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11 Jan 2010 : Column WA123
11 Jan 2010 : Column WA123
11 Jan 2010 : Column WA123
Monday 11 January 2010
Afghanistan
Question
Asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Her Majesty's Armed Forces in Afghanistan can operate with allies that impose restrictions on the use of their forces there; whether they have made representations to the NATO Secretary-General to have such restrictions lifted or amended; which countries have such restrictions; and what they are. [HL560]
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The UK works very effectively with International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partners in southern Afghanistan. While some nations impose caveats based on their national politics, domestic laws and risk tolerance, these caveats are a decision for individual nations.
Caveats are agreed between contributing nations and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe as conditions for their deployment. Their public disclosure could have an impact on force protection measures or a nation's ability to carry out its mission effectively. As such, they remain classified NATO information.
Art Galleries: Grants
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what grant was given to art galleries in Merseyside in 2007 and 2008; and how it was divided. [HL658]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): Art galleries in Merseyside that have received departmental funding in 2007 and 2008 are:
| 06/07 | 07-08 | 08-09 | |
| Revenue/Capital | Revenue/Capital | Revenue/Capital | |
* part of the grant-in-aid allocation to National Museums Liverpool
** part of the grant-in-aid allocation to the Tate Museum
*** this includes the Department for Culture, Media and Sport/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund grant of £50,000 to Lady Lever Art Gallery.
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Arts galleries in Merseyside are also funded by the Arts Council. They inform us that they spent £1,578,600 on visual arts in Merseyside in financial year 2007-08 and £1,710,421 in 2008-09.1
Finally, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport invested heavily in making a success of the Liverpool 08 Capital of Culture events, which further enhanced Merseyside's cultural profile providing short and long term benefits to local galleries.
1 It is not possible to divide this figure between individual galleries.
Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission
Questions
Asked by Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission to publish its client fund accounts showing the most recent levels of outstanding debt owed to parents with care. [HL632]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission about the proportion of outstanding debt owed to parents with care that is likely to be recoverable. [HL635]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission about its debt reduction strategy. [HL636]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): It was the intention of the commission to publish its client fund accounts as soon as the House returned from the Summer Recess. It has not been possible to adhere to that timetable.
The commission is now working towards laying the 2008-09 client funds account by 31 March 2010. To this end, the commission has developed a joint work plan with the National Audit Office.
Upon transfer of responsibility for the Child Support Agency functions to the commission, a review was undertaken to assess the level to which outstanding maintenance arrears were collectable. The conclusion reached was that the assumptions used previously had been over-optimistic and should be revised downwards to more realistic levels. The commission currently estimates that £1,065 million is potentially collectable.
The work plan with the National Audit Office includes a further review of the arrears classification to identify the proportion of the £1.065 million that is likely to be collected.
The commission currently prioritises collection of ongoing regular maintenance above collection of arrears. However, the full balance of arrears remains due and the commission is committed to maximising the value of the arrears it collects, within available funding.
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Constitution: Succession
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the law on succession to the Crown or proposals for changing that law have been discussed with other Commonwealth countries; and, if so, what was the outcome of such discussions. [HL645]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): I refer the noble Baroness to the reply given by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Justice to Lynne Featherstone, the honourable Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 4 June 2009 (Official Report, col. 617W).
Control Orders
Questions
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are subject to control orders; and, of those, how many are in receipt of each type of benefit. [HL821]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): In relation to the total number of individuals currently subject to control orders, I would refer the noble Baroness to the latest Written Ministerial Statement in relation to control orders which was published on 15 December 2009. This Statement explains that, as of 10 December 2009, there were 12 control orders in force.
The latest information that the Home Office holds shows that as of 10 December 2009, 10 of the individuals subject to control orders were in receipt of benefits that are administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Some individuals are in receipt of more than one form of DWP administered benefit. Of these individuals: two receive incapacity benefit, five receive jobseeker's allowance, three receive employment and support allowance, and one receives income support.
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much has been spent by the Home Office since the commencement of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 on providing individuals subject to control orders with telephone line rental and phone-cards, including VAT thereon. [HL823]
Lord West of Spithead: The Home Office spent £7,856.44 including VAT on telephone line rental for individuals subject to control orders between April 2006 and October 2009. It is not possible to provide the amount spent on telephone line rental prior to April 2006 due to the way the costs have been accounted for. The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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It is not possible to provide the total amount spent on phone cards for this period as this information forms part of the total amount spent on the provision of accommodation for individuals subject to control orders and cannot be extracted from this figure. However, as phone cards have been issued only infrequently, and not at all since 2007, this figure is assessed to be small.
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many civil servants are employed to administer the control orders programme. [HL824]
Lord West of Spithead: Within the Home Office, 10 full-time equivalent staff are currently employed to work on control orders.
Cultural Development: Grants
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what grants were given to organisations in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in 2007 and 2008 for cultural development. [HL659]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Cultural development can be funded by central government, their agencies and local government. No record of local government investment is held centrally. No specific grant for cultural development was awarded to Sefton Metropolitan Council by the Arts Council in 2007-08 or 2008-09.
The National Lottery has, however, supported hundreds of projects in the area providing community benefits in the heritage, sport, arts and culture sectors. Residents of the borough have also benefited from government support for Liverpool '08 Capital of Culture events, which were widely praised for being one of the most inclusive of such events held in the culture sector.
Energy: Nuclear Power Stations
Questions
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many unauthorised incursions onto the premises of the 31 licensed civil nuclear sites in the United Kingdom there have been in each year since 2001. [HL486]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is the security regulator for the UK's civil nuclear industry. In April 2005, OCNS introduced a reporting database to record information on security-related events. This reporting database has been used since April 2005.
There have been two unauthorised incursions onto civil nuclear licensed sites since 2001. These were carried out by Greenpeace protesters at Sizewell B power station on 14 Oct 2002 (103 protesters gained access to the site) and 13 Jan 2003 (34 protesters gained access to the site). Immediate action was taken to assess the threat posed by the intrusions and the appropriate contingency arrangements were activated.
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Records before April 2005 are paper-based and would require the recall of OCNS Approvals and Compliance Unit Nuclear Security Inspectors from front-line inspection duties to conduct a manual trawl with each inspector going through the files relating to the civil nuclear sites he is responsible for. This constitutes a disproportionate amount of effort and would be at disproportionate cost.
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many instances of damage to a building or equipment on the premises of the 31 licensed civil nuclear sites in the United Kingdom which were assessed to affect the security of those premises there have been in each year since 2001. [HL488]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is the security regulator for the UK's civil nuclear industry. In April 2005, OCNS introduced a reporting database to record information on security-related events. This reporting database has been used since April 2005.
With the exception of criminal damage caused by protesters during the two Sizewell B incidents (as reported in the Answer to HL486), which were appropriately monitored and dealt with at the time, there have been no cases of damage to buildings or equipment as a result of malicious activity.
Records before April 2005 are paper-based and would require the recall of OCNS Approvals and Compliance Unit Nuclear Security Inspectors from front-line inspection duties to conduct a manual trawl with each inspector going through the files relating to the civil nuclear sites he is responsible for. This constitutes a disproportionate amount of effort and would be at disproportionate cost.
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many instances of theft or attempted theft of any nuclear material there have been at the 31 licensed civil nuclear sites in the United Kingdom in each year since 2001. [HL489]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: None reported.
The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is the security regulator for the UK's civil nuclear industry. In April 2005, OCNS introduced a reporting database to record information on security-related events. This reporting database has been used since April 2005.
Records before April 2005 are paper-based and would require the recall of OCNS Approvals and Compliance Unit Nuclear Security Inspectors from front-line inspection duties to conduct a manual trawl with each inspector going through the files relating to the civil nuclear sites he is responsible for. This constitutes a disproportionate amount of effort and would be at disproportionate cost.
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Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many instances of theft or attempted theft or loss or unauthorised disclosure of sensitive nuclear information there have been at or from the 31 civil licensed nuclear sites in the United Kingdom in each year since 2001. [HL490]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Office for Civil Nuclear Security (OCNS) is the security regulator for the UK's civil nuclear industry. In April 2005, OCNS introduced a reporting database to record information on security-related events. This reporting database has been used since April 2005.
Since then, there has been one occasion, in 2006, when protectively marked information was disclosed inadvertently by a civil licensed nuclear site. Action was taken to ensure that the information was withdrawn and an enquiry held into the disclosure.
Records before April 2005 are paper-based and would require the recall of OCNS Approvals and Compliance Unit Nuclear Security Inspectors from front-line inspection duties to conduct a manual trawl with each inspector going through the files relating to the civil nuclear sites he is responsible for. This constitutes a disproportionate amount of effort and would be at disproportionate cost.
Extremist Organisations
Question
Asked by Baroness Neville-Jones
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (a) Ministers, or (b) officials, have had contact with (1) Islam 4UK, (2) Al-Ghurabaa, (3) Al-Muhajiroun, (4) the Saved Sect, and (5) Sunnah wal Jamaah; and, if so, (i) when, and (ii) in what form. [HL584]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): To the best of my knowledge no Minister or official has had any contact with any of the groups mentioned.
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is working; and whether they are considering amending it. [HL901]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Since 1 January 2005 the Freedom of Information Act has enabled the public greater access to official information held by over 100,000 public authorities. The Ministry of Justice
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A total of 171,000 requests have been dealt with under the Act by central government monitored bodies during the period January 2005 to September 2009. Eighty-nine per cent of these requests were answered within time, that is, a response was provided within the standard deadline or a permitted deadline extension was applied. Of those requests where it was possible to give a substantive decision on whether to release the information being sought, 62 per cent were granted in full.
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