Written Answers
Thursday 7 November 2013
Alcohol
Question
Asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total amount spent on alcohol during 2012–13 by the Department for International Development. [HL2980]
The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Bates) (Con): The Department’s central finance system does not enable expenditure to be tracked at this level of detail and it would incur disproportionate cost to collect the information manually. DFID policy does not permit the reimbursement of staff for their cost of alcohol.
Asylum Seekers
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average amount of time an applicant’s identity or travel documentation is held by the Home Office in the case of (1) seekers of asylum, and (2) tier 1 visa applicants.[HL2917]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach) (Con): The information you have requested is not available in the format requested and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Courts: Buildings
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent to date on the proposed new court complex in Sunderland since the project was approved in 2009.[HL2955]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated final cost of the new court complex in Sunderland.[HL2956]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a decision has been made to proceed with the construction of the new court complex in Sunderland; and, if so, when it is estimated that the project will be completed.[HL2957]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally) (LD): A total of around £3.3m was spent on the proposed Sunderland Justice Centre.
In July 2009, the estimated build cost of the proposed Justice Centre was in excess of £90m.
All major build projects have been reconsidered in light of the Spending Review 2010. It remains the position that no decision has yet been made on the future use of the site.
Deaf and Deafblind People
Question
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will introduce specialist services for deaf and deafblind people with acquired neurological impairments. [HL3018]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning services for deaf and deafblind people with acquired neurological impairments to meet the needs of their local populations.
Employment: Work Programme
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their rationale in obliging certain recipients of Jobseeker’s and Employment and Support Allowance to join the Work Programme.[HL3016]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud) (Con): The Work Programme provides tailored support to help people move into lasting work. The programme is focused on supporting the long term unemployed or those at significant risk of becoming long term unemployed. Claimants are initially supported by Jobcentre Plus when they make a claim for out of work benefits, for up to a year before being referred to the Work Programme. Where claimants have not moved off benefits during their time with Jobcentre Plus, it is entirely right that we provided them with the extra support the Work Programme offers to help them overcome their barriers to work and break the cycle of benefit dependency. It is entirely right we require them to take up that support.
Enterprise Zones
Question
Asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proposed restriction of Enhanced Capital Allowances in relation to energy projects in enterprise zones.[HL2769]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Deighton) (Con): The Government is continuing to engage with the Commission on Regional Aid and will be in a position to make an assessment once the General Block Exemption Regulations are finalised. Enterprise Zones remain a key priority within these negotiations.
EU: Toilets and Urinals
Question
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of regulations proposed by the European Commission concerning the flushing of toilets and urinals; whether those regulations would apply to the United Kingdom if adopted; and what effect those regulations would have on United Kingdom manufacturers and users.[HL3071]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley) (Con): No such regulations have been proposed. Criteria are about to enter into force to extend the EU Ecolabel scheme to domestic and non-domestic WCs and urinals, but this is a voluntary scheme rather than a regulatory one.
Government Departments: Staff
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what qualifications, competencies and past work-experience are required of immigration officials working in (1) the Home Office visa and immigration service, and (2) the immigration law enforcement division of the Home Office; and whether they have any plans to legislate to alter those requirements. [HL2914]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach) (Con): Across the Home Office, including (1) UK Visas and Immigration and (2) Immigration Enforcement, recruitment and selection for posts is undertaken through open and fair competition. Appointments are based on identifying those with the best skills, competencies and behaviours for the post. Applicants for posts are selected through a competency based process which assesses how an applicant’s skills and experience match those required for the post.
A new Civil Service Competency Framework was adopted across government from April 2013. The new framework focuses as much on behaviours as on skills. It includes promoting and supporting behaviour that focuses on achieving results, continuous improvement and breaking down hierarchies and silos. It will support the delivery of a pacier, innovative, results-orientated culture and ensure consistent high standards are used for recruitment, promotion and performance management across the Civil Service.
The range of posts and grades within the Home Office, including (1) UK Visas and Immigration and (2) Immigration Enforcement, mean that some posts may attract specific qualifications, competencies and past work-experience whilst others will not. Where there is a need for specific skills and for these to be tested a specific skills assessment would be used as part of the process.
The most recently advertised posts which required specific qualifications and/or past work experience were for the post of Assistant Immigration Officers required to undertake arrest work in Immigration Enforcement. The requirements of the post were that applicants must have either a degree or a minimum of two years’ relevant experience in a law enforcement role or in HM Forces.
All staff across UK Visas and Immigration and Immigration Enforcement will receive mandatory e-learning in Information Management and Information Assurance, Keeping Children Safe, Human Trafficking, Health and Safety Awareness, Introduction to Diversity & Equality, Bribery & Corruption and Counter Fraud. Staff will also receive training relevant to the roles they undertake.
There are currently no plans to legislate to change any of these requirements.
Grangemouth Refinery
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to put in place measures to ensure that a repeat of the Grangemouth dispute does not occur in the future.[HL3033]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Viscount Younger of Leckie) (Con): The Government welcomed the announcement from INEOS on 25 October that the Grangemouth petrochemical plant will remain open. The events at Grangemouth have demonstrated the importance of management and the workforce coming together to agree an approach that will ensure the long-term future of the plant, including major new investment and a three year no strike agreement. The Government continues to work with INEOS to secure the future of the plant, following the positive news that INEOS has achieved pre-qualification status on a loan guarantee under the UK Guarantee Scheme.
The Government will continue to work with the chemicals sector to maximise growth opportunities and address challenges. The chemicals industry is the UK’s leading manufacturing exporter and underpins the UK’s manufacturing base.
In recognition of this, Government and Industry have formed the Chemistry Growth Partnership (CGP), a sector council for the chemicals industry co-chaired by Michael Fallon, Minister of State for Business and Energy, and Neil Carson, Chief Executive of Johnson Matthey. The partnership launched its sector growth strategy at its inaugural meeting on 22 October, which was attended by Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, and by Michael Fallon.
This strategy sets out a trajectory for Gross Value Added in the chemicals sector to increase by more than 50 per cent by 2030 (from £195bn to £300bn). To fulfil this potential and encourage further private sector investment, the Government will work with the Partnership on a long term basis to address priority issues identified by industry, namely, securing competitive energy and feedstocks, accelerating innovation and rebuilding UK Chemistry Supply Chains.
Health: Complementary and Alternative Medicines
Question
Asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many complementary treatments, potions, therapies or cures are currently approved for use in the NHS by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; and what is their annual cost to the NHS budget.[HL3101]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has referenced in its guidance a number of complementary and alternative therapies that it considers may be of some benefit to patients, as detailed below. Information on how much is spent in the National Health Service on the provision of such therapies is not collected centrally.
Source:
provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Health: Dementia
Question
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to include hearing screening as part of the standard process when people are investigated for dementia.[HL3006]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): There are no plans to include hearing screening as part of the dementia investigation process. However, it is good clinical practice to take into account a person’s general health, including their hearing, when people are investigated for dementia.
Health: Mesothelioma
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the funds to be made available by the insurance industry over the next 12 months to support research into mesothelioma; and whether they plan to reconsider their opposition to a statutory duty to fund such research.[HL3143]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud) (Con): Insurers continue to consider their position in relation to funding research and we continue to encourage them to provide further funding.
As we debated in the Lords during the passage of the Mesothelioma Bill, to introduce a statutory duty to fund mesothelioma research would fundamentally undermine the way in which all medical research is funded. As such there are no plans to reconsider our position on a statutory duty to fund mesothelioma research.
In addition to the fundamental concerns over the funding model for medical research, imposing a duty to fund research would increase the mesothelioma levy above the threshold that insurers have indicated they can absorb and therefore risks costs being passed onto British business.
As you are aware there is a cross-Government commitment to support more quality research into mesothelioma. The work that the Department of Health are taking forward on this issue is designed to encourage researchers to pursue projects that will hopefully benefit sufferers of this terrible disease.
Health: Ophthalmology
Question
Asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to tackle avoidable visual impairment. [HL3160]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe) (Con): Early detection is essential to tackling avoidable visual impairment. A range of treatment and services is in place in the National Health Service to deal with the key causes of avoidable visual impairment. The provision of free sight tests for children, older people and those at risk of eye disease remains central to our plans; with 12.3 million NHS sight tests provided in England in 2012-13. A comprehensive programme of diabetic retinopathy screening in England has ensured that in the 12 months up to March 2013, 99% of people with diabetes were offered screening. The NHS continues to provide a range of successful treatment for cataracts, wet age related macular degeneration and glaucoma. The Public Health Outcomes Framework for 2013-16 will include an indicator on avoidable visual impairment. This will support commissioners in planning eye care services for local populations.
House of Lords: Staff
Question
Asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many officials are employed, and at what grades, to provide direct support to the special advisers of the Leader of the House of Lords.[HL3149]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Hill of Oareford) (Con): Nobody is employed exclusively to provide support to the special advisers of the Leader of the House of Lords, One Band C official does, however, provide some basic diary support as a small part of that post’s administrative functions within the Leader’s office. In line with the special adviser code and civil service guidance this official is not managed by special advisers.
Housing: Prices
Questions
Asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comments by the then Minister of State for Housing and Local Government, Grant Shapps, on 12 October 2010 published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website, whether house price stability remains Government policy. [HL2833]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Stowell of Beeston) (Con): This Government is committed to delivering long-term economic stability and economic growth. The last Administration oversaw a housing boom and bust, and this Government has been picking up the pieces. We have a series of initiatives to boost housing supply, increase the provision of affordable housing and support a healthy private rented sector. By tackling the deficit left by the last Administration, we are helping keep down both interest rates and the number of repossessions.
The housing market has turned the corner, but mortgage lending activity in the housing market and loan-to-value ratios on new mortgage lending remain below their historic averages. Relative to earnings, median house prices across England are around the same level they were in 2005.
I would also note that ensuring financial stability is the primary goal of the Bank of England's new Financial Policy Committee. They have analysed the housing market and the Financial Policy Committee statement from its policy meeting on 18 September 2013 stated:
“The recovery in the housing market appeared to have gained momentum and to be broadening. Mortgage approvals in July were 30% higher than a year earlier and average house prices in August were 5% higher than a year earlier and have risen more in some parts of the country, particularly London. Nevertheless, activity in the housing market and loan-to-value ratios on new mortgage lending remained below their historic averages. Housesholds’ debt servicing costs were low and the ratio of house prices to earnings was at its level of a decade ago”.
In view of that, the Committee judged that it should closely monitor developments in the housing market and banks’ underwriting standards. The Committee would be vigilant to potential emerging vulnerabilities'
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Help to Buy scheme on housing prices in England.[HL3030]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Deighton) (Con): The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts, including house price forecasts. They will publish the next Economic and Fiscal Outlook at Autumn Statement which will take the impact of Help to Buy into account.
Immigration
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take action to facilitate an improvement in the quality of first-instance decision-making in immigration cases, in the light of the success rate of immigration appeals in 2011–12, and the proposed changes to the appeal system.[HL2694]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach) (Con): The Home Office success rate in immigration appeals for decisions where appeal system changes are proposed has improved by 2% from 2011-12. Furthermore the data on allowed appeals should be seen in the context of all decisions made; in 2012-13 there were 10,618 allowed “managed migration” appeals but this is from a total of 228,353 decisions made by the Home Office. Less than 5% of those decisions were overturned.
The improvement in 2012-13 reflects UK Visas and Immigration’s system of continuous improvement for decision making. This improvement is driven by learning lessons from allowed appeals. The UK Visas and Immigration Appeals and Litigation team provides decision makers with bi-monthly analytical reports that analyse why appeals have been allowed and make recommendations on key trends and themes. This forms part of our action on reporting all cases where the right decision was not made first time. The report will allow us to understand better where any weaknesses are in our processes and drive improvements in our decision quality. It will involve further analysis of the information we already hold on allowed appeals, as well as data from other areas of work such as judicial reviews and official complaints. It will supplement the 2% mandatory case sampling undertaken by all casework areas to ensure that decisions are good quality.
The proposed changes to the appeals system will not remove the opportunity for applicants to seek redress on incorrect decision. Administrative reviews will be introduced in order to overturn caseworker errors. In comparison with the current appeals system, administrative reviews will be undertaken more quickly and in a more cost effective way for the applicant.
Immigration Removal Centres: Transfers
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken in response to the comment of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in a report on Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (published on 1 October) that “many exhausting and unnecessary inter-centre transfers took place at night, with detainees arriving in the early hours”.[HL2844]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach) (Con): Officials are considering the recommendations arising from HM Chief Inspector of Prisons’ report of Brook House Immigration Removal Centre and will respond in due course.
The Home Office requires its escorting service provider, Tascor, to carry out moves 24 hours a day. Whilst Tascor aims to keep the number of night time moves to a minimum, some are essential to meet flight times, for welfare reasons such as collections from port holding rooms and to meet time critical elements such as collections from police stations, hospital appointment and court hearings.
All proposed moves consider the impact on the care and welfare of individual detainees so that unreasonable moves at night are avoided. Where moves do take place during the night individuals are given as much advance notice as possible
Infrastructure
Question
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in delivering major infrastructure projects.[HL2953]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Deighton) (Con): The 2011 National Infrastructure Plan set out the Government’s Top 40 priority infrastructure investments.
The Government will publish a comprehensive infrastructure delivery update in the next version of the National Infrastructure Plan, due before the end of the year.
Already, 150 railway station upgrades have been completed, including the refurbishment of Kings Cross Station. Others, such as the £600m investment at Birmingham New Street are over half way complete and the upgrade of Reading Station has been accelerated by a year.
30 road projects have been completed since the 2010 Spending Round and 96 per cent of national major road schemes announced this Parliament are on, or ahead of, schedule.
London's two largest international airports are being upgraded. Gatwick is two thirds through the biggest transformation in its history and Heathrow Terminal 2 will open in June 2014, handling 20 million passengers a year.
81 new free schools have now opened, 84,000 affordable new homes have been built and National Grid have begun a programme to replace 2,000km of mains network.
The Government is also implementing Infrastructure Capacity Plans with four key Departments (DCLG, DCMS, DfT, DEFRA). These plans will assist Departments in developing their infrastructure delivery capability, including assessing their need for and use of commercial expertise, and the governance of their infrastructure projects and programmes.
Israel and Palestine: West Bank
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the estimate by the World Bank in its report West Bank and Gaza: Area C and the Future of the Palestinian Economy that alleviating
restrictions placed by the government of Israel on access to, and activity and production in, Area C, could add $3.4 billion per year to the Palestinian economy; and what action they intend to take as a result of that report.[HL2911]
Lord Bates (Con): The World Bank report is consistent with a number of previous reports which have detailed the impact of Israeli restrictions on trade, movement and access on the Palestinian economy. The UK supports this position and has frequently pressed the Israeli authorities to lift restrictions.
DfID already supports Palestinians living in Area C, including efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the Palestinian private sector through our new Palestinian Market Development Programme. This supports efforts by the US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Office of the Quartet Representative to boost economic growth through galvanising private sector investment and encouraging actions from both Israelis and Palestinians to make this possible. Discussions are also underway about how DfID could support the potential development of infrastructure in Area C.
NHS: Migrant Access
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis they have made, or will make, of the extent to which general tax contributions from visitors and migrants cover the costs of health and social care in relation to the provisions contained within the Immigration Bill, in the light of section 2.8 of the report by
Prederi, Quantitative Assessment of Visitor and Migrant use of the NHS In England: Exploring the data.[HL2912]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach) (Con): The Immigration Bill includes the introduction of a Health Surcharge, which would be applicable to non-EEA temporary migrants in non-visitor immigration categories who come to the UK for more than six months. The Impact Assessment (IA) for this policy estimates the net exchequer cost which arises from the change in migrants as a result of the surcharge. Tables 8 and 9 show the annual average tax contributions and public service consumption (which includes health, education and welfare) per migrant affected by this policy.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/251972/Health_impact _assessment.pdf
No estimates have been made on the extent to which general tax contributions from visitors, EEA nationals and migrants not affected by the surcharge cover the costs of health and social care.
Overseas Aid
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding has been supplied by the United Kingdom to the Occupied Territories in both direct and indirect aid in the last 10 years.[HL3027]
Lord Bates (Con): The UK has provided the following in direct assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs):
| Year | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
This data is broken down by recipient territory not DFID country programme, so does not include spending on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which supports Palestinian refugees in the region. This information is outlined below:
| Year | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
EU funding to the OPTs is provided below along with the approximate UK share where this information is available:
| Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
Further details of multilateral support to the OPTs is available at http://stats.oecd.org/ and EU funding at http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/multimedia/publications/index_en.htm
Railways: Franchises
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to clarify with the competition authorities whether the operator of West Coast Trains will be allowed to bid for the East Coast franchise, in the light of the statement by the Secretary of State for Transport on 25 October about “rekindling the spirit of competition on this great route to Scotland”.[HL3105]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Kramer) (LD): The Prequalification Process Document (PPD) sets out the process by which applicants to franchise competitions must satisfy themselves of any competition matters. The Department for Transport will be mindful of relevant procurement regulations and competition matters in conducting all franchise competitions.
Railways: Maintenance
Question
Asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the maintenance Network Rail undertakes of vacant land it owns near to railway lines.[HL3117]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Kramer) (LD): The Government has made no assessment of Network Rail’s maintenance of its line-side operational land. Network Rail is a private sector company limited by guarantee and this is an operational matter for the company, in which Ministers have no powers to intervene.
Network Rail has its own operational policies on litter and rubbish clearance, consistent with current legislation. The company operates under a network licence enforced and amended by the independent Office of Rail Regulation.
Religious Intolerance
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea with regard to the needs of the ethnic and religious minorities in those countries.[HL2961]
Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD): Freedom of religion or belief is a human rights priority for this Government and a personal priority for my noble friend the right Hon. Baroness Warsi, Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. During the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Ministerial Week at the end of September, Baroness Warsi convened her second meeting of international leaders to discuss what more the international community could do to combat religious intolerance, protect the human rights of minorities and promote pluralism in society.
Baroness Warsi had a frank and open discussion on minority issues with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, in the margins of UNGA in September. We have urged the government to guarantee fully the human rights of all people, particularly the most vulnerable, as laid down in the Constitution and in accordance with international standards.
We regularly discuss with the Afghan government the need to ensure the security of all their people, regardless of religion or ethnicity, and have made it clear that any political settlement must protect the progress made in Afghanistan and respect the country’s constitutional framework, including protecting minority rights.
Our Ambassador in Asmara has requested the release of all prisoners detained on political or religious grounds in Eritrea. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), also urged the Eritrean Foreign Minister in July to engage with the international community on human rights issues.
Our Ambassador in Addis Ababa has raised concerns over the Ethiopian government’s approach to Muslim protestors with both the Islamic Supreme Affairs Council and the Ministry of Federal Affairs. Mr Simmonds also raised concerns over human rights issues with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister in May.
St Helena: Airport
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 21 October (WA 139), which company has been appointed to assist the St Helena Government in contracting air services.[HL3034]
Lord Bates (Con): The contract to assist in the procurement of an air service for St Helena has been awarded to Avia Solutions, based in Woking.
Taxation
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much is raised annually from (1) inheritance tax, (2) capital gains tax, and (3) stamp duty; and how much it costs to collect each of those taxes.[HL3046]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Deighton) (Con): The revenue information requested can be found in the Trust Statement section of the published HMRC Annual Accounts:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2012-13--3 (see note 2.7 and 2.8 of the 12-13 Trust Statement).
The following table provides the cost of collection information for 12-13:
| Tax Regime | Expenditure |
NB: The Expenditure is not published externally to HMRC e.g. in the Annual Report or Pocket Briefing.
Taxation: Tobacco and Alcohol
Questions
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much is raised annually by (1) the taxing of all tobacco products, and (2) the taxing of alcohol.[HL3044]
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Deighton) (Con): Information on excise duty receipts from tobacco and alcohol products is published monthly in the Tobacco and Alcohol Bulletins on the UK Trade Statistics website.
Information for the last five financial years is presented in the following table:
| Alcohol | Tobacco | |
VAT collected on tobacco and alcohol products is not available. Therefore the total revenue collected from the taxation of tobacco and alcohol is not available.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of taxation income lost from the sale of illegally imported tobacco products to United Kingdom consumers; and how they arrived at that figure.[HL3045]
Lord Deighton: Estimates of total revenue losses associated with the tobacco illicit market are published in 'Tobacco Tax Gap estimates: 2012-13'. These estimates cannot be disaggregated by the type of illicit activity, e.g. through smuggling, counterfeiting or other fraud.
The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the 'Methodological Annex for Measuring Tax Gaps 2013'.
Both documents can be accessed via the following page on the HMRC website:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps.htm
UK Trade
Questions
Asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote trade with Vietnam. [HL3087]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote trade with Malaysia. [HL3089]
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills & Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint) (Con): In both markets UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) helps British companies in a range of sectors and supports trade missions and businesses at trade fairs. This includes a particular focus on high value commercial opportunities in infrastructure, with activity including business roundtables promoting UK participation in the delivery of the 2019 Asia Games in Hanoi and the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit in Kuala Lumpur during Lord Green’s visit to the region in June 2013.
As part of our strategic relationship with Vietnam, we have committed to targets of US$4 billion of bilateral trade and US$3 billion UK investment in Vietnam by 2013. The Prime Minister has appointed Lord Puttnam of Queensgate as his Trade Envoy for Vietnam, and he recently led a trade mission to the market as part of UKTI’s “GREAT” campaign.
During his visit to Malaysia last year, the Prime Minister announced a commitment to double trade to £8 billion by 2016 and grow two-way investment and appointed the UK National Security Advisor Sir Kim Darroch as his Special Representative to Malaysia.
In 2011 UKTI established the UK-ASEAN Business Council (UKABC) to facilitate a step change in the UK’s level of trade with Southeast Asia. The UKABC has worked with more than 500 businesses over the past 12 months raising awareness of the commercial opportunities in the region.
Under the Overseas Business Networks initiative announced by the Prime Minister last year, UKTI is working closely with the British chambers of commerce
in Malaysia and Vietnam to help them build capacity to deliver more business-to-business support services on the ground.
The UK is also working within the EU to establish highly ambitious free trade agreements with ASEAN countries and is currently negotiating bilateral agreements with both Malaysia and Vietnam.
Unemployment: Young People
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to tackle youth unemployment in the north-east of England.[HL2987]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud) (Con): The Government are aware of the challenges facing young jobseekers in the labour market and have put in place a substantial menu of provision to help them move into work.
• The Get Britain Working Programme including Work Clubs, Work Experience, Work Together (voluntary work), New Enterprise Allowance, Enterprise Clubs and sector based work academies.• The Work Programme which provides tailored support to those claimants furthest from the labour market on a payment by results model.• The Youth Contract, including intensive support for all 18-24 year olds, additional Work Experience and sector-based work academy places. As part of this, the Wage Incentive scheme enables employers to take advantage of wage incentives worth up to £2,275 each for young people recruited after they have been unemployed for six months.• The Flexible Support Fund, which provides provision to address locally identified skills needs.• The SFA-funded Skills Offer, supported by the National Careers Service, provides access to careers advice and occupational training for young people in our Jobcentres.
Water and Sanitation
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what large studies they are sponsoring to assess the effects of water, sanitation and hygiene interventions on the nutritional status of children.[HL2958]
Lord Bates (Con): Globally, an estimated 26% of children under the age of five years suffer from chronic under-nutrition manifested as short height for their age (or stunting). The two immediate causes of this are inadequate dietary intake and infectious diseases such as diarrhoea—caused by lack of access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
DFID is addressing these issues by funding “Sanitation and Hygiene Applied Research for Equity” (SHARE), a large £10 million research consortium led by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. SHARE has funded a Cochrane Review which shows for the first time a statistically significant link between WASH interventions and growth in children under five. DFID is also funding the Sanitation, Hygiene, Infant Nutrition Efficacy (SHINE) study in Zimbabwe. This is a longer term trial that aims to prove and describe in more detail the causal relationship between sanitation and child stunting.
Zimbabwe
Question
Asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Wallace of Tankerness on 21 June 2011 (WA 290), Lord Howell of Guildford on 22 June 2011 (WA 316), Baroness Browning on 14 July 2011 (WA 213–4), Lord Henley on 19 March 2012 (WA 145) and Lord Taylor of Holbeach 29 August (WA 408), who was accountable for the decision regarding the residential status in the United Kingdom of Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organisation operative Philip Machemedze, who has admitted kidnapping and torture.[HL2759]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Taylor of Holbeach) (Con): For reasons of confidentiality, the Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.