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Pensions
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the (a) payments to members, (b) employee contributions, and (c) employer contributions, of the 10 largest public sector pension schemes in the past three years. [HL2871]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Detailed information and data for individual public service pension schemes are available from the relevant government department. The 10 largest schemes, with published information sources where available, are as follows:
NHS England and Wales, Teachers England and Wales, Principal Civil Service and Armed Forces Pension Schemes-resource accounts are laid before Parliament annually and copies are placed in the House Library;Local Government Pension Scheme England and Wales-administered locally but annual statistical releases are provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government;Police England and Firefighters England Pension Schemes-administered locally and information is provided on request by the Home Office and Department for Communities and Local Government; andthe Scottish Teachers Superannuation Scheme, NHS Scotland and Local Government Scotland Pension Schemes-annual accounts are presented to the Scottish Executive.6 Apr 2010 : Column WA415
Police: Protests
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many persons were arrested in 2009 in Greater Manchester following demonstrations against Israel's military action in Gaza; how many of them were charged; how many convictions there have been since then; what sentences were imposed; and how many trials are pending. [HL2816]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): This information is not held centrally.
Prisoners: Voting
Question
Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the recommendations of the Electoral Commission on 29 September 2009 in response to the Ministry of Justice's Voting Rights of Convicted Prisoners Detained within the United Kingdom: Second stage consultation as regards the implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Hirst v United Kingdom. [HL3188]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): The Electoral Commission's response to the Government's second stage consultation on prisoners' voting rights confirmed that it did not take a view on which prisoners should or should not be able to vote. The Electoral Commission broadly supported the Government's proposed approach to the administration of a system of registration and voting for prisoners, but also made additional recommendations. The commission acknowledged that the current legislative framework around voting would need to be changed to implement support prisoner voting.
The commission's response is being considered alongside the other responses to the second consultation on prisoner voting rights.
Rwanda
Questions
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made directly or through the Commonwealth to the Government of Rwanda about the treatment of the political opposition there; and whether they will encourage the Government of Rwanda to fulfil their international obligations by holding free and fair elections. [HL3108]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): In our dialogue with the Government of Rwanda, we have continuously reiterated to them the importance of holding credible elections this year. Most recently, I raised this with
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In addition, our High Commissioner in Kigali has discussed the registration and operation of new political parties and issues surrounding political space with the relevant Ministers in the Rwandan Government. We have lobbied for both an EU and a Commonwealth election monitoring mission to be deployed to the elections this year, and welcome the Commonwealth's decision to send a mission. Furthermore, we have encouraged the implementation of the recommendations of the EU monitoring mission report on the 2008 elections. We also continue to engage with the Rwandan National Election Commission (NEC) over the practicalities of the forthcoming August 2010 presidential elections. Along with other donors, the UK has provided budget support for the NEC, including for the elections budget for 2010.
We remain in regular contact with political parties in Rwanda, including opposition parties currently seeking registration.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of recent grenade attacks in Rwanda. [HL3155]
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: We have received reports of grenade attacks in central Kigali on 19 February and 4 March. According to the Rwandan National Police, total casualties were two killed and 49 injured. There have been no claims of responsibility and the identity of those responsible has yet to be established. Security has been heightened in Kigali. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice has been amended and we continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they are giving to the independent electoral commission in Rwanda; what is their assessment of the prospects of a free, fair and democratic presidential election in Rwanda this year; which organisations from the United Kingdom have been invited to monitor elections in Rwanda; and whether they will assist in the recruitment of election observers. [HL3159]
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: The UK is working closely with the Rwandan National Electoral Commission (NEC) to monitor preparations for the 2010 presidential elections. We have encouraged the NEC to implement the recommendations of the 2003 and 2008 EU election observation missions, to ensure that the 2010 elections comply with international norms. The Department for International Development is providing the NEC with £3 million assistance in support of its strategic plan for 2008-12. The Government of Rwanda have invited international election observers, including from the Commonwealth, the EU and the African Union. During his visit to Rwanda in January 2010, the Commonwealth Secretary-General indicated that the Commonwealth plan to send a monitoring team.
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Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Government of Rwanda about beginning a dialogue with Rwandan Hutus living in eastern Congo. [HL3193]
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: I raised reconciliation issues with the Rwandan Foreign Minister during her recent visit to London. We are supportive of the work of the Rwandan Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission in returning to Rwanda former combatants from the eastern Congo region. We also remain supportive of the role of the UN High Commission for Refugees in returning to Rwanda civilian refugees in the eastern Congo. The aim of both of these programmes is the reintegration of these groups into Rwandan society. We further continue to support the efforts of the UN force in the Congo (MONUC) in persuading Rwandan Hutu rebels in the Congo to disarm, demobilise and repatriate to Rwanda in accordance with the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1804.
Schools: Church Schools
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the role of Church of England schools in improving interracial stability and the integration of young people. [HL3139]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): No assessment has been made of the role of Church of England schools in improving interracial stability and integration of young people.
However, all maintained schools in England, including schools with a religious character, have a duty to promote community cohesion, which is about building an appreciation of diversity, a sense of belonging and a common vision among all pupils regardless of their background.
Ofsted inspects schools to ensure compliance with this duty. HMCI's annual report 2008-09, published in November 2009, showed that of the primary schools inspected, 68 per cent are good or outstanding in meeting their duty to promote community cohesion, while the figures for secondary and special schools are 72 per cent and 84 per cent respectively.
Smoking
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose to make smoking in cars which contain children an offence. [HL3128]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to reduce the impact of passive smoking on children. [HL3129]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Thornton): We strongly urge people to stop smoking in cars, especially those used to transport children. We have no plans to legislate on this at present but we are committed to reviewing the smoke-free law later this year. As part of that review we will take into consideration the recommendations on ending smoking in cars which were included in the report Passive Smoking and Children published by the Tobacco Advisory Group of the Royal College of Physicians on 24 March.
As set out in A Smokefree Future, a copy of which has been placed in the Library, we will continue to raise awareness about the harms of secondhand smoke. We will continue to support people to make their homes and their cars smoke free. We will focus our efforts on communities with the highest smoking rates so as to have the greatest impact on children's exposure to secondhand smoke.
Taxation: Double Taxation
Question
Asked by Lord Williams of Elvel
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend Clause 59 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill to override existing double taxation agreements in respect of Members of Parliament and Members of the House of Lords. [HL3199]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): Where a Peer or MP has income, gains or assets from a state which has a double taxation agreement with the UK, they will be taxed in accordance with that double taxation agreement. The effect of the provisions in Part 6 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill will be that MPs and the Lords Temporal are to be treated like the vast majority of people in the UK who are resident, ordinarily resident and domiciled in the UK for tax purposes. As such they will be subject to double taxation agreements in the same way as the majority of people in the UK.
Taxation: House Credit
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce a tax regime for the house credit market in which interest charged at rates of 100 per cent or above is liable to tax at 100 per cent or above. [HL2837]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is reviewing the high-cost credit market, and potential measures to improve its regulation, including caps on interest rates. The Government will respond to the OFT's recommendations when the results of this review are published.
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Taxation: Information Exchange Agreements
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which countries they have tax information exchange agreements other than those announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his recent Budget speech. [HL3198]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): The countries and territories with which the United Kingdom has signed a tax information exchange agreement and which were not mentioned in the Budget speech are Bermuda, the Isle of Man, the British Virgin Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, Anguilla, the Turks & Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, the Bahamas, Antigua & Barbuda, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines and San Marino.
Since the G20 London summit in April 2009, the United Kingdom has also signed a number of agreements for the avoidance of double taxation (including protocols to existing agreements) in order to provide for the exchange of tax information to the same international standard. These agreements are with the Cayman Islands, Belgium, Qatar, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland, Malaysia, Austria, Montserrat and Bahrain.
Other agreements are being negotiated.
Taxation: Personal Allowance
Questions
Asked by Baroness Massey of Darwen
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the cost of providing a transferable income tax personal allowance for all married couples with children under three. [HL2841]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of (a) married couples, (b) families, and (c) all people, would benefit from providing a transferable income tax personal allowance for all married couples with children under three. [HL2842]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): Due to the complex nature of these questions the following estimates should be treated with caution. These estimates exclude any behavioural response to the change, which could be significant given the magnitude of the change.
The estimated cost in 2010-11 of allowing the personal tax allowances of married couples with children under three to be transferable would be £0.6 billion.
The percentage of families and individuals benefiting, for the following groups, would be:
5 per cent of all married couples;
2 per cent of all families; and
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These estimates have been calculated using HM Treasury's tax and benefit micro-simulation model using Family Resources Survey 2007-08 data.
Traffic Management Act 2004
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 5 March (WA 392), what was the outcome of their liaison with the Local Government Association about the view of its members outside London on the introduction of the moving traffic contraventions provisions of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. [HL3191]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Department for Transport now has a good understanding of the various traffic management problems that would be tackled with these powers by the very few local authorities that are actively campaigning for them. We would still like to see what further evidence there is from individual local authorities and the positive impact such powers would provide in local situations, and on this basis we propose to review the position in the summer.
Trust Ports
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether all borrowing by trust ports defined as public corporations is included in the public sector net borrowing statistics; and, if so, whether the accounts of all such bodies specify that. [HL3190]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): Net borrowing by those trust ports classified as public corporations by the Office of National Statistics contributes to the public sector net borrowing.
Trust ports prepare their accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act and follow either UK generally accepted accounting practices or financial reporting standards. Neither would require trust ports to record that their borrowing contributes to the public sector net borrowing.
Turkey
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the sentences sought by the Turkish public prosecutor for two former leaders of the Democratic Society Party; and what assessment they have made of the compatibility of their
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The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): We are aware of the cases against Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk. It is not our practice to comment on ongoing legal cases or the sentences sought by prosecutors of foreign countries as part of the judicial process. It is for the Turkish courts to assess the evidence against the individuals and determine the sentences in accordance with applicable law in Turkey. We expect Turkey to act in a manner consistent with all its international obligations and will continue to follow developments closely.
Universities: Funding
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