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Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act: Voluntary Retention of Data
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many grants they have given to telephone companies and internet service providers to assist them in the voluntary retention of data under
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Payments under Section 106 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA) commenced after the code of practice for the retention of communications data was approved by Parliament in 2003, the first payments being in financial year 2004. In October 2007, the Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2007 came into force and many former ATCSA grants payments are now made under those regulations.
Arabic
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many speakers of Arabic are employed in the United Kingdom by the Home Office, and what percentage of total Home Office employees this represents. [HL4776]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The Home Office does not centrally collate information with regard to the number of Arabic-speaking staff it employs.
Armed Forces: Buses
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the estimated annual cost of providing free bus travel to seriously injured military personnel; when these free bus passes will be introduced; whether any restrictions will be placed on the hours during which these passes can be used; and whether any consideration has been given to extending the scheme to all serving military personnel and veterans. [HL5071]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: We estimate that 35,000 to 40,000 seriously injured service personnel and veterans under the age of 60 will be eligible for concessionary travel. This figure includes people who already qualify for concessionary travel. Based on generous assumptions, we estimate the additional costs to be in the region of £4 million to £8 million per year. The new concession will be introduced by 1 April 2011.
The statutory bus concession allows concessionaires free bus travel on local buses from 9.30 am to 11 pm Monday to Friday and at all times at weekends and on bank holidays. These times will apply to the new concession for military personnel. At present, we have no plans to extend this scheme to other military personnel and veterans.
Armed Forces: Pensions
Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, Ms Bridget Prentice, has received from the Confederation of British Ex-service Organisations (COBSEO) on the future of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal; and what response they are sending to COBSEO. [HL4865]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Confederation of British Ex-service Organisations has welcomed many of the proposals we are making for the future of the Tribunals Service, including better geographical access to the full network of Tribunals Service hearing centres for Pensions Appeal Tribunal appellants.
It has concerns with the proposal that the Pensions Appeal Tribunal will transfer into a Social Entitlement Chamber, within the new structure enabled by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act. As such, the office for my honourable friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, has approached the organisation and offered to meet to discuss in detail the concerns it has.
Aviation: Domestic Flights
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many commercial passenger flights there were between Stansted Airport and (a) Newcastle, (b) Edinburgh, (c) Glasgow, and (d) other UK mainland destinations in each of the past five years; and how many passengers were carried between Stansted Airport and each of those destinations. [HL5074]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The tables below show the number of commercial passenger flights and passengers carried between Stansted Airport and Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other UK airports in each of the past five years.
| Table 1: Commercial passenger flights between Stansted and Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and other UK airports | |||||
| Thousands | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Source: DfT analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data | |||||
Aviation: Heathrow
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What assessment they have made of the long-term potential to reduce the number of domestic flights from Heathrow Airport; and [HL4667]
What assessment they have made of the potential to reduce the number of transit passengers using Heathrow Airport; and [HL4668]
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What assessment they have made of the potential to reduce the number of flights from Heathrow Airport to European destinations within five hours’ travel time by train. [HL4669]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Department for Transport’s position on Heathrow is set out in the 2003 Future of Air Transport White Paper and the recent Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation.
Our support for new capacity at Heathrow, subject to meeting strict local environmental limits, is underpinned by detailed modelling of passenger demand up to 2030. These forecasts indicate that the range of domestic and international flights offered at Heathrow is crucial to the UK and particularly beneficial to the connectivity of passengers located in regions outside the south-east. As such, we have not modelled or assessed scenarios that would reduce the number of domestic flights or European flights from Heathrow. We have also not considered measures to reduce the number of transit passengers using Heathrow.
Ultimately, if policy support for further development at Heathrow is provided, it will be a commercial decision for the airport operator, working with its users, to decide which flights and destinations it wishes to operate in the future.
Banking: Bank of England
Lord Barnett asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much the Bank of England has lent to banks, excluding Northern Rock, in the past five years; and what charges were levied for such loans. [HL5053]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Bank of England undertakes financial transactions with firms on a daily basis. Details of the Bank’s balance sheet can be found in the Bank’s annual reports and in the “Bank Return”. The interest rates that the Bank charges for loans depend on the type of lending. Transactions with individual firms, and the interest rates on such transactions, are a matter of commercial confidentiality.
Banking: Charges
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will enter into discussions with the joint stock retail banks to ensure that hidden charges and small print devices to conceal charges are abolished. [HL5067]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The OFT launched a market study in April 2007 to consider questions about competition and value for money in the provision of personal current accounts, such as transparency of costs to consumers and ease of switching. The OFT will be engaging with relevant parties over the coming months in order to discuss the findings from the market study published in July 2008 and the most appropriate next steps to tackle the problems identified.
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Benefits: Overseas Recipients
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty’s Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord McKenzie of Luton on 5 June (WA 70-1), how many people with addresses in India and Pakistan were paid social security benefits and pensions in 2006-07; how much was paid in total to such persons; and how many of them are over 90. [HL4559]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): The information is in the tables.
| Number of customers living in India and Pakistan by benefit | ||
| Benefit | Number of customers | |
- 1. The above is the number of customers living in India and Pakistan and paid state pension or other benefits by International Pension Centre.
| Number of customers aged 90 and above living in India and Pakistan | ||
| Number of customers | ||
- 1. The above is the number of customers aged 90 and above living in India and Pakistan and paid state pension by International Pension Centre.
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