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Armed Forces: Deployment
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces were deployed in each of the states which made up the former Republic of Yugoslavia on (a) 1 January 2008, and (b) 1 January 2009; and how many are expected to be added or withdrawn in each of the next three years. [HL2348]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The table below provides the number of Armed Forces personnel deployed in each country. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five for both Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The numbers include personnel deployed in support of NATO, EU and diplomatic tasks.
| Country | 1 January 2008 | 1 January 2009 |
I refer my noble friend to the Statement my right honourable friend the Secretary of State made on 4 March 2009 (Official Report, col. 1659W), which provides further information on the proposed drawdown in the presence of Armed Forces personnel in Kosovo.
Force levels are kept under constant review in light of the changing situation.
Armed Forces: Parades
Question
Asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch
To ask Her Majesty's Government in view of Section 29J of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006, what is their assessment of the arrest of Mr Nathan Draper at the demonstrations at the parade by the 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment on 10 March. [HL2240]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): This is an operational matter for the chief constable of Bedfordshire police.
Banking
Question
Asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will require the chairmen and chief executives of banks in which the taxpayer, through UK Financial Investments, holds over 50 per cent of the ordinary shares to be fully resident and domiciled in the United Kingdom for tax purposes; and, if not, for what reason. [HL2049]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The Government were clear when the UK's rules on residence and domicile for personal tax purposes were reformed in the 2008 Finance Act that the remittance basis of taxation is a legitimate basis of taxation. It has been made fairer by the reforms and ensures a greater contribution from those staying in the UK long term. The Government also believe it is important to attract investment and resources to the UK, and these rules help to support UK competitiveness.
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At Budget 2008 the Chancellor made a commitment not to make substantial changes to these rules for this Parliament and the next; we do not intend to set a requirement for chairmen and chief executives to be resident or domiciled in the UK.
Banking: Bank of Scotland (Ireland)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Myners on 10 March (WA 225) about appointments of senior management in the Bank of Scotland (Ireland), in relation to which other banks operating in the United Kingdom the Financial Services Authority has no role in the appointment of senior management. [HL2137]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The FSA assesses the fitness and propriety of senior management in all institutions where it is the primary regulator. The FSA Register at www.fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do displays details of all firms that are authorised to operate in the UK together with the details of any senior management within these institutions where it has assessed their fitness and propriety.
Benefits
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how their policy on population limitation informs their policies for the payment of benefits. [HL1850]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): The Government do not have a policy on population limitation.
Brazil: Sex Tourism
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide the government of Brazil with technical advice and expertise to limit the use of the internet for promoting sex-tourism, paedophilia and sex trafficking, either directly or through the international organisations of which the United Kingdom is a member. [HL2387]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The UK works closely with international partners, either bilaterally or through multilateral organisations, to tackle these crimes. There has been limited direct contact with Brazil, but we would of course be happy to discuss such matters with them, and to work with them to prevent these offences.
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Companies Act 2006
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in evaluating the business reviews being published by companies under the Companies Act 2006. [HL2071]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform & Cabinet Office (Baroness Vadera): The Government committed to conduct an assessment of the business review provisions under Section 417 of the Companies Act 2006 two years after implementation. These provisions came into force on 1 October 2007 for financial years beginning on or after that date. The first business reviews to be completed under these provisions will therefore be published this year and we expect to review how the provisions have worked in 2010, after two reporting cycles.
Debt: United States
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they owe outstanding principal of $4,368 billion to the United States; whether there is interest on that figure; and, if so, how much. [HL2013]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): At the end of the First World War the United Kingdom debt to the United States amounted to $4,368 million (at 1934 exchange rates this was around £866 million). Repayments of the debt were made between 1923 and 1931. In 1931 President Hoover of the United States proposed a one-year moratorium on all war debts, which allowed extensive international discussions on the general problems of debt repayment to be held. However no satisfactory agreement was reached. In the absence of such an agreement no payments have been made to, or received from, other nations since 1934.
Deer
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what result they expect from recent measures to reduce the densities of wild deer roaming in sensitive areas. [HL2179]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): At increased populations, deer can impact negatively on woodland sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) and can affect structure and natural processes, regeneration potential and quality indicators, leading to these SSSIs going into unfavourable condition.
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As a result of deer control in these sensitive areas we would expect to see a reduction in these negative impacts and a reduction in the number of woodland SSSIs in unfavourable condition due to deer.
In England in 2004, 8,146 hectares of woodland SSSI were in unfavourable condition because of the impacts of deer. The Deer Initiative, a broad partnership of statutory, voluntary and private interests which works to foster the sustainable management of deer in England and Wales, was asked to focus on certain priority areas. By 2007, the figure of 8,146 hectares had been reduced to 3,907 hectares being in unfavourable condition because of deer impacts.
Electoral Register: Northern Ireland
Question
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 9 March (WA 204), and notwithstanding that they deem the prosecution of Mr Ian Withers to be an operational matter, whether they will make an assessment of the wider implications of this prosecution. [HL2085]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Although the prosecution of Mr Withers is an operational matter, the Government have responsibility for maintaining the legislative framework governing elections and electoral registration in Northern Ireland. Legislation relating to electoral registration is reviewed on an ongoing basis, including powers relating to the provision of information to registration officers contained in the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008.
Employment: Agency Workers
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they ensure that employment agencies and gangmasters explain employment rights and entitlements to their workers. [HL1682]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform & Cabinet Office (Baroness Vadera): The Government are running a sustained programme to raise awareness of employment rights among vulnerable workers, including those working for employment agencies or gangmasters.
On 9 February 2009, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform launched a £1.2 million campaign aimed at agency workers. As part of this campaign, my right honourable friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs wrote to more than 13,000 employment agencies in Great Britain to promote guidance for employers on the businesslink.gov.uk website and to provide copies of a leaflet entitled Agency Workers: Know Your Rights. These materials outline the rights of agency workers
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The Gangmasters Licensing Authority's licensing standards stipulate what licensed gangmasters must do to ensure that workers' rights are protected. Alongside these standards the GLA provides advice and guidance for workers in 15 languages in leaflets and on the authority's website. Thousands of leaflets have been requested by gangmasters and businesses as well as voluntary groups, trade unions, foreign embassy consular services and citizens advice bureaux. The leaflets are handed out by GLA officers during inspections and are small enough for a worker to conceal so that those who are not confident to speak out at the time can check their rights and contact the GLA at a later date.
Employment: Work Experience
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will continue to support all sheltered places of employment so that they can continue to provide opportunities for disadvantaged groups to gain work experience in the current downturn. [HL2306]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): A new programme to improve specialist disability employment provision will be introduced from October 2010. The programme will replace Workstep, work preparation, and the job introduction scheme. For the first time, the full provision will be openly tendered on a national basis using the new DWP commercial strategy. This will enable greater numbers of disabled people with more complex support needs to take up work, through the provision of support which is sufficiently flexible to meet their needs. The new programme will provide flexible customised support for disabled people with a greater focus on job outcomes and progression.
On 30 March we will be publishing a specification outlining the service we require suppliers to provide for the new programme. It will provide indicative budgets and customer volumes, provide an overview of the funding model and information about performance and contract management arrangements. This information is provided to help prospective suppliers decide whether to take part in the first stage of the competition—the pre-qualification questionnaire. Those suppliers successful at the pre-qualification questionnaire stage will be invited in July to progress to the invitation to tender stage of the competition. We expect to award contracts in April 2010 and for the new programme to begin in October 2010.
There are a total of 172 current Workstep providers who hold 14,000 places. Of the total number, 93 providers have a supported business and Workstep funds around 3,000 places within these supported
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The Government are not responsible for supported businesses run by local authorities and the private and voluntary sectors and the non Workstep funded places provided in these businesses for disabled people. We are not providing protection in the new contracts for non Workstep funded places.
Remploy's Enterprise Business arm currently comprises a network of 54 local business sites spread across the UK. Remploy operates in nine business sectors covering both manufactured products and managed services. These include support services, logistics and recycling as well as extended supply chain and higher added-value manufacturing. Managed services are teams of disabled individuals delivering contracts such as CCTV operations and facilities management.
Equality: Company Boards
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make it compulsory for British companies to appoint a substantial number of women to their boards. [HL2211]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform & Cabinet Office (Baroness Vadera): The Government do not intend to legislate to require companies to appoint a certain number of women to their boards. The Government, however, encourage companies to draw on a wider pool of talent in making appointments as diverse boardrooms provide a valuable mix of skills and experience. Board appointments are ultimately a matter for shareholders and need to be recruited on the basis of merit.
Flooding: India
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have provided assistance to the people of Bihar displaced by last year's flooding and recently evicted from camps by their Government. [HL2202]
Lord Tunnicliffe: The Department for International Development (DfID) provided £1.15 million to UNICEF for immediate assistance to those displaced in Bihar by the Kosi River flooding.
We are currently considering a further £2.5 million of assistance to the Government of Bihar for infrastructure rehabilitation activities in affected towns.
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Gaza
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