Written Answers
Tuesday 30 October 2012
Aviation: Security
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether all necessary security checks are carried out on aircraft flying from airports in the United Kingdom even when they have been late in arriving from the previous journey.[HL2853]
Earl Attlee: All aircraft are expected to be subject to security checks as required in the aviation security regulations. To ensure compliance with the regulations the Department for Transport has a strict compliance monitoring regime. Aviation security inspectors visit airports regularly to check that all aspects of security are being properly implemented.
BBC: Licence Fee
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to limit the amount of BBC licence fee money used to meet continuing liabilities in the BBC pension scheme to the £905 million already agreed.[HL2577]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government have no intention of limiting the amount of licence fee money used to limit BBC pension liabilities. We have made no assessment of what percentage of the licence fee will be spent on the BBC pension scheme, nor made any representations about any consequences for programme-making capacity. These are matters for the BBC and there is no provision for government to intervene.
Burma
Questions
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much British aid goes each year to the private sector in Burma.[HL2618]
Baroness Northover: The private sector will be an important part of the transition to a better governed, more peaceful and prosperous Burma. The Department for International Development (DfID) is looking at how it can engage the private sector to be a positive part of this transition by ensuring that economic development in Burma is broad-based, sustainable and creates economic opportunities for poor people. We are already creating these opportunities for the poor in rural areas through our work on livelihoods. At present none of DfID's bilateral aid programme goes directly to private sector companies in Burma.
Asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian needs of the Kachin people displaced by conflict in Burma. [HL2671]
Baroness Northover: The instability in Kachin and Shan States, which started in June 2011, has led to the displacement of over 70,000 people (as of September 2012), loss of lives and livelihoods, and damage to infrastructure. Humanitarian priorities include the provision of shelter, water and sanitation, and food for those displaced. DfID has provided £2 million to support humanitarian needs in Kachin through a number of local non-government organisations. This will help to meet the needs of around 27,500 internally displaced people, largely in border camps not controlled by government, for food security, shelter, water, sanitation, health and bedding.
Asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance they provide to internally displaced people in Kachin State, Burma.[HL2674]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to extend and increase humanitarian assistance to internally displaced people in Kachin State, Burma.[HL2675]
Baroness Northover: To date, DfID has provided £2 million to support humanitarian needs in Kachin through a number of local non-government organisations which is helping meet the needs of around 27,500 internally displaced people for food security, shelter, water, sanitation, health and bedding. UK support has gone largely to people in border camps not controlled by government. We will continue to keep the situation under review.
Climate Change
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the latest climate figures from the Met Office; whether those figures suggest there has been any significant global warming since (1) 1998, and (2) 1880; and whether they have any plans to amend their policies to meet carbon emission targets in the light of those figures.[HL2728]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Baroness Verma): The latest update of the HadCRUT4 global temperature dataset, produced by the Met Office and the Climatic Research Unit, shows a long-term upward trend in average global temperature, although on a shorter timescale global average temperature has not increased significantly since around 1998. The HadCRUT4 dataset shows that global temperatures have increased by about 0.8 degrees centigrade since around 1880.
Short-term variations in the rate of global temperature change are caused by natural climate variability and other drivers, such as small variations in solar output. Since 1998 natural variability has tempered continued long-term global warming but long-term climate change is evinced by many other indicators, including for example, significant decline in Arctic sea-ice, continuing global sea-level rise and accumulation of heat in the world's oceans.
There are currently no plans to revise the policies in place to meet the UK emissions reduction targets, as observations show that long-term average global temperatures are still rising and are projected to continue to do so in coming decades as a consequence of historic and future anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Questions
Asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of progress on the European Union-funded Strategic Environmental Assessment of oil exploration in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and when the first phase of this study is likely to be finished.[HL2666]
Baroness Northover: The first of the two phases of the European Union-funded Strategic Environmental Assessment of oil exploration in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has now been completed. Phase 1 (Etude de Cadrage, or scoping study) took place between September 2011 and April 2012, and the final report was passed to the DRC Ministry of Environment in early October. Once initiated, phase 2 is expected to take about four months to complete, and include seven detailed studies.
Asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contribution they will make to humanitarian efforts in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2012 and 2013.[HL2766]
Baroness Northover: In May 2012 Her Majesty's Government committed to providing a £135 million humanitarian programme in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the next five years. We are the third largest provider of humanitarian support to DRC. Our assistance will reach 2.1 million beneficiaries with humanitarian assistance each year.
We remain extremely concerned at the situation facing the population of eastern Congo, and are working closely with the United Nations and non-governmental organisations to ensure vulnerable people are reached quickly and effectively with essential lifesaving assistance including: access to safe water; shelter; healthcare; and protection from further attacks.
Drones
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many drones are operated by the United Kingdom in or near Afghanistan; whether they are used for attack purposes; and, if so, how many deaths of non-combatant civilians have been caused by United Kingdom drones since operations in Afghanistan began.[HL2566]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): The following table lists the UK Ministry of Defence's in-service remotely piloted air systems by number of aircraft and type currently deployed in support of UK operations within Afghanistan.
| Remotely Piloted Air System | Number of Remotely Piloted Aircraft |
All play a vital role in military operations in support of our Armed Forces on the ground. Although their primary mission is intelligence collection, surveillance and reconnaissance, the Reaper remotely piloted aircraft is armed with precision guided weapons. These weapons may be released under the command of a pilot who uses rules of engagement (ROE) that are no different from those used for manned UK combat aircraft. The targets are always positively identified as legitimate military objectives, and attacks are prosecuted in strict accordance with the law of armed conflict and UK ROE.
Regarding the number of civilian casualties, I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by my right honourable friend, the previous Minister for the Armed Forces, Nick Harvey, in the other place on 26 June 2012 (Official Report, col. 187W) to the honourable Member for Birmingham Hall Green (Mr Godsiff).
Elections: Police and Crime Commissioners
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 15 October (WA 440–41), what is the estimated cost of courier delivery of hard copy details of candidates in November's police and crime commissioner elections to those who have telephoned with such a request. [HL2652]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): The general public will be able to order candidate information booklets for the police and crime commissioner elections up
until the day before the elections, 14 November. All orders will be despatched by Royal Mail. Until we have a final figure for the volume of booklets ordered, we are unable to provide estimated postage costs for delivering these booklets to all those who have requested them.
Energy: Prices
Questions
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the average energy bill paid by consumers arises from VAT and environmental subsidies.[HL2784]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Baroness Verma): VAT represents 5% of an average household energy bill. DECC estimates that the costs of energy and climate change policies represent around 7% of an average household dual fuel bill in 20111. These largely relate to policies designed to improve the energy efficiency of our homes, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and provide support with energy costs for eligible low-income and vulnerable energy customers.
Updated analysis will be published later this year in the Estimated Impacts of Energy and Climate Change Policies on Energy Prices and Bills publication, which will appear alongside the annual energy statement.
Analysis was published in November 2011 and is available online at: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/aes/impacts/impacts.aspx.
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on energy consumers of raising the price of carbon from £7 per tonne to £16 per tonne in 2015 and subsequently to £32 per tonne.[HL2786]
Baroness Verma: In Budget 2011, the Government announced the introduction of a carbon price floor (CPF) from 1 April 2013. This is designed to top up the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) carbon price to a minimum level for the UK electricity generation sector.
The CPF begins at around £16/tCO2 in 2013 and rises to £30/tCO2 in 2020 (in real 2009 prices). Budget 2011 set the carbon price support rate for 2013-14 at £4.94/tCO2 (nominal prices), which represents the difference between the price floor and the futures market price for carbon in the EU ETS in 2013.
As a result, average household electricity bills will increase by around 1% (£6) in 20131. The carbon price support rate for 2016 has not yet been set, and will depend on the EU ETS carbon price at the time.
The CPF will help provide a strong incentive for billions of pounds of new, low-carbon investment in our electricity infrastructure. Obviously, we must do this in a cost-effective way so that we have clean, secure supplies of electricity to support growth.
1Analysis published in March 2011 and available online at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6111.pdf.
Government Departments: Procurement
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they issue on the purchase of mobile phones for use by civil servants.[HL2599]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: As with all public procurement, departments are required to achieve the best value for money in meeting a specific and stated business need when purchasing mobile phones for use by civil servants. The Government issue no other guidance on the subject.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they spent with Research in Motion (RIM) in each of the past three years; and how many devices were supplied.[HL2600]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: As part of the Government's transparency programme, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder (http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk). However, the specific information requested is not held centrally.
Government Departments: Stationery
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what restrictions are placed by the Department for Education on the ordering of stationery items.[HL2648]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): In line with the cross-Government Centralised Procurement Strategy, the Department for Education orders desktop stationery from a pan-government stationery contract. Stationery is available via electronic catalogues containing identified core items selected to provide value for money. The catalogues are accessed by nominated requisitioners. Requests to order stationery outside the core items are subject to an additional level of financial approval. Standard weekly deliveries are scheduled to each site.
There are no upper or lower order value limits.
Government: Correspondence
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Attorney-General prevented the publication of 27 letters from the Prince of Wales to Ministers. [HL2717]
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Wallace of Tankerness): A detailed explanation of the basis on which the Attorney-General arrived at his decision is
set out in his statement of reasons. A copy has been placed in the Libraries of the House and the Printed Paper Office.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 27 letters from the Prince of Wales to Ministers were addressed to Ministers who were not members of the Privy Council.[HL2718]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government believe that correspondence between Ministers of the Crown and HRH the Prince of Wales should remain confidential, regardless of whether the relevant Minister is a privy councillor.
Housing
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) local authority, and (2) housing association tenants in each London Borough have been sent letters encouraging them to exercise their right to buy their homes.[HL2713]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): The Government are determined that tenants who are eligible to exercise the right to buy their home and are able to afford it should be made aware of the significantly increased discount of up to £75,000 now available. In order to protect tenants' personal data, the department was rightly not able to use personal address data supplied by local authorities and housing associations to mail tenants directly. The contractor therefore used other database information to help target potential eligible tenants, as is the norm for direct mail marketing. The estimated total number of tenants in London sent a letter from the right to buy team, by main post code, was as follows:
We do not hold this information by local authority area.
Landlords have a statutory duty to inform their tenants about the changes. However, the department's research on previous changes to the scheme suggested that only a third of tenants were aware of those changes. It would be unfair if some tenants were not able to exercise their legal right to buy because of local councils keeping them in the dark and failing to promote the reinvigorated scheme.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received about the consultation undertaken with residents of the Barkantine, Kingsbridge, Samuda and St John’s estates in relation to the takeover of Island Homes by One Housing Group.[HL2715]
Baroness Hanham: The Government have received representations on this matter from local residents and local representatives in the area. The Government have encouraged all the parties involved to continue their discussions to try and find an equitable solution.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many tenants served on (1) the board of the Tenants Services Authority, and (2) the regulatory committee of the Homes and Communities Agency.[HL2716]
Baroness Hanham: All members of the Tenant Services Authority's Board and the Homes and Communities Agency's Regulation Committee were appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
The Homes and Communities Agency does not collect information about the housing tenures of its non-executives and neither did the Tenant Services Authority up until its abolition. However any members of the Homes and Communities Agency Regulation Committee (and previously the Tenant Services Authority Board) who are tenants of registered social housing providers would be expected to declare this on their register of interests. No member of the Homes and Communities Agency Regulation Committee has declared such an interest. At the point of its abolition, two members of the Tenant Services Authority Board had declared that they were tenants of registered social housing providers.
Illiteracy
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much is being spent in the United Kingdom in combating illiteracy.[HL2525]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Marland): FE colleges and providers have a single adult skills budget providing them with the flexibility to respond to local learner and employer needs. There are no separate budgets for adult literacy provision.
The Skills Funding Agency estimates expenditure of £190 million on literacy provision (including provision delivered through apprenticeship frameworks, functional skills, GCSE and adult basic skills provision) for learners aged 19-plus in the 2011-12 academic year. This figure is calculated using information submitted by providers via the individualised learning record (ILR), and is based on provisional year-end data so is subject to change.
English is a compulsory subject in the primary national curriculum that all pupils must be taught. In studying English, pupils develop skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing that they will need to participate in society and employment. The revenue funding the Department for Education distributes through the dedicated schools grant is provided to enable schools to deliver the national curriculum. The dedicated schools grant provides general funding for schools and does not earmark funding for specific programmes such as those to target illiteracy. It is for schools to decide how to use the general funding allocated to them for the benefit of their pupils.
The Department for Education makes a range of funds available to schools specifically aimed at supporting literacy development. Up to £3,000 of match-funding is available to schools with key stage 1 pupils to buy systematic synthetic phonics resources and training. For pupils that have not attained level 4 in reading and/or maths at the end of primary school, there is a new catch-up premium to provide £500 per relevant pupil to their secondary school to enable them to catch up in year 7.
Immigration: Deportation
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the current arrangements in relation to the deportation to Greece of (1) criminals, and (2) asylum seekers who first registered in that country; how many asylum seekers have to date arrived in the United Kingdom after first registering in Greece; how many (a) criminals, and (b) asylum seekers, are presently awaiting return to Greece; and what is their assessment of conditions in Greece for those returned.[HL2644]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): The current arrangements for the deportation to Greece of:
(1) Criminals—Greek nationals (as with any foreign national offender from the European Economic Area) are considered for deportation if they satisfy the following criteria:
a court recommendation for deportation and/or;a custodial sentence of 12 months or more for an offence involving drugs, violent or sexual crimes or a custodial sentence of 24 months or more for other offences.
(2) Asylum seekers who first registered their asylum claim in Greece—in September 2010 a decision to suspend transfer from the UK to Greece under the Dublin Regulation was made. As a result asylum
applications from those who had sought asylum first in Greece fell to be considered substantively in the UK by the UK Border Agency.
Since September 2010 the UK Border Agency is aware of approximately 760 cases where the EURODAC fingerprinting system has notified matches between fingerprints sent by the UK and those previously recorded by Greece.
The number presently awaiting return to Greece can be broken down as follows:
(a) criminals—the UK Border Agency does not disclose details of numbers removed to specific countries as it may jeopardise diplomatic relations and its ability to continue to remove to that country; and (b) asylum seekers—no asylum seekers are currently awaiting removal to Greece; asylum applications are being considered substantively by the UK Border Agency and unsuccessful applicants will be removed to their country of origin.
Greece continues to receive practical assistance from the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) to facilitate implementation of the Greek National Action Plan for Managed Migration and Asylum Reform (Greek Action Plan). As part of that plan a new Greek Asylum Service, Appeals Authority and framework for reception arrangements are in the process of being delivered. However, delivery is not yet complete and so the UK, along with the EASO, other member states and the European Commission, continue to monitor the situation with regard to Greece meeting its international obligations towards asylum seekers in practice.
Until it can be demonstrated that those obligations are met the rulings from the European Court of Human Rights in MSS v Belgium and Greece (21 January 2011) and the Court of Justice of the European Union in NS and others (21 December 2011) prevent the removal of asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin Regulation (EC) No. 343/2003.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the UK Border Agency reports statistics on deportation and removal of (1) foreign criminals, and (2) failed asylum seekers; how they define this status; and on what evidence the status is based.[HL2645]
Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Figures on removals are published on an annual and quarterly basis and include a user guide that provides information on definitions used, how figures were compiled, data quality and issues arising from figures being based on data sourced from an administrative database.
The latest figures on foreign national offenders are available in Table “rv.07.q”, while the latest figures of asylum removals are available in Tables “rv.01” and “rv.01.q” of the release Immigration Statistics, April to June 2012 Second edition. Both this release and the user guide are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Science website at: http://www. homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/.
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific reasons have prevented the United Kingdom from signing the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. [HL2633]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The UK Government support the aims of the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. However, it is general practice of the UK not to sign a treaty unless the Government are confident that domestic legislation, policies and practices comply with its requirements, thereby allowing the UK to complete ratification soon after signature.
Following an initial assessment of the practical implications of implementing the convention, we have identified areas of domestic law and operational policy that would need to change if the UK is to comply with the convention requirements. This is likely to include the creation of a separate criminal offence.
The UK Government have made it clear in their formal response to the recommendations they received at their recent UN Universal Periodic Review that they are committed to making further progress on ratification by the time of their mid-term progress report under this mechanism which is due in 2014. The ongoing analysis work, therefore, will include an assessment of the extent to which common law provisions would need to be replicated in statute law to enable the UK to ratify the convention.
The UK is keen to move towards signature and ratification of the convention but the size of this undertaking will require considerable resources and parliamentary time. It would therefore not be appropriate to set a timetable for ratification at this stage.
Isles of Scilly: Transport Services
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Earl Attlee on 24 October, what is their definition of market failure, as applied to transport services to the Isles of Scilly.[HL2838]
Earl Attlee: It is not possible to define in advance precisely what would constitute market failure applied to transport services to the Isles of Scilly. Nor would it necessarily be in the public interest to do so. However the present situation is that one supplier has announced a withdrawal from the market and another supplier is increasing supply to meet the demand that would otherwise be unmet. That is a sign of the market reacting to the situation. As I said in my earlier response we will monitor the situation closely.
Israel and Palestine
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel about compensation for Palestinian farmers whose olive trees have been destroyed by settlers. [HL2679]
The Senior Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government & Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Warsi): Our embassy in Israel regularly reinforces our concerns about incidents of settler violence, including the importance of bringing those responsible to justice, with the Israeli authorities, including the Israeli Attorney-General and Israeli Defence Minister. However, given the range of issues on which we are engaged we have to prioritise lobbying and have not made representations on the specific question of compensation for Palestinian farmers whose olive trees have been destroyed.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) joined other EU Foreign Ministers in expressing “deep concern regarding settler extremism and incitement by settlers” and condemning “continuous settler violence and deliberate provocations against Palestinian civilians” in the EU Foreign Affairs Council conclusions of May 2012. The Foreign Affairs Council also called on the Israeli Government to bring the perpetrators to justice and to comply with its obligations under international law.
Israel: Pharmaceutical Industry
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on British jobs and research in the pharmaceutical industry of extending Israel's ease of access to European Union markets for its pharmaceutical products.[HL2691]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Marland): The protocol Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA) with Israel is a technical trade agreement that would simplify Israeli exports of pharmaceutical products into Europe. The ACCA was negotiated by the European Commission and signed by the Council of Ministers in May 2010. Consent of the ACAA by the European Parliament, which is required before the agreement can come into force, has been delayed, but is still under discussion.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills deposited an Explanatory Memorandum (No 14974/09) in Parliament on 10 November 2009 confirming that an impact assessment had not been carried out as the proposal did not impose any additional costs to business.
Money Advice Service
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of concerns of the financial services industry and its £46.3 million budget for 2012-13, they will consider winding up the Money Advice Service. [HL2634]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The Consumer Financial Education Body was established by Government under the Financial Services Act in 2010 and re-launched as the Money Advice Service in April 2011.
The service has an important responsibility to develop consumer financial education, raise public understanding and knowledge of financial matters and the ability of people to manage their own financial affairs. It offers impartial information and advice on money matters nationally and is available to all online, by telephone and face-to-face. The Government are, therefore, not considering winding up the service.
Overseas Aid
Questions
Asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have requested that the Government of the United States lifts its ban on United States humanitarian aid being provided to organisations which facilitate abortions for women and girls impregnated by rape in armed conflict.[HL2614]
Baroness Northover: The UK Government are clear that where international humanitarian law takes precedence over national laws, UK aid can be used, without exception, to provide safe abortion care for victims of rape as part of non-discriminatory medical care.
The UK Government have not requested the United States Government to change its policy.
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average income per person in each country receiving development aid from the United Kingdom. [HL2624]
Baroness Northover: DfID publishes details of average incomes per person in Annexe A of its annual publication, Statistics on International Development (SID). A copy of SID is available from the House of Commons Library or from the link to DfID's website below: http://www.dfid.gov.uk//About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Aid-Statistics/Statistics-on-International-Development-2011/SID-2011-Tables-Index/.
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries received development aid from the United Kingdom in (1) 2005, (2) 2008, and (3) 2011; and how much each of those countries received in each of those years.[HL2625]
Baroness Northover: DfID publishes details on overseas development assistance in its annual publication, Statistics on International Development (SID). Country specific information is shown in Tables 14.1-14.5. A copy of SID is available from the House of Commons Library or from the link to DfID's website below: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-us/How-we-measure-progress/Aid-Statistics/Statistics-on-International-Development-2011/SID-2011-Tables-Index/.
Police
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of relations between the Government and the police; and whether they have plans to improve those relations.[HL2621]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): The Government do not underestimate the strength of feeling among police officers at the moment. Members of the Government at all levels have had, and continue to have, meetings with the police service as part of the day-to-day business of Government. The Home Secretary and the Policing Minister regularly meet with representatives of the Police Federation, Police Superintendents' Association and members of the Association of Chief Police Officers to discuss a wide range of issues. We are also looking at ways in which we can ensure greater input from officers of all ranks on policing matters. We will continue to engage with police officers and staff to ensure that their opinions help to shape future policing policies.
Post-2015 Development Agenda
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which millennium development goal 2015 Development Framework meetings the United Kingdom delegation will attend.[HL2684]
Baroness Northover: The Prime Minister, along with President Yudhyono of Indonesia and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, is one of three co-chairs for the UN High Level Panel (HLP) post-2015 agenda. The UN Secretary-General officially announced the appointment of all 27 panellists and the terms of reference for the HLP in July 2012.
Following the launch in September the first substantive meeting of the HLP is due to take place on 1 November. This will be preceded by a policy experts' meeting on 31 October and will end with a civil society outreach
event on 2 November. Various members of the UK delegation will attend different elements of all three days. The delegation includes the Prime Minister in his co-chair capacity; Justine Greening, the Secretary State for International Development; and Michael Anderson, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on the post-2015 Development Goals agenda. Lynne Featherstone as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Alan Duncan as the Minister of State will also be involved in part of the programme over the course of the three days.
Officials in New York are actively engaged on other parts of the HLP process such as the Sustainable Development Goals Open Working Group and UN General Assembly related events.
Railways: Intercity Express Trains
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will discuss with Agility Trains the making available of a mock-up of the proposed new intercity express train, in order to gauge passenger reaction.[HL2851]
Earl Attlee: Agility Trains will be providing mock-ups of all the passenger areas from the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) train which will be presented to representative passenger groups for comment as part of the design process. The Department for Transport will discuss with Agility any future use for the mock-ups.
Railways: Luggage Space
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of luggage space provision in existing rolling stock; and what provision has been made for passengers’ luggage in the specification for the new intercity express train. [HL2852]
Earl Attlee: The Department for Transport's requirements for luggage space provision on the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) trains was based upon research into passengers' requirements undertaken by Passenger Focus in 2009. The department is also discussing passenger requirements with the relevant train operators.
Railways: Research
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the costs of (1) compiling the Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook and (2) the Rail Statistics Management Group; what assessment they have made of the value for money provided by each of them; and what assessment they have made of the benefit to passengers provided by each of them. [HL2849]
Earl Attlee: The Passenger Demand Forecasting Handbook (PDFH) is owned by the Passenger Demand Forecasting Council (PDFC), which sits within ATOC, and of which the Department for Transport is a member. Members of PDFC pay an annual subscription. One of the benefits of membership is access to the PDFH, others being commissioning and receiving the results of PDFC-funded research projects. The PDFH contains the results of a wide range of research which comes from various sources.
Given these sources, and the set of benefits that membership of PDFC gives its members, it is not possible to identify the specific cost of compiling the PDFH, nor therefore to assess the value for money of the PDFH.
The PDFH allows scheme members to forecast the level and pattern of future passenger demand, and to plan rail investment accordingly.
The Rail Statistics Management Group (RSMG) is led by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) and meets two or three times each year. It is usually attended by two or three officials from the Department for Transport. In addition to the staff costs of attendance, there are minimal administrative costs associated with attendance at these meetings.
ORR leads on the publication of statistics for the rail industry and is committed to making more information available to rail passengers and the wider public. The RSMG is made up of lead statisticians or data specialists who have responsibility for the production and use of rail data in their respective organisations, and the group deals with the improvement of rail statistics. Further detailed information can be obtained from the ORR.
Railways: West Coast Franchise
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the inquiry into the operation of the recent West Coast main line franchising process is an internal one or an independent one.[HL2550]
Earl Attlee: The Secretary of State for Transport has asked Mr Sam Laidlaw to lead an independent review into the Intercity West Coast franchise competition. The terms of reference of this inquiry have been deposited in the Libraries of the House.
Roads: Accidents
Question
Asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for Transport will initiate discussions with the Highways Agency with a view to ensuring that there are adequate diversion signs, lights and police guidance, and fast clearance of one lane, where there are major delays following crashes and other problems, such as on the M4 on 18 and 19 October.[HL2846]
Earl Attlee: Under the CLEAR (Collision, Lead, Evaluate, Act, Reopen) initiative, the Department for Transport is already engaged in regular dialogue with the Highways Agency and other incident responders. CLEAR aims to ensure incidents are managed effectively and efficiently so that lanes can be reopened as soon as possible and the disruption to road users minimised.
Rwanda
Question
Asked by Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 18 October (WA 485), what measures they have put in place to mitigate the risk of fungibility of budget support for Rwanda before such support is provided. [HL2815]
Baroness Northover: The Department for International Development (DfID) has in place robust measures to mitigate the risk of fungibility of budget support. Officials carry out fiduciary risk assessments before disbursing any budget support. Among other things, these analyse the extent to which the Government's Public Finance Management systems allocate funds to their strategic policy priorities and ensure that funds are spent in the areas to which they are allocated. DfID also carries out regular dialogue with the Government and relevant sector agencies to maintain accountability and hold them to account.
Tourism: Funding
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the level of direct Department for Culture, Media and Sport funding for Visit Britain and Visit England for each of the financial years 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12; what is the anticipated level for 2012–13; and what is the planned level for 2013–14.[HL2594]
Viscount Younger of Leckie: The grant in aid allocated to VisitBritain and VisitEngland by this department, for the years requested, can be found in the following table.
| Year | VisitBritain/VisitEngland grant in aid |
The figures in 2011-12 included funding of £11.129 million and in 2012-13 £15.58 million for supplementary expenditure, such as the GREAT campaign.
UN: Commission on the Status of Women
Question
Asked by The Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking following the 56th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women to promote gender equality and empower women by 2015. [HL2755]
Baroness Northover: In November, the Government are hosting a meeting of like-minded countries to help prepare for the 2013 session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The meeting will lay the groundwork for better co-ordination between officials and NGOs at the CSW and other international conferences.
DfID has put girls and women at the heart of international development. DfID's Strategic Vision for Girls and Women, launched in March 2011, sets out the results we want to achieve for girls and women by 2015.
A link to the Strategic Vision for Girls and Women is included below: www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/strategic-vision-girls-women.pdf.
Visas
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many organisations are presently licensed to sponsor student migrants under tier 4 of the points-based system; how many there are in each category; when those institutions which are A-rated, B-rated or Legacy will cease to be able to issue certificates of acceptance for studies, and why; and how many students are currently at A-rated, B-rated or Legacy institutions. [HL2468]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach): 1,976 organisations are currently registered as tier 4 sponsors. Of these sponsors, 79 are legacy, 349 are A rated, 16 are B rated and 1,532 have highly trusted sponsor status.
Legacy sponsors are those: who do not meet or did not try to meet the requirements for educational oversight by the deadline; who did try to meet the requirements but failed to do so; who meet the mandatory requirements for HTS but score a near miss on the core measurable requirements and who score a second near miss when they reapply.
Legacy sponsors are not allowed to issue confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) to new students but can continue to sponsor students who are already studying at its institution until they finish their course of study or until the expiry of the licence. A-rated sponsors are subject to the interim limit and are therefore limited in the number of CAS that they can assign to both new and existing students. B-rated
sponsors are unable to assign CAS to new students, they can only assign them to existing students who are eligible to apply to extend their leave to enable them to finish their course of study.
The information requested about the number of students currently at A-rated, B-rated or legacy institutions is not centrally recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.