| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Turks and Caicos Islands
Question
Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the anticipated additional cost of imposing direct rule on the Turks and Caicos Islands. [HL6014]
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA154
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): The majority of the costs of implementing the recommendations of the Turks and Caicos Islands Commission of Inquiry, including the suspension of ministerial government and the House of Assembly, will fall to the Turks and Caicos Islands Government.
The Government are funding the provision of additional staff for the Governor's Office, and additional advisers for the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. It is not yet possible to specify the full costs of the provision of such advisers prior to the restoration of an elected Government on or before July 2011.
Vietnam
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the Government of Vietnam about recent arrests and sentences imposed on critics of official policy and practices, as detailed in the Amnesty International Urgent Action Notices of 8 and 9 October; and whether they have received responses to similar previous representations. [HL5959]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): The Government are concerned about the severe prison sentences given to nine Vietnamese citizens between 6 and 9 October for conducting propaganda against the state. We believe that all nine were peacefully expressing their right to freedom of expression in line with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Vietnam is a party.
As with previous cases of this nature, the Vietnamese Government maintain that these nine individuals have broken the law and must be punished accordingly. Our British embassy in Hanoi and our EU partners sent representatives to witness three of the trials. Following the trials we raised our concerns with the Vietnamese Government about the grounds for the convictions and the severity of the sentences.
We regularly highlight to the Vietnamese Government the importance of the free flow of ideas, analysis and debate to Vietnam's long-term sustainable development. We will continue to press the Vietnamese Government to adhere to their international human rights obligations.
Visas: Watoto Children's Choir
Questions
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements they have made to allow the Watoto children's choir to arrive in January 2010 in the United Kingdom to undertake their concert tour. [HL5784]
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA155
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): As of 28 October, visa applications had yet to be submitted to enable the Watoto children's choir to visit the UK in January 2010. Any applications received will be considered by our visa section in Nairobi in accordance with the Immigration Rules.
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in 2009 to enable the Watoto children to enter and perform in the United Kingdom. [HL5785]
Lord West of Spithead: As of 28 October, no visa applications had so far been submitted in 2009 to enable the Watoto children's choir to visit the UK. Any applications received will be considered in accordance with the Immigration Rules.
Young Offenders: Transfers
Questions
Asked by Baroness Falkner of Margravine
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) male prisoners, and (b) female prisoners, were transferred between secure training centres in the 12 months to September; and what were their ages. [HL6126]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The Youth Justice Board (YJB) places sentenced and remanded young people in the under-18 secure estate. The YJB defines a transfer as a planned move either resulting from a transfer request or as a result of estate planning. The table below details the number of occasions when males and females were transferred between secure training centres in the year to 30 September 2009. The data have been provided by the Youth Justice Board and are drawn from administrative computers systems, and as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time.
| Age | Female | Male |
Asked by Baroness Falkner of Margravine
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) male prisoners, and (b) female prisoners, were transferred between secure children's homes in the 12 months to September; and what were their ages. [HL6127]
Lord Bach: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) places sentenced and remanded young people in the under-18 secure estate. The YJB defines a transfer as a planned move either resulting from a transfer request or as a result of estate planning. The table below details the number of occasions when males and females were
10 Nov 2009 : Column WA156
| Age | Female | Male |
Asked by Baroness Falkner of Margravine
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the numbers of transfers per prisoner for prisoners aged 12 to 18 who were transferred between (a) young offenders' institutions, (b) secure training centres, and (c) secure children's homes in the 12 months to September. [HL6128]
Lord Bach: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) places sentenced and remanded young people in the under-18 secure estate. The YJB defines a transfer as a planned move either resulting from a transfer request or as a result of estate planning. The tables below detail the number of transfers per young person between establishments within each of the three sectors of the under-18 secure estate in the year to 30 September 2009. The data have been provided by the Youth Justice Board and are drawn from administrative computers systems, and as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time.
| Number of transfers per young person in Young Offender Institutions | Number of young persons |
| Number of transfers per young person in Secure Training Centres | Number of young persons |
| Number of transfers per young person in Secure Children's Homes | Number of young persons |
| Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |