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Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people in England and Wales were (a) prosecuted, and (b) cautioned for buying or attempting to buy alcohol for someone underage in each year since 2005. [HL5670]
Lord West of Spithead: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts or issued with a caution, for offences relating to buying or attempting to buy alcohol on behalf of a person under 18 years in England and Wales for the years 2004 to 2006 can be
3 Nov 2008 : Column WA8
Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in November 2008.
Baroness O'Cathain asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any government department has requested or received copies of any report regarding any investigation or inquiry undertaken by, or on behalf of, the European Commission, or the European Commission Director-General for Trade, Mr David O'Sullivan, into the conduct of any aspect of the service as a European Commissioner of the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, including discussions and decisions on aluminium tariffs; if so, when they were requested or received; and whether they will place copies of any such reports in the Library of the House. [HL5912]
The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Mandelson): The Director-General for Trade in the European Commission, David O'Sullivan, explained in a letter to the Sunday Times on 16 October that in respect to both the nine-year debate in the EU over tariffs on raw aluminium and to anti-dumping duties on Russian aluminium the decisions were made after the usual consultation procedures had taken place, including with industry and all 27 European member states, and were based on sound
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Lord Hamilton of Epsom asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform or the Prime Minister's Office were notified before the press officer for trade in the European Commission issued a statement saying that the Secretary of State had met Mr Oleg Deripaska at a few social gatherings in 2006 and 2007 and never discussed aluminium. [HL5910]
The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Mandelson): During the weekend when I moved from Brussels to London and prior to my being admitted to hospital for an urgent medical procedure, a statement was released to the press which said that I had meetings with Mr Deripaska in 2006 and 2007, which led some people to form the reasonable view that my first meeting with Mr Deripaska was therefore in 2006. I have subsequently made clear that to the best of my recollection I first met Mr Deripaska in 2004, and several times subsequently.
Lord Hamilton of Epsom asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will recuse himself from any discussions relating to aluminium tariffs or any business in which Mr Oleg Deripaska has a significant interest. [HL5911]
Lord Mandelson: I will abide by the Ministerial Code and avoid any conflict of interest or perception of such in how I conduct my department's business.
Baroness O'Cathain asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Statement on 24 October by the Prime Minister that the nature of the dealings of the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with Mr Oleg Deripaska was already investigated by the European Commission when he was a Commissioner and the answer was nothing untoward happened, (a) what were the date, responsible authority and terms of reference of the investigation to which the Prime Minister referred; and (b) whether they will place a copy of any report of that investigation in the Library of the House. [HL5913]
Lord Mandelson: The Director-General for Trade in the European Commission, David O'Sullivan, has confirmed in a letter to the Sunday Times on 16 October that I made no personal intervention to support the commercial interests of Mr Deripaska. Mr O'Sullivan explained in his letter that in respect to both the
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Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the new service inquiry panels will be able to investigate cases involving Armed Forces personnel who have been discharged through a related injury; and [HL5615]
Under what circumstances new service inquiry panels will be convened; and under what circumstances it will not be necessary to convene a panel. [HL5616]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The purpose of a service inquiry is to establish the facts and to make recommendations in order to prevent recurrence. It is an internal fact-finding investigation primarily to assist in maintaining operational effectiveness. A service inquiry may be held into any matter where anything of consequence may be learned regardless of whether any individuals involved have been discharged subsequently from service.
The Armed Forces (Service Inquiries) Regulations 2008 require a service inquiry to be held in the event of the death of a serviceman, where anything of consequence may be learned which is not apparent from the death or which has not been or is unlikely to be identified by any other report.
It is a matter of Ministry of Defence policy that a service inquiry should also be held in the following circumstances where the convening authority considers that anything of consequence may be learned which is not readily apparent and which has not been or is unlikely to be identified by any other report into the matter:
the death of a civilian if the death occurs on or in a MoD unit, ship or establishment and is either work-related or the death occurs during service organised activity;the serious injury of a service person or any civilian where the injury takes place in a service unit ship, or establishment or may be work-related or may be the result of service organised activity; andany aviation occurrence that requires formal investigation.There is discretion, too, depending on the nature and circumstances of an incident, to convene a service inquiry into any matter where the convening authority determines that anything of consequence may be learned, which is not readily apparent or which has not been or is unlikely to be identified by any other report into the matter. Such matters for consideration include:
The convening authority should consider the following factors when deciding whether a service inquiry is required for such matters that are not mandated by regulations or policy:
whether the matter is of sufficient seriousness to warrant a service inquiry;whether any other investigations have been initiated and, if so, whether a service inquiry would be able to add anything to the outcome of these investigations;the complexity of the issue and whether an inquiry would improve operational effectiveness or restore confidence in a particular piece of equipment or procedures; andwhether the matter is of a joint nature and may have wider implications for the service or defence.The decision as to whether to convene a service inquiry will be informed by other investigations such as a police investigation and a learning account, and other specialist investigations such as those conducted by the land accident investigation team.
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
In the event of a service inquiry panel not being convened following a death or incapacitation of a member of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, what internal investigations would be undertaken by the Ministry of Defence; whether the findings of such investigations will be available to the families of deceased Armed Forces personnel; and whether such findings will be available to any coroner's inquest into a death. [HL5617]
Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The purpose of a service inquiry is to establish the facts and to make recommendations in order to prevent recurrence. It is an internal fact-finding investigation primarily to assist in maintaining operational effectiveness. Depending on the nature and location of the incident, internal investigations may include a service police investigation and a learning account and specialist investigations such as those conducted by the land accident investigation team. The findings of all such investigations will inform the decision as to whether to convene a service inquiry. They will also inform the briefings given to families both of the deceased and of those who are incapacitated, to help their understanding of events. Where a death has occurred, these findings will also be made available to the coroner.
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether bonuses for personnel of banks which have used the bank reconstruction fund will distinguish between conventional bonuses for staff and restricted bonuses for senior managers and directors in the foreseeable future. [HL5820]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The Government expect that banks participating in the recapitalisation scheme will not pay cash bonuses to board members in 2008. Going forward, remuneration policy and incentive schemes will be reviewed and linked to long-term value creation, taking account of risk, and restricting the potential for rewards for failure.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 29 September (WA 306), what are the factors which influence their decisions as to whether an apology for incorrect information should be given. [HL5758]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): Decisions on whether or not an apology is appropriate are taken on a case-by-case basis. The factors which influence a decision will vary from case to case.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 21 July (WA 199) concerning areas of mutual interest for the Government of the Republic of Ireland, what matters of east/west activities have been of mutual interest. [HL5759]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): North/south and east/west matters of mutual interest are a standard item on the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) agenda and issues discussed are relevant and pertinent at the particular time of the meeting. Examples of east/west items which have been discussed at past meetings have included avian/pandemic flu, EU Lisbon strategy and UK/RoI mobile phone roaming charges. Joint communiqués issued after each BIIGC are available on the Northern Ireland Office website at www.nio.gov.uk.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
In the past year, how many persons accused of Holocaust denial have been arrested pursuant to an European arrest warrant under Section 21 of the Extradition Act 2003 and discharged by the judge because the charge was incompatible with the person's convention rights under the Human Rights Act 1998. [HL5789]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): In the past year, one person has been arrested pursuant to a European arrest warrant accused of racism and xenophobia, and computer-related crime. This case is currently before the courts.
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