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5 Feb 2007 : Column WA83
Written Answers
Monday 5 February 2007
Addiction
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which body provides government funding in Northern Ireland to groups offering help and support to those with addictions; and how much has been paid to these groups in each of the past five years.[HL1468]
Lord Rooker: The Department of Health and Social Services and Public Safety through the alcohol and drug strategies, and its funding for core health board addiction services, provides funding to a range of organisations and groups offering help and support to those with addictions. Additional funding is provided by the NIO Community Safety Unit (NIO) and the Housing Executive for Northern Ireland (NIHE). The figures for these three funding bodies are as follows.
| Alcohol and Drug Strategies | |
| Health Boards | |
| NIHE | |
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Armed Forces: Service Police
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps the Office of the Provost Marshal (Army) has taken to reinvigorate the information technology strategy to support the intelligence and covert operations of the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch; and [HL1510]
What steps have been taken consequent to the report of H M Inspectors of Constabulary into the Service Police to increase the resourcing of the Service Police Crime Bureau and to clarify its roles and responsibilities; and [HL1511]
What are the arrangements for forensic warrant officers from the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch to be allocated periods of refresher training at the National Training Centre in Durham; how many such allocations have been made and completed; and how many are forthcoming; and [HL1512]
What steps the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch has taken to recruit a civilian head of profession for forensic services; and [HL1513]
Whether the Office of the Provost Marshal (Army) has considered taking fingerprints and DNA samples from all potential Royal Military Police applicants for speculative search against relevant databases; and [HL1514]
What steps the Office of the Provost Marshal (Army) has taken to identify options for reducing the case sizes of minor offences. [HL1515]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): I refer the noble Lord to my Answer of 25 January 2007 (Official Report, col. WA 252-54).
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress has been made on developing a register of Territorial Army skills to improve the use by the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch of any Home Office police skills held by reserve personnel; and [HL1574]
Whether the Office of the Provost Marshal (Army) has undertaken a review of the tenure policies for all specialist postings within the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch; and whether the Office considered developing specialist career paths as part of this review; and [HL1575]
Whether the Office of the Provost Marshal (Army) has undertaken a review of the course portfolio of the Defence Police College; and whether this review considered the benefits of computer-based distance learning to remove training gaps; and [HL1576]
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Whether the Royal Military Police Special Investigation Branch has developed an action plan to progress the race equality scheme; and [HL1577]
Whether there are plans for regular independent inspection of the Royal Military Police; and, if so, by whom such inspections will be made. [HL1578]
Lord Drayson: I refer the noble Lord to my Answer of 25 January 2007 (Official Report, col. WA 252-254).
Assisted Area Status
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the qualifications for possible inclusion of wards in the maps of areas with assisted area status in England from 2007. [HL1614]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott): The Government set out the criteria for consideration of inclusion on the United Kingdom's new assisted areas map in its response document published on 10 October 2006. In order to achieve the most effective targeting, assisted area coverage for the new map was built up from ward level, aggregated to zones of a minimum 100,000 population. The criteria therefore applied to zones not wards.
Detailed information on the criteria, together with ward analysis data, can be found on the DTI website at www.dti.gov.uk/regional/assisted-areas/assisted-areas-review/page24618.html.
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which wards in Lancashire districts and Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool unitary authorities met one or more of the criteria for assisted area status in 2007; and which of those have been granted such status. [HL1615]
Lord Truscott: The Government constructed the new assisted areas map by building it up from ward level, aggregated to zones of a minimum 100,000 population. The Government set out the new map in their government response document published on 10 October 2006. The document also contains a list of wards that qualified for assisted areas coverage. See www.dti.gov.uk/regional/assisted-areas/assisted-areas-review/page24618.html
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What criteria were used to decide which of the wards in Lancashire districts and Blackburn with Darwen, which meet one or more of the criteria for assisted area status, have been included in the new map of assisted areas. [HL1616]
Lord Truscott: The Government set out the criteria for consideration of inclusion on the United Kingdom's new assisted areas map in their response document published on 10 October 2006. In order to achieve the most effective targeting, assisted area
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Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which wards in Lancashire districts were added to the draft map of assisted areas following the consultation period in 2006; and what criteria were used to decide (a) whether to add any wards; (b) which wards to add; and (c) which wards not to add. [HL1617]
Lord Truscott: The Government set out which wards qualify for assisted areas coverage on the new map in their government response document published on 10 October 2006 See www.dti.gov.uk/regional/assisted-areas/assisted-areas-review/page24618.html.
Children: UN Conventions
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will ratify the Optional Protocol of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflicts. [HL1560]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The United Kingdom ratified the optional protocol on 24 June 2003.
Civil Service: Performance Monitoring
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many staff have been subjected to disciplinary procedures in the Home Office for poor performance or incompetence in each year since 2001. [HL1292]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Numbers of staff who have been subject to formal procedures for poor performance in the Home Office and all its agencies except the Prison Service are set out in the table below. Information prior to 2005 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Information regarding the number of public sector Prison Service employees subject to disciplinary procedures for poor performance or incompetence in each year since 2001 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Note: Information for 2006 is for the period ending November 2006. Data for December 2006 have not yet been entered on the central database)
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, following the passage of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, they have undertaken research on the number of visitors to the England and Wales countryside; if so, how many of these have been repeat visits and how many first time visits; and whether this information is publicly available.[HL1609]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Great Britain day visits survey of 2002-03 reported on general leisure trips, including those to the countryside in both England and Wales. The England leisure visits survey 2005 provides updated information for England. The reports of both surveys are available to the public via the Natural England website.
Information on how many first time or repeat visits have been made to the countryside were not collected as part of either survey.
Cyprus
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether their refusal to allow direct flights from the United Kingdom to Northern Cyprus is based on political or legal considerations; and what is being done in respect of the European Union assurance to end the isolation of Northern Cyprus. [HL1642]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The Government continue to review the legal position in respect of direct flights to Northern Cyprus. The UK does not intend to take action that would be in contravention of international law.
The UK and its EU partners remain committed to lifting the economic isolation of the Turkish Cypriots through targeted financial aid and trade liberalisation. We welcomed the decision by the EU last year to allocate €259 million for the economic development of Northern Cyprus. We continue to support the presidency's efforts to agree a direct trade regulation, which would fulfil the commitment made in April 2004 to allow Northern Cyprus to once again trade with the EU on preferential terms.
Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made as guarantor power to the Government of the Republic of Cyprus to have compensation paid to Turkish Cypriots who have had land and property in southern Cyprus taken over by the public authorities. [HL1643]
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