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Question
Asked by Lord Morris of Manchester
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 8 June (WA 144), whether they will publish in print the information on the website referred to, for the benefit of entitled persons without access to the internet.[HL10334]
Lord Taylor of Holbeach: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave on 20 June 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 259)
Questions for Written Answer
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have not answered Question HL9291, tabled on 17 May and due for answer by 1 June; and when they plan to answer it.[HL10563]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): I refer the noble Lord to my Answer given on 15 June 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 193)
Republic of Ireland: Financial Support
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what occasion and by what method they were most recently assured by the Government of the Republic of Ireland that they would not default on the loan supplied to them last year.[HL10312]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): As with the financial assistance provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union and the euro area, the Government expect the UK's bilateral loan to Ireland to be repaid with interest. As part of its programme, Ireland must adopt strict policy conditionality aimed at restoring fiscal sustainability, ensuring financial stability and boosting growth.
The IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank all monitor the programme every three months to ensure that it remains on track and that Ireland is able to meet its repayment obligations.
4 July 2011 : Column WA27
The latest IMF review, in May 2011, concluded that the Irish programme "is on track." The full report can be found here: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2011/cr11109.pdf.
Roads: Advertisements
Question
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to deal with the number of advertisements placed in fields near to motorways and other major trunk roads.[HL10472]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): Local planning authorities already have adequate powers to deal with unauthorised advertisements in fields visible from the road network under the Control of Advertisements Regulations. Guidance is in DCLG Circular 03/2007 (Annex paragraphs 147 and 148).
The Highways Agency requires their managing agent contractors to report unauthorised advertisements visible from the Strategic Road Network to the relevant local authority so that they may consider appropriate enforcement where this is necessary.
South Wales Police
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Browning on 21 June (WA 292), what use they make of data collected on the use of mobile telephones while driving. [HL10453]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): The data collected are used to inform the development, monitoring and evaluation of road traffic legislation and its enforcement.
Sport: FIFA
Question
Asked by Baroness Miller of Hendon
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent allegations of corruption in FIFA.[HL10522]
Baroness Garden of Frognal: As the Minister for Sport and the Olympics said on 16 June 2011 (Official Report, col. 911):
"It is clear, both from our experience of the last bid and from what has happened subsequently at FIFA, that the organisation is in need of radical structural reform, and the principles of transparency and accountability must govern that. The newly re-elected president has set a process in train, and we will watch it carefully".
State Recognition
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government why their conditions for recognising a state vary from area to area.[HL10315]
4 July 2011 : Column WA28
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): For the criteria for the recognition of states, I refer the noble Lord to my reply of 23 November 2010 (Official Report, col. WA 296). These criteria are applicable in all parts of the world.
Uganda
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what conditions are attached to the budget support provided to the Government of Uganda by the United Kingdom; and whether a limit is set on such expenditure. [HL10184]
Baroness Verma: The United Kingdom's development partnership in Uganda is based on an assessment of the Ugandan Government's commitment to the following principles: respecting human rights and other international obligations; improving public financial management; promoting good governance, transparency and fighting corruption; strengthening domestic accountability and ensuring poverty is reduced in a sustainable manner. Where we judge the partner Government share these partnership commitments, the UK may provide budget support-if we consider this to be the best way to achieve results and value for money for the British tax payer and Ugandan people.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have received that the Government of Uganda purchased or ordered SU-3-MK2 fighter jets while receiving budget support from the United Kingdom Government.[HL10185]
Baroness Verma: Her Majesty's Government are aware that in 2010, under the previous Government, the Government of Uganda signed the contracts for the purchase of military equipment. Prior to the last election, in April 2010, the Uganda Joint Budget Support development partners (DPs) wrote to the then Minister of Finance expressing concern about reports in the Ugandan press that the Government had signed a contract for the purchase of six fighter jets. In February 2011, it was confirmed that Uganda had used money from its reserves to upgrade its air force in 2010, which was understood to be for the purchase of 6 Sukhoi 3000 jets.
The Secretary of State has announced that over the next four years general budget support is set to decline by nearly a half; our budget support to Uganda will be consistent with this approach.
Decisions on UK budget support to Uganda in financial year 2011-12 have not yet been taken.
Asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any concerns regarding the Deepening Democracy Programme, part-funded by the Department for International Development, which currently supports public sector financial management and government administration in Uganda; and, if so, what is their response.[HL10246]
4 July 2011 : Column WA29
Baroness Verma: The goal of the Deepening Democracy Programme is to contribute to improved democratic governance in Uganda by increasing informed, active, pluralistic participation of Ugandan citizens in the political process; building the capacity of Ugandan institutions critical to promoting public participation; and holding the state accountable to citizens' needs and concerns. In working towards these goals the programme works with a wide range of civil society organisations, state and non-state institutions, and government. An independent end of programme evaluation will take place in August and September 2011. This will provide an opportunity for all relevant stakeholders to share their views on the programme. To date, however, we are not aware of any concerns having been raised with regard to the programme itself and/or its goals.
UN Women
Question
Asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
To ask Her Majesty's Government what efforts they are making to ensure that the United Nations Gender Entity will be well funded and able to be effective for women across Europe, in particular those affected by sex trafficking.[HL10248]
Baroness Verma: The UK strongly supports the establishment of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known as UN Women, and played a key role in its creation. We have already provided transitional funding to the organisation. We are carefully considering the UN Women's Strategic Plan, which was agreed by the UN Women's board on 30 June 2011, and will make a decision on levels of core funding based on this. We continue to stress the need for a strong results focus for all of UN Women's work. This includes human trafficking.
4 July 2011 : Column WA30
The Secretary of State for International Development most recently had detailed discussions on these and other issues with Michelle Bachelet, head of UN Women, when she visited the UK in May 2011.
Work Capability Assessments
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the qualifications of staff undertaking the work capability assessment for mental health conditions.[HL10342]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): All doctors working for Atos Healthcare must be registered with the General Medical Council; all nurses with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and all physiotherapists with the Health Professions Council.
All Atos healthcare professionals must have a minimum of three years, broad-based clinical post-registration experience.
In individual cases, solely at the discretion of the DWP chief medical adviser, the requirement that healthcare professionals must have a minimum of three years, post-registration experience may be waived.
There is no requirement for healthcare professionals to have postgraduate mental health qualifications in addition to their primary qualifications.
However, in response to one of Professor Harrington's recommendations in his first review, Atos have introduced mental function champions into their assessment centres to spread best practice in the assessment of people with conditions that affect mental, cognitive and intellectual function. Mental function champions are required to have post-qualification clinical experience in the field of mental health.
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