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Thursday 23 October 2008
Alcohol
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they will take, following the consultation on the KPMG Review of the Social Responsibility Standards for the Production and Sale of Alcoholic Drinks, to combat alcohol-related harm; and whether they have reached a decision on a mandatory code for the industry. [HL5592]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The Government are currently considering the responses to the Department of Health consultation, Safe, Sensible, Social—Consultation on Further Action, which considers the KPMG report and mandatory code issues. An announcement will be made in due course.
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people in England and Wales were (a) fined more than £250, and (b) received the maximum penalty of £500 for refusing to stop drinking or to surrender alcohol in a public place in each year since 2005. [HL5671]
Lord West of Spithead: The number of people receiving a fine for refusing to stop drinking or refusing to surrender alcohol in a public place can be found in the attached table.
Data for 2007 will be available in November 2008.
These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
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Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
Against how many people in England and Wales proceedings were commenced for the offence of obtaining alcohol for a person who was drunk in each year since 2005. [HL5672]
Lord West of Spithead: The number of individuals proceeded against for the offence of obtaining alcohol for a person who was drunk can be found in the attached table.
Data for 2007 will be available in November 2008.
| Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts for obtaining alcohol for a person who is drunk, England and Wales, 2004 to 2006 (1) (2) (3) | ||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
- (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Arms Exports
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current European Union code of conduct on arms exports; and whether they propose to make it more effective and legally binding.[HL5276]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The Government believe that the code of conduct provides an excellent framework within which decisions on conventional arms exports can be made. It produces clear statements of principle on issues relating to export control (including on human rights, conflict and sustainable development), and these set benchmarks for licences to be judged against. However, the code of conduct is currently only politically binding. We believe it should be given legally binding status. This can be done by adopting it, at EU level, as a common position. We continue to press other member states to try to achieve the necessary consensus to enable this to happen. The text of the common position has already been subjected to UK parliamentary scrutiny, so the Government could move quickly to adopt it once consensus is reached.
Banking
Lord Blackwell asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether all United Kingdom regulated banking subsidiaries of non-bank organisations that meet the requisite tier 1 capital requirements will be eligible to participate in the government guarantee on new wholesale funding obligations; and [HL5556]
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Which of HM Treasury, the Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England will be responsible for determining whether the capital levels of banks and banking subsidiaries are appropriate for participation in the government guarantee on new wholesale funding obligations; and [HL5557]
In relation to determining eligibility for participation in the government guarantee on new wholesale funding obligations, whether there are other criteria in addition to meeting the capital requirements. [HL5558]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): I refer the noble Lord to the announcements by HM Treasury on 8 and 13 October 2008 accessible at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_100_ 08.htm and www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_105_08.htm and the Debt Management Office's market notice of 13 October 2008 which is at www.dmo.gov.uk/documentview.aspx?docName=/gilts/press/mktnotice 08.pdf.
Civil Partnerships
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make representations to the Government of France to recognise United Kingdom civil partnerships in the same way that a French pacte civil de solidarité is recognised in the United Kingdom under the Civil Partnership Act 2004. [HL5212]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): Our embassy in Paris is discussing the rights of British civil partners in France with the French Government. In doing so, we are working to agree as many benefits for British civil partners as is possible within the scope of French law.
Colombia: Human Rights
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will participate in a proposed visit by European Union heads of mission in Bogota to the Curvarado river basin, where according to recent reports, threats have been made against human rights defenders working for communities dispossessed of their lands. [HL5413]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The situation for human rights organisations in the Curvarado river basin is of great concern and we intend to participate in the visit to that region. We want human rights defenders throughout Colombia to be able to carry out their important and vital work safely.
Officials from our South America team, and our embassy in Bogota have met with Peace Brigades International, ABColombia and Justicia y Paz to discuss developments, and arrangements for the forthcoming visit to the area by EU embassies following a security assessment.
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Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will raise, at the forthcoming United Nations Universal Periodic Review of Colombia, the large increase in the number of displaced persons between 2007 and 2008, reported by the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES). [HL5414]
Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK will indeed raise the issue of internally displaced persons with the Colombian Government in advance of the forthcoming UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review, reflecting our concern on the issue.
The Government are also taking forward a number of projects on internally displaced persons, including working with the UN in Colombia, funded by the UK Conflict Prevention Pool.
Egypt: Eritrean Refugees
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made or plan to make to the Government of Egypt about their alleged “refoulement” of Eritrean refugees, the prison conditions under which they were held and the alleged denial of access to the staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; whether they will recall Egypt's obligations under the United Nations Conventions on Refugees and against Torture; and whether they will seek assistance from M. Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, with both Egypt and Eritrea. [HL4297]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has access to the Eritrean nationals currently in a camp in Aswan. It has received authorisation to resettle all but 11 of the 128 refugees there. The UNHCR does not have access to others, who have been convicted of crimes such as illegally entering Egypt. The decision to repatriate Eritrean prisoners or refugees to Eritrea is governed by Egyptian law and is a decision for the Egyptian authorities. We call on all countries to meet their obligations under UN conventions.
UK officials, working with the EU as appropriate, have a regular dialogue with and actively lobby the Egyptian authorities on a range of human rights issues. On 11 August officials from our embassy in Cairo met the Egyptian Deputy Minister for Human Rights to discuss human rights issues.
EU: Shipping
Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty’s Government:
What is their response to the proposals in the Sterckx report presented to the European Parliament which would establish a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system; and [HL5439]
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What is their response to the Vlaston report presented to the European Parliament on port state control; and [HL5440].
What is their response to the Kohlicek report presented to the European Parliament which would lay down the fundamental principles to be used in investigating maritime accidents. [HL5441]
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Lord Adonis): These proposals relate to the proposed directive amending Directive 2002/59/EC establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system, Directive 2008/.../EC of the European Parliament and of the council on port state control (recast), and the directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector and amending Directives 1999/35/EC and 2002/59/EC, which are currently the subject of negotiations between the presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. The Government support the Council's common position on these measures, and is working in concert with other member states to achieve an outcome which is consistent with the common position.
EU: Treaties
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, at the forthcoming European Union summit meeting, they will propose that there should be a procedural agreement for the future management of the Community of 27 nations, in order to allow for deliberate consideration of the existing treaties. [HL4298]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The UK ratified the Lisbon treaty on 16 July, and we want to see it enter into force. But the treaty requires ratification by all 27 member states before it can do so. Following the Irish referendum, the Irish Government have asked for time to decide on a way forward. We should respect that. The Irish Government are consulting both internally and with EU partners and presented an update to the European Council on 16 October.
Foreign Policy
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether their foreign policy embraces the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.[HL5307]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): The UN Charter sets out the principle of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of states, but notes that this is without prejudice to the authority of the Security Council to apply enforcement measures under Chapter VII of the charter. All UN member states at the level of heads of state
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Georgia: Cluster Munitions
Lord Dubs asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made either directly or through the European Union to the Governments of Georgia and Russia regarding their use of cluster munitions and cluster bombs during the recent conflict in Georgia. [HL5402]
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): We are concerned by the confirmed use of cluster munitions by Georgian forces, and the evidence of their use by Russian forces, which has been raised in EU-Russian discussions. So far, neither Russia nor Georgia has indicated an intention to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions that was adopted at Dublin in May. We believe the new convention is strong and will help to make the world a safer place. We will work with other countries that were not present at Dublin to encourage the widest possible support for the new convention and its norms.
The Government have contributed £2 million to relief efforts in Georgia, part of which is for clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance, including cluster munitions, the legacy of the recent conflict.
That these weapons were used in Georgia underlines the need to use all international fora available to secure action on cluster munitions. We therefore continue to work hard to ensure a meaningful protocol on cluster munitions is adopted within the framework of the United Nations (UN) Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, where both Russia and Georgia are engaged. Adherence to it would be an important early step towards joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Government Departments: Websites
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
What greetings have been posted on the website of the Department for Communities and Local Government to adherents of each of the major religions of the world during the past 12 months. [HL5677]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): We have posted greetings for the following religious festivals: Diwali 9/11/07; Hanukkah 5/12/08; Easter 20/03/08; Vaisakhi 11/04/08; Ramadan 01/09/08, and Eid 1/10/08.
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