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Cyprus: Property
Question
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Apostolides v Orams on 19 January, no court outside the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus can in
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The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): It is for the Court of Appeal to decide how the judgment should be enforced.
Energy: Carbon Capture and Storage
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2 December 2009 (WA 44), whether organisations other than Her Majesty's Government will be able to introduce carbon capture technology without their support or permission. [HL1632]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Any organisation is able to propose a carbon capture and storage project in the UK, subject to securing the necessary planning, safety and environmental consents.
Large-scale CCS projects are currently expected to require government support since CCS is not yet economically and technically viable. We expect four commercial-scale CCS projects supported by government to be operational by 2020, and are planning on the basis that CCS will also be ready for wider deployment by 2020.
Energy: Fuel Poverty
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what definition the Department of Energy and Climate Change uses of fuel poverty; what changes to that definition there have been since the creation of that department; and whether they plan to change the definition. [HL1690]
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000 defines a fuel-poor person as one living on a lower income in a home which cannot be kept warm at reasonable cost.
The most widely accepted definition of a fuel-poor household is one which needs to spend more than 10 per cent of its net income to heat its home to an adequate standard of warmth (usually 21 degrees for the main living area, and 18 degrees for other occupied rooms).
There have been no changes to the definition of fuel poverty since the creation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change and there are no plans to review the definition.
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EU: UK Official Staff
Question
Asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number and quality of United Kingdom citizens applying for posts in European Union institutions compared with other member states. [HL1514]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): Between 2005 and 2008, 4,118 UK citizens applied for the competitions to join EU institutions run by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO). Of this number, 260 were successful (an average success rate of 6.31 per cent). This compares with a total of 282,615 applicants from all member states, of whom 12,387 were successful (an average success rate of 4.38 per cent).
In recent years, due to EU enlargement, few EU concours have been open to UK citizens. It is for the EPSO to identify shortfalls in applicants from individual member states and to address this in its recruitment campaigns. The Government are co-operating with EPSO in its work in the UK.
Government Departments: Cars
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many ministerial cars are (a) more than 40 years old, (b) between 30 and 40 years old, (c) between 20 and 30 years old, (d) between 10 and 20 years old, (e) between 5 and 10 years old, and (f) less than 5 years old. [HL1539]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) provides transport for Ministers. All of the 80 cars used by GCDA for ministerial duties are less than five years old.
Gross Domestic Product
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the changes in gross domestic product in each of the last eight quarters (a) when first announced, and (b) at the latest revision. [HL1695]
Baroness Crawley: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Moonie, dated 2 February 2010.
As Director General of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary Question asking what were the changes in gross domestic product in each of the last eight quarters (a) when first announced, and (b) at the latest revision. [HL1695]
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For the last eight quarters, GDP when first announced, and at latest revision is as follows:
| GDP when first announced | GDP at the latest revision | |
Gurkhas
Questions
Asked by Lord Selkirk of Douglas
To ask Her Majesty's Government what would be the forecast cost of providing pensions for Gurkhas at the same level as the Armed Forces Pension Scheme at 2010 prices. [HL1586]
The Minister for International Defence and Security (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): The cost of equalising pensions for Gurkhas at the same level as the Armed Forces Pension Scheme has been estimated by the Government Actuary's Department at approximately £1.5 billion, at 2007 prices, comprising a one-off payment of £500 million and £50 million each year for 20 years. This would mostly apply to around 10 per cent of the retired Gurkha community, largely officers, where there is a more significant difference between the Gurkha Pension Scheme and the Armed Forces Pension Scheme. In the majority of cases Gurkhas receive at least equivalent value from their pensions, due to the early age at which they can begin receiving payments, compared to those on Armed Forces Pension Scheme 75, or its predecessor.
Asked by Lord Selkirk of Douglas
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was paid out under the Gurkha Pension Scheme in each year from 1973 to 2000; and what was the total paid out over those years. [HL1587]
Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The information is not available, as the annual amounts paid out under the Gurkha Pension Scheme are not separated out from overall Armed Forces Pension Scheme expenditure. In addition, the information cannot be reconstructed as the detailed historical data for this period are no longer available.
Hong Kong
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will instruct the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong not to ask a British National (Overseas) who
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The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): With effect from 20 January 2010, the British Consulate-General (BCG) in Hong Kong has been liaising directly with Hong Kong immigration department (HKID) in order to verify whether people applying for registration under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981 have Chinese citizenship. Prior to this, the BCG had been following instructions from HKID and advising 4B applicants that in order to obtain documentary evidence of not holding Chinese citizenship, they would have to apply for an HK special administrative region passport. If the application was rejected, because an applicant was not Chinese, or had not previously registered or naturalised as a Chinese citizen, they would be refunded their passport fee, and issued with a rejection letter.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong has had discussions with the Hong Kong immigration department since 13 January; if so, what matters were discussed; and what was the outcome. [HL1503]
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: A meeting was held on 19 January 2010 between staff at the British Consulate-General (BCG), Hong Kong, and Hong Kong immigration department (HKID). It was called at the request of HKID, to discuss procedures for those british nationals (overseas) (BN(O)s) who wished to apply for registration as British citizens under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981, and who needed to obtain documentary evidence that they did not hold Chinese citizenship. The original procedure advised by HKID was for 4B applicants to apply for an Hong Kong special administrative region passport. If these applicants had not registered or naturalised as Chinese citizens, nor had an automatic claim to Chinese citizenship, their application would be rejected and they would be issued with a full refund for the passport fee. The rejection letter would serve as documentary evidence in their application for registration as a British citizen under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981. After four days of using this procedure, HKID requested that it be changed. Both sides agreed to simplify the process, with the BCG liaising directly with HKID to verify whether 4B applicants had registered or naturalised, or whether they had an automatic claim to Chinese citizenship.
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Housing
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the houses built using the £13 billion allocated through the affordable housing programme were partly funded by contributions from other bodies such as housing associations. [HL1432]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): As a general principle, the Homes and Communities Agency provides only a proportion of the total cost of a housing scheme funded through its affordable housing programme. The remainder is funded from registered social landlords' own reserves, private finance or other sources. In earlier years, some schemes were exceptionally funded for their full costs, such as specialist supported housing schemes (eg housing for frail elderly; people with drug and/or alcohol abuse).
There is no fixed amount of subsidy; the agency looks for value for money from the investment. There are four main criteria:
value-in terms of total public subsidy per home and per person housed;quality-judged using the HCA design and quality standards, and rewarding quality above the minimum standards set for all projects;deliverability-with particular concern for planning status; andpolicy fit-judged by fit with national, regional and local strategies.International Maritime Organisation
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will request meetings with other member states of the International Maritime Organisation and relevant scientists to discuss oceanic acidification; and, if so, when. [HL1595]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Davies of Oldham): Defra has no current plans to raise ocean acidification in the International Maritime Organisation; however, the Government have recently put forward a proposal for an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on ocean ecosystems which includes the impacts of ocean acidification.
Defra, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and DECC are jointly funding a £12 million, five-year research programme on ocean acidification. At this time, links have been made with the German research programme, BIOACID, and the European programme, EPOCA, and we hope to link with more programmes internationally as research progresses.
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Northern Ireland Office: Official Cars
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of providing official cars for (a) Ministers, and (b) officials, in the Northern Ireland Office in the past 12 months. [HL835]
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: I refer the noble Lord to a Written Ministerial Statement regarding the cost of ministerial cars made by my noble friend, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 16 July 2009 (Official Report, col. WS114).
The cost of providing official cars from the Government Car and Despatch Agency to Northern Ireland Office Ministers in 2008-09 was £286,200.
The cost of providing official cars from the Government Car and Despatch Agency to Northern Ireland Office officials in 2008-09 was £71,769.
Ofcom
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take if Ofcom does not take action against radio and television providers which do not comply with the licence condition to supply equality monitoring data. [HL1488]
Lord Davies of Oldham: This is a matter for Ofcom and there is no provision for Government to intervene.
Prisons: Radio Broadcast
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have decided not to renew licences for the broadcast of music and radio programmes in certain areas of prisons; if so, which areas of which prisons; what the consequent annual savings are expected to be; and what assessment they have made of the likely effects of that decision. [HL1570]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The licences in question apply to the playing of copyright music by any method outside the home rather than the playing of radio programmes. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will not be buying licences to enable the playing of music in prisons. Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 1/2010 (available in the Library of the House) instructs prisons that music must not be played in staff offices, rest rooms, canteens, prisoner work places and prisoner recreational areas from 25 January 2010. Licences are not required for the playing of music in prisoner residential areas, for educational purposes and for religious worship.
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Figures for the consequent savings are not available as final quotations have not been supplied by the licensing bodies, but indications were that the cost would be at least £200,000 a year.
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