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The issue of reducing the qualifying period is the subject of an ongoing review, and the Home Office will lead a consultation exercise.
Moles
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government in the light of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, what steps they are taking to ensure that line catch and spring operated mole traps are inspected at least once every 24 hours. [HL944]
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The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Whilst there is no specific time period for checking mole traps, it is good practice to check them frequently enough to ensure that they do not cause any unnecessary suffering. Failing to do this may leave the operator open to prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. However, only a court would be able to make a final decision as to whether an offence of causing unnecessary suffering had been committed, based on the individual circumstances of the case.
Guidance on the control of moles is available from Natural England, which includes guidance on the use of traps.
Morse Code
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will commission research into the use of Morse code in helping people to communicate after they have lost the ability to speak and write as a result of severe paralysis. [HL1010]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The department funds National Health Service research and development through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The institute's research programmes support high quality research of relevance and in areas of high priority to patients and the NHS. Details, including the scope of the programmes and the arrangements for making applications for support from them, are available on the NIHR website at www.nihr.ac.uk. Funding awards are in all cases made after open, competitive peer review.
NHS: Prescriptions
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to offer free prescriptions to all with a long-term medical condition. [HL1113]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of offering free prescriptions to all with a long-term medical condition. [HL1114]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The president of the Royal College of Physicians, Professor Ian Gilmore, is carrying out a review of prescription charges that is considering how to implement the commitment to exempt patients with long-term conditions from prescription charges. The review will take into account the views of patients, the public, patient representative bodies, clinicians and healthcare organisations and is due to make its recommendations to departmental Ministers in summer 2009. The options put forward by the review will be financially assessed and an impact assessment will be carried out prior to implementation.
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Northern Ireland Office: Staff
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to reduce the number of officials in the Northern Ireland Office; and over what period of time. [HL1015]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: There are no targets for reducing staff numbers. The department's administration budget has been cut by 5 per cent year on year from 2008-09 to 2010-11. Administrative budgets have been set in line with these reductions and the necessary savings will be found in a variety of ways.
Northern Ireland Office: Travel
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was paid by the Northern Ireland Office in each of the past five financial years to officials of the Northern Ireland Office for travel to Great Britain. [HL793]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The isolation of travel costs for journeys to Great Britain would involve a manual investigation of payments, which could only be carried out at disproportionate cost.
The department advises that staff should ensure that any business-related journeys are a necessity and that all alternative methods of carrying out the tasks to be performed are investigated; for example, use of video-conferencing equipment to reduce the need to travel to meetings. The Northern Ireland Office has offices in both Belfast and London and, due to the nature of the work it carries out, travel to Great Britain by its staff is sometimes unavoidable. Where this is the case, the most cost-effective means of travelling is sought.
Parking
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the fixed daily parking charging regime operating in Newcastle has all the requisite authorisations from the Secretary of State; and, if so, how that relates the original authorisation referring specifically to a traffic regulation order which was revoked in its entirety in 2001; and, if not, what measures they propose to regularise the matter. [HL1006]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): Following requests from Newcastle City Council, the Department for Transport has authorised a series of signs for the fixed daily parking charging scheme in Newcastle. It is the local highway authority’s responsibility to ensure that its parking regimes, including any related traffic orders and signs, are kept up-to-date.
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Prisons
Questions
Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the instructions contained in Prison Service Instruction 50/2008 of 6 January 2009 on “acceptable activities in prisons” are intended to be carried out in accordance with the principle of proportionality. [HL1020]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what weight governors are required to give to the public acceptability test and how the activity will be perceived if open to media scrutiny when carrying out the mandatory instructions contained in Prison Service Instruction 50/2008 of 6 January 2009 on “acceptable activities in prisons” in deciding whether a particular arts activity should be approved. [HL1021]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 50/2008 “Acceptable Activities in Prisons” makes clear that prison governors and equivalents in contracted prisons are responsible for all activities that take place in their respective establishments and gives them a framework to make appropriate decisions. The PSI includes mandatory instructions that will lead to consistent standards that safeguard the reputation of the service by requiring greater scrutiny from senior managers.
The Government recognise the contribution that creative activities can make, particularly for prisoners who find it difficult to engage in more academic or conventional programmes. We are committed to working with third sector organisations to provide a range of services in prisons, including those who provide arts and creative programmes.
However, prisons are places which are, rightly, under intense public scrutiny. It is essential that the National Offender Management Service is able to justify all aspects of prison life to the public. Before making a decision about whether a particular activity should be approved to go ahead, governors must consider both how an activity is likely to be perceived by the public and by victims and whether it meets the Prison Service objectives effectively, regardless of whether the event was made know to the public by the media. They must take appropriate and proportionate account of both public acceptability and effectiveness.
Scrap Metal
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unregistered or unlicensed scrap metal dealers are operating in England and Wales. [HL664]
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 is responsible for regulating
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From April to December 2008, the Environment Agency was aware of nearly 300 sites dealing in scrap metal or end-of-life vehicles that did not have the appropriate permit or registered exemption. Environment Agency intervention has to date stopped illegal activity at nearly 100 of those sites.
The Environment Agency is working in partnership with the Association of Chief Police Officers, local authorities and trade associations to tackle this problem.
Scrap metal dealers are also required to register with the local authority in the area in which they operate under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the regulation of the scrap metal industry with a view to reducing metal theft. [HL666]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead):The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has recently reviewed existing legislation with regards to combating metal theft. The recommendations that emanate from this review will be considered with other government departments and stakeholders.
A regional pilot for a national metal theft crime unit was announced by the Home Office and ACPO on 9 January. This pilot will entail the British Transport Police working with local police forces and relevant government departments and agencies which have a regulatory or enforcement role in respect of scrap metal dealers. Efforts will be co-ordinated to ensure that existing regulations are properly applied to ensure that scrap metal dealers in the area are operating lawfully.
Shipping: Ferry Operators
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 21 January (WA 212), (a) how many of the lorries checked at Dalar Hir (near Holyhead) were arriving or departing by the ferry service; and (b) in which countries those vehicles were registered. [HL1055]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Vehicle And Operator Services Agency (VOSA) are unable to differentiate which vehicles
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| Country | Vehicles Inspected | Prohibitions |
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