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13 Jun 2007 : Column WA251
Written Answers
Wednesday 13 June 2007
Abduction
Lord Selkirk of Douglas asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will raise with the Governments of European countries the need for effective procedures to secure rapid response from police and border controls after an abduction takes place. [HL4156]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The police authorities of EU member states co-operate closely on cross-border crimes through the Schengen convention. A range of police co-operation measures were introduced under the Schengen convention in order to strengthen the response to cross-border crime when EU member states opened their borders. Mechanisms exist worldwide through Interpol systems, and the UK has tried-and-tested procedures following the introduction of the Child Abduction Act 1984.
The decision to close the borders of EU member states must be made on a case-by-case basis by the relevant national authorities.
Afghanistan: Military Casualties
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect to complete the collation and reconciliation of historic data on casualties which occurred in Afghanistan before 1 January 2006.[HL3949]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): Data on UK Armed Forces casualties in Afghanistan can be found on the Ministry of Defence’s website www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/
There are four sets of data for the current deployment in Afghanistan respectively: fatalities (deaths); service personnel recorded as very seriously injured or seriously injured by the NOTICAS signal system from theatre to the joint casualty and compassionate centre; admissions to UK or coalition forces’ in-theatre “role 2 enhanced” or “role 3” medical facilities; and aero-medical casualty evacuations.
The historical casualty data covering UK service personnel who were very seriously injured or seriously injured in Iraq and Afghanistan before 2006 were published on 27 March 2007.
The data on aero-medical casualty evacuations from Afghanistan prior to January 2006 are being verified and validated. Once the information has been checked and confirmed, these data are expected to be added to the website later this year.
In-theatre hospital admission records prior to March 2006 have not been collated centrally in a format that would reliably identify personnel wounded in action and those with disease or a non-battle injury.
Armed Forces: Medical Services
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to improve the capability of the military-managed ward and the care available for military patients at the National Health Service Selly Oak Hospital. [HL4012]
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): First-class treatment is provided to our patients at Selly Oak by NHS and military doctors and nurses. The military-managed ward achieved initial operating capability, with 24 military nurses assigned to it, before Christmas. It will achieve full operating capability, with 39 military nurses in post, this summer.
Working together with the NHS, we have introduced a wide range of improvements to the clinical and nursing care and the welfare arrangements provided for military patients in the Birmingham area. Alongside the Defence Medical Welfare Service, which supports patients and relatives, there are two embedded military formation liaison officers, who maintain the linkage between patients, next of kin and the patient’s military unit.
We and the NHS respond to concerns expressed by patients and will make further improvements as and when necessary. We accept that military patients would prefer to be nursed together. This happens where that is clinically appropriate. The works project under way in the military-managed ward will partition off a section of the ward to help that to be achieved. The project should be completed shortly.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What targets are in place to ensure that the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine will be recognised internationally as a centre of excellence by 2010. [HL4013]
Lord Drayson: Since its establishment in 2001, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) has made substantial progress towards the achievement of that goal, in terms of the quality of training provided, the delivery of healthcare to patients, whether civilian or military, and the research work undertaken. The association with the Birmingham New Hospital project, which is due for completion around the turn of the decade, will also make a major contribution to the development of the RCDM.
Against that background, we are considering what performance indicators or benchmarks should now be put in place to enable independent authorities, as well as ourselves, to be satisfied that our vision of the RCDM as an internationally recognised centre of excellence has been achieved. The specific targets will be published in due course.
Compensation: Terrorism
Lord Selkirk of Douglas asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they provide compensation or assistance to United Kingdom residents who have been injured as a result of terrorist attacks overseas; and whether this is comparable with the practice of other European countries, the United States and Canada. [HL4155]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): Financial assistance for UK residents affected by terrorism overseas is available through the British Red Cross Relief Fund for UK Victims of Terrorism Abroad. The fund was launched on 17 May, following a £1 million donation from the Government. The British Red Cross makes immediate, small payments in two phases to those seriously injured or bereaved, to meet the immediate costs which may arise.
Similarly the US Government directly reimburse victims of international terrorism for actual out-of-pocket expenses associated with their victimhood, such as funeral or medical costs, through their international terrorism victim expense reimbursement programme. The Canadian Department of Justice offers limited financial assistance to victims of serious violent crime abroad for unanticipated and exceptional expenses resulting from their victimhood. Victims of terrorism may also be eligible for this assistance. We are not aware of any compensation scheme in the US or Canada for victims of terrorism overseas, although victims are of course able to pursue remedies through the civil courts, as did the families of the victims of Pan Am 103 (Lockerbie).
There is currently no compensation scheme for UK victims of terrorism overseas. However, the European Council Directive 2004/80/EC of 29 April 2004 entitles EU nationals who are victims of “violent intentional crime” within the EU to apply for compensation from the member state on whose territory the crime was committed. The levels of compensation are determined by the member states individually and vary considerably.
Coral
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much coral imported into the United Kingdom each year is transported by air freight; and how much by shipping. [HL3931]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Government do not hold the information requested.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the health and size of coral reefs in United Kingdom waters and around the world and of the effect that the trade in coral is having on those reefs. [HL3933]
Lord Rooker: Periodic global assessments of the state of the world's coral reefs are carried out by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network and others, such as the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. The effects of climate change are considered in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. UK non-governmental organisations and scientists are very active in coral reef conservation work. The Government are, therefore, aware of the particular pressures on the world’s coral reefs.
Several surveys of cold-water coral reefs in UK “home” waters have been carried out over the past decade. Large-scale reefs have been found on, for instance, Rockall and Hatton Banks. Unusual coral reef structures, known as the Darwin Mounds, have been found to the north and west of Scotland. Evidence of damage from trawlers at this site led to the Government seeking fishery management measures through the common fisheries policy. These measures are now in place, and there is evidence that fishing activity has decreased greatly as a result. Similar management measures are in place to protect coral reefs on the Rockall and Hatton Banks.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What studies they have undertaken of the extent to which the transport of live coral over long distances can cause stress to the specimens involved. [HL3934]
Lord Rooker: The Government have not undertaken any such studies.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What estimate they have made of (a) the number of people who keep live coral in the United Kingdom; (b) the number of coral farms in the United Kingdom; (c) the number of suppliers of live coral in the United Kingdom; and (d) the proportion of those that keep stock from sustainable sources or stock propagated in the United Kingdom. [HL3962]
Lord Rooker: The Government do not hold the information requested.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the average prices of (a) imported coral, and (b) coral propagated in the United Kingdom; and whether they have taken any steps to promote the propagation of sustainable stocks domestically. [HL3963]
Lord Rooker: The Government do not hold the information requested.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have proposals to introduce a fiscal instrument to encourage the nascent coral farming industry in the United Kingdom on the grounds of improving sustainability. [HL3965]
Lord Rooker: There are currently no such proposals.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What guidance they have issued to the public to improve understanding of the methods of propagation of coral and the breeding of marine fish and the benefits of these methods as alternatives to the import of wild-caught specimens. [HL3966]
Lord Rooker: The Government have issued no such guidance.
Cosmetics and Herbal Products
Lord Sheikh asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the cosmetic and herbal products advertised on television channels aimed at certain ethnic minorities are subject to safety tests; and, if not, whether they will consider the introduction of such tests. [HL3824]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Truscott): All cosmetic products, whatever their composition or target market, sold in the UK must comply with the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2004 as amended. That requires that cosmetics undergo an independent safety assessment to ensure that they comply with the regulations.
It is not clear what other type of herbal products apart from cosmetics are concerned. If they are medicines or healthcare products, they are regulated by the Medicines and Health products Regulatory Agency.
Cyprus: Annan Plan
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
What promises made by the United Kingdom and its European Union partners, subsequent to acceptance of the Annan plan in 2004 by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, have now been implemented. [HL4082]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): At the April 2004 General Affairs and External Relations Council EU foreign Ministers expressed their commitment to ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and facilitating the reunification of Cyprus through economic development. At the council's request, the Commission produced two draft regulations to deliver on this commitment: one enabling preferential direct trade between the north and EU member states on a tariff quota system and the other disbursing €259 million of aid.
The aid regulation was agreed in February 2006, and projects funded from this package have already begun. This package represents one of the highest levels of EU aid per capita. The money will be used to fund practical projects, developed in partnership with the Turkish Cypriot community. These will improve the quality of life of ordinary Turkish Cypriots and bring them closer to the EU.
On trade, successive expansions of the Green Line regulation have allowed the export of an increasing variety and volume of Turkish Cypriot goods across the Green Line. However, despite efforts by a number of EU presidencies, there has to date been no agreement on the direct trade regulation. The German presidency, together with the Commission, continues to take this forward. We will continue to support efforts to liberalise trade between northern Cyprus and the EU.
In practice, however, the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community can only be fully lifted through a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. As it did during the negotiations on the Annan plan, the EU continues to support the efforts of the UN to broker such a settlement.
Cyprus: Universities
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether access to education at all levels is a human right under current United Kingdom or European Union legislation; what will be the impact of the Bologna process on the recognition of third-level degrees from universities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is precluded from membership of the Bologna process; and what impact the Lisbon recognition convention (Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region, Lisbon, 11.IV.1997) will have on graduates from Northern Cypriot universities in 2010 when the Bologna process ends. [HL4081]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights—and the UK reservation to that convention—is incorporated into the Human Rights Act 1998. Article 2 provides that UK citizens shall not be denied the right to education. There is currently no equivalent EU legislation. One of the main aims of the Bologna process is to improve the recognition of all higher education qualifications across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
A key mechanism is the Lisbon recognition convention. The convention does not lead to automatic recognition of qualifications but requires ratifying states to ensure that there are fair processes for the assessment of qualifications from other countries. This could and should include qualifications awarded by institutions in the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Procurement Projects
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity on 1 February (Official Report, Commons, 456W), what the project Enabling IT, which was awarded in financial year 2004-05 in respect of £850 million, involves; how much was spent in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07; and how much of the project remains to be completed. [HL4194]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The project Enabling IT, or E-nabling Defra, refers to the IT outsourcing contract awarded by Defra to International Business Machines Ltd. The figure of £850 million is arrived at by multiplying the original estimated yearly costs of £85 million (including discretionary spend on IT projects) by the life of the contract, which although initially is seven years includes an option to extend to 10 years.
Under the contract, which came into effect in October 2004, IBM provides strategic IT and business transformation services aimed at improving service provision to staff and the public. IBM also works closely with Defra to deliver an IT-enabled strategy for change while improving the department's internal processes.
IBM is managing, supporting and improving Defra’s desktop IT infrastructure and business systems, developing a range of new business systems, providing the infrastructure to help facilitate a more flexible and mobile workforce and provide a continuous source of technology and business process innovation.
My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity (Barry Gardiner), in his reply to the honourable Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), on 6 June 2007, (Official Report, col. 543W), confirmed that expenditure with IBM under the terms of this contract was as follows:
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