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28 Oct 2008 : Column WA153
28 Oct 2008 : Column WA153
28 Oct 2008 : Column WA153
Tuesday 28 October 2008
Ecuador: Yasuni Rainforest Reserve
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What support they intend to offer the Government of Ecuador in preserving the Yasuni rainforest reserve. [HL5494]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Joan Ruddock met the Yasuni Green Gold Campaign last week. We are supportive of approaches to develop incentives to reduce emissions from both wholesale deforestation and more gradual damage. The UK has contributed £15 million to the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility which will assist developing countries in working out how they can participate in and benefit from evolving incentive mechanisms for avoided deforestation.
Energy: Emissions
Lord Taylor of Holbeach asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the technology planned for reducing emissions from new coal-fired power stations is the same as that approved by the Environment Agency for use by plants mixing waste material with coal in industrial furnaces; for example, in the production of cement. [HL5463]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): A variety of techniques is used for reducing a range of emissions from industrial and combustion facilities. These are tailored to the particular processes being carried out. The technology that would be used to capture CO2 emissions from new coal-fired power stations differs from that which is used for flue-gas desulphurisation. The Environment Agency considers what are the best available techniques when determining environmental permits.
Flooding: Risk Maps
Lord Taylor of Holbeach asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the flood risk maps established by the Environment Agency take account of existing flood defences and assess the risk of flooding accordingly. [HL5736]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Environment Agency flood map indicates the location of some flood defences, but work is currently taking
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A national flood risk assessment of the likelihood of flooding from rivers and the sea has been undertaken that uses a risk-based probabilistic approach that takes into account the location, type and performance of flood defences in the assessment.
Health: Continuing Care
Lord Taylor of Holbeach asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health, Mr Ivan Lewis, on 20 June (Official Report, House of Commons, 1226—32W), why the figures vary to the degree they do between primary care trusts; and, in particular, why the figures for Lincolnshire, South Gloucestershire, South West Essex, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Gloucestershire have fewer than 10 per 50,000 people receiving continuing NHS healthcare. [HL5467]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The National Framework for Continuing Care, introduced in October 2007, replaced 28 separate strategic health authority (SHA) continuing healthcare criteria. One of the purposes of the framework was to produce greater consistency on eligibility for continuing care across primary care trusts (PCTs) in England.
PCTs had one year from the introduction of the framework to reassess those previously eligible under the old SHA criteria. Therefore, the continuing care data currently reflect a mixture of individuals receiving care under the old and new arrangements for eligibility.
The department is currently reviewing the collection of continuing care data.
Health: Drug Tariff
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Part IX items are dispensed by the largest dispensing appliance contractor annually; and how many Part IX items are dispensed by the largest theoretical example given in the table on page 27 of their impact assessment on proposed new arrangements for Part IX of the Drug Tariff. [HL5610]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): Between 1 August 2007 and 31 August 2008, the largest dispensing appliance contractor dispensed 979,504 Part IXA, Part IXB and Part IXC line items.
Regarding the table on page 27 of the impact assessment that was published alongside the latest consultation entitled Proposed new arrangements under Part IXof the Drug Tariff for the provision of stoma
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Housing: Black and Ethnic Minority Housing Associations
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much of the social housing resources has been spent on consultants in connection with the Housing Corporation's induced merger of the black and ethnic minority-led Presentation Housing Association. [HL5746]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Housing Corporation has not induced a merger of Presentation Housing Association. Presentation's own, independent, board has taken a decision to seek to enter into a partnership with another registered social landlord that is itself financially strong, in order to safeguard the interests of Presentation residents and the public funds invested in Presentation properties.
The details of business operations, including the use of consultants, are matters for the association's board to decide, and are not subject to individual scrutiny by the Housing Corporation.
Immigration: New Asylum Model
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their assessment of the quality and consistency of decision-making in the new asylum model, in the light of (a) the UK Border Agency’s new asylum model quality team report, (b) the Refugee Council's survey of January 2008, and (c) the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’s quality initiative; and what conclusions they have reached, in particular concerning implementation of the gender asylum policy instruction and the giving of due attention to such issues as experience of sexual violence, female genital mutilation, trafficking and sympathetic treatment of torture victims. [HL5416]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Continuous improvement in the quality and consistency of asylum interviewing and decision-making is very important to the UK Border Agency.
Joint working with UNHCR on this agenda has proved effective and many of the improvements made have been recognised in each of their five separate reports to Home Office Ministers. The Refugee Council's survey also provided some key pointers to the improvements made recently and to further improvements that could be achieved. The agency's own internal quality team adds to the battery of resource available to drive up the quality of work. Our overall assessment is that quality is improving but that room for further improvement remains.
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Migrant Workers: Employment Qualifications
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
What documentation of their qualifications migrants from the European Union need before obtaining employment in the United Kingdom. [HL5650]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): Any national of a member state has a right to live, work and set up business in any other member state. However, in most member states certain professions are regulated. A migrant wishing to become established in the UK and pursue a regulated profession must have his qualifications recognised by the competent authority that allows access to the profession. The competent authority will provide the migrant with the appropriate documentation.
If the profession is not regulated, there is no official requirement for further documentation relating to the qualification, and an employer would decide whether the migrant's qualifications were acceptable.
Migrant Workers: Training Courses
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether migrant workers from the European Union can participate in training courses in the United Kingdom to enhance their skills. [HL5649]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): Yes. European economic area (EEA) migrant workers are eligible for funding through the Learning and Skills Council for further education and skills courses at FE colleges and providers based in England so long as they have been resident in the EEA for three years prior to the start of their course.
Northern Ireland Office
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 29 September (WA 317), why the number of staff employed in the Northern Ireland Office has risen from 1,909 to 2,088 since 2005; and what policies and proposals for cutting staff numbers in the Northern Ireland Office and the civil service have been in place or announced since 2004. [HL5447]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The 2004 spending review set stretching efficiency targets for all departments. The additional resources released by efficiency gains were to be re-allocated to front-line services, leading to improvements in public services. The Northern Ireland
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Passports
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many applicants were interviewed at each of the passport personal interview offices from 31 July 2007 to 31 July 2008. [HL5449]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): For the time period requested, we completed 216,581 interviews which have been broken down by office in the table in the attached Annex A.
| Annex A | |
| Number of interviews completed | Total conducted from 31st July 2007 to 31 July 2008 |
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