| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA227
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA227
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA227
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Banking: Royal Bank of Scotland
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Bank of England was provided with the opportunity to review the Financial Services Authority's report into the failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland in advance of publication; if so, whether amendments were made or sections deleted; and whether such amendments or deletions related to the performance of the Bank, the Governor, or the Court.[HL16420]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Bank of England was shown the Financial Services Authority's report into the failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland in advance of publication in order to confirm certain factual statements and to identify any other inaccuracies. The report seen in draft by the Bank contained no commentary or findings related to the performance of the Bank, the governor, or the Court.
BBC: World Service Trust
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 27 February (WA 203-4), which Minister approved the business case for the grant of £90 million by the Department for International Development to BBC Media Action and which endorsed the payment of the grant; and why in that business case, entitled BBC World Service Trust Accountable Grant, 2011-16, both versions of the intervention budget had the same overall total although the second was costed as one where emergency funding of £2.3 million was not possible.[HL16411]
Baroness Northover: The Secretary of State approved the business case and endorsed a grant of £90 million to BBC Media Action over the period of 2011 and 2016.
The proposal from BBC Media Action presented two budget options on strengthening prevention of and responses to humanitarian crises. The first option had a stand-alone emergency fund not allocated to a specific year. The second option spread the costs over the period of the grant.
The final budget, approved in the business case for the global grant to BBC World Service Trust (now Media Action) spreads the cost of strengthening resilience and preparing for crises over the period of the grant.
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA228
Civil Service: Salaries
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Wales Office define bonus payments in the context of civil service pay; what proportion of civil servants are eligible to receive non-consolidated performance payments; and how they are selected for those payments.[HL16633]
Lord Wallace of Tankerness: The only staff who are entitled to bonus payments in the Wales Office are employees of the Ministry of Justice so the department uses its definition of bonus payments in the context of civil service pay for staff; 51% of Wales Office staff are eligible to receive non-consolidated performance payments; of these only staff achieving an "outstanding" mark in terms of their end year performance would receive a payment, assuming that it has been agreed that bonuses will be paid.
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress is being made as a result of decisions taken at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth in October 2011.[HL16592]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): At the Perth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) heads of Government agreed some of the most significant reforms in recent Commonwealth history, but there still remains much to do. Heads of Government mandated the reformed Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) and the Secretary-General to evaluate relevant options for a Commissioner for Democracy, Rule of Law and Human Rights. They also established a ministerial task force. The UK is one of the 12 countries represented on the task force which will meet for the first time in June to discuss the outstanding 43 Eminent Persons Group recommendations. Member states have also been tasked with holding national consultations on the development of a charter setting out the Commonwealth core values. We have been asked to respond by the end of March 2012. All this work will culminate in the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers meeting in September in New York, which I hope will result in real progress for the Commonwealth.
Community Organisers
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the procurement process by which Locality was appointed as the "selected partner" to "deliver and train up to 5,000 community organisers", including the process of advertising the contract and choosing the successful organisation.[HL16491]
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA229
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Cabinet Office ran an open and transparent procurement process through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). All bidders were assessed thoroughly against robust and published criteria and received feedback on their performance, both in relation to their written tenders and the interviews. Locality was appointed to deliver the community organisers programme as they scored higher against the criteria than the other bidders.
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many senior or trainee community organisers have so far been appointed and in which localities they are operating; how many will be appointed during the rest of 2012; and in which localities they will be operating.[HL16492]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government are committed to train 5,000 community organisers by March 2015. These will be made up of 500 senior community organisers who will in turn train 4,500 voluntary community organisers. After a period of listening to their local community senior community organisers begin to recruit local voluntary community organisers.
A total of 87 trained senior community organisers currently operate in the following localities:
Barton Hill Settlement, Bristol;
Birmingham Settlement, Birmingham;
Cambridge House, South London;
Goodwin Development Trust, Hull;
Keystone Development Trust, Eastern Counties [Norfolk. Suffolk, Cambridgeshire];Manchester Metropolitan University. Manchester;
Penwith Community Development Trust, Cornwall;
St Peters Partnerships. Tameside;
Selby Trust in Tottenham, London;
the Centre for Equality and Diversity in Dudley;
Saffron Lane Neighbourhood Council in Leicester;
Re:generate, the lead training partner in the community organisers programme, who will build on its existing work in Bath and north-east Somerset;RISE Community Development Ltd and West Itchen Community Trust which will collaborate to host organisers in Southampton;ETEC Development Trust in Sunderland;Voluntary Action Melton in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire;Granby Toxteth Development Trust in Liverpool;Somers Town Community Association near Kings Cross, London;five development trusts in different parts of Bradford which will share the hosting between them; andHigh Green Development Trust in Sheffield.27 Mar 2012 : Column WA230
A third cohort is currently being recruited and will be trained shortly.
By the end of 2012 the target is to have trained a total of 210 senior community organisers. Localities that future senior community organisers will operate in are yet to be identified but will be posted on this website at http://www.cocollaborative.org.uk/.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the £20,000 bursaries to be paid to community organisers will be subject to income tax and national insurance contributions and whether monies spent by community organisers will be subject to audit; and whether the payment of a bursary follows a successful completion of the period of paid appointment as a Trainee Community Organiser at the rates advertised on the Re:generate website, or whether this salary is part of the £20,000.[HL16494]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The bursaries received by senior community organisers to fund their one-year training programme are subject to income tax and national insurance contributions. £3,000 of the bursary is set aside for expenses, and is audited by the host organisation which releases payment upon submission of receipts. A further £2,000 is set aside for compulsory specialist training called Go Deeper, while the remaining £15,000 constitutes a salary and is therefore spent on living costs. This bursary is paid on a monthly basis through the national partner, Locality. Community organisers do not receive any further funding on top of their £20,000 bursary.
While Regenerate provides the training to community organisers, it also employs its own community animators programme which is separate from the government-funded community organisers programme.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will fund local Community Organiser schemes beyond the initial training contracts, bursaries or salaries paid to the first 500 Community Organisers; if so, for what purposes and on what basis; and if not, how the expenses incurred in organising communities and in recruiting assistant Community Organisers, including the payment of expenses to the assistant Community Organisers, will be covered following the initial period.[HL16495]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Five hundred community organisers receive a £20,000 bursary to fund their one-year training programme. We expect that senior community organisers will use this time to develop effective relationships with businesses, local authorities, voluntary organisations and individuals, prove their worth within their communities and become self-funding.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the approved criteria for the appointment by Locality of host organisations in the community organisers programme; what evidential basis is used for the assessment of the suitability of organisations and
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA231
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Prospective organisations can bid to become a host organisation for the programme by applying online at http://cocollaborative.org.uk/resource/become-host. Each application submitted is then marked against criteria laid out in the host criteria and guidance form, available at the above website. and a long-list of organisations who have scored highest is discussed. At this point, a panel (made up of government officials, Locality, Re:generate and an independent adviser) consider a range of further factors to create a shortlist including:
geographic spread;existence of Community First panels in the area;level of social deprivation in the area;type of organisation; andunderstanding of the Root Solutions Listening Matters approach to community organising.A conversation between Locality and each prospective organisation then takes place before a decision is finalised.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they have set out for the proposed recruitment of 4,500 part-time voluntary community organisers; whether those posts will be advertised by (1) publications, (2) the internet, (3) local notice boards, (4) directly to national and local voluntary and volunteer organisations, or (5) other means; and who will be responsible for their appointment.[HL16505]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Senior community organisers identify and recruit voluntary community organisers from their local community.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether persons taking part in the Work Programme may be placed as part-time voluntary community organisers as part of that programme.[HL16646]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Work programme providers have the freedom to design support to address the barriers to employment of each claimant. This could include placing a claimant as a part-time voluntary community organiser.
Copyright
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the regulatory impact and costs to business of the proposals in their Consultation on Copyright to impose statutory codes on collective licensing societies and introduce new exceptions. [HL16609]
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA232
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox):The Government's consultation on copyright, published on 14 December 2011 (copies available in the Library of the House) was accompanied by a set of initial impact assessments, available from the Intellectual Property Office website. These addressed the regulatory impact and costs to business of the proposals to impose statutory codes on collective licensing societies, and to introduce new exceptions. The initial impact assessments will be reviewed in the light of evidence collected during the consultation process, and from the Government's continuing research programme.
Courts: District Judges
Questions
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they envisage any expansion in the number of district judges; and if so, how much.[HL16475]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): District judge (magistrates' court) appointments are made on a case-by-case basis. This follows full consultation at a local level together with a detailed business case, which is approved by the Lord Chancellor. This process is in line with the judicial protocol governing the appointment of district judges (magistrates' court), which is currently being reviewed by the senior judiciary. Given business need is determined at a local level, there are no central plans overall to increase the number of district judges (magistrates' court).
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many district judges currently serve in England and Wales; and how this compares with the figures for each year since 2002.[HL16476]
Lord McNally: There are currently 452 district judges and 143 district judges (magistrates' courts) serving in England and Wales.
The figures for previous years are provided in the tables below.
| Year | Number of District Judges |
| Year | Number of District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) |
Courts: Magistrates' Courts
Questions
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many magistrates currently serve in England and Wales; and how this compares with the figures for each year since 2002.[HL16474]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): There are currently 25,657 magistrates serving in England and Wales. The figures for previous years are provided in the table below.
| Year | Number of Magistrates |
Please note, the figure for 2002 does not include magistrates who fell under the jurisdiction of the Duchy of Lancaster, which used to appoint magistrates for Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire.
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty's Government for how many total hours magistrates sat in session in 2011; and how this compares with figures for each year since 2002.[HL16477]
Lord McNally: The department does not collect information nationally on the number of hours sat by magistrates. We do hold information on the total number of hours sat within a magistrates' court but this information is not split by type of judiciary (for example magistrates, district judges).
The total number of hours sat in magistrates' courts, for each financial year since 2007-08, is provided in the table below.
| Period | Magistrates' Court Hours |
The figures may not include hours where a magistrates' court has sat at an alternative location. The above data are taken from the HMCTS performance database. Data prior to 2007-08 came from a different data source and are not comparable.
Disabled People: UN Convention
Questions
Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have responsibility for ensuring the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities across the United Kingdom as a whole.[HL16549]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): The UK Government acknowledge their responsibility regarding the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the convention). The convention covers all aspects of life. The devolved Administrations will develop their own responses to the convention in the light of their assessments of needs, resources and priorities. It would go against the spirit of the devolution settlements and the Sewel convention for the UK Government to seek to impose detailed requirements on the devolved Administrations in this regard.
Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will give effect to the recommendation by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission to develop a UK-wide, high level action plan to assist the Government in meeting their responsibilities under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[HL16550]
Lord Freud: The UK Government do not believe that a UK-wide high-level action plan is necessary in order for it to meet the obligations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The UK Government and the devolved Administrations are committed to the convention. The UK Government are currently developing a new disability strategy, taking the convention as its basis. This new strategy will apply primarily to England, except for matters that are not devolved. The devolved Administrations are developing their own strategic responses to the convention. This will allow implementation of the convention to be responsive to local needs, resources, priorities and what disabled people themselves in different parts of the UK are saying is important to their lives.
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA235
Energy: White Diesel
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government , further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 7 March (WA 421-2), what steps they have taken to ascertain how many suppliers around the United Kingdom are willing and able to supply white diesel for marine use, to consult formally about the effect of the regulations on marine businesses and other users both in the United Kingdom and in other European Union member states, and to undertake a study into the potential impacts on business. [HL16568]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The supply of white diesel for marine use is a commercial decision over which Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has no powers of intervention. HMRC has not taken specific steps to ascertain the number of suppliers around the United Kingdom which may be willing or able to supply white diesel for marine use.
The changes being introduced in the Finance Bill 2012 clarify the current position, that the use of red diesel with full duty paid to propel pleasure craft is a UK procedure permitted under UK legislation within UK waters. There is no requirement for white diesel to be used within UK waters.
Enterprise Zones
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government why enhanced 100% capital allowances are available in the Liverpool, Sheffield, Tees Valley, Humber, Black Country and North Eastern enterprise zones in England for companies making significant capital-intensive investments, but not in enterprise zones in Wales, given that the Welsh zones are in places which are designated as assisted areas under prevailing European Union regulations.[HL16419]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): As the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget on 21 March, the Government have agreed to make enhanced capital allowances available at designated sites in the enterprise zone at Deeside in north Wales. The Government will consider the addition of further sites once the Welsh Government have developed further proposals.
Equality Act 2010
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Equality and Human Rights Commission regarding its publication of statutory Codes of Practice under the Equality Act 2010. [HL16381]
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA236
Baroness Verma: Officials of the Government Equalities Office commented to the Equality and Human Rights Commission on its draft statutory codes of practice on employment, services and equal pay in relation to the Equality Act 2010, which have since come into effect. More recently, there have been contacts between officials and the Commission about the publication of further statutory codes on further and higher education, on schools and on the public sector equality duty which the Commission had prepared in draft.
To ask Her Majesty's Government , further to the Written Answer by Lord Hill of Oareford on 13 March (WA 41), whether the advice for school leaders, staff, governing bodies and local authorities on the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 on the Department for Education website, dated December 2011, will be reviewed before April 2012, as stated. [HL16440]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The advice has been reviewed and some minor changes have been made. The revised version will be made available on the Department for Education website within the next few days at: http://www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/ policiesandprocedures/equalityanddiversity/a0064570/the-equality-act-2010.
European Court of Human Rights
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, when finalising the list of candidates for the office of the United Kingdom judge at the European Court of Human Rights, the Government exercised their right, as the United Kingdom's representative in international affairs, to depart from the selection panel's first recommendation.[HL16399]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The list of three candidates for the office of the next judge at the European Court of Human Rights with respect to the United Kingdom to replace the current judge, Sir Nicolas Bratza, was drawn up by an independent selection panel following an open selection competition.
Both the Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs endorsed the first list recommended by the selection panel without seeking any changes to the list.
Government Departments: Accountancy
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many written instructions have been provided by ministers in the Scotland Office to the Accounting Officer for the Department in accordance with paragraph 5.5 of the Ministerial Code in the past two years; and for what reasons.[HL16704]
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA237
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Wallace of Tankerness): No written instructions have been provided by Ministers in the Scotland Office to the accounting officer for the department in accordance with paragraph 5.5 of the Ministerial Code in the past two years.
Government Departments: Staff
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Scotland Office define bonus payments in the context of civil service pay; what proportion of civil servants are eligible to receive non-consolidated performance payments; and how they are selected for those payments.[HL16525]
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Wallace of Tankerness): Staff in the Scotland Office are on secondment, mainly from the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice. Staff may be eligible for non-consolidated performance payments in different ways. First, through end-of-year performance payments under their parent bodies' performance management arrangements, and in the case of the Senior Civil Service, within a common framework set by the Cabinet Office. Depending on these arrangements, departmental pay remits, and the achievement of a level of performance that meets a defined qualifying level of performance, all staff may be eligible for end-of- year performance payments.
Secondly, under Scotland Office reward and recognition arrangements, staff below the Senior Civil Service are eligible for non-consolidated performance payments or small and instantaneous awards, e.g. vouchers, in recognition of special effort, achievement and commitment.
Health: In-vitro Diagnostic Tests
Question
Asked by Lord Walton of Detchant
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the groups of diseases or other health-related issues for which in-house pathology tests using in-vitro methods have been developed in the National Health Service. [HL16570]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The department does not hold this information.
House of Lords: Staff
Question
Asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
To ask the Chairman of Committees what are the job titles of all staff in Black Rod's Department who are not administrative staff or doorkeepers; what is the value of their salary and any other
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA238
The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The two staff in Black Rod's department who are not administrative staff or doorkeepers are Black Rod and the Yeoman Usher.
Black Rod's annual salary is disclosed in the annual remuneration report annexed to the resource accounts. For 2010-11 Black Rod's salary fell within the range £85-90,000 full year equivalent. A residence, which is owned by the House of Lords, is provided for Black Rod. The administration pays the annual service charge of £5,458. Black Rod pays for his TV licence, housekeeping and utility bills and council tax. The residence also incurs a personal tax liability.
The Yeoman Usher is paid within House of Lords Band A2 £47,164-£60,221 and is also in receipt of late duty and uniform allowances totalling £3,951.
Executive responsibilities of Black Rod include:
acting as the sovereign's representative within Parliament, taking responsibility for the planning and organisation of all ceremonial events, including the state opening of Parliament and royal and state visits; managing the residual royal estate;delivery of Task 3 of the House of Lords Strategic Plan 2010-15 which is to "Ensure that security arrangements are appropriate to the assessed level of threat and the effective conduct of business; and develop and maintain contingency and business continuity plans so as to minimise the impact of disruption caused by unplanned incidents";maintaining access to, and order in, the Chamber and throughout the House of Lords estate;managing the House's business continuity and contingency planning, chairing the bicameral Business Resilience Group and managing the Incident Management Framework and its training exercises;sitting on the House of Lords Management Board;maintaining effective liaison with the Serjeant at Arms in the House of Commons and the Parliamentary Security Director;managing the police security contract;overseeing and managing press conferences, filming requests and other events;advising other departments within the House on security and order;maintaining the pass access control system and oversight of sponsorship for passes;managing car parking facilities in the House of Lords estate.Executive responsibilities for the Yeoman Usher are to act as deputy to Black Rod in all areas of his responsibilities within the House of Lords administration. In particular, he line manages the team of doorkeepers within the House and oversees all personnel and budgetary issues within Black Rod's department.
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA239
Houses of Parliament: Heating
Question
To ask the Chairman of Committees whether the same boiler supplies heating for both Houses of Parliament within the Palace of Westminster. [HL16637]
The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The main boiler house within the Palace of Westminster comprises a set of three steam boilers. The boilers typically operate with two in use and the third as a standby, thereby providing resilience within the system. There is a single steam pipework distribution system from the plant room which serves the heating and hot water requirements of both Houses simultaneously.
Housing Benefit
Question
Asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of any increase in housing mobility resulting from changes to housing benefit and the introduction of the household benefit cap on future demand for the local replacement for the discretionary social fund.[HL16551]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Priorities for the local replacement for the discretionary social fund will be for local authorities in England and the devolved Governments for Scotland and Wales to decide. The settlement letter that will accompany the funding will say that its purpose is to concentrate resources on those facing greatest difficulty in managing their income, and to enable a more flexible response to unavoidable need. The letter will make explicit that the funding is to provide a replacement provision for community care grants and general living expenses crisis loans.
To ease the transition for the reforms the Government have put in place a substantial package of financial and practical support worth £190 million over the spending review period, including an additional £130 million contribution to discretionary housing payments. The Government are also giving existing customers up to nine months' transitional protection from the review date of their claim to help them adjust to the new rates and to find alternative accommodation if needed.
Human Rights
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering a written intervention under Article 36 of the European Convention on Human Rights in
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA240
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The Government are not considering an intervention in this case.
Marine Environment: Protected Areas
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government , further to the Written Statement by Lord Howell of Guildford on 28 February (WS 114-5) announcing a sustainable use marine protected area in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands containing a sustainable fishery zone, whether they will amend the Chagos Islands/British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area, designated on 1 April 2010, to include a similar zone recognising the traditional fishing rights of Mauritius and the Chagossians, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.[HL16537]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): We have no plans to change the British Indian Ocean Territory marine protected area which is fully compatible with United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea obligations.
Money: Forgeries
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 12 March (WA 19), what is the estimated value of current forged notes and coins in circulation.[HL16421]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): During calendar year 2011, the number of counterfeit Bank of England banknotes taken out of circulation was around 374,000 with a face value of £6.3 million. Details of the number of counterfeit Bank of England notes taken out of circulation are published on the Bank's website.
Although, the Bank does not estimate the value of forged notes in circulation, the Bank's annual report notes the percentage of counterfeits found compared to the number of genuine notes processed by the banking system each year. In 2010, this figure was 0.0024%. Most counterfeits, which are of the £20 denomination, are used only once and then identified and removed during the banking process, so the number of counterfeit notes in circulation is extremely small.
The Royal Mint conducts twice-yearly surveys to estimate the level of counterfeit £1 coins in circulation. The November 2011 survey estimated this rate to be 3.09%. No other denomination of coin is believed to be under significant threat from counterfeiting.
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA241
NHS: Clinical Commissioning Groups
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many commissioning support services for clinical commissioning groups are expected to be identified by 1 April 2012; and how many of those are expected to be led by former primary care trust managers. [HL16591]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Work is in hand within primary care trusts (PCTs), strategic health authorities and the NHS Commissioning Board Authority to develop the necessary arrangements to support the new commissioning system. The detailed strategy describing this is set out in the publication Developing Commissioning Support: Towards Service Excellence.
Information on the number of emerging National Health Service commissioning support services is not yet available. The leadership of these organisations as at 1 April 2012 is a matter for the PCT clusters. The department does not hold information on PCT cluster staffing arrangements.
NHS: Private Sector
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many private sector contracts currently exist within the National Health Service in primary, acute and tertiary care; and what is the value of those contracts. [HL16627]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): This information is not held centrally by the department.
Pensions
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government which public sector pension schemes will revalue active members' benefits above the level of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and by what percentage figure; what revaluation figure will be utilised if the difference between the CPI and Retail Prices Index is less than that percentage; what figure will be utilised if there is no inflationary rise in the CPI; and which public sector pension schemes and state pensions will not be revalued in this way.[HL16436]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The table below sets out the revaluation rates in each of the schemes for which heads of agreement or proposed final agreement have been reached:
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA242
| Scheme | Revaluation Rate |
These revaluations are linked only to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). The Retail Prices Index (RPI) is no longer being used for these purposes.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the scheme-specific cost ceilings for the public sector pension schemes currently being reformed. [HL16439]
Lord Sassoon: The cost ceilings for the main unfunded public service pension schemes are set as percentages of pay:
| Scheme | Total | Employee | Employer |
Reforms of the other schemes are currently under discussion.
Prisons: Rape, Murder and Suicide
Questions
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the incidence of rape within United Kingdom prisons in each year since 2008; and in the light of the United Kingdom's current extradition arrangements with the United States, what are the figures acknowledged by the United States Attorney General, Eric Holder, for rapes within American prisons since 2008.[HL16602]
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the incidence of murder within United Kingdom prisons in each year since 2008; and in the light of the United Kingdom's current extradition arrangements with the United States, what are the figures acknowledged by the United States Attorney General, Eric Holder, for murder within American prisons since 2008.[HL16603]
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA243
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the incidence of suicide within United Kingdom prisons in each year since 2008; and in the light of the United Kingdom's current extradition arrangements with the United States, what are the figures acknowledged by the United States Attorney General, Eric Holder, for suicide within American prisons since 2008.[HL16604]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): This reply covers prisons in England and Wales only. Those in Scotland and Northern Ireland are managed by their devolved Administrations. It would not be appropriate to supply information on behalf of the Government of the United States of America. My noble friend may wish to note that the National Offender Management Service publishes statistics on safety in custody on the Justice website via the following link: http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/prisons-and-probation/safety-in-custody. Data for 2011 will be available in July 2012.
NOMS records numbers of all types of sexual assault incident in prison but does not have a separate offence classification for rape. Sexual assaults are recorded where the perpetrator is a prisoner and the victim is another prisoner, an officer or another person. There were 120 sexual assaults recorded in 2008, 129 in 2009 and 137 in 2010.
There were three homicides involving prisoners recorded in 2008, none in 2009 and one in 2010.
NOMS uses the term "apparent self-inflicted death" to describe all deaths where it appears that a prisoner
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA244
Schools: Attendance
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government which five local education authorities had the best and which five had the worst pupil attendance records in England and Wales, in each year from 2005 to 2011. [HL16391]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): Information on those local authorities in England with the highest and lowest overall absence rates from 2006-07 to 2009-10 is shown in the table. Comparable information for 2005-06 is not available because absence data were only collected from secondary schools.
The department does not collect information on pupil absence for Wales. This is a devolved matter for the Welsh Assembly.
The latest available published information on absence for a full year, is published as Statistical First Release 03/2011 Pupil Absence in Schools in England, Including Pupil Characteristics: 2009-10 at: http://www.education. gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000994/index.shtml. This includes information for each local authority.
- (1) Includes middle schools as deemed, city technology colleges and academies. Some local authorities do not have the full range of school types, eg City of London only has one primary school.
- (4) Number of pupil enrolments in schools from start of the school year until the Friday before half term during the summer term. Includes pupils on the school roll for at least one session who are aged between five and 15. Excludes boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved schools during the school year or are registered in more than one school).
- (5) Number of sessions missed due to overall absence expressed as a percentage the total number of possible sessions.
- (6) There are known quality issues with the absence data in 2006-07 relating to primary schools in City of London and South Tyneside Local Authority areas.
Schools: Cadets
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Combined Cadet Force contingents there were in schools in 2010-11; and, of those, how many were based in independent schools.[HL16429]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): Both the Combined Cadet Forces and the community cadet forces provide excellent development opportunities for young people through military-themed activities, supported by the dedicated work of adult volunteers. At the end of the academic year 2010-11 there were 257 Combined Cadet Force contingents in schools in the United Kingdom, of which 196 were based in independent schools.
There were also 272 Community Cadet Units in schools, of which five are based in independent schools. This is broken down as follows:
Air Training Corps - 84 (State Schools)
Army Cadet Forces - 178 (State Schools) and 3 (Independent)
Sea Cadets - 5 (State Schools) and 2 (Independent)
Spencer Perceval
Question
To ask the Chairman of Committees whether there are plans to mark the two hundredth anniversary of the assassination of Spencer Perceval on 11 May 1812 in the Palace of Westminster; and, if the anniversary will be marked, when the decision to mark the event was taken, by whom, and after what process.[HL16699]
The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The Parliamentary Archives, which is leading on the commemoration for both Houses, will be marking the 200th anniversary of the assassination of Spencer Perceval with a display of records and artwork in the Royal Gallery, which will run from early May to mid-August 2012. The display will be seen by visitors to Parliament on the visitor route throughout the summer. On the day of the anniversary there will be other activities including new web pages on the Living Heritage section of the parliamentary website, a Twitter feed, and a lunchtime talk by the Clerk of the Records. The Archives will also be participating in a BBC Parliament programme on the assassination, which is currently under discussion.
Such matters are a core activity of the Parliamentary Archives, working with the Information Office, and are reflected in published business plans. The marking of this anniversary has been in the Parliamentary Archives' business plan since October 2010, and was first published as a target in the 2011-12 House of Lords business plan (see HL Paper 132, p26). The
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA247
Sunday Trading
Question
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox): The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget on 21 March that the Government would introduce legislation suspending the current rules that prohibit some large shops from opening on a Sunday from the week before the opening ceremony of the
27 Mar 2012 : Column WA248
The temporary suspension of Sunday trading restrictions will assist in ensuring that visitors can take full advantage of all the UK has to offer, including its world-class shops. This suspension is not a pilot for a wider liberalisation of Sunday trading, nor will a Bill contain powers for wider liberalisation.
US-Ireland Alliance
Question
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support they have given towards the US-Ireland Alliance Mitchell Scholars' programme or to the president of the US-Ireland Alliance; and how the use of this money is accounted for and supervised. [HL16694]
Lord Shutt of Greetland: There is no record that Her Majesty's Government have ever provided financial support to this organisation or to its president.
| Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |