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Further information about healthcare entitlement is published on the UKBA website and this is being updated to reflect the latest position.
Immigration: Visa Applications
Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What monitoring takes place of the handling of visa applications from overseas nationals by entry clearance officers and the Immigration Tribunal Service; and [HL2955]
What monitoring takes place of the service provided by entry clearance officers and the Immigration Tribunal Service in the handling of visa applications from overseas. [HL2955]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Visa categories that have the full right of appeal are considered by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Other categories that have a limited right of appeal fall under the remit of the Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance, who monitors a sample of applications. We also have internal procedures within the visa section to ensure consistency of decision-making.
Inquiries: Northern Ireland
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
What inquiries have been held into Royal Ulster Constabulary and Army operational procedures during the Provisional IRA and loyalist terror campaigns; when each inquiry began and was completed; and what has been the total expenditure for each of these inquiries to date. [HL4191]
Lord Rooker: The Robert Hamill inquiry, the Rosemary Nelson inquiry and the Billy Wright inquiry are independent public inquiries which have been established by the Government. Their terms of reference, announced on 16 November 2004 are:
To inquire into the death of Robert Hamill with a view to determining whether any wrongful act or omission by or within the Royal Ulster Constabulary facilitated his death or obstructed the investigation of it, or whether attempts were made to do so; whether
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To inquire into the death of Rosemary Nelson with a view to determining whether any wrongful act or omission by or within the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Northern Ireland Office, Army or other state agency facilitated her death or obstructed the investigation of it, or whether attempts were made to do so; whether any such act or omission was intentional or negligent; whether the investigation of her death was carried out with due diligence; and to make recommendations.
To inquire into the death of Billy Wright with a view to determining whether any wrongful act or omission by or within the prison authorities or other state agencies facilitated his death, or whether attempts were made to do so; whether any such act or omission was intentional or negligent; and to make recommendations.
The costs to the end of May 2008 of each independent public inquiry are:
the Robert Hamill inquiry: £15.62 million;the Rosemary Nelson inquiry: £27.39 million; andthe Billy Wright inquiry: £16.75 million.The inquiries have not yet completed.
Local Government: Swimming Pools
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the total estimated cost of the scheme announced on 6 June to encourage local authorities to provide free access to swimming pools; and how much government departments will contribute towards this cost. [HL4311]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Government are offering a £142 million package of revenue and capital to local authorities, designed to extend opportunities to swim and to maximise the health benefits of wider participation in swimming.
Costs and charges are not collected centrally, and vary greatly across the country. The best estimate of Department of Health and Department for Culture, Media and Sport analysts is that, for England, the fund will cover 75 per cent to 100 per cent of the costs to local authorities of providing free swimming to the over-60s, and provide a top-up to local authorities which wish to extend their provision further to under 16s.
Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Who was responsible for paying the national insurance contributions to the Inland Revenue for the chairman of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum; and whether he was informed of the process. [HL4271]
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Lord Rooker: The Northern Ireland office was responsible for paying national insurance contributions to the Inland Revenue for the chairman of the Bill of Rights Forum, who was informed of these arrangements.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 16 June (WA 136), how the estimated number of working days for the chairman of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum was calculated; and on what basis. [HL4274]
Lord Rooker: Northern Ireland Office officials made an estimate of the working days required from the chair of the Bill of Rights Forum based on the planned duration of the forum's work and the terms of reference that were agreed by all members.
Olympic Games: Tug of War
Lord Addington asked Her Majesty's Government:
What discussions they have had with the International Olympic Committee regarding the reintroduction of tug-of-war as a discipline for future Olympic Games. [HL4301]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government have held no discussions with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding the inclusion of tug-of-war as a discipline for future Olympic Games. Representations about the inclusion of new sports must be made to the IOC by the relevant international federation, which in this case would be the Tug of War International Federation.
Parades: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why there was an increase of £6,349 in the telecommunications costs of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission between 2006 and 2007. [HL4182]
Lord Rooker: The increase in expenditure from 2005-06 to 2006-07 arose from the cost of installing a new server desktop hardware.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
On what £59,296 was spent in 2006, listed under the heading “professional advisors' service” in the recent annual report of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission; what were the services; who provided them; and how the advisors were selected and monitored. [HL4183]
Lord Rooker: Professional advisers' services were provided by Stakeholder Communications, which provided media consultancy advice; Moore Stevens UK, which performed the internal audit for 2005-06; and HELM Consultancy, which prepared the commission's annual accounts for 2004-05. The selection processes for the
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Planning: Eco-towns
Lord Wade of Chorlton asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government have identified the areas with potential to become eco-towns in the consultation document Eco-towns—Living a Greener Future, and these are listed below:
Pennbury, Leicestershire;Manby and Strubby, Lincolnshire;Curborough, Staffordshire;Middle Quinton;Bordon-Whitehill, Hampshire;Weston Otmoor, Oxfordshire;Ford, West Sussex;Imerys China Clay Community, Cornwall;Coltishall, Norfolk;Hanley Grange, Cambridgeshire;Marston Vale and New Marston, Bedfordshire;North East Elsenham, Essex;Rossington, Doncaster;Rushcliffe, Nottingham*; and Leeds City Region, Yorkshire*.Copies of the consultation document are available in the House Library.
Police: Northern Ireland
Lord Morrow asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Police Service of Northern Ireland recruits successfully completed their training course in each year since its formation; and what is the (a) gender and (b) community background of those recruits. [HL4367]
Lord Rooker: The chief constable has provided the following figures:
| Gender | Community Background | |||||
| Financial Year | Male | Female | Protestant | Catholic | Not Determined | Total |
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