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(c) HM Treasury does not receive revenue directly from the sale of ROCs.
EU: Article 308
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Triesman on 6 March (WA 30), why they would incur disproportionate cost to reveal the legal instruments passed since 1997 which rely on Article 308 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community as their legal base. [HL2596]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): All Written Parliamentary Questions are currently subject to a cost limit of £600. It would exceed this limit for Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials to provide the information of which legal instruments with Article 308 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community (TEC) as their legal base have been passed since 1997—thus incurring disproportionate cost.
Article 308 of the TEC has been in force since 1999. The Government have given an undertaking that where the Commission puts forward a legislative proposal, citing Article 308 as its legal base, the Commission's justification of this choice of legal base will be provided to the scrutiny committees. We could revert to every Explanatory Memorandum provided to the scrutiny committees since then to determine if Article 308 of the TEC was the legal base cited. However, Explanatory Memoranda have been held centrally only since 2004. In order to compile the list requested, as well as checking three years of centrally held Explanatory Memoranda, each government department would need to check every Explanatory Memorandum issued between 1999 and 2004. We estimate that to do so would incur disproportionate cost.
The European Commission maintains the Europa website which provides public access to information
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Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Triesman on 6 March (WA 30—1), whether, in assessing the legal base of proposals brought forward by the Commission under Article 308 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community, they take account of the requirement in that article that the attainment of the relevant Community objective must be in the course of the operation of the common market. [HL2597]
Lord Triesman: Proposals advanced within the European Union under the provisions of Article 308 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community must relate to the working of the common market. Where Article 308 is proposed as a legal base, the Government provide Parliament with an Explanatory Memorandum explaining the connection of the proposal to the operation of the common market.
EU: Single Market
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made an assessment of the recent comments from the European Business School finance and banking team that a European Union single market cannot be completed without a single currency system. [HL2452]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government set out their priorities for policies to strengthen the single market in their recent paper, The Single Market: A vision for the 21st century. These include further measures to improve Community level policies—in the areas of better regulation, competition and the implementation and enforcement of single market rules—and further structural reforms in member states.
The Government's policy on membership of the single currency remains as set out by the Chancellor in his Statement to the House of Commons in October 1997, and again in the Chancellor's Statement on the five tests assessment in June 2003
Gambling: Betting Offices
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
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Lord Davies of Oldham: According to the DCMS Statistical Bulletin on Licensed Betting (June 2002 to May 2003), the number of licensed betting offices in Great Britain is 8,804.
From 1 September 2007, the Gambling Commission will have regulatory responsibility for operators in the betting industry. Local licensing authorities will issue and regulate premises licences for each betting office. In 2008, the Gambling Commission will publish updated figures on the number of licensed betting offices based on the premises licences issued by local authorities and the number of operating licences issued by the commission.
Gambling: Casinos
Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Davies of Oldham: At 9 March 2007, 139 casinos were licensed and operating in Great Britain under the Gaming Act 1968, and a further five casinos had closed but still held their licences.
House of Lords: Membership of Public Bodies
Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will list Members of the House of Lords, by party affiliation, who have been appointed as paid chairs of non-departmental public bodies and government agencies in each year since 1997, and the annual payment receivable in respect of each chairmanship at the time of appointment; and [HL2470]
Whether they will list Members of the House of Lords, by party affiliation, who currently serve as paid chairs of non-departmental public bodies and government agencies in each year since 1997, and the annual payment receivable in respect of each chairmanship at the time of appointment. [HL2471]
Lord Davies of Oldham: For each year since 1998, the names of chairs of public bodies and details of their remuneration can be found in the annual Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies. Copies are available in the Library for the reference of noble Lords and are also available on the following website: www.civilservice.gov.uk/other/agencies/public_bodies/index.asp. Information relating to party affiliation is not collected.
Information Systems: DCLG
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
In respect of the Department for Communities and Local Government, (a) on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised departmental computer systems; and, for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The following information relates to 2006.
The Department for Communities and Local Government's IT systems were not compromised by malicious programs.
The department conducted three penetration tests:Managed Perimeter Gateways;HP ServiceDesk; and Link DataCentres.All of the above were carried out independently of the service provider, and the results approved by the department's accreditor.
Information risks are monitored and managed as part of the department's risk management activities, and they are considered as and when required.
Information Systems: FCO
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
In respect of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (a) on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised departmental computer systems; and, for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what was the impact on the department's activities; (b) what penetration tests have been carried out of information systems over the past year and what were the results, indicating in each instance whether the tests were carried out independently of the providers of the system concerned; and (c) on how many occasions in the last year the departmental management team has considered information risk. [HL2440]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): In the past year, malicious programs (such as worms, viruses, etc) have not compromised the strategic computer systems at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The FCO does not comment on the IT security arrangements it has in place. The FCO keeps information risk under constant review, with activity summarised on a monthly basis for the relevant management groups.
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Iraq: Military Casualties
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 22 June 2006 (WA 102) on military casualties in Iraq, whether they are now able to provide the requested information. [HL2138]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The information is given below:
War Pension Scheme—34 awards were made in respect of British service personnel. From receipt of papers to the notification of award the average time taken was 38 working days; and in the one Commonwealth case the time taken was 89 working days.
Armed Forces Compensation Scheme—the 11 cases identified were all in respect of British service personnel. For the 10 cases where an award has been made, the average time taken was 91 working days. One case is still under consideration as tests in relation to parentage have only recently been finalised.
Examination of the remaining 11 cases revealed that compensation awards were not appropriate.
The Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency has concluded its examination of the 111 cases originally identified, finding that the average time taken to consider financial compensation for the dependants of those killed by hostile action was 38 working days. There were no Commonwealth cases identified. Examination of the remaining four cases revealed that compensation awards were not appropriate.
Local Government: Council Tax
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What would be the process for extending the current 25 per cent discount on council tax to other designated groups in a two-tier council area.[HL2575]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): Under Section 11(1) and (3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”), a 25 per cent discount (“the discount”) applies in respect of a chargeable dwelling and a particular day if on that day:
there is only one resident of the dwelling and that person does not fall to be disregarded for the purposes of the discount; orthere are two or more residents of the dwelling and each of them except one falls to be disregarded for those purposes.Schedule 1 to the 1992 Act has effect for determining who must be disregarded and paragraph 11 of that schedule provides that a person must be disregarded on a particular day if on that day:
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Depending on the precise circumstances, it may be possible to use the power in paragraph 11 to extend the discount. If that is not possible, any extension in the operation of the discount is likely to require primary legislation.
There are also other powers in the 1992 Act which it may be possible to use to achieve a very similar result. For example, under Section 13 of the 1992 Act the Secretary of State may by regulations prescribe conditions which, if met, would result in a person liable to council tax paying a reduced amount of tax. In addition, under Section 13A of the 1992 Act, a billing authority may reduce to such extent as it sees fit the amount of council tax which a person is liable to pay in respect of a chargeable dwelling situated in the authority's area. The power in Section 13A may be exercised in relation to particular cases, or by determining a class of case in which liability is to be reduced.
Any changes to the present council tax system will be made only in the light of the recommendations of the final report of Sir Michael Lyons' independent inquiry, which will be published around the time of the Budget.
New Deal
Lord Bradley asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many participants there have been in the New Deal for Lone Parents in each month since 1998 in the city of Manchester; how many of those have successfully found employment in each month; and how many have remained in employment for longer than six months. [HL2382]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): Information has been placed in the Library on the number of participants there have been on the New Deal for Lone Parents, and the number of those who have found employment, in each month since 1998, in the Manchester local authority area. This is the closest data which match the city of Manchester area. Data is to August 2006.
Of those gaining a job through the New Deal for Lone Parents in the Manchester local authority area since October 1998 when the programme started, 3,030 people have remained in employment for longer than six months.
Sudan: Refugees
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
How they are assisting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian agencies with the return of refugees to southern Sudan from Egypt and other neighbouring countries; and what have been the results of this assistance. [HL2546]
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The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): The return of people to their homes in Sudan is a major priority for the international community in 2007, particularly in the first half of the year, before the rains make movement difficult. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) predicts 100,000 refugees will return to the south in 2007, in addition to 500,000 internally displace people. The majority of the refugees will come from Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, with Egypt making up a very small percentage.
Since 2004, an estimated 1 million people have returned to their homes in the south. The UNHCR has provided some of these with assistance but the majority are spontaneous returnees. DfID has channelled all its funding for the returns process through the UN-administered Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF). Of the $133 million allocated so far by the CHF in 2007 (of which the DfID contribution makes up 60 per cent), $12.4 million was given to support the returns process. The majority went to the UNHCR.
A considerable amount of the CHF funding for other sectors (for example, water and sanitation, health and nutrition) in the south ($50 million) and the three areas ($17.8 million) is also targeted at areas of return for refugees and the internally displaced.
Of the $63 million that the UNHCR received last year for similar operations, the CHF provided $14 million.
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Government of Egypt (a) to inquire into the deaths of Sudanese refugees at the hands of riot police outside the UNHCR office in Cairo in December 2005; and (b) to provide adequate assistance to the remaining Sudanese refugees in Cairo under the United Nations and Organisation for African Unity refugee conventions. [HL2547]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): In January 2006, our ambassador in Cairo raised with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry our concerns about the death of Sudanese refugees during a police operation to disperse a demonstration by refugees in December 2005. He pressed for an inquiry into what had taken place.
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The Egyptian and Sudanese Governments held official discussions about the payment of compensation to families of the victims of the incident in December 2005. We have raised the incident and more generally the importance of upholding human rights and the fair treatment of Sudanese refugees in Egypt both with the Egyptian authorities and with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and have reminded both of their obligations in this regard.
The UNHCR office in Cairo works for the protection of all refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt. In addition, it provides material assistance to individual refugees and asylum seekers within the limits of its budget. It is also building community assistance structures and providing vocational training and job placement services for them.
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