| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Prisoners: Mental Health
Earl Howe asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide primary care trusts and strategic health authorities with guidance on the implications of the imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence for their commissioning plans for prison mental health services, in the light of the Sainsbury Centre report In the Dark. [HL6206]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): We welcome In the Dark, the Sainsbury Centre on Mental Health report on imprisonment, public protection sentences and mental ill health, and fully recognise that mental ill health among the prisoner population is high compared with the general population. The report raises some important points about the information available to prisoners and about access to treatment and care that we will certainly incorporate into our offender health strategy to be published early next year.
Earl Howe asked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to ensure that primary care trusts and mental health trusts can commission and provide mental health care for people released on life licence from imprisonment for public protection. [HL6207]
Lord Darzi of Denham: The Home Office launched the Five Year Strategy for Protecting the Public and Reducing Re-offending in February 2008. It contains a commitment to look at ways in which offenders receive effective mental health treatment, whether in prison, in a hospital setting, or in the community.
19 Nov 2008 : Column WA208
Offenders with identified severe mental health problems are subject to the care programme approach during their stay in prison and on release. This is a standardised formula for the care planning of treatment and continuity of mental health care for the individual. This means that on release from prison all should have a care plan and, pre-release, the prison mental health in-reach team inform and share information with the individual's local community mental health team and general practitioner.
Race Relations
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
In the light of levels of homelessness and unemployment and the consequences for race relations, what role they expect local race equality councils to play. [HL6269]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): Race equality councils do not have a statutory role and the Government do not task them in any way. However, where local race organisations such as race equality councils and race equality partnerships work with local authorities and other local bodies, they can provide important expertise, local knowledge and intelligence to assist them in fulfilling their duties under the Race Relations Act to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial groups.
Racism
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to take positive action to tackle any institutional racism in the United Kingdom's political bodies. [HL6224]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): The Government intend to use the forthcoming Equality Bill to broaden the range of voluntary positive action measures which can be taken to the full extent allowed by European law. The Bill will allow political parties to take a wider range of actions in relation to matters regarding their constitution, organisation and administration, including:
carrying out an audit of political party membership to identify the proportion of members from under-represented groups and identify where gaps are present;setting targets for recruitment drives;carrying out general and specific or targeted recruitment drives;running mentoring and leadership programmes;setting targets for increasing the proportion of politicians and staff from under-represented groups; andestablishing and supporting in-house forums for under-represented groups.Further, on 12 November the House of Commons agreed to establish a Speaker's Conference which will consider, and make recommendations for rectifying,
19 Nov 2008 : Column WA209
Refineries: Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will raise the issue of carbon dioxide emissions from flaring at oil or gas wells and refineries in all appropriate international fora; and whether progress is being made towards eliminating such emissions. [HL6097]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The UK has raised, and will continue to raise, the issue of flaring associated gas as appropriate in international fora. We are working with international partners, sharing best practice and encouraging investment in infrastructure to make progress on eliminating gas flaring. But this is a long-term issue which will require action by governments and individual operators in a number of countries to deliver results.
Russia: Human Rights
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many judgments of the European Court of Human Rights given against Russia remain unimplemented; and how much compensation awarded to Russian persons is outstanding. [HL5375]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe supervises the execution of
19 Nov 2008 : Column WA210
The Government fully support the work of the European Court of Human Rights and raise the implementation of the court's judgments with Russia in their bilateral human rights dialogues.
Schools: Academies
Lord Bates asked Her Majesty's Government:
Who has sponsored each educational academy since its formation; and, in each case, who was the lead sponsor and what were their financial contributions. [HL6159]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): The two tables show the sponsorship arrangements for each of the academies open in September 2008. The first, headed “traditional procurement academies”, shows for each academy, where sponsorship is a contribution to capita costs, the total pledged and the amount for which the department has evidence of receipt. In some cases further sponsorship payments will have been received by the academy trust but not yet reported to the department. The second table, headed “endowment sponsorship”, shows for each academy where sponsorship is in the form of contributions to an endowment fund, the amounts pledged and the amounts reported so far to the department as received.
Where there is more than one sponsor the lead sponsor is the first named.
Sponsorship pledged is based on reasonable endeavours.
** Pledged amount to be determined pending signing of Part 2 to the Funding Agreement.
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |