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The statement reflected discussions between the devolved Administrations, and was based on the principles published in the draft NHS Constitution on 30 June 2008. There was no formal consultation on the statement itself, but the draft NHS Constitution drew on an extensive process of informal consultation, including a major deliberative event that involved many stakeholders from non-government organisations. A consultation on the NHS Constitution explained how the draft NHS Constitution was developed, and how the principles in it derived from the founding legislation of the NHS and from the principles in the NHS Plan of 2000.
Since then, full public consultation on the constitution last autumn has revealed broad support for the principles, and they were restated in the final NHS Constitution published on 21 January 2009. The NHS Constitution applies to the NHS in England only, although the Handbook to the NHS Constitution emphasises that the core principles of the NHS are shared across all parts of the United Kingdom.
In The NHS Constitution: Government Response to Consultation, we set out the steps we intend to take to publicise the constitution as a whole, including the principles.
Copies of the documents referred to have been placed in the Library. The final NHS Constitution and its related publications may also be found at www.dh.gov.uk/nhsconstitution. A Consultation on the NHS Constitution may be found at www.dh.gov.uk/en/consultations/closedconsultations/DH_085812.
Northern Ireland Office: Benefits
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what benefits are not devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive; and why they are not devolved. [HL1066]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): Northern Ireland has had a separate social security system and a separate national insurance fund for many years.
Responsibility for social security, child support and pensions in Northern Ireland rests with the Department for Social Development.
Pakistan: Blasphemy Laws
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 27 January (HL175), whether they will formally raise with the Government of Pakistan the protection of prisoners accused under blasphemy legislation. [HL1094]
Lord Davies of Oldham: There are no plans to specifically raise the protection of prisoners accused under blasphemy legislation with the Government of Pakistan.
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Officials in London and Islamabad regularly meet with representatives of civil society and human rights organisations to monitor the treatment of minorities including those charged with offences under blasphemy legislation. The protection of prisoners has not been raised during these discussions and no cases have been brought to our attention. We will take this up in discussions with human rights organisations to establish whether there are any prisoners who are at particular risk.
We continue to take opportunities to share UK best practice with prison authorities in Pakistan as part of our wider co-operation with the Government of Pakistan and to ensure that prison standards for all prisoners are in accordance with international human rights standards.
Passports
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether United Kingdom passports issued by United Kingdom diplomatic missions overseas contain the full biometric data which is included in passports issued in the United Kingdom; and, if so, since what date. [HL975]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Full validity passports, issued by UK missions overseas, are identical to the passports issued in the UK by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS). The rollout of this new biometric passport was completed by the IPS, for UK applicants, in March 2006, and at our overseas missions by August 2006.
Where British nationals require urgent travel documentation, they may opt for an emergency passport, a one-page travel document and valid for a single journey, or a temporary passport, which is a high-quality, secure and machine-readable document. Neither has electronic chips. Both these documents will be phased out, starting in 2009, and replaced with a secure emergency travel document which is both machine-readable and includes biometrics.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether United Kingdom passports issued by United Kingdom diplomatic missions overseas contain the full biometric details of the holder which are in passports issued by the Identity and Passport Service in the United Kingdom. [HL1050]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Full validity biometric passports, issued by UK diplomatic missions overseas, are identical to the biometric passports issued in the UK by the Identity and Passport Service. Both contain the same data, including facial recognition biometrics, on their electronic chips.
To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances a United Kingdom diplomatic mission overseas will issue a United Kingdom passport. [HL1052]
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Lord Davies of Oldham: A British national resident overseas can at most British embassies, consulates and high commissions apply for their first full-validity UK biometric passport, renew an existing passport, or replace a lost or stolen passport.
Where British nationals require urgent travel documents, they may opt for an emergency passport, a one-page travel document which is valid for a single journey, or a temporary passport which is valid for up to 12 months. Both of these documents will be phased out starting in 2009 and replaced with a secure emergency travel document which is machine-readable.
Emergency passports can be issued to British nationals (with right of abode or readmission to the UK, and with permanent residence outside the UK or EU), British Overseas Territories' citizens and residents of Hong Kong. In some circumstances, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will issue emergency passports to EU nationals without representation in non-EU countries, and to Commonwealth nationals without representation in non-Commonwealth countries, to return to their country of origin.
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) how many Palestinian passport holders applied to enter the United Kingdom in 2000, 2004 and 2008; and (b) how many applications were successful. [HL1056]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The number of applications from Palestinian passport holders for visas to enter the UK received in 2004 and 2008, and the number of visas issued to Palestinians in those years, is shown in the table attached. Reliable data for 2000 is not available.
| Year | Applications | Visas Issued |
People’s Mujaheddin Organisation of Iran
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government following the ruling of the European Court of First Instance on 4 December 2008 ordering the European Union to remove the People's Mujaheddin Organisation of Iran from its asset freeze list, whether they will vote against the group's continued inclusion on the European Union list when the Council of Ministers next meets. [HL713]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Following the judgment of the Court of First Instance of 4 December 2008, the Council considered each entry on the existing list and on 26 January 2009 adopted by unanimity decision
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Pirates: Kenya
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they transferred the suspected pirates arrested by HMS “Cumberland” on 11 November 2008 into Kenyan jurisdiction rather than bringing them to trial within United Kingdom jurisdiction. [HL1041]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The suspected pirates detained by HMS “Cumberland” on 11 November 2008 were transferred to Kenyan jurisdiction as Kenya was the nearest country in the region possessing the requisite legal framework to prosecute them and which was willing to accept them. This enabled the prisoners to be transferred in good time to suitable detention facilities and for them to be seen in front of a judge in the shortest timescale possible. The Government consider it preferable for those accused of piracy to be prosecuted in the region in which they committed the offence.
Prisoners: Ex-service Personnel
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of the prison population consists of ex-service personnel. [HL1255]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The information requested is not available. Data from nationally representative surveys of some 2,000 sentenced prisoners near release conducted in 2001, 2003 and 2004 showed the proportion of prisoners who had previously served in the Armed Forces in those years as 6 per cent, 4 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
We are currently exploring with the Ministry of Defence ways to better identify the number of veterans currently serving prison sentences as well as the factors associated with their offending. Subject to the proposed research complying with Government's data handling regulations, we understand that the Ministry of Defence would aim to publish preliminary findings by the end of 2009.
Prisons: Officers
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the number of prison officers in England and Wales employed in each of the past five years broken down by (a) ethnicity, (b) religious faith, and (c) gender. [HL1298]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Information on the number of prison officers, senior officers and principal officers in
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| Prison Officer, Senior Officer and Principal Officers By Ethnicity1 | ||||||
| Date | Asian | Black | Mixed | Other Ethnic Group | White | Not Stated/Blank |
| Prison Officer, Senior Officer and Principal Officers By Gender1 | |||
| Date | Male | Female | Total |
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the numbers of prison officers in England and Wales who are literate in (a) Urdu, (b) Arabic, (c) Hindi, (d) Bangladeshi, (e) Turkish, (f) Kurdish, (g) Albanian, and (h) Persian. [HL1299]
Lord Bach: There is not a requirement for the Ministry of Justice to hold information on which languages are spoken by prison officers.
Public Companies
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