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Lord Renton of Mount Harry: My Lords, perhaps I may add, as I shared the “Today” programme with Mr Callaghan, that I entirely share the Minister’s
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Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Lord as well for his contribution this morning. The governance of the Health and Safety Executive and Health and Safety Commission has been the subject of a review by the commission. It concluded that it would be better if the executive and the commission were brought together under one governing body. I hope that there will be consultation shortly with the public and stakeholders. We will come to a decision in the light of that consultation.
Baroness Byford: My Lords, further to the Minister’s last reply, which was very helpful, can he tell the House how long that process will take? I revert to my noble friend’s Question, in which he asks for,
With the greater opening of access to the countryside through the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, which we passed back in 2000, and now the likelihood of the opening up of coastal areas, there is an enormous problem that needs to be addressed. For example, on coastal access, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution raised with me the whole question of who covers what as regards safety in future.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: My Lords, I would expect the consultation to be for the normal three months. Then the commission will have to consider the results and make recommendations to Ministers, but I hope that the process can be brought to a speedy conclusion. On the more general issue, I am always happy to consider whether more advice should be given. A number of best practice documents are issued by various organisations, such as the Forestry Commission and the Arboricultural Association. They tend to represent best practice, not the minimum standard required by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act. That is why the Health and Safety Executive is now developing guidance for its inspectors, which will be subject to consultation. That will be in the public domain and, I hope, will be very helpful to landowners and others who want clarification, including the general public.
Disability: Disabled Facilities Grant
11.33 am
Baroness Wilkins: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I ask the indulgence of the House and add my personal tribute to Lord Carter, to whom I and many thousands of disabled people owe a very great deal.
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To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their response to the report Reviewing the Disabled Facilities Grant Programme published in October 2005.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): My Lords, I am pleased to be able to inform the House that we will publish our response to the Bristol report in the form of a consultation paper in January 2007. It will set out the Government's proposals for improving the delivery of the DFG programme and invite comments.
Baroness Wilkins: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer. Given that the Government have, for over a year, been considering this report, which clearly demonstrated that prompt and adequate provision of the disabled facilities grant saved the Exchequer thousands of pounds in hospital and care costs, can the Minister reassure the House that a sustainable adaptations policy and strategy have been developed across all government departments, and that the Treasury has been convinced of the report’s recommendations? Will the Government give local authorities greater flexibility to use the disabled facilities grant to help the disabled person in the most appropriate way?
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I am sorry it has taken us so long. One reason is that I thought it very important that we talk to local authorities that are having difficulties as well as to those that have been more successful. We had an extensive consultation on a very comprehensive and complex report and, as a result, we will come forward with proposals that will do just what the noble Baroness says and that are sustainable in the long run because they are fairer, faster, more equitable and more affordable, without diminishing the money that goes into the grant. We are going to be very proactive about this in the CSR07, and we will be flexible enough to enable local authorities to draw down social services funding, too. I hope that we will meet all the noble Baroness’s concerns.
Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, the Minister says “more affordable”. Bearing in mind that adaptations in the home or the workplace are so vital, what will the position be on affordability? Will means-testing continue, and will it be easier for people to get these adaptations either at home or at work?
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I cannot pre-empt the report, but issues such as means-testing and capital grants have certainly been addressed in it. I will have to ask the noble Baroness to be patient for a little while longer. It is very important when trying to maintain people’s independence in their own home that we have a faster system of supporting people by providing small adaptations such as a grab rail or a safer doorstep, which will help people to stay at home rather than either being at risk of falling or having to go into residential care.
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Baroness Hollis of Heigham: My Lords, does the Minister agree that one of the difficulties faced by small-scale landlords who wish to rent their property to someone who has a disability is that when that person moves on to other accommodation, the landlord may face quite expensive costs in reinstating the property by removing bath hoists and so on? Will the report also include the possibility of financial aid, where appropriate, for the reinstatement of property, which would make it much more likely that small landlords would make a property available for disabled people and the adaptations in the first place?
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, the private sector gives rise to particular issues, and I am afraid that I will have to give the same answer: we will have to wait and see. I think the noble Baroness’s question is how we build homes that will last a lifetime because they can be adapted as people grow older and become more likely to be disabled. The lifetime homes standard, which we are putting into the code, is a first step, and only a first step, towards doing that. I take her point about private landlords, and I will look at that.
Lord Addington: My Lords, will a housing register be part of any ongoing review? Knowing when any work has been done to adapt a building for the disabled and knowing what type of adaptation has been made will probably be a way of avoiding duplication and getting the best out of any work in the long term.
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, there is something to be said for housing registers. Of course, local authorities can already have them. They can be extremely positive when planning for what is needed. PPS3, our most recent planning statement on housing, ensures that housing for an ageing society is clearly identified as part of the planning process—that includes people with disabilities. That takes us a long way forward.
Baroness Howe of Idlicote: My Lords—
Noble Lords: My Lords, it is the turn of the Cross Benches.
Lord Low of Dalston: My Lords, does the Minister agree that it would be highly desirable for the Government to develop a holistic vision and strategy for accessible housing that drives up supply through planning policies and building regulations, as they are doing for environmentally sustainable housing, rather than continuing with the current policy of building inaccessible houses that simply need to be altered in the future using the disabled facilities grant and other funding streams?
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, I entirely agree. That is partly to be accomplished through PPS3, which does what the disabled lobby very much wanted: to make clear that planning for an ageing society ought to be done in a strategic context. We have worked
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Lord Taylor of Holbeach: My Lords, how are the Government’s proposals likely to fit in with the Bill sponsored by the noble Lord, Lord Ashley, currently before the House?
Baroness Andrews: My Lords, on Friday, the House had an excellent debate on the Bill sponsored by my noble friend Lord Ashley. My noble friend ably answered points on a range of housing issues. We look forward to Committee stage, when I will be able to work with my noble friend in exploring and developing those ideas.
Children: Obesity
11.40 am
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What is their response to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on obesity in children.
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): My Lords, we welcome the NICE guidance and its focus on prevention as well as treatment. The recommendations in the guidance are wide-ranging for the NHS, other government departments and agencies, health professionals, local authorities, schools, early-years settings and industry, all of which must work in partnership. Adherence to the guidance will be considered as part of the annual health check carried out by the Healthcare Commission, and the guidance will assist achievement of our PSA target to halt the year-on-year rise in obesity among children under the age of 11 by 2010.
Lord Greaves: My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Does he agree with the comment by Professor Peter Littlejohns, that,
Will he join me in welcoming this excellent report’s emphasis of the fact that obesity is first and foremost an environmental issue, a traditional public health issue, rather than a clinical one? Will he therefore bring the report to the attention of a wide range of organisations and agencies involved in matters such as safer streets, better play facilities, investing in playing fields instead of selling them off, full and affordable community use of school facilities, and a long list of other aspects which noble Lords could add?
Lord Warner: My Lords, the noble Lord is right. It is a wide-ranging and excellent report; it will be drawn to the attention of a wide range of people, as I indicated. Obesity is one of the major public health issues in the developing world; it can lead to an
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Baroness Verma: My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the Government are on target to halt the rise in obesity among children under the age of 11, as set out in July 2004? Given that exercise is such an important part of the equation, why, from 2000 to 2005, did the proportion of children taking part in sporting activities drop from 15 per cent to 10 per cent?
Lord Warner: My Lords, we must not always look to the past; we must look at what is happening now and in the future. As I indicated in my Answer, we are on track to achieve the PSA target and 80 per cent of schoolchildren now do at least two hours of school sport a week. We believe that we can and should do more. Our long-term ambition is for all children to spend at least four hours every week on sport by 2010.
Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that, while it is essential to target children under the age of 11, we should not forget about teenagers and young adults? Does he further agree that, with the development of club sport and the potential for an Olympic legacy, we could do much more to encourage teenagers and young adults to get involved in sport?
Lord Warner: My Lords, my noble friend is right. My honourable friend Caroline Flint, the Minister for Public Health, has responsibilities across government in this area. She is working with colleagues on these issues, in particular to use the opportunities of the 2012 Olympics to develop progress and produce a legacy at the end of that process.
Baroness Neuberger: My Lords, we all welcome the report. I agree with my noble friend that this is partly an environmental issue, but what will be done to strengthen the public health function, given that many public health doctors and professionals are feeling somewhat depressed about their future at the moment, particularly those who work with children and, as the noble Baroness said, with teenagers and young people? It seems that something needs to be done about the provision of specialist advice. What will the Government provide?
Lord Warner: My Lords, changes are taking place in the public health world, many of them for the better, and the range of services is improving. As I tried to say in my Answer, partnership working is improving across the agencies. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that obesity is now taken very seriously across a wide range of agencies. There is still a lot more to be done but there is a lot of momentum behind the changes in this area.
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Baroness Howe of Idlicote: My Lords, I think everyone agrees that it is an excellent report, with excellent opportunities for partnerships. However, will the Minister comment on the role of the media, which seem to have been left out of the report? Do the media have a role to play in recommending healthy living activities and healthy eating practices?
Lord Warner: My Lords, of course the media have a role to play. That is why we have engaged with Ofcom on new rules for preventing children being overexposed to broadcast advertising for high-fat, high-salt and high-sugar foods and why we are working closely with Ofcom, industry and the Food and Drink Advertising and Promotion Forum to create effective rules in this area. There is still a lot more work to be done but, again, there is considerable momentum with the broadcast and other media in this area.
Baroness Sharples: My Lords, does the Minister accept that parents should be the main target in this area?
Lord Warner: My Lords, obesity is a matter for adults as well as children. We need to work across the age spectrum to make progress. The NICE guidelines are a helpful contribution but there will continue to be a range of policies tackling the issue of parents.
Lord Howarth of Newport: My Lords, further to the question of the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, may we be assured that the Government will adopt a thoroughly sceptical and rigorous approach to broadcasters who claim that children’s programming can be funded only by advertising particularly pitched at children? Does the Minister accept that, in a free society properly defined, it is not acceptable that powerful commercial interests should abuse their power in relation to vulnerable groups in the population, such as children?
Lord Warner: My Lords, the Government are not short of rigour on a large range of issues. My honourable friend the Minister for Public Health is quite capable of looking after the public interests in these areas against any vested interest.
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: My Lords, is the noble Lord—
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): My Lords, we are on 30 minutes.
Victims of Overseas Terrorism Bill [HL]
11.49 am
Lord Brennan: My Lords, I beg to introduce a Bill to make provision for advice and assistance to victims of acts of terrorism taking place outside the United Kingdom; for arrangements under which insurance is made available to individuals in respect of risks
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Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Bill read a first time, and ordered to be printed.
House of Lords: Travel Expenses
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.
This Motion makes two technical amendments to the existing resolution of the House that allows Members to recover their spouses’ and children’s travel expenses for attending parliamentary occasions at the House. The first amendment extends the resolution to include travel costs incurred by a Member’s civil partner. The second extends the resolution to allow travel claims for a Member’s children who have reached the age of 18 but are still in full-time secondary education. The House Committee agreed to these changes earlier this year. The amendments keep your Lordships’ eligibility in respect of this allowance in line with that of Members of the Commons.
Moved, To resolve that this House approves the following proposals with respect to travel expenses incurred by spouses, civil partners and children of Members of this House on or after 1 January 2006—
(1) The Resolution of 27 November 1996 is amended as follows.
(2) In paragraph (1) after “spouse” insert “or civil partner” and after “18” insert “, or any child in full-time secondary education, during the academic year in which they become aged 18,”.
(3) In paragraph (3) after “spouse” insert “or civil partner” and after “18” insert “, or any child in full-time secondary education, during the academic year in which they become aged 18,”.—(Baroness Amos.)
On Question, Motion agreed to.
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