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Houses of Parliament: Smoking
Lord Faulkner of Worcester asked the Chairman of Committees:
What is the timetable for the implementation of changes to the smoking policy on the parliamentary estate, in line with the smoke-free provisions of the Health Act 2006; and [HL2849]
The Chairman of Committees (Lord Brabazon of Tara): The Administration and Works Committee published a report today recommending to the House that, except as permitted below, smoking should be prohibited in all parts of the parliamentary estate occupied by the House of Lords.
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In the interests of smokers, the committee recommends that specified smoking areas should be provided in the following locations within the Lords estate:
Black Rod's Garden State Officer's Court Peers' Inner CourtThe committee also recommends that smoking should be permitted in an area at the end of the Lords Terrace abutting the Commons Terrace. Given the usage of the Lords Terrace for the consumption of food and drink, this provision should be reviewed if excessive smoking creates a hazard or offence.
It is proposed that the new policy on smoking should come into operation on 1 July when the relevant provisions of the Health Act 2006 are commenced by the Secretary of State.
The committee recognises that such a significant change in smoking policy should be a matter for the whole House. Accordingly, it is expected that the report will be debated in the House in due course.
Immigration: Fast-track Decisions
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
What percentage of initial decisions on asylum applications in 2006 were made (a) in the detained fast track, and (b) outside the detained fast track; and what was the average time taken to make an initial decision in each category. [HL2545]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Total initial decisions made on asylum applications are published every quarter and relate to decisions in that quarter but may relate to applications made in previous periods. Detained fast-track decisions are published every quarter and relate only to applications made in that quarter.
Comparable data are not available for initial decisions made outside the detained fast-track process. It is not possible to give an answer based on two non-comparable sets of data.
The two separate sets of data, on total initial decisions and detained fast-track cases, are published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
.Immigration: Initial Decisions
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
What they are doing to improve the quality of initial decisions in immigration cases in order to avoid unnecessary appeals and refunds. [HL1287]
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The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Quality assurance measures are in place in all initial decision-making areas for in-country applications made in the UK to the IND, and visa applications made abroad at entry clearance posts. The measures in place include intensive staff training, regular updating of guidance and instructions for caseworkers, regular audits and sampling of cases as well as the sharing of best practices across departments.
UKvisas and the IND are also taking forward a number of measures which are in accordance with the recommendations made by the Home Affairs Select Committee in the summer of last year.
Fees charged for applications are non-refundable as they reflect the cost involved in the consideration of the application and are not affected by the outcome.
Immigration: Treatment of Claimants
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many families have been supported in the Section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004 pilot areas following a human rights assessment. [HL2229]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Information will be included in the Section 9 pilot evaluation report when it is published.
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many children have been taken into care as a result of Section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004. [HL2230]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We have not been notified of any children having been taken into care as a direct result of the Section 9 pilot.
Iraq: Weapons of Mass Destruction
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their current assessment of Iraq's ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction before March 2003. [HL2682]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): As my noble friend knows, the Government's policies on Iraq have been scrutinised at great length by four separate inquiries, along with a great deal of discussion in both Houses of Parliament.
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The Government have acknowledged that Iraq did not possess stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in March 2003 and therefore could not deploy them.
Kosovo: Small Arms Survey
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide funding or technical assistance for the implementation of the conclusions of the 2006 small arms survey of Kosovo.[HL2627]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We are currently considering proposals, which, if implemented, would help address the harmful effects of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Kosovo.
The UK is one of the most active participants in international efforts to combat the global proliferation of SALW. We have allocated £13.25 million to a UK SALW strategy over the period 2004-07. We are also one of the largest donors supporting the UN effort to combat the proliferation of SALW, assisting UN agencies, regional organisations, Governments and non-governmental organisations.
Local Government: Unitary Authorities
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessments they have made of the impact on planned public expenditure totals of local authorities' proposals to establish unitary structures.[HL2608]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The impact on public expenditure totals will depend on which, if any, proposals for future unitary structures are implemented. In submitting proposals, councils have estimated the potential costs and savings that would arise from a move to unitary structures in their area.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will publish a list of the partners and stakeholders who will have an opportunity to make representations about the proposals for unitary structures which have been put forward by local authorities; and, if so, when they will publish such a list.[HL2609]
Baroness Andrews: The Government intend to announce which proposals will proceed to a 12-week consultation before 27 March, the day for publication of the notice of election for the forthcoming local elections. We will include in the consultation document a list of stakeholder organisations that have been invited to submit their views. The
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Manchester
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Indices of Deprivation 2004 identify six different ways of describing deprivation at a district level. On all six measures Manchester ranks between second and fourth most deprived local authority in England (see table below). There are a total of 354 local authorities in England with the most deprived authority being ranked one and the least deprived ranked 354.
Namibia: Land Reform
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
What technical assistance they will offer to the Government of Namibia to ensure that land reform is achieved peacefully. [HL2680]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): UK policy on middle income countries prioritises 10 per cent of our bilateral aid to large middle income countries with a high proportion of poor people; highly indebted middle income countries; and middle income countries that are vulnerable to falling back to low income status. Namibia currently falls into none of these so DfID no longer operates a bilateral programme in Namibia.
DfID is providing short-term funding of £300,000 through the UNDP to assist the Southern Africa
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The EC in Namibia has also allocated €34 million for rural development, including land reform, in Namibia under the ninth European Development Fund (EDF9) which covers the period 2003-07. The UK share of this is 12.7 per cent. This support is likely to be continued under the EDF 10 which is expected to be finalised in 2007.
Nepal: Consular Discussions
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What matters were discussed at the meeting between the British consulate-general and the Nepalese consulate-general on 12 March in Hong Kong; whether they will ask the British vice-consul to prepare an informal record of the discussions; and whether they will place a copy of such record in the Library of the House.[HL2616]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The meeting was to ascertain whether the Nepalese consulate-general is able to issue a letter confirming that those who claim to have British Overseas citizen status are not eligible to hold Nepalese citizenship or to confirm that a Nepalese citizenship card was issued in error. A record of the meeting will be placed in the Library of the House.
Passports: Interviews
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which passport interview offices have already secured premises; and how much these premises cost from the date of acquisition to 1 February 2007. [HL2266]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): I attach a list of the 39 offices acquired to date. The estimated cost of providing and running interview offices for the first year of operation is £58.32 million, as published on 21 April 2006 in the Identity and Passport Service Corporate and Business Plan.
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