| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Iraq: Yellowcake Claims
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will now disclose the claimed separate intelligence on the alleged attempt by Iraq to buy yellowcake from Niger cited by Lord Butler of Brockwell in his review of the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq. [HL2592]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): As reported by Lord Butler of Brockwell in his review of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction,
“The British Government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that [a visit to Niger by Iraqi officials in 1999] was for the purpose of acquiring uranium. Since uranium constitutes almost three-quarters of Niger’s exports, the intelligence was credible. The evidence was not conclusive that Iraq actually purchased, as opposed to having sought, uranium and the British Government did not claim this”.
The Government have fully accepted Lord Butler's report. There are no plans to disclose the intelligence.
Manchester
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
To how many destinations worldwide Manchester airport offers direct flights; and how this compares with the number of flights offered by other airports in the north of England. [HL2751]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The data requested can be found in annex A of the Air Transport White Paper Progress Report 2006 on the Department for Transport's website at www.dft.gov.uk.
Marine Environment: Seismic Detonations
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the scientific evidence on the distances over which acoustic disturbances, caused by seismic detonations in oil surveys in the oceans, can affect marine life. [HL2730]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott): Since 1999 Her Majesty's Government have made frequent assessments of the nature, spatial extent and potential effects on marine life of noise from oil industry seismic surveys, both in response to specific applications for consent to undertake such surveys and as part of the DTI's programme of strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) prior to further oil and gas licensing. The latter assessments are documented in the environmental reports for each SEA, and each subsequent report is updated to include any relevant new information on noise characteristics, propagation, receptors such as marine mammals, potential effects and mitigation measures, including the results of research commissioned by HMG. All the SEA environmental reports and the underpinning studies are available from the website www.offshore-sea.org.uk.
Multiculturalism
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 19 February (WA 188), whether their encouragement of diversity in the public sector to assist cohesion extends to the formation of white associations, men's associations, straight groups, a multiplicity of Christian and other religious groups and sects and other organisations; and, if so, what form such encouragement takes. [HL2535]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): All staff are free to set up associations, provided they are not contrary to the aims or values of the department concerned. The Government will give active encouragement to staff associations representing groups of employees where there is evidence that those groups are suffering disadvantage in outcomes of HR processes in comparison to the workforce as a whole. The form that that encouragement takes may vary from department to department but may include, for example, financial support or facility time for officers of associations.
Muslims
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is relevant to their decision-making process in foreign and domestic affairs for them to know the proportions of Sunni and Shia Muslims respectively ordinarily resident in the Great Britain. [HL2807]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government recognise the need to understand the diversity of Muslim communities in the UK. Denominational differences are more complex than the Sunni/Shia distinction. Characteristics of subcategories such as Brelwi, Deobandi and Imami, and cross-cutting trends such as Sufism, are also important. The Government also recognise that British Muslims’ experiences differ according to other interrelated factors including ethnicity, gender, age and geographical location. Foreign-policy decisions are not affected by the domestic composition of the UK population.
Olympic Games 2012: Transportation of Materials
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 6 March (WA 38), with which train operators and suppliers of materials they had discussions over importing materials for the Stratford Olympic site by rail or water.[HL2620]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has held discussions with a range of organisations. However, the contracts for the transportation of materials for the Olympic park site have yet to be procured so commercial details cannot be disclosed at this stage. The ODA’s procurement policy stipulates that it has a statutory obligation to comply with the EU public procurement directives and the UK public contracts regulations 2006. The ODA’s approach to procuring the required resources in relation to material transfer on the Olympic park site will be consistent with these statutory obligations.
Opencast Mining
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will recommend a buffer zone of at least 500 metres between an opencast mining site and domestic residences to protect public health and environmental well-being. [HL2712]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): The Government have no plans to introduce a planning policy recommending a uniform buffer zone for opencast mining sites in England. They consider that the interests of the occupants and users of neighbouring properties and of the environment are better served by the present practice of considering the specific impacts of individual proposed mining schemes in the light of all the local relevant circumstances, as part of the preparation of an environmental impact assessment for an application for planning permission.
Philippines: Arrests and Extra-judicial Killings
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made to the Government of the Philippines about the recent spate of extra-judicial killings and the arrest of the leader of the opposition in the Philippine Congress, Congressman Satur Ocampo. [HL2775]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): We continue to be concerned about extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. We welcome the visit by Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extra-judicial killings, to the Philippines in February and will encourage the Philippine Government to follow any recommendations that Professor Alston might make. We have not made representations to the Philippine Government about the arrest of the deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives, Congressman Ocampo.
Philippines: Elections
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the arrangements in place for the conduct of the forthcoming elections in the Philippines. [HL2776]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The Philippines is a democratic country with systems in place to promote free and fair elections. We have discussed the mid-term elections with the Philippine Government and electoral authorities and are encouraging a transparent and fair electoral process. Representatives from our embassy in Manila will observe the polling on 14 May.
At the last general election, we funded a visit to the UK by an official from the Philippine Commission on Elections to observe the election process. We are also funding a project supported by the International Federation on Election Systems on the laws and regulations on campaign finance and reporting drafted by the Lawyers’ League for Liberty.
Press Complaints Commission
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the view of the Equalities Review Panel that the Press Complaints Commission should review its complaints mechanisms so as to consider complaints about coverage on the basis of discrimination or prejudice against, or stereotyping of, groups as well as individuals; and, if so, whether they will offer the Commission technical help in drafting the necessary amendments to their code.[HL2619]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government support self-regulation for the press. The content of the editors’ code of practice is therefore a matter for the Press Standards Board of Finance's code committee. Should it request help in drafting any amendment, we would be happy to provide it. The code’s current main provision for protecting groups of people from discrimination is the overarching reach of the clause on accuracy.
Special Advisers
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they propose to reallocate the Northern Ireland Office political adviser Phil Taylor to another department. [HL2657]
Lord Rooker: No. The Secretary of State’s special adviser Philip Taylor will be taking special leave without pay from 1 May to work on the Secretary of State's campaign for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party. Prior to that, he will be on leave from the Northern Ireland Office from the beginning of April.
Trade: Manufacturing
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the effect on United Kingdom manufacturing jobs in 2006 of the increase in that year in the United Kingdom's deficit with the rest of the world on its trade in goods. [HL2422]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott): Workforce jobs in UK manufacturing fell by 53,000 to 3.26 million between December 2005 and December 2006; the UK's trade in goods deficit increased from £68.8 billion to £83.7 billion between 2005 and 2006.
It is inappropriate to draw a direct link between the balance of trade in goods and manufacturing employment, given that the relationship can be affected by a number of differing factors.
Our main competitors, France, Germany and the US, have experienced a downward trend in manufacturing employment in recent years. Sometimes these countries had a balance of trade in goods surplus; sometimes they had a deficit, at the same time as falling manufacturing employment.
Ulster-Scots Agency
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proposals they have to increase the funding of the Ulster-Scots Agency; and when they propose that the agency will have parity of funding with the Irish Language Agency. [HL2697]
Lord Rooker: Following on from the commitment made by the Government in respect of Ulster Scots in the St Andrews agreement, the Government and the Irish Government have agreed that additional resources of £0.5 million will be made available to the Ulster-Scots Agency in 2007-08, £0.75 million in 2008-09 and £1 million in 2009-2010. The latter two years' additional funding is subject to the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review in Northern Ireland. The budgets for the Ulster-Scots Agency and the Irish Language Agency, Foras na Gaeilge, are determined in accordance with their agreed annual business plans.
| Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |