| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
25 Nov 2008 : Column WA279
25 Nov 2008 : Column WA279
25 Nov 2008 : Column WA279
Tuesday 25 November 2008
Algeria: Religious Faith
Lord Bates asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they will make to the Government of Algeria about the introduction of Ordinance 06—03, which limits the practice of faiths other than Islam, including public assembly for the purpose of worship and under which half the country's Protestant churches have received verbal or written orders to close. [HL6317]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary and I have not had any discussions with our Algerian counterparts on this issue.
My honourable friend the Minister of State (Bill Rammell) is due to visit Algeria on 24-25 November to participate in the third round of bilateral political dialogue. He hopes to raise this issue with his Algerian counterparts.
Our ambassador raised this issue with the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 23 July 2008. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have also held a series of meetings with a range of non-governmental
25 Nov 2008 : Column WA280
We continue to monitor the enforcement of religious laws in Algeria, raising individual cases when it is appropriate.
Armed Forces: Warships
Lord Moonie asked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the contracted and out-turn prices and duration of refit for each of the Type 42 destroyers completed since 1997; and [HL6400]
What were the contracted and out-turn prices and duration of refit for each of the Type 22 and Type 23 frigates completed since 1997. [HL6401]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): There is no requirement to keep contractual information beyond seven years, and the costs of upkeep contracts that were completed prior to 2001 are no longer held. While details of upkeep contracts that were awarded following competition or under the SSS programme are provided in the following tables, it is not possible to provide complete details of contracts awarded through the allocated programme as some of the information is held in archive. Once this has been retrieved and analysed, I will write to the noble Lord with the requested information.
| Completed contracts | |||||
| HM Ship | Type | Refit dates | Approx. duration (weeks) | Contracted price (£m) 1 | Final cost (£m) |
- 1 Out-turn cost data are not required for completed contracts as the price is agreed as part of the contract negotiations.
- 2 The final cost for HMS Manchester was subject to implementation of a Target Cost Incentive Fee shareline, therefore cost underruns were shared between the MOD and the company.
25 Nov 2008 : Column WA281
Banking: Iceland
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
What conversations took place on what dates between representatives of the Government of Iceland and its banking industry and persons representing the interests of United Kingdom depositors in Icelandic banks on impending difficulties in the Icelandic banking sector; and whether they will place transcripts or reports of those conversations in the Library of the House; and [HL6455]
What discussions have taken place, are taking place, and are planned with representatives of Iceland on financial support that can be given to Iceland to help that country during its period of difficulty in the banking sector. [HL6458]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.
Broadcasting: Digital Switchover
Lord Addington asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have received or commissioned a report on the costs of including provision for a return path in the core receiver requirements for the targeted help scheme for digital switchover. [HL6483]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting (Lord Carter of Barnes): Earlier this year, DCMS commissioned independent research into set-top boxes, including a return path to support bidirectional interactive services. That report did not include an estimate of costs.
However, the technical experts on the department’s Emerging technology group, which keeps the core receiver requirements under review, did arrive at an initial costing for including return-path functionality to provide for broadband capability. We are returning to the issue of the feasibility of including a return path in the switchover help scheme equipment in the context of the Digital Britain project. An interim version of the Digital Britain report will be published in January. The final report will be available in the spring.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assistance they will provide to support the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [HL6189]
25 Nov 2008 : Column WA282
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The UK contributes 7.8 per cent of the cost of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) through its assessed payments to the UN’s peacekeeping budget, which totalled £39,728,447 in the past financial year. In addition the UK currently has five personnel in MONUC occupying key staff appointments in Kinshasa and Goma. We will continue to work closely with the UN and Security Council partners to ensure that MONUC is as efficient and effective as possible.
Elections: Scotland
Lord Jopling asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Davidson of Glen Clova):The General Register Office for Scotland’s report on the 2008 electoral roll, available on its website, provides the latest figures i.e. as at 1 December 2007, which are as follows:
UK Parliament—3,887,571Local Government and Scottish Parliament—3,926,262European Parliament—3,891,523I understand that GRO-S will publish its report on the 2009 electoral roll around March 2009 (which will provide figures as at 1 December 2008).
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Staff
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's staff and what percentage of the total staff (a) are aged under 30; (b) are aged over 60; (c) were recruited since October 2007; and (d) have disabilities. [HL6466]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): The percentage of the total commission staff as listed above: a) 18.6 per cent of EHRC staff are aged under 30; b) 4.2 per cent of EHRC staff are aged over 60; c) 20 per cent were recruited since October 2007; d) 20.5 per cent of EHRC staff have declared disabilities.
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many grievances have been raised formally by staff in the Equality and Human Rights Commission since October 2007; and how many employment tribunal cases against the Commission have been lodged since October 2007. [HL6467]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Five members of staff have formally raised grievances against the EHRC since October 2007.
Eight members of staff have lodged employment tribunal cases against the EHRC since October 2007.
25 Nov 2008 : Column WA283
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
When the Equality and Human Rights Commission expects to publish the results of its staff attitude survey; and whether the survey will contain an analysis of the views of staff from the perspective of the six equality and human rights standards. [HL6468]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has not undertaken a staff attitude survey, but has recently conducted its first comprehensive engagement survey across the commission. Analysis of this survey will be available in the new year and will include monitoring information.
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |