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No further high-level visits are currently being planned to Nepal. The Nepalese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, KP Oli, plans to visit the UK in January 2007, which will include attendance at a Wilton Park conference on human rights.
Official Documents: Twelvetrees Crescent Warehouse
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What files were lost by the Natural History Museum in the fire at the paper records warehouse in Twelvetrees Crescent, London, in July; what impact these losses will have on the museum; whether any work or projects will be affected, delayed or abandoned as a result of the fire; and what costs were incurred.[HL7952]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Some 363 boxes of Natural History Museum (NHM) finance records were destroyed in the fire at the storage warehouse in Twelvetrees Crescent. This is around half of the total number of boxes that the offsite records storage company using the warehouse store for the NHM. The destroyed material generally ranged in date from 1996 to 2003 and included items such as till receipts, invoices and budget records.
To date, the museum is not aware of any major impact or a direct negative effect on work, or of any costs being incurred as a result of the lost records. The museum has reviewed the schedule of records lost and concluded that most items were due for destruction within the next two years.
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What files were lost by the National Gallery in the fire at the paper records warehouse in Twelvetrees Crescent, London, in July; what impact these losses will have on the gallery; whether any work or projects will be affected, delayed or abandoned as a result of the fire; and what costs were incurred.[HL7954]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The National Gallery lost nine boxes of records in the fire at the Iron Mountain storage facility in Twelvetrees Crescent, Bow. Eight boxes contained financial records due for destruction in April 2007. The likelihood of a requirement to use the information contained in these before then is low, so there is no directly quantifiable financial cost involved and the impact on the gallery's work is negligible. The ninth box contained disaster planning records which will cost approximately £20 to replace.
Prisoners: Literacy and Numeracy Skills
Baroness Williams of Crosby asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the current population of young offenders and other prisoners assessed on reception into prison as having literacy and numeracy skills below level 1 in (a) 2003-04; (b) 2004-05; and (c) 2005-06.[HL7995]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): The information requested by the noble Baroness will be held by individual establishments but is not gathered centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost. In financial year 2002-03, 39.9 per cent of prisoners screened at induction had reading skills below level 1 and 42.9 per cent had numeracy skills below level 1.
Residential Care Homes
Lord Whitty asked Her Majesty's Government:
What guidance is given by the Department of Health in relation to the suitability of companies tendering for contracts for the provision of residential care.[HL7821]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): Before services can begin to operate, all providers of residential care are required to meet the requirements set down in the National Care Standards Commission (Registration) Regulations 2001. The Commission for Social Care Inspection, which replaced the National Care Standards Commission from April 2004, assesses whether applications for registration with the commission are from people of integrity and good character and the service will be run in line with the regulations and standards set by the Government.
Russia: Yekaterina Sorkiryanskaya
Lord Judd asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made, or are making, to the Government of Russia concerning alleged police violence against Yekaterina Sokiryanskaya at a recent memorial gathering for Anna Politkovskaya; and whether in those representations they emphasised, or are emphasising, that by invitation in September and October Ms Sokiryanskaya had attended a conference at Ditchley Park chaired by Sir Brian Fall on the Caucasus region.[HL7973]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We have drawn to the attention of the Russian Government our concern at reports of police violence during a picket on 16 October in Nazran, Ingushetia, where it is alleged that Ms Sokirianskaya was beaten by officers. In so doing, we referred to Ms Sokirianskaya's attendance at the recent Ditchley Park conference, at which the Russian Government were also represented.
The right to freedom of assembly is guaranteed in the constitution of the Russian Federation and we have urged the Russian authorities to respect this right. We regularly discuss the progress of democratic reforms in Russia, including freedom of assembly and the media, with the Russian authorities. This issue will form part of the next EU-Russia human rights consultations in Brussels on 8 November.
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Schools: Free Meals
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many school pupils receive free school meals in each region of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and what those figures are as a percentage of the school population in each case.[HL7899]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): Information on pupils known to be eligible for free school meals are shown in the tables. The figures for each country are based upon the following definitions:
England: Information on pupils eligible for free school meals is collected at pupil level in England. Pupils should be recorded as eligible only if a claim for free school meals has been made by them or on their behalf by parents and either (a) the relevant authority has confirmed their eligibility and a free school meal is currently being provided for them, or (b) the school or the local authority have seen the necessary documentation (for example, an income support award notice) that supports their eligibility, and the administration of the free meal is to follow as a matter of process. It is not known how many pupils could be eligible but are not submitting a claim.
Scotland: Information on the number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in schools in Scotland is derived from the school meal survey
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Wales: Information on pupils eligible for free school meals is collected at pupil level in Wales. Eligibility depends on receipt (by parent or pupil) of income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance. Pupils should be recorded as eligible only if they have claimed free school meals and (a) the relevant authority has confirmed their eligibility, or (b) final confirmation of eligibility is still awaited but the school has seen documents that strongly indicate eligibility (for example an income support order book) and on the basis of those has commenced provision of free meals. It is not known how many pupils could be eligible but are not submitting a claim.
Northern Ireland: A pupil is to be regarded as entitled to free meals only on receipt of notification from the education and library board, or, in the absence of such notification, in either of the following situations:
on transfer from another school, where written confirmation has been received from the previous school that the pupil has a current free meal entitlement; orwhere the school already holds confirmation of current entitlement to free meals in respect of a sibling of the pupil.| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |