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Qatar
Question
Asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will discuss with the Government of Qatar their reasons for detaining Mr and Mrs Martin Wright in that country without support. [HL3151]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): There is an ongoing legal investigation involving Mr Wright in Qatar. Mr and Mrs Wright are not being held in detention, and we understand Mrs Wright has been able to leave the country. Our primary concern is Mr Wright's welfare and we have raised his case with the Qatari authorities at a senior level on several occasions. While we cannot
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Questions for Written Answer: Cost
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last reviewed the £750 threshold above which parliamentary questions will not be answered on the ground of cost; and when they next intend to review it.[HL3130]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The disproportionate cost threshold (DCT) rate was last reviewed in autumn of 2008 and the current rate of £750 was announced in the House on 8 December 2008. The DCT will be next reviewed as part of the quinquennial review of answering Parliamentary Questions later this year.
Railways: Capacity
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Office of Rail Regulation has the power to decide whether schemes for increasing railway capacity should be able to proceed ahead. [HL3228]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Office of Rail Regulation's final determinations set out the schemes to be undertaken in each five-year control period and the level of funding available to deliver them. The final determinations are developed via an iterative periodic review process between the Office of Rail Regulation and Network Rail. The final determinations are published in Periodic Review 2008: Determination of Network Rail's Outputs and Funding for 2009-14, which is available at www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/383.pdf.
Railways: Fares
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider changing the policy where regulated railway fares are capped at an increase of the level of the retail prices index plus 1 per cent each year. [HL3226]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Government do not intend to change the policy capping regulated fare increases at a maximum of RPI+1 per cent. The policy reflects the need to balance protection for passengers with a move away from very heavy demands on the taxpayer.
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We have made it clear that were RPI to be negative this year, this could lead to a reduction in fares next year.
It is our intention that from January 2010 this cap will also generally apply to individual regulated fares, as opposed to being an average over the whole fares basket.
Railways: Seven-day Railway Policy
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Network Rail over the implementation of the seven-day railway policy. [HL3224]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): Ministers and officials meet regularly with Network Rail to discuss a wide range of matters. Network Rail's delivery plan for control period 4 (2009-14) has allocated a fund of £217 million for investments to implement the seven-day railway policy. Network Rail is leading implementation, in collaboration with- train operators, with delivery monitored by the Office of Rail Regulation.
Railways: Station Staffing
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have discussed with Train Operating Companies proposals to reduce staffing levels at stations. [HL3180]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): The number of staff employed at stations is a matter for train operating companies to decide in the light of customer service, operational and economic requirements.
The Government expect train operating companies to ensure that they maintain sufficient staffing levels to meet their obligations under their franchise agreements and other conditions.
Somaliland
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the findings of the three officials from the British Embassy in Addis Ababa who visited Somaliland from 19 to 22 April. [HL3152]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): Officials from our embassy in Addis Ababa visited Somaliland from 19 to 22 April 2009. They met a variety of government, opposition and civil society figures and discussed issues around security, piracy and the democratisation process. In
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Since the visit, the main Somaliland political parties have reached agreement on a process to prepare for elections in September.
Sudan
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have received about the setting ablaze of a church in the village of Chat in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan during a service on 24 March; who is thought to be responsible; and whether information suggests that this is part of an intensification of attacks on minorities. [HL3014]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We are aware of the incident referred to that took place towards the end of March 2009 in the Nuba Mountains. Accurate reports of the event are hard to come by but we understand that a service in Shatt Damam in the Nuba Mountains was interrupted and the congregation told to leave the church before it was set on fire. It is not clear who was responsible but we believe this was a manifestation of on going inter-tribal tension in that region.
We closely monitor the situation in the Nuba Mountains and we have no information to suggest this attack was part of an orchestrated intensification of attacks on minorities.
Terrorism
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in rolling out Operation Nicole. [HL3067]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The Association of Chief Police Officers (Terrorism and Allied Matters) has national responsibility for co-ordinating and overseeing Operation Nicole. They have advised that to date there have been 16 Operation Nicole exercises across the country with a further 22 planned.
Terrorism: Violent Extremists
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals have been recruited by violent extremists in the United Kingdom.[HL3119]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The director general of M15 has identified approximately 2,000 individuals
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Transport: Rural Areas
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 2 April (WA 294), whether Regional Development Agencies will have to account for the provision of rural transport initiatives in their areas. [HL3095]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): Since April 2005 it has been for individual regional development agencies (RDAs) to determine the socio-economic priorities for all parts of their regions, including rural areas. These priorities are set out in the regional economic strategy and RDA corporate plan, and RDAs must demonstrate through their annual reports how they are achieving them.
However, RDAs are not specifically required to deliver rural transport initiatives in their area, and, as such, nor are they required to account for such provision.
Transport: Satellite Navigation
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they are considering to regulate satellite navigation devices. [HL3225]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Department for Transport (DfT) has been reviewing a number of route guidance system issues, including existing regulations. The Government consider that national regulation is not the most effective mechanism to address many of the issues often attributed to satellite navigation devices. While the Government are not considering additional regulation of satellite navigation devices, DfT is supporting a number of non-regulatory activities to ensure that future generations of satnav are accurate, vehicle specific and minimise inappropriate routeing. The European Commission is also examining data provision for real time in-vehicle information systems (IVIS), including satnav.
Treasury: Overseas Visits
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any HM Treasury officials have visited any British overseas dependent territory in the Caribbean (including Bermuda and Turks and Caicos Islands) in the past six months; and, if so, for what purpose. [HL2938]
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The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave to him on 20 April 2009 (Official Report, col. WA 394).
Trident
Question
Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current estimated cost of replacing Trident submarines. [HL3167]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): Our current estimate, published in the December 2006 White Paper The Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent (Cm 6994), is that the total procurement costs of the new submarines will be in the region of £11 to £14 billion, at 2006-07 prices, for a four-boat fleet. These costs are being refined as experts continue to engage in detailed discussion with industry.
Turkey
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the Government of Turkey regarding the arrests of some 100 members of the Democratic Society Party including national deputy chairmen, provincial chairmen and party officials; and whether there will be a European Union demarche on this issue and on the right of the Democratic Society Party to continue in existence. [HL2977]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): Democratic Society Party (DTP) members have been arrested within the scope of a Turkish operation against the Kurdish Workers Party. We have not seen the evidence against them. It is for the Turkish courts to assess that evidence in the first instance. It would not therefore be appropriate for us to intervene in the legal proceedings. We are following events closely to ensure that due process is being followed. We are also following closely the current court case seeking to close the DTP. We have no plans to intervene in the case, but have pressed Turkey to reform the legislation which allows political parties to be closed, to bring it into line with European practice.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Question
Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will assess the reaction of (a) islanders, and (b) Caribbean Community countries to their proposal to impose direct rule on the Turks and Caicos Islands. [HL3099]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): There has been no formal assessment of the reaction of Turks and Caicos islanders or that of Caribbean Community countries. The Governor
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This would not be indefinite direct rule, but rather an intervention for an interim period only to deal with the current problems and to restore the principles of good governance to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Unemployment
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the percentage unemployment rates in (a) the United States, (b) Germany, (c) France, (d) Spain, (e) the Republic of Ireland, (f) the European Union as a whole, and (g) the United Kingdom. [HL3018]
Lord Patel of Bradford: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Kilclooney, dated April 2009.
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what are the percentage unemployment rates in (a) the United States, (b) Germany, (c) France, (d) Spain, (e) the Republic of Ireland, (t) the European Union as a whole, and (g) the United Kingdom. [HL3018]
Comparable unemployment rates for EU member states are estimated and published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, using data derived from the Labour Force Survey in each country. The Eurostat definition of unemployed persons covers those aged 15 to 74. Estimates for 15 year-olds are not available for Spain, therefore the figures published are for people aged 16 to 74 instead. The unemployment rate for the United Kingdom and the United States is based on those aged 16 and over.
The latest estimates for each country are provided in the table.
This information is updated monthly as part of the Labour Market Statistics First Release and can be found on the National Statistics website at the following address: www.statistics.gov.uk/OnlineProducts/LMS_FR_HS.asp.
| Unemployment rates2, by country. Seasonally adjusted | ||
| Per cent | ||
| Country | Latest period | Unemployment rate2 |
Source: Eurostat, ONS, US Bureau of Labor Statistics
1 The unemployment rate for the EU and EU member states is based on those aged 15 to 74 except for Spain (16 to 74). The unemployment rate for the UK and US is based on those aged 16 and over.
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