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Source: H M Revenue and Customs
2010 data is subject to amendments
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 19 July (HL11133), what discussions have taken place between government officials and representatives of the government of China or Chinese companies on additional landing rights at Heathrow Airport. [HL11405]
Earl Attlee: Government officials have had a number of discussions with representatives of the Government of China and Chinese airlines about issues around securing access to Heathrow within current infrastructure constraints, including at the last round of formal UK/China air services negotiations held on 12 to 14 April 2011 and at a meeting with the Deputy Administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China on 7 July 2011.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many anti-social behaviour orders have been issued to women in each of the past ten years; and how many women have been imprisoned for breach of an anti-social behaviour order.[HL11416]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): The number of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued to females at all courts in England and Wales in each year during the period 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2009 (the period for which gender-specific data are available) is set out in the table attached. During the same period, 595 ASBOs issued to females and proven in court to have been breached at least once resulted in a sentence of immediate custody.
(1) ASBOs became available on 1 April 1999. No gender details are available for the period April 1999 to May 2000.
(2) Includes ASBOs issued on application by magistrates' courts acting in their civil capacity and county courts, which became available on 1 April 1999 and ASBOs made following conviction for a relevant criminal offence at the Crown Court and at magistrates' courts (acting in their criminal capacity), which became available on 2 December 2002.
(3) Prior to the creation of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007, data on ASBOs issued were reported to Home Office by the Court Service.
Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Prepared by Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 7 July (WA 87), on what date they submitted their written evidence to the European Commission's review of the artists' resale right directive.[HL11354]
Baroness Garden of Frognal: The IPO submitted a response to the Commission's call for evidence on 15 March 2011, on behalf of the UK Government. The IPO response is available online: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/c-policy-artist-response.pdf.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the consultation undertaken in 2010, whether any decisions have been made regarding the treatment of personal injury payments, the treatment of investment bonds which contain a life insurance element, the treatment of pre-paid funeral payments, or the 12-week disregard and top-ups in the light of the Assessment of Resources Regulations.[HL11403]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): A number of issues have been raised by the responses to the consultation. Departmental officials are working to resolve the outstanding issues and we hope to publish a government response in the near future. It has not, therefore, been possible to announce a decision on the proposals.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they anticipate that Atos Healthcare will be awarded the contract for undertaking the face-to-face assessments for the new personal independence payment. [HL11399]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Enabling legislation for the personal independence payment is contained in the Welfare Reform Bill, which is before Parliament now. It would be inappropriate to speculate whether the assessment required to deliver the personal independence payment would be awarded to Atos Healthcare or any other named provider.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what training Atos Healthcare assessors for the work capability assessment have in autism.[HL11400]
Lord Freud: All healthcare professionals working for Atos Healthcare who carry out assessments for employment and support allowance are issued with evidence-based protocols on a range of conditions as part of their induction training. This includes information on autism.
In addition, all healthcare professionals are required to engage in a programme of continuing medical education and autism is covered within a self-directed learning module, "Life with Autism, Seeing the Individual". The module is presented as a DVD which draws from professionals in the field of autism including Dr Lorna Wing and Dr Judith Gould and testimonials from people living with autism and how it affects their lives.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in their assessment of the need for and size of airport taxes, they have taken into account the positioning of Northern Ireland's land frontier and its communications with the rest of the United Kingdom.[HL11330]
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether increases in air tax duty would be harmful to the economy of Northern Ireland.[HL11333]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): In their consultation on air passenger duty (APD), the Government recognised the unique position of Northern Ireland, given its land border with the Republic of Ireland.
The APD consultation received a number of representations from organisations in Northern Ireland regarding reform of APD. The consultation closed on 17 June 2011 and the Government will publish their response in the autumn.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will announce their proposals to control tuberculosis in badgers.[HL11287]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley): The Secretary of State made a Statement in the House of Commons on 19 July announcing a comprehensive and balanced TB eradication programme for England.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the results of the consultation on proposals to cull badgers which ended on 15 December 2010; how many responses were received to the consultation; and how many of these were respectively in favour of and against the proposals.[HL11288]
Lord Henley: As set out in the Consultation on Guidance to Natural England on the implementation and enforcement of a badger control policy, published on 19 July, alongside a comprehensive and balanced TB eradication programme for England, of the 59,540 responses received to the public consultation carried out in autumn 2010, 31 per cent supported culling and 69 per cent were opposed.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest information on the expected date of availability for an oral vaccine against tuberculosis in badgers; and, if this is later than 2015, what is the reason for the delay.[HL11289]
Lord Henley: Developing an oral vaccine against tuberculosis in badgers is proving more difficult than originally hoped. This means that the possibility of a usable oral badger vaccine is many years away. We cannot say with any certainty if and when an oral badger vaccine might be available for use in the field.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the police with a view to implementing measures with the objective of (a) preventing injury to third parties while "free-shooting" or "controlled shooting" of badgers at night is taking place, and (b) preventing persons from disrupting or sabotaging such shooting.[HL11291]
Lord Henley: Defra officials are working closely with officials in the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) on the proposed policy to allow groups of farmers and landowners in the worst TB affected areas to apply for licences to cull badgers.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the court of the Bank of England has had any formal discussion of the performance of the Bank during the financial crisis without the governor and deputy governors being present.[HL11202]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The governor and deputy governors are members of the Bank's court. The court itself has not held meetings without the governor and deputy governors present. However, responsibility for monitoring the performance of the Bank lies with the committee of non-executive directors, established under Section 3 of the 1998 Bank of England Act. The committee of non-executive directors has met on a number of occasions since the start of the crisis. Its reports are included as part of the Bank's annual reports.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the expected annual travel and hotel costs to be charged to the Bank of England by (a) the independent members of the Monetary Policy Committee, and (b) the independent members of the Shadow Financial Policy Committee.[HL11347]
Lord Sassoon: The Bank has budgeted £55,000 for hotel and travel costs incurred by external members of the Monetary Policy Committee in 2011-12. This is in line with the budget for 2010-11. It has provisionally budgeted a further £40,000 for hotel and travel costs for external members of the Financial Policy Committee in 2011-12.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 7 July (WA 89), whether the Bank of England has the authority to share detailed information on the compliance of each individual bank with Project Merlin with Ministers.[HL11201]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Bank of England will report the banks' aggregate performance under the Project Merlin lending commitments on a quarterly basis. The Merlin banks submit their respective lending data directly to the Bank of England.
To ask Her Majesty's Government who signed the letter of commitment in respect of Project Merlin on behalf of HSBC; and in which role they so signed.[HL11319]
Lord Sassoon: The letter confirming the banks' commitment to the collective statement on lending, tax, pay and broader contributions to the economy and to society was signed by John Varley, former group chief executive of Barclays Bank. He signed the letter on behalf of Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and the RBS and, in the context of lending, Santander. The letter is available online at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/banks_letter_090211.pdf.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the level of lending to United Kingdom small and medium-sized enterprises over each of the last three years to the end of March; and what is their assessment of the effectiveness of Project Merlin in increasing net and gross lending.[HL11346]
Lord Sassoon: The Bank of England publishes a quarterly assessment of the latest trends in lending to the UK economy. The most recent publication, released in July 2011, includes coverage of lending to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Separately, the Bank of England has agreed to publish the data collected from five banks under Project Merlin on a quarterly basis. The Project Merlin data are published alongside other existing measures of lending.
Both of these reports are available at: http://www. bankofengland.co.uk/publications/other/monetary/trendsinlending.htm
The five banks have stated a capacity and willingness to lend £190 billion of new credit to businesses in 2011, including f76 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises. This is a 15 per cent increase on 2010 lending of £66 billion. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made it clear that the Government will use every tool available to hold the banks to the published lending commitments which they made.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether information published by the European Banking Authority on the exposure of United Kingdom banks to the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain accords with the understanding of the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority on gross and net exposures to borrowers in those countries, including those cases where United Kingdom banks have disclosed zero exposure.[HL11349]
Lord Sassoon: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) collects data quarterly on major UK banks' exposures to the Euro area peripheral countries. The UK banks' disclosures to the European Banking Authority
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA387
The UK banks have completed these disclosures in a way that is consistent with the EBA guidelines. This only requires them to report country exposures which are greater than or equal to 5 per cent of their total global exposures. Where the materiality threshold is not met, firms were able to report a "zero exposure".
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 18 July (WA 247) concerning the use of debit cards, whether they will now introduce legislation to forbid, or limit, charges for the use of debit cards to purchase goods or services.[HL11383]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): In its report on card surcharges published in June 2011, the Office of Fair Trading recommended that the Government introduce measures to prohibit retailers from imposing surcharges for payments made by debit cards. There are a number of ways of implementing the report's recommendations. The Government are considering the report and will respond to the Office of Fair Trading in due course.
In the mean time, the Office of Fair Trading is taking action to ensure that consumers are given clear information on surcharges that apply to all forms of payment. Some retailers are already changing their practices and the Office of Fair Trading will consider taking enforcement action against those retailers who do not do so.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Financial Services Authority has assessed the control the Government of Ireland have taken over the First Trust Bank; what was its conclusion; and whether it has assessed whether members of the Government of Ireland and the civil service involved in the management of the bank have been cleared to the level of that required of senior management in a bank.[HL11467]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Allied Irish Banks plc (AIB plc) is supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland. Appointments to the board of AIB plc are a matter for AIB plc, its shareholders and the Central Bank of Ireland.
AIB Group (UK) plc, which includes First Trust Bank (its Northern Ireland brand), is separately authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
AIB Group (UK) plc board appointments are a matter for the company and must meet the FSA Approved Person requirements.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the stress test of banks published by the European Banking Authority has served a useful purpose. [HL11348]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The European Banking Authority (EBA) stress tests served a useful purpose, both assessing the capital adequacy of the European banking sector and increasing transparency on banks' exposures, which will reduce the risk of contagion.
Methodologically, the EBA stress tests were more demanding than last year's European Union-wide Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) exercise, with a tougher capital threshold, using a Core Tier 1 (CT1) metric and a more rigorous peer review process.
The EBA tests have also provided the markets with significant amounts of additional information on the exposures of Europe's banks, including their sovereign debt holdings. In what was described by the EBA as "an unprecedented level of transparency", approximately 20 times as much data was released as part of this year's tests as was published under last year's CEBS exercise. As well as reducing uncertainty across the banking sector, this additional information will allow markets to carry out their own stress tests to reflect better the rapidly changing market conditions.
Just as importantly, we have also seen a commitment by member states to put in place credible plans to address the vulnerabilities revealed by the stress tests. In respect of the eight banks that failed the test, the EBA report outlines that "national supervisors should ensure that these banks are requested to present within three months to their competent authorities a plan to restore the capital position to a level at least equal to the 5% threshold [and that] the remedial measures agreed will have to be fully implemented by end 2011".
In addition, banks that are above but "close to the 5% CT1 threshold and which have sizeable exposures to sovereigns under stress" are required to take specific steps to strengthen their capital position, including, where necessary, restrictions on dividends, deleveraging, issuance of fresh capital or conversion of lower-quality instruments into CT1 capital.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, in the light of the commitments made that the assessment for the personal independence payment (PIP) will capture the needs of people with autism, to change the draft criteria for the PIP to ensure that the specific needs of people with autism are fully taken into account.[HL11401]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): We are absolutely committed to developing the detail of the assessment for the benefit in an open and transparent manner. This is why we have published our initial proposals for the criteria on 9 May and why we are consulting informally on them over the summer. We want to hear views from disabled people and their organisations on how well the criteria will work and if they can be improved. To date, my officials have met with around 60 disability organisations to discuss the draft criteria and have received around 100 written responses from both organisations and individuals. We are currently looking at the National Autistic Society's initial contribution to our informal consultation on the assessment criteria and hope to continue to work with it going forwards.
The informal consultation will end on 31 August, after which we aim to publish a further draft of the assessment criteria in the autumn, building on the findings from the testing and the feedback we receive during the informal consultation.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that there are enough trained professionals in the United Kingdom to assess adults with autism for the forthcoming personal independence payment.[HL11402]
Lord Freud: We are still considering the most appropriate delivery model for the personal independence payment assessment and no decisions have yet been taken. We envisage that assessments will be delivered by a third party contracted to the department and commercial activity is planned to begin later this year. The department will rigorously evaluate all proposals to ensure both assessment capability and capacity is deliverable.
As part of the successful delivery of personal independence payment, we know it will be vital to ensure that appropriate training, guidance and support are provided for assessors and decision-makers. This is relevant not only for autistic spectrum disorders but for other health conditions and impairments, to ensure that the new assessment accurately and consistently enables support to be targeted to those with the greatest need. We are keen to work with disabled people and their organisations to ensure that we get the training and guidance right.
Both the Minister for Disabled People and departmental officials have met with the National Autistic Society, for example, to discuss our reform proposals and to seek its views on how the new benefit can best support those with autism. We agree with many of the points raised in the National Autistic Society's report on DLA reform, Who Benefits?, and we are looking closely at how these recommendations can be incorporated into its design.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish in full the recently submitted business plans by Her Majesty's Ambassadors to (a) Kazakhstan,
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA390
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): We have no plans to publish these documents. We do, however, publish a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Departmental Business Plan, which is updated on a monthly basis. This can be found on the FCO website, http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/publicationsl/annual-reports/business-plan/
I set out the Government's policy priorities in the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus during the short debate called by the noble Lord on 30 November 2010, Official Report, cols. GC 132-47.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the recently submitted business plan by Her Majesty's Ambassador to Mongolia.[HL11204]
Lord Howell of Guildford: We have no plans to publish this document. We do, however, publish a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) departmental business plan, which is updated on a monthly basis. This can be found on the FCO website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/publications-and-documents/publications1/annual-reports/business-plan/.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to respond to the Human Rights Watch report Dead Men Walking: Convict Porters on the Front Lines in Eastern Burma; and whether they intend to raise its conclusions and recommendations with their international partners and at the United Nations.[HL11415]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): We commend the recent Human Rights Watch report, which carefully documents the Burmese army's use of convicts as porters, human shields and mine sweepers. The report makes a number of recommendations to the Burmese Government, to the international community, regional countries and to the UN system. We support the report's recommendations, including the reference to the UN special rapporteur's call for the UN to consider establishing a commission of inquiry. We also continue to work with EU partners and other like-minded and regional countries to highlight the ongoing systematic and appalling human rights abuses in Burma in the UN's human rights bodies.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Secretary of State has set any targets under section 1(3) of the Childcare Act 2006; what those targets
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA391
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The Government have removed the requirement for local authorities to set targets for improving the well-being of young children in the area.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have that local authorities in England are complying with the following sections of the Childcare Act 2006: (a) section 3(2); (b) section 3(3); (c) section 3(4); (d) section 3(6); and (e) section 12. [HL11023]
Lord Hill of Oareford: A range of evidence is available to help government assess whether outcomes for families and young children are improving, including through the early years foundation stage framework, Ofsted inspection arrangements and other sources.
The department publishes national statistics on the take-up of the free entitlement to early education for all three and four year-olds. The most recent data show that overall 95 per cent of children are accessing at least part of the free entitlement (93 per cent of three year-olds and 98 per cent of four year-olds). Eighty-six per cent of those accessing free places are doing so for more than 13 hours per week. The Government are also developing new arrangements to improve local accountability, including new requirements on local authorities to report data about their spending on early years services and in future children's centre payment by results (trials of which are starting this year).
The department also commissioned an independent survey last year, where 66 per cent of Family Information Service (FIS) managers who responded reported that their FIS was fully meeting the Section 12 information duty requirements of the Childcare Act 2006.
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the bullying of children with learning disabilities.[HL11189]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): This Government are committed to tackling all forms of bullying, especially those motivated by prejudice. In our schools White Paper, The Importance of Teaching, we highlighted pupils with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) as a group particularly vulnerable to bullying and made it clear that schools should take a tough stance where it occurs.
Schools will be held to account on how they tackle all forms of bullying through the new Ofsted inspections framework. To help schools, we published updated
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA392
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether HM Revenue and Customs classify ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) as a mental health condition; and, if so, whether this accords with clinical advice. [HL11345]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Where HM Revenue and Customs requires details of a health condition, it would look to the customer to provide medical evidence or may request details from a healthcare professional or mental health social worker.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that Parliament is able to debate and express a view upon the admission of further states to the Commonwealth before such admissions are agreed.[HL11313]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): Membership of the Commonwealth is a matter for the Commonwealth Secretariat and decisions are made by consensus of the heads of all member states. The Government would consult fully before making any decision on whether to support the admission of any further states.
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks are made to authenticate details submitted to Companies House on forms AP01 and AP02. [HL11353]
Lord De Mauley: As was the case under the last Government, it is the responsibility of the company in question to check the information it files. No checks are made to authenticate details submitted to Companies House on forms AP01 and AP02 due to the volume of forms received. However, when these forms are filed with Companies House electronically, rather than on paper, the "authentication code" (a form of electronic
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA393
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether copies of the minutes of meetings of the court of the Bank of England are given to HM Treasury or the Financial Services Authority.[HL11257]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The minutes of the court are not circulated to the Treasury or to the Financial Services Authority (FSA). However, the chairman of the FSA, in his capacity as a director of the Bank, receives minutes of the court's meetings.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the court of the Bank of England conducts regular reviews of board efficiency in accordance with the recommendations of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC); and, if it does, whether these are facilitated by a third party, as recommended by the FRC; on what dates the last three reviews were conducted; and whether reports of the reviews were submitted to HM Treasury.[HL11258]
Lord Sassoon: Since the present court of the Bank of England was formed in 2009, reviews of the board's effectiveness were conducted in 2010 and 2011 by the chairman as the senior non-executive. The previous court undertook reviews in 2005, 2006 and 2008. The first of these was externally facilitated; the others were led by the chair of the non-executive directors committee. Reports are not submitted to the Treasury.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether HM Treasury receives copies of minutes of meetings of the court of the Bank of England and of its Audit and Risk Committee and Remuneration Committee. [HL11317]
Lord Sassoon: HM Treasury does not receive copies of the minutes of meetings of the court of the Bank of England or its audit and risk committee and remuneration committee.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 11 July (WA 121-2), whether the court of the Bank of England has conducted a survey of its effectiveness since the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS in the fourth quarter of 2008; and what assessment they have made, as a shareholder, of this situation.[HL11318]
Lord Sassoon: The chair of the court of the Bank of England has undertaken two separate surveys of the court's effectiveness since the fourth quarter of 2008. These reports are not submitted to the Treasury.
The Treasury Select Committee is currently carrying out an inquiry into the accountability of the Bank of England, including the role of its court. The Government awaits the findings of the committee's work.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they propose to address the recent increase in burglaries. [HL11357]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): Cutting crime, including burglary, is the core responsibility of the police. By cutting bureaucracy and red tape we are reducing the burden on the police to focus on tackling those crimes. such as burglary, which matter most to their communities.
We know that some opportunistic burglaries may be preventable, so we have made advice on burglary prevention available directly to members of the public via online crime maps and the Directgov website and through partners in the voluntary sector. We are also updating the good practice available for frontline staff.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many crimes of (a) homicide, (b) wounding, and (c) grievous bodily harm, were recorded by police forces in England and Wales in 2009-10 that were preceded by stalking behaviour.[HL11384]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): Data for homicide, wounding and grievous bodily harm offences are collected from police forces via the main recorded crime return and it is not possible to identify which of these were preceded by stalking behaviour.
Additionally, the Home Office collects more detailed information on homicides via the homicide index. While there has been an option for police to record whether a victim has been harassed, threatened or followed by the principal suspect since 2007-08, these data have not been quality assured for publication. Rather they are of operational value to police in individual cases.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many entries there are on the Serious Organised Crime Agency's Elmer database of Suspicious Activity Reports; and according to what criteria entries on the database are removed.[HL10322]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): On 22 June 2011, there were 1,834,049 records on the Elmer database.
The criteria for removal of records from the database are unchanged from those recorded in the Information Commissioner's report to the House of Lords European Union Committee published on 20 January 2011 which stated that "SOCA clarified in evidence that each SAR is assigned a deletion date of ten years after receipt and is automatically deleted unless it has been amended or updated in which case the deletion date is reset to six years following that event. SOCA also confirmed that there is also a procedure for earlier deletion of individual SARs where all necessary activity relating to that SAR has been undertaken and SOCA estimated that 20,880 SARs have been permanently deleted from the database."
Further to the recommendations of that report, SOCA is currently formulating a new retention and deletion policy.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what organisations have direct "desktop" access, access from a terminal in a local police station, or access in the premises of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, to the Elmer database of Suspicious Activity Reports.[HL10323]
Baroness Browning: Access to the full Elmer database is limited to the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) in SOCA, and authorised personnel performing data analysis in SOCA.
Desktop access to a restricted view of the Elmer database is provided to all investigative functions within the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), all UK police forces, the nine Regional Asset Recovery Teams (RARTs) and to the following organisations:
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland
Department for Work and Pensions
National Policing Improvement Agency (access limited to training database only)
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency
Social Security Agency, Northern Ireland
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many anonymous Suspicious Activity Reports have been received by the Serious Organised Crime Agency;
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA396
Baroness Browning: On 22 June 2011, there were 1,303 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) on the Elmer database where the source has been recorded as anonymous.
All SARs received by the Serious Organised Crime Agency are recorded on the Elmer database regardless of whether or not they were submitted anonymously.
The deletion process does not categorise deleted records by source type. Therefore it is not possible to quantify how many anonymous SARs have been removed from the database.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to disclose to subjects of Suspicious Activity Reports the existence of those reports in accordance with the first, third and fifth principles of the Data Protection Act 1998.[HL10325]
Baroness Browning: The Government have no plans to do this. The Data Protection Act 1998 allows for any member of the public to request access to their personal data under Section 7 of the Act, and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has an established process for dealing with such inquiries. However, the individual responses may be subject to statutory exemptions.
If the subjects of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) were proactively told of their existence it would undermine the SARs regime and in particular would cut across the criminal offences in Sections 333A ("tipping off') and 342 ("offences of prejudicing investigations") of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty's Government what person, body or bodies has or have the ultimate ownership of the Crown Estate.[HL11315]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Crown Estate belongs to the reigning monarch "in right of The Crown".
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the assumption used by the European Banking Authority in its stress test of major European and United Kingdom banks that all sovereign debt issued by European Union countries should be assumed to be unimpaired and of identical value. [HL11198]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The European Banking Authority (EBA) stress tests did not assume all EU sovereign debt to be of identical value.
In the trading book, haircuts were applied to distressed sovereign debt that reflected to varying degrees the movements in market prices. UK banks hold the majority of their sovereign debt on their trading books. Market prices were also reflected in those securities held on the banking book on an "available for sale" basis or those designated at fair value through profit and loss.
While banks were not required to have impairments for distressed non-defaulted government bonds held in the banking book on a held-to-maturity basis, they were required to consider provisions and have credit risk parameters of at least an EBA benchmark level for low-rated sovereign debt.
The EBA issued additional guidance, available on its website, which set a floor for banks' assumptions of probabilities of default for sovereign and financial institution exposures so that firms' expected and unexpected losses would increase appropriately in the stress test and that banks made appropriate provisions against these losses.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those with disabilities are protected from discrimination prior to birth.[HL11306]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Under English law a foetus is not recognised as being a separate person from its mother. It has no rights independent of its mother until it is born alive and has an independent existence.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what papers they hold, not including those already released to the National Archives, about Dr Kwame Nkrumah. [HL11205]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): In addition to material already released to the National Archives, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has identified one Colonial Office file on Kwame Nkrumah which is currently retained under Section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) due to the sensitivity of the material it contains. In line with standard practice, this file will be reviewed for release again if requested under the FOIA.
Other records held by the FCO may also contain documents relating to Kwame Nkrumah. These include the records of former colonial administrations which are currently being reviewed for transfer to the National
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA398
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 26 January (WA 958), what further consideration they have made of nominating a main residence for electoral roll purposes.[HL11352]
Lord De Mauley: The Government have no current plans to restrict the right of second home owners who meet the residence requirement to register in two places. We are considering what changes to the registration process might be beneficial in the context of the move to individual electoral registration.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the European Union directive on cross-border competition for defence goods will come into effect.[HL11217]
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to exercise the prerogative of national security in excluding non-United Kingdom companies from defence procurements under Article 346 of the Lisbon Treaty.[HL11218]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): Directive 2009/81/EC-the Defence and Security Directive-will come into force on 21 August 2011.
Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union allows the UK to withhold information, the disclosure of which it considers contrary to the essential interests of UK security. In addition Article 346 allows the UK to take such measures as it considers necessary for the protection of the essential interests of UK security which are connected with the production of or trade in arms, munitions and war material. The application of Article 346 is limited to exceptional and clearly defined cases and has to be interpreted strictly.
It is anticipated that the provisions of Article 346 will be invoked, potentially with the effect of excluding non-UK companies, where the provisions of the directive are unable to adequately protect the security interests of the UK in a particular procurement. These measures may be required where there are particularly demanding security of supply or security of information requirements.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are in negotiations with the Government of Argentina over the future exploitation of any oil deposits that may be found in waters around the Falkland Islands. [HL11181]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): No. Policy on hydrocarbons development within Falkland Islands waters is primarily a matter for the Falkland Islands Government. Argentina has introduced legislation which aims to prevent investment in Falklands' hydrocarbons. However, we remain keen to foster a constructive relationship with Argentina in the South Atlantic, and both we and the Falkland Islands Government have offered to co-operate with Argentina on mutually beneficial South Atlantic issues, including on specific hydrocarbon-related matters.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what communications they have received in the past year from foreign Governments concerning the future of the Falkland Islands.[HL11182]
Lord Howell of Guildford: With the exception of Argentina, this Government have received no communications this past year from foreign Governments on the future of the Falkland Islands, though the issue is often discussed as part of wider bilateral conversations. The Government of Argentina regularly repeat their request for negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. However, the UK has a long-standing position, which we have made consistently clear-including to Argentina-that the UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, and that there will be no negotiations on sovereignty unless or until the Falkland Islanders so wish.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any representations from the Government of the United States about the future of the Falkland Islands.[HL11183]
Lord Howell of Guildford: This Government have received no representations from the US on the future of the Falkland Islands. The US recognises the UK's administration of the Falkland Islands. This Government have continued to make it clear that the UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. We raise our position regularly with the US.
To ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for the issue of licences permitting the exploration for minerals in waters surrounding the Falkland Islands.[HL11184]
Lord Howell of Guildford: Policy on mineral exploration in Falklands waters is primarily a matter for the Falkland Islands Government (FIG): the natural resources of a UK overseas territory belong to that territory. Licences are granted by the FIG, subject to the consent of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last received representations from the United Nations concerning the Falkland Islands.[HL11185]
Lord Howell of Guildford: The United Nations does not make direct representations to the Government over the Falkland Islands. The UN Special Committee on Decolonisation (C24) operates as a subsidiary of the United Nations General Assembly and discusses the Falkland Islands annually, most recently in June 2011. The last time the General Assembly discussed the Falkland Islands was 1988. The last time the United Nations Security Council discussed the Falkland Islands was 1982.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance is given to social workers regarding registration and action in relation to female genital mutilation. [HL11004]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The multi-agency practice guidelines, Female Genital Mutilation (2011), include a chapter of guidance for social workers. The guidance underlines the importance of applying child safeguarding procedures in order to minimise or prevent harm to the child or children. The guidance advises that when there is a referral to children's social care, a strategy meeting should be convened with relevant agencies, in order to agree a plan to protect the child. It is suggested that information should be provided to the family on the risks associated with female genital mutilation (FGM) and that securing parental consent for any action plan is desirable. If a girl faces the immediate risk of undergoing female genital mutilation then an emergency protection order can be obtained. The guidelines advise that a girl who has already undergone FGM should not be on the child protection register-unless other child protection concerns exist. The web link is www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_124588.pdf.
Working Together to Safeguard Children-A Guide to Inter-agency Working to Safeguard and Promote the Welfare of Children also contains a section on FGM, aimed at all health professionals working directly with children and young people. The web link is: www. education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/DCSF-00305-2010.
The joined-up approach that this coalition Government have taken to tackle FGM has been successful in drawing together, co-ordinating and driving work from the Home Office, Foreign Office, Department for Education and Department of Health. By looking beyond traditional departmental silos, we have made significant progress in raising awareness of FGM and supporting professionals to intervene.
We have an ambitious action plan for 2011-12 to prevent and tackle FGM, co-ordinated across all relevant government departments. We have also reached out to work with a range of charities and civil society partners that are active in this area. Their wealth of experience has been crucial in shaping our work.
Communications about FGM are key to bringing the issue to more people's attention. More than 40,000 leaflets and 40,000 posters have been circulated to schools, health services, charities and community groups around the country-this is not an end in itself but a crucial foundation on which to build.
The new multi-agency practice guidelines launched in February 2011 are a key step in ensuring that professionals are able and confident to intervene to protect girls at risk.
There have been some successful initiatives from the police too-the Metropolitan Police's Project Azure's work at Heathrow to speak to families potentially taking the girls overseas for FGM has strengthened our last line of defence for these girls.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact the cuts in police funding will have on police activities to combat female genital mutilation.[HL11476]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): Female genital mutilation is an illegal and abhorrent practice which is totally unacceptable in our society. The Government have made a clear commitment to tackling this form of violence in our action plan to end violence against women and girls. The allocation of resources by individual police forces is an operational matter which must be decided locally. However, we expect police forces to follow the strong lead which the Government have shown and make sufficient resources available to provide the level of support needed in their areas.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they anticipate receiving the report from the group on high frequency share trading established in September 2010; and how many times Ministers have met with members of the group since it was established. [HL11260]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Foresight Project "Future of Computer Trading in Financial Markets" was officially launched on 23 November 2010. Foresight reports directly to
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA402
The project is exploring how computer-generated trading in financial markets might evolve in the next 10 years and is considering options for addressing the key challenges and opportunities that may arise. A final report will be produced and made publicly available in autumn 2012. However, interim findings may be released sooner, if appropriate.
The project's High-Level Stakeholder Group is chaired by Mark Hoban MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury. It met for the first time on 18 July 2011.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the Financial Services Authority is taking to return funding to British investors following the case of United States v Michael Geraud in the southern district of Florida; and whether it has been in contact with all the United Kingdom citizens concerned.[HL11468]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): As this is a prosecution by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it is formally the role of the SEC to return any funds recovered to UK victims. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) understands that the SEC intends to return any funds directly to investors.
Based on information supplied by the SEC, the FSA has contacted the relevant UK investors in order to enhance its understanding of how to prevent further share sale fraud. It is possible that there are further investors who have not been identified by the investigators.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the steps taken by the Financial Services Authority to regulate the market in stock and share lending; and what actions have been taken to ensure that beneficial owners of lent securities are aware of the repurchase agreement nature of the underlying transaction.[HL11259]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Work carried out by the Financial Services Authority in 2009 concluded that there were deficiencies in the understanding of some market participants, particularly trustees, about the consequences of stock being lent and the potential risks that might arise from this activity. As a result, the Stock Lending and Repo Committee, chaired by the Bank of England, agreed that further guidance material should be developed to improve overall levels of understanding among market
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA403
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the accountability of the Financial Services Authority, and its successors, in cases where regulatory defects or mistakes lead to claims against the Financial Services Compensation Scheme that result in significant payments to the scheme by authorised firms above their annual levy.[HL11312]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): There are a number of mechanisms by which the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is held to account for the effectiveness of its regulation, including in cases where a call has been made on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme:
it is required to make an annual report to the Treasury, which is laid before Parliament, on how the regulator has discharged its functions and met its regulatory objectives;the chairman and other senior directors make regular appearances before the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee;complaints against the FSA may be investigated by an independent complaints commissioner, whose findings are published;there is scope for judicial review of regulatory decisions; andthe Treasury has a power to order an independent inquiry, carried out by a third party, into regulatory failure.As set out in the Government's White Paper, A new approach to financial regulation: the blueprint for reform, published in June 2011, these measures will apply to the successors to the FSA: the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In addition, there will be a new requirement on the PRA and FCA to make a report to the Treasury on where there may have been regulatory failure, which will be laid before Parliament.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what lessons they have learnt from the Keydata failure; and how they will ensure that those financial firms which undertake their business responsibly are not penalised under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. [HL11139]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Government's proposals to reform the financial regulatory system-set out in the White Paper published on 19 June 2011-will secure better outcomes for consumers. The establishment of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a strong and focused conduct regulator with tailored objectives and targeted powers will allow for a tougher and more proactive approach to conduct regulation, supported by greater transparency and accountability. The proposals build on the evidence of a range of failings in the current regime for conduct regulation of financial services.
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has a number of statutory responsibilities in relation to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). As the rule-making body for FSCS funding, the FSA has commenced a review of the funding model of the FSCS. It will proceed to a formal public consultation once discussions on European directives affecting compensation arrangements have been concluded. The successor regulatory authorities to the FSA, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the FCA, will take over the FSA's responsibilities with respect to the FSCS.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering making changes to the operation of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, and in particular how it will operate, be managed and relate to UK regulatory authorities once the Financial Services Authority has passed on its responsibilities to successor organisations.[HL11140]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.[HL11427]
Lord Sassoon: The Government published a White Paper, A new approach to financial regulation: the blueprint for reform, in June 2011. This sets out a number of proposed changes relating to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the context of reform of the framework for financial regulation.
Under these proposals, the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority (the successor regulatory authorities to the Financial Services Authority (FSA)) will take over the FSA's current functions and responsibilities with respect to the FSCS. They will have joint responsibility for oversight of the FSCS, including ensuring that the FSCS is capable of exercising its statutory functions and for appointing the FSCS board.
Responsibility for making the rules which constitute the compensation scheme, including rules relating to the administration of compensation and levying authorised persons, will be shared between the two new regulators. The scope of these rule-making powers will be set out in secondary legislation. In order to increase the transparency and accountability of the FSCS, the FSCS will be subject to audit by the National Audit Office.
The regulators will be under an obligation to consult each other when making rules for the compensation scheme and they will be required to set out in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) how they will
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA405
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect that the Home Office Firearms Forms Working Group will report and make recommendations to Ministers.[HL11388]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): The work of the Home Office Firearms Forms Working Group is still continuing with evidence and views being sought and discussed. Its aim is to improve the forms used, thereby reducing bureaucracy for the police and increasing efficiency. It is intended that this will be achieved later this year.
Asked by Baroness Gardner of Parkes
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 26 April (WA 47), whether they are now able to answer the question whether the pattern of general health in Birmingham differs from other parts of the United Kingdom.[HL11441]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): No differences have been identified between the general health of the population of Birmingham and other areas of a similar social and economic profile in which the fluoride content has not been adjusted.
Asked by Baroness Gardner of Parkes
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to dental health what is the decayed/missing/filled rate for Manchester; how this compares with Birmingham; and to what extent any difference is attributable to the fluoridation of water in Birmingham.[HL11442]
Earl Howe: The NHS Dental Epidemiology Programme for England Oral Health Survey of12 Year-Old Children 2008/2009 shows that the average number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) of 12 year-old children in the area of Birmingham primary care trust (PCT) was 0.61 compared to a DMFT of 2.13 for Manchester PCT. There is no plausible explanation for the more favourable position of Birmingham other than the fluoridation of its water supply.
The full results of the survey are available at: www.nwph.net/dentalhealth/. The table from the survey that includes the above data has been placed in the Library.
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the current revelations concerning phone hacking, the elapse of time involved and his medical condition, whether they will review their decision to extradite Gary McKinnon.[HL11397]
Baroness Verma: As the noble Lord is aware, the only issue which the Home Secretary must now determine in this case is whether Mr McKinnon's extradition to the US would be compatible with his human rights.
To aid her assessment of this issue, the Home Secretary agreed to receive up-to-date representations from Mr McKinnon's solicitors. These are under consideration.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Economics of organic farming 2009/10 to 2010/11"; and for what reasons.[HL11196]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley): All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg, costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, et cetera).
A contract variation for project "0F0373: Economics of Organic Farming" was agreed by the department for an extension of the end date from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2012, and an increase of the project budget from £252,158 to £322,127.
The purpose of the extension was to analyse data for two additional years (2009-10 and 2010-11) and carry out a more in-depth analysis of farm finances. This was to provide the department with robust farm business information following the economic downturn.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Control and risk management of honey bee pests and diseases"; and for what reasons. [HL11293]
Lord Henley: The project "Control and risk management of honey bee pests and diseases" (PH0506) is being carried out by the National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Food and Environment Research Agency. The three-year project was commissioned in 2009 and had four modules covering research on pests and diseases in support of bee health policy. In 2010 a variation to the project was agreed to include a module
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA407
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Multiplex approaches for biochemical TSE strain characterisation and differentiation"; and for what reasons.[HL11294]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
The project titled "Multiplex approaches for biochemical TSE strain characterisation and differentiation" was designed to develop methods to characterise and differentiate between TSE strains. Results from the project indicated additional work would provide useful information on the effectiveness of the methodology for atypical TSE strains and so a contract variation was agreed.
The variation to the contract resulted in an extended end-date and an increase of £19,000 to the total cost of the project to the department.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Modelling of tropospheric ozone"; and for what reasons.[HL11295]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
In December 2010 the Defra contract "Modelling of Tropospheric Ozone" was amended to include £3,175 of additional work. Additional work was required to allow the setting up of a new data delivery system for meteorological data following modifications to the UK Met Office Unified Model.
In March 2011 the Defra contract "Modelling of Tropospheric Ozone" was amended to include £14,718 of additional work. This was to make provisions in the contract to carry out 11 additional ozone modelling runs with the Ozone Source-Receptor Model to support Defra's ozone policy development, including revision of the Gothenburg Protocol.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "The impact of shortened rotations on rhizosphere microbial diversity"; and for what reasons.[HL11296]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
The project IF0128: "The impact of shortened rotations on rhizosphere microbial diversity" was extended for a further 122 days at a cost of £30,065.
The reason for the agreed change was to enable the research group to investigate the impact of an extended crop rotation interval on fungal communities in the rhizosphere of oilseed rape in relation to yield decline. The research has already shown significant reductions in oilseed rape yield when it is grown more frequently in rotation, and this year will demonstrate whether a longer gap between oilseed rape crops can restore yields.
Specifically, the extended time and cost would be used to (i) collect and process field samples from the final year of The Arable Group field trials on arable rotations, (ii) extract DNA from samples and use molecular techniques (Polymerase Chain Reaction-Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) to characterise the rhizosphere fungal communities of oilseed rape grown in extended rotations, and (iii) use molecular techniques (quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction) to quantify the levels of specific fungi in the rhizosphere community to determine whether they are related to reduced yields observed with more frequent cropping.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Unlocking the potential of community composting"; and for what reasons.[HL11297]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
In this particular instance a first variation was arranged to cover substantial revisions to the project report and annexes following review, for an additional cost of £900.
A second variation was arranged to extend the end-date to 23 March 2010 to take into account the final detail of the "Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010" in the report. There was no cost associated with this second variation.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project Further Development of Guidance on Aged Sorption on Pesticides in Soil; and for what reasons. [HL11298]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) project Further Development of Guidance on Aged Sorption on Pesticides in Soil will contribute to the development of EU guidance on the interpretation of data on aged soils as part of the risk assessment for pesticides. Fera has been granted an extension to the deadline for completion of the project to allow analysis of more data than was originally planned. The project will now finish at the end of September 2011.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Studies on the environmental persistence of TSE infectivity"; and for what reasons.[HL11339]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
A contract variation was agreed by the department for the project titled "Studies on the environmental persistence of TSE infectivity" to enable verification of the results and to provide additional value to the department by inclusion of a newly developed test.
The variation to the contract resulted in an extended end-date and an increase of £237,976 to the total cost of the project to the department.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Studies on environmental scrapie strains re-isolated in sheep"; and for what reasons. [HL11340]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
The department does not fund a project titled "Studies on environmental scrapie strains re-isolated in sheep". However, it does fund a project titled "Studies on murine scrapie strains re-isolated in sheep". For this
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA410
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Review of Transboundary air pollution (RoTAP)"; and for what reasons.[HL11341]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
The "Review of Transboundary air pollution" contract was amended to extend the end-date to allow the contractor more time to complete a report. The value of the contract was not changed.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Maintenance and scientific curation of the national fruit collection"; and for what reasons. [HL11342]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
The project titled "The long term maintenance and Scientific Curation of the National Fruit Collection" was initiated to efficiently and effectively conserve the genetic resources of the National Fruit Collection to meet the UK's national and international obligations.
As a variation to the contract, the department agreed to make an additional payment of £30,998.40 in 2010-11 towards costs associated with propagation.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Scenario Development for future waste policy"; and for what reasons.[HL11343]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
The variations to the contract for the project "Scenario Development for future waste policy" were due to:
a decision to increase the amount of stakeholder involvement and consultation through workshops necessitated an increase in the number of personnelAsked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 21 June (WA 279), what was the variation agreed in the project "Investigation of sheep to sheep passage on the BSE strain phenotype"; and for what reasons. [HL11344]
Lord Henley: All Defra evidence contracts are closely monitored by Defra specialists working with policy colleagues. Contract variations are required if there are significant changes to any of the details in the original agreement (eg costs, required outputs, timetable, research team, etc).
A contract variation was agreed by the department for the project titled "Investigation of sheep to sheep passage on the BSE strain phenotype" to re-profile the finances of the project following delays to the work.
The variation to the contract resulted in a decrease of £42,403 to the total cost of the project to the department, and had no effect on the end-date.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 20 July (HL11081), what data they collate on the proportion of the workforces based in the United Kingdom of the top 20 United Kingdom-based multinationals specified in the Financial Times Global 500. [HL11422]
Lord De Mauley: As was the case under the last Government, the relevant data which are collected by the Office for National Statistics are collected subject to non-disclosure agreement.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how often and in what circumstances is the website of the Department for Education updated.[HL11156]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The website has multiple updates every working day, and outside working hours if necessary (for example, if a press release is issued at
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA412
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the present policy for Cabinet collective responsibility.[HL10999]
Baroness Garden of Frognal: Section 2 of the Ministerial Code, which was published in May 2010, sets out the position on collective responsibility. Collective responsibility is also covered in part 2 of the Coalition Agreement for Stability and Reform, which was also published in May 2010.
Asked by Lord Morris of Manchester
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that people with cancer continue to receive critical financial support for as long as their disability or long-term condition limits their ability to work.[HL11309]
Asked by Lord Morris of Manchester
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to end the current system whereby the type of cancer treatment someone receives affects how they are treated in the welfare system.[HL11311]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): The department has carefully considered the position of people with a range of serious and life threatening illnesses-including cancer-in relation to the benefit system.
It is important to treat people as individuals and assess them based on their individual needs rather than labelling them because of their condition. Cancer and its associated treatments will affect different people in different ways, and so it should not automatically be regarded as a barrier to work. While many individuals are unable to work, others can and do want to work, often with the full and engaged support of their employer. Indeed, there is evidence of the therapeutic importance of work for many cancer sufferers.
Anyone who has cancer and is terminally ill is automatically placed in the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) support group, as are people with cancer who are receiving certain kinds of chemotherapy treatment. The support group is intended for those people with the most severe disabilities or health conditions, who are the least likely to move into work.
Following an internal review the department has recently made changes to the work capability assessment so that more individuals undergoing certain chemotherapy
11 Aug 2011 : Column WA413
Claimants in the support group are paid a higher rate of benefit, are not subject to work conditionality and will not be affected by our proposal currently before Parliament to introduce a one-year time limit for people claiming contributory ESA and who are placed in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG).
People with cancer who are receiving contributory ESA and have been placed in the WRAG will be subject to time-limiting. However, those with lower incomes may be able to receive income-related ESA after their contributory ESA entitlement ends. Other benefits such as housing benefit and disability living allowance may also be available. There will always be a safety net available for those who are unable to support themselves because of longer-term health conditions such as cancer.
Finally, Professor Harrington is also reviewing the full work capability assessment process to see if it can be further improved for cancer patients. We have recently received his recommendations and are in the process of reviewing them. We will come forward with proposals shortly.
Asked by Lord Morris of Manchester
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that people with cancer can apply for financial support to help with the extra costs of being disabled as soon as their support needs arise.[HL11310]
Lord Freud: Disability Living Allowance is designed to provide a contribution towards the disability-related costs of severely disabled people with long-term disabilities. The required period conditions in Disability Living Allowance are essential in determining whether the needs arising from disability are likely to be of a long-standing nature and ensure that the benefit goes only to those for whom it is intended.
The special rules provision in Disability Living Allowance enables claims from terminally ill people, including those with cancer, to be dealt with quickly and sensitively. These fast-track arrangements recognise the particular challenges faced by terminally ill people who have a short time to live and ensure that these individuals are automatically awarded the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance without having to serve the usual required period conditions.
We intend to maintain the special rules provision in Personal Independence Payment ensuring that terminally ill people continue to receive valuable financial support through automatic and immediate payment of the enhanced rate of the daily living component.
Asked by Lord Morris of Manchester
To ask Her Majesty's Government why NHS patients infected with HIV by NHS contaminated blood products are excluded from applying to the Caxton Foundation for help.[HL11362]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The Caxton Foundation was set up in order to provide discretionary payments to individuals who had been infected with hepatitis C by contaminated National Health Service-supplied blood and blood products, and their widows, dependants and other relatives.
The Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts make similar payments in respect of individuals infected with HIV, and their families. Any individual who is co-infected with hepatitis C and HIV as a result of NHS treatment with blood products or blood transfusion will be able to apply for discretionary funding in respect of both infections. Applications in respect of co-infection will be considered and funded by the relevant HIV trust.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 7 July (WA 99-100), why the Department for Work and Pensions no longer has records of the healthcare costs survey questionnaires sent to United Kingdom pensioners in the Republic of Ireland in relation to the numbers returned, rechecked and the number of pensions stopped or suspended as a result; when they were issued and received back by the Department for Work and Pensions; when they were destroyed and under whose authority; and what were the statistical results of the survey.[HL11035]
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 4 July (WA 10), how many state pensioners for each country have payments made to an address in the United Kingdom; and whether those figures could be used to base United Kingdom claims to other European Union countries for healthcare and social security costs under European regulations for European Union pensioner citizens and their dependants in the United Kingdom.[HL11158]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): I am unable to provide the number of state pensioners from each member state of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland who are currently having payments made to an address in the United Kingdom. This is because we do not hold this information.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 12 July (WA 161), why the returned Pension Service healthcare costs questionnaires sent to United Kingdom pensioners in the Republic of Ireland were not retained; who authorised their disposal; when this was done; what statistics were drawn from the questionnaires returned; and why those questions to establish where individuals may have been in receipt of both a United Kingdom and an Irish pension were asked if the returned data were not counted.[HL11281]
Lord Freud: The triennial survey commenced in April 2008 and was completed July 2008. The International Pension Centre (IPC) sampled 5 per cent of UK customers resident in Ireland for analysis. Of this sample IPC wrote to 1.5 per cent (1,500) pensioners and asked them to provide details of the periods they had worked in Ireland to establish whether there was also entitlement to a qualifying Irish pension. The IPC received 1,434 responses (95.6 per cent). The IPC carried out further checks for the 4.4 per cent non-respondents, but did not separately record information on the number of pensions stopped or suspended as a result.
Analysis of the results helped inform negotiations between the United Kingdom and Ireland, with the United Kingdom agreeing 40 per cent liability for healthcare costs.
In line with standard data protection principles, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) only retains personal information for as long as needed under the terms on which it was collected. The DWP had no relevant reason to retain the personal information provided by the sample respondents once the analysis had been completed and the data were securely destroyed in 2010, in accordance with the DWP data retention policy for analytical, research and business management data.
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 11 July (WA 134-5) concerning the monitoring of imported surgical equipment, how many allegations of non-compliance have been brought to their attention in each of the last 10 years; and what followed from each allegation.[HL11335]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The number of allegations of non-compliance with the requirements of the medical devices regulations 2002 (as amended) received by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in relation to surgical instruments over the last 10 years is as follows:
1. The above figures relate to all allegations of non-compliance received for surgical instruments, not just those imported into the United Kingdom.
All such allegations were assessed and appropriate action taken to resolve any breaches of the regulations identified. Alleged breaches ranged from failing to CE mark altogether through to labelling and registration issues but in nearly 20 per cent of cases no non-compliances were found. All cases were resolved with, where appropriate, the manufacturer taking the necessary steps to address the problems identified and there was no need to take more formal enforcement action. Under legal confidentiality requirements, the MHRA is unable to release details of individual investigations.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the board of directors of HM Treasury last met; and when it last met with all independent directors present.[HL11351]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Executive and non-executive directors of the Treasury meet quarterly as the departmental board. The last meeting took place on 16 June 2011. All members were present at that meeting.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of claimants in Tower Hamlets affected by the move to set local housing allowance rates at the 30th percentile rather than the median of local market rents.[HL11263]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): It is estimated that approximately 1,900 housing benefit claimants in Tower Hamlets will be affected by the change in local housing allowance rates from the median to the 30th percentile of local market rents. The impacts of local housing allowance reforms introduced this year were published on the DWP website under the title Impacts of Housing Benefit Proposals: Changes to the Local Housing Allowance to be Introduced in 2011-12.
Customers who were receiving housing benefit according to local housing allowance rules before 1 April 2011 will receive up to nine months' transitional protection from the date their claim is reviewed by the local authority, allowing them more time to adjust to the changes.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average loss per claimant in Tower Hamlets of those affected by the move to set local housing allowance rates at the 30th percentile rather than the median of local market rents. [HL11264]
Lord Freud: Of housing benefit claimants in Tower Hamlets whose awards are reduced by the change in local housing allowance rates from the median to the 30th percentile of local market rents, the average loss is estimated at: £23 for those entitled to one bedroom; £33 for those entitled to two bedrooms; £33 for those entitled to three bedrooms; and £29 for those entitled to four bedrooms. The impacts of local housing allowance reforms introduced this year were published on the DWP website under the title Impacts of Housing Benefit proposals: Changes to the Local Housing Allowance to be introduced in 2011-12.
Customers who were receiving housing benefit according to local housing allowance rules before 1 April 2011 will receive up to nine months' transitional protection from the date their claim is reviewed by the local authority, allowing them more time to adjust to the changes.
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government with which voluntary immigrant advice centres they are in continuous contact.[HL11276]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): There is no single list of government contacts with voluntary immigration advice services.
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government to which voluntary immigrant advice organisations they give funding.[HL11277]
Baroness Browning: In the current financial year, the UK Border Agency has provided funding to the following voluntary organisations which provide advice and support to migrants:
Refugee Council of Great Britain
Metropolitan Support Trust (East Midlands).
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they give to each voluntary immigrant advice centre which receives government funding.[HL11278]
Baroness Browning: The UK Border Agency provides funding to a number of voluntary organisations which provide advice to migrants among their services. However, it is for each organisation to decide how the funding is allocated, within the parameters laid down by the agency. Therefore, the agency does not allocate funding to specific advice centres. This information may be available directly from the organisations concerned.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of border controls between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in processing legitimate crossings; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the border does not provide an illegal port of entry into the United Kingdom.[HL11365]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): The UK Government believe that free movement for those who are lawfully present within the common travel area (CTA) provides important economic and social benefits to the UK. None the less, we are committed to preventing abuse. The chief inspector of the UK Border Agency recently assessed our controls for the common travel area. Building on his recommendations, we are working to improve controls within the UK and our joint working with Ireland to counter the threat of illegal immigration and organised immigration crime within the CTA. The UK Border Agency (UKBA), UK police and the Garda Siochana in Ireland run intelligence-led operations to reduce threats from within the CTA by conducting checks to establish individuals' entitlement to the provisions of the CTA.
We are also working together with Ireland to prevent abuse of the CTA by strengthening the external CTA border through developing common standards and systems for entry into the CTA.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of proposals that voting rights of individual countries at the International Monetary Fund should reflect (a) countries' share of global gross domestic product; (b) countries' share of the world's currency reserves; or (c) the historic disposition of economic power.[HL11261]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a quota-based institution. The IMF assigns each member country a quota share, based on a formula. A member's quota largely determines its voting power in IMF decisions. The current quota formula is a weighted average of gross domestic product (50 per cent), openness (30 per cent), economic variability (15 per cent) and international reserves (5 per cent). This information and more details on quota shares and voting rights can be found on the IMF website at http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/quotas.htm.
In November 2010, the G20 agreed a package of far-reaching reforms of the fund's quotas and governance. Once the reform package is approved by member countries and is implemented, it will result in a major realignment of quota shares to reflect better the changing
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The G20 has also agreed to complete the next comprehensive review of the current quota formula by January 2013. The aim of this review will be to continue the dynamic process, aimed at enhancing the voice and representation of emerging markets and developing countries by better reflecting their economic weight in the global economy. The UK strongly supports this and, as an influential member of the IMF, will take a leading role in working with other member countries.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will ensure that consumers who cannot receive superfast broadband will be offered broadband by some alternative technology if Ofcom does not include a 99 per cent population coverage obligation in one of the forthcoming 4G spectrum licences to be awarded next year.[HL11221]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate has been made of the proportion of the population of Cumbria who will have access to (a) conventional fixed, (b) superfast, (c) wireless, and (d) satellite broadband services, by 2015.[HL11222]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the United Kingdom population will have access to (a) conventional fixed, (b) superfast, (c) wireless, and (d) satellite, broadband services by 2015. [HL11226]
Lord De Mauley: The Government's broadband strategy Britain's Superfast Broadband Future published in December 2010 stated that "the UK's ambition is to have the best superfast broadband network and connected society in Europe by 2015". The Government's ambition is that 90 per cent of all premises in the UK will have access to superfast broadband and that a fibre connection would be provided, from which at least a minimum standard broadband service would be available, to virtually all communities by 2015. All premises in the UK would have access to the minimum standard broadband service, which it is anticipated will be provided by a mixed technology solution, by 2015. The technology split would be dependent on the chosen solution, from supplier proposals, under the respective procurements that will be carried out by the local procuring authority.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Ofcom about introducing a coverage obligation of (a) 98 per cent, and (b) 99 per cent, for the forthcoming auction of 4G spectrum licences.[HL11223]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had on introducing a coverage obligation of (a) 98 per cent, and (b) 99 per cent, for each separate nation in the forthcoming auction of 4G spectrum licences.[HL11224]
Lord De Mauley: Following the direction to Ofcom in December 2010,the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries has not discussed coverage obligations with Ofcom or the devolved Administrations. The design of the auction is a matter for Ofcom, including coverage obligations, and in Ofcom's recent consultation it sought evidence to support a higher coverage obligation than the proposed 95 per cent level.
To ask Her Majesty's Government when 4G wireless broadband minimum target speeds of at least two megabits per second will be available to consumers who are not to be offered superfast broadband under Ofcom's current spectrum criteria. [HL11225]
Lord De Mauley: Ofcom's current coverage proposal for the combined auction includes providing a service of not less than 2 megabits per second (Mbps) to an area where 95 per cent of the population lives. It is the Government's stated aim to ensure that broadband for all would be available at 2 Mbps by 2015. We have not specified which technologies would deliver that, as it is likely that a mix of different technologies including fixed, wireless broadband (both 3G and 4G) and satellite solutions will be required, with the precise mix depending on local factors such as topography and demographics.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the raid on Camp Ashraf in April 2011 by Iraqi security forces.[HL11328]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Alistair Burt, released a statement deploring the loss of life following the events of 8 April, as did the EU and UN. Our ambassador in Baghdad and other senior officials have expressed our concerns to the Iraqi Prime Minister, President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We have called on the Iraqi Government to refrain from violent operations in Camp Ashraf and have requested that the circumstances of the incident are investigated. Along with the UN and other international partners, we continue to monitor events at the camp. We encourage all sides to engage in a peaceful and constructive dialogue to reach a lasting solution over the future of Camp Ashraf.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Israel's passing of the boycott law and its impact on freedom of speech.[HL11325]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): We are aware that the Israeli Knesset has passed a boycotts law. We are concerned by the boycotts law, which infringes on legitimate freedom of expression and runs counter to Israel's strong tradition of free and vigorous political debate. We understand that the law will be challenged in Israel's courts.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of British participants in the "Flytilla" by Israeli authorities; and what discussions they had with the Government of Israel preventing participants from leaving the United Kingdom.[HL11326]
Lord Howell of Guildford: Twelve British nationals were detained on 8 July at Ben Gurion Airport. All have now travelled back to the UK without charge. The legal basis for their detention is a matter for the Israeli authorities, and for those who were detained to follow up with their lawyers. However, our travel advice makes clear that travellers to the Occupied Palestinian Territories may face difficulties on arrival. The British nationals concerned were visited four times by consular staff, including a visit by our ambassador. Our ambassador was in repeated contact with the Israeli Government at a senior level to facilitate their return to the UK as quickly as possible, and his team were in frequent communication with the Israelis to raise and resolve issues at the working level. We will follow up any allegations of mistreatment with the Israeli authorities.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations report into the killing of Palestinian protesters on Nakba day on the border between Israel and Lebanon. [HL11053]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): We are aware of the United Nations report into the Nakba Day protests and have studied it carefully. We recognise Israel's important security needs but consistently underline the need for a proportionate response avoiding civilian casualties. I refer the noble Baroness to the Statement that my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary made on 15 May, "I am deeply concerned by the violence on Israel's borders today and saddened by the loss of life. I call on all parties to exercise restraint and
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