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Prisons: Escapes
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give the number of prisoners who had escaped or absconded and who were still at large on 1 January 2007 and on the same date in each of the previous five years, showing separately the number who were category A prisoners. [HL1153]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Accurate figures for recaptured prisoners are available only at a disproportionate cost. However, validation of management information has shown that around three-quarters of all absconders are returned to prison within 12 months of absconding. There have been no category A escapes since 1995.
Railways: First Great Western
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many First Great Western Trains have been cancelled since the new timetable was introduced on 6 December 2006. [HL1545]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: This is an operational matter for Network Rail as the owner and operator of the national rail network. The noble Lord should contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for a response to his Question: John Armitt, Chief Executive, Network Rail, 40 Melton Street, London NW1 2EE.
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Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What performance measures they use when assessing the performance of franchises; and how this is applied to First Great Western. [HL1546]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Franchise agreements contain contractual minimum performance requirements, and in the case of sustained poor performance by a train operator below this level, an agreement can be terminated.
For First Great Western, the contractual performance measures used are delay minutes and cancellations (measured on a moving annual average basis) compared with the benchmarks in the franchise agreement; the non-contractual measures are the public performance measure and progress against the non-contractual joint performance improvement plan targets.
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the specification of train services set for those who bid for the First Great Western franchise was designed to cater for passenger numbers at the start of the franchise period. [HL1564]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: In its invitation to tender for the Greater Western franchise, the former Strategic Rail Authority specified a minimum train service pattern. Bidders were required to form their own views of existing and future demand, and to respond with proposals, including rolling stock deployment, to meet this demand.
Railways: Standing
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the maximum time for which a train passenger should be expected to stand; and whether this figure is different for various service types. [HL1548]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Department for Transport has set limits for passengers in excess of capacity (that is, those passengers having to stand) at 4.5 per cent on one peak (morning or afternoon) and 3 per cent across both peaks. This applies only to London commuter services. There are no separate standards set for other regional and intercity services.
Serious Fraud Office
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made any assessment of the current morale of officials in the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) compared to the level prior to the Government’s intervention into the SFO’s investigation of BAE Systems.[HL1422]
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The Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith): The Government did not intervene into the Serious Fraud Office investigation of BAE Systems.
The SFO Statement published on 14 December 2006 made it clear that the decision to discontinue the investigation into the affairs of BAE Systems in connection to the Al Yamamah defence contract had been taken by the director of the SFO, following representations made both to the Attorney-General and the director concerning the need to safeguard national and international security.
Morale within the SFO remains high. The SFO has a heavy and continuing case load across a wide variety of investigations apart from those relating to overseas corruption. SFO staff members are professionals and are well used to ongoing assessment of the various factors that may affect the continuance of an investigation. They recognise that not all investigations result in prosecution.
Space: Weapons
Lord Garden asked Her Majesty's Government:
What diplomatic response they have made to the use by China of a ballistic missile to disable a Chinese satellite. [HL1632]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): On 18 January officials from our embassy in Beijing made representations to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the missile test, expressing concern about the lack of international consultation before the test was conducted and the possible impact of debris from the test on other objects in space.
The Government have also expressed concern that the development of this technology and the manner in which this test was conducted is inconsistent with the spirit of China's statements to the UN and other bodies on the military use of space. As part of our regular bilateral dialogue on international issues, we will continue to work to encourage China to play a constructive role in the international community.
Sport: Performance Consultants
Lord Luke asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people have been recruited to the UK Sport performance programme consultants team; how many of the team have competed in the Olympic Games for Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and what expertise each brings to assist the Olympic governing bodies of sport. [HL1508]
Lord Davies of Oldham: There are currently eight members of the performance programme consultants team in UK Sport. Two members of the team have competed in the Olympic Games for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, while a further member has competed representing Australia. In addition, the team is supported by UK Sport's performance adviser, a
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Each performance programme consultant has a thorough understanding of the requirements of high performance sport and knowledge and experience of the needs of world class athletes and coaches, together with high level experience as an athlete, a coach, in sports management, sports science or administration.
Sport: UK Sport
Lord Luke asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much UK Sport paid to each leading British athlete in receipt of payment to promote its programmes in 2005 and 2006. [HL1506]
Lord Davies of Oldham: UK Sport made no payments to British athletes to promote its programmes in 2005 and 2006. Under the terms of its funding agreement with national governing bodies, UK Sport is entitled to the right to mutually agreed promotion and appearances by individual members of the world class pathway. This commitment is for a minimum of three days per athlete in any one calendar year and is primarily geared towards ensuring effective promotion of the National Lottery.
Sudan: African Union
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made any representations to African Union member states concerning the scheduled Sudanese presidency of the African Union. [HL1618]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The African Union (AU) is an important partner for the UK and the wider international community on key issues that affect African development. It has a major role to play in helping to prevent and resolve conflict in conjunction with the United Nations and others.
The choice of the next AU chairperson is a matter for AU member states. We expect the AU to ensure that whoever is chosen will be in a position to continue to build the capacity and credibility of the organisation across the range of its activities.
Sudan: Darfur
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the likely impact of a Sudan-led African Union on the conflict in Darfur and of the comments of the Greater Sudanese Liberation Movement on this issue. [HL1619]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The African Union (AU) has a major role to play in Darfur. On 29 January the AU decided that Ghana would assume its chair for the coming year.
We continue to urge all sides in Sudan to implement the agreements of Addis and Abuja. This includes the need for an immediate and strengthened ceasefire, a renewed political process to bring in the non-signatory rebel groups, and a hybrid AU-UN peacekeeping force.
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made an assessment of the remarks of Jan Pronk, the former United Nations Special Representative to Darfur, on the further deterioration of the situation in Darfur in the past two months of 2006 and the increasing strength of the Government of Sudan. [HL1622]
Lord Triesman: We share Jan Pronk's concerns about the situation in Darfur. UN humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organisations are increasingly being targeted. We utterly condemn these appalling actions against those seeking to assist the victims of the conflict in Darfur. All attacks on humanitarian agencies must cease immediately.
The Government of Sudan continue to conduct aerial bombings in Darfur. We have protested to them about this and made clear that they are in breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1591, the Abuja Security Protocol and the ceasefire. We will continue to consider all measures, including those specified in Resolution 1591, in order to bring an end to these unacceptable attacks.
Sudan: Non-governmental Organisations
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made to the Government of Sudan following the police raid of the International Non-Governmental Organisations compound in Nyala, which led to the arrest and assault of 20 people who had gathered for a social function. [HL1620]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development issued a statement on 26 January condemning the very serious abuse that UN and non-governmental organisations humanitarian agencies were subjected to in Nyala by the Sudanese police and security forces and calling on the Government of Sudan to bring those responsible to account. Our embassy in Khartoum delivered a protest about the incident to the Government of Sudan on 29 January.
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Terrorism
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements they propose to make to meet the Prime Minister's standards for joined-up government to ensure their effective participation in the European Union proposal to initiate during 2007 a revision of the 2002 framework decision on combating terrorism. [HL1519]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Home Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are working with the UK representative in Brussels. The UK is proud to be at the forefront of promoting international conventions and treaties that combat terrorism. It is important to update the framework decision to reflect the current climate and our own priorities.
UN: Vehicles
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will propose to the United Nations a study of the potential savings of both annual carbon emissions and cost which could be achieved if the United Nations and its agencies purchase vehicles costing less than a specified sum and with a specified minimum fuel performance. [HL1539]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The UK seeks to encourage best practice with international organisations in integrating sustainable development in their procurement policies, including in the UN. The UN takes into account fuel efficiency, emission standards, noise level and use of recycled materials in procurement of its transport fleet but needs to balance this with other factors such as cost and requirement for specialised terrain vehicles.
The Government's aim is to lead by example. We are committed to transforming and delivering a
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Vehicles: Carbon Emissions
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the forthcoming European Union Commission average target of 120 grams of carbon emission per kilometre by 2012 will affect the market in four-by-four people carriers; and, if so, to what extent. [HL1535]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The EU currently has voluntary agreements with European, Japanese and Korean car manufacturer associations, to decrease average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by around 25 per cent to 140g/km, over the period 1995 to 2008-9. These agreements set industry targets without regard to the type of car produced but, in so far as they are stretching targets, they encourage the sale of small cars at the expense of larger ones.
The European Commission is undertaking a review of what might replace these agreements when they expire. The figure of 120g/km average of CO2 per car by 2012 is given in the voluntary agreements as a potential future target. However, we do not yet know whether the forthcoming communication will reconfirm this figure or how it will propose reaching it. We cannot at this stage assess any impacts on the market for vehicles.
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