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10 Jan 2007 : Column WA87
Written Answers
Wednesday 10 January 2007
Afghanistan: Helmand Province
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): I am withholding information regarding the number of troops deployed in specific units as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our Armed Forces.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many United Kingdom military units deployed to the Helmand province of Afghanistan are composite. [HL746]
Lord Drayson: Force composition is dictated by the specific military requirements of the operational environment. All UK military units above company level deployed to Helmand province are composed of a number of different sub-units and/or supplemented by augmentees during the course of their deployment.
Agriculture: Fallen Stock
Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the cost both to farmers and to the Government of the national fallen stock scheme in the past 12 months. [HL823]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): By 24 November 2006 more than 40,000 farmers had chosen to join the voluntary national fallen stock scheme, each paying a £28 annual fee for membership. This equates to around £1 million per annum in subscription fees. However, farmers may choose to dispose of their fallen stock outside of the scheme, provided that they comply with the Animal By-Products Regulations (EC) No. 1774/2002.
From November 2005 to November 2006, more than £7 million of funding was provided by the Government to the farming industry via the national fallen stock scheme to assist with the cost of complying with the regulations. Farmers who are members of the scheme contributed just over £8.5 million towards the collection and disposal costs.
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Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:
What additional levels of carbon dioxide have been generated by incineration of carcasses that would hitherto have been buried; and what additional carbon dioxide was generated by the vehicles collecting fallen stock in the past 12 months. [HL824]
Lord Rooker: No assessment of this kind has been made. However, even before the complete ban on burial of fallen stock in 2003 there were very limited circumstances when burial of fallen stock was permitted because of the potential risk to animal and public health from doing so.
Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will seek a derogation under the European Union subsidiarity arrangements to enable the United Kingdom to dispose of fallen sheep by traditional burial; and [HL825]
Whether, in view of the fact that farmers can currently be licensed to incinerate fallen stock, they will license the burial of sheep where there is no danger of water pollution and a potential reduction of energy costs and pollution caused by incineration. [HL826]
Lord Rooker: There is no provision under the European Union animal by-products regulation (which bans on-farm burial of fallen stock) for seeking a derogation to permit the burial of sheep. The only derogations which permit burial are in the event of an outbreak of a notifiable disease and for certain designated remote areas. In the case of a disease outbreak, the derogation would apply if there were a lack of capacity at rendering plants and incinerators, or if transport of the carcases would spread disease.
Pollution control is not the main aim of this regulation. The regulation is there to protect public and animal health from any potential risks associated with the burial of fallen stock. Rendering and incineration provide safe, controlled routes of disposal.
Agriculture: Set-aside
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the total area of farmland allocated as set-aside in the latest year for which statistics are available for (a) England as a whole, and (b) each county in England; and what proportion of set-aside land in each case was used for growing permitted crops. [HL897]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The information requested is detailed and will take more time to compile. I will write to the noble Lord with the information when this is available later this month and place a copy in the Library of the House.
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Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made or intend to commission an assessment of the plant and wildlife value of set-aside. [HL1001]
Lord Rooker: The department published two reports (Change in the Area and Distribution of Set-aside in England in 2005 and its Environmental Impact and Project to Assess Future Options for Set-Aside) in February 2006. These looked at the environmental benefits that set-aside has delivered and at the potential environmental impact of set-aside policy options for the future. The reports are available on the Defra website at http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/evaluation/futuresetaside/ and www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/observatory/research/pdf/observatory01.pdf.
Animal Welfare: Cormorants
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Centralised and electronic recording of wildlife applications and licences began in this department in 2001. Since then 3,768 cormorants have been reported as killed under licence. The breakdown by calendar year is shown below.
| Year (January-December) | Number of cormorants reported killed under licence |
Figures for the period between August and December 2006 are currently unavailable. The mid-season licensee returns for this period are due in mid-January 2007.
Animal Welfare: Snares
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made an assessment of the report of the investigation by the League Against Cruel Sports into snares entitled The Silent Killer: Can the Code of Practice Stop Cruelty, and in particular whether its findings on compliance with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs code of practice indicate that the operation of the code needs to be reconsidered.[HL898]
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): When Defra published its Code of Good Practice on the Use of Snares in Fox and Rabbit Control in October 2005 it also published the Defra Snares Action Plan. A copy of the action plan can be found on the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/snares/pdf/snares-actionplan.pdf. The action plan clearly sets out Defra's commitment for research to be undertaken to monitor the voluntary uptake of the code, its practical application and impact. A research project will be procured in the near future. Defra will aim to review the code of good practice by the end of 2008 in the light of research findings and of its impact on snaring practices and results. Following the review of the code, Defra will consider giving it a higher legal status if appropriate. Nothing within the League Against Cruel Sports report changes that position.
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs code of practice on the use of snares includes advice on their use on rights of way and on access land. [HL899]
Lord Rooker: The Defra Code of Good Practice on the Use of Snares in Fox and Rabbit Control includes the following advice:
“Snares must not be set on or near public footpaths, rights of way, near housing and areas regularly used for exercising domestic animals to avoid capturing pets”.
The full code is available from the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/snares/pdf/snares-cop.pdf.
Armed Forces: Body Armour
Lord Tyler asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why there was a delay of more than eight weeks between 13 September and 13 November 2002 in ordering essential sets of enhanced combat body armour for troops deployed to Iraq with the result that 2,200 troops were not fully protected, including Sergeant Steven Roberts. [HL1058]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): At that time the United Kingdom was deeply involved in diplomatic activity endeavouring to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in Iraq and no decision to commit a UK land force to any potential operation had been taken. The judgment was that to place orders for equipment which would have indicated preparations for the deployment of a large land force would have risked undermining this diplomatic effort. In September 2002, early planning suggested that the number of sets of enhanced combat body armour in stock would be sufficient to equip the fighting elements, of which Sergeant Roberts was part.
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Armed Forces: Joint Strike Fighter
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether principal United Kingdom contractors in the Joint Strike Fighter project have confirmed to them that the arrangements now in place on a government-to-government basis will ensure all necessary access on the part of such contractors to the source codes for the avionics of the aircraft. [HL856]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The UK Government have obtained the required assurances that our operational sovereignty requirements will be met. These assurances are contained in a classified bilateral supplement to the production, sustainment and follow-on development memorandum of understanding which not only covers arrangements for UK Government but provides appropriate access for UK industry in order to execute those elements of the Joint Strike Fighter programme for which they are responsible.
Belfast Agreement: Release of Prisoners
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many offenders have been released as a result of the provisions of the Belfast agreement 1998; how many of those are loyalist; and how many are republican. [HL1009]
Lord Rooker: Since 10 April 1998 a total of 450 persons have been released on licence in accordance with the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998. Of these, 242 were affiliated to republican organisations, 196 to loyalist organisations and 12 had no particular affiliation.
Important safeguards were built into the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act. Those released under the Act were released on licence conditional on them not supporting a specified organisation; not becoming involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism; and, in the case of a life sentence prisoner, not becoming a danger to the public. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland may suspend a licence and a licensee be returned to prison if he/she is believed to have, or is likely to have, broken all or any of his/her licence conditions.
Benefits: Income Support
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
What income support benefits are available for United Kingdom citizens who are (a) under 25; (b) over 25; and (c) married couples; and what income support benefits are available for each child of parents claiming income support benefit. [HL945]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): The following are the main income maintenance benefits available to UK citizens:
Under 25—Jobseeker's allowance, income support; incapacity benefit, housing benefit, council tax benefit, and working tax credit if the customer is responsible for a child or is disabled. The appropriate benefit will depend on the individual's circumstances.Over 25—Jobseeker's allowance, income support, incapacity benefit, housing benefit, council tax benefit, and working tax credit. If the customer is over retirement age they will have access to state pension, pension credit: housing benefit, and council tax benefit. The appropriate benefit will depend on the individual's circumstances.Married couples—There is no benefit available only to married couples.Children—Child benefit and child tax creditLord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
What income support benefits are available for asylum seekers who are (a) under 25; (b) over 25; and (c) married couples; and what income support benefits are available for each child of parents claiming income support benefit. [HL946]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: No income support benefits are available to asylum seekers through the Department for Work and Pensions. The 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act provides for a support scheme outside of the social security system for asylum seekers, administered by the Home Office's National Asylum Support Service. The arrangements were introduced from 3 April 2000.
Civil Service: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the job description of Mr Phil Taylor, a political adviser in the Northern Ireland Office; and whether he is authorised to issue instructions to senior civil servants including the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. [HL568]
Lord Rooker: Special advisers in the NIO act in accordance with the Model Contract andCode of Conduct for Special Advisers.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have issued guidance in relation to allegations of bullying of members of the Northern Ireland Civil Service by political advisers.[HL569]
Lord Rooker: No. Special advisers in the NIO are required to abide by the conduct provisions of the NIO Home Civil Service Staff Handbook and the Civil Service Code.
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Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many political advisers are attached to the Northern Ireland Office; what are the job title and salary of each post; whether the posts are eligible for the award of bonuses; and, if so, how bonuses are calculated. [HL614]
Lord Rooker: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers and the numbers in each pay band. For the most recent information, I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister on Monday 24 July 2006 (Official Report, cols. 87-91 WS).
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