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19 Jan 2010 : Column WA219



19 Jan 2010 : Column WA219

Written Answers

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Afghanistan

Question

Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass

The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The Government take all measures possible to ensure that the clothing and personal equipment issued to our Armed Forces is both right for the job and right for them. The personal equipment, including protective clothing, which is issued to our troops when they deploy is fully fit for purpose, and there is no need for them to buy their own, although soldiers do sometimes seek to personalise equipment which is issued as standard.

Once an item of equipment is upgraded, the upgraded version will normally become standard issue for those who need it.

Air Rescue Service

Question

Asked by Lord Haworth

The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The Search And Rescue Helicopter (SAR-H) private finance initiative (PFI) competition strategy was announced by MoD and Department of Transport Ministers on 9 May 2006 (Official Report, col. 12WS).

The competition to bring together the search and rescue capability currently provided by the Ministry of Defence and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency into one harmonised service continues, with two industrial consortia (AirKnight and Soteria) actively engaged. The result of the competition will be announced when an appropriately mature solution has been established.

We have regularly briefed interested parliamentarians and appropriate third parties through the UK SAR Strategic Committee throughout the competition.



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Alcohol: Pricing

Question

Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham

Baroness Thornton: In December 2008, the department published an independent review of the effects of alcohol pricing and promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield. The review estimated the effects on crime and health of a range of options including the impact of different levels of minimum unit price.

A copy of the publication, Independent Review of the Effects of Alcohol Pricing and Promotion from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield, has already been placed in the Library.

We continue to look at how we can tackle the problems caused by cheap alcohol, while respecting the rights of responsible consumers. The Government have said they will commission further research in this area.

Armed Forces: A400M

Questions

Asked by Lord Gilbert

The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The first flight of the A400M prototype which took place in December 2009 was 23 months late. Airbus Military has previously announced that customer deliveries would commence approximately

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three years after the achievement of first flight, meaning that the first delivery of a UK aircraft would occur approximately four years after first flight. Once full aircraft production activities have commenced, this amount of delay is expected to apply to the remainder of customer deliveries.

The matter of cost overrun is subject to ongoing negotiation between Partner Nations and Airbus Military, and is commercially sensitive.

Asked by Lord Gilbert

Lord Drayson: These are matters for EADS and any customers or potential customers for the aircraft.

Asked by Lord Gilbert

Lord Drayson: The empty weight of the delivered aircraft remains to be determined and is not a contractual requirement.

The important figure is that the A400M aircraft has been specified to carry a payload of 32 tonnes, and it is currently forecast to meet this requirement.

British Citizenship

Questions

Asked by Lord Avebury

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): A BN(O) born in Hong Kong before 1 July 1997 and registered as a British citizen under Section 1(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981 will become a British citizen "otherwise than by descent". A BN(O) born in Hong Kong before 1 July 1997 but registered as a British citizen under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981 will become a British citizen "by descent".



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Section 2(1) of the 1997 Act provides that a beneficiary of that section would become a British citizen otherwise than by descent if, before 1 July 1997, he was a British dependent territories citizen otherwise than by descent. This was proposed by Lord Willoughby de Broke in his Private Bill, which was then taken forward by the Government into the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Bill in 1997.

Registration under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981 gives British citizenship by descent. That section was originally inserted by Section 12 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, and conferred an entitlement to registration as a British citizen on British Overseas citizens, British subjects and British protected persons who have no other nationality and have not previously given up any other nationality. That section provided for those registered as British citizens under Section 4B to become British citizens "by descent". As such, they would be unable to transmit their citizenship to a further generation born outside the United Kingdom. This would be consistent with their previous position, whereby British Overseas citizenship and the statuses of British subject and British protected person are usually non-transmissible.

Provision was made for British Nationals (Overseas) to be registered under Section 4B in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009. No change was made to the provision that citizenship is acquired by descent.

Asked by Lord Avebury

Lord West of Spithead: Form B(OS) originally asked British Overseas citizens, British protected persons and British subjects to provide details of their certificate of registration if they had acquired that status by registration. From 13 January 2010 British Nationals (Overseas) are able to qualify under Section 4B if they meet the relevant statutory requirements.

As BN(O) status was acquired by acquisition of a passport, I accept that it may be useful for the form B(OS) to ask for the applicant's passport details.

However, I am confident that BN(O)s in Hong Kong will not miss out because of this omission, as applications are submitted via the Consulate-General who will ensure that the relevant information will be passed on to UKBA. UKBA will revise the application form in this respect.

Asked by Lord Avebury

Lord West of Spithead: A BN(O) who believes that he or she qualifies for registration under the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1997 should make an application using form EM. If, on consideration of the application, it appears that he or she does not meet the statutory requirements for that section, UKBA would automatically consider whether there was an alternative entitlement to registration under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981.

Channel Tunnel

Question

Asked by Lord Dykes

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The juxtaposed controls, operated by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) in France and Belgium, have been extremely effective in countering illegal entry to the UK through the Channel Tunnel. Staffed on a 24/7 basis and supported by a range of measures, including the deployment of world-leading technology, enhanced intelligence and closer working between all agencies, these controls have created one of the toughest borders in the world.

The Channel Tunnel is used by services from the Eurostar ports (Brussels, Lille and Paris) and Eurotunnel at Coquelles. From 2007 to 2009, over 5,800 passengers who were inadequately documented or did not meet the UK conditions of entry, were refused entry at the Eurostar ports. During the same period, over 2,200 passengers were refused at Coquelles port.

A total of 396,000 freight vehicles travelled through the Channel Tunnel in 2009. Over the same period, working alongside the French authorities, UKBA staff searching freight vehicles prevented 2,225 individual clandestine attempts to enter the UK illegally, via the Channel Tunnel.

In addition, the number of illegal immigrants detected in Kent has been reduced by over 80 per cent since 2002.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Question

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool



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The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): We were not aware of reports that shegues are being imprisoned-and have asked the UN to investigate if shegues are being imprisoned and if so, what conditions they are being held in, and will report back when we hear.

Dubai

Question

Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham

The Minister for Trade and Investment (Lord Davies of Abersoch): UKTI provides services for British businesses to ensure that they are better equipped to succeed in international markets. However, UKTI does not recommend specific commercial investments to British businesses. Dubai still offers good opportunities for British businesses, particularly in the financial services, construction, mass transport, health, energy and education sectors.

Embryology

Questions

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool



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Baroness Thornton: A research licence under paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as amended) authorises the creation of embryos in vitro and keeping or using embryos for the purposes of a project of research, whose purpose must be consistent with paragraph 3A of that schedule. Parliament has decided in view of the special importance attached to embryos that no research may be conducted on them without a licence, but that is not the case for research involving only eggs or sperm.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it receives information about the use of eggs incidentally to the research licensing process, but the information it holds on the use of eggs is necessarily limited, compared to the information it holds on the use of embryos. Directions 0002 issued by the HFEA (dated 1 July 2009) require licence holders to maintain records on total numbers of embryos created, used or disposed of in undertaking the licensed research. Such data held by the HFEA are made available in inspection reports and research licence committee minutes published on the HFEA website. Where inspection reports and research licence committee minutes are not available on the HFEA website these can be requested from the HFEA.


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