| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA135
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of Greek military personnel based in Cyprus; and whether that number is within the limit required by the Treaty of Guarantee. [HL6057]
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: The Government have not made an assessment of the number of Greek military personnel based in Cyprus.
Cyprus: Larnaca Airport
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with authorities in Cyprus about whether part of Larnaca airport has been developed over land in Greek Cyprus owned by Turkish Cypriots; and whether Turkish Cypriots were compensated by the Greek Cypriot Government for the loss of the property. [HL6054]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): The Government have had no discussions with authorities in Cyprus about the development of Larnaca airport. However, we continue to believe that the issue of disputed property ownership can only be fully solved by a comprehensive settlement, and it is for the leaders of the two communities to decide what form this takes during their ongoing settlement discussions.
Cyprus: Property
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Turkish Cypriot land and property in Southern Cyprus has been taken over by the Greek Cypriot authorities since 1974; and whether payments have been made by the Greek Cypriot authorities to the former owners. [HL6055]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): The Government have no direct involvement in this matter and are unable to supply the information requested. The issue of disputed property ownership can only be fully solved by a comprehensive settlement, and it is for the leaders of the two communities to decide what form this takes during their ongoing settlement discussions.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had about whether the Turkish Cypriot Immovable Property Commission has received applications by Greek Cypriots to purchase properties in Northern Cyprus, whether such applications have been approved and whether payments for the
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA136
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: According to figures recently released, over the past three years 422 applications have been made to the Immovable Property Commission. Of these, 75 cases have been resolved: two were resolved with compensation and exchange; four with compensation and restitution; one with restitution after a settlement; and the remainder with compensation. The European Court of Human Rights is expected to rule on whether the IPC offers an effective domestic remedy following a hearing on 18 November.
Education: Special Educational Needs
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what extra training has been given to teachers and carers involved with children with special educational needs. [HL6232]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): There are a wide range of activities currently under way and in the planning stage that the DCSF is co-ordinating in relation to improving training for the school workforce in relation to special educational needs.
From 1 September 2009, new regulations have come into force which mean that SENCOs in schools are now required to be qualified teachers and, if they have been in post for less than 12 months, they are also required to undertake new mandatory training to assist them in their role.
The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) is also in the process of strengthening the coverage of SEN and disability issues in Initial Teacher Training and Induction for teachers-primary materials were launched in June 2008, secondary materials in June 2009 and PGCE materials will be available from November 2009. Also in November this year, the TDA will be launching a modular postgraduate course to provide opportunities for specialist SEN study for experienced teachers.
The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services are in the process of developing the Achievement for All programme which will aim to improve SEN and disability coverage in school leadership programmes.
In partnership with the national strategies, we are also in the process of creating and rolling-out the Inclusion Development Programme which will deliver specially designed training resources for the school workforce that address areas of SEN that we know some find difficult-these include communication and autism and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD).
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA137
Elections: Armed Forces
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to ensure that military personnel overseas who are registered for postal voting receive their ballots in sufficient time for them to be returned to be included in constituency counts. [HL6244]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Postal votes cannot be issued until the close of nominations, which for a UK parliamentary election means 11 working days before the poll. For this reason the Electoral Commission recommends proxy voting as the best way to ensure service personnel can cast their ballot, and the Commission recently issued guidance to all military personnel to encourage their participation in this way. However, it is important that service personnel have the opportunity participate in the democratic process, and my right honourable friend Michael Wills MP has written to all MPs inviting them to a meeting to discuss ways in which the registration and voting arrangements for service personnel can be improved.
Electoral Register
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Conwy
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average number of electors per parliamentary constituency in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, and (d) Northern Ireland, at the latest date for which figures are available. [HL6226]
Baroness Crawley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, National Statistician, to Lord Roberts of Conwy, dated November 2009.
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your questions asking what was the average number of electors per parliamentary constituency in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland, at the latest date for which figures are available. (HL6226)
The table below shows the average number of parliamentary electors in (a) English, (b) Welsh, (c) Scottish and (d) Northern Ireland parliamentary constituencies for 2008 which is the latest date for which figures are available.
| Average number of electors per parliamentary constituency. 1 | |
| 2008 | |
1. Parliamentary constituencies are based on existing boundaries.
Source: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, and Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA138
Embryology
Questions
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Baroness Thornton on 28 October (WA 150-51), whether it is a legal requirement that re-consent procedures should be in place where insufficient information is available to ascertain whether an individual would have objected to the use of their cells to bring about the creation in vitro of an embryo or human admixed embryo for the purposes of proposed research. [HL6148]
Baroness Thornton: It is not a legal requirement that re-consent procedures should be in place where insufficient information is available to ascertain whether an individual would have objected to the use of their cells to bring about the creation in vitro of an embryo or human admixed embryo for the purposes of proposed research.
The condition in paragraph 21(2)(b), (3)(b) and (4)(b) of Schedule 3 to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 is that the information relating to the cell provider that is available to the researcher does not suggest that the individual would have objected to the use of their human cells to bring about the creation in vitro of an embryo or human admixed embryo for the purposes of the research project.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Baroness Thornton on 27 October (WA 124) and 2 November (WA 7) stating that research licence applications and renewals are assessed in light of available scientific evidence, why records of relevant scientific publications are not maintained by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. [HL6213]
Baroness Thornton: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that relevant publications may be provided by centres when they apply for a research licence or for a renewal of a research licence and by peer reviewers when they submit their reviews of these applications.
The HFEA has a record of all applications and peer reviews submitted, which will be referred to when the HFEA decides whether to grant or renew a research licence. The HFEA may also refer to advice provided by its Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee when making these decisions.
For this reason, the HFEA does not maintain a record of the type indicated in the Question.
Energy: Gas Storage
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 5 October (WA 483), what are the diverse sources from which natural gas can be imported; and how much time it takes to import supplies in each case. [HL5726]
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA139
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Over the past year GB has imported piped gas from Norway, Belgium (via the IUK interconnector) and the Netherlands (via the Balgzand-Bacton Pipeline-BBL). The IUK and BBL pipelines give access to gas from a range of sources including the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and Russia. GB has also received shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Algeria, Australia, Egypt, Norway, Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Piped gas supplies can react quickly to changing market conditions in the UK. The rate at which LNG supplies can respond depends on the proximity and commercial availability of LNG cargoes. The increasing liquidity of the LNG market-the result of its increasing size and more flexible commercial arrangements-is helping to shorten response times.
Energy: Power Stations
Question
Asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many power stations in the United Kingdom they expect to be shut down before 2015 due to the 20,000-hour operating limit in the European Union's large combustion plant directive. [HL6323]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The timing of the closures of the stations opted out of the large combustion plant directive is a commercial matter for the owners, within the limits imposed by the directive.
EU: Council President
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (a) Ministers, and (b) civil servants, have lobbied (1) foreign Governments, and (2) officials in the European Union institutions, to promote Mr Tony Blair's appointment as President of the European Council upon ratification of the Lisbon treaty. [HL6032]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has long been clear that the Government think that Tony Blair would make an excellent candidate and an excellent President of the European Council. Other members of the European Council share the same view. Ministers will talk to our European colleagues about what is the best outcome, and will continue to do so. Officials have not been instructed to lobby for potential candidates.
The Government hope that we can have an agreement soon that allows us to choose Commissioners and a President of the European Council. The current chair of the European Council, Swedish Prime Minister
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA140
Fishing: Discarded Fish
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the weight and retail value of edible fish discarded by British fishermen due to being over-quota in the past 12 months for which figures are available. [HL5923]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): Cefas (the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) has analysed fisheries data to estimate the quantity of fish discarded by English and Welsh fishermen. Current estimates do not include data from Scotland or Northern Ireland. The total estimate of all species discarded in 2008 is 17,000 to 25,000 tonnes (approximately 8,000 tonnes of this was made up by the 20 most common commercial species).
The current system for recording catch data does not allow us to differentiate why each fish is discarded. For example, a fish could be discarded because it is undersize (below minimum landing size), over-quota, high-graded or has no market. We therefore cannot assess the weight of over-quota fish discarded in the past 12 months by British fishermen.
Because data on discards are incomplete, any extrapolations to estimate the retail value for the British fleet as a whole are unreliable. Using the average market value of all fish species as a multiplier would give an inaccurate estimate of the retail value of discards. Nor would that methodology take account of the impact of increased supply to the market on price elasticity or the capacity of processors and retailers to manage the increased supply. Again, because of the way catch data are recorded, we would not be able to disaggregate such an estimate to give a specific retail value for over-quota discards. Work will continue this year to build a better picture of discarding and its impacts.
Food: Horse Meat
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much United Kingdom reared horse meat is (a) sold in the United Kingdom, and (b) exported. [HL5940]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): All horse meat intended for human consumption produced at approved UK slaughterhouses is exported.
999 tonnes of meat derived from equidae was exported from the UK in 2008. This includes meat from horses, mules, asses and hinnies and does not differentiate between UK-reared or imported animals.
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA141
Food: Supplements
Question
Asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of European Union legislation concerning vitamins and food supplements; and what is their stance on that legislation. [HL6212]
Baroness Thornton: The European food supplements directive 2002/46/EC sets down requirements for food supplements marketed in the European Union and has applied in full since 1 August 2005. The directive is implemented in England by the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003, as amended.
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |