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Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 9 June (WA 87), what information they had about Mr Chris Sidoti before appointing him as chairman of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum; and whether they will publish that information. [HL4186]
Lord Rooker: Mr Sidoti is a well known figure in the human rights field and the Northern Ireland Office had a substantial amount of information about Mr Sidoti's career history and experience. There are no plans to publish any additional information on Chris Sidoti.
Northern Ireland: Murder Prosecutions
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 192) concerning the murders of Ulster Defence Regiment and Royal Irish Regiment members, how many convictions have been obtained in the 15 cases in which work is completed. [HL4403]
Lord Rooker: In relation to the 15 cases referred to in my Written Answer of 19 June, there have been no convictions.
2 July 2008 : Column WA43
Parades: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 192—3) concerning income tax payments for members of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission, whether the Northern Ireland Office asked the commissioners whether they had paid income tax before it paid the related amounts. [HL4404]
Lord Rooker: No. This is a matter between the individuals and HMRC. The department was required to make a payment to HM Revenue and Customs and has no reason to believe that individual parades commissioners have not paid their respective tax liabilities.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 192—3) concerning income tax payments for members of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission, whether the Northern Ireland Office was required to make payments to HM Revenue and Customs while believing that the amounts had already been paid by the individual customers. [HL4407]
Lord Rooker: The department was required to make a payment to HM Revenue and Customs for settlement of the department’s liability for the parades commissioners' income tax and national insurance contributions.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 197) concerning the payment of income tax and national insurance contributions by the Northern Ireland Office, whether it deducted income tax on a regular basis from the pay of Northern Ireland parades commissioners; and, if not, whether it did not consider the commissioners to be employees or office holders. [HL4434]
Lord Rooker: From 2006 the Northern Ireland Office has deducted income tax at source following clarification from HM Revenue and Customs that parades commissioners should be treated as office holders.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 197) concerning the payment of income tax and national insurance contributions by the Northern Ireland Office, why it treated the Northern Ireland parades commissioners as self-employed. [HL4435]
Lord Rooker: Before 2006 Northern Ireland parades commissioners were treated as self-employed to underline their independence from the department.
2 July 2008 : Column WA44
Parliament Square
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will join other interested parties in promoting Parliament Square as a traffic-free area. [HL4423]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Responsibility for improvements to Parliament Square, as part of the World Square for All programme, rests primarily with the Mayor of London, Transport for London and Westminster City Council. The Government continue to work with them to identify solutions that balance the needs of all users of Parliament Square.
Prisoners: Telephone Calls
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking to reduce the cost of telephone calls to and from prisoners, following comments about tariffs by the National Consumer Council, the Scottish and Welsh Consumer Councils, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and independent monitoring boards. [HL4422]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): There are no plans to reduce the cost of telephone calls for prisoners in light of the NCC comments. However, we are implementing reductions for some international calls following negotiation with the provider. The PINPhone system in prisons is a specific product designed to ensure safe and secure use of telephones by prisoners. Prices are not currently linked to public payphone rates. The National Offender Management Service continues to discuss the cost of calls with the providers but they are not contractually obliged to reduce the cost. To do this without their agreement would require a large subsidy from the taxpayer. The current contract is in place until 2011 and the retendering project will commence this year. Reasonable call prices for prisoners will form part of the requirements of the new contract.
Prisons: Population
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
How the number of inmates detained in Her Majesty's prisons in the United Kingdom per capita compares with other member states of the Council of Europe. [HL4400]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Information on the numbers of prisoners held in countries in the Council of Europe for which statistics are available can be found in the following table.
2 July 2008 : Column WA45
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