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9 July 2009 : Column WA161



9 July 2009 : Column WA161

Written Answers

Thursday 9 July 2009

Afghanistan

Question

Asked by The Earl of Dundee

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): UK forces, along with 41 other contributing nations, participate in the North Atlantic Treat Organisation's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan at the invitation of the democratically elected Afghan Government and at the request of the UN. The objective of the international community's involvement in Afghanistan is to establish the right security environment in which accountable and effective institutions can develop and Afghan-led reconstruction and development can be established. Gaining and securing the confidence of the Afghan population is critical to achieving our objectives. The newly appointed commander of ISAF, General Stanley McChrystal, is currently conducting a review of ISAF operations. We await its recommendations. We welcome General McChrystal's recent statements emphasising ISAF's determination to protect the Afghan population from the insurgents and to seek to minimise the effect of ISAF operations on the population. The UK will continue to support ISAF and the Government of Afghanistan in their efforts to do this. ISAF and the wider international community working in Afghanistan, including the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, will continue to work closely with the Government of Afghanistan and the Afghan National Security Forces in pursuit of their objectives on behalf of the people of Afghanistan.

Armed Forces: Budgets

Question

Asked by Lord Dykes

The Minister for International Defence and Security (Baroness Taylor of Bolton):The Defence Plan 2008-12 (Cm 7385), sets out the planned defence budget up to 2010-11 in section IV entitled "The Government Expenditure Plan". This reflects the outcome of the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review and includes a high level breakdown of costs. Copies of The Defence Plan 2008-12 are available in the Library of the House and can also be found at the following link at http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/BusinessPlans/DefencePlans/.



9 July 2009 : Column WA162

Armed Forces: Reserves

Question

Asked by Lord Astor of Hever

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): Reservists who are returning to jobseeker's allowance, who have had a gap of less than 26 weeks between claims, can make a rapid reclaim to jobseeker's allowance. This means that the claim process is shortened and the return to benefit is simpler and quicker.

However, it is not possible automatically to restore a person's benefit as they may have had changes in their circumstances which may mean they are entitled to a different benefit or an increase in their entitlement.

Banking: Charges

Question

Asked by Lord Dykes

The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): I refer the noble Lord to the reply I gave to Lord Laird on 7 July 2009 (Official Report, col. WA 123).

"Bank charges are a matter for the regulatory authorities. The treatment of charges is set out in the Banking Code, which is monitored by the Banking Code Standards Board.

The Financial Services Authority will introduce a new conduct of business regime, covering all retail banking services within its remit on 1 November 2009. It will introduce a new principles-based framework and conduct rules. The Financial Services Authority will consult on areas where additional rules or guidance may be needed.

The Office of Fair Trading is pursuing a test case against a group of banks on the fairness of unarranged overdraft charging terms. It is also working with stakeholders to address the concerns identified in its market study into the operation of the market for personal current accounts. This, together with the resolution of the bank charges test case, will open the way to introduce transparent price structures and simpler mechanisms for switching from one provider to another".



9 July 2009 : Column WA163

Bloody Sunday Inquiry

Question

Asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The cost of the Bloody Sunday inquiry to the end of May is £188 million, including legal costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence. The Northern Ireland Office has agreed a package of measures with the inquiry to reduce running costs during the remaining stages by around 20 per cent. These measures include closure of the inquiry's Londonderry office and renegotiation of IT contracts and rents. The total cost of the inquiry is expected to be around £190 million.

Lord Saville wrote to my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in January 2009 stating that it is still his intention to submit his report in the autumn of this year. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has had no indication from Lord Saville that there will be any further delays.

Compensation Agency

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The following table sets out the amount of compensation paid out by the Compensation Agency, in each year, since its formation on 1 April 1992.

Compensation Paid1000's

1992-93

105,343.61

1993-94

99,972.39

1994-95

90,161.34

1995-96

69,800.43

1996-97

59,508.23

1997-98

67,663.37

1998-99

80,701.57

1999-00

82,359.59

2000-01

52,674.99

2001-02

64,387.95

2002-03

62,962.34

2003-04

58,443.36

2004-05

48,536.19

2005-06

50,229.49

2006-07

40,308.70

2007-08

49,043.95

2008-09

33,243.40

Total

1,115,340.90



9 July 2009 : Column WA164

Asked by Lord Laird

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The following table sets out the average staff employed by the Compensation Agency, in each year, since its formation on 1 April 1992.

YearAverage staff employed per year

1992-93

151

1993-94

164

1994-95

157

1995-96

134

1996-97

123

1997-98

126

1998-99

131

1999-2000

125

2000-2001

125

2001-2002

132

2002-2003

145

2003-2004

131

2004-2005

120

2005-2006

105

2006-2007

88

2007-2008

77

2008-2009

71

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: ICT

Question

Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): Defra outsourced IT service provision (which included transfer of server ownership) to IBM in 2004. Under this contract, the department purchases access to applications services hosted on servers provided and managed by IBM. Therefore we are not in a position to consider raising income by renting out capacity on them.



9 July 2009 : Column WA165

Diplomatic Immunity

Question

Asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch

The Minister for Europe (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): There are 11 organisations of the European Union with facilities in the UK that are entitled to certain privileges and immunities. They are:

European Commission;

European Investment Bank;

European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training;

European Maritime Safety Agency;

European Medicines Agency;

European Molecular Biology Laboratory;

European Network and Information Security Agency;

European Parliament;

European Patent Office;

European Police School; and

European School.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has been notified of 2,282 staff and their dependants at the above listed organisations that may be entitled to some form of privileges and immunities. The extent of the privileges and immunities accorded varies between the different organisations, such as immunity from jurisdiction and legal process and exemption or relief from certain taxes.


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