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Supreme Court: Middlesex Guildhall
Lord Simon of Glaisdale asked Her Majesty's Government:
Who are the present occupants of Middlesex Guildhall, which is a favoured option for occupation as a Supreme Court; where it is proposed that these occupants will move to; what will be the cost of such, and of rehousing; what will be the cost in adapting that accommodation for the purposes of the Supreme Court; what catering facilities will be included for (a) Justices; (b) staff; (c) advocates; and (d) the public; and what library facilities will be provided and at what cost. [HL4195]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Middlesex Guildhall is an operational Crown Court centre.
As part of the overall analysis of the two buildings under consideration for housing the Supreme Court, officials are evaluating the options for managing the work of Middlesex Guildhall. The costs of relocating this work will be dependent upon the option selected. Similarly, the cost of adapting Middlesex Guildhall will be dependent upon the final design. It would be premature to give details concerning any relocation options before a final decision has been made on the site of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court statement of requirements provides space for catering facilities for justices, staff, advocates and the public. The statement of requirements also details the space provision for the library facilities required to meet the needs of the justices and court users. The estimated cost of setting up the library and providing materials for it is in the region of £350,000, excluding the value of any materials donated from existing library resources.
Eurofighter Typhoon Aircraft
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What contractual arrangements they have made for the ongoing support and maintenance of the first tranche of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft; and whether there are additional or separate arrangements for further support and maintenance as necessary; and [HL4097]
What contractual arrangements they have made for the ongoing support and maintenance of the second tranche of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft; and whether there are additional or separate arrangements for further support and maintenance as necessary; and [HL4098]
What contractual arrangements they propose to make for the ongoing support and maintenance of the third tranche of the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft; and whether they plan to make additional or separate arrangements for the provision of such further support and maintenance as necessary. [HL4099]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): An international contractual framework has been established between the four Typhoon partner nations and the industrial consortia responsible for building the Typhoon aircraft. This takes the form of a "Framing Agreement" that specifies the principles for the support and maintenance arrangements, allowing contracts for Typhoon Tranche 1 support to be placed on the nations' behalf by NETMA, the NATO Agency responsible for managing the Typhoon project. Contracts are, however, placed nationally for engine repair services for which the partner nations have different support policies. No specific contractual arrangements have yet been made for the support and maintenance of Typhoon tranches 2 or 3 beyond those also required for tranche 1.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What information they have on the support and maintenance arrangements for Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft purchased outside of the United Kingdom. [HL4100]
Lord Bach: In common with the United Kingdom, the other NETMA partner nations plan to maintain their Eurofighter fleets through a mixture of in-house support and nationally and collaboratively procured contractor services. Third-party nations purchasing Eurofighter will make their own arrangements supported as necessary by partner nations, NETMA and Industry.
School Closures
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many schools have been closed, or listed for closure in (a) the past six months, and (b) the six months prior to that; and how many of these were schools for children with moderate learning disabilities. [HL4041]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Filkin): The numbers of maintained schools that closed during these periods are as follows:
| Total maintained schools (including special schools) | Total special schools for children with moderate learning difficulties | |
| (a) Closed1 February 2004–31 July 2004 | 17 | 0 |
| (b) Closed1 August 2003–31 January 2004 | 253 | 5 |
The department has been informed of the following numbers of school closures, decided during these periods but which will be implemented after 31 July 2004:
The figures in both tables include schools that have closed, or are closing, as a result of local school reorganisations, amalgamations and schools closing but reopening with a religious character.
Education and Training Providers
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will publish a list of those education providers which will have approved status, enabling international students proposing to study at those institutions to qualify for a visa for entry to the United Kingdom; which department has the lead responsibility in determining whether an institution may be admitted to the approved list; and what criteria will be used in so determining. [HL4111]
Lord Filkin: The Department for Education and Skills has responsibility for the Register of Education and Training Providers in the UK and will publish the register on a publicly accessible website in January 2005. The criteria for inclusion on the register are that an organisation must be a genuine entity (registered
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company/registered charity/public body/sole trader/partnership); an organisation that registers students; holds courses and/or assessments; and has appropriate accommodation for class based provision (with the exception of e-learning/distance providers).
Medical and Dental Students:Physical Disability
Lord McColl of Dulwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of medical and dental students admitted to medical schools in the United Kingdom have physical disabilities. [HL4185]
Lord Filkin: The available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) shows that in 2002–03, 0.4 per cent of UK-domiciled undergraduate entrants to all courses in medicine and dentistry at UK HE institutions said that they had a physical disability.
Lord McColl of Dulwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
What system is in place to monitor whether medical and dental schools are complying with current disability equality legislation in their admissions procedures. [HL4186]
Lord Filkin: Universities are autonomous bodies and they are responsible for monitoring their own compliance with legislation. Professor Steven Schwartz published his working group's report on fair admissions on 14 September. It recommended that all higher education institutions should adopt five key principles for fair admissions, one of those being that a fair admissions system should seek to minimise barriers for applicants. This includes those with disabilities.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) expects institutions to include details of how they are developing provision for disabled students in their annual monitoring statements (returned to the Council in July each year). HEFCE also provides funding and sources of advice for institutions seeking guidance in implementing legislation and best practice.
Olympic Games 2012: London Bid
Lord Jopling asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, if the 2012 Olympic Games were to be held in London, it would be possible under current rules on the use of firearms and on gun clubs to stage all the shooting events which have featured in recent Olympiads. [HL4101]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey): If the bid to stage the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London is
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successful, the Home Secretary has already granted his authority for the shooting events to take place and for a test event in the previous year.
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