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There are two distinct reporting systems in place for in-patient and out-patient waiting lists/times. Separate electronic reports providing the numbers of people waiting for in-patient admission and out-patient assessment are downloaded from patient administration systems (PAS) in each hospital by trust information staff. These provide information on the number of patients waiting for in-patient/daycase procedure and first out-patient assessment, together with an indication of how many months the patient has been waiting (in timebands) for each specialty. Validation checks are undertaken by these staff and information is then submitted to the Information and Analysis Directorate (IAD) in the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, where a further series of stringent validation procedures are undertaken prior to publication.
The quarterly waiting list/times bulletin is a National Statistics publication governed by the National Statistics code of practice and its associated protocols. The code and protocols require that procedures are in place to produce statistics that are relevant, have integrity, are of good quality and are accessible to the user. They are produced in the interests of all citizens by protecting confidentiality and balancing the needs of users and the burden on providers; they are also free from political interference.
The official waiting list bulletin is available at the DHSSPS website via the following link: www.dhsspsn i.gov.uk/index/stats_research/stats-pubs/stats-hospital _community_statistics.htm#waitinglists. Copies are also available in the Library. Official waiting list/times statistics for the quarter ending 31 December 2006 are due to be published on Thursday 1 March 2007.
Healthcare Commission: Annual Report
Lord James of Blackheath asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the remarks by Lord Warner on 7 December (Official Report, col. 1294), to which specific areas of greater information he was referring when comparing the information provided by the annual report of the Healthcare
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The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Healthcare Commission produces a wide range of information about the National Health Service and its performance. The commission assesses NHS trusts through its annual health-check process. This provides information on trusts’ performance against the existing national targets, core standards and use of resources, as well as on progress made in specific healthcare areas such as mental health. Results for 2005-06 were published on 12 October 2006 and are available on the commission's website at www.healthcarecommission.org.uk.
The Healthcare Commission published its third State of Healthcare report on 30 October 2006. The report considers the state of healthcare services in England and Wales for the year ending 31 March 2006. For the first time, the report also includes an overview of standards in the independent healthcare sector. State of Healthcare 2006 is also available on the commission's website.
The Healthcare Commission's activities are summarised in its annual reports. Its report for 2005-06, Putting Patients First: A Better Experience of Healthcare, was published on 24 July 2006. The report is available on the commission's website.
Immigration: Children
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many children were detainees in immigration removal centres in each year since these centres were established. [HL948]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The exact information requested is not available; it would be available only by examination of individual case files, at disproportionate cost.
Quarterly snapshots are published showing the number of people detained under Immigration Act powers on the last Saturday of each quarter. Information is available on the number of persons recorded as being under 18 detained on the last Saturday of each quarter since December 2003. All the figures exclude persons detained in short-term holding facilities, police cells and Prison Service establishments. All figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
Minors are detained only in two limited circumstances: first, as part of a family group whose detention is considered appropriate; secondly, when unaccompanied, while alternative care arrangements are made and normally just overnight. While the detention of families with children is very regrettable, it nevertheless remains necessary in appropriate cases in order to maintain an effective immigration control and to tackle abuses of the asylum system.
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Information on the number of minors detained is published in the Quarterly Asylum Bulletin, on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Immigration: Costs of Detention
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the average cost of detaining a person under immigration laws in (a) an immigration removal centre, and (b) prison. [HL232]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The average cost of detaining a person for one night in 2005-06 was:
(a) immigration removal centre, £104; and
The cost provided for prison detention does not distinguish between those held under immigration laws and those held on criminal matters, as this is not discernible. Both figures reflect direct costs as per 2005-06 financial accounts.
Immigration: Deportation
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
What additional safeguards they have in place for those who have failed in their immigration applications and who are to be deported to countries where such differences as religious, cultural or sexual orientation are severely punished. [HL1288]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Applications are considered on an individual basis taking account of relevant country information and an applicant's personal circumstances, including where relevant their sexual orientation or their religious or cultural background. We will not remove someone where this is contrary to our obligations under the refugee convention or the European Convention on Human Rights, which includes a prohibition on torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. If an application for asylum is refused, the individual is entitled to appeal to the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. This provides an additional safeguard and appropriate judicial oversight of the asylum process.
Immigration: Harmondsworth Removal Centre
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide a breakdown of the persons detained at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre on 27 November 2006 showing the average length of detention under Immigration Act powers and the nationalities of those detained (a) for fast tracking, (b) for removal or deportation following a custodial sentence for a criminal
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Lord Bassam of Brighton: On 27 November 2006 there were 494 persons detained at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre. The remainder of the information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only by examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
Immigration: Zimbabwe
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 11 October 2004 (WA 21) concerning the organisation Zimbabwean Community in the United Kingdom, when the investigations made by the Immigration Service were completed; and what conclusions were reached. [HL1240]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Immigration Service suspended an 11-month investigation into the organisation Zimbabwean Community in the United Kingdom in January 2005. The subjects of the investigation left their home addresses in the wake of allegations against them in the media and are now believed to be residing outside the United Kingdom. The Immigration Service remains ready to reactivate the investigation should these individuals come to light in the future.
India: Human Rights
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make representations to the Government of India about the anti-conversion law recently passed by the Congress Government in Himachal Pradesh state.[HL1415]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We make representations to the Indian Government periodically about the anti-conversion laws in India, most recently in April 2006, with reference to Rajasthan. Although the Anti-Conversion Bill was passed by the Assembly of Himachal Pradesh on 13 December 2006, we understand that the Bill still needs to be ratified by the state governor before it becomes law. Our high commission in New Delhi will continue to monitor developments.
Inward Investment: North Tyrone
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
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Lord Rooker: The Government, through Invest NI, promotes Northern Ireland as an attractive and viable location for foreign direct investment. It also works to stimulate the development and growth of local businesses and entrepreneurial activity. The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) works to secure investment in tourism. Invest NI works closely with local stakeholders to encourage them to develop regional propositions to maximise the attractiveness of their area for potential investors.
This strategy has resulted in just under £5 million of assistance being offered towards total planned inward investment of £19.2 million in the Strabane District Council area in the four years to March 2006. Through its Accelerating Entrepreneurship Strategy, Invest NI has also assisted the creation of just under 270 new enterprises which have the potential to generate significant additional turnover in local businesses.
The NITB has prepared a strategic framework for action 2004-07 to focus on attracting visitors to NI, to increase the competitiveness of tourism businesses and to stimulate effective communication with the industry. Four regional tourism partnerships (RTPs) were set up under the framework to assist the promotion of tourism at local level. The Western RTP, which includes North Tyrone, has to date been allocated £125,000, representing 25 per cent of the £500,000 funding from the NITB towards this initiative. Projects from North Tyrone have also been eligible to compete for funding under the tourism development programme.
Iraq: Kurds
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make representations to the Kurdish regional authority (in Iraq) to accept for resettlement Kurds now living in Al Ruwaishid camp in Jordan and in other locations near the frontier. [HL1211]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Amman reports that the Al Ruwaishid camp is populated by Palestinians not Kurds. Consequently, officials do not plan to make representations to the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq.
Irish Language Bill
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the proposed introduction of an Irish Language Bill will fulfil the Belfast agreement commitment to parity of esteem and equality between the Irish language and that of Ulster-Scots. [HL1342]
Lord Rooker: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 8 November 2006 (WA 201) outlining the Government's current commitment to Ulster-Scots in accordance with the Belfast agreement.
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Passports
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
In what circumstances a resident of the Republic of Ireland can obtain a British passport of any type. [HL1341]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: British passports can be issued only to those who hold British nationality. A resident of the Republic of Ireland who holds British nationality may obtain a British passport from the British embassy or by making an appointment to attend an Identity and Passport Service office for a premium service when visiting the UK.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements are in place to ensure that British diplomatic missions overseas that become aware of the arrest of British citizens inform the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the passport details of such citizens; and whether the Foreign and Commonwealth Office passes this information to the UK Passport Agency. [HL1352]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): Where available, consular staff record the passport details of every British national to whom they are providing consular assistance, including detainees. These details are entered on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular assistance database—Compass—making it available, in real time, to consular staff in London and overseas. The arrest by foreign authorities of British nationals overseas is not alone grounds for the removal of their passport facilities by the Identity and Passport Service (IPS), the successor to the UK Passport Service. Consequently, we do not pass their details to IPS. However, we do automatically pass on the details of any lost or stolen passport to IPS.
People Trafficking
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many prosecutions and how many convictions there have been in (a) Scotland, and (b) Northern Ireland for trafficking for (i) sexual exploitation, and (ii) labour exploitation in each year since records have been kept. [HL1236]
Lord Evans of Temple Guiting: Trafficking for sexual exploitation was made a specific offence by Section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. Trafficking for any purpose, including that of labour exploitation, was made a specific offence by Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004. There have been no recorded prosecutions or convictions under these Acts in either Scotland or Northern Ireland. No statistics on convictions for human trafficking are available prior to the introduction of this legislation.
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Prisoners: Offender Assessment System
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the offender assessment system was used in the pilot scheme in the north-west region for new styles and methods for managing and resettling offenders sentenced to prison; and to what extent it was found helpful and effective. [HL1083]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The offender assessment system (OASys) is in use across England and Wales and was used in the offender management pilot, or pathfinder, in the north-west region.
The pathfinder benefited from the high-quality assessment of offenders that is delivered through use of OASys. It also highlighted where improvements might be made to OASys to better support offender management. An important step forward in relation to one such improvement—connectivity between the probation and prison OASys IT systems—was achieved in March 2006 when work was completed that linked probation areas to the public sector prisons.
Roads: High-occupancy Vehicle Lanes
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
How the requirement for vehicles using high-occupancy vehicle lanes to have more than one passenger is to be enforced; and by whom. [HL1362]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The enforcement of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on the trunk road network will be carried out by the police. The Highways Agency is working closely with them to agree appropriate measures for enforcement, prior to the introduction of the first HOV lane on the trunk road network.
Roads: Sprucefield to the Irish Border
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proposals they have to improve the safety of the road from Sprucefield to the Irish border. [HL1146]
Lord Rooker: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr Malcolm McKibbin) has written to the noble Lord in response to this Question.
Letter from Dr Malcolm McKibbin to Lord Laird
You recently asked Her Majesty's Government a Parliamentary Question regarding what proposals they have to improve the safety of the road from Sprucefield to the Irish border.
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