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Bigamy
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases of bigamy were dealt with in British courts in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many resulted in a conviction. [HL2633]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Information showing the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for bigamy in England and Wales from 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the table below. Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Data for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Office respectively.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people convicted of bigamy in British courts were sentenced to a term in prison in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what was the average length of sentence. [HL2634]
Lord Bach: The numbers sentenced to immediate and suspended custodial sentences in England and Wales for bigamy are given in the table below.
| Persons given custodial sentences for bigamy(1), 2003-2007 | |||
| Year | Sentenced | Immediate custody | Suspended sentence |
(1) Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.57 Data are presented on principal offence basis.
Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice Ref: PQ(OMSAS)602-09 (31/03/2009).
These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems.
Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.
There are so few immediate custodial sentences per year that to calculate the average for single years may be misleading. A single exceptional sentence (short or
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The average immediate custodial sentence over the period 2003 to 2007 was 15.7 months; the sentences ranged from two to 24 months.
Data for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Office respectively.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis there have been in herds in Gloucestershire since the flooding in July 2007. [HL2554]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change & Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): There were 409* new bovine tuberculosis herd breakdowns in Gloucestershire between 1 July 2007 and 31 December 2008.
It should be noted that it is not possible to make a formal correlation between bovine tuberculosis and flooding.
*Data provisional and subject to change as more data become available. Data downloaded between August 2007 and March 2008. Source: Animal Health's TB Data Warehouse.
Brazil: Sex Tourism
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are co-operating with the Government of Brazil concerning (a) controls over British sex tourists and the exploitation of children; and (b) trafficking of women and children from Brazil to the United Kingdom. [HL2386]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): We shall work closely with all Governments to eradicate sexual offences against children and the trafficking of both women and minors.
We have taken a number of measures to help prevent those convicted of sexual offences in the United Kingdom from travelling to other countries to commit offences. We are able to prosecute here those who have offended against children overseas where the act committed would be a relevant offence in this country.
We remain committed to tackling the horrendous crime of human trafficking as stated in the UK's action plan and are determined to work with all Governments to stop the particularly vile trade in children.
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British Citizenship: Fees
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what fees are payable by a British citizen resident abroad (a) to sponsor his non-citizen spouse and three children to apply for entry clearance to reside in the United Kingdom; (b) to renew their resident status from time to time until they were granted indefinite leave to remain; and (c) to apply for them to acquire British citizenship when they become eligible. [HL2690]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The total fees payable by the non-EU spouse of a British citizen and three non-EU children aged below 18 from 6 April 2009 are as follows:
Further leave to remain (if applicable): £615
Indefinite leave to remain: £970
Additionally, the non-EU spouse is required to take the knowledge of life test prior to applying for indefinite leave to remain, for which the fee is £33.28, and to attend the British citizenship ceremony prior to the grant of British citizenship, for which the fee is £80.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what fees are payable by a Commonwealth citizen resident abroad (a) to obtain a United Kingdom ancestry visa; (b) to sponsor his non-citizen spouse and three children to apply for entry clearance to reside in the United Kingdom; (c) to renew their resident status from time to time until they are granted indefinite leave to remain; and (d) to apply for them to acquire British citizenship when they become eligible. [HL2691]
Lord West of Spithead: The total fees payable by a Commonwealth citizen, their non-Commonwealth spouse and three children aged below 18 from 6 April 2009 are as follows:
Further leave to remain (if applicable): Postal application £665
Indefinite leave to remain: Postal application £1,020
Additionally, the Commonwealth citizen and non-Commonwealth spouse are required to take the knowledge of life test prior to applying for indefinite leave to remain, for which the fee is £33.28 each person, and are required to attend the British citizenship ceremony, for which the fee is £80 per person.
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British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 24 March (WA 109) concerning funding of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body, on what basis the funding was calculated; whether business cases were prepared; who decided the amount; and when. [HL2599]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary body, now called the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA), receives a grant-in-aid from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The grant-in-aid payments are subject to normal budgeting procedures whereby the BIPA submits a request for funds for approval by HM Treasury, the last one being agreed in 2007. Budgets are set three years ahead. Most of the budget is to cover the costs of a single member of staff and expenditures incurred relating to meetings and conferences.
Business Rates: Vacant Properties
Question
Asked by Baroness Gardner of Parkes
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the current economic situation, they will suspend payment of business rates on vacant properties. [HL2833]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government have increased the exemption threshold under which an empty property will not be liable for rates from a rateable value of £2,200 to £15,000 for 2009/10. This threshold covers 70 per cent of all hereditaments and, if empty, these hereditaments will not be liable for rates this year. The Government have no plans to reverse the changes to empty property rate relief introduced from 1 April 2008. However, as with all taxes, we will keep the position under review.
CCTV
Questions
Asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many closed circuit television cameras are currently registered with the Information Commissioner; and [HL2699]
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many closed circuit television cameras were registered with the Information Commissioner in each of the last three years. [HL2700]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is the UK's independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information.
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The ICO does not hold a register of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, but rather it maintains a register of data controllers—organisations that process individuals' personal data. Data controllers provide details of the purposes for their processing when they register with the ICO, including the use of CCTV for crime prevention and the prosecution of offenders.
There are currently 49,382 notifications for the use of CCTV for crime prevention and the prosecution of offenders. This figure does not reflect the number of cameras used by each data controller, since a large national organisation might have one registration with the ICO but operate many cameras. The figure also does not account for those data controllers who are using CCTV for a purpose other than crime prevention.
In the last three years, notifications for the use of CCTV for crime prevention and the prosecution of offenders were:
| Year | Notifications |
As noted above, these figures do not reflect the number of cameras used by each data controller, and do not account for those data controllers who are using CCTV for another purpose.
This information has been provided by the ICO.
Child Trust Funds
Questions
Asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many child trust funds have been opened in each year since 2003 by HM Revenue and Customs, broken down by region. [HL2826]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners):
| Numbers in 000's | |||||
| Child’s year of birth | Sept 2002-April 2003 | Tax Year | |||
| 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | All Accounts | ||
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