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Health: Consultants
Lord Rea asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the number of National Health Service hospital consultants in England in each year since 2001; and[HL1597]
What assessment they have made of how the number of National Health Service hospital
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The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The number of the National Health Service hospital consultants in England in each year since 2001 is shown in the table.
There are no equivalent data from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries to make a valid comparison to the number of hospital consultants in England.
Health: Mixed-sex NHS Wards
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the then Minister of Health, Hazel Blears, on 11 March 2002 (HC Deb, 847W), whether the compliance for privacy in mixed-sex wards, as set out in the Table of Mixed Sex Hospital Accommodation (Objective One) on the Department of Health’s website, requires partitions which are permanent, rigid and fixed to the building structure. [HL1520]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Objective 1 requires that,
- “appropriate organisational arrangements are in place to secure good standards of privacy and dignity for hospital patients”.
Good standards can be achieved in wards that are partitioned into bays, as long as screening is adequate to ensure that privacy is maintained. Partitions in this case should be permanent, rigid and fixed to the building structure.
Home Office: Reorganisation
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will issue a Green Paper on the proposed reorganisation and splitting of the Home Office, and allow for a period of public debate and consultation and the issuing of a White Paper before any Bill to implement such reorganisation is presented to Parliament. [HL1648]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Questions of changes to the machinery of government are decided by the Prime Minister. I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by the Prime Minister in another place on Wednesday 24 January:
“There are proposals that the Home Secretary has made, and we will make an announcement on those in the next few weeks”.
House of Lords: Fair Trade Products
Lord Hoyle asked the Chairman of Committees:
Further to his Written Answer on 22 January (WA 204-05), what steps are being taken to find other suppliers of fair trade bananas; and what liaison has taken place with the House of Commons Refreshment Department on this matter. [HL1821]
The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The House of Lords Refreshment Department is unable to purchase fair trade bananas at the required quantity of 5 kilogrammes or less from current suppliers. Research is being carried out to identify suppliers that may be able to provide quantities of this size. The House of Commons Refreshment Department purchases fair trade bananas in quantities of 18 kilogrammes per case which are sold in the Commons’ cafeterias and restaurants. Discussions have begun into the possible purchase of fair trade bananas from the House of Commons in the event that a supplier for the House of Lords cannot be found.
House of Lords: Interns
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked the Chairman of Committees:
Whether guidance is available to Members of the House on the appropriate wage for interns employed by Members for parliamentary work; and, if so, whether such guidance draws attention to the current minimum wage. [HL1958]
The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The administration does not produce guidance for Members on the appropriate wage to be paid to interns employed by Members for parliamentary work.
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Immigration: Unaccompanied Children
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the weekly cost per head of supporting unaccompanied young asylum seekers in the London Borough of Hillingdon over the past three years; how many were in the care of Hillingdon social services; and to what extent they were supported by central government in each of those years. [HL1523]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): Data on the weekly cost per head of supporting unaccompanied young asylum seekers in individual councils are not collected centrally. The number of unaccompanied asylum seekers who were looked after by the London Borough of Hillingdon at 31 March in each of the past three years is given below:
Local authorities, and not central government, provide support to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, in accordance with their legal responsibilities under the Children Act 1989.
Local Government: Social Care Funding
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their assessment of the funding pressures facing local authorities in regard to the delivery of adult social care. [HL1728]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government looked carefully with local government at the cost pressures facing local authorities in both 2006-07 and 2007-08, including those in the area of adult social care, and the ways that those pressures can be managed. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2007-08, being the second year of a two-year settlement, provides an increase in government grant of £3.1 billion or 4.9 per cent on the previous year. This includes an extra £508 million above existing spending plans following the joint work with local government. It will allow authorities to provide effective services without the need to impose excessive council tax increases, and ensures that every individual authority with social services responsibilities gets an increase in grant of at least 2.7 per cent.
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The Government are again working with local authorities in the context of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 to assess the pressures councils face from 2008-09 onwards, including those that arise in the delivery of adult social care.
National Insurance
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Davies of Oldham: I refer the noble Lord to Section 4 Table 2 of the report by the Government Actuary on the drafts of the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2007 and the Social Security (Contributions) (Re-rating and National Insurance Funds Payments) Order 2007 (Cm 7021).
Northern Ireland Assembly: Deceased Members
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 10 January (WA 101) concerning the votes of deceased Members in the Northern Ireland Assembly, who can exercise such a vote where the deceased Member was the only representative of his or her party. [HL1345]
Lord Rooker: In relation to the Transitional Assembly established by Section 1 of the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006, Standing Orders 17(h) and 17(i) provide that the nominating officer of the party of the member that held the seat on the vacancy occurring shall be entitled to exercise that vote. “Nominating Officer” is defined in Standing Order 22 (a) as
“(i) The person registered as nominating officer under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 as the party's nominating officer; or (ii) a Member of the Assembly nominated by him for the purposes of this Standing Order.”
In cases where the nominating officer is not an MLA himself/herself, it is assumed that the nominating officer shall exercise that vote by nominating a serving MLA under Standing Order 22 (a)(ii) to act as nominating officer for that purpose. Standing Orders will be amended shortly to make this clearer.
Official Gifts: Mr Philip Anschutz
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What presents, gifts or mementoes purchased with public funds any official from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister or the Deputy Prime Minister's private office has given to Mr Philip Anschutz or any of his associates during the course of their meetings, including the Deputy Prime Minister's visit to Mr Anschutz's ranch in July 2005.[HL1692]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by my noble friend Lord Davies of Oldham on 1 February (Official Report, col. WA 77).
Palestine: International Interim Mechanism
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What sums have so far been spent for the benefit of the Palestinian people as a result of the International Interim Mechanism. [HL1526]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): To date over €152 million has been spent through the Temporary International Mechanism to provide direct assistance to the Palestinian people. The UK has made available up to £12 million. So far, we have spent £9.7 million. These funds are being used to provide essential health supplies, allowances for the poorest Palestinian government workers, and to help sustain water, sanitation and electricity services.
Passports
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether a United Kingdom passport holder who has changed his or her name may continue to use the passport in his or her previous name. [HL1739]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): As stated in my reply of 19 January 2007 to a previous Question, there is no legal obligation for a person who has changed their name to surrender their existing passport until they apply for a replacement. However, airlines and other international passenger carriers would be unlikely to allow boarding where a name in a person's passport differed from that on their ticket.
People Trafficking
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will sign the Council of Europe convention against human trafficking within the next few months. [HL1285]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The Prime Minister announced on 22 January the Government's intention to sign this convention.
Police: Northern Ireland
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
What, on appointment, was the investigative or judicial experience of the present Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.[HL1682]
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Lord Rooker: The detailed information requested by the noble Lord is exempt from disclosure under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However I can confirm that, on appointment, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland did comply with the requirements stipulated in the job specification.
Roads: Dartford Crossing
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What work they have undertaken regarding the health impact of the Dartford Crossing on those communities living close by. [HL1781]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer that I gave him on 30 January (Official Report, col. WA 40).
Roads: Londonderry
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
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 traffic flow in Londonderry. As this issue falls within my responsibility as chief executive of Roads Service, I have been asked to reply.
As you may be aware, the regional development strategy (RDS) for Northern Ireland contains a policy to strengthen the role of Londonderry as the regional city and hub for the north-west. The regional transportation strategy proposed two transport plans, the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan (RSTNTP) and the Sub-Regional Transport Plan (SRTP), as the mechanism for implementation of the RDS outside the Belfast Metropolitan Area with regard to all modes of transport.
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