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Climate Change: Emissions Trading
Lord Jenkin of Roding asked Her Majesty's Government:
How they propose to spend the proceeds derived from the auctioning of the emission allowances under phases II and III of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme; and what estimates they have made of the amount of such proceeds; and [HL3094]
Whether the proceeds derived from the auctioning of the emission allowances under phases II and III of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme will be deployed to stimulate private sector investment in low-carbon infrastructure projects; and, if so, how this will be done. [HL3095]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Government plan to auction 7 per cent of allowances in phase II of EU ETS, amounting to approximately 85 million allowances, plus those allowances from installations that close during phase II and any unused surplus from the new entrant reserve (NER). Under the terms of the EU ETS Directive 2003/87/EC the total number of allowances auctioned cannot exceed 10 per cent of the number allocated during phase II. The auctioning levels for the EU ETS post-2012 have not yet been determined. However, the Chancellor recently announced that the UK will auction 100 per cent of allowances to the large electricity producers. The amount of revenue will be influenced by the market price at the time of the auctions.
We will not be hypothecating the revenues from the auction. The Government's spending priorities are not, in general, determined by the way in which the money is raised. Hypothecating revenues to particular-spending programmes imparts inflexibility in spending decisions and can lead to a misallocation of resources, with reduced value for money for taxpayers. The spending review process ensures that resources are allocated efficiently to deliver government objectives and ensures priorities, such as education and health, receive the increased levels of funding, as set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).
Climate Change: Rainforests
Lord Eden of Winton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they have recently taken to persuade other Governments to conserve rainforest habitats for the benefit of indigenous plants, animals and people; and in what ways they are monitoring progress on this matter. [HL3266]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The UK Government have invested considerable amounts in terms of both funding and other resources, such as expertise, and representation through the UN and G8 processes, and it would not be possible to make reference to all this activity here. However, some examples of UK Government assistance towards the conservation of rainforests follow.
UK is working with other countries under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to conserve forests through implementation of the forest biodiversity programme of work;Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)—UK supporting a demonstration project and announced £50 million for reducing deforestation and poverty in the Congo Basin and a contribution of £15 million to the World Bank Forest Carbon Partnership Facility;support of the Heart of Borneo initiative, which aims to protect important biodiversity and wildlife habitats, prevent illegal forestry/agribusiness and6 May 2008 : Column WA47
Crime: Sentencing
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they most recently issued guidance to the judiciary in Northern Ireland concerning sentencing; what the guidance was; and whether they propose to issue further guidance in the near future. [HL3270]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The statutory sentencing framework, that is the range of sentences available to a judge in connection with particular offences, is a matter for the Government and, ultimately, Parliament.
The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal delivers guideline judgments on sentencing in Northern Ireland. These sentencing guideline cases encourage consistency in sentencing throughout the courts of Northern Ireland and support sentencers in their decision-making. In addition, the Judicial Studies Board of Northern Ireland publishes significant decided cases on its website (www.jsbni.com) and provides training to the judiciary on a range of issues, including sentencing.
Cycling: Offences
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 22 April (WA 277—8), whether cycling on footpaths is on the increase; and what steps they will take to prevent it. [HL3236]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Cycling on the footway (the pavement adjacent to the carriageway) is an offence under Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835, as amended by Section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1888. The maximum fine is £500 or the police can issue a fixed penalty notice costing £30.
There are no statistics that can verify whether cycling on the pavement is increasing. However the Ministry of Justice collects statistics which show the number of cyclists prosecuted for the offence. Figures from 2002 to 2006 inclusive are provided in the table below.
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| Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for cycling on a pavement, England and Wales 2002-06(l)(2) | |
| Year | Proceeded against |
- (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
The table shows a marginal increase in the last years for which figures are available.
In addition the fixed penalty notice (FPN) is used to deal with this offence and 1999 and 2000 the police issued respectively 665 and 821 FPNs for this offence, the only years for which these statistics were centrally collected.
For comparison cyclists travelled on average 4,000,000,000 kilometres each year between 2002 and 2006.
We will continue to remind cyclists of their responsibilities and the current Highway Code also reminds cyclists of these responsibilities.
There is also no excuse for cyclists who put pedestrians at risk by breaking these and other road traffic laws.
The responsibility for enforcement of course rests with the police. It would be for individual local police forces to decide whether an increase in enforcement resources was necessary to combat a local problem.
EU: Applicant States
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the European Union can require internal constitutional changes by applicant states, in particular for federal countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina; whether there is discretion in such matters; and whether they are the responsibility of the Commission or the Council of Ministers, or both. [HL3107]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): In order to join the EU, candidates must meet the Copenhagen criteria, including
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For a pre-candidate country such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, the European Commission proposes an annual assessment of progress and reform priorities. These assessments may sometimes highlight the need for constitutional changes. The Commission manages and supports pre-accession preparations. The member states must unanimously agree each stage of the accession process, for example the signature of a stabilisation and association agreement.
EU: Eastern Border States
The Earl of Dundee asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The Government believe that integrating the countries of the western Balkans into the EU will be the best way to move the region forward from the conflicts of the 1990s and to ensure long-term stability and security. To this end the Government are contributing funding through the EU's Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance, which will channel around €4 billion to the western Balkans over the period 2007-11. The UK is separately providing around £14 million for the region through the Department for International Development's bilateral funding, around £2 million through the Reuniting Europe programme and an additional £7.8 million through the Conflict Prevention Pool for 2008-09, all increases on last year's spending. The Government are further contributing to stability and security through their diplomatic efforts in the region, encouraging countries to deal with threats to inter-ethnic relations and also progress on the reforms needed for EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation membership. The Government will also participate fully in the International Steering Group on Kosovo, as well as the Peace Implementation Council for Bosnia.
EU: Parliamentary Scrutiny
Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 10 March (WA 200), whether they can give 10 further examples of the incorporation into European Union legislation of a recommendation of the European Union Scrutiny Committee of either House. [HL2446]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The Government take the views of the Scrutiny Committees of both Houses extremely seriously in developing their approach to proposed EU legislation and other important EU policy initiatives.
6 May 2008 : Column WA50
The Lords EU Select Committee publishes more than 40 reports annually (47 reports in 2007), about half of which are debated and will have in excess of 300 exchanges of correspondence with Ministers on documents considered by the committee. The committee also takes evidence from Ministers and officials to inform their reports. The committee publishes an annual report each year which summarises the committee's extensive activity (2007 report was 36th report, 06-07, HL 180) and also publishes regularly compendia of correspondence with Ministers (last report was 40th report, 06-07, HL 187). These reports help shape public policy and keep a check on government activity.
Evidence of the valuable work done by the Lords Select Committee can be found in these reports, all available in the House of Lords Library and on the parliamentary website.
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 12 March (WA 231) concerning European Union legislative competence, whether the example they gave is the only instance of a European Union legislative institution having altered legislation as a result of proceedings in either House of Parliament; and if not, what are the other examples since 1 January 2000. [HL2804]
Lord Malloch-Brown: The Government take the views of the Scrutiny Committees of both Houses extremely seriously in developing their approach to proposed EU legislation and other important EU policy initiatives.
The Lords EU Select Committee publishes more than 40 reports annually (47 reports in 2007), about half of which are debated and will have in excess of 300 exchanges of correspondence with Ministers on documents considered by the committee. The committee also takes evidence from Ministers and officials to inform their reports. The committee publishes an annual report each year which summarises the committee's extensive activity (2007 report was 36th report, 06-07, HL 181) and also publishes regularly compendia of correspondence with Ministers (last report was 40th report, 06-07, HL 187). These reports help shape public policy and keep a check on government activity.
Evidence of the valuable work done by the Lords Select Committee can be found in these reports, all available in the House of Lords Library and on the parliamentary website.
Farriers' Qualification (European Recognition) Regulations 2008
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have carried out an assessment of the affect on animal welfare of the Farriers' Qualification (European Recognition) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/646); and if so, with what results. [HL3245]
6 May 2008 : Column WA51
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Farriers' Qualifications (European Recognition) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/646) amend the Farriers (Registration) Act 1975. The amendments made were necessary in order to implement fully directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications, the main provisions of which were implemented by the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007 (SI 2008/2781) which came into force on 19 October 2007.
The Farriers' Qualifications (European Recognition) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/646) amend the Farriers (Registration) Act to provide for the registration of those intending and entitled to provide farriery on a temporary basis in the UK as well as those farriers wanting to do so on a permanent basis. No formal assessment of the impact of these regulations on animal welfare has been carried out. Provisions on the formalities that competent authorities and EU migrants must comply with, and the evidence as to qualifications that migrants must submit to demonstrate entitlement to pursue farriery in the UK in accordance with the directive, are dealt with in the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007 (SI 2008/2781). The Farriers' Qualifications (European Recognition) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/646) cross-refer to those regulations.
The amendment to the Farriers Registration Act, providing for registration of temporary providers of farriery services in Part V of the Farriers Register, will have a positive impact on animal welfare because it will enable the Farriers Registration Council to take disciplinary action against those registrants, should this be necessary.
Food
Lord Krebs asked Her Majesty's Government:
In light of recent price increases of many basic foods and global shortages of certain commodities, what proactive steps they are taking. [HL3290]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Prime Minister has written to the Japanese Prime Minister asking him, as chair of the G8, to take action in a number of key areas in response to rising food prices. The Prime Minister also hosted a food summit on 22 April 2008 to consider these issues. The current increase in food commodity prices is due to a number of factors and the Government are looking at a range of short- and medium-term responses to the current situation, including how, through co-ordinated international action, we can support the world's poor and developing economies in which access to food is most under threat.
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