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Sixty-six people received blood components transfusion (red cells, platelets and fresh frozen plasma) from blood donors who later went on to develop vCJD. Of these the majority of these patients have died, three after contracting vCJD and the others from unrelated causes, and 22 remain alive. None of these recipients was a person with haemophilia.

Influenza Pandemic

Question

Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones

To ask Her Majesty's Government which departments have in place or plan to have in place departmental contingency plans for the outbreak of a flu pandemic; and when each of those plans came into effect or is planned to come into effect. [HL3439]

Lord Patel of Bradford: All departments have in place business continuity arrangements to address a wide range of scenarios, and are required do so under the security policy framework. These plans focus on ensuring continued delivery of critical departmental activities including at times of high staff absenteeism.

The triggering of a departmental plan will depend upon the department, its size, the services it delivers and the challenges it faces.

Iraq: British Embassy

Question

Asked by Lord Clement-Jones

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to move the British Embassy Office in Erbil to new premises; whether they will take the opportunity presented at that time (a) to install a United Kingdom Trade and Investment representative in Erbil; and (b) to widen the United Kingdom visa issuing facilities to include business and student categories. [HL3314]

14 May 2009 : Column WA231

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We are currently considering the feasibility of relocating our embassy office in Erbil. Potentially suitable new premises have been identified. Time frames for a possible move have not been agreed as the project is still at the feasibility stage. The functions and capacity of any future office will be dependent on value for money and the security of our staff.

Ireland: Schools

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the Republic of Ireland concerning its decision to remove funding from protestant schools, some of which have pupils and staff who are British citizens.[HL3300]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The Government have made no representations to the Government of the Republic of Ireland on this issue. Funding for schools in Ireland is a matter for the Irish Government.

Israel and Palestine

Question

Asked by Lord Dykes

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the announcement of President Ahmadinejad of Iran that he will support a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine, if Palestine is still seeking this objective. [HL3259]

14 May 2009 : Column WA232

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The UK would like to see Iran making a positive contribution to creating a secure, stable and prosperous Middle East. We continue to urge Iran to give political and diplomatic support to the Palestinian Authority in its attempts to build institutions and improve security. However, we remain concerned about the support that Iran provides in the form of funding, arms and training to Palestinian Rejectionist Groups including Hamas, which are undermining peace in the Middle East through violence.

Learning and Skills Improvement Service

Questions

Asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford

To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) what are the contracts of work currently being undertaken by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service; (b) what is the start date of each contract; (c) what work the contract entails; (d) what is the financial value of each contract; and (e) where the contract has been sub-contracted, which company is responsible for delivering the work.[HL3291]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): Full details of the contracts of work currently being undertaken by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service are contained in Annex 1.

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14 May 2009 : Column WA234



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14 May 2009 : Column WA236

Annex 1
LSIS sub-contracted work—worth over £1 million
Contract	Lead Contractor	Consortium Members	Start Date	Current Value	Work Content
Beacons and STARs	Nord Anglia	None	April 2007	£6,500,000	Awards for outstanding providers and practitioners
Improvement Adviser Service	Tribal	None	April 2008	£7,800,000	Provider improvement including intervention
Support for Excellence	Deloitte	Morgan Webb Education	August 2007	£3,500,000	Peer Review and Development
ERIQ—Extending the Reach and Improving the Quality of FLLN	Tribal	None	February 2009	£2,200,000	Supporting literacy and numeracy via family learning.
Move On (to World Class Skills)	Tribal	None	March 2009	£1,200,000	Improved delivery of skills for life within train to gain following Ofsted report
Skills for Life	CfBT	NRDC/LLU+ NIACE LSN	September 2006	£8,000,000	Improving basic literacy and numeracy provision
Diploma Support—Phase 2	SSAT	LSN/The Workshop/Pearson/Hedra	April 2008	£52,000,000	Supporting the introduction of new 14-19 qualifications
Functional Skills for Adults	LSN	None	October 2007	£2,250,000	Supporting the introduction of new functional skills qualifications for adults
Functional Skills	LSN	None	December 2006	£6,200,000	Supporting the introduction of new functional skills qualifications for 14-19 year-olds
General Qualifications	SSAT	The 157 Group/SFCF/AOC/The Workshop	January 2009	£1,950,000	Improved approaches to A levels and in particular the extended project
Post-16 Citizenship	LSN	None	September 2006	£3,700,000	Supporting the introduction of active citizenship provision in post-16 providers
Qualification Reform Support	LSN	None	October 2007	£2,400,000	Supporting the introduction of the new Qualifications and Curriculum Framework
World Class Skills	KPMG	LSN/City & Guilds/AOC/ALP/Sales Insight	May 2008	£13,500,000	Programme to support providers improve their engagement with employers
STEM	Tribal	NCETM/Royal Academy of Engineering	July 2008	£4,000,000	Specialist Support for teaching and learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics provision
SLC (Subject Learning Coach Programme)	Nord Anglia	BDP/Desq Illumina	June 2008	£13,700,000	Supporting the improvement of teaching and learning in specified subject areas via resources, networks and the training of subject learning coaches
e-CPD—Online continuing professional development	BDP	ALT/DCTPN/North Hertfordshire and South Devon Colleges of Further Education/Derbyshire Adult and Community Education Service	September 2008	£2,500,000	A programme of training for e-CPD champions within providers
CETTs—Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training	Northumbria University/ACER/South Leicestershire College/University of Huddersfield/London Institute of Education/University of Plymouth/Newcastle College/University of Sunderland/Learning South West/University of Warwick/Oxford Brookes University	(Many linked organisations)	April 2007	£3,000,000	Support for initial [FE] teacher training and post qualifying CPD
Healthy FE	Tribal	None	April 2009	£1,000,000	Promoting healthy life styles within further education
Excellence Gateway	Serco	None	April 2008	£3,000,000	A dissemination platform for FE materials and advice and effective practice

Asked by Baroness Sharp of Guildford

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills provides to the Learning and Skills Improvement Service and what proportion this constitutes of the total budget of the Learning and Skills Improvement Service.[HL3292]

Lord Young of Norwood Green: In 2008-09 DIUS funding was £99 million which represented 68 per cent of the total Learning and Skills Improvement Service income.

In 2009-10 DIUS funding is estimated at £96 million which represents 71 per cent of the total Learning and Skills Improvement Service income.

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