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Intelligence
Lord Jones of Cheltenham: to ask Her Majesty’s Government
On how many occasions since 1997 they accepted intelligence obtained under duress by a third party. [HL2679]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): It is the long-standing practice of successive Governments never to comment on intelligence matters.
National Insurance
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord McKenzie of Luton on 29 March (Official Report, col. WA 318), whether they will provide a more accurate figure for the number of national insurance numbers currently held on the Department for Work and Pensions customer information system than the approximately 76 million referred to in the Answer. [HL3128]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): The most up-to-date information is that there are currently 76,719,264 national insurance numbers held on the DWP Customer Information System.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What criteria must be fulfilled to issue an individual with a national insurance number; and what checks are in place to ensure that individuals are not issued with more than one number. [HL3132]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: Responsibility for the allocation of national insurance numbers (NINOs) to UK resident juveniles (shortly before the individual's sixteenth birthday) rests with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. DWP (Jobcentre Plus) is responsible for the administration of the adult NINO allocation process. For a NINO to be issued under the adult
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In order to ensure that individuals are not issued with more than one number, all NINO applications are subject to a rigorous identity checking process. This process includes thorough face-to-face interviews, the use of document examination tools for the verification of identity documents, and an extensive search of the DWP computer system for any existing NINO prior to the allocation of a new NINO.
NHS: Finances
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether money was taken from the budgets of Essex primary care trusts in the last financial year to balance the National Health Service financial position across the east of England; and, if so, how much money was taken. [HL2914]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Returning the National Health Service to overall financial balance has been a key priority in 2006-07. As part of the strategy to achieve this, strategic health authorities (SHAs) have top sliced resource allocations made to their primary care trusts (PCTs), thereby creating SHA reserves. The level of any contributions is based on the financial and service circumstances of individual organisations, and is always underpinned by the principle of fairness.
Top-sliced resources are held in the SHA reserves on behalf of the NHS. The SHA can use these reserves to balance the overall financial position within its area—not by physically moving money around the system to bail out individual organisations, but by setting the resources against instances of overspending by trusts and PCTs at aggregate economy level.
We have been clear that SHAs should maintain the integrity of the allocations system, with contributing PCTs being entitled to repayment of their contributions over a period which does not normally exceed the three-year allocation period. We have asked SHAs to make sure that, as far as possible, PCTs with the greatest health need are the first to be repaid. However, any repayment is dependent on affordability within the SHA economy, and is inextricably linked to the speed and stability of financial recovery in the NHS as a whole.
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The table shows PCT's in Essex top-slice forecast outturn allocation at quarter 3, 2006-07.
| PCT name | Q3 2006-07 PCT forecast outturn top-slice £000's |
| Source: Financial monitoring returns quarter 3 2006-07 | |
Pollution
Lord Hunt of Chesterton asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much they will contribute over the next three years to the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme which monitors the concentration of air pollutants; and what assessment they have made of how this contribution compares to contributions which other European countries have pledged to make. [HL3071]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Defra is the lead department for the Government on the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative of the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA). Other key government funding partners at this stage include the Department of Trade and Industry, the Natural Environment Research Council and Ministry of Defence.
The Government are contributing to the GMES programme through two major routes. First, the UK is contributing €11.04 million to phase 1, segment 1 of the ESA GMES Space Component Programme. This makes the UK the fifth largest contributor to this part of GMES. Secondly, as a major contributor to the European Union, the UK is indirectly funding 18 per cent of the €1.2 billion that is dedicated to GMES from within the EU FP7 Space Programme, which amounts to €216 million.
As yet, there is no firm decision on the level of UK subscription to the second phase of the ESA GMES Space Component Programme. Defra will continue to engage with the Commission, ESA, other government departments and UK stakeholders to ensure, as far as possible, that GMES meets UK needs and provides good value for money.
Lord Hunt of Chesterton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their assessment of the importance of the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme as a component of their policies to monitor and forecast the level of air pollution. [HL3072]
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Lord Rooker: The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme shows potential for contributing to air quality monitoring and forecasting policies at various levels. The aspiration to make data (from ground and satellite networks) more readily available, efficiently acquired and fit for purpose is welcome.
Current air quality monitoring at member state level is determined by a European directive that stipulates the use of certain technologies and standards which must be adhered to. This is usually delivered through ground-based sensor networks. Satellite data are not used as they cannot meet the required data quality criteria, but they could still be useful for giving greater insight into air quality issues, for instance, through quantifying diffuse or remote sources such as international shipping or ammonia emissions from agricultural land.
Air quality forecasts are based on operational models used by the UK Met Office. In future, we expect to see greater use of assimilated satellite data to help enhance these models, particularly in terms of trans-boundary transport of pollutants. Currently, the use of satellite data is mainly restricted to research activities. The ESA Promote project demonstrates the potential for a host of air quality and atmospheric composition services to be delivered. Whether they can fully transition to operational status will depend on many factors, including the accuracy and reliability of data acquisition.
Roads: Litter Collection
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
On how much of the motorway and trunk road network of England the Highways Agency has sub-contracted responsibility for litter collection to local authorities; and what arrangements are in place to ensure that adequate standards of cleanliness are maintained on those sub-contracted sections; and [HL3087]
Whether the current arrangements for litter clearance along the motorway and trunk road network in England is satisfactory. [HL3088]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Highways Agency (HA) does not subcontract to local authorities any cleansing on roads under its jurisdiction. The HA has a duty under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to clear litter and refuse from the strategic road network, which includes all motorways and some A-roads and trunk roads. The cleansing duty on other roads is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. To ensure satisfactory standards, cleansing is undertaken in accordance with the Code of Practice for Litter and Refuse. A map of the roads under HA jurisdiction is available on its website.
Data from the Local Environmental Quality Survey of England 2005-06 show that there has been a steady improvement in cleansing performance over
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Somaliland: Aid
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their budget for aid to Somaliland in each of the years covered by the Comprehensive Spending Review; and how these amounts will be allocated. [HL2156]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): DfID has a single programme for Somalia and Somaliland. We estimate that 30 to 40 per cent of this allocation benefits Somaliland. For the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) period 2005-08 our programme framework rose from £12 million in 2005-06 (increased to £18.75 million in response to severe drought in the Horn of Africa), to £15 million in 2006-07, and will rise further to £21 million in 2007-08. Our assistance to Somaliland will continue to increase as the overall programme framework increases.
The 2008-11 CSR figures have not yet been decided. We estimate that once again around 30 to 40 per cent of this allocation will benefit Somaliland. Our support to Somaliland will continue to include assistance to education, the rule of law, government capacity building and community grants (all primarily channelled through UN agencies), plus continuing humanitarian assistance through international NGOs and other agencies as needed.
Somaliland: Livestock Ban
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 27 March 2006 (WA 100), what progress has been made on ways of overcoming the livestock ban against Somaliland by neighbouring states; and whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the Somali Joint Needs Assessment in which the overall reconstruction package for Somaliland was expected to be contained. [HL2159]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): The livestock ban, which applied across the whole of Somalia, was lifted in 2006. Since then there has been an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever, resulting in an import ban by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and various Middle East countries, and further weakening the sector. The European Commission is supporting the establishment of a comprehensive support strategy necessary to sustain the livestock sector, so that it can regain its former prominence. It entails the setting up of a reliable and cost-effective animal health service in order to enhance livestock production and domestic and export trade of livestock and livestock products. Improving the livestock sector is also an important component of the Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) and Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP).
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The Somali Joint Needs Assessment runs to six volumes and is available on the following website: www.somali-jna.org. Work is currently under way, managed by the World Bank and UNDP on behalf of the Somali authorities, on the Reconstruction and Development Plan (the outcome of the JNA process), which will be made available on the same website once it is finalised. There is no clear deadline for this at present although draft versions of volumes 1 to 4 of the RDP are currently available online.
Transport: Heavy Goods Vehicles
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 12 March (WA 99) and 16 March (WA 160) (a) why further public consultation and regulatory impact assessment on the mandatory fitting of conspicuity markings to heavy goods vehicles are necessary, when a recent regulatory impact assessment and public consultation demonstrated public support for the introduction of this requirement; and (b) whether they will now draft an amending statutory instrument to make conspicuity markings mandatory on all newly registered heavy goods vehicles. [HL3044]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Instructions for a draft statutory instrument to amend further the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 are in preparation. The amending instrument will cover not only retro-reflective tape but also “battenberg” markings for specified special vehicles, an amendment to the existing definition of “emergency vehicle” and provisions on lighting requirements for goods vehicles parked at night.
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As part of the statutory procedure for amending the regulations, consultation is required. In addition, Cabinet Office guidance requires a regulatory impact assessment on all proposed changes to government policy which might affect the public or private sectors, charities, the voluntary sector or small businesses to be issued with every such consultation.
Transport: Vehicle Registration
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to allow data relating to vehicle ownership to be exchanged between European registration authorities with a view to enforcing fines and penalties imposed on foreign-registered vehicles. [HL3043]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not have the legal authority to release information to foreign authorities seeking to enforce fines and penalties. We are aware that the European Commission is funding research to identify the steps that could be taken at a European level to implement a pan-EU approach to cross-border enforcement of traffic offences involving all member states.
Further information is contained in the department's response in January to a Commission consultation paper Respecting the Rules: Better Road Safety Enforcement in the European Union. A copy of the response can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/roadsafety_library/consultations/enforcement_20061106/enforcement_united_kingdom.pdf.
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