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14 July 2008 : Column WA103
14 July 2008 : Column WA103
14 July 2008 : Column WA103
Monday 14 July 2008
Armed Forces: Future Aircraft Carriers
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 3 July (WS 15) announcing the signature of the contracts and of the alliance agreement to build the two aircraft carriers, what are the principal milestones in the construction process; and when they expect to reach each of those landmarks. [HL4713]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The principal milestones in the construction of the Future Aircraft Carriers (CVF) are:
start of production work at the main shipyards, which is expected to commence in early 2009 for CVF01 and mid 2010 for CVF02;delivery of the first hull block to the Rosyth integration yard, planned for late 2011 for CVF01 and mid 2013 for CVF02; andfloat-up of the completed hulls in early 2013 for CVF01 and mid 2014 for CVF02 to be followed by sea trials and contract acceptance in 2014 and 2016 respectively.Aviation: Passengers Deprived of Liberty
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will seek to ensure that, following the recommendations of Amnesty International, member states of the Council of Europe require all aircraft operators seeking permission to fly over or land in their territory to indicate whether they are carrying any passengers who are deprived of their liberty, and give their status and the legal basis for their transfer. [HL4401]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): In the context of its work to consider the proposals relating to rendition made by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will review the recent proposals made by Amnesty International. We will expect that other member states of the Council of Europe will draw their own conclusions on the proposals.
Badgers and Bovine Tuberculosis
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much money was allocated to research into a tuberculosis vaccine for cattle and badgers in 1997—2007; and[HL4821]
14 July 2008 : Column WA104
Further to the Statement by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 7 July (Official Report, Commons, cols. 1153—55), whether research into a tuberculosis vaccine for cattle and badgers will be financed from existing animal health budgets; and [HL4822]
Whether research into a bovine tuberculosis vaccine for cattle and badgers is being undertaken only by government research centres, or whether private companies are undertaking such research. [HL4823]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Significant funding for bovine tuberculosis vaccines research commenced in 1998 following the Krebs report. Total investment since 1998 in vaccine development reached more than £17.8 million by the end of March 2008 and over £5.5 million was invested in cattle and badger vaccine research in the last financial year (2007-08).
This breaks down into spending of just under £11 million on cattle vaccine development and just under £7 million on badger vaccine development over the past 10 years.
Of the £20 million identified as funding for vaccine research by the Secretary of State, £10.4 million has already been contracted from the existing tuberculosis programme research budgets. The remaining £9.6 million has not yet been contracted and will be funded from an expanded research budget.
Research into a bovine tuberculosis vaccine for cattle and badgers is carried out on behalf of the department by its laboratory agencies, research council institutes, universities and the private sector.
Banking: Iceland
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the total assets of the Icelandic Deposit Guarantees and Investor-Compensation Scheme which protects the first €20,887 of deposits by United Kingdom residents with United Kingdom branches of Icelandic banks; and what are the circumstances under which the United Kingdom Financial Services Compensation Scheme could be liable for that amount, as well as the excess up to £35,000. [HL4579]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Under the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive and the Investor Compensation Directive, all EEA member states are required to set up a scheme to protect depositors and also a scheme to protect investors in the circumstances laid down in the directives. The UK achieves this through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which covers all Financial Services Authority (FSA) authorised banks and investment firms.
Firms passporting from an EEA state where the level and/or scope of coverage provided by their home state is lower or narrower than that provided by the FSCS, can opt to top-up into the FSCS to the level and/or scope of coverage provided by the FSCS. This means that the home state scheme is liable to pay the
14 July 2008 : Column WA105
Bees
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are increasing their research programme into honeybee diseases in the light of the state of the bee population. [HL4627]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): An additional £90,000 has been allocated to the National Bee Unit this financial year to expand investigations started last year under a horizon scanning project into significant colony losses and to meet the demand for increased inspections of bee imports consequential to the colony losses.
Research priorities are addressed in the draft Bee Health Strategy, which has recently been published for public consultation. Commissioned research in later years will be considered in the light of priorities identified in the agreed strategy and the resources available from Defra and elsewhere.
Bloody Sunday: Saville Inquiry
Lord Bramall asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect the Bloody Sunday inquiry, chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate, to report. [HL4470]
Lord Rooker: Lord Saville has advised that the tribunal hopes to submit its report to my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by the end of this year or shortly thereafter.
Bonuses: DfT
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many staff working for the Department for Transport were paid a bonus in each of the past five years; and what was the total amount of bonuses paid by the department. [HL4694]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Department for Transport comprises a central department plus seven executive agencies, each with its own pay and reward system. Information regarding bonus payments has been collected from the central department and all seven agencies and collated in to one set of figures.
| Year | Number of staff to receive bonus payment | Total amount of bonuses paid |
The excluded data could only be produced at disproportionate costs.
Bonuses are paid in respect of overall performance or exceptional performance on a specific task or at a specific time.
British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the role of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat, based in Belfast, has changed since its creation; and, if so, what is its current role. [HL4317]
Lord Rooker: The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat was created under the Good Friday agreement in 1998 to bring together the two Governments to promote bilateral co-operation at all levels on all matters of mutual interest within the competence of both Governments. The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat continues to perform this function.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the budget of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat in each year since creation. [HL4318]
Lord Rooker: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave on 17 March (Official Report, cols. WA 2-3), in which I gave the budget for the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat since 2001.
Records in relation to 1999-01 are no longer held.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many staff there are in the British section of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference; and what are their ranks. [HL4319]
Lord Rooker: The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference secretariat has 21 staff—10 for the British side, 11 for the Irish side, comprising a mix of grades from senior civil servants to admin support grades.
14 July 2008 : Column WA107
Burma: Sanctions
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, following the allegations on the BBC News 24 programme “Our World” on 29 June on imports of gems and timber of Burmese origin, they will consult other European Union member states on monitoring imports covered by the sanctions introduced on 10 March; and whether those sanctions cover imports processed in or transferred through third countries. [HL4530]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We have no evidence that EU sanctions on Burma are being circumvented, but will reiterate the need for all member states to carefully monitor their implementation. Article 2 of Regulation 194/08 prohibits the import of goods listed in its Annexe 1 if such goods originated in Burma/Myanmar or have been exported from Burma/Myanmar. This includes goods entering the EU via third countries.
Common Agricultural Policy
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the debate at the Report stage of the European Union (Amendment) Bill on 4 June, whether they are aware of research which estimates the number of (a) children, and (b) adults, in the developing world whose death from malnutrition and related illnesses could be linked to the common agricultural policy. [HL4638]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): We are not aware of any research that attempts to estimate the impacts of the common agricultural policy (CAP) on mortality rates in developing countries. Our 2005 CAP vision is clear that securing further trade reform in the WTO, particularly of agriculture, would generate substantial benefits for the global economy and work towards poverty reduction. Current estimates show that a Doha development agenda deal could be worth €120 billion every year to the global economy. According to the World Bank, a global trade deal could be worth up to $16 billion a year to developing countries.
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Further to the debate at the Report stage of the European Union (Amendment) Bill on 4 June, what is their latest estimate of the additional cost per person of food in the United Kingdom caused by the common agricultural policy. [HL4639]
Lord Rooker: We can estimate the United Kingdom consumer cost of the CAP by comparing the difference between UK and world prices for agricultural products and applying that difference to the volume of UK consumption. Our latest provisional estimate for 2006 is an additional cost per head of £57.
14 July 2008 : Column WA108
Common Fisheries Policy
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the debate at the Report stage of the European Union (Amendment) Bill on 4 June, how many tonnes of dead fish are thrown into the sea each year under the common fisheries policy; and what research there has been into the damage caused to the sea bed and marine life. [HL4640]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Since 2002, all EU countries have been required to collect data on discarding, under the data collection regulation. Quantities of discards are estimated using data collected by scientific observers aboard commercial fishing vessels. The regulation requires member states to record the quantities of quota-restricted fish stocks landed and discarded, and the species and size composition of the discards each time the fishing gear is hauled. Deploying scientific observers in this manner is expensive and time-consuming, with the result that it is usually only possible to sample a small proportion of the overall fishing trips in a given area. As a result, it is necessary to extrapolate from the limited sampling to provide estimates for the entire fleet. Although the sampling is intended to cover a representative sample of the fleet, this does mean that the estimates of total discards are subject to uncertainty.
Estimates of mean annual averages from CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) for the North Sea are that 5,427 tonnes of fish were discarded, from a proportion of 16,370 tonnes retained (25 per cent discarded) by English and Welsh vessels over 10 metres between the years 2003-06. CEFAS has concluded recently further research which is currently being peer reviewed.
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