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Projections for 2007-08 are not available, with levels of low income dependent on a range of factors including growth in earnings, other incomes and levels of employment.

Notes

1. These statistics are based on households below average income data.

2. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.

3. The reference period for household below average income figures is single financial years.

4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication, Households Below Average Income series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or “equivalised”) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. Median incomes are used as the national average in the publication.

5. The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors.

6. Figures have been presented on both a before-housing-cost and after-housing-cost basis. For before-housing-cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for after-housing cost they are.

7. Numbers of people and children in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 people or children.

8. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

Courts Service: Public Expenditure

Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will consult the Civil Justice Council, the Bar Council, the Law Society and other stakeholders before reducing public expenditure by the Ministry of Justice in ways which may have an adverse impact on access to justice, including affecting levels of staffing in courts and tribunals, computer systems supporting Her Majesty's Courts Services and the Tribunals Service, public law child care proceedings, and cost recovery for immigration appeals. [HL5698]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Jack Straw) and the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry

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of Justice have been in communication with stakeholders about the Ministry of Justice's performance efficiency programme, and further contact will be made by the relevant senior officials in the MoJ on plans for engagement as more detailed work is undertaken to put our plans in place. The House of Commons in voting supply and setting taxation rightly expects that all taxpayers funded services are as efficient and effective as possible.

Courts: Fees

Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they have taken to inform people receiving a specified means-tested benefit (income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, pension guarantee credit or working tax credit) of their eligibility to receive a full remission under the new civil court fees remission system, which came into force in October 2007; and how many people have applied for full remission since then; and [HL5593]

How many people in the past year have been granted full remission under the civil court fees remission system; and [HL5594]

How many people in the past year have been granted part remission under the civil court fees remission system; and [HL5595]

(a) who is conducting research into whether the new civil courts fees remission system is operating efficiently and meeting the needs of users and future users; and (b) what public funds have been allocated for the research. [HL5596]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Publicity material regarding the fee remission system is displayed in all courts and a leaflet outlining the system is given to every court user who requests information on any court process that requires a fee to be paid. Her Majesty's Court Service works in partnership with advice agencies and other support services to ensure widespread access to information regarding the system.

Since the introduction of the new fee remissions scheme, for the three quarters that data are available (from 1 October 2007 to 30 June 2008), almost 114,000 people were granted an automatic full remission from fees totalling more than £15 million. In this same period, 5,000 people have been granted part remission, or in some cases full remission, based on an assessment of income and expenditure, totalling £800,000.

The new system has been in place for one year and PriceWaterhouseCoopers is undertaking research on behalf of the Ministry of Justice to assess whether the scheme is operating effectively and meeting the needs of our users. £100,000 has been allocated to this research and findings will be reported in spring 2009.

Economy: Growth Forecasts

Lord Mawhinney asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their response to the Ernst & Young Item Club's quarterly economic outlook saying the United Kingdom economy is in recession. [HL5748]

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The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The Government will update their economic forecasts in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report as normal.

Lord Mawhinney asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are their latest projections of economic growth for the third and fourth quarters of 2008. [HL5749]

Lord Myners: The Government will update its economic forecasts in the 2008 Pre-Budget Report as normal.

Energy: Double Glazing

Lord Taylor of Holbeach asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jane Kennedy, on 10 July (Official Report, House of Commons, 1784W), whether there was any discussion concerning the inclusion of double glazing or low-emissivity glass when directive 2006/112/EC was drawn up. [HL5624]

The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Directive 2006/112/EC was a recast of existing EU VAT legislation (the 6th VAT directive and subsequent amendments). The recast procedure does not permit the introduction of substantive legal changes, and is intended only to clarify previously amended law. The inclusion of double glazing or low-emissivity glass in the reduced rate schedule would have amounted to a substantive change and was therefore not discussed when Directive 2006/112/EC was drawn up.

Fees

Lord Taylor of Holbeach asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 15 July (WA 137—8), which Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs bodies and agencies are charging fees based on a two-year estimate of inflation; and whether that practice takes account of changes in costs involved in the make-up of those fees. [HL5506]

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): None of the bodies or agencies of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs applies a two-year estimate of inflation to the calculation of its fees. They do, however, through regular reviews and up-ratings, take account of changes in the costs making-up fees.

Flooding: India

The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proportion of their assistance for the recent flood emergency in the Indian states of Bihar and Orissa has been through local non-governmental organisations. [HL5566]

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Lord Tunnicliffe: The Department for International Development (DfID) has provided £1.15 million in response to the floods in Bihar, channelled through UNICEF. Fifteen per cent of this assistance has been directed to local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), particularly those providing support on water and sanitation, hygiene education, and behaviour change.

In Orissa, the Government of Orissa are dealing with the situation adequately and have not requested external support.

The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many new local channels of humanitarian aid they have identified in Bihar during the recent emergency, inside and outside government; and with what results. [HL5567]

Lord Tunnicliffe: The recent floods in Bihar met with a huge response, much of it outside formal channels. Donations were given by corporate donors, political parties and Indian citizens living in India and abroad. Exact figures are not available. However, we are aware of announcements by at least five major corporate contributors, amounting to over £3 million, and a reported £10 million in contributions from individuals. There has also been some aid provided in kind—such as other states providing teams of doctors from medical colleges. This is in addition to the Government of India's own response of £125 million and 125,000 tonnes of food for the relief efforts, and the response of donors, including the Department for International Development (DfID).

The Government of Bihar have put a system in place to channel individual and corporate contributions to support the state's relief and recovery efforts. This is working well, making a positive contribution to the overall relief effort through the provision of food, clothing and cash assistance to those affected by the floods. Some contributions are taking place outside organised channels, and ensuring the effective co-ordination and delivery of the different resources will continue to be a challenge.

The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in the light of poverty statistics and recent experience during the flood emergency, they will make Bihar a priority state for the Department for International Development in India. [HL5568]

Lord Tunnicliffe: Bihar became a priority state for the Department for International Development (DfID) two years ago, because of its alarming levels of poverty, its vulnerability to flooding and the commitment of the state government of Bihar to address these problems.

Food: Meat

Lord Taylor of Holbeach asked Her Majesty's Government:

With reference to the report in Meat Journal on 20 June that Vion Food Group has acquired Grampian, and in the light of the avian flu investigation of

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2006—07 in Norfolk, how they will ensure that the use in the United Kingdom of meat from other parts of the Vion Food Group will be monitored and controlled. [HL5540]

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): All consignments of meat imported into the UK from other EU member states and outside the EU must have been produced in accordance with the harmonised Community rules laid down in European Community legislation. Imported meat for human consumption must come from approved premises and must have a health mark or identification mark to confirm it is fit for human consumption.

Random checks are carried out at points of destination by official veterinarians to ensure products meet the requirements, and the delivery of official controls in plants is subject to audit by the Meat Hygiene Service.

The European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office carries out regular programmes of inspection visits to all member states. Among other things, this legislation sets out the licensing, structural and veterinary supervision requirements to be applied in production plants.

House of Lords: Multifaith Prayers

Lord Rana asked the Chairman of Committees:

Whether there is scope for including multifaith prayers at the beginning of sittings of the House of Lords. [HL5730]

The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): Prayers are read by the Lords Spiritual in their capacity as representatives of the established Church. If any Member submits a written proposal to change these arrangements, I will ensure that it is considered by the Procedure Committee.

Housing: Disability

Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why no disability impact assessment was carried out prior to introducing the local housing allowance; whether the provision of extra housing space for disabled persons with live-in carers is classified as a housing need or a social care need; and how many people have applied for discretionary housing payments. [HL5618]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): During the Welfare Reform Bill regulatory impact assessment it was acknowledged that the majority of disabled recipients lived in the social rented sector and would not be covered by the local housing allowance (LHA). It was, therefore, not appropriate to carry out a detailed disability impact assessment prior to introducing

27 Oct 2008 : Column WA145

LHA. It is estimated that 5 per cent of pensioners and 10 per cent of working-age people who are disabled live in the private rented sector.

In circumstances where disabled tenants are limited in the type of property they can rent in the private sector, because they may need certain additional facilities, local authorities are able to consider the use of discretionary housing payments (DHP) to ensure that tenants can find decent accommodation that meets their need. The DHPs are entirely at the discretion of the local authority concerned, and are subject to annual cash limit. As they are administered by local authorities, the number of customers who may have applied for DHPs is not known.

The provision of extra housing space for a disabled person with live-in carers is not automatically classified as a housing need or a social care need. The LHA rate that a disabled person is entitled to would be based on the number of people who occupy the property in the same way that it is for other people.

International Labour Organisation: Decent Work

Lord Rana asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they will take to implement the provisions of the International Labour Organisation's Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, adopted at the 97th International Labour Conference in June 2008. [HL5586]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): The Government strongly support the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization. Since its adoption in June 2008, the Government have been actively engaged in consultations with the ILO and its constituents on implementation and follow-up and will participate fully in future governing body discussions, where specific actions and related timescales will be developed.

Lord Rana asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress the United Kingdom has made to implement the International Labour Organisation's decent work agenda. [HL5587]

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government are confident that labour conditions in the United Kingdom are consistent with the four elements of the International Labour Organisation's decent work agenda. These are: employment opportunities; labour standards; social dialogue; and social protection.

The Government also engage with the ILO to help other member states meet the aims of the decent work agenda and take action where necessary.

Lord Rana asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they are working with the International Labour Organisation to influence and design the decent work country programme for other International Labour Organisation members; and, if so, what steps they have taken. [HL5588]

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Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government influence and support the design and implementation of decent work country programmes (DWCP) through a partnership framework agreement with the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The Government provide funding from April 2006 to March 2009. The agreement specifies particular objectives that the ILO should achieve, while allowing some flexibility on how funds are spent.

The four main objectives are: making a full and successful transition to a DWCP approach; strengthening the results-based management system; ensuring that key areas where the Government's development policy interests overlap with the ILO's comparative advantage are strengthened and fully embedded in the DWCP approach; and the implementation of poverty-focused DWCPs in developing countries.

Northern Ireland Office: Taxis

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland spent on taxis in each of the past five years. [HL5703]

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: This is an operational matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions. I have asked him to reply directly to the noble Lord, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Official Report and the Library of the House.

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