on the NOI website at www.nio.gov.uk. A suitable date for the next BIIGC is currently being discussed with the Irish Government.
| British Irish Intergovernmental Conference | ||
| BIIGC Date | Summit Level/Ministerial Level | Location |
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many members of staff the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat has; how they were recruited; by whom they were recruited; and what is the breakdown of their community background. [HL2279]
17 Mar 2008 : Column WA4
Lord Rooker: The British side of the British Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat (BIIGS) comprises of 12 members of staff employed by the Northern Ireland Office. The staff were recruited by the NIO under normal Civil Service (NICS/HCS) procedures and subsequently posted to the BIIGS under normal NIO posting policy. Data on the community background of NIO staff are held by the Northern Ireland Office or the NICS/Department of Finance and Personnel. The community background of NIO staff will not be disclosed, given the small number of staff involved.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
On what issues and occasions the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference has facilitated co-operation in security matters, as required by strand three, paragraph six of the Belfast agreement of 1998 (Cm 4705). [HL2292]
Lord Rooker: Security matters and co-operation have been regularly discussed at the British Irish Intergovernmental Conferences (BI IGC), both at ministerial and official level. Information on the discussions can be found within the official joint communiques, issued by the two Governments after every BIIGC and can be found on the NIO website at www.nio.gov.uk.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference has raised issues of human rights in the Republic of Ireland; and if not, why. [HL2293]
Lord Rooker: Human Rights issues have been discussed at the British Irish Intergovernmental Conferences (BIIGC), both at ministerial and official level. Information on the discussions can be found within the official joint communiques, issued by the two Governments after every BIIGC and can be found on the NIO website at www.nio.gov.uk.
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