| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Variant CJD
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they expect to be able to reply to the Question for Written Answer (HL583) tabled on 31 January about the representations made by Professor Michael Banner on the Department of Health's attitude to and support for the vCJD Incident Panel.[HL1110]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: I replied to my noble friend's Question on 21 March. I apologise for the delay in responding.
Wythenshawe Hospital Heart Transplant Unit
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answers by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 12 March (WA 63) and 13 March (WA 81-82), what further recent representations they have received about the future of Wythenshawe Hospital's Transplant Centre; and what replies they have made.[HL1287]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government have received a further 17 representations. Replies will be sent shortly setting out the position as outlined in my reply of 13 March (WA 81-82).
Speech and Language Therapists and Teachers: Recruitment
Baroness Uddin asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will consider launching an advertising campaign to recruit graduates as specialist speech therapists and specialist teachers later this year.[HL1129]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Department of Health invests in a wide range of measures to recruit graduates into the healthcare professions, including speech and language therapy. These include provision of improved bursaries and payment of tuition fees for students, setting up of NHS Careers to provide careers advice and information, improved careers literature and the recent national recruitment advertising campaign for all staff. The department is also discussing with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists how to build on these measures.
The Department for Education and Employment is providing significant levels of financial support for the training and professional development of teachers and other staff working with children with special educational needs.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: Anti-TNF Therapy
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 12 March (WA 62-63), which National Health Service bodies in England have decided in favour of using anti-TNF therapy without waiting for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to complete its appraisal.[HL1300]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: This information is not held centrally.
The Department of Health issued Health Service Circular 1999/176 in August 1999. Copies are available in the Library. This asks National Health Service bodies to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies where guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence is not available at the time the technology first becomes available. These arrangements should involve an assessment of all available evidence.
Census Information: Confidentiality
Lord Evans of Temple Guiting asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What arrangements have been made to review the procedures for safeguarding the security and confidentiality of information to be collected in the 2001 Census in England and Wales.[HL1386]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government's White Paper on the 2001 Census, published in March 1999, gave assurances that the well-established traditions of maintaining confidentiality of information collected in the census would be upheld for the 2001 Census, and that the Census Offices would undertake reviews of the confidentiality and security arrangements for the 2001 Census and would publish the outcome of such reviews before the census.
Independent reviews of the physical security arrangements for processing the 2001 Census information and the measures to protect the statistical confidentiality of the data were undertaken last year. The outcome of the reviews, including a joint statement from the Registrars General for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, is being published today by the Office for National Statistics, the General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
The Government are satisfied that the measures and procedures in place will protect the security and confidentiality of the 2001 Census.
The report is available via the National Statistics website (www.statistics.co.uk). Paper copies will be available on request to ONS, and copies of the report have been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
Partnerships UK
Lord Evans of Temple Guiting asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will provide an update of their plans for Partnerships UK.[HL1387]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Partnerships UK was launched in June 2000 to build upon the success of the Treasury Taskforce and to provide a permanent and sustainable centre of expertise to continue the Treasury Taskforce's role in developing and expanding the Government's PPP programme.
The Treasury is currently seeking private investors for a 51 per cent state in Partnerships UK. The Treasury's aim is to raise at least £22.5 million through a sale of the shares on a competitive basis to qualifying institutions. Each potential qualifying investor is being invited to invest between £1 million and £5 million.
An Information Memorandum has been distributed to qualifying institutions in connection with this Offer for Sale. Further information on the sale can be obtained from the publication copy of the Information Memorandum which has been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
Government Policies and Sustainability
Lord Judd asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Following the speech by the Prime Minister to the World Wildlife Fund in London on 6 March, what inter-departmental arrangements will now be put in place to ensure that all the policies of the
- Government, including those for industry, transport, taxation, and agriculture, are consistent with the objective of a sustainable environment and future for Britain and the world community.[HL1223]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty): Inter-departmental arrangements to ensure that government policies are consistent with the objectives of sustainable development are already in place through the work of the Cabinet Committee on the Environment and the Green Ministers' Committee, overseen by the House of Commons Environment Audit Committee.
Climate Change Convention, Kyoto Protocol: Ratification
Lord Judd asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What action they are taking to persuade the United States and the European Union member states to ratify the Kyoto Protocol of the Climate Change Convention by the time of the Earth Summit in 2002.[HL1225]
Lord Whitty: In his speech on the environment at Chatham House (6 March), the Prime Minister described the Kyoto process as the first real step down the road of collective action to meet our collective responsibility. We remain committed to securing an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The next round of international negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol will take place between 16 and 27 July in Bonn. We will do everything we can to promote an agreement at these talks. In the meantime, we will raise the issue of climate in every relevant forum with the US, and continue to discuss the way forward with other countries. Indeed, the Foreign Secretary raised climate change with Colin Powell when he met him in February.
The EU is continuing to prepare for ratification and entry into force of the protocol by 2002, and to put in place the policies and measures needed to enable the Community and its member states to meet their Kyoto targets.
Planning Application Inquiries: Appearance by Opposing Parties
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What grounds raised by those who oppose planning applications may be admitted by public inquiries into such applications.[HL1248]
Lord Whitty: Parties opposing a planning application may raise any relevant issues. If they wish to appear at inquiry they will be heard by the Inspector provided that they have something relevant to say which has not already been said.
Gypsies and Other Travellers: Accommodation in Central London
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What discussions took place between the Housing Corporation and the Government Office for London, in the drafting of the London Housing Statement 2000, in the context of the Green Paper Quality Choice: A Decent Home for All, on the need for additional homes in Greater London for gypsies and other travellers; and what information they have about the number of such homes that would be provided within the net additional 381,000 dwellings potential for the period 1997-2016, indicated in the London Planning Advisory Committee's 1999 Housing Capacity Study. [HL1277]
Lord Whitty: No discussions took place between the Government Office for London and the Housing Corporation prior to the London Housing Statement on the need for additional homes in Greater London for gypsies and other travellers.
However, the Housing Policy Statement in December 2000 announced that the Government will be commissioning research into site provision and assessing the accommodation needs of gypsies and travellers across the country. This research will also look at the extent to which the housing needs of gypsies are covered in the housing needs assessments undertaken by local authorities. In addition, the Government have announced a Gypsy Site Refurbishment Grant of £17 million over three years to refurbish existing local authority gypsy sites and to help keep open the existing network of over 300 sites.
The London Planning Advisory Committee's 1999 Housing Capacity Study examined residential dwelling capacity but did not investigate the capacity to provide sites for gypsies and other travellers.
Next Section
Back to Table of Contents
Lords Hansard Home Page