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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Department for Communities and Local Government is committed to valuing diversity

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and equality of opportunity and recruits on the basis of people's skills and competence matched against the relevant job description. Recruitment processes are carried out in accordance with the Civil Service Commissioner's Code which sets out that selection should be based on merit and through fair and open competition. All job applicants are asked to complete a diversity monitoring form, which includes their age. This form does not form any part of the selection process, but is used to monitor diversity data in relation to recruitment.

Passports

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 27 February (WA 124) concerning British passports, in each of the past 10 years, how many Irish citizens applied for British citizenship under Section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981; and how many of those were successful. [HL2383]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The requested information is available only from October 2001 and is shown in the table attached.

The information has been provided from local management information and is not a national statistic. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

Intake from Irish Nationals for Section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981
Year 2001	Nationality	Intake	Grants
2001 *	Ireland	55	50
2002	Ireland	100	95
2003	Ireland	100	90
2004	Ireland	100	85
2005	Ireland	95	90
2006	Ireland	80	65
2007	Ireland	80	70
Total		610	545
Source: Local Management Information
Footnotes
* Incomplete Data Set. Statistics can only be obtained from October 2001.
(1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5
(2) Figures relate to those people still showing their Nationality as Irish. If following the grant of their British citizenship, they have sponsored someone else these people will not be included above.
(3) The intake figures above relate to the years shown. The grants reflect how many of each years intake have been decided, and are not necessarily granted in the year shown.
(4) The information has been provided from local management information and is not a national statistic. As such, it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.

Pensions: Personal Accounts

Baroness Hollis of Heigham asked Her Majesty's Government:

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How many people will face a return of less than inflation in 2050 if they have been automatically enrolled in a personal account for (a) 15 years, (b) 20 years, and (c) 25 years. [HL2286]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): The information is not available in the form requested.

Following the Turner report, a broad consensus emerged to encourage saving, to extend the opportunities of pension saving to millions of people, and to implement personal accounts.

Most people can expect to gain from being auto-enrolled into a pension, with saving providing the best means to meet rising expectations of a higher income in retirement.

The Pension Bill reforms will ensure clear incentives from employer contributions and tax relief, providing a pound for pound matching contribution and extending access to pension saving to millions of people for the first time.

The Government recognise the need for well-informed discussion and evaluation of savings incentives, and have therefore established a government-led work programme to consider this.

Plastic Bags

Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:

What new policies they propose to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags by British shoppers. [HL2316]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Government are considering carefully the issue of single use carrier bags and will present policy proposals in due course.

Police: Databases

Baroness Miller of Hendon asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will invite members of the public who have no objection voluntarily to place their DNA on the DNA database. [HL2107]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The police may, as part of their investigation of a crime, ask a participant in an intelligence-led screen, a victim, a witness or some other person who has had legitimate access to a crime scene to give a DNA sample voluntarily so that their DNA profile can be eliminated from those profiles found at the crime scene. Such samples are known as “volunteer” samples.

Volunteer samples may be taken only with the person's written consent to giving a DNA sample in order to assist the police investigation. The resulting DNA profile is then compared in the forensic laboratory with the DNA material recovered from the crime scene. Volunteer subject sample profiles are added to the National DNA Database (NDNAD) only where

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the individual has also given separate written consent for their profile to be loaded and retained on the NDNAD for searching against other unsolved crime scene profiles.

There are no plans to issue any general invitation to the public to provide DNA samples voluntarily. Inviting members of the public to give DNA where there is no reason to do so in connection with a particular investigation is not likely to be a cost-effective use of police and NDNAD resources. If a member of the public offers to provide the police with a DNA sample voluntarily without any connection to a particular investigation, it would be a matter for the chief officer of the police force concerned to consider whether to accept this offer in the light of the particular circumstances of the case.

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

How many children under the age of 10 currently have their DNA profiles on the National DNA Database. [HL2239]

Lord West of Spithead: As at 31 January 2008, the National DNA Database (NDNAD) held 44 profiles from individuals under the age of 10, from all United Kingdom police forces (including England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands). In England and Wales, a child under the age of 10 is below the age of criminal responsibility and therefore a DNA sample can be taken only with the consent of a parent or guardian. If police think a child under 10 might have committed a crime they might decide to take a DNA sample to establish whether they have done it or to eliminate them from investigations. A child under 10 might also have DNA taken to eliminate their profile because they were a victim or present at the crime scene.

Prisons: Mr Eesa Barot

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether Mr Eesa (Dhiren) Barot was attacked with boiling oil and water at HM Prison Frankland on or around 6 July 2007; if so, what medical treatment he received; what is his present state of health; and whether anyone has been disciplined on account of this attack. [HL2364]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): It is not Prison Service policy to comment on individual prisoners.

Record Offices: Charging

Lord Harrison asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have recently reviewed the charging regime in national record offices and its impact on those conducting research; and whether this adds to the administrative tasks undertaken by record office staff. [HL2114]

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Lord Davies of Oldham: The present charges at the National Archives commenced on 1 April 2005 and are listed in the Public Record Office (Fees) Regulations (S.I. 2005/471). Charges at local authority record offices are a matter for the local authority concerned. We have seen no evidence of the impact of charging regimes.

Regulators: Criminal Prosecutions

Lord Lyell of Markyate asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Jones of Birmingham on 29 January (WA 111—2) on regulators: criminal prosecution, what were the categories of offences for which the prosecutions were brought. [HL2153]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Baroness Vadera): Prosecutions for offences under the Wireless Telegraphy Acts 1949 and 2006 (WT Acts), the Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (R&TTE), the Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations (EMC), Coastal Station Radio (CSR) and Citizens Band (CB) brought by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) in the past three years were as follows:

Year	Prosecutions
2005	61 of which 58 under WT Acts for illegal broadcasting and 3 for R&TTE
2006	66 of which 62 under WT Acts for illegal broadcasting, 2 for R&TTE, 1 for EMC and 1 hoax call to CSR
2007	46 of which 38 under WT Acts for illegal broadcasting, 5 for R&TTE, 2 for CB and 1 Other

No criminal prosecutions were brought in the past three years by the British Hallmarking Council, the Coal Authority, the Competition Commission and the Office of Fair Trading.

Lord Lyell of Markyate asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 29 January (WA 112) on regulators: criminal prosecution, what was the offence for which the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission brought the prosecution. [HL2156]

Lord Davies of Oldham: The offence was the demolition of a grade II listed building known as Greenside, Wentworth, Surrey, without listed building consent, contrary to Section 9(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990.

Taxation: Non-domiciles

Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their response to the reported comments of the Lord Mayor of London that City professionals with high income and assets should seek to avoid paying United Kingdom taxes through the exercise of non-domicile status privileges. [HL2226]

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Lord Davies of Oldham: The Chancellor announced the Government's response to the consultation on residence and domicile in the recent Budget report.

The remittance basis of taxation does not represent a form of tax avoidance. Rather, it offers an alternative basis of taxation that helps to make the UK an attractive destination for international talent and investment. The Government's reforms will retain these special rules, while ensuring that they operate more fairly.

Lord Inglewood asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment they have made of the percentage of those employed full-time playing football in the United Kingdom who are not domiciled in the United Kingdom for tax purposes. [HL2427]

Lord Davies of Oldham: The information requested is not available.

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