House of Lords
Summer Recess 2010
Written Answers and Statements
Anti-Slavery Day
Question
Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will specify a date to be observed each year as Anti-Slavery Day under the Anti-Slavery Day Act 2010.[
HL1738]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Neville-Jones): The Minister of State for Immigration (Damien Green) has decided that 18 October will be designated Anti-Slavery Day, which is the same day as the European Union Trafficking Awareness Day. The relevant statutory instrument is in the process of being drafted and will be laid before Parliament by the end of September.
Broadcasting
Question
Asked by Lord Black of Brentwood
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received on the recommendations in the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee report on Future for local and regional media about public service reporting and the operation of the broadcast pool; and what action has been taken.[HL1934]
Lord Shutt of Greetland: The Government have received no representations other than by the noble Lord, Lord Black of Brentwood.
The broadcast pool operates entirely independently from Government. The Government understand that, following discussions, the BBC, ITN and Sky have agreed that all news organisations, including the Press Association, should be given access to broadcast pool material and be able to purchase the footage.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
Question
Asked by Lord Corbett of Castle Vale
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to move the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre from the Serious Organised Crime Agency to become a non-departmental public body.[
HL1881]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Neville-Jones): The Government recently published Policing in the 21st Century: Reconnecting police and the people (CM 7925). This set out the Government's proposals for the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and the creation of a new National Crime Agency. These proposals are now the subject of a public consultation.
European Investigation Order
Questions
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will obtain the approval of Parliament before any decision to opt in to the European Investigation Order.[
HL1524]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Neville-Jones): The decision whether to opt in to directives such as the European Investigation Order (EIO) has to be taken within three months of their publication. Parliament, through the European Scrutiny Committee of each House, has the opportunity to give its opinion on whether the UK should opt in as part of the scrutiny process.
The EIO directive was published on 29 April. The House of Lords Scrutiny Committee recommended on 1 July that the UK opt in to the EIO. During the three-month period from 29 April to 28 July, the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee was not constituted and did not therefore have the opportunity to take a view on the issue. Because of this, the Home Secretary took the decision to make an Oral Statement in the other place on Tuesday 27 July setting out the reasons behind the Government’s decision to opt in to the EIO.
Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what will be the implications for the United Kingdom in the event of their opting in to the European Investigation Order.[
HL1525]
Baroness Neville-Jones: My right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced in her Oral Statement to the other place on Tuesday 27 July that the Government have opted in to the European Investigation Order (EIO).
The decision was taken to opt in to the EIO because it offers practical help for the British police and prosecutors by speeding up the time it takes for other member states to respond to our requests for assistance. The Government are determined to do everything they can to help police and prosecutors cut crime and deliver justice.
As people have become more mobile, so too has crime, and that has serious consequences for our ability to bring criminals to justice. To deal with cross-border crime, countries enter into mutual legal assistance (MLA) agreements. These agreements provide a framework through which states can obtain evidence from overseas.
MLA has therefore been an important tool in the fight against international crime and terrorism. It has been crucial in a number of high-profile cases.
But MLA has not been without its faults. The process is fragmented and confusing for the police and prosecutors. And it is often too slow, taking in some cases many months to obtain vital evidence.
The EIO seeks to address these problems within the EU by simplifying the system with a standardised request form and providing formal deadlines for the recognition and execution of requests. The EIO will also impose obligations on the United Kingdom to meet formal deadlines for the recognition and execution of requests received from other member states.
The EIO is intended to replace many of the current instruments in this field in order to create a comprehensive instrument covering the vast majority of MLA between EU member states. Consequently, the EIO, once operational, would be the mechanism through which the UK made MLA requests to, and received MLA requests from, other participating member states.
The Government believe that by opting in to the European Investigation Order at this stage there will be the opportunity to influence its precise content. In particular, the Government will seek to ensure that there is a proportionality test so police forces are not asked to do work in relation to trivial offences and also to ensure that appropriate legal safeguards are in place. I have already had discussions with my German counterpart about these issues and I am confident that we will shape the draft directive so that it helps fight crime and deliver justice, while protecting civil liberties and avoiding unduly burdening the police.
Government Departments: Websites
Questions
Asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many websites are operated by, or on behalf of, agencies of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; and what is (a) the cost of maintaining those websites, (b) the number of hits each website received, and (c) the number of websites closed by the department, in each of the past three years for which information is available.[
HL1811]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde): The Royal Parks is the department's only agency. The cost of maintaining its website, and the number of visitors its website received in the last three years, can be seen in the table:
|
Year*
|
Cost of operation** (£)
|
Number of visitors
|
|
2007-08
|
34,551
|
972,115
|
|
2008-09
|
69,052
|
1,221,710
|
|
2009-10
|
65,229
|
1,572,573
|
Of the websites that the department maintains, the number closed between July 2007 and July 2010 can be seen in the table:
|
Websites closed by year
|
|
2007
|
4
|
|
2008
|
1
|
|
2009
|
3
|
|
2010
|
2
|
Asked by Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many websites are operated by, or on behalf of, agencies of the Scotland Office; and what is (a) the cost of maintaining those websites, (b) the number of hits each website received, and (c) the number of websites closed by the department, in each of the past three years for which information is available.[
HL1864]
The Advocate-General for Scotland (Lord Wallace of Tankerness): The Scotland Office is required to measure website costs and website usage data in line with the guidance issued by the Central Office of Information, Measuring Website Costs (TG128) and Measuring Website Usage (TG1 16) starting in this financial year from 1 April 2010, with collation of data at year end. Usage data for the years 2007-08 and 2008-09 is not available centrally and cannot be calculated without incurring disproportionate costs.
(a) The cost of maintaining the Scotland Office website for the years 2007-08 to 2009-10 are:
2007-08-£2,990;
2008-09-£15,052.50*; and
2009-10-£3,500.
(b) Page views for the Scotland office website are only available for 2009-10. The total number of page views for 2009-10 is 151,450^
(c) The Scotland Office has closed no websites in the past three years.
Immigration: Detention
Question
Asked by Baroness Stern
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK Border Agency will review its practice of booking detainees on morning flights from Heathrow Airport, in view of their likely prior movement by road from an immigration removal centre during the night.[
HL1395]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Neville-Jones): The United Kingdom Border Agency tries as a matter of policy to move the returnee to an Immigration Removal Centre close to the airport of departure the day before the flight to minimise the impact of an early flight on the welfare of detainees.
UKBA seeks to avoid night time transfers and an overnight move would only take place on an exceptional basis. Nevertheless, when weighing up detainee welfare and length of stay issues, a night transfer is occasionally unavoidable. There are no current plans to phase out overnight moves completely for detainees given that these are conducted only under the most exceptional circumstances.
There are no plans to review the practice of booking returnees on morning flights from Heathrow.
Licensing: Live Music
Question
Asked by Lord Colwyn
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many licensed premises did not have authorisation to provide facilities for making music on 31 March 2009.[
HL1781]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde): On 31 March 2009 there were 197,900 premises licences in force and 17,300 club premises certificates in England and Wales.
The estimated total premises licences without authorisation for facilities for making music was 145,500, and the total club premises certificates without authorisation for facilities for making music was 11,500 as at 31 March 2009.
The estimated total premises licences without facilities for entertainment similar to making music or dancing was 164,500, and the total club premises certificates without facilities for entertainment similar to making music or dancing was 13,500 as at 31 March 2009.
Multiple activities can apply to a particular premises.
Official Statistics: Alcohol
Question
Asked by Lord Colwyn
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they are making to the methods of data collection for the Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment Licensing Statistical Bulletin to ensure that future bulletins comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.[
HL1780]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde): The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s official statistics already comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics so no methodological changes are needed for the Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment bulletin. The UK Statistics Authority has, however, asked us to provide clarification on how to interpret a specific data item on live music licences. We will do this.
Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 2012
Question
Asked by Lord Bates
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what preparations they are making for proposing at the United Nations General Assembly the Olympic Truce for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and for promoting observance of the Truce.[HL1578]
Lord Shutt of Greetland: It has become customary for each country hosting the Olympic Games to table a resolution in the UN General Assembly, in advance of the Games, which urges member states to observe the Olympic Truce for the duration of the competition. The UK has co-sponsored these resolutions in advance of recent Games. There are currently two years until the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and, as the host country, we will therefore consider this custom in due course.
Olympic Games 2012
Question
Asked by Lord Laird
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they hold a register of interests of all board members of the London Organising Committee of the 2012 Olympic Games and the Olympic Delivery Authority; whether such interests include offshore interests; and, if so, whether they will place a copy in the Library of the House.[
HL1937]
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde): The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
In neither instance do the Government hold a register of interests of all the bodies' board members, but details are published on the organisations' websites and can be found via the following links:
http://www.london20l2.com/about-us/the-people-delivering-the-games/the-london-organising-committee/locog-board.php.
http://www.london20l2.com/about-us/the-people-delivering-the-games/the-olympic-delivery-authority/oda-board/index.php.
I am arranging to have the most recent edition of the ODA's register of board members' interests placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Schools: A-Levels
Question
Asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reform A-level examinations.[
HL1017]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): We plan to give universities and learned bodies more say over the development of A-level examinations, to ensure that they are robust and rigorous, and properly prepare students for higher education. We shall make a further announcement on the detail of reforms to the development of qualifications later in the year.
Schools: Inspection
Questions
Asked by Baroness Williams of Crosby
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (a) secondary schools, and (b) primary schools rated "outstanding" in their most recent Ofsted inspection were rated "outstanding" in their previous inspection; and what proportion of the total numbers they represent.[HL1298]
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (a) secondary schools, and (b) primary schools have been rated "outstanding" by Ofsted in each of their past three inspections; and what proportion of the total number of schools they represent.[
HL1299]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): These are matters for Ofsted. The deputy for HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the noble Baroness and a copy of her response has been placed in the Libraries.
Letter from Lorraine Langham, Director, Corporate Services, Ofsted, to Baroness Williams of Crosby, dated 9 August 2010.
Your recent parliamentary questions have been passed to Her Majesty's Chief Inspector for response. Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is currently on leave and I am deputising for her in her absence.
The latest period for which published figures about maintained school section 5 inspection outcomes are available is the spring term of 2009-10. This answer, therefore, takes into account those primary and secondary schools (including academies and city technology colleges) which were open on 21 April 2010 and had received an inspection on or before 31 March 2010.
Under the school inspection frameworks used between January 2000 and August 2005 (commonly known as section 10), the school's overall effectiveness judgement was made using a seven point scale: "excellent", "very good", "good", "satisfactory", "unsatisfactory", "poor" and "very poor". Since September 2005, the overall effectiveness judgement has been made under the current school inspection framework (commonly known as section 5) using a four point scale: "outstanding", "good", "satisfactory" and "inadequate".
Given the differences in the measurement of overall effectiveness between the frameworks, it is not possible to operate a simple read-across approach between section 10 and section 5 inspection frameworks.
As the question refers to those schools which were found to be "outstanding", this answer only looks at those inspections that took place under section 5 (from September 2005). It does not include those schools currently "outstanding" under section 5, with consecutive inspections under the previous section 10 framework. Scheduling of inspections now places emphasis on inspecting those with previous overall effectiveness judgements of "inadequate" or "satisfactory" to a greater degree, so there is a deliberate bias in the way we schedule inspection. Therefore the number of inspections scheduled under section 5 and found to be consecutively "outstanding" on three occasions or more are likely to be negligible.
Information on which schools were open on 21 April 2010 has been taken from the Department for Education's Edubase system. Information regarding section 5 inspections was taken from archived information on Ofsted's systems.
Of the 1,611 secondary schools inspected more than once under section 5, there were 110 secondary schools rated "outstanding" where their previous section 5 inspection was also rated "outstanding". Of the 7,545 primary schools inspected more than once under section 5, there were 359 primary schools rated "outstanding" where their previous section 5 inspection was also rated "outstanding".
Of the 370 secondary and primary schools that have been inspected three times under section 5, none have had three consecutive "outstanding" judgements.
Tables 1 and 2 below contain the information requested.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Nick Gibb MP, Minister of State for Schools, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.
|
Table 1: Secondary schools, and primary schools rated "outstanding" in their most recent Ofsted section 5 inspection and rated "outstanding" in their previous section 5 inspection and the proportion of the total numbers they represent
|
|
|
Open schools at 21 April 2010 and inspected on or before 31 March 2010
|
Schools inspected more than once under section 5
|
Currently graded outstanding at 31 March 2010 and inspected more than once
|
With a previous consecutive section 5 inspection graded outstanding
|
Total as a proportion of all schools currently graded outstanding and inspected more than once under section 5
|
Total as a proportion of all schools inspected more than once under section 5
|
|
Secondary1
|
3,189
|
1,611
|
274
|
110
|
40%
|
7%
|
|
Primary
|
16,905
|
7,545
|
991
|
359
|
36%
|
5%
|
|
Total
|
20,094
|
9,156
|
1,265
|
469
|
37%
|
5%
|
|
Table 2: Secondary schools, and primary schools rated "outstanding" by Ofsted in each of their last three section 5 inspections and the proportion of the total number of schools they represent
|
|
|
Open schools at 21 April 2010 and inspected on or before 31 March 2010
|
Schools inspected at least three times under section 5
|
Currently outstanding at 31 March 2010 and inspected three times under section 5
|
With three consecutive section 5 inspections graded outstanding
|
Total as a proportion of all schools currently graded outstanding and inspected more than once
|
Total as a proportion of all schools inspected at least three times under section 5
|
|
Secondary1
|
3,189
|
112
|
2
|
0
|
0%
|
0%
|
|
Primary
|
16,905
|
258
|
11
|
0
|
0%
|
0%
|
|
Total
|
20,094
|
370
|
13
|
0
|
0%
|
0%
|
Syria
Question
Asked by Lord Patten
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 22 July (WA 252-3), whether any of the representations mentioned in the Answer covered the arrest of the novelist Raghdah Sa'id Hassan; and, if not, whether they will make representations to the government of Syria about her arrest.[HL1757]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): Our embassy in Damascus will raise the case of Ms Hassan with the Syrian Government at the next available opportunity. We will also continue to raise our wider concerns about the poor human rights situation in Syria.
