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29 Oct 2009 : Column WA171
29 Oct 2009 : Column WA171
29 Oct 2009 : Column WA171
Thursday 29 October 2009
Air Quality
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have not responded by legally required deadlines to the request and subsequent appeal by the Campaign for Clean Air in London in relation to information relating to a meeting that took place on 22 January 2009 between Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, on air quality matters. [HL5813]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): The Government always strive to meet the 20-working-day deadline for responding to requests made under the environmental information regulations (EIRs). However, we very much regret that in this case we were unable to meet the deadline at either the initial request or internal review stage. This was because the request from the Campaign for Clean Air in London involved some detailed and careful consideration about the application or otherwise of certain of the exceptions in the EIRs, the consequent balance of the public interest arguments around the disclosure of advice to Ministers as well as consultation with third parties about information relating to them.
Alpacas and Llamas
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place regarding the health of alpacas and llamas in England. [HL5931]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): The Animal Health and Welfare Strategy for Great Britain, launched in June 2004, continues to direct the Government and others in their work to bring about long-term improvements to the well-being of England's kept animals, including camelids (alpacas and llamas).
Suspicion of a notifiable exotic animal disease in camelids is notifiable to Animal Health. Defra has a scanning surveillance program in place to measure notifiable diseases.
Through Defra's surveillance programmes, the Veterinary Laboratory Agency has identified Johne's disease and Bovine Viral Diarrhoea in llamas and alpacas and is undertaking research to better understand diseases in these species.
The camelid sector in the UK has acted in a largely responsible manner in proactively vaccinating its animals
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To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they pay compensation for bovine tuberculosis to owners of alpacas and llamas; or whether such payments are decided locally in England. [HL5932]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Once testing and slaughter protocols have been agreed with the owner, Defra's approach is to provide compensation of £750 for each TB-affected alpaca and/or llama required to be slaughtered for disease control purposes.
To ask Her Majesty's Government which anatomical part of llamas and alpacas is used for testing for bovine tuberculosis. [HL5933]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The preferred anatomical part for TB testing in llamas and alpacas (camelids) is the neck at the base of the cervical area about level with the animal's back (cranial scapular). The auxiliary, behind the front leg, is also acceptable. The fibre is shaved off so the test site is easily seen.
Armed Forces Day: Northern Ireland
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding was provided by the Ministry of Defence for the Armed Forces Day in Carrickfergus. [HL5986]
The Minister for International Defence and Security (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The MoD provided £10,000 of funding to the Armed Forces Day event in Carrickfergus.
Common Agricultural Policy: Single Farm Payment
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many farmers receiving the single farm payment were wrongly paid in each year from 2005 to 2008; and how many farmers have outstanding claims for those years. [HL5739]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): The number of farmers whose single payment scheme claims we currently identify as needing adjustment post-payment is set out below:
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| Scheme Year | Number of farmers* |
* It should be noted that some farmers may be included against more than one year.
The number of farmers who have received no single payment scheme payment to date from a valid claim is:
| Scheme Year | Number of farmers* |
Some farmers may be included against more than one year, as above.
The majority of these relate to probate issues.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money has been recovered from overpayments of the single farm payment in each year 2005 to 2008. [HL5742]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The amount of money recovered from single payment scheme overpayments for each year 2005 to 2008 is shown in the following table:
| Year | Amount Recovered |
Devolved Administrations
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have funded, or intend to fund, major capital projects for the devolved Administrations which are opposed to their policy on the environment. [HL5837]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Major capital projects in devolved areas of policy are for the devolved Administrations to fund from within their overall block budgets.
To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances they will allow a devolved Administration to undertake an option which is more expensive than an option based on environmental considerations. [HL5839]
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Lord Myners: In devolved areas of spending it is up to the devolved Administrations to assess the financial and environmental considerations of devolved spending projects.
Italy: Antiquities
Question
Asked by Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn
To ask Her Majesty's Government what requests have been received from the Italian legal authorities for assistance in returning to Italy antiquities allegedly exported illegally, formerly in the possession of Mr Robin Symes; and what response has been offered. [HL5821]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The UK can receive requests for assistance to return antiquities that have been allegedly illegally exported, through a number of routes including:
the EU Council Directive 93/7/EC 1993 and the European Communities (Return of Cultural Objects) Regulations 1994, which set out procedures for mutual assistance between EU member states for the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of an EU member state. Such requests are handled by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The DCMS has received no requests for assistance from the Italian authorities in relation to Mr Symes under the EU Council Directive; andmutual legal assistance (MLA) in criminal matters. The Home Office UK Central Authority (UKCA) handles requests for mutual legal assistance where the assistance required is for use in an ongoing criminal investigation or for use in criminal proceedings. The UK is able to provide a wide range of assistance under the provisions of the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (External Requests and Orders) Order 2005.It is the normal policy of the Home Office to neither confirm nor deny the receipt of MLA requests so as not to prejudice ongoing criminal investigations or criminal proceedings.
Morocco: Fisheries Agreements
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what terms they consider the fisheries agreement between the United Kingdom and Morocco should be renewed. [HL5823]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): The fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco expires in 2011. As with all negotiations with third countries we will seek to
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National DNA Database
Questions
Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to remove innocent citizens from the DNA database. [HL5745]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on crime in Scotland of removing innocent citizens from the DNA database. [HL5746]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the appeal made by African Peoples Advocacy regarding the process for removal from the DNA database of innocent citizens from black and ethnic minority communities. [HL5747]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): We are currently considering the results of the public consultation exercise conducted over the summer on proposals for a proportionate framework for the retention of DNA in light of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of S and Marper.
As soon as parliamentary time allows, we will bring forward appropriate measures which will place the detail of DNA retention periods on the face of primary legislation, allowing full debate and scrutiny on the issue in both Houses.
As far as the process of removal raised by the African Peoples Advocacy is concerned, currently only chief police officers have the discretion to decide whether to remove DNA records. The guidance on the exceptional case procedure issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers makes it clear that records and profiles which have been taken lawfully will be removed only in exceptional cases. If a person thinks their DNA records should be removed from the database all they need to do is write to their local chief police officer setting out what they feel are the exceptional circumstances around their case that would qualify for their records to be removed.
The consultation paper on DNA retention proposed placing the exceptional case procedure on a statutory footing and detailing the criteria under which applications should be considered. This aims to make the process more open and transparent and to raise public awareness of the ability to apply for deletion and the grounds on which such applications could be made.
The retention rules for the DNA database as they apply in Scotland are a matter for the Scottish Executive and as such Her Majesty's Government are unable to provide an assessment.
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Northern Ireland Office: Consultants
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what outside consultants were employed by the Northern Ireland Office from 1 September in each of the past five years; for what tasks; and at what cost. [HL5649]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has control mechanisms in place to ensure that the use of external consultancy is managed appropriately. The cost of external consultancy has dropped steadily over the past four financial years with a 45 per cent reduction in costs over the period.
Detailed information on the use of external consultants by the NIO and its executive agencies is only available for each financial year from 2005-06 to 2008-09. The following tables give a breakdown of the type of consultancy provided and the costs in each of the past four financial years.
| NIO and Executive Agencies Financial Year 2005-06 | |
| Management | |
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