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NHS: Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 4 July (WA 35) concerning the Royal Victoria Hospital, what is the expected percentage of joint units of telephone and entertainment for patients’ bedsides which should be working at any one time.[HL6892]
20 July 2006 : Column WA210
Lord Rooker: As I stated in my reply of 4 July, the equipment is currently provided by Patientline UK Ltd, which is responsible for its maintenance. There is no clause in the contract which specifies what percentage of units should be working at any one time.
Northern Ireland: Festivals
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
From what source transitional funding for nationalist festivals announced on 10 July is being provided.[HL6906]
Lord Rooker: The transitional funding announced on 10 July for Feile an Phobail, West Belfast, Ardoyne Fleadh Cheoil and the Greater New Lodge Festival will be provided by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
Pensions: Autocredits
Baroness Hollis of Heigham asked Her Majesty's Government:
What additional savings, both gross and net, would come from abolishing autocredits by 2010, if men and women were to continue to be eligible for the five years before state pension age.[HL6730]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Women are not eligible for autocredits. The additional savings against our proposal to phase out autocredits for men in line with the increase in state pension age for women are estimated to be negligible.
Our proposal to phase out autocredits between 2010 and 2020 is designed to align the availability of autocredits with the availability of pension credit under the current regime.
The retention of autocredits is inappropriate in a society where someone aged 60 can now expect to live, on average, for another 25 years or more. As the state pension age for women rises in 2010, we will increasingly treat men and women aged 60-64 as active labour-market participants. The proposal to reduce the number of qualifying years required to achieve a full basic state pension to 30 will, in any event, mean that few could benefit from the continued availability of autocredits.
Police: Northern Ireland
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether Patten ecommendations 132, 133, 143, 144, 146, 148 and 149 relating to training, education and development of the Police Service of Northern Ireland have been implemented in full; and, if not, whether this is having any negative impact on policing in Northern Ireland.[HL6658]
20 July 2006 : Column WA211
Lord Rooker: I am advised by the PSNI that although full compliance with recommendations 132, 133, 143, 144, 146, 148 and 149 has not yet been totally achieved, the progress to date has been significant and has had a cumulative positive impact on policing in Northern Ireland.
The Oversight Commissioner will, however, continue to monitor each recommendation for the remainder of his oversight mandate.
Prisons: Consecrated Buildings
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What consecrated buildings or land are used by the Church of England in prisons or detention centres.[HL6986]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): There is no consecrated land on the prison or immigration estate. There are no consecrated buildings in the immigration estate. It is possible that a very few prison chapels may have been consecrated, but information on this would need to be obtained from local Church of England diocesan records.
Prisons: Deaths in Custody
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the names, ages, locations, ethnicity, marital status and prison sentences of the people who have died in custody in the past five years.[HL6916]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): As publishing such details can cause distress to the families of those bereaved by a death in custody, I will write separately to the noble Lord with the information available.
Prisons: Needle Exchange
Baroness Gould of Potternewton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there are any plans to introduce a needle exchange system for drug users in prisons, such as operates in Switzerland and Spain.[HL6710]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): The Prison Service has no present plans to introduce a needle exchange scheme. It continues to monitor developments in the field both at home and abroad, including existing practice in the community here, policy and practice in custodial settings abroad and the effectiveness of needle exchange schemes over other harm minimisation measures in the comprehensive management of substance misusers in prison.
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Railways: Aldergrove Airport
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have carried out a study into the possibility of a rail link to Aldergrove airport; if so, when and what were the results; and, if not, whether they propose to undertake such a study.[HL7020]
Lord Rooker: No study into the possibility of a rail link to Belfast International Airport has been undertaken. An airport is considered to need at least 10 million passengers per annum throughput to sustain a viable rail link. As current passenger figures at BIA are around 5 million, there are no plans to undertake such a study in the foreseeable future.
Rally Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced the sponsorship of Rally Ireland; and, if so, when and where the announcement was made.[HL6850]
Lord Rooker: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has not made any announcement regarding the sponsorship of Rally Ireland.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the role of the political adviser to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Philip Taylor, in the sponsorship arrangement for Rally Ireland.[HL6851]
Lord Rooker: Philip Taylor is one of two special advisers employed within the Northern Ireland Office. His role and relationship with departments and officials is in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers issued by the Cabinet Office. The special adviser has never had any contact of any kind with Rally Ireland or anyone acting for it.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Rooker: The Northern Ireland Events Company is processing Rally Ireland claims for its 2006 pilot event. Rally Ireland has not been asked to repay any funding given to it for the 2006 event.
River Lagan
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which authority is responsible for the walkways along the River Lagan upstream from Governor's Bridge; why and when the vegetation on either side of the walkways was recently cut back; how many fires have since been set among the resulting stubble; and what is the frequency and purpose of cutting back vegetation when the walkways are hard surfaced.[HL6779]
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Lord Rooker: The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), is the authority responsible for 16 miles of pathways on the River Lagan.
In May 2006, DARD Rivers Agency under a service-level agreement with DCAL, cut back encroaching vegetation on both sides of the pathway from Stranmillis upstream, as part of a planned programme of maintenance to protect public safety, maximise towpath width and improve shared-use access for walkers, cyclists, disabled users and others for passive recreation. Neither DCAL nor the Rivers Agency received complaints of burnt stubble or fires from the resulting cuttings. Further towpath maintenance is programmed as necessary.
Laganside Corporation is responsible for the fishing stand pathway upstream of Governor's Bridge to Annadale Embankment lay-by on the east bank of the River Lagan. Laganside has not cut vegetation alongside the pathway this year.
Two other government departments, with responsibility for pathways along the River Lagan, confirm that no fires were reported as a result of pathway maintenance. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service was called out on three occasions recently to grass fires in the area. These were not, however, on the River Lagan pathways.
There are a number of pathways in private and local authority ownership. I am unable to comment on these pathways.
Roads: Bridges
Lord Fearn asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many road bridges in north-west England have been rebuilt or renewed in each of the years 2003—05.[HL6632]
Lord Davies of Oldham: This information is not held centrally. The table below shows the local transport plan indicative allocations for bridge work to authorities in the Government Office North West region in 2003-04 and 2004-05, in £ million.
| Year | Formulaic | Primary Route Network | Total |
Royal Travel
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why they have agreed to change the basis for reporting individual journeys funded by the royal travel grant-in-aid in the annual report of royal public finances 2005—06 from £2,500 to £10,000; and whether this change complies with their commitment to open government.[HL6733]
20 July 2006 : Column WA214
Lord Davies of Oldham: Her Majesty's Government agreed to a request from the Royal Household that the threshold for listing full details of journeys should be increased to £10,000 in the royal public finances annual report. This change sought to ensure that reporting arrangements for royal travel were more consistent with other grants-in-aid and royal expenditure where figures in the annual report are rounded to the nearest £100,000. The increase in threshold has also resulted in a reduction in the size of the report.
In agreeing to this request, Her Majesty's Government required the household to maintain full details of all journeys funded by the grant-in-aid. The household would provide detailed journey information to Her Majesty's Government to enable HMG to carry out its stewardship responsibilities for the grant-in-aid.
Sheep Shearers
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has ruled that sheep shearers from overseas working in the United Kingdom, either on a work permit or on a working holiday visa, will be subject to licensing under gangmaster legislation; and whether the department has previously indicated to the National Association of Agricultural Contractors that such workers would be exempt from the legislation.[HL6934]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Direct employment of sheep shearers by a labour user is outside the scope of the Gangmasters Licensing Act 2004. The Act does apply where sheep shearers are supplied to a labour user by a third party, such as a sheep shearing contractor.
However, after reviewing the terms of the Gangmasters Licensing (Exclusions) Regulations 2006, we have concluded that the exemption applicable to the use of a worker by an agricultural machinery service provider in order to deliver a machinery service (paragraph 8 of the schedule to the regulations) also applies to sheep shearers. This conclusion is based on the view that the clippers supplied for use by the shearers are defined as machinery for the purpose of interpreting the terms of this provision. In view of this, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) has confirmed that contractors who supply sheep shearers and provide the machinery they use do not need to obtain a gangmasters licence.
The GLA will be monitoring the terms of this exemption to ensure that it is not exploited by unscrupulous labour providers determined to avoid the licensing requirement. If it is deemed necessary to revise the terms of the exemption to close any potential loophole, we will ensure that the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) and other interested parties are consulted on the proposals brought forward for this purpose.
20 July 2006 : Column WA215
I can confirm that I wrote to the NAAC in July to inform them of the GLA's approach to sheep shearing contractors.
Rally Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Who agreed the business case for 2006 Rally Ireland; on what basis the business case was agreed; whether economists were involved in its consideration; and what consideration was given to the guidance in the Green Book, Appraisal and evaluation in central government.[HL6907]
Lord Rooker: The business case for the 2006 Rally Ireland event was considered in accordance with the agreed procedures, between the Northern Ireland Events Company, the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP); economists were involved in its consideration and guidance in the HM Treasury Green Book, Appraisal and evaluation in central government was taken into account
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Terrorism: London Underground
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
What recent assessment they have made of safety measures on the London Underground in respect of the threat of terrorism.[HL6881]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Department for Transport keeps the preventative transport security measures we require under regular review. Industry implementation of the measures is subject to an ongoing programme of compliance monitoring and enforcement by its inspectors.
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