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30 Jun 2005 : Column WA31
Written Answers
Thursday, 30 June 2005.
Azerbaijan: Mrs Almas Guliyeva
Baroness Ludford asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they estimate Mrs Almas Guliyeva will be able to return to this country, following representations they made to the government of Azerbaijan regarding her arrest and detention. [HL597]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The Azerbaijani authorities decided on compassionate grounds to allow Mrs Guliyeva to return to the UK for urgent medical treatment. She arrived in London on 23 June.
We have been closely involved in the case of Mrs Guliyeva since her arrest and hospitalisation in early June. Consular officers visited Mrs Guliyeva in detention and hospital, and remained in close touch with her doctors, legal representatives and family. They also accompanied Mrs Guliyeva to Baku airport on her departure.
Badgers and Bovine Tuberculosis
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many cases of bovine tuberculosis have been detected since January 2004 in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in cattle on farms near roads on which badgers found to be infected with the disease have been killed. [HL449]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Bach): Since January 2004, there were a total of 802* new TB incidents in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, of which 493* were confirmed cases.
Data on the proximity of herd breakdowns to RTA badgers, found to be positive for bovine TB, is not collected routinely. The independent scientific group, however, has been analysing the spatial association between herd breakdowns and infected badgers in the randomised badger culling trial areas. The results of this work will be published in the Journal of Applied Ecology and should be available on-line in July or August.
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*Derived from data downloaded from the State Veterinary Service database: 2004 data downloaded on 8 and 9 February 2005; 2005 data downloaded on 25 May 2005; both published on the Defra website. All data provisional and subject to change as more data become available.
Cabinet Office: FoI Requests
Baroness Wilcox asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the Cabinet Office has received to date. [HL702]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The number of requests received by the Cabinet Office under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, during the period 1 January to 31 March 2005, was published on Thursday 23 June 2005 in a report by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). The Cabinet Office figure for this period was 764 requests. Copies of the report are available in the Library.
The next quarterly report to be published by the DCA later this year will cover the period 1 April to 30 June 2005.
Daily Ireland: Funding
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have provided any funding for the newspaper Daily Ireland, its publishers or printers; and, if so, how much; when; and for what purpose. [HL508]
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Rooker): The information requested on funding to Daily Ireland and its publishers or printers is detailed in the tables below.
Year | Department | Monies made available* | Purpose of funding |
| 2004–05 | *InterTradeIreland | £12,000 | Sales salary |
| support— | |||
| Acumen | |||
| Programme |
*North/South implementation body for trade and business
InterTradeIreland (the trade and business development body) is funded jointly by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) Northern Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) in the Republic of Ireland. DETI contributes 33 1/3 per cent and DETE contributes 66 2/3 per cent of the funding.
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In addition, under the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (Peace II), the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) has agreed to fund a development project in west Belfast. The proposed project (which aims to create 30 jobs) is for the development of workspace units, aimed primarily at businesses seeking to expand. The total cost of the project is £600,000 and will be funded by Peace II (£270,000) and the promoter (£330,000), the Andersonstown News Group. This project is not related to the Andersonstown News Group newspaper business.
* The Department of Finance and Personnel was responsible for funding until December 1999 when responsibility for funding transferred to the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister under devolution.
** Foras na Gaeilge (the Irish language agency of the North /South language body) is funded jointly by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) in Northern Ireland and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRGA) in the Republic of Ireland. DCAL contributes 25 per cent and DCGRA contributes 75 per cent of the funding.
Department for Transport: Meetings with Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any representative, official or Minister from the Department for Transport has met or had any contact with the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on government business since 6 May. [HL707]
Lord Davies of Oldham: No Ministers from the Department for Transport have met with or contacted Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on government business since 6 May this year.
Information about whether any official or representative of the department has met or contacted Baroness Symons since 6 May could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Department for Transport: Speed Cameras
Lord Harris of Haringey asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why there has been a delay in approving the business case submitted to the Department for Transport by the London Safety Camera Partnership for increasing the number of speed cameras to reduce fatalities and serious accidents on the roads in London. [HL748]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Departmental officials will be writing shortly to the London Safety Camera Partnership about its 2005–06 operational case, and I have arranged for a copy of that letter to be sent to the noble Lord.
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