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8 July 2008 : Column WA73
8 July 2008 : Column WA73
8 July 2008 : Column WA73
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Baggage Screening
Baroness Neville-Jones asked Her Majesty's Government:
What action has been taken to follow up the people and baggage screening trials conducted on the London rail and Underground in January and February 2006; and what was the cost of these trials. [HL4548]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: I refer the noble Baroness to my Written Ministerial Statement made to the House on Thursday, 26 June 2008 [Official Report, cols. WS 126-28].
The costs of the trials, including the public attitudes research, were just under £700,000 and were met by the Department for Transport.
Elections: Turnout
Lord Norton of Louth asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Statement by the Leader of the House on 19 May (WS 77—78), what progress has been made in establishing a Speaker's conference to address declining turnout in elections. [HL4387]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The joint secretaries have been appointed. Work is progressing to arrive at agreed terms of reference, following which the membership of the conference will be selected. It is hoped that Mr Speaker will be in a position to make an announcement in the other place before the Summer Recess.
Embryology
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 24 June (col. WA 227), how many outgrowing embryos cultured for more than 14 days are required to derive one embryonic stem cell line; and how this compares to the efficiency of embryonic stem cell derivation using conventional approaches used by Professor Sir Martin Evans in mice and Professor Jamie Thomson with human embryos. [HL4491]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The department is not in a position to form a view on the efficacy of stem cell derivation from outgrown embryos.
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Food: Supermarkets
Lord Rana asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much food is discarded daily by supermarkets because of faulty or damaged packaging; and [HL4501]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Her Majesty’s Government do not hold the information requested. The government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme is, however, initiating a baseline study this year that should provide us with some data on back-of-store waste.
Government: Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the engagements in Northern Ireland of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland during April 2008. [HL3740]
Lord Rooker: The information requested by the noble Lord is held by the Northern Ireland Office. However, the disclosure of some of this information, including details of internal or interdepartmental meetings with Ministers or officials, would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs.
During that time he had various meetings in Northern Ireland with Ministers, local political representatives, key public figures and officials.
Health: Dentistry
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people in (a) Elsenham, (b) Stansted Mountfitchet, (c) Uttlesford District, (d) the Saffron Walden constituency, and (e) Essex are not registered with an NHS dentist. [HL4449]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): Information is not available in the format requested.
Under the new dental contractual arrangements introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a National Health Service dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to “registration” is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (“patients seen”) over a 24-month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
Information is available on the numbers of patients seen by an NHS dentist over the previous 24-month period, as a percentage of the population. The most recent information is available in table C2 of Annex 3
8 July 2008 : Column WA75
Copies of this report, published on 5 June 2008, are available in the Library and are also available on the information centre for health and social carers’ website at: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0708q3.
Health: GPs
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the number of general practitioners per head of population in (a) England, (b) the East of England and (c) Essex. [HL4499]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The number of general practitioners per 100,000 head of population recorded in the national workforce census at 30 September 2007 was 65.7 in England and 62.6 in the East of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA). The figures for the five Essex primary care trusts (PCTs) within East of England are shown in the following table:
Home Office: Interception Modernisation Programme
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
8 July 2008 : Column WA76
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The objective of the interception modernisation programme (IMP) is to maintain the UK's lawful intercept and communications data capabilities in the changing communications environment. It is a cross-government programme, led by the Home Office, to ensure that our capability to lawfully intercept and exploit data when fighting crime and terrorism is not lost. It was established in response to my right honourable friend the Prime Minister's national security remit in 2006.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the current Comprehensive Spending Review allocation contains any financing for the Home Office's interception modernisation programme; and, if so, how much. [HL4466]
Lord West of Spithead: As part of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR 07) a central bid was made to HM Treasury on behalf of the security and intelligence agencies. Funding for IMP was included in the bid, and the exact programme allocation across the CSR years is currently being finalised between the Home Office and HM Treasury.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the Home Office's current budgetary estimates for demonstrating the feasibility of the interception modernisation programme. [HL4467]
Lord West of Spithead: A significant proportion of the programme investment over the CSR period will be used to test feasibility and reduce the risk associated with implementing the proposed IMP solution. The private sector is likely to play a major role in this work and the programme will be conducting a competitive tender and entering commercial negotiations to commission its services.
The tendering processes are not yet complete and therefore the budget for the feasibility and de-risking activities is not finalised. For this reason, a precise figure cannot be given at this time.
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the Home Office's current budgetary estimates for the interception modernisation programme. [HL4468]
Lord West of Spithead: The interception modernisation programme (IMP) will require a substantial level of investment which will need to tie in with the Government's three-year CSR periods. The scale of overall economic investment is very difficult to calculate because of the complexity of the project and wide-ranging implementation solutions currently being considered.
Given this complexity and the commercial and national security sensitivities, the precise costs of the programme cannot be disclosed. Further detail on budgetary estimates for the IMP will, however, become available once the draft Communications Data Bill is published.
8 July 2008 : Column WA77
Local Transport Plans
Lord Bradshaw asked Her Majesty's Government:
What guidance they are giving to local authorities on the priority to give to low-carbon travel in their local transport plans. [HL4666]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The development of low-carbon travel is an increasingly important theme to be addressed in the implementation of local transport plans (LTPs). Guidance published in December 2004 on the second round of LTPs, which runs from 2006-07 to 2010-11, encouraged local highways authorities to take account of the 2003 energy White Paper, Our Energy Future—Creating a Low Carbon Economy.Since the publication of the guidance, a range of further research, advice and funding has been made available to assist authorities, particularly as they seek to encourage behaviour change. For example, on 19 June we announced a £100 million investment package to pioneer innovative ways to increase cycling. Addressing climate change has also been identified as one of five key goals for the Department for Transport in Towards a Sustainable Transport System, published in October 2007.
The Local Transport Bill currently under consideration includes a new duty on local authorities to have regard to the protection or improvement of the environment in developing and implementing policies to be included in local transport plans. We expect to publish draft guidance on future plans towards the end of the year.
Northern Ireland: National Stadium
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Tunnicliffe on 24 June (WA 232), whether the provision of funding out of the Northern Ireland block grant is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive; and [HL4488]
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Tunnicliffe on 24 June (WA 232) concerning funding for a national stadium in Northern Ireland, whether they will fund a stadium other than at the Maze location. [HL4489]
Lord Rooker: The Northern Ireland Executive is responsible for the delivery of public services in the transferred field, as defined by the Northern Ireland Act 1998. While the block grant is determined by Her Majesty's Government, it is for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide how it should be allocated.
The funding of a national stadium and its location are therefore decisions for the Northern Ireland Executive and not for Her Majesty's Government.
Parades: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 192) concerning the expenditure of the Northern Ireland Parades Commission in 2006—07, on what the £17,000 of grants for initiatives was spent; to whom it was paid; and why. [HL4432]
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