Written Answers
Thursday 14 June 2012
Armed Conflict: Cultural Property
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will ratify the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two protocols.[HL314]
Baroness Rawlings: The Government are committed to introducing legislation to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property and accede to its two protocols as soon as parliamentary time allows, taking account of all our legislative priorities.
Armed Forces: Training
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are being made, in the training of military service personnel, to strengthen the United Kingdom's effective integration in combined international operations.[HL312]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): The single services have primary responsibility for the generation of force elements, trained, equipped and prepared for operational employment, including alongside international partners in combined international operations. Service personnel receive progressive training at the individual, team, unit, formation, component and joint task force level within a joint and combined environment. From 1 April 2012, HQ Joint Forces Command was given the responsibility of co-ordinating joint and combined training events under the mantle of the Defence Exercise Programme; this should reinvigorate and reinforce the imperative for such training as we start to withdraw from Operation Herrick and adopt a more contingent posture. The programme will be strongly influenced by the defence engagement strategy.
Building and maintaining alliances and partnerships was a cross-cutting theme in the strategic defence and security review and training and education activity (including combined exercises, international student exchange and military capacity building) contributes to this theme. Furthermore, the development of analytical and creative thinking skills that complement other professional competences is embedded in progressive military education. This equips our future military and civilian leaders with the skills to decide, communicate, engage and lead effectively in complex joint, multi-national and inter-agency environments.
The UK also participates in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military exercises. The overall aim of these exercises is to improve the capability and interoperability of both NATO's and national force's
headquarters and agencies, for the full spectrum of potential military tasks. The UK takes a co-ordinated and proactive approach to ensure that, as far as possible, NATO and UK exercise policies are aligned and that scarce national assets and exercise programming conflicts are avoided. The UK also participates in a number of other programmes with NATO and non-NATO countries, including inter alia American, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand Armies' Programme (ABCA), UK/US Engagement Plan and bilaterals with other nations. Activities vary in scale from corps level command post exercises to individual exchanges and focus on interoperability training.
A series of exercises is being planned in preparation for the UK/France Combined Joint Expeditionary Force. A research project (Support to Anglo/French Interoperability and Readiness) carried out over the period October 2010 to December 2011 demonstrated how sustainable simulation technologies can support joint mission preparation, distributed training and experimentation alongside our partners.
Charity Commission
Questions
Asked by Lord Janner of Braunstone
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Charity Commission about ensuring it has the resources it needs to monitor the activities of charities robustly.[HL496]
Baroness Verma: As an independent non-ministerial government department, the Charity Commission negotiates its own settlement direct with HM Treasury. The Charity Commission has adopted a strategic plan for 2012-15, following a wide-ranging consultation, and is confident that it will continue to be an effective and efficient regulator within the resources available.
Asked by Lord Janner of Braunstone
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of charities are scrutinised by the Charity Commission on average each year.[HL497]
Baroness Verma: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the commission's chief executive to reply.
Letter from Sam Younger CBE, Chief Executive, to Lord Janner of Braunstone, dated 30 May 2012.
I have been asked to reply to your Written Parliamentary Question on what percentage of charities are scrutinised by the Charity Commission on average each year [HL497).
The Charity Commission examines many aspects of the activities of charities in England and Wales and there is no single figure to reflect the different levels of our regulatory engagement.
At the broadest level, the online Register of Charities allows the public to scrutinise all registered charities; for example, to see which charities have filed their information promptly and which are overdue. The commission encourages anyone who is interested in or
wishes to support a charity to use this publicly available resource: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Show Charity/RegisterOfCharities/RegisterHomePage.aspx.
The majority of the 162,000 charities on the register have to send us information which is checked automatically at the point of entry. Commission staff will examine other potential errors or anomalies in the financial information provided and refer to the charity's accounts as necessary. We also carry out spot-checks to ensure there is consistency between a charity's accounts and annual returns.
Our next level of engagement with charities comes at the level of operational casework, where we examine concerns about charities and provide legal consents where our permission is required. Through this type of activity, we directly regulated an average of approximately £28 billion-worth of charitable income each year between 2007-08 and 2010-11. This represented 55% of the average total income of charities in England and Wales over the same period.
When things go wrong in a charity, or a group of charities, we identify and investigate abuse and mismanagement through a combination of monitoring, assessment and regulatory casework. In the most serious cases, where there is evidence or strong suspicion of serious misconduct or mismanagement in a charity, we may open a statutory inquiry.
Between 2007-08 and 2011-12, we completed a yearly average of 202 monitoring cases, 1,517 assessment cases, 135 regulatory cases and 21 statutory inquiries. The number of charities assessed and investigated in this way in any given year represents a small percentage of the total number of registered charities.
Civil Service: Redundancy
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 24 April (WA 386), why they do not record centrally and publish the annual numbers and costs of redundancies under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme by individual Civil Service departments and agencies, and the total annual cost of such pension payments and lump sums on retirement.[HL462]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The matter of early departures is delegated to individual departments to determine, as are decisions on redundancies and other early exits. It is for departments to report such information in their resource accounts each year.
Civil Service: Training
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision is made by Civil Service Learning to ensure senior civil servants are aware of the constitutional significance of Parliament and the conventions governing the relationship between Parliament and Government. [HL420]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: As set out in the Civil Service Code, civil servants advising Ministers should be aware of the constitutional significance of Parliament and of the conventions governing the relationship between Parliament and the Government.
Civil Service Learning provides a wide range of products, both e-learning and face-to-face training, which cover these issues.
Discretionary Social Fund
Question
Asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they will issue to local authorities with reference to possible local connection rules applied to the replacement for the discretionary social fund. [HL694]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): The Department for Work and Pensions is not planning to issue any guidance to local authorities with regard to local connection rules. From our many discussions with the Local Government Association and individual local authorities, we are assured that they are well aware of their existing duties in regard to local connection issues.
Elections: Police and Crime Commissioners
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 28 May (WA 100–1), how they will publicise the proposed “multichannel approach” for informing the public about the candidates for the police and crime commissioner elections; what the “multichannel approach” entails; and how they will monitor and publish information about (1) the number of unique visitors to the website, and (2) the number of requests for information in a paper booklet.[HL612]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Henley): Subject to parliamentary approval of the Police and Crime Commissioner (Elections) Order 2012, a website will provide detailed information on all the candidates, including their election addresses, and a freephone number to enable voters to ask for free leaflet versions to be delivered to their homes. The website address and freephone number will be on every polling card, and on all Home Office and Electoral Commission literature on police and crime commissioners. No decisions have yet been taken on how visits to the website and requests for leaflets will be monitored.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 28 May (WA 100–1), how many copies of paper booklets
setting out information about candidates for the police and crime commissioner elections they expect to be printed; and at what cost.[HL613]
Lord Henley: We will print as many copies as are needed. Printing costs will depend on demand and on the number of candidates who stand in each region.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 28 May (WA 100–1), how many representations they received, and from whom, about the issue of voters obtaining information about candidates in the police and crime commissioner elections; and how many of those respondents suggested that their current plans were (1) adequate, or (2) inadequate, for voters to be able to make informed choices in these elections. [HL614]
Lord Henley: In addition to representations from the Electoral Commission, the Government received representations from the British Printing Industries Federation and the Association of Police Authorities.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of turnout in the police and crime commissioner elections they would consider to demonstrate sufficient public support for those elected to the posts. [HL615]
Lord Henley: Governments do not set minimum turnout figures for elections. All police and crime commissioners will have a stronger mandate than the unelected and invisible police authorities that they replace.
Employment: Outsourcing
Question
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they collect data on the number of jobs outsourced to foreign countries by United Kingdom-based companies.[HL521]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Stoddart of Swindon, dated June 2012.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking whether we collect data on the number of jobs outsourced to foreign countries by United Kingdom-based companies. [HL521].
The requested information is not available.
Exports
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Conwy
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of United Kingdom gross domestic product is accounted for by United Kingdom exports to eurozone countries.[HL549]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Exports to the eurozone accounted for 12.3% of gross domestic product in 2010. Exports to the eurozone accounted for 41.8% of total exports in 2010.
Data for 2011 will be published in July 2012.
Greece: Financial Support
Question
Asked by Lord Janner of Braunstone
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are providing assistance to Greece to ensure that poverty levels in Greece do not rise.[HL584]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): Two financial assistance packages for Greece have been agreed to date. The first package, agreed in May 2010 and worth €110 billion over three years, comprised a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of €30 billion and a package of bilateral loans from euro area member states of €80 billion.
The second package, agreed on 14 and 15 March 2012 and worth up to €130 billion in new financing, comprises contributions from the European financial stability facility (EFSF) and the IMF. The UK is not a member of the EFSF and, therefore, there is no liability to the UK arising from EFSF lending.
The IMF's contribution to the new programme, which will last until the beginning of 2016, will be €28 billion. This includes €10 billion from the first programme which is yet to be disbursed. Although the IMF has ultimately committed €48 billion in loans to Greece over the period 2010 to 2016, its maximum exposure at any time will not exceed €33 billion, as Greece, from 2013 onwards, will also start to repay loans from the first programme.
There was no contribution either from the EU budget or from the European financial stabilisation mechanism (EFSM), which is backed by the EU budget. Therefore the UK's exposure to Greece's financial assistance packages is through the IMF alone.
The UK lends to the IMF as an institution and not to particular programmes. It is, therefore, not possible to provide an exact estimate of the UK's contribution to individual IMF programmes. As a rough estimate, we would expect the UK's exposure to overall IMF lending to be in line with its quota share of 4.5%. However, the IMF has preferred creditor status and no country has ever lost money lending to the IMF.
Included within the IMF programme to Greece are measures that aim to strengthen the core social safety net to protect the most vulnerable. For example, the
IMF staff's report on the new Greek loan mentions that, in Greece, non-pension social benefits are “complex, unequally distributed ... and poorly targeted (eg 60% of family benefits go to the top 40% of the income distribution)”. A review of these social programmes will seek to identify savings by discontinuing non-essential programmes and improving the targeting of core programmes. Some savings from the reforms would be reinvested in strengthening core programmes (for instance, unemployment benefits) to protect the most vulnerable.
House of Lords: Members’ Speeches
Question
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask the Leader of the House whether the intervention by Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Official Report, col. 803, 23 May) during a question asked of Lord Howell of Guildford by Lord Davies of Stamford stating that he did not think “that it has been the usual practice of this House to interrupt Ministers in the middle of their opening speeches” was accurate.[HL750]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde): My noble friend was correct to observe that it is the usual practice of the House that Members' questions to the Minister, having been posed in the course of a debate, are answered in the Minister's closing speech. The Companion to the Standing Orders makes clear that although a Member may be interrupted “with a brief question for clarification”, “lengthy or frequent interventions should not be made, even with the consent of the member speaking” (Paragraph 4.29).
Mayors
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of the 10 recent referendums on directly elected mayors.[HL548]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave on 28 May 2012 (Official Report, col. WA 119), where I explained that the councils concerned are now establishing these costs and will be submitting their claims for government funding.
NHS: Foundation Trusts
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in respect of all NHS trusts that are currently approved by Monitor as foundation trusts, what are (1) their audited revenue expenditure for 2010–11, and (2) their estimated revenue expenditure for 2011–12 (at constant prices); what surpluses or deficits they had in each year; and what are their current accumulated reserves. [HL617]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The independent regulator, Monitor, requires National Health Service foundation trusts to produce annual reports including annual accounts. These include details of audited revenue expenditure, surpluses or deficits. Copies of these documents are laid before Parliament. As public benefit corporations, NHS foundation trusts have a duty to make these published data available to any person who requests them.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in respect of all NHS trusts that have applied to Monitor to become foundation trusts but have not yet been approved, what are (1) their audited revenue expenditure for 2010–11, and (2) their estimated revenue expenditure for 2011–12 (at constant prices); and what surpluses they had in each year.[HL618]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in respect of the 20 NHS trusts identified in “tripartite formal agreements” as not financially or clinically viable in their current form; what are (1) their audited revenue expenditure for 2010–11, and (2) their estimated revenue expenditure for 2011–12 (at constant prices); what deficits they had in each year; and what is their current accumulated historical debt.[HL619]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in respect of all NHS trusts which are expected to apply successfully to Monitor to become foundation trusts by April 2014, what are (1) their audited revenue expenditure for 2010–11, and (2) their estimated revenue expenditure for 2011–12 (at constant prices); what surpluses or deficits they had in each year; and what is their current accumulated historical debt.[HL620]
Earl Howe: Information on operating expenses, break-even cumulative position and surplus/deficit positions for the following groups of National Health Service trusts has been placed in the Library:
NHS trusts with Monitor yet to be authorised;NHS trusts identified in tripartite formal agreements as not financially and/or clinically viable in their current organisation form; andNHS trusts expected to become foundation trusts, the majority of which by April 2014.
NHS: Out-of-hours Service
Question
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what investigations are being conducted into the out-of-hours general practitioner service in Cornwall.[HL609]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): This is a matter for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly primary care trust and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, we understand that the CQC is currently carrying out an inspection
into Serco. As the CQC is an independent body it would not be appropriate to comment further on this inspection.
Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games about the organisations and companies which have been contracted to provide interpreting and translation services for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. [HL535]
Baroness Garden of Frognal: Contracting for interpreting and translation services to the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) is a matter for LOCOG, a private company which operates independently of government. The Government have had no discussions with LOCOG about organisations or companies contracted by LOCOG in this area.
Schools: Special Educational Needs
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to revise the definition of special educational needs for schools; and whether they will publish that definition.[HL456]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): “Special educational needs” is currently defined within Part IV of the Education Act 1996. The Government have announced a Children and Families Bill which will replace Part IV and revise the definition of special educational needs (SEN) to reflect the proposed change to a birth to 25 system for assessing and providing for children and young people's needs. A draft of the Bill will be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny later this year. The SEN code of practice will be revised to reflect the new arrangements set out in the Bill and a draft of the
code, including clearer guidance on what constitutes a special educational need, will be laid before both Houses for approval.
Waste Management
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities have submitted bids for the Weekly Collection Support Scheme for waste collection. [HL581]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): The Weekly Collection Support Scheme was launched in February this year. Outline bids had to be sent in by last month and I am pleased to say that we received 166 different bids.
This enthusiasm shows there is significant scope for councils to increase recycling rates and improve front-line services without cutting the frequency of rubbish collections. The bids include a range of proposals to support weekly collections, including infrastructure projects and incentive schemes.
My department is getting ready to give those bidders bespoke feedback later this month. This will help local authorities as they seek to finalise and improve their bids in time for the final bids deadline in August.
The scheme's prospectus states that,
“we will not disclose the nature, scale and scope of individual bids during the bidding process ... Once offer letters have been issued the department may publish top line information about bids where this is deemed to be in the public interest (for example, the name of the successful lead bidding authority, the amount that will be awarded and nature and scale of the successful proposal(s))”.
Consequently, I cannot at present disclose the names of individual local authorities which are seeking funding from the scheme.
The reasoning for this stance is that such information is closely linked to tendering and procurement processes in local authorities. As a result, disclosure may have an adverse effect on competition between companies in this process and put local authorities in a disadvantageous position. For example, the disclosure of budget set aside for a purchase could encourage suppliers to raise their prices and prejudice the bargaining position of a local authority.