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Written Answers

Tuesday 4 November 2008

Afghanistan: Women

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will make representations to the Government of Afghanistan concerning the numbers of women forced into prostitution by extreme poverty and illiteracy. [HL5420]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We share your concern about the impact of poverty and illiteracy on women in Afghanistan and regularly work closely with the various ministries within the Afghan Government on tackling these issues. We also recognise that, while progress has been made to advance the status of women since 2001, much remains to be done. The UK therefore actively supports the promotion of women's rights in Afghanistan in a number of ways.

In 2007-08 we provided £55 million to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund to help finance the salaries of over 100,000 teachers. These resources have contributed to the increase of pupils in school from 2 million in 2002 to around 6 million enrolled today. A third of the pupils in school are now girls, up from virtually none under the Taliban. This has helped to address the problem of widespread illiteracy.

The UK gave the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission $l million to fund its three-year action plan 2006-08. This Afghan-led and run organisation has around 600 staff and has offices throughout Afghanistan. In its 2007 annual report, the commission states that it organised nearly 600 educational workshops and awareness-raising meetings for almost 20,000 people (including over 6,000 men) on women's rights issues, including tackling violence against women. The commission pays particular attention to reaching community leaders such as mullahs, elders, civil-society representatives and government officials.

Armed Forces: Pipers

Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stopped pipers from the Royal Gurkha Rifles and the Royal Irish Guards from honouring their commitment to perform in Moscow in September; what response they received from Brigadier Mel Jameson and other organisers of the event at which they were committed to perform; and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the ban for its intended purpose. [HL5324]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): In the light of Russia's military actions in Georgia and the situation on the ground at the time, it was not felt appropriate for

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British Army musicians to attend. The decision to cancel the participation of pipers from the Royal Gurkha Rifles and the Irish Guards in the Kremlin Zoria Military Tattoo was taken in consultation with the Ministry of Defence. The UK took into account the approach adopted by other countries sending pipers who were serving military officers. Several countries, including Canada, also withdrew their pipers. Our decision to withdraw was consistent with our wider policy on military-to-military co-operation with Russia, including withdrawal from a joint naval exercise due to take place around that time.

Armed Forces: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Lord Moonie asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces are qualified to operate unmanned aerial vehicles in a pilot role; how many are currently undergoing training; and what is the target number when the Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle is in service. [HL5877]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The following table shows, by unmanned air vehicle type, the number of pilots trained and qualified and the number currently in training as at 29 October 2008.

Type	Number of Qualified Pilots	Number of Personnel in Pilot Training
Hermes 450	74	24
Desert Hawk 3	120	38
Reaper	14	3

The target number of trained and qualified pilots for Watchkeeper when it is in service is 120.

Children: Care Orders

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

How many applications for care orders under Section 31 of the Children Act 1989 there have been since 1 May 2008; and how many in the period from May to October 2007; and what are the reasons for any difference; and [HL5811]

How many applications for care orders were made under Section 31 of the Children Act 1989 between 1 April 2007 and 1 July 2007; and how many were made between 1 April 2008 and 1 July 2008; and [HL5812]

What assessment they have made of the effect of the increase in court fees for care orders under Section 31 of the Children Act 1989 on the number of such applications. [HL5813]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Table 1 below shows the number of public law care and supervision applications under Section 31 of the Children Act 1989. A total of 6,200 applications were made from May to September 2007, and a total of 4,800 applications were made from May

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to September 2008. A drop in the number of applications was expected as revised statutory guidance for local authorities and a new practice direction, the Public Law Outline, were introduced across England and Wales from 1 April 2008.

Table 2 below shows the number of public law care and supervision applications under Section 31 of the Children Act 1989. A total of 3,700 applications were made between 1 April and 1 July 2007, and a total of 2,500 applications were made between 1 April and 1 July 2008.

There is no evidence that the decrease in the number of care applications is attributable to increased court fees. It is probable that the decrease has been caused by recent reforms to the care proceedings system. The Public Law Outline and revised statutory guidance issued to local authorities encourage early resolution and exploration of alternatives to care proceedings, where safe and appropriate to do so. A similar pattern of decline in the number of care and supervision applications was also noted when the public law protocol was issued in 2003.

Table 1
	County Court (2)(3)(4)	Family Proceedings Courts (1)(2)(3)
May to September 2007	1,500	4,700
May to September 2008	1,200	3,600

Source:

Family Proceedings Courts: Manual Returns and HMCS FamilyMan

County Court: HMCS FamilyMan

Table 2
	County Court (2)(3)(4)	Family Proceedings Courts (1)(2)(3)
April to June 2007	1,000	2,700
April to June 2008	700	1,800

Source:

Family Proceedings Courts: Manual Returns and HMCS FamilyMan

County Court: HMCS FamilyMan

Notes for table 1 and 2:

(1) Historically, there have been data-quality issues with figures for the Family Proceedings Courts, which were likely to be an undercount prior to April 2007. A new method of data collection was introduced in April 2007 which has improved the coverage and completeness of data. Any comparison with figures prior to April 2007 may be affected by the improved data recording.

(2) Figures relate to the number of children subject to each application. For example, an application relating to two children will be counted twice.

Figures have been rounded.

(3) The figures taken from the FamilyMan system are as at October 2008. Because the data are only downloaded on to the central system once a month, these will only include applications made up to the end of September 2008. The 2008 figures are provisional subject to future updates. September figures for FPCs do not include two courts.

(4) County Court figures exclude cases recorded on FamilyMan as transfers from other courts. Research undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Justice has identified that some cases that have transferred from the Family Proceedings Court to the county

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court have been incorrectly recorded as new applications in the county court, thus inflating the number of new applications (see Masson et al, 2008).

Civil Partnerships

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

What is the reason for the delay in answering the Question for Written Answer tabled by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (HL5212) on 1 September on whether they will make representations to the Government of France to recognise United Kingdom civil partnerships in the same way that a French pacte civil de solidarité is recognised in the United Kingdom under the Civil Partnership Act 2004. [HL5718]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The reply to HL5212 was delayed due to an administrative error. It was answered on 21 October, and I apologise for the delay.

Courts: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 20 October (WA 76), whether the Northern Ireland Court Service will amend its guidelines on its website to say that note-taking is a matter for the individual judge and to indicate how permission to take notes may be sought from a judge by a member of the public. [HL5886]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The Northern Ireland Court Service has amended the published guidelines on taking notes in court to make it clear that note-taking is a matter for the direction of an individual judge. The guidelines also advise members of the public who wish to take notes that they should make this known to any court official so that the matter can be brought to the attention of the judge.

Cyprus

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:

When the Prime Minister or other Ministers last received the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ministers of the TRNC or other elected representatives of the TRNC at Westminster; and when they next intend to do so under their obligation to Turkish Cypriots as a guarantor power under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. [HL5383]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The UK fully supports the settlement process launched by the two leaders in

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Cyprus, aimed at the establishment of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality. In this context, the UK will continue to engage closely with both communities in Cyprus, and throughout the wider region, to support progress towards the reunification of Cyprus. The Minister for Europe met Mr Talat in Cyprus on 8 October and discussed progress towards the reunification of Cyprus. The former Minister for Europe met advisers to Mr Talat, leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, on 3 September in London. We look forward to further such contacts with both communities in support of a comprehensive Cyprus settlement.

Education: Commonwealth Scholarships

Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they will reply to the Question for Written Answer tabled on 1 September (HL5252) regarding the proposed termination of Foreign and Commonwealth Office support for the Commonwealth Scholarships Programme. [HL5576]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The reply to HL5252 was delayed due to an administrative error. It was answered on 14 October (Official Report, col. WA45), and I apologise for the delay.

Employment: Exploitation

Lord Rana asked Her Majesty's Government:

What measures they will introduce to alter institutional and corporate labour practices in the United Kingdom to prevent exploitation of poor communities in developing countries. [HL5728]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform & Cabinet Office (Baroness Vadera): The Government continue to promote a business-led, voluntary approach and to collaborate with business partners on best ways to promote corporate responsibility (CR) as mainstream business practice.

CR can be instrumental in raising competitiveness and innovation and it is important that companies adopt CR in their own commercial interests;CR is the business contribution to sustainable development and business has a central role to play in tackling the social, economic and environmental challenges we face; andCR is about companies operating above minimum legal requirements wherever they operate in the UK and overseas.

We also expect companies to abide by UK and national laws. The UK Government are a strong supporter of responsible business behaviour, and therefore promote

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adherence to the OECD guidelines on multinational enterprises, which set recommendations for good corporate behaviour.

Empty Properties

Lord Taylor of Warwick asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to repeal or amend legislation on business rates on empty properties in the Pre-Budget Report. [HL5908]

The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Decisions on taxation are matters for the Budget and Pre-Budget Report.

Energy: Biofuels

Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:

What role they see for biofuels in using renewable energy sources in the transport sector. [HL5771]

The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Government continue to believe that sustainably produced biofuels have a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) requires the major oil companies and fuel suppliers that supply road fuels to ensure that a proportion of the road fuel supplied in the UK comprises renewable fuels such as biofuels.

The RTFO scheme came into effect in April 2008 and the level of the obligation for the first year (2008-09) is 2.5 per cent. In response to the findings of the Gallagher review on the wider indirect impacts of biofuel production we are currently consulting on proposals to slow down the rate of increase so that we reach a level of 5 per cent in 2013-14 rather than in 2010-11.

Energy: Carbon Capture and Storage

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

Whether the decision to open a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth will be accompanied by a decision to begin work on a carbon capture and storage demonstration plant in Britain. [HL5342]

The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): A decision on the Kingsnorth application will not be taken until the Government have considered the responses to the recent consultation on carbon capture readiness. The decision on who wins the carbon capture demonstration competition is a separate one to any decision on a planning application.

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