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9 Dec 2010 : Column WA71

Written Answers

Thursday 9 December 2010

Armed Forces: Retired Officers

Question

Asked by Lord Marlesford

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): Retired officers are not excluded from appointment to the post of Regimental Secretary.

Regimental Secretaries are classed as Military Support Function posts within the Civil Service. In accordance with Civil Service recruitment policy, these posts are advertised internally within the Civil Service in the first instance. If no suitable candidate can be found, posts can then be advertised to the general public, including retired officers.

However, we are currently examining the way in which appropriate personnel can be employed as Regimental Secretaries

Banking

Question

Asked by Lord Myners

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Remuneration disclosure has been discussed as part of the Government's dialogue with other jurisdictions and on 30 November 2010 the Chancellor wrote to counterparts in the European Union calling for urgent consideration of proposals to strengthen remuneration disclosure. While there is a range of views among the international community, there is consensus and support for an internationally consistent approach to remuneration disclosure.

Banks: Green Investment Bank

Questions

Asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon



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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): It is expected that the Green Investment Bank (GIB) will focus on mobilising additional capital into a wide range of "green" infrastructure and the deployment of late-stage technologies. While there are no plans for the GIB to play a wider role at this stage, for example in energy efficiency, that remains subject to further review and market testing.

Meanwhile, the Government have just introduced legislation to implement the Green Deal-the coalition's flagship policy for energy efficiency, which will help households and businesses to install energy efficiency measures at no upfront cost and repay through energy bills.

Asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon

Baroness Wilcox: As set out in the BIS structural reform plan, the Green Investment Bank (GIB) will be operational by September 2012. We are, however, looking to begin making investments as soon as the GIB receives funding from asset sales.

Banks: Lending

Question

Asked by Lord Myners

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The lending commitments agreed between the Government and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are in place until March 2011.

The Government recognises that access to finance is essential if businesses are to invest, grow and make an important contribution to supporting the economic recovery.

In response to the Green Paper, Financing a Private Sector Recovery, published earlier this year, the Government have set out a comprehensive package of Government and industry-led measures to support small businesses access finance. These measures include:

additional support for the enterprise finance guarantee over the next four years to enable over £2 billion of lending to viable small businesses that lack collateral or track record; and

increased equity finance, through £200 million of additional funding for the enterprise capital funds programme, both of which could unlock further debt finance for small and medium-sized businesses.



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA73

More information about these measures and the Green Paper is available at http://www.bis.gov.uk/businessfinance.

In addition, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) taskforce has announced industry-led measures, including improving customer relationships through a new lending code and the establishment of a new £1.5 billion business growth fund, which will provide capital to growing businesses.

Further information about the BBA taskforce and its commitments are available at http://www.bba.org.uk/media/article/business-finance-taskforce.

Banks: Stress Tests

Question

Asked by Lord Myners

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Committee for European Banking Supervisors, which becomes the European Banking Authority in 2011, are scheduled to conduct another stress-testing exercise next year.

The Government agree that the methodology for the stress-testing framework should be both rigorous and credible. The framework is currently under review and the Financial Services Authority is actively engaging with that review.

Benefits

Questions

Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Child benefit will be withdrawn from families where the claimant or their partner (with whom they are living) is a higher rate taxpayer. As such, the income of a grandparent, or any other member of the household who is not the claimant or their partner, would be irrelevant.

Asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA74

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): This information is not currently collected centrally.

Asked by Lord German

Lord Freud: The information requested is not available as the department does not hold data on people receiving employment and support allowance who live in residential care.

The department regularly publishes official statistics on the work capability assessment. The last report was published in October 2010 and can be found on the Department for Work and Pensions website, here: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa wca

Any ESA claimant who is terminally ill is automatically placed in the support group.

Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: 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 ONS, to Lord Taylor, dated December 2010.

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many 16 to 24 year-olds currently claim jobseeker's allowance (HL4889).

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.

In October 2010 there were 416,390 people aged 16 to 24 claiming JSA in the United Kingdom.

National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count, are available on the NOMIS website at http://www.nomisweb.co.uk.

Benefits: Disability

Question

Asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester



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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Local authorities have a duty to carry out an assessment of need for community care services for individuals. Based on that assessment, a decision is made as to which of those assessed needs should be met by specific services.

Some care home residents will be in receipt of DLA higher-rate mobility. There are a number of funding streams, legal duties, contractual obligations and service levels to take into account.

We estimate that approximately 80,000 people who claim disability living allowance and live in residential care will be affected by the measure to cease paying the mobility component in Great Britain from October 2012.

Driving: Licences

Questions

Asked by Lord Lucas

Earl Attlee: Drivers are required to provide their current address details to the police and courts. If the driver fails to surrender their licence to have the endorsement details recorded, the courts will write to the address provided by the driver. On receipt of a court notification, where the licence has not been surrendered, DVLA will check its records to establish whether it has a different address to that provided by the court. If the address held on the record is different, DVLA will write to both addresses requesting the return of the licence.

Asked by Lord Lucas

Earl Attlee: The time limit for the surrender of a licence by a convicted driver is in effect much longer than the 28-day period. Prior to notifying the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of the driver's conviction details, the court will already have made at least two attempts to obtain the licence from the driver.

On receipt of the notification from the court, DVLA will write to the driver requesting that the licence be surrendered and advising him that he has a further, final 28 days to comply before the revocation takes effect.

This is considered a reasonable timeframe to enable a driver either to locate their licence and post it to DVLA or for the driver to submit an application for a duplicate licence if the original has been lost.



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Education: Teacher Training

Question

Asked by Lord Boswell of Aynho

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley): Lord Browne's review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance recommended that there should be a single portal for university and student support applications. This recommendation will be considered as part of a Higher Education White Paper which will be published this Winter.

Embryology

Questions

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised its licence committees consider all applications for licences for human embryo research in accordance with the criteria set out in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended. The grounds for a committee's decision are recorded in the relevant minutes, which are published on its website at: www.hfea.gov.uk.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the members of staff present at the Research Licence Committee meeting on 14 September 2006 were identified in the minutes that the noble Lord has previously examined. The HFEA has also advised that it has no further comment to offer on the conduct of that meeting.



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The HFEA has further advised that it does not comment on the involvement of individual members of staff in the course of the normal discharge of their duties on behalf of the authority.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that its internal governance review was initially agreed at a meeting of the authority on 13 May 2009. No date for the completion of the review was agreed at that time. The minutes of that meeting and the review's terms of reference are published on the authority's website. The HFEA has also advised that the review report is expected to be available in the new year and will be published once the authority has considered it. The review has taken longer than originally anticipated, because of both the volume of material to be examined and constraints on the resources available to undertake the review.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the import referred to in the noble Lord's question was carried out pursuant to Direction 0006, published on the authority's website. Direction 0006 requires that imports of gametes to the United Kingdom from the European Economic Area and Gibraltar meet standards introduced by the European Tissue and Cells Directives (Directives 2004/23/EC, 2006/17/EC and 2006/86/EC) and apply those same standards to imports from countries outside that area. Under Direction 0006 the import of gametes does not require prior authorisation by the HFEA.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it follows established good practice with regard to confidentiality in the handling of complaints and when responding to requests for information, subject to relevant legislation. Statements regarding incidents at centre 0102 are published on the HFEA's website.

HFEA has also advised that a complaint regarding the authority's handling of the investigation into incidents at centre 0102 was received on 5 February 2010. The findings of the HFEA's investigation were made available to the complainant on 18 March 2010.

Environmental Protection Advisory Committee

Question

Asked by Lord Rowlands

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley): The Environmental Protection Advisory Committee advises the Environment Agency on how to carry out its regional environmental protection and resource management work. This could be through responses to consultations, or general advice on the business, approach or priorities of that region.

There are seven regional committees for England and one for Wales.

Each committee has a chair, paid approximately £18,000 (for five days per month) in 2009-10. Other costs include chairman and Members' expenses, and support and administration costs.



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EnglandWales

Chairman's salary

£123,487

£17,641

Chairman's national insurance

£10,500

£1,500

Chairman and Members' expenses

£12,355

£7,997

Meeting costs

£8,059

£3,024

Postage and printing (estimate)

£3,430

£490

Staff costs (estimate)

£35,000

£5,000

Total

£192,831

£35,652

Food: Codex Alimentarius

Question

Asked by The Duke of Montrose

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The Codex General Standard for Irradiated Foods (CODEX STAN 106-1983, REV. 1-2003) states that, "The maximum absorbed dose delivered to a food should not exceed 10 kilogray (kGy), except when necessary to achieve a legitimate technological purpose". Doses up to 10 kGy will substantially reduce the number of viable bacteria in the majority of cases and the Codex standard allows for higher doses where there is a legitimate need. However, although irradiation can help to reduce the level of bacterial contamination in food it should not be seen as a replacement for good manufacturing practice and should only be used as part of a wider hazard analysis and critical control point plan.

The exception to exceed 10 kGy "when necessary to achieve a legitimate technological purpose" was based on the findings of a joint study between the Food and Agricultural Office, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organisation. This study concluded that there was no detrimental effect to the look and texture of dried herbs and spices from higher doses of irradiation and that these higher doses could reduce the risk of bacterial growth for certain pathogens which have been shown to be more resistant to radiation treatment.

It should also be noted that these changes to the Codex standard have not been adopted by European Directive1999/3/EC which limits the irradiation of dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings to a maximum overall average absorbed dose of 10 kGy. This was endorsed by the findings of the European Scientific Committee on Foods in 2003 which concluded that there was insufficient evidence to recommend the removal of the upper limit of 10 kGy.

Further Education: 16-hour Rule

Questions

Asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie



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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Jobseekers can undertake part-time education or training at any point in their claim and continue to receive jobseeker's allowance as long as they continue to meet the basic conditions of entitlement; that is, to be actively seeking and to be available for full-time employment.

Jobseekers allowance is designed to support claimants during their job search activity. Claimants of jobseekers allowance must therefore be available for and actively seek employment as their main activity and must be prepared to take up the offer of a job at short notice. Jobseekers generally have to be available to take up work immediately for a minimum of 40 hours per week.

Where it is identified that a job seeker has barriers to work caused by a lack of skills, this may be tackled through more structured provision. These jobseekers can be actively supported from day one of their claim for jobseekers allowance to gain skills necessary to improve their chances of work.

This approach maintains a balance between allowing unemployed people to access training and ensuring that it does not compromise their availability for work or reduce their job-search activity.

Asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie

Lord Freud: The Government have not issued any specific advice to the devolved Administrations.

All Jobcentre Plus staff are given the same appropriate advice and guidance relating to full-time and part-time study to ensure that the rules are followed consistently and applied to all customers regardless of where they live.

Government Departments: Staff

Question

Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: 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 ONS, to Lord Stoddart, dated December 2010.

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the numbers and percentages of male and female employees in (a) each Government department, and (b) non-departmental government bodies. [CO] (HL4990)

Civil Service Statistics are published annually by the Office for National Statistics on the National Statistics website.



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The number and percentage of male and female employees in each government department are shown in the table. A copy will be placed in the Library of the House. Statistics for non-departmental government bodies are not available.

Government: Ministerial Visits

Question

Asked by Lord Ashcroft

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The Prime Minister was accompanied by four Cabinet Ministers and 49 business, education and cultural leaders on his visit to China, 9-10 November 2010. These were:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer;Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills;Secretary of State for Energy; Secretary of State for Education;Pat Tindale, CEO, 4energy;Stefano Pessina, Executive Chairman, Alliance Boots;Philip Dilley, Chair, Arup;Graham Cartledge CBE, Chairman, Benoy;David Frost, Director General, British Chambers of Commerce;Sir David Brewer CMG, Chairman and CEO, CBBC;Lord Powell, Chairman, Asia Task Force;Jim McColl, Chairman and CEO, Clyde Blowers;Paul Walsh, CEO, Diageo;Clive Martell, Managing Director, Delcam;Sir Nigel Knowles, CEO, DLA Piper;Sir Kevin Smith CBE CEO, GKN;Ulf Henriksson, CEO, Invensys;Ken Shuttleworth, Founder, Make Architects;John Russell, CEO, Manganese Bronze Holdings;John Whittaker, Chairman, Peel Holdings;Ben Gordon, CEO, Mothercare;Paul Priestman, Director, Priestmangoode;Dave Shemmans, CEO, Ricardo;Richard Steeves, Group CEO, Synergy Health;Graham Curren, CEO, Sondrel;Lucy Neville-Rolfe CMG, Executive Director, Tesco;Stuart Popham, Chair, TheCityUK;

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Douglas Caster CBE, CEO, Ultra Electronics;Vernon Ellis, Chair, British Council;Julie Southern, CCO, Virgin Atlantic Airways;Sandie Dawe MBE, CEO, VisitBritain;Bob Wigley, Chairman, Yell Group plc;Anthony Habgood, Chairman, Whitbread Group PLC/Reed Elsevier;Marcus Agius, Group Chairman, Barclays;John Fallon, CEO International Education, Pearson;John Paterson, President, Rolls-Royce Marine;Ian Irvine, Co-founder and Technical Director, SgurrEnergy;Peter Voser, CEO, Shell;George Weston, CEO, Associated British Foods;Peter Sands, Group CEO, Standard Chartered;Tim Breedon, Group CEO, Legal & General;David Nish, CEO, Standard Life;Richard Lambert, Director General, CBI;Sir Philip Hampton, Chairman, Royal Bank of Scotland;Joan MacNaughton, Senior Vice President, Alstom Power;Jean-Michel Aubertin, CEO, Doosan Power;Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum;Sir Mark Jones, Director, Victoria & Albert Museum;Pat Howarth, Head Teacher, Hummersknott School;Prof David Greenaway, Vice Chancellor, University of Nottingham;Elizabeth Reid, Chief Executive, Specialist Schools and Academies Trust;Prof Steve Smith, President, Universities UK and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter and Chris Morecroft, President, Association of Colleges.

Gross Domestic Product

Questions

Asked by Lord Barnett

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Office for Budget Responsibility, in its November 2010 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, forecast public sector net debt as a percentage of gross domestic product for 2014-15 at 68.8 per cent.



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Table 4.1: Fiscal forecast overview
Per cent of GDP
OutturnForecasts
2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16

Surplus on current budget

-7.6

-7.2

-5.6

-3.9

-2.1

-0.6

0.3

Public sector net borrowing

11.1

10.0

7.6

5.6

3.5

1.9

1.0

Public sector net debt1

53.5

60.8

66.3

69.1

69.7

68.8

67.2

Cyclically-adjusted surplus on current budget

-5.3

-4.7

-3.3

-1.8

-0.5

0.5

0.9

Cyclically-adjusted net borrowing

8.8

7.6

5.3

3.5

1.9

0.8

0.3

Changes since June forecast

Surplus on current budget

-0.1

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.3

Public sector net borrowing

0.1

-0.1

0.1

0.1

0.0

-0.1

-0.1

Public sector net debt1

0.0

-1.1

-0.9

-0.7

-0.7

-0.6

-0.1

Cyclically-adjusted surplus on current budget

0.0

0.1

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.2

0.1

Cyclically-adjusted net borrowing

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

Asked by Lord Barnett

Lord Sassoon: Central government gross debt interest payments for 2009-10 to 2015-16 are published in Table 4.14 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook (available at: http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov. uk/econ-fiscal-outlook.html).

The effect on the debt interest forecast of a rise in gilt rates of 1 per cent is shown in Table 4.20 of the above document. These figures may be scaled up to give larger changes in gilt rates.

Nominal gross domestic product (GDP) for 2009-10 to 2015-16 is shown in Table 4.2 of the same document. For 2014-15, the tables show central government gross debt interest to be forecast at £58.9 billion and nominal GDP at £1,817 billion.

Gulf War Illnesses

Question

Asked by Lord Morris of Manchester

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): In Secretary of State for Defence v Rusling [2003] EWHC 1359, the High Court held that the Pensions Appeal Tribunal, now the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal in England and Wales (WPAFCC) did have power to decide whether "Gulf War Syndrome" was a proper diagnostic label for a claimant's conditions.

As an independent judicial body, the WPAFCC reaches its decisions on appeals against the rejection of claims in respect of "Gulf War Syndrome" on the basis of the evidence before the tribunal in each individual case. The WPAFCC has accepted "Gulf War Syndrome" as a diagnostic label in a number of appeals.

Health: Drugs

Questions

Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The Government's recent Spending Review confirmed that the department will increase spending on health research in real terms, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

The department's NIHR welcomes applications for support into any aspect of human health. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Asked by The Earl of Sandwich

Earl Howe: The steering group of officials is overseeing the work on addiction to medicines. This involves ensuring that the activities of different business units are co-ordinated and overseeing the current evidence-gathering.

Once the collection of information is completed, we will be engaging widely, including with experienced practitioners, to determine the future direction of policy and service planning.

The membership of the steering group takes account of all the relevant policy areas within the department and its arm's-length bodies. It includes officials and

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experts representing drugs policy, mental health, pharmacy issues, the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

In line with freedom of information rules, the department's policy is that the names of officials should be withheld from disclosure unless they are members of the Senior Civil Service or have a high profile that would justify release. The names have therefore been edited accordingly.

OrganisationTitleName

Department of Health

Deputy Director Alcohol and Drugs

Chris Heffer

Department of Health

Senior Medical Officer, Drugs and Alcohol

Dr Mark Prunty

MHRA

Group Manager, Therapeutic Review

Jeremy Mean

Department of Health

Deputy National Clinical Director for Mental Health in England

Hugh Griffiths

There are six other members of the steering group below Senior Civil Service level.

Health: Mammograms

Question

Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Under the National Health Service breast screening programme, women aged between 50 and 70 are invited for free breast screening every three years, and we are in the process of extending the programme to invite women aged 47 to 73. These arrangements are based on the best available evidence and are in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The Royal College of Radiologists Breast Group recommends that screening for women aged 40 to 49 is not routinely done except under specific circumstances, such as increased risk of breast cancer because of family history.

The independent Advisory Committee for Breast Cancer Screening, which advises the Government on breast screening policy in England, regularly reviews any new data or studies that are published about the effectiveness of breast screening.

Health: Strokes

Question

Asked by Lord Wills



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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Evaluation of the Act FAST stroke awareness campaign showed that it successfully achieved a rapid change in behaviour. Within a year, an estimated 9,864 more people reached hospital faster, 642 of whom were saved from death or serious disability by receiving thrombolysis. The evidence demonstrated that the campaign achieved a payback of £3.16 for every £1 spent. On this basis, the agency submitted an entry to the 2010 Institute of Professional Advertisers Effectiveness Awards and, in November, achieved a Gold Award.

Higher Education: Funding

Question

Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley): The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will ensure that full and clear information about the higher education funding policy is available to all current and potential students. We will make sure that accurate information is available through all sources of information, advice and guidance-in universities, schools and colleges; online; through careers advisory services; and through organisations such as the Student Loans Company and the University and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS). We will also work with student bodies to ensure that students are encouraged to ask universities about their financial arrangements and the quality of their teaching, including the employability of their graduates.

Highways Agency: Traffic Officers

Question

Asked by Lord Jopling

Earl Attlee: We have made no assessment of abolishing the Traffic Officer Service as there is currently no intention to transfer their responsibilities back to the police.

Holy See

Question

Asked by Lord Laird



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The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): The cost of our Embassy to the Holy See in each of the last five years was:

2009-10-£675,101;2008-09-£643,023;2007-08-£559,665;2006-07-£391,281; and2005-06-£412,096.

The figure for 2009-10 excludes impairment charges resulting from the revaluation of the Holy See estate.

Impairment cost is the accounting charge that arises from the reduction in the value of a property below its original cost. It is a notional charge that will only be realised if the property is sold. It is not cash expenditure and is not within the control of the Embassy, since property valuations and exchange rates can fluctuate.

In 2008-09, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) commissioned a number of building inspections by chartered surveyors from the Valuation Office Agency. The Valuation Office surveyors changed the method of valuation for many buildings in Rome from a market-value-based approach to a depreciated replacement cost approach, to reflect the true cost to the FCO of replacing these assets. This led to a nominal increase in the total value of the FCO's assets in Rome in 2008-09.

House of Commons: Staff

Question

Asked by Lord Bach

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Where staff employed by MPs are made redundant for any reason they are entitled to receive redundancy payments, depending on the length of their service and individual terms of employment. Following the 2010 general election, the average redundancy payment was £880. It has not been possible to estimate the staffing implications directly attributable to the reduction in the number of MPs.

Houses of Parliament: Members

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The Government have no present plans to legislate on these matters. In Northern Ireland, where there is a significant overlap in membership between

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the Legislative Assembly and the House of Commons, they are seeking agreement to bring this practice to an end. While they would prefer this to happen by consensus, they are willing to bring forward legislation should that consensus not arise. Any such legislation would be fully assessed for compliance with the ECHR. The Government will deal with the question of dual mandates for the House of Lords as part of their comprehensive proposals for House of Lords reform.

Housing

Question

Asked by Lord Bradley

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Parliamentary under Secretary of State for the Department of Communities and Local Government to Mr Jim Cunningham MP on 29 November 2010, Official Report, Commons, cols. 470-471W.

Housing Benefit

Questions

Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): The cap on local housing allowance rates will come into force for new claims on 1 April 2011. Existing customers will be protected against this change for nine months from the date the local authority reviews the claim, providing there is no relevant change in their circumstances in the meantime.

Asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester

Lord Freud: We are providing nine months' transitional protection to existing claimants from the point they are affected by the changes we are making to local housing allowance rates from April 2011. There are no linking provisions to reinstate the transitional protection if the claimant ceases to be entitled to housing benefit and then reapplies during the nine-month period.



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Questions for Written Answer

Question

Asked by Lord Wakeham

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde): The number of QWAs answered, per calendar year, as of 3 December were as follows;

2008

5263

2009

6020

2010 (pre-election)

2375

2010 (post-election)

3644

Iceland

Question

Asked by Lord Myners

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: 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 ONS, to Lord Myners, dated December 2010.

As Director General of the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking Her Majesty's Government on what rate of interest receivable is assumed in national accounts in respect of the debt owed by Iceland to the United Kingdom; and where this income and the attendant funding cost appear in national accounts. [HL4676]

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces statistics according to internationally agreed national accounts standards.

Lord Sassoon's response to your earlier parliamentary question on this subject (HL2846) explained that discussions are ongoing to reach agreement with Iceland to repay the loan made by the previous Government in respect of Iceland's obligations under the deposit guarantee directive to UK depositors in Icesave. At the present time, agreement has not yet been reached between the UK and Icelandic Governments on the nature and timing of the settlement of the Icelandic debt. Consequently, there is no rate of interest yet assumed within the UK national accounts.

The treatment of the financial crisis within the UK national accounts and the UK public sector finances is detailed in a 2009 ONS article Public Sector Interventions in the Financial Crisis: Statistical Classification Decisions available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal /Financial-crisis.pdf. The specific impacts of the

9 Dec 2010 : Column WA90

Landsbanki Islands of London branch and the Icesave internet product are detailed in Chapter 13 of that article.

When agreement has been reached on the mode of repayment, including any agreed interest payments, ONS will consider the most appropriate recording of the relevant transactions.

The national accounts do not identify separately the attendant funding costs of the UK's assistance to Iceland. As explained in Chapter 31 of the ONS article above, these relate to the interest costs incurred by the UK Government resulting from the borrowing it undertakes to fund financial sector interventions. Such additional borrowing is undertaken as a part of the Government's general financing programme. Within the National Accounts, interest on central government borrowing appears as variable RVFK in the "uses" section of the central government "allocation of primary income account" - see for example Table 5.2.3 of the National Accounts Blue Book 2010, available at www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/product.asp?vlnk=1143.

Inflation

Question

Asked by Lord Myners

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: 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 ONS, to Lord Myners dated December 2010.

As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking whether all income levels by decile are currently experiencing similar levels of price inflation [HL4447].

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces two main measures of consumer inflation, the consumer prices index (CPI) and the retail prices index (RPI). The CPI measures inflation for the UK as a whole whilst the RPI inflation measure covers the vast majority of the UK household sector. The construction of the indices focuses on these broad measurement targets, which means that measures of inflation by income decile are not produced as part of the monthly CPI and RPI production process and are therefore not available.

You may be interested to know that the ONS conducted a special analysis in September 2008 and published estimates of average price changes experienced by households grouped by income decile for the 12 months ending April 2008. This analysis, which was based on the RPI, concluded that there was little variation in the average price change experienced by the different income groups during this period. The full article can be found at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/article.asp?ID=2049&;Pos=1&ColRank=1&Rank=1



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA91

Justice: Sentencing

Question

Asked by Lord Howard of Lympne

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally):Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR), a long-term longitudinal study of prisoners sentenced to between one month and four years in England and Wales, updates the Prisoner Criminality Survey1 referred to in Paragraph 25 Appendix 6 of Making Punishments Work-The Result of a Review of the Sentencing Framework for England and Wales (July 2001). The most recent findings were published in the Compendium of Reoffending Statistics and Analysis, which can be found at1wwwjustice.gov.uk/publications/compendium -reoffending.htm.

The Prisoner Criminality Survey is representative of male prison receptions in Prison Service establishments during February and March 2000, while SPCR is representative of male and female prison receptions in 2005-06.

Morocco

Questions

Asked by Baroness Tonge

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): Implementation of the Association Agreement is undertaken through the jointly agreed five-year Action Plans outlining the actions expected of both sides on the full range of areas of co-operation. The current Action Plan was agreed in 2005.

In 2008 agreement was reached with Morocco to upgrade the EU-Morocco relationship with a "Roadmap to Advanced Status". In practice this is reflected in ongoing negotiations on a more ambitious Action Plan to cover 2011-16.

Delivery against the Action Plan is reviewed annually by the Commission, and now by the European External Action Service. The UK contributes in Rabat and Brussels, and we are clear that a closer relationship with the EU involves expectations on reform as well as

9 Dec 2010 : Column WA92

economic integration. These assessments are published on the Commission website: www.eeas.europa.eu/morocco/index_en.htm.

Asked by Baroness Tonge

Baroness Verma: This information is publicly available from the European Union's annual report on aid which can be accessed at: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/publications/index_en.htm.

Asked by Baroness Tonge

Lord Howell of Guildford: We are actively engaged within the relevant working groups and with colleagues at the EU Delegation in Rabat to monitor and evaluate Morocco's progress and adherence to the terms of the agreement and the action plan.

Implementation of the association agreement is undertaken through the jointly agreed five-year action plans outlining the actions expected of both sides on the full range of areas of co-operation. The current action plan was agreed in 2005.

In 2008 agreement was reached with Morocco to upgrade the EU-Morocco relationship with a "Roadmap to Advanced Status". In practice this is reflected in ongoing negotiations on a more ambitious action plan to cover 2011-16.

Delivery against the action plan is reviewed annually by the Commission, and now by the European External Action Service. The UK contributes in Rabat and Brussels, and we are clear that a closer relationship with the EU involves expectations on reform as well as economic integration. These assessments are published on the Commission website.

National Parks

Question

Asked by Lord Clark of Windermere

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley): Below is a table listing the grants given to each English national park in each of the past ten years.



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA93



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA94

National Park2001-022002-032003-042004-052005-06

Broads

2,411,261

2,801,437

3,196,877

3,065,680

3,933,182

Dartmoor

3,127,480

3,721,705

4,177,323

3,965,325

4,308,058

Exmoor

2,582,842

3,059,765

3,518,950

3,290,756

3,616,422

Lake District

4,640,000

5,460,856

6,107,102

6,050,672

6,290,679

New Forest

0

0

0

0

3,517,297

Northumberland

1,928,560

2,419,922

2,882,555

2,702,191

3,010,044

North York Moors

3,565,239

4,224,936

4,677,842

4,678,157

4,933,864

Peak District

6,223,073

6,721,617

7,361,069

7,422,471

7,542,550

South Downs

0

0

0

0

0

Yorkshire Dales

3,442,378

4,583,616

5,237,283

4,580,902

4,906,870

Totals

27,920,833

32,993,854

37,159,001

35,756,154

42,058,966

National Park2006-072007-082008-092009-102010-11

Broads

4,025,018

4,126,763

4,304,337

4,322,706

4,229,502

Dartmoor

4,409,116

4,521,078

4,715,643

4,845,323

4,739,642

Exmoor

3,700,466

3,818,578

3,981,834

4,065,647

3,978,580

Lake District

6,440,510

6,606,508

6,890,824

7,330,322

7,171,279

New Forest

3,622,764

3,845,475

4,010,965

4,321,266

4,978,096

Northumberland

3,079,171

3,155,757

3,491,563

3,382,081

3,311,334

North York Moors

5,050,317

5,179,335

5,402,230

5,550,791

5,428,266

Peak District

7,723,177

7,923,294

8,264,281

8,491,549

8,298,814

South Downs

0

0

0

0

8,540,000

Yorkshire Dales

5,022,659

5,150,942

5,372,616

5,520,362

5,398,563

Totals

43,073,198

44,327,730

46,434,293

47,830,047

56,074,076

NHS: Specialist Services

Question

Asked by Lord Bradley

Earl Howe: The Specialised Services National Definitions Set (SSNDS) will form the basis for considering which specialised services the Secretary of State will ask the National Health Service commissioning board to commission.

The SSNDS was recently updated through a long process of consultation which included key clinicians and patient groups.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Section 68(3) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires that in making appointments to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission the Secretary of State must, as far as practicable, secure that the commissioners as a group are representative of the community in Northern Ireland. In exercising his power to appoint commissioners under Section 68(3), the Secretary of State must also have due regard to his duty to promote equality of opportunity between groups prescribed in Section 75 of the Act.

The Secretary of State has complied with these obligations in every appointment that has been made to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

Parliamentary Constituencies

Questions

Asked by Lord Bassam of Brighton

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Our current estimate for the conduct of the forthcoming boundary review under the provisions of the PVSC Bill is £11.2 million. The precise cost will depend on the operational decisions which are taken during the course of the review by each of the four boundary commissions.

Asked by Lord Bach

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Although some Members of Parliament will see an increase in the number of constituents, others will see a decrease. More than a third of the existing constituencies are within the range envisaged by the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill (on the basis of the 2009 electoral register), and over 40 are larger. Decisions regarding rates of allowances for Members of Parliament in a 600-seat House of Commons will be a matter for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA95

Planning

Questions

Asked by Lord Williams of Elvel

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley): Section 3 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 requires Natural England to consult other bodies when it is reviewing matters that relate to its general purpose. Defra assesses whether Natural England has satisfied this provision as part of its ongoing monitoring of the performance of Natural England. We do not believe that the provisions of Section 3 apply to individual planning applications.

Asked by Lord Williams of Elvel

Lord Henley: This Government have not made any assessment of Natural England's advice. Further, it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on the merits of a planning application. To do so could prejudice a decision should an application subsequently come before Ministers; for example, on appeal.

Prisoners: Work

Question

Asked by Lord Howard of Lympne

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): We are proposing to make prisons places of hard work and industry. As part of this, we are looking to expand the prisoner working week to up to 40 hours within prison industries which we estimate currently provides the equivalent of about 9,000 FTE places for prisoners per day in just under 400 workshops. A significant number of prisoners also work in functions such as catering, cleaning and land-based activities. We also want to make it easier for the private sector to get involved in training, providing work and employing prisoners on release.

These plans will increase the number of prisoners engaged in meaningful and productive work, help replicate the working week and instil dignity, a work ethic and discipline, and through improving skills for

9 Dec 2010 : Column WA96

sustained employment aid rehabilitation on release. This will form part of our wider plans for reform, details of which will soon be published in a Green Paper for consultation.

Prisons: Population

Question

Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The Government will always provide enough prison places for those whom the courts judge should receive a custodial sentence. The Ministry of Justice recently published a Green Paper setting out proposals to reform sentencing and rehabilitate offenders more effectively. The Government's expectation is that if these proposals are implemented successfully, the prison population should be around 3,000 lower than it is today by 2014-15.

Railways: Fares

Questions

Asked by Lord Touhig

Earl Attlee: The Government are committed to ensuring that transport plays a full role in delivering the UK's climate change targets. We will continue to monitor the carbon impact of policy and investment decisions to ensure we remain on course to deliver those targets. Emissions of greenhouse gases from the transport sector are projected to fall significantly over the coming decade, in large part as a result of improvements to the fuel efficiency of new vehicles and the uptake of low carbon fuels.

The Department for Transport has not made a detailed estimate of the likely effects of increases in rail fares on transport emissions, but the overall impact is likely to be small. The fare increase was one element of the spending review announcement. Other measures such as the local sustainable transport fund and the package of support for ultra low carbon vehicles are expected to lead to reductions in carbon emissions.

Asked by Lord Touhig

Earl Attlee: The scale of the deficit has meant we have had to take some tough decisions on rail fares. Under the rules in the franchise agreements the increase in the regulated fares cap will help the Government to

9 Dec 2010 : Column WA97

deliver priority capacity improvements on the rail network to relieve overcrowding on routes into major cities. For example, the Government propose to deliver more than 2,100 new rail carriages onto the network by 2019.

The Government will now enter into discussions with the franchise operators about the allocation of 650 further carriages to them by 2014 and changes to the franchise agreements to implement the new fares regulation rules.

Railways: High Speed 2

Questions

Asked by Viscount Astor

Earl Attlee: The construction cost of the Government's preferred high speed rail network from London to the West Midlands, Leeds and Manchester, including links to Heathrow and HS1, is estimated to be around £33 billion. No decision has yet been made as to what part, if any, of the funding requirement might come from private sources.

Asked by Viscount Astor

Earl Attlee: HS2 Ltd assume that the power consumption of the high speed trains operating along HS2 infrastructure will be in the range 0.041 to 0.055 kWh per seat km. Further information on the underlying assumptions is available in the HS2 Traction Energy Modelling report available at www.hs2.org.uk/assets/x/56774. Pendolinos operating today are in the range of 0.031 to 0.033 kWh per seat km. However, the energy performance per passenger km is highly dependent on the level of passenger loading achieved.

Roads: A1

Question

Asked by Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington

Earl Attlee: A consultation was launched on 16 September proposing a change to the national networks definition, which recognises road and rail connectivity with this and other capital cities. This will result in the identification of roads, including the Al between Newcastle and the Scottish border as being of national significance. This change does not guarantee funding for major improvements; it recognises the strategic importance of the route for freight and other traffic travelling between Newcastle and Edinburgh.



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA98

In a separate study, we are considering the priority of improvements on this route. We will then consider these, alongside other programmes, in the light of available resources.

Rome: British Embassy

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): The cost of our Embassy in Rome for each of the last five years was:

2009-10-£10,978,363;2008-09-£10,907,234;2007-08-£9,601,594;2006-07-£9,590,323; and 2005-06-£9,492,625.

The figure for 2009-10 excludes impairment charges resulting from the revaluation of the Rome estate.

Impairment cost is the accounting charge that arises from the reduction in the value of a property below its original cost. It is a notional charge that will only be realised if the property is sold. It is not cash expenditure and is not within the control of the Embassy, since property valuations and exchange rates can fluctuate.

In 2008-09, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) commissioned a number of building inspections by chartered surveyors from the Valuation Office Agency. The Valuation Office surveyors changed the method of valuation for many buildings in Rome from a market-value-based approach to a depreciated replacement cost approach, to reflect the true cost to the FCO of replacing these assets. This led to a nominal increase in the total value of the FCO's assets in Rome in 2008-09.

Royal Family: Overseas Visits

Question

Asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): A list of overseas visits undertaken since October 2001 by HRH The Duke of York in his role as the UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, in agreement with and in support of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) objectives, is contained in the following tables.



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA99

An account of expenditure paid from UKTI budgets for overseas visits undertaken by HRH The Duke of York in fulfilling his role as the UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment from 1 October 2001 until 31 March 2010:
YearDate of visitCountryAmount (£,000)

2002

4-9 Feb 02

South Africa

26.4

18-21 Mar 02

Germany and Switzerland

15.7

2-10 May 02

USA

27.8

25-26 Jun 02

France

4.7

74.6

2003

29-30 Jan 03

Greece

4.7

12-13 Feb 03

France

4.7

9-13 Sept 03

Poland and Czech Republic

19.9

23-27 Sept 03

Kazakhstan

5.2

19-26 Oct 03

USA

47.3

27 Nov-8 Dec 03

UAE and Kuwait

75

156.8

2004

09-Jan 04

Italy

16.9

08-Mar 04

Spain

5.8

26 Mar-4 Apr 04

Bahrain, Qatar and Oman

74.6

19-25 Apr 04

China, Japan and Russia

50.1

24-26 May 04

Turkey

8.2

07-Sep-04

Sweden

2.6

25-27 Oct 04

Russia

27.9

3-9 Oct 04

USA

25.1

24 Nov-5 Dec 04

Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines

49.6

22-23 Nov 04

Italy and Switzerland

3.5

264.3

2005

12-27 Feb 05

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar

14

4-5 Apr 05

Germany

2.9

18-25 Apr 05

Japan

1.9

17-18 May 05

France

4.2

11-14 Oct 05

Slovakia and Hungary

4.4

28-30 Nov 05

Egypt

8.2

13-17 Nov 05

South Korea

11.5

47.1

2006

21-25 Jan 06

UAE and Bahrain

14.1

14-Feb 06

Spain

4

25 Mar-2 Apr 06

China and Hong Kong

37

3-7 Jun 06

Vietnam

10.9

3-7 Jul 06

Kazakhstan

8

25-30 Sept 06

USA

23

29 Oct-4 Nov 06

India

21.3

23-24 Nov 06

Philippines

8

126.3



9 Dec 2010 : Column WA100

2007

25-27 Jan 07

Switzerland

3.9

05-Feb-07

Ireland

0.8

12-13 Feb 07

Spain

l

26-27 Feb 07

Germany

l

28 Feb-13 Mar 07

Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman

18.1

11-18 Apr 07

Brazil

30.9

28 May-1 Jun 07

Japan

22

07-Jun-07

Belgium

0.02

27-29 Aug 07

Singapore

16.4

03-Sep 07

Qatar

0

1-4 Oct 07

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan

6.6

23-26 Oct 07

UAE

2.3

1-10 Nov 07

Morocco, Libya and Algeria

20

123

2008

13-15 Jan 08

Egypt

8.8

20-22 Jan 08

UAE

1.2

23-25 Jan 08

Switzerland

5.8

5-16 Feb 08

USA

58.4

2-7 Mar 08

Indonesia

9.1

9-15 Mar 08

India

20.5

30 Mar-3 Apr 08

Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Jordan

9.3

18-20 May 08

Egypt

13.3

30 Jun-1 Jul 08

Italy

6

5-12 Sept 08

Vietnam and Singapore

27.6

28 Sept-3 Oct 08

South Korea

11.5

29 Oct-7 Nov 08

Mongolia, China and Turkmenistan

30.3

201.8

2009

28-30 Jan 09

Switzerland

21.7

17-18 Feb 09

Russia

3.9

14-20 Mar 09

Saudi Arabia, I3ahrain and Kuwait

8.1

18-21 May 09

Algeria and Tunisia

4.7

1-4 Jun 09

Azerhaijan

7.6

22-24 Jun 09

USA

11.7

22-24 Sept 09

Saudi Arabia

0.4

29 Sept-8 Oct 09

Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand

31.1

24 Oct-4 Nov 09

Egypt, Qatar, UAE and Oman

33.8

14-16 Dec 09

Russia

5.9

128.9

2010

27-29 Jan 10

Switzerland

19.2

7-12 Feb 10

Mexico and Panama

9.0

8-13 Mar 10

India

12.8

23-26 Mar 10

China

7.7

26-28 Mar 10

UAE

8.1

56.8


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