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Justice: Sharia Law
Question
Asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Lord Bach on 4 June (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 296), whether they will take steps to ensure that resident Muslim men cannot bring their second, third or fourth wives, together with their children, to live in the United Kingdom and to draw benefits. [HL4145]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): It is government policy to prevent the formation of polygamous households in this country. Entry clearance or leave to enter or remain is refused if the applicant's spouse has another spouse living who is, or at any time since their marriage has been, in the UK, or who has been granted a certificate of entitlement in respect of right of abode under Section 2(1)(a) of the Immigration Act 1988, or who has been granted entry clearance to enter the UK on the basis of their marriage.
There are certain exceptions to this general restriction: a spouse who seeks leave to entry or remain if he/she has been in the UK before one August 1988, having been admitted on the basis of his/her marriage; or, if he/she has, since his/her marriage, been in the UK at any time when there was no such other spouse living.
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Latvia and Republic of Ireland
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether economic support to Latvia and the Republic of Ireland will be provided only by nations in the eurozone or by the whole of the European Union; and what are the implications of such support coming from the United Kingdom. [HL4148]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Latvia secured agreement to a €7.5 billion financial support package in December 2008, including €3.1 billion from the European Union's medium-term balance of payments facility and €1.7 billion from the International Monetary Fund. The UK did not make a bilateral contribution.
The Government are not aware of any request from Ireland for international economic support.
Legal Aid
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding was provided as legal aid in Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years. [HL4048]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The funding provided to the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission for legal aid in Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years is as follows;
| Financial Year | Legal Aid Fund £m |
NHS: Ageism
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle ageism in the National Health Service in the light of the survey of British Geriatrics Society members reported by Help the Aged in January 2009. [HL4169]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The Government are strongly committed to ending age
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NHS professionals are dedicated to offering good care to all patients irrespective of age, but we recognise that more needs to be done to improve services for all age groups and tackle age discrimination where it exists.
The Secretary of State for Health has initiated a national review of age discrimination led from the south-west region by Sir Ian Carruthers, chief executive of the South West Strategic Health Authority, and Jan Ormondroyd, chief executive of Bristol City Council. The review is looking at the key actions health and adult social care should take to prepare for implementation of the ban on age discrimination. More widely, the department is considering how health and social care organisations can ensure that people receive high quality services, whatever their age. The review will make its recommendations in a published report in October 2009.
Parliaments: Members' Costs
Question
Asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average annual cost of maintaining a member of (a) the House of Lords; (b) the House of Commons; and (c) the European Parliament including salaries, pensions, attendance allowances, travelling allowances and office expenses for the most recent year for which figures are available. [HL3826]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given to Baroness Seccombe on 26 November 2008 (Official Report, col.WA 336-7).
Poland
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Poland about the safety of black British citizens visiting Poland. [HL4233]
Lord Brett: We are not aware of any reports in the Polish press of abuse, harassment or threatening behaviour being directed towards black British citizens in Poland. We do not, therefore, have any plans to make representations to the Polish Government about the safety of black British citizens in Poland.
17 Jun 2009 : Column WA215
Population Statistics
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they supply the United States Census Bureau with United Kingdom population statistics; and, if so, in what form and how frequently. [HL4053]
Baroness Crawley: 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 Taylor, dated June 2009.
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Question asking whether Her Majesty's Government supply the United States Census Bureau with United Kingdom population statistics; and, if so, in what form and how frequently. (HL4053)
Population statistics are published on the ONS website where they are available publicly for all users at www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk= 601&More=N.
No other Census or other population statistics are supplied to the United States Census Bureau.
Public Bodies
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recourse they have if a body set up by an Act of Parliament exceeds its brief. [HL3544]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): There are a wide range of public bodies set up by Acts of Parliament. Any concerns about the actions or performance of a particular public body should be raised with the chairman of the body concerned and/or the relevant sponsor department.
Public Sector: Contracts
Question
Asked by Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place in the process for tendering public sector contracts to protect local specialist providers of services from exploitation by prime contractors. [HL4103]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The Office of Government Commerce has issued guidance which encourages departments to seek effective management of supply chains by their prime contractors.
This guidance will be reviewed and updated as part of a programme of work to implement the recommendations of the Glover Advisory Committee, which published its report Accelerating the SME economic engine; through transparent, simple and strategic procurement in November 2008. That work includes a project to help ensure small businesses and other firms acting as sub-contractors obtain contract conditions, for example, promptness of payment, that are comparable to those applied to the prime contractor.
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Within central government it is mandatory for major new construction projects to adopt the principles set out in OGC's Guide to Best Fair Payment practices. That requires departments to adopt the principles of OGC's Fair Payment Charter fortheir construction supply chains.
Questions for Written Answer: Websites
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they refer to websites to answer parliamentary questions instead of supplying the information, and whether they will ensure that in future answers are provided in full in the Official Report. [HL4003]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon): The presumption should be that, unless it is of such size and complexity that it would not be practicable to do so or would involve disproportionate cost, requested information which is readily available should be provided in the relevant Written Answer itself, in addition to referring the Member to the published sources. I will be reminding departments of the need to do so.
Shipping: Ferry Operators
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 9 June (WA 147-8), whether the agency issued a temporary passenger-carrying certificate on or about 12 September 2008 for MV “CANNA”. [HL4221]
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 9 June (WA 147-8), whether a temporary passenger-carrying certificate was requested from the agency on or about 5 September 2008 for MV “CANNA”. [HL4223]
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 9 June (WA 147-8), what was meant by “had the MCA issued the correct paperwork, the passenger certificate would have been valid for a full year through to 18 September 2008”. [HL4226]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued a short-term passenger certificate, valid for one month, for the MV “CANNA” on 12 September 2008, following an in water survey. No request was made to the MCA for a temporary passenger-carrying certificate in September 2008.
An error occurred in the re-issue of passenger certification in July 2008 to take account of a change of operator to the current operator. This certification should have reflected previous changes, unrelated to the current operator, which would have confirmed that the certification was valid until 18 September 2008, rather than 31 August 2008.
On 5 September 2008 the operators of the MV “CANNA” informed the MCA that the vessel could not be surveyed out of water before 18 September
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Following the out of water survey, a new five-year passenger certificate was issued on the 5 October 2008.
Smoking
Question
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Total tobacco duty received by the Exchequer in 2006-07 was £8,149 million and is published in the National Statistics Tobacco bulletin available at www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bulltobacco.
Statutory Instruments
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many statutory instruments were laid in each of the Sessions 1996—97; 1997—98; 2001—02; 2002—03; 2006—07; and 2007—08. [HL4177]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The number of statutory instruments laid in each of the specified Sessions was a follows:
| Session | Number of instruments |
Territorial Army
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Territorial Army soldiers who are currently unemployed are able to claim jobseeker's allowance whilst attending to their Territorial Army duties. [HL4092]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): Unemployed people who are Territorial Army soldiers can claim jobseeker's allowance provided they are available and actively seeking work. Most TA units have a minimum commitment to train for around three hours per week, one weekend per month and to participate in an annual two week camp for basic training, which may take place in the UK or abroad.
The only time their TA activity would impact on JSA entitlement is during the annual two week training period per year. Normally when a TA solider attends their annual training they tend to close their claim to JSA, as the full time nature of the training means they cannot be available for or actively seeking work during this period.
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