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Crown Estate
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Crown Estate provides sustainable development, has measures to alleviate climate change and promotes new technologies in its property portfolios. [HL3964]
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Lord Davies of Oldham: The Crown Estate attaches great importance to sustainable development across its portfolio. The Crown Estate believes that its stewardship role on its estates should leave a legacy for future generations and be an example to others. It aims to operate as a lean and enterprising organisation that uses resources efficiently; minimises emissions to land, air and water; curbs the production of waste and increases recycling; and conserves and enhances those parts of the estate rich in biodiversity and architectural and historical value.
Detailed information can be found in their annual report and on the Crown Estate website at www.thecrownestate.co.uk/cr.htm.
Cuba: Prisoners
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made representations to the Government of Cuba encouraging them to abide by the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners; and, if so, what was the result. [HL3750]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We have made no representations to the Government of Cuba on the UN standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners.
However, our embassy in Havana continues to monitor the situations of political prisoners who are reported to be suffering ill health without adequate medical treatment and maintains contact with their supporters, including their immediate families. We regularly raise the issue of political prisoners with the Cuban authorities both in London and Havana and call for their immediate release. Most recently, my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Meg Munn, raised the issue of the release of political prisoners with the vice-president of the National Assembly of People's Power, Jaime Crombert Hernandez-Baquero, in November 2007 and with Cuban Vice Foreign Minister, Eumelio Caballero, in April 2008.
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made representations to the Government of Cuba concerning the health and treatment in prison of Dr José Luís García Paneque, the former head of the independent news agency Libertad, presently serving a 24-year sentence. [HL3751]
Lord Malloch-Brown: I refer the noble Lord to my responses on 2 June (Official Report, cols. WA 7-8). We are particularly concerned about those political prisoners, such as Dr. Paneque, who are reported to be suffering poor health yet are not provided with adequate medical treatment. Our embassy in Havana continues to monitor Dr Paneque's case and maintains contact with his supporters.
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Cuba: Torture
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 2 June (HL3559), what is their definition of torture; and why they do not class beating or fear of beating in Cuban prisons as torture in that Answer. [HL3896]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The definition of torture in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984) is:
“For the purposes of this Convention, the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions”.
Former political prisoners have accused the Cuban Government of cruel and degrading treatment and torture. No independent body, including the International Committee of the Red Cross or the UN Special Rapporteur, has access to Cuban prisons and to date no conclusive evidence has emerged. We are therefore unable to verify such claims. I refer the noble Lord to my response of 2 June (Official Report, col. WA8) for details of our human rights dialogue with Cuba.
Data Loss: Police Inquiries
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many reports of lost or stolen material relating to information given to inquiries into historic police activity they have received since 2001. [HL3862]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The Government have been made aware of a breach of security, involving a loss of data, in connection with the Rosemary Nelson inquiry and the theft of a laptop from one of the barristers involved in the Billy Wright inquiry.
Detention
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why they intend to provide capacity to detain an additional 1,400 persons in detention centres; whether in reaching this decision they took into account conditions in existing detention centres; and how they intend to improve the overall management of detention centres. [HL3882]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The recent announcement by the Minister for Borders and Immigration to expand the capacity of the Immigration Removal Centre estate is to ensure that we have sufficient space to detain immigration offenders in order to effect their removal from the UK.
The UK Border Agency now removes an immigration offender every eight minutes. This includes failed asylum seekers, overstayers and a record number of foreign prisoners.
Challenging targets have been set to increase the rate of removals, backed up with a doubling of enforcement resources.
Detention is necessary to ensure that immigration offenders do not abscond while the final stages of their removal are being arranged. It can also be used to “fast track” new asylum claims by housing applicants in centres with dedicated teams of case workers. This allows their cases to be decided quickly, leading either to faster integration in the UK for successful applicants, or faster removal for those whose claims are refused.
Existing centres are constantly reviewed to ensure that the safest, most secure and humane conditions are in place, subject to the constraints of the facility.
When new centres are planned, the latest designs are considered to ensure that value for money is obtained and any lessons learnt from existing centres are included to improve staff and detainee safety and well-being.
The management of the centres is undertaken by both HM Prison Service and private contractors under the supervision of the UK Border Agency. Regular reviews are undertaken by UKBA to ensure that agreed standards and procedures covering both security and welfare of detainees are being met.
Centres are also subject to regular inspections by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons and independent monitoring boards review the standard of care provided to the detainees.
e-MERLIN
Lord Harrison asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Morgan of Drefelin on 31 March (WA 133), what is the latest situation in respect of the future funding of the e-MERLIN radio-telescope project. [HL3891]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is responsible for making decisions on the funding of e-MERLIN, and no decision has yet been taken by STFC on its future level of investment. STFC has, however, made it clear that the e-MERLIN project is part of its strategy for radio astronomy and that it will discuss the issues, with its partners, the University of Manchester and the North West Development Agency, in deciding how to take forward the project.
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European Court of Human Rights: Judges
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether judges of the European Court of Human Rights or civil servants in the Court's registry decide which pending cases should be given priority and which judges should act as rapporteurs. [HL3987]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The decisions as regards which cases should be given priority, and which judges should act as rapporteurs, are matters for the judges of the European Court of Human Rights in accordance with the Rules of Court.
Rule 41 of the Rules of Court provides that “applications shall be dealt with in the order in which they become ready for examination. The Chamber or its president may, however, decide to give priority to a particular application”.
Rule 49 provides for the president of the section to which the case has been assigned to designate a judge as judge rapporteur in relation to individual applications. Under Rule 50, for Grand Chamber proceedings, the president of the Grand Chamber designates the judge rapporteur. Under Rule 48, regarding inter-state applications, the Chamber constituted to hear the case shall designate one or more of its judges as judge rapporteur.
Female Genital Mutilation Act
Baroness Tonge asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): There have been no prosecutions under the 2003 Act. However, the Act is designed to help to prevent this deplorable and unacceptable practice from happening in the first place and anecdotal evidence suggests that it is doing this. It is also being used to raise awareness among relevant professionals, including police forces and others in the Criminal Justice System and those involved with healthcare, social services and the education sector so that girls at risk can be identified. And there is evidence that the law is being pursued vigorously. The Metropolitan Police Child Abuse Investigation Command, for example, has specifically targeted female genital mutilation and produced a comprehensive training pack which has been disseminated widely to London's schools and many other agencies. Ultimately, educating communities to abandon the practice is the best way forward to break the cycle of mutilation and the Act continues to be widely used for that purpose.
Flooding: EU Funding
Lord Chidgey asked Her Majesty's Government:
At what time and in what proportion payments have been received from the €162 million allocated to the United Kingdom from the European Union
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Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government are in the process of finalising the arrangements for the receipt of the funding from the EU Solidarity Fund: €162.4 million (which amounts to around £110 million at the exchange rate at the time of application). We would expect to receive this funding shortly.
Lord Chidgey asked Her Majesty’s Government:
How much of the €162 million allocated to the United Kingdom from the European Union Solidarity Fund in response to flooding in 2007 has been disbursed; where and on what it has been spent; and on what basis the allocation of these funds has been prioritised against competing claims. [HL4048]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The receipt from the EU will be used to defray costs incurred by central government, totalling the full amount of €162.4 million (£110 million at the exchange rate at the time of application). The Government will separately make available a total of £31 million additional funding to English local authorities and the devolved Administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Health: Diabetes
Lord Harrison asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the National Service Framework for Diabetes at its halfway stage, with particular reference to retinopathy screening and treatment. [HL3975]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): We are planning to publish our progress report on the Diabetes National Service Framework during summer 2008.
Screening for diabetic retinopathy was a target in the Diabetes National Service Framework and has been included in the Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2008-09. Copies of this publication are available in the Library. Data from the local delivery plan returns (end March 2008) indicate that 89.4 per cent. of people with diabetes have been offered screening for diabetic retinopathy in the previous 12 months.
Health: Ethical Sourcing of Equipment
Baroness Tonge asked Her Majesty's Government:
What discussions they have had with the National Health Service Purchasing and Supply Agency regarding ethical sourcing of surgical instruments; and [HL3867]
What discussions they have had with National Health Service trusts regarding ethical sourcing of equipment for clinics, hospitals and surgeries. [HL3868]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) is looking carefully at the issues surrounding ethical procurement on the department's behalf. NHS PASA has engaged with a number of key stakeholders inside and outside the healthcare sector on the wider issue of ethical trade and recognises the need for a collaborative approach to addressing the issues meaningfully and sensitively.
NHS PASA and NHS Supply Chain have been active members of the British Medical Association Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group since its inception in August 2007, established in response to specific concerns over labour standards in surgical instrument manufacture.
In November 2007, the department and NHS PASA issued Procuring for Health and Sustainability 2012: A Sustainable Procurement Action Plan for the health and social care sector in England. Copies of this publication have been placed in the Library. Within this action plan, NHS PASA and NHS Supply Chain have committed to working with relevant partners to map the supply chains of two commodity areas including surgical instruments. This will aid in the understanding of the social impacts and ethical issues associated with National Health Service procurement. The healthcare sector will be kept informed of the progress.
An ethical procurement framework is being developed in partnership with the Ethical Trading Initiative, including supporting materials with a target to launch this autumn. The work will seek input from representatives from procurers in the NHS, NHS Supply Chain and the devolved authorities.
NHS Supply Chain has introduced a supplier code of conduct which clearly outlines requirements for ethical trading. It has communicated it to all its current surgical instrument suppliers and has introduced it as part of the selection process for the contract renewal due in October 2008.
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