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28 Nov 2011 : Column WA1
Written Answers
Monday 28 November 2011
Abortion
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 9 November (WA 52), how they ensure that requests for abortions in the United Kingdom are not being made for reasons of sex selection.[HL13511]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): It is illegal in Great Britain to abort a foetus based on its sex alone, and we have no evidence that this is happening. A woman's individual reason for seeking an abortion will form part of the assessment undertaken by two doctors to ensure that she has grounds for an abortion as set out in the Abortion Act 1967.
The sex of an unborn child might be a legitimate factor if, in a practitioner's judgment, an abortion in a particular case is justified on the medical grounds specified in the Abortion Act, for example in sex-linked inherited conditions.
Alcohol
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children in the United Kingdom live with parents who misuse alcohol; and what action they are taking to tackle this issue.[HL13514]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The Government do not have information on the total number of children who live with parents who misuse alcohol. However, data from the National Alcohol Treatment Monitoring Service show that in 2009-10, 30 per cent (around 33,000) of adults who are undergoing treatment also have parental responsibility.
Nationally, a new Troubled Families Unit at CLG will lead a campaign to turn around the 120,000 most troubled families. Part of the campaign will be to promote the development of community budgets, which enable local public service partners to pool their resources and work together to support families with complex needs as they see fit through intensive intervention approaches. Details of the campaign will be made public in December or early in the new year.
A cross-government alcohol strategy will be published shortly. The strategy document will address the full range of harm from alcohol (both health and social impacts) and set out each department's commitments and actions.
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA2
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the number of alcohol-related admissions to hospital in financial year 2010-11; and what is their estimate of the cost of treating the patients concerned. [HL13546]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Provisional figures show that there were an estimated 1.17 million alcohol-related admissions to hospital in 2010-11. The estimate of the number of admissions of patients with an alcohol-related condition is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory.
An estimate of the cost of treating these patients for 2010-11 is not available; however, the report The Cost of Alcohol Harm to the NHS in England, published in 2008 by the department, estimates the cost of alcohol-related admissions to be £1,190 million in 2006-07 prices.
BBC: World Service Trust
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Department for International Development has made a grant of £90 million to the BBC World Service Trust; what proportion of the trust's income this grant represents; how they have assessed the cost-effectiveness of this grant; and whether they will place copies of the grant application correspondence in the Library of the House.[HL13438]
Baroness Northover: The Department for International Development has made a grant of £90 million to the BBC World Service (WST) in order to increase the scale of its impact on governance, health and humanitarian results. The grant will reach some 200 million people, across 14 countries, most of them fragile, in order to:
improve democratic governance by enhancing political accountability and reducing the risk of conflict;improve the health of people living in poverty, particularly maternal and child health;improve communities' ability to cope with humanitarian crises; andbuild a stronger evidence base by making sure that the results from the investment are closely monitored and are used to improve the effectiveness of aid spent on support to media and communication.The grant builds on development results already being achieved and delivered effectively by BBC WST. It puts the relationship on a longer-term, more strategic basis so as to increase global reach and impact. It increases efficiency by bringing together existing programmes funded by DfID in one place, and builds on the BBC WST proven track record of contributing to governance, health and humanitarian results through media.
The grant represents one-third of the BBC WST's projected income over the life of the grant and will not exceed 40 per cent in any one year.
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA3
The strategic grant was deemed to represent good value for money and be a cost-effective way of reaching a large number of people. The cost-effectiveness was assessed in a number of ways, including looking at the cost per person reached which is £0.45, and the cost of staff time to administer the grant, which compares favourably to the cost of managing multiple grants.
The business case for the grant will be published on the DfID website.
Benefits
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Department For Work and Pensions (DWP) will commission work to bring up to date the research conducted on their behalf by Gordon Hay at the University of Glasgow, and Linda Bauld at the University of Bath, reported in DWP Working Paper No 94, showing that around 160,000 dependent drinkers in England were in receipt of one or more of DWP's four main benefits in 2008; and whether they will make it a condition of receiving benefits that persons dependent on alcohol should seek treatment.[HL13548]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): There are currently no plans to commission further research into the prevalence of alcohol dependence among benefit recipients.
The Welfare Reform Bill, which is currently in Grand Committee, will repeal legislation that would have required benefit claimants suspected of drug or alcohol misuse to attend substance-related assessments, submit to compulsory testing and adhere to mandatory rehabilitation plans.
Evidence suggests that coercing those with substance dependency into treatment is unlikely to be effective. We will, instead, foster closer working between jobcentres and treatment providers to encourage more people to address their addiction and move back into the labour market.
Burma
Questions
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Burma about reports of violations of human rights in Kachin State.[HL13412]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): The Government are deeply concerned about the fighting that continues in Kachin State, and the resulting displacement of tens of thousands of people, as well as the credible reports of human rights abuses taking place.
We have frequently raised our concerns about the situation in ethnic regions and pressed for the authorities to make serious efforts towards national reconciliation. Most recently during his visit to Burma on 15 to
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA4
We have also continued to press for reform through the United Nations (UN). We helped to secure a resolution reflecting our concerns in the UN General Assembly in November, with specific reference to Kachin State. This was passed with a record majority.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Burma about reports of attacks by soldiers of the Burmese Army on the Assemblies of God church in Muk Chyik village, Wai Maw Township, Kachin State, on 6 November.[HL13413]
Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government are deeply concerned by reports documenting violations of human rights by the Burmese military, including around freedom of religion, in Kachin State. We condemn all instances where individuals face persecution or discrimination in Burma because of their faith or belief.
We have raised our concerns over religious and ethnic persecution directly with the Burmese Government. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right honourable friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell), raised this issue during his visit to Burma on 15 to 17 November, with the President, Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo, the Speaker of the Lower House and other senior Ministers. Our Deputy Head of Mission in Rangoon accompanied the former Archbishop of Canterbury, the right reverend Prelate Lord Carey, to a meeting with the Burmese Minister of Religious Affairs on 19 November and specifically raised the question of religious freedoms and the restrictions placed on Christians in Kachin State. Our ambassador to Rangoon discussed freedom of religion with the Burmese Human Rights Commission in November.
We have also continued to press for reform through the United Nations (UN). We helped to secure a resolution reflecting our concerns in the UN General Assembly in November, with specific reference to Kachin State. This was passed with a record majority.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Burma about an order issued on 14 October in Phakant Township, Kachin State, requiring Christians to submit a request for permission whenever they wish to engage in acts of religious devotion; and whether they will make representations to the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief to seek an invitation to visit Burma to
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA5
Lord Howell of Guildford: The Government condemn all instances where individuals face persecution or discrimination in Burma because of their faith or belief. We raise our concerns over religious and ethnic persecution directly with the Burmese regime and with the international community. Our deputy head of mission in Rangoon accompanied the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, to a meeting with the Burmese Minister of Religious Affairs on 19 November, and specifically raised the question of religious freedoms and the restrictions placed on Christians in Kachin State. Our ambassador in Rangoon also raised this issue with the Burmese Human Rights Commission in November.
The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion requested permission to visit Burma in 2007. He sent a reminder letter in April 2008, but as yet the Burmese Government have not responded. The Government extend an open invitation to all UN Special Rapporteurs and encourage the Government of Burma to do the same.
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to address the situation of internally displaced Kachin people along the China-Burma border; and what steps they will take to increase funding to the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and internally displaced peoples along the Thailand-Burma border.[HL13415]
Baroness Northover: During my visit to Burma on 15 to 17 November 2011, I pressed President Thein Sein and senior Burmese Ministers to move urgently towards greater political reform, including a full release of political prisoners, continued progress in their dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, free and fair elections, a resolution to the ethnic conflicts in Burma, and improved humanitarian access to people affected by conflict in the border areas. I also had very positive discussions with Aung San Suu Kyi, representatives of ethnic groups and other political figures, and I visited a monastic school supported by British aid.
Department for International Development (DfID) staff have been closely monitoring the humanitarian situation in Kachin State following the outbreak of conflict earlier this year. They are in contact with a number of organisations working in the affected areas, both from inside Burma and from across the border in China. DfID has agreed that funding through the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a humanitarian non-governmental organisation already working in the area may be used to assist displaced people in Kachin State.
DfID is in the process of reviewing its previous three years' assistance to refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) along the Thailand-Burma border. This will include a full review of results achieved so far, how effective we have been at meeting programme
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA6
Care Services: Social Work
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their plans for the future of the Newly Qualified Social Worker scheme, and for an assisted and supported year in employment for newly qualified social working.[HL13591]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The Department of Health and Department for Education currently provide funding to Skills for Care and the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) respectively to run Newly Qualified Social Worker programmes for adult and children's services.
The Social Work Reform Board is developing proposals for an Assessed and Supported Year in Employment, building on the existing Newly Qualified Social Worker programmes run by Skills for Care and the CWDC.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 14 November (WA 104), on what scientific basis he states that the majority of claimants with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis do not exhibit complex nervous system signs.[HL13526]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): While individuals with CFS/ME may have a variety of neurological symptoms, to date there are no known physical signs that are indicative of CFS/ME. As the NICE guidelines on CFS/ME state: "At present, there are no physical signs that identify CFS/ME specifically". The guidelines also indicate that the diagnosis is reliant on the identification of symptoms rather than clinical signs; it states: "The diagnosis of CFS/ME is therefore made on the basis of a recognisable pattern of characteristic symptoms, and on the exclusion of other known causes". While the role of the examining health professional is not to diagnose they are expected to elicit clinical signs relevant to a function assessment. Where a claimant does have neurological signs they will be examined by an appropriately trained health professional.
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA7
Circuses: Animals
Questions
Asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs of establishing a licensing scheme for the use of wild animals in circuses; whether there will be a charge for such licences; and if so, on what basis.[HL13696]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs of monitoring and enforcing the conditions of licences for the use of wild animals in circuses through inspection by Government-approved veterinarians.[HL13697]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): It is our intention that the costs of a licensing scheme for wild animals in travelling circuses will be borne by the circus industry itself, through the cost of the licence fee. Defra intends to consult on proposals in early 2012, which will include an impact assessment setting out the estimated costs involved, including the estimated costs of monitoring and enforcing the proposed licensing scheme.
Colombia
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that the number of attacks on and killings of Colombian human rights activists, and the Colombian Government's response, form part of discussions with President Santos during his visit to the United Kingdom.[HL13448]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): Human rights remain an integral part of our relationship with Colombia, and we regularly raise our concerns with senior members of the Colombian Government, including President Santos. We made a joint declaration on human rights during his visit on 21 and 22 November.
Several Ministers across the Government, including the Prime Minister, my right honourable friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), raised human rights with the Colombian President while he was in the UK, and the president reiterated his commitment to improve the human rights situation in Colombia.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will discuss with President Santos of Colombia, during his visit to the United Kingdom, what measures his Government have put in place to prevent attacks against human rights activists and to increase their protection.[HL13449]
Lord Howell of Guildford: Human rights remain an integral part of our relationship with Colombia, and we regularly raise our concerns with senior members of the Colombian Government, including President Santos. Several Ministers across Government, including
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA8
President Santos has a stated policy of zero tolerance of human rights abuse. He has committed to improving the protection provided to human rights defenders in Colombia. The Colombian Ministry of the Interior is preparing a new directive which includes creating an integrated and more comprehensive monitoring system to ensure improved protection for human rights defenders. We are monitoring the development of this policy, which is a part of the regular discussions we hold with the Colombians.
We are also funding projects to support access to justice and protection for human rights defenders in Colombia, and will continue to provide support to the Colombian Government in this area wherever possible.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will raise with President Santos of Colombia, during his visit to the United Kingdom, what measures have been put in place by his administration to ensure attacks against human rights activists are punished appropriately.[HL13450]
Lord Howell of Guildford: Human rights remain an integral part of our relationship with Colombia and we regularly raise our concerns with senior members of the Colombian Government, including President Santos. Several Ministers across government, including the Prime Minister, my right honourable friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), raised human rights with the President of Colombia. We made a joint declaration on human rights during his visit on 21 and 22 November.
President Santos has a stated policy of zero tolerance of human rights abuse. He was committed to improving the Colombian justice system by implementing a package of reforms to depoliticise the judiciary, improve its administration, give it greater resources, and decongest its caseload. The Colombian Attorney-General has also committed to providing extra prosecutors for the National Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Unit. These reforms aim to reduce the impunity levels in Colombia.
The Government are helping the Attorney-General's office in Colombia to improve the efficiency of their case management, and are also funding projects to support access to justice and protection for human rights defenders. We will continue to provide support in this area to the Colombian Government wherever possible.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will obtain specific commitments to improve the human rights situation in Colombia from President Santos of Colombia during his visit to the United Kingdom before progressing with the Britain Open for Business programme which will support commerce between Colombia and the United Kingdom. [HL13451]
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA9
Lord Howell of Guildford: President Santos of Colombia spoke of his ambition to improve the human rights situation in Colombia during his inauguration speech in August 2010. This commitment has resulted in the passing of Colombia's Land and Victims' Act in May 2011. This law aims to restitute land to victims who were forcibly displaced from their lands. President Santos reiterated this commitment to UK Ministers, including the Prime Minister, my right honourable friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), during his visit to the UK on 21 and 22 November. We made a joint declaration on human rights during his visit on 21 and 22 November.
The Government's support for Britain Open for Business is entirely consistent with our determination to hold human rights at the core of our foreign policy. Our approach is to ensure economic growth, development and the rule of law are complementary and mutually reinforcing. We will continue to work with the Colombian Government to achieve this common aim.
Crime: Metal Theft
Questions
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): The Home Office contributes to the wide-ranging plan of work being delivered by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) metal theft working group to tackle metal theft. Discussions are under way across government on whether legislative changes are needed to the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 to tackle metal theft.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government with what organisations they have had discussions on the subject of metal theft.[HL13427]
Lord Henley: The Home Office has had discussion with a range of organisations and individuals representing the energy networks, railways, telecommunications, law enforcement and faith groups.
Crime: Protesters
Question
Asked by Baroness Miller of Hendon
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to the police and other appropriate authorities concerning the prosecution of any protesters who are alleged to have caused long-term obstruction of the highway or to have committed similar public order offences.[HL13420]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): The arrest and prosecution of protesters for obstruction of the highway or similar public order offences are operational matters for the police and other agencies. The Government have not provided guidance on these matters.
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA10
Embryology
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 23 June 2010 (WA 182-3) and 14 November 2011 (WA 105), why the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) had required the Newcastle Fertility Centre to submit details regarding the use of hundreds of human eggs under research licence R0122 if these were not used to bring about the creation of embryos and if the use of human eggs for research purposes is not otherwise regulated by the HFEA; and which other licensed centres have been similarly required to submit details to the HFEA regarding numbers of eggs used in research without disclosing the specific purposes for which such eggs were used. [HL13465]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that all centres carrying out HFEA-licensed research projects are required to submit information and data sheets to the authority. This allows centres to provide data about the number of eggs used in a research project. Although the authority has no statutory obligation to collect this information it does so because the use of eggs, including for purposes other than creating embryos, can be related to HFEA-licensed research projects.
The research project licence that the noble Lord refers to expired on 30 March 2006. The project existed at a time when progress reports served a similar purpose to information and data sheets.
Energy: Feed-in Tariffs
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, when considering the proposed feed-in tariff contract for difference, what assessment they made of the wholesale power price paid to small intermittent power generators below 20MW in capacity.[HL13385]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Marland): The price that different generators obtain for the electricity they sell is a commercial matter that is affected by a large number of factors.
We are continuing to work closely with industry-including those representing small intermittent power generators below 20MW in capacity-to develop the feed-in tariff with contract for difference (FiT CfD).
More details on the FiT CfD design will be published in the new year.
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA11
Energy: Prices
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce the mandatory reporting of wholesale power prices through the balancing and settlement code.[HL13388]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Marland): Ofgem are considering a number of improvements to the transparency of wholesale power prices. Mandatory reporting would be one way of achieving this, and we will consider this proposal in the course of working with Ofgem to agree a package of measures aimed at addressing liquidity and transparency in the wholesale power market.
More generally, the Government are acting to strengthen the powers of the regulator; for example, the recent regulations transposing the EU third Energy Package into UK (the Gas and Electricity (Internal Market) Regulations 2011) include an obligation on gas and electricity licensees to keep trading information available to Ofgem for five years.
Equality
Question
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord McNally on 16 November (Official Report, col. 683), whether the "tipping point" criterion constitutes discrimination against white men from the ethnic majority and undermines their human rights; and whether they will explain how the choice will be made between women and ethnic minorities and among the ethnic minorities themselves.[HL13645]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The application of the "tipping point" provisions contained within the Equality Act 2010 does not constitute discrimination against any applicant.
The Ministry of Justice has recently published a consultation, which includes the proposal that the appointments process should be amended to enable the utilisation of the Equality Act 2010 positive action provisions where the merits of the candidates are essentially indistinguishable. This proposal retains the fundamental principle that judicial appointments should always be made on merit. However, where at the end of the selection process two candidates are essentially indistinguishable, then any of the eight protected characteristics could be applied to decide who to select for appointment.
Equality Act 2010
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government which persons or organisations within the United Kingdom opposed the bringing into force of Section 9(5)(a) of the Equality Act 2010, as claimed in a statement by
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA12
Baroness Verma: The statement made by the UK delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination did not refer to specific persons or organisations but related to the fact that, in the UK Government's view, there is no consensus of opinion in the UK with regards to the need for legislative protection against caste discrimination, even among those communities potentially most affected by it. For example, the Minister for Equalities, Lynne Featherstone, together with various government officials, attended an independent meeting on 15 March chaired by Lord Dholakia, at which the issue of caste legislation was discussed. At that meeting a number of participants spoke to oppose the bringing into force of Section 9(5)(a) of the Equality Act 2010. However, this was an independent meeting organised by concerned groups and individuals to lobby the Government on the issue, and no government record of who participated or spoke exists.
European Arrest Warrant
Question
Asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) British people, or (b) other nationals, have been extradited annually by the United Kingdom to each European country under a European arrest warrant (EAW); how many have been held in custody or imprisoned under an EAW; and how many are awaiting extradition.[HL13293]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for Scotland are the designated UK authorities responsible for processing European arrest warrants (EAWs).
(a) Since the introduction of the EAW in 2004 193 British nationals have been surrendered by the UK to another European Union member state under an EAW.
Due to the way data were recorded prior to 1 October 2008 it is not possible to provide data on the number of British nationals surrendered to each European Union member state prior to this date:
| Year | British Nationals Surrendered |
| 01.10.2008 to 31.03.2009 | |
| Country | British Nationals |
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA13
| 2009-10 | |
| Country | British Nationals Surrendered |
| 2010-11 | |
| Country | British Nationals Surrendered |
It is not possible for these figures to be broken down by the number that were held in custody or imprisoned under an EAW without a manual examination of each individual case file, which would incur a disproportionate cost.
It is also not possible to provide information on the number of British nationals awaiting extradition. This would involve a manual examination of all case files of all individuals arrested under an EAW each year.
(b) Since the introduction of the EAW in 2004, 2,914 individuals have been surrendered from the UK. This is for all nationalities other than British.
Due to the way data were recorded prior to 1 April 2009 it is not possible to provide data on the number surrendered to each European Union member state prior to this date:
| Year | Surrenders from UK (minus British nationals) |
Due to the way data was recorded between 1 January 2008 and 31 March 2009 it is only possible to provide data on the total number of individuals surrendered for all nationalities, including British nationals for this period.
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA14
| Year | Surrenders from UK (including British nationals) |
| 2009-10 | |
| Country | Surrenders from UK (minus British nationals) |
| 2010-11 | |
| Country | Surrenders from UK (minus British nationals) |
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA15
It is not possible for these figures to be broken down by the number that were held in custody or imprisoned under an EAW without a manual examination of each individual case file, which would incur a disproportionate cost.
It is also not possible to provide information on the number of individuals awaiting extradition. This would involve a manual examination of all case files of arrests under an EAW each year.
Extradition
Questions
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 7 November (WA 18), whether any of the three persons accused or convicted of terrorism offences who were extradited from the United States over the last 40 years were American nationals.[HL13559]
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 7 November (WA 18), whether any of the three persons accused or convicted of terrorism offences who were extradited from the United States over the past 40 years had been convicted in the United Kingdom and escaped the United Kingdom jurisdiction.[HL13560]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): Home Office records show that of the three persons who were accused or convicted of terrorist offences who have been extradited from the United States to the UK over the past 40 years, one was an American national.
One of the three persons had been convicted in the UK and escaped UK jurisdiction prior to the request for his extradition.
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 7 November (WA 6-7), whether the agreed legal constraint on extradition to a category 2 territory (in this case, the United States) applies equally to extradition for alleged crimes where the length of sentence that could be imposed in that territory for the offence is substantially greater than that that would be imposed in the United Kingdom.[HL13561]
Lord Henley: There is no bar to extradition in UK law or under the UK-US extradition treaty on the grounds that the maximum length of sentence which might be imposed in the US is greater than that which might be imposed for an equivalent offence in the UK.
Food and Drink: Labelling
Questions
Asked by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe
To ask Her Majesty's Government why alcoholic beverages will be exempted from obligations to declare nutritional information on product labels as part of the food information regulation.[HL13452]
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To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will respond to the European Commission's review of the exemption of alcoholic beverages from the obligation to declare nutritional information on product labels as part of the food information regulation.[HL13453]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): There was no consensus among member states for the introduction of mandatory nutrition and ingredients labelling for alcoholic drinks. The compromise reached, based on a European Parliament proposal, gave a temporary exemption for alcoholic drinks pending a Commission report within three years.
The United Kingdom also secured its objective of ensuring that the regulation allows voluntary energy labelling for alcoholic drinks pending the Commission report, and we will be encouraging companies to consider this option.
The Government support energy labelling for alcoholic drinks, and we will continue to press for this to be included in any new legislative proposals.
Gangs
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action is being taken to prevent members of gangs in Greater London from being involved in criminal activity. [HL12971]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): A range of actions are being undertaken in Greater London to prevent members of gangs from being involved in criminal behaviour. This includes actions by local government, the police, and voluntary and community groups as part of the Communities Against Guns, Gangs and Knives Programme announced by the Home Office in February 2011.
Government Departments: Buildings
Questions
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to install photovoltaic solar systems on buildings owned or occupied by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.[HL13567]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Lord Marland): We currently have no plans to install solar photovoltaic systems on the DECC estate.
However, we are keeping this position under regular review.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to install photovoltaic solar systems on buildings owned or occupied by the Northern Ireland Office.[HL13655]
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA17
Lord Shutt of Greetland: Solar panels were installed at Hillsborough Castle in 2007 and 2008. This is the only building for which the Northern Ireland Office has responsibility.
There are no current plans to install photovoltaic solar systems in any other properties occupied by the Northern Ireland Office-any decision to do so would be a matter for the owners of the buildings.
Government Departments: Ministerial Diaries
Question
Asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough
To ask Her Majesty's Government what instructions have been given by the Cabinet Secretary to civil servants regarding the release of details of ministerial diaries to parliamentarians.[HL12819]
Baroness Verma: Ministers have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects. Information on official meetings which have taken place between Ministers and external organisations is published quarterly and can be found at www.data.gov.uk/whoslobbying. Information on forthcoming engagements is not routinely made available publicly.
Government Departments: Staff
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the name of the senior officer in the Department of Health responsible for the establishment of Health Education England as a special health authority; and how many meetings that officer has had to date in that role with (a) the Secretary of State for Health, and (b) other health ministers.[HL13486]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The senior responsible officer in the department responsible for the establishment of Health Education England as a special health authority is Ms Christine Outram.
Christine Outram has met with both the Secretary of State (Andrew Lansley) and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health (Anne Milton) once since her appointment.
Government: Ministerial Meetings
Question
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last met the Welsh Local Government Association leadership; and what matters were discussed. [HL12376]
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA18
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Wallace of Tankerness): Matters relating to local government are devolved in Wales. However, the Secretary of State for Wales met with the chair and chief executive of the Welsh Local Government Association on 28 May 2010 to discuss the referendum on further law-making powers for the National Assembly for Wales.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales also delivered the keynote address at the Welsh Local Government Association annual conference on 17 June 2010.
Health: Assessors
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 14 November (WA 104), how, if Atos Healthcare does not assess patients according to their illness label, they distinguish between claimants with neurological conditions and those without.[HL13527]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Identification of claimants who require assessment by a practitioner with specific competencies is performed at the file work stage. This is a consideration of all the available evidence, prior to a face-to-face assessment, and often includes diagnostic information (such as the medical certificate completed by the GP) or other indicators that an individual may require a specific assessment (such as the GP completed ESA113 form or results from a previous assessment).
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 14 November (WA 104), whether Atos Healthcare nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists who assess employment and support allowance claimants are qualified to diagnose objective neurological signs.[HL13528]
Lord Freud: Atos Healthcare nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists who assess employment and support allowance claimants are not required to diagnose conditions. They provide advice based on the disabling effects of a condition on an individual.
Health: Bowel Disease
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the NHS Commissioning Board will ensure clinical commissioning groups commission appropriate services for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and in particular patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.[HL13402]
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To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the NHS Commissioning Board's commissioning guidance to clinical commissioning groups on the discharge of their commissioning functions will cover the commissioning of services for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and in particular with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.[HL13403]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support the Department of Health and the NHS Commissioning Board will provide in establishing a clinical network for inflammatory bowel disorders and associated gastroenterological conditions. [HL13404]
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups will promote the involvement of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, in particular Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, in the decisions made about the provision of health services.[HL13406]
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support the NHS Commissioning Board and local commissioners to deliver the recommendations from the report by Crohn's and Colitis UK Crohn's, Colitis and Employment-from Career Aspirations to Reality.[HL13473]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, the NHS Commissioning Board will be established by April 2013. It will be accountable for improving outcomes for patients in line with the NHS outcomes framework-which will be set out in the mandate to the board-and will include enhancing the quality of life for patients with long-term conditions. The board will be responsible for, among other things, issuing commissioning guidance, developing a commissioning outcomes framework and hosting clinical networks. It will be for the board to determine those matters on which it will issue guidance, informed by the topics in the library of quality standards on which the National Quality Board has recently consulted. The proposed library would include quality standards for both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Work is now under way to develop detailed proposals on the roles and membership of clinical networks, in the light of the report of the NHS Future Forum's workstream on clinical advice and leadership. The Commissioning Board authority is expected to consider these proposals later this year. Final arrangements can only be adopted by the board, once it is established.
There will be a duty placed on clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to involve patients, carers and the public in commissioning decisions. This would require commissioning groups to consult on their annual commissioning plans to ensure proper opportunities for public input. As with primary care trusts currently, commissioning groups will have to consult the public on any changes that affect patient services. It is expected that CCGs will also want to engage with patient participation groups, local authorities and local voluntary organisations and community groups.
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To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent report by Crohn's and Colitis UK Crohn's, Colitis and Employment-from Career Aspirations to Reality, and its implications for the NHS outcomes framework improvement area of "improving functional ability in people with long term conditions".[HL13472]
Earl Howe: The department has not made an assessment of the report Crohn's, Colitis and Employment-from Career Aspirations to Reality.
The aim of domain 2 of the NHS outcomes framework: Enhancing Quality of Life for People with Long-Term Conditions, is to capture how successfully the National Health Service is supporting people with long-term conditions to live as normal a life as possible. To support this goal, the indicator "employment of people with long-term conditions" was selected to measure the employment levels of people with long-term conditions in comparison to employment levels in the general population. This indicator should provide an insight into how well the NHS is supporting people to manage their condition(s).
Health: Complementary and Alternative Medicines
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether European Court of Justice judgments on the status of herbal products have affected the ability of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to enforce directive 2004/24/EC.[HL13481]
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time equivalent members of staff at the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency are currently working on enforcement of directive 2004/24/EC.[HL13482]
To ask Her Majesty's Government how long it will take to monitor the 2,915 herbal products currently being marketed for sale under the Section 12(2), exemption from licensing, contained in the Medicines Act 1968.[HL13483]
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many herbal medicinal products have been reclassified and sold as herbal food supplements in the past 12 months.[HL13484]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The classification of products as medicines is made on a case-by-case basis by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA); this approach reflects various judgments of the European Court. The effect of the judgments will vary according to the particular case under consideration.
Two members of the Medicines Borderline Section of the MHRA are allocated to work on herbal products. Staff from the MHRA's Enforcement Unit work on individual cases as and when these arise.
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The MHRA has an ongoing responsibility to monitor unlicensed herbal products on the market to ensure compliance with directive 2004/24/EC, including its transitional provisions.
The MHRA does not hold information on how many herbal medicines have been presented as food supplements. The MHRA is currently considering how effective, proportionate enforcement action can best ensure that the intended benefits of the legislation for consumers and for companies compliant with the legislation are achieved.
Health: Costs
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 November (WA 115), whether the new arrangements agreed between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland for determining European Union healthcare costs of state pensioners are to be mutually put in place; and why they cannot publish the overarching agreement on the matter reached in March 2011. [HL13596]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Under the agreement, the United Kingdom will see liability for pensioners reduce by 1.13 per cent year on year until the end of 2013. This reflects a trend analysis of previous years and gives time for a new registration scheme to be implemented, tested and proved robust enough to base future payments on. We envisage this being completed by 2014. Once the scheme has been finalised, the Government will draw up and publish a new overarching agreement, in consultation with the Irish Government, to replace existing working arrangements.
Health: Dementia
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many emergency hospital admissions there were for people in residential care with a diagnosis of dementia in (a) each primary care trust, and (b) England, in each of the past five years.[HL13529]
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (a) hospital admissions, and (b) emergency hospital admissions, were for people with a diagnosis of dementia in (1) each primary care trust, and (2) England, in each of the past five years.[HL13531]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The information requested has been placed in the Library.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many dementia specialist nurses were employed in (a) each primary care trust, and (b) England, in each of the past five years.[HL13530]
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Earl Howe: The information requested is not held centrally by the department.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients with dementia were registered by general practices through the Quality and Outcomes Framework in (a) each primary care trust, and (b) England, in each of the past five years.[HL13532]
Earl Howe: A table containing the information requested has been placed in the Library.
Health: Parkinson's Disease
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the National Health Service reforms contained in the Health and Social Care Bill on people living with Parkinson's disease.[HL13370]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): We have made no specific assessment of the impact of the proposed National Health Service reforms on people living with Parkinson's.
The proposals in the White Paper make it clear that health and well-being boards will lead work on identifying current and future population health and care needs, producing joint strategic needs assessments (JSNAs). The JSNA will inform the development of a local joint health and well-being strategy (JHWS) that will inform health, social care and public health commissioners.
Clinical commissioning groups will be involved in developing the JSNAs and JHWS, and will be required to consider how they can integrate across healthcare and social care and redesign services to deliver more effective management of long-term neurological conditions such as Parkinson's.
Health: Regulation
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the effectiveness of the regulation of clinicians alleged to be incapable or incompetent. [HL13467]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The current system of professional regulation brings important safeguards to users of health and social care services and we have already made progress towards introducing a system of medical revalidation.
We are gathering evidence on which to base decisions on a cost-effective, risk based and proportionate model of revalidation for clinicians. Medical revalidation will start across the United Kingdom in late 2012, subject to an assessment of readiness that will be considered
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The General Medical Council (GMC) is currently seeking to improve and modernise its fitness-to-practise adjudication processes, with an aim of enhancing independence of adjudication while continuing to protect patients and the public. The GMC has undertaken full public consultation on its proposals.
Departmental officials are now working with the GMC to take this forward and full consultation on changes to primary legislation is expected in 2012.
Higher Education: Overseas Students
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 25 October (WA 133), why they permit non-European Union students studying below degree level sponsored by a higher education institution to work part-time during term time and full-time during vacations; and how they monitor the impact and nature of each permission.[HL13105]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): As a result of concerns that too many students were motivated by the opportunity to work rather than to study the Government restricted the right of students to work. An exception was made for those studying at higher educational institutions (HEI) and publicly funded further education colleges to encourage high-value students to come and study at our world class academic institutions and as this is where the UK Border Agency encounters the lowest levels of immigration abuse.
The UK Border Agency responds and takes action if informed of a student in breach of their conditions in addition to any investigations carried out by the UK Border Agency to monitor compliance with these restrictions.
House of Lords: Members' Remuneration
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Ministers in the House of Lords are remunerated and to which parties they belong; how many Ministers in the House of Lords are not remunerated and to which parties they belong; and for what reasons some Ministers are not remunerated.[HL13418]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde): There are 16 paid Ministers in the House of Lords: 13 are Conservatives and three are Liberal Democrats. There are 10 unpaid Ministers in the House of Lords: seven are Conservative and three are Liberal Democrat.
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The Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 limits the total number of paid Ministers to 109 and the coalition Government work within the limits set by this legislation. Unpaid Ministers are appointed on the basis of need in order to meet the challenge of delivering the programme for government.
Justice: Compensation
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by the Lord Chancellor on 21 June 2011 (Official Report, Commons, col. 9-12WS), what they mean by the term "compensation culture"; and what evidence they have that such a culture is increasing in certain areas of law.[HL13563]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): In the passage referenced by the noble Lord, the Lord Chancellor mentioned a "fear of a compensation culture". Under the current arrangements, claimants are able to bring cases without any financial risk. This risk-free litigation encourages unnecessary or avoidable claims to be pursued and puts business and other defendants who have to deal with these claims under pressure from excessive legal costs. In personal injury cases, for example, figures indicate that in 1999 claimant solicitors' costs were equivalent to just over half the damages agreed or awarded at 56 per cent. By 2004, average claimant costs were 103 per cent of the damages. By 2010 average claimant costs represented 142 per cent of the sums received by the injured victims. The changes the Government are implementing are designed to restore a much needed sense of proportion and fairness to the current regime.
Justice: Family Courts
Questions
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government what demographic data they hold on families involved in the family justice system.[HL13495]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they hold regarding the length of Family Court hearings.[HL13496]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what data they hold regarding the use of courtrooms in respect of hearings under the Children Act 1989.[HL13497]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The main sources of statistical information on family cases held by the ministry are the FamilyMan database, which collates case management information from the family courts in England and Wales, and other manual returns made by the courts to the ministry. Demographic data on families involved in the family justice system are collected via these systems. These include gender of the parties in divorce cases, the date
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Demographic data in family cases have also been collected via surveys. A recent research study conducted by making detailed examinations of a small number of court case files collected information on the ages of children involved in family law cases. This report was published in early November 2011 and can be found on the ministry's website at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/moj/family-justice-children.htm.
A study of care cases undertaken on behalf of the Ministry of Justice in 2008 also covered demographic information. The study's report is available from the ministry's website at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/care-profiling-study.pdf.
Information on the length of Family Court hearings and on the use of courtrooms in respect of hearings under the Children Act 1989 is not held centrally. This information can only be collected directly from the inspection of individual case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Legislation: Welsh Language
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pieces of primary and secondary legislation passed by Parliament since 1998 have included Welsh language sections; and on what basis the decision to include such sections was taken in those instances.[HL12556]
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Wallace of Tankerness): This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Libya
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to co-ordinate the international community's efforts to promote and develop an accountable political system in Libya.[HL13564]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): The process of political transition will be Libyan-owned and led. The National Transitional Council has already achieved a great deal in appointing a transitional Government and publishing the constitutional declaration, setting out a timetable towards elections within eight months. International assistance is being co-ordinated by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). We are working closely with the transitional Government, the European Union and the United Nations as Libya's people lay the foundations of a functioning democracy, including the strengthening of accountable institutions and the promotion of the rule of law.
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Malaysia
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date Home Office officials requested a meeting with the Malaysian High Commission to discuss the practicalities of obtaining confirmation from the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that former Malaysian citizens would be allowed to return to Malaysia and begin to resume their citizenship; and when they expect to receive a response. [HL13544]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): On 18 July 2011 UK Border Agency (UKBA) officials requested a meeting with the Malaysian High Commission in London to discuss the practicalities of re-acquiring Malaysian citizenship by those currently in the UK without leave who have, erroneously, renounced Malaysian citizenship in the false expectation of acquiring British citizenship. This approach followed confirmation by letter from the Malaysian Government to UKBA officials that reacquisition of Malaysian citizenship was feasible and that those who had erroneously renounced Malaysian citizenship would also be allowed to re-enter Malaysia.
UKBA then received a response from the Malaysian High Commission on 4 October 2011 advising that it will not allow for reacquisition while the individual is in the UK unless there is an instruction to this effect from the Malaysian Government. UKBA officials now intend to enter into further communication with the Malaysian high commissioner in the short term.
NHS: Staff Absences
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in implementing the recommendations of the Boorman review, in respect of improving sickness absence rates in the National Health Service. [HL13369]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Following the publication of Dr Boorman's review, the department has worked with partners across the health service to identify the five high-impact actions required for improvement. Healthy Staff, Better Care for Patients and the Improvement Framework for Health and Well-being in the NHS (both published by the department in July 2011) provide further advice on actions to implement Boorman's recommendations and a model for improvement.
In particular, organisations can take a number of steps to help improve staff health and well-being. These include ensuring their occupational health services are accredited to the Faculty of Occupational Medicine Standards, implementing recommendations set out in the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) public health guidance, making pledges through the public health responsibility deal in relation to
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We continue to see an improvement in sickness absence rates. This is good news not only for staff but also for patients, since healthier and more engaged staff provide better care.
Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission submitted an equality scheme to the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, as requested by 1 November; if not, why not; and when such a scheme will be provided.[HL13705]
Lord Shutt of Greetland: This is an operational matter for the commission, which, as the noble Lord is by now aware, operates independently of government. The noble Lord may wish to write to it directly.
Overseas Aid
Questions
Asked by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of their funding for international development work goes to projects that last for (a) one year, (b) one to three years, (c) three to five years, and (d) five years or more.[HL13501]
Baroness Northover: Of all projects that were approved in 2010-11, 9 per cent of funding went to projects lasting for one year, 35 per cent of funding to projects lasting between one and three years, 27 per cent to projects lasting three to five years and 28 per cent to projects lasting five years or more.
Asked by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of their bilateral funding, broken down by country, goes directly to (a) states and state actors, and (b) non-state and external actors such as international non-governmental organisations.[HL13502]
Baroness Northover: The Department for International Development (DfID) publishes details of spending broken down by country and nine aid types. It is not possible to calculate exactly how much funding goes directly to (a) states and state actors, and (b) non-state and external actors such as international non-governmental organisations.
For some aid types, it is clear where the funding goes. Funding through 3 aid types-general poverty reduction budget support, sector poverty reduction budget support and other financial aid-goes directly to states and state actors. Funding through the 2 aid
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA28
For the remaining 4 aid types, funding may go through either state or non-state actors. These aid types are technical co-operation, other bilateral aid, humanitarian assistance and DfID debt relief.
The Statistics on International Development publication, published on http://www.dfid.gov.uk, provides these breakdowns of DfID's bilateral expenditure for 162 countries and by aid type. These are contained in tables 14.1 to 14.5.
It may be useful to look at the following 27 DfID focus countries within the above tables:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Asked by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their priorities for the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, to be held in Busan, South Korea.[HL13503]
Baroness Northover: Busan is an opportunity for the international community to give a boost to efforts to achieve the MDGs by 2015 by reaffirming commitment to the Paris Declaration, agreeing new commitments in UK priority areas such as results, transparency and fragility and signalling closer co-operation between traditional and emerging donors.
On results, we will work with others on a new set of country results agreements to assess partner country and donor performance. On transparency, we will work with others on widening implementation of a common standard for transparency, building on the DfID led International Aid Transparency Initiative. On fragility we will support the endorsement of the New Deal for international engagement in fragile states.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the role of education programmes funded by the Department for International Development in delivering the results outlined in its framework document Choices for women: planned pregnancies, safe births and healthy newborns.[HL13539]
Baroness Northover: DfID recognises that girls and women who have more years of schooling are much more likely to be able to delay their first sexual experience, to marry later, to choose whether, when and how many children to have, to use contraception and to give birth safely to healthy babies.
DfID has recently announced the Girls Education Challenge which will enable up to one million more girls to be supported to complete at least one full cycle of schooling-at primary or lower secondary level. This will be in addition to our commitment to support up to 9 million children at primary school, at least half
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Police: Stations
Question
Asked by Lord Collins of Highbury
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 2 November (OfficialReport, col. 1227).
Raed Salah
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the six missed opportunities for intervention identified by HM Inspector of Constabulary in the case of Mr Raed Salah, who entered the United Kingdom on 28 June 2011 contrary to a ban issued by the Home Secretary.[HL13597]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): The information requested cannot be released into the public domain given the confidential nature of HM Inspector of Constabulary's (HMIC) report which detailed the six missed opportunities for intervention.
The disclosure of such information is exempt under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary wrote to the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 November 2011 outlining the circumstances under which Mr Salah entered the UK and the UK Border Agency's response to the HMIC recommendations.
A copy of this letter will be placed in the House Library for your reference.
Railways: High Speed 2
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the procedures to deal with rights of way that are crossed by the path of the High Speed 2 railway; and what safeguards will be put in place to avoid the closure of such rights of way.[HL13395]
Earl Attlee: If the Government decide to proceed with the scheme, HS2 Ltd will review the current rights of way network along the line of route and look at the best options to provide crossing points across the railway.
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The intention would be to work and co-operate with the relevant responsible bodies, including liaison with local footpath officers and interest groups; planning authorities; landowners and people who enjoy those rights of way.
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many representations they have received on High Speed 2.[HL13475]
Earl Attlee: The recent consultation on high-speed rail, which closed on 29 July this year, received around 55,000 responses. An analysis of them has been undertaken, and the Secretary of State for Transport is being provided with detailed information on the issues raised.
Retail: Online Retailers
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will refer Amazon.co.uk to the Competition Commission in the light of the dominant position of Amazon Marketplace.[HL13492]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): Competition issues raised by the commercial activities of firms in their relevant markets are a matter for the Office of Fair Trading as the responsible competition authority.
Schools: Funding
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ensure that local authorities will receive the equivalent amount, compared to academies in their area, of local authority central spend equivalent grant per pupil for schools which they continue to maintain.[HL13372]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The aim of the local authority central spend equivalent grant (LACSEG) is to replicate for academies the expenditure being spent by their local authority on functions which become the responsibility of the academy on conversion. It follows that equivalent funding remains with local authorities to support the maintained schools in their areas. We will shortly be consulting again on the appropriate mechanism to transfer funding from local authorities when schools convert.
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Small Businesses: Invoice Payments
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are introducing to ensure small businesses are paid promptly by (a) large businesses, (b) public sector agencies, and (c) public sector contractors. [HL13586]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): This Government are committed to supporting small businesses to manage their cash flow. We are working with all the UK's leading business representative and finance organisations to address the long-standing culture of late payment which persists across the UK economy.
We support the Institute of Credit Management's Prompt Payment Code, which requires signatories to pay according to agreed terms. Research by Experian suggests that signatories to the code now represent over 60 per cent of total UK supply chain value.
The public sector is paying suppliers faster than ever. Central government are required to pay 80 per cent of all valid invoices within five days. In July 2011, the Government announced that departments will monitor prime contractors' payment performance with their sub-contractors as part of the contract management process. For local government, the Forum of Private Business surveyed all UK local authorities and reported that the average payment time is 18 days in England and that 42 per cent of invoices are now being paid within 10 days (2010 figures).
Evidence shows that the best way to ensure prompt payment of invoices is to agree payment terms in advance of the transaction and to invoice on time and accurately. Over half of UK transactions are believed to take place in the absence of pre-agreed payment terms and Barclays' data suggest that only one in 10 suppliers regularly credit checks customers. That is why we support the Institute of Credit Management's managing cash flow guides. There have been 250,000 downloads of these guides to date.
Smoking
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to make smoking in road vehicles which contain young children illegal.[HL13440]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): In March, we published the Tobacco Control Plan, which sets out our plans to help drive down smoking rates and reduce the harms from tobacco over the next five years.
This plan includes our commitment to launch a national marketing campaign next year to remind smokers of the risks of exposing children and adults to second-hand smoke. We will also support local areas' work to encourage smokers to change their behaviour.
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We want people to recognise the risks of second-hand smoke and decide voluntarily to make their cars smoke-free.
A copy of the Tobacco Control Plan for England has already been placed in the Library.
Surveillance: Telecommunications
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 15 November (Official Report, col. 579), whether United Kingdom companies are permitted to sell surveillance technology to Iran; and, if so, what criteria they use to judge whether sales of surveillance technology are permissible.[HL13505]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): UK companies do not, under the UK export control regime as it stands, need permission to export this kind of software and equipment unless it contains controlled encryption.
The Government's policy is actively to discourage all trade with Iran. We can prevent trade in those cases only where the law allows us to do so. The Government will consider carefully the case for new legislation in this area.
Terrorism: Internet
Question
Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of the internet by terrorist groups; what plans they have to prevent money laundering by such groups; and what discussions they have held within the European Union and the United Nations on co-ordinated measures to disrupt terrorist activity on the internet.[HL13098]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): The Government's current assessment of the use of the internet by terrorists has been summarised in the published CONTEST and Prevent strategies. Chapter 6 of CONTEST notes that terrorists use the internet to distribute propaganda, for radicalisation and recruitment, to communicate, and for attack planning, and are considering cyber-attacks by hacking.
International standards have been developed (agreed by the 36 member states of the Financial Action Task Force) to ensure that there are sufficient controls and procedures in place to counter the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. European Union and national legislation (EU 3rd Money Laundering Directive and Money Laundering Regulations 2007) reflect these standards by placing obligations on businesses vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing to help prevent misuse. In addition, there is industry guidance approved by HM Treasury which includes
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In terms of disrupting terrorist internet activity, OSCT continues to contribute to both the European Commission's public private dialogue to fight online illegal activities, and the European Commission funded project, Clean IT. Clean IT is a public/private project framework, led by the Dutch Government, to tackle terrorist use of the internet, specifically illegal radicalisation and recruitment content. OSCT and the FCO also work in partnership with the UN's Counter Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF), most recently at the January 2011 UN conference in Riyadh on use of the internet to counter the appeal of extremist violence, which focused primarily on counter narrative activities. A summary of the recommendations can be found on the UN website: www.un.org.
UK Border Agency
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any former or current asylum seekers have been employed in the UK Border Agency.[HL13208]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): The UK Border Agency has no record of employing any current asylum seekers. Stringent checks are in place to ensure that this does not happen. Former asylum seekers may be employed provided that they satisfy recruitment eligibility criteria, including nationality and residence. All applicants for posts in the UK Border Agency must also pass identity and immigration checks and security vetting.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what operational information is supplied by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to enable the Home Office to monitor the performance of the UKBA on a weekly and monthly basis.[HL13251]
Lord Henley: The Home Office receives regular information data and updates on the agency's operational delivery and management. This includes progress against operational targets and deliverables set out in the agency's business plan.
UK Trade and Investment
Question
Asked by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 14 September (WA 78), whether there is any formal
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA34
Baroness Northover: There is substantial and increasing collaboration between the Department for International Development (DfID) and UK Trade and Industry (UKTI). The Secretary of State has met with Lord Green and has regular discussions on this issue. DfID's Permanent Secretary recently met with the chief executive of UKTI to discuss closer co-operation between our organisations. For example, we plan to work with UKTI to develop a proposal to run a joint conference, possibly focusing on infrastructure, involving a broad range of companies.
While aid remains untied, the new formal joint DfID/UKTI/Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) guidelines relating to aid-funded business opportunities, issued earlier this year, have resulted in closer collaboration with DfID's in-country offices and UKTI. Feedback from UKTI posts indicate DfID and UKTI are working together to find ways to promote business and development and that UKTI staff have participated in DfID events, including training. DfID's private sector department meets with UKTI regularly to ensure effective co-operation.
Visas
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Henley on 18 October (Official Report, col. 157), how many persons who originally entered the United Kingdom on (a) an overseas domestic worker (visitor) visa, (b) an overseas domestic worker (other) visa, and (c) an overseas domestic worker (diplomat) visa, applied for indefinite leave to remain in each of the past five years for which figures are available; and how many of those applications were successful.[HL12835]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): We are unable to specify how many individuals originally entered the United Kingdom via the overseas domestic worker routes and subsequently applied for and were granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR). This information is not held centrally by the UK Border Agency.
The UK Border Agency publishes immigration statistics annually and quarterly, which are available from the Home Office's Science, research and statistics website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/.
Published statistics show the number of overseas domestic workers applying for entry clearance visas between 2006 and 2010, as per the following table.
| Number of Main Applicants | |
| Year | Domestic workers in Private Households |
Published statistics do not break down settlement applications by category when reporting on the number of applications received. They only provide a breakdown in regard to outcomes. Data on domestic workers in private households granted settlement in the United Kingdom are shown in the table below.
| Domestic Workers in Private Households granted settlement in the United Kingdom, excluding EEA and Swiss nationals, 2006 to 2010 | |
| Year | Number of persons |
- (2) May include a small number of cases in which a decision is recorded twice, where an individual has dual nationality.
- (6) In 2006 the qualifying period for settlement in all employment-related categories changed from 4 to 5 years.
In June 2011, the Government launched a consultation into, "Employment-Related Settlement, Tier 5 and Overseas Domestic Workers". This consultation document proposes changes to the settlement rights of those coming to the UK to work as well as changes to tier 5 of the points-based system and the rules for overseas domestic workers.
Analysis to support the consultation outcome is due to be published in the near future.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many non-European Union students were detected overstaying their visas in 2010; how many of those sought political asylum in the United Kingdom; and how many were compulsorily returned. [HL13340]
28 Nov 2011 : Column WA36
Lord Henley: Obtaining the data requested would require a manual cross reference of different systems which would incur disproportionate costs.
Young Offenders
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many young adult offenders aged 18-20 from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets have been held in (a) young offender institutions, (b) local prisons, and (c) other parts of the secure estate, in each year since 1992.[HL13459]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): All young offenders serving sentences of detention in youth offender institutions (YOI) are held in appropriately designated YOI accommodation within the prison estate. The majority of this accommodation is in dedicated YOIs, although some establishments in the estate have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI) and hold both adult prisoners and young offenders.
Data by originating London borough have only been recorded centrally since May 2009. The table below shows the number of remand or convicted unsentenced and convicted and sentenced male and female prisoners aged 18-20 years old with a recorded residential address or proxy in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets who were held in predominant function male young offender institutions, predominant function male local prisons, the rest of the male estate and all female prisons since May 2009.
| Number and Location of Male and Female young adult offenders (aged 18-20) originating from London Borough of Tower Hamlets | |||
| Location | May-09 | Sep-10 | Sep-11 |
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Information on a prisoner's residence is provided by prisoners on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses can include a prisoner's home address, an address to which they intend to return on discharge or next of kin address and these figures are provided in the table above.
If no address is given, a prisoner's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which a prisoner is resident. These figures are also included in the table above. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3 per cent of all prisoners, these figures are excluded from the table.
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