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23 Apr 2008 : Column WA299
23 Apr 2008 : Column WA299
23 Apr 2008 : Column WA299
Wednesday 23 April 2008
Armed Forces: War Pensions
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect to announce whether the proposals in the consultation paper Transforming Tribunals will be adjusted in any way to retain the Pensions Appeal Tribunal as a discrete specialised jurisdiction for determining war pension appeals. [HL3048]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath):Transforming Tribunals was published on 28 November, both in hard copy and on the Ministry of Justice website. The consultation closed on 22 February 2008 and analysis of responses received is currently under way.
The Government are committed to publishing their response to the consultation in May. I refer to my earlier Answer in the House of Lords on 25 February where I confirmed that members of the existing tribunal will be transferred into the new statutory tribunal structure to continue their excellent work in the same way as at present and to preserve the tribunal's expertise.
In addition Lord Justice Carnwath, the Senior President of Tribunals, has made it clear that one of his principal objectives in the coming months will be to ensure that the changes do not come at the expense of continuity, specialisation or service to users.
British Coal Compensation
Lord Lofthouse of Pontefract asked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they will take following the open letter dated 27 March from the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner to the Law Society giving notice that in rejecting its plan for complaints handling for the period 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 it was “disappointing that moving into the 4th plan year, the Law Society is not yet delivering effective and efficient complaints handling and neither does it have an adequate plan to achieve this”. [HL3021]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Government appointed the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner in 2004 as an independent regulator of the Law Society's complaints handling functions. Therefore, the Government do not become involved in discussions on the plan for complaints handling. However, it remains the Government's view that the Law Society and LSCC should work together effectively to deliver continued and sustainable improvements for consumers.
23 Apr 2008 : Column WA300
The Government have legislated in the Legal Services Act 2007 to create an independent Office for Legal Complaints, which will remove complaints handling from the legal professional bodies.
Computer Systems: DBERR
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
In respect of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised departmental computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities. [HL2984]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Baroness Vadera): It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm, whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.
Computer Systems: DCMS
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
In respect of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities. [HL3069]
Lord Davies of Oldham: None of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's computer systems has been compromised by malicious programs in the past year.
Computer Systems: Defra
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
In respect of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities. [HL3066]
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.
Computer Systems: Foreign Office
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
In respect of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on how many occasions in the past year malicious programs have compromised its computer systems; for each occasion, how many machines were affected; how long it took to remove the programs from the system; and what the impact was on the department's activities. [HL3070]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): It is not in the interests of the UK's national security for departments to confirm whether they hold information about attacks against their IT systems. This would enable individuals to deduce how successful the UK is in detecting these attacks and so assist such persons in testing the effectiveness of the UK's IT defences. This is not in the public interest.
Crime: Sex Offenders
Lord Taylor of Warwick asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much it will cost per year to provide police security and surveillance for the child sex offender, Raymond Horne. [HL2938]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): There are no plans that will incur additional costs to the police as a result of the circumstances of this case.
Embryology
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the British Council hosted a public debate on hybrid embryos combining animal eggs with human cells at the Bloomfield Science Museum in Jerusalem on 27 March; which panellists spoke against the proposals at the debate; and what role they played in supporting this event. [HL3073]
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The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): UK scientists were invited to attend a Stem Cells Research, Social and Ethical Issues seminar hosted by Tel Aviv University in March. As part of this visit and as part of the British Council's commitment to communicating issues in contemporary science, the British Council supported the Bloomfield Science Museum in hosting a small round-table discussion in the margins of this seminar which focused on understanding “hybrid embryos”. The museum advertised this discussion in advance to its membership and several members of the public attended to listen and ask questions.
EU: Computer Infrastructure Grid Systems
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will increase their investment and involvement in the European Union seventh framework research programme for the development of computer infrastructure grid systems. [HL2783]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Baroness Morgan of Drefelin): The Government, are actively encouraging UK participation in the European Union seventh framework research programme, including the capacities programme, which supports the development of computer infrastructure grid systems.
France: Joint Projects
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
What measures they intend to take in relation to Anglo-French projects following the state visit of the President of France. [HL2888]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): On 27 March 2008 at the UK-France summit, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed to work closely on a range of global, EU and bilateral issues, in particular reform of international institutions, international development and foreign policy, climate change and energy, defence and security, and migration.
The summit communiqué is available at www.pm. gov.uk/files/pdf/UK-FR%20Communique%20270308 .pdf.
Government departments are following up these issues with their French counterparts.
My right honourable friend the Prime Minister and President Sarkozy agreed to hold annual summits, as well as six-monthly ministerial meetings and quarterly meetings of senior officials. UK-France task forces will also work on international issues of common interest, such as climate change.
23 Apr 2008 : Column WA303
Immigration: Detention
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What procedures they have put in place since the decision in R (SK) v SSHD 2008 to uphold Rule 9 of the Detention Centre Rules and to prevent future failures to review. [HL2563]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): An independent review of detention reviews was commissioned and has since been completed. Work is currently under way to address all of the recommendations that have been made as a result of this review.
Immigration: Zimbabwe
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Zimbabweans they are holding in immigration detention (a) pending deportation following a criminal sentence and (b) pending administrative removal; how long each of these people has been held; and when they expect to deport or remove those now held. [HL2562]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): There are currently around 50 Zimbabwean nationals detained under immigration powers who have committed a criminal offence within the UK and are facing deportation action. While information is published on the number of persons detained solely under Immigration Act powers as at the last Saturday of each quarter, information on the number of people who are recorded as being detained awaiting removal from the UK is not centrally collated; it could only be obtained through examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
Inward Investment
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
What ethical standards they apply to inward investment; whether such principles take account of living standards and human rights in countries investing in the United Kingdom; and what procedures, if any, exist to monitor where inward investment comes from. [HL2774]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office & Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Lord Jones of Birmingham): The Government monitor inward investment by country of origin using project and financial data.
The Government's approach to corporate responsibility applies to inward investors as it does to all UK-based companies.
23 Apr 2008 : Column WA304
Northern Ireland Office: Mobile Phones
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Northern Ireland Office has a contract with any mobile phone company; if so, who; and after what process the contract was signed. [HL2867]
Lord Rooker: The Northern Ireland Office has contracts with Orange, Vodafone and O2. These are arranged through a generic Office of Government commerce contract. The contracts are for a two-year period which is due to expire towards the end of 2008.
Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 March (WA 30), (a) how the budget of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum's sponsoring division in the Northern Ireland Office was calculated; (b) what its budget was for each of the past five years; and (c) what amount was spent by the division in each of the past five years. [HL2720]
Lord Rooker: The budget for the sponsoring division of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum within the Northern Ireland Office is based on best estimates for the spending requirements for that division for the financial year in question. This will take into consideration staffing levels and other running costs as well as other direct costs for which that division is responsible. Thus the budget will vary year on year.
The following table gives the budget and spend for this division for the past five years to the nearest £100,000.
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