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All applicants are told that approval to look for a property is not a guarantee of funding. Both the property and the purchaser have to be eligible to qualify for assistance from the MyChoice HomeBuy scheme, so funding approval is not given until after the property is found.

£126 million has been made available this year to meet funding commitments under the MyChoice HomeBuy scheme. We are now considering the next steps for funding. In managing the Affordable Housing Programme, the Government need to strike the right balance between this scheme and other programmes such as the provision of new homes for social rent. That programme, and other programmes that directly support the building of new homes such as HomeBuy Direct, have the added benefit that they deliver new housing supply and support the creation of jobs.

Northern Ireland Office: Hire Cars

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 30 April (WA 71) concerning the cost of hire cars

9 Jun 2009 : Column WA145

for staff of the Northern Ireland Office, what is the monthly cost in each year for which the information was supplied in the Answer. [HL3374]

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The following table shows how much the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and executive NDPBs, paid to suppliers of private hire cars in each month of the financial years since 2000-01 (rounded to nearest £'000), where costs have been charged to the private hire car expenditure code.

In working through the detail for this response, we have identified an element of miscoding whereby other travel costs have been charged to the private car hire expenditure code. The costs in the previous response were therefore overstated by £120,000. This has been adjusted in the figures below.

£’000	00-01	01-02	02-03	03-04	04-05	05-06	06-07	07-08	08-09
April	17	4	23	33	20	24	28	35	9
May	19	1	11	20	26	25	16	36	6
June	23	6	28	18	37	22	39	33	0
July	31	8	29	35	38	21	9	9	12
August	17	17	16	18	24	47	57	38	5
September	10	6	12	18	27	33	12	5	13
October	20	10	16	47	30	23	28	15	4
November	16	13	34	26	59	29	20	20	5
December	6	1	7	31	25	36	23	5	3
January	32	20	36	22	20	35	39	7	4
February	1	1	14	42	31	19	22	17	3
March	29	22	26	41	27	28	19	7	19
Total	221	109	252	351	364	342	312	227	83

Palace of Westminster: Safety

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to make representations to the appropriate authorities concerning the safety of Members and staff of the House of Lords on footpaths around the Palace of Westminster which are also used by cyclists. [HL4046]

The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): No. If a footpath is designated for shared use by cyclists and pedestrians, members of the public should inform the police of dangerous behaviour. Where a footpath or highway is not designated for shared use, cycling on the pavement is an offence under Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835, and enforcement is therefore an operational matter for the police.

Pensions

Question

Asked by Lord Dykes

To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with Sir Fred Goodwin regarding his pension claim. [HL3853]

9 Jun 2009 : Column WA146

The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Sir Philip Hampton, the new chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, has appointed a senior independent QC to carry out a full legal investigation of the issues relating to Sir Fred Goodwin's pension. This investigation is ongoing and UK Financial Investments Ltd is being kept advised of developments.

People Trafficking

Question

Asked by Lord Hylton

To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding has been allocated in the current and last year for the Metropolitan Police Human Trafficking Unit; whether they will maintain that funding; and whether the knowledge of the Metropolitan Police of human trafficking is shared with other police services. [HL3795]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Following negotiations with the Metropolitan Police, as a result of which the Met found some money within their existing budget to continue funding anti human trafficking work, the Home Office agreed on an exceptional basis to provide an additional £435,000 for the current financial year.

Human trafficking is core police business. However, this money was granted in consideration of the fact that the Met, unlike the other forces, could not mainstream this work by the end of the last financial year and on the clear understanding that all anti human trafficking work within the Met would be met from within its existing budget from 1 April 2010 onwards.

The Metropolitan Police has developed a good relationship with the UK Human Trafficking Centre, which is the acknowledged centre of expertise on human trafficking issues and was established to co-ordinate the law enforcement response to this crime.

Gypsies and Travellers

Question

Asked by Lord Avebury

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will take account of the findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission report Assessing local housing authorities’ progress in meeting the accommodation needs of Gypsy and Traveller communities in England, and particularly the conclusion that it would take responding authorities an average of ten years to meet the pitch requirements specified for a five-year period if temporary planning permissions are taken into account, or 18 years if only permanent permissions are considered. [HL3890]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government welcome the report by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission report Simple Solutions for Living Together. The

9 Jun 2009 : Column WA147

commission's findings reinforce the Government's view that, where there is evidence of need for Gypsy and Traveller sites, local authorities should press ahead with identifying appropriate locations where they could be sited. The provision of authorised sites will help to reduce unauthorised camping and thereby help to reduce community tensions and the costs of enforcement action.

Service Industries: Strikes

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