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We are keeping in close touch with the LGA as we take forward the Concordat, focusing on its guiding principles and specific commitments.
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What instructions and advice are being given to the Arts Council and its regional organisations concerning changes to their policies and working arrangements following the signing of the Central-Local Concordat on 12 December 2007, both in general and in specific response to the agreement in the concordat (a) “that there should be a presumption that powers are best exercised at the lowest effective and practical level”; (b) that central government undertake to “progressively remove obstacles which prevent councils from pursuing their role, including reducing the burden of appraisal and approval regimes, the ring-fencing of funds for specific purposes and the volume of guidance it issues”; and (c) that in relation to the negotiation of new-style local area agreements “this objective will require major changes in behaviour and practice from central government departments, their agencies, government offices, councils and local partners”; and what is the process and timetable for such changes. [HL1912]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Central-Local Concordat, agreed between the Government and the Local Government Association (LGA), on behalf of local authorities in England, was signed in December last year. It commits both parties to a framework of principles to secure a new relationship between central government and local government. This framework will apply to non-departmental public bodies, including Arts Council England. Discharging the rights and responsibilities of central government and local government set out in the Concordat will require major changes in the behaviour and practice of all parties. The operation of this agreement will be monitored on a continuing basis, through renewed central-local partnership arrangements.
We are discussing with the LGA how we take forward the Concordat, focusing on its guiding principles and specific commitments. These include encouraging councils to make effective use of their power to promote the well-being of their area; enabling local government to conduct a growing share of the business of government; central government consulting and collaborating with councils in setting national policies and proposing legislation; reducing the burden of appraisal and approval regimes and the volume of guidance issued by central government to local authorities; supporting and encouraging strong leadership and effective partnership working at local level; and increasing local democratic accountability of key public services.
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Local authorities across England are currently engaged in discussions with government offices on behalf of all government departments on the content of new-style local area agreements, which will have effect from 2008-09.
Climate Change: Patio Heaters
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the outline proposals of the European Commission to prohibit the use of patio heaters by restaurants and bars as part of their emissions reduction programme. [HL1706]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): The Government are committed to raising product standards and reducing energy wastage in consumer products. We have lobbied the EU to press for improvements in efficiency, particularly through directive 2005/32/EC on the eco-design of energy-using products.
We want the Commission to concentrate its initial efforts on the directive to drive improvements in the major energy using products such as lights, household appliances, consumer electronics, air conditioning and electric motors. While patio heaters are wasteful, they account for a relatively small amount of energy use in comparison.
Community Projects
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What procedures are in place to monitor, audit and assess the success of local voluntary sector and community projects and initiatives that are funded from central government and government-funded agencies, both during and after their completion; and what procedures are in place to make such information publicly available. [HL1839]
Lord Davies of Oldham: As part of funding voluntary and community sector projects, the Government will set in place routine and proportionate monitoring requirements, in line with guidance set out in the compact, the agreement between the Government and the sector.
The role of the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) in the Cabinet Office is to lead work across government to support a thriving third sector (including voluntary and community sector organisations). The government strategy for the third sector is set out in the July 2007 final report of the third sector review The Future Role of the Third Sector in Social and Economic Regeneration: Final Report which builds on two key action plans published in 2006—“Social enterprise action plan—scaling new heights” and “Partnership in public services—an action plan for third sector involvement”. The Government have reported publicly on the progress of the measures in the two action plans one year on from their
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The success of the Government's work with the third sector over CSR 07 will be measured through the set of public service agreements (PSA) and the local government performance framework. There are two new third sector indicators within the local government performance framework against which every local authority area will be assessed publicly. PSA 21 “Build more cohesive, empowered and active communities” includes a measure of a thriving third sector, progress on this indicator will be made public.
Of note in this area is that, as announced in the final report of the third sector review, the Government will invest, jointly with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in a new £10 million national research centre to build the evidence base on the nature and work of the third sector.
Crime: Guns and Knives
Lord Steinberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): Provisional figures published on 24 January show an increase of 4 per cent in overall firearms offences in the 12 months to September 2007, but a decrease of 11 per cent in firearms homicides and a decrease of 16 per cent in serious injuries caused by firearms during the same period. The majority of firearms offences occur in the Metropolitan, West Midlands and Greater Manchester police force areas.
Figures from the British Crime Survey show that offences involving knives remain relatively stable at around 6 to 7 per cent of all violent offences. Data on knife-enabled grievous bodily harm and robbery offences have been collected centrally since April 2007. Figures for 2007-08 will be published in July 2008 in the next annual Crime in England and Wales volume.
Defence Equipment and Support
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): Work to identify those posts in key skill areas that need to be filled by individuals who have an appropriate qualification or licence, and to establish the initial skills baseline position in these areas, is planned to be completed shortly.
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Diplomatic Service
Lord Bramall asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will continue the practice of attaching members of the diplomatic service to the instructional and student body of the Royal College of Defence Studies. [HL1859]
Lord Bach: We continue to be committed to supporting the college's aims and objectives. The secondee position in the senior directing staff, which was last filled by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), was offered to the Ministry of Defence this year as it had identified a strong candidate. However, FCO interest in the job for the future remains. Although the FCO has not recently taken up a full-time student place, we continue to look at ways to ensure future FCO participation.
Electoral Commission
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 31 January (WA 140), what has been the cost of police investigations into complaints by the Electoral Commission; whether the Electoral Commission has directly contributed towards police costs; and, if so, what that contribution has been in each year since the Electoral Commission was established. [HL1755]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): I understand from the Metropolitan Police Service that there have been two referrals to it from the Electoral Commission to date. The investigations by the Metropolitan Police Service have not yet been concluded and therefore it is not in a position to confirm the costs at this time.
The Electoral Commission is a body wholly independent of the Government. The commission reports directly to Parliament, including through the Speaker's Committee. Electoral Commission costs are a matter for the Speaker's Committee.
Equatorial Guinea: Simon Mann
Earl Cathcart asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will summon the ambassadors of Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe to explain the apparent abduction of Simon Mann from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea; and what action they plan to take to secure his safe return. [HL1899]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): I met the Equatorial Guinean ambassador to the UK, Mr Agustin Nze Nfumu, on 7 February to discuss Simon Mann's case and request immediate consular access. I then telephoned the ambassador on 11 February to reiterate this request and stress the need for UK
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Our concerns were conveyed to the Zimbabwean ambassador, prior to Mr Mann's removal. Our primary concern at this point must be for Mr Mann's immediate welfare.
Earl Cathcart asked Her Majesty's Government:
What plans they have to ensure that Simon Mann is visited regularly by United Kingdom diplomats to ensure he is being treated humanely while in prison in Equatorial Guinea; and whether they will make representations to other countries for him to receive similar diplomatic visits from them. [HL1901]
Lord Malloch-Brown: Our deputy high commission in Lagos provides consular assistance to British nationals in Equatorial Guinea. Our consul in Lagos travelled to Equatorial Guinea on 5 February, as soon as it was confirmed that Mr Mann had been extradited. We were granted consular access to Mr Mann and visited him on 12 February. We expect the authorities in Equatorial Guinea to treat him in line with international standards. The authorities have offered assurances that he will be treated well while in detention.
We will continue to visit Mr Mann in prison in line with our consular policy. We will also discuss with EU partners what assistance they may be able to provide.
Forced Marriage
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ensure that all police officers are trained to respond appropriately to complaints about planned forced marriages; and whether they will issue guidance to the courts on suitable sentences for honour killings, marriage coercion and related violence. [HL1647]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The issue of forced marriages and how to respond is covered in the initial police learning and development programme (IPLDP) training material on domestic violence. All new police officer recruits undertake the IPLDP.
In addition, in 2005 the Forced Marriage Unit issued guidance for police officers on dealing with cases of forced marriage. The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act, which received Royal Assent in July 2007, makes provision for these guidelines to be reissued on a statutory footing.
Last year, the Sentencing Guidelines Council consulted on guidance on sentencing for assault which included advice that offences committed in the “context of an attempted honour killing or in an effort to force a victim into an arranged marriage” should have the general aggravating factors “abuse of trust” and/or “abuse of power” applied to the
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Government Historic Estates Unit
Lord Howarth of Newport asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people are employed in the Government Historic Estates Unit; and what proportion of their working time is taken up by their responsibilities at the unit. [HL1697]
Lord Davies of Oldham: There are six full-time specialist staff in the unit, supported by a part-time administrative assistant, all based at English Heritage. All of their duties are connected with giving advice on the care of the Government's historic estate in England. As well as advising government departments, the unit gives site-specific casework advice to the Royal Household, Historic Royal Palaces and the Parliamentary Estates Directorate. The unit also gives policy advice on the management of their historic estates to several non-departmental public bodies and agencies including English Partnerships, Network Rail and British Waterways.
Lord Howarth of Newport asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many cases the Government Historic Estates Unit took up with government departments and other public bodies in each of the past five years. [HL1698]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government Historic Estates Unit deals with a wide range of casework in relation to the government historic estate ranging from general inquiries about disposals and buildings at risk to statutory notifications in relation to development proposals. Although precise statistics are not available, a breakdown of the different types of work carried out by the unit is contained in their biennial report.
The last report, published in 2006, included a commentary on progress with disposals and referred to several cases on the MoD estate that were then current. These were HMS Daedalus (Hampshire), RAF Upper Heyford (Oxfordshire), RAF Bicester (Oxfordshire), RAF West Raynham (Norfolk), RAF Coltishall (Norfolk) and RAF Neatishead (Norfolk).The report also included two case studies of completed disposals—the Royal Army Medical College on Millbank and Shoebury Garrison in Essex.
The next report is due to be published in about three weeks' time. This will refer to more recent disposal cases on the MoD estate, including heritage buildings at Aldershot and Colchester garrisons. The report will also give an account of work that English Heritage and GHEU have been doing on the assessment of the redundant NHS hospital sites, in
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Lord Howarth of Newport asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much capacity the Government Historic Estates Unit has to provide advice to local authorities in relation to individual cases of vacant or dilapidated historic properties in the authorities' ownership. [HL1699]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government Historic Estates Unit (GHEU), which was established in its current form in 1996, provides a central source of advice to government departments and agencies regarding their historic estates in England. The unit's role is explained in further detail in the Biennial Conservation Report on the Government's Historic Estate, published by English Heritage. The unit itself does not provide casework advice in relation to local government historic estates.
English Heritage is consulted about all applications for listed building consent where the building is in local authority ownership. In addition, through the HELM (Historic Environment—Local Management) project led by English Heritage, it also engages with local government to provide guidance and training on managing and protecting the local historic environment. The HELM website (www.helm.org.uk) features case studies, guidance documents and policy statements produced by English Heritage, as well as further publications produced by local authorities, regional agencies and other key organisations.
Health: Contaminated Blood Products
Lord Roberts of Conwy asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 30 January (WA 127), whether they will apologise to NHS haemophilia patients for supplying contaminated blood products that infected them with HIV and hepatitis C, and to the dependants of the 1,757 who have died since being infected; and whether they will reach agreement with the haemophilia community to provide compensation for pain, suffering and deaths that ensued. [HL1840]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): The Government deeply regret that patients with haemophilia were infected through contaminated blood products. We have great sympathy for patients who contracted HIV and or hepatitis C, and fully appreciate the hardship and pain experienced by families who cared for those who have died.
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