asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proportion of British troops currently serving in Afghanistan did not have the expected two-year interval between such tours of duty. [HL4114]

It is not possible to calculate the tour intervals experienced by individual troops currently serving in Afghanistan as specific tour interval data are collated at unit level only. Details of tour intervals for the formed units currently deployed in Afghanistan (as announced on 1 February 2007, (Official Report, col, 20WS refers) are provided in the tables below:

Army Units

The Army's harmony guidelines recommend a tour interval of 24 months between each six-month operational tour for Army battalions.

Royal Air Force Units:

The Royal Air Force harmony guidelines state that formed units should spend four months on deployed operations followed by 16 months at base. RAF formed units currently deployed in Afghanistan that have not had the recommended interval between operational tours are:

Elements of other regiments/units/squadrons currently deployed in Afghanistan may also not have had the recommended tour interval but are not listed as tour interval data are not collated at sub-unit level or below.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will place in the Library of the House the correspondence from the Home Office Nationality Directorate to the High Commission of India, London dated 12 December 2003 (ref: NY/98 170/1080/1). [HL4373]

The letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether people living on or born on Ascension Island are entitled to British citizenship. [HL4409]

People working and living on Ascension Island are doing so because they are contracted to work for one of the employing organisations based on the island and they are entitled to remain there only while in that employment. This affects their ability to meet the requirements for naturalisation as a British overseas territories citizen (and thereafter become a British citizen) as the conditions applying to their stay mean that they are not regarded as “settled” for the purpose of naturalisation. For the same reason, a child born on Ascension Island could acquire British citizenship by birth only if one of its parents was a British citizen at the time of the child’s birth.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) will be fit to operate from 1 October, and in particular (a) how many of the staff in the existing Commissions for Disability Rights, Racial Equality and Equal Opportunities have accepted redundancy terms offered; (b) how many of the staff in the existing commissions will be assimilated into posts in the CEHR; (c) what assessment has been made by the Office of Government Commerce about the effectiveness and competence of the planned transitional arrangements to make the CEHR prepared for operation by 1 October; and (d) what advice and assistance the victims of alleged unlawful discrimination can expect to receive when they contact the CEHR from 1 October. [HL4381]

The Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) will be operational from 1 October 2007 which represents the first phase of the transition programme fully to integrate and assimilate the legacy commissions into the CEHR by 1 April 2008.

One hundred and eighty-five staff from the existing commissions have applied for and accepted the terms of the voluntary exit scheme. These applications have been approved and it is planned that staff will leave by 30 September 2007. The breakdown is as follows: 79 from the Commission for Racial Equality; 70 from the Disability Rights Commission; and 36 from the Equal Opportunities Commission.

It is not possible to say how many staff will be assimilated until vesting day. However, all eligible staff will be considered for CEHR posts through the agreed assimilation process. Every effort will be made to avoid compulsory redundancies. Eligible staff includes those with fixed-term contracts that extend beyond 1 October 2007, and permanent staff, as well as staff on maternity leave, special leave, sickness absence and outward secondment.

The Office of Government Commerce has conducted two gateway reviews of CEHR. These have been gate 0 (zero) which can be applied at any stage in the transition process to guide the senior responsible officer (SRO) in relation to the effectiveness of the planned transition. The last report was on 30 May 2007 and made a number of recommendations. The CEHR has already taken action in response to some recommendations and has action in hand on others to ensure a successful launch on 1 October 2007.

From 1 October 2007 the CEHR will offer advice and assistance to individuals, in accordance with the Equality Act 2006, via a website and a daytime helpline supplemented by a team within its legal department which will deal with individual cases that meet agreed criteria (the CEHR board will agree these criteria before 1 October 2007). Those who do not meet CEHR criteria will be signposted to other organisations (e.g. citizens advice bureaux; the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service; trade unions) or referred to CEHR-funded organisations including race equality councils and law centres.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to strengthen protection for potential victims of honour crimes; and, if so, in what ways. [HL4294]

The Home Office has been working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the National Centre for Policing Excellence (NCPE) to raise the awareness of police officers and staff in relation to the identification and investigation of honour-based violence. As part of this work a risk assessment toolkit for domestic violence incidents has been developed, which includes the presence of factors in relation to honour crimes. Guidance on investigating domestic violence, produced on behalf of ACPO and CENTREX, the national police training provider, in 2004, covers the investigation of cases which may be committed in the name of honour. In October and November 2006 the Attorney-General and Baroness Scotland jointly hosted two seminars on honour killings with community leaders. Within all police forces there should now be measures in place to ensure that officers are aware of domestic violence and related issues, and have the knowledge to deal with it effectively.

In addition, the ACPO national working group on honour-based violence will shortly publish for consultation its proposals for a national action plan to respond to honour-based violence.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Following the ban by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre of the proposed 50th anniversary re-issue of the advertisement “Go to work on an egg”, whether they propose to issue guidelines on the composition of an acceptable varied diet at breakfast. [HL4441]

The Government have no such plans.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans they have, in light of the recent report from the Open Rights Group on the May 2007 elections in England and Scotland, for continued e-voting in United Kingdom elections. [HL4462]

We have welcomed the role of observers in these elections, and in particular their contribution to the Electoral Commission's evaluation and election review work.

It is the commission's statutory responsibility to evaluate and report on electoral pilot schemes, and we look forward to the publication of its official reports in August.

The commission's official evaluations will play an important role in informing future government policy on electoral modernisation, including any decisions regarding further development of e-voting innovations.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 14 June (WA 271), under what powers returning officers in local elections are issuing to election agents forms for the return of election expenses which ask for information that is not statutorily required; and whether such forms should indicate those items that are required and those which are merely requested. [HL4380]

Section 81 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (as amended by Section 26 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006) requires the election agent of every candidate at the election to submit a return to the appropriate officer on behalf of the candidate setting out all election expenses incurred by or on behalf of the candidate within 35 days of the date of election. The Electoral Commission has used its powers under Section 81 (10A) to prescribe a form which may be used by candidates and agents to report their election expenses. Candidates are not obliged by the regulations to make their return on an issued copy of the prescribed form.

It is for the commission to decide whether such a form indicates which information is statutorily required and which is merely requested and for the agent or candidate to decide if they want to provide more than the statutorily required information. The returning officer has no statutory powers to issue a form, but may choose to do so to assist candidates and agents in compiling the information required to be included in their electoral expenses return.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the registered description of a political party as the National Liberal Party, the Third Way complies with the relevant legislation; and whether they have assessed the reasonableness of such a description of candidates on ballot papers in view of the potential for confusion with other parties. [HL4301]

The rules governing the use of descriptions by political parties on ballot papers are set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (as amended by Section 49 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006). Section 28 states that political parties must register with the Electoral Commission if they wish to participate in elections. Section 28A enables the party to register up to 12 descriptions of six words or fewer to be used on nomination papers or ballot papers. The commission must register a description unless it is more than six words in length or in its opinion falls into one of several categories; for example, is the same or confusingly similar to another party's registered description, is offensive, or would be misleading or confusing to the voter if it appeared on the ballot paper.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will reconsider the standard level of charge for providing copies of the marked register and lists of returned postal votes at elections; and whether they will return discretion over the charges to the relevant local authorities. [HL4450]

The Government intend to consult shortly on the issue of charges for provision of copies of the marked register (including the marked register of returned postal votes). That consultation will seek views on a number of possible options for the future, including the possibility of reverting to local discretion on charging and the level of any fees.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 8 June (WA 223), whether they will explain how research can be both embryonic and adult and at the same time foetal and adult. [HL4312]

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is the main agency through which the UK Government support medical and clinical research.

Researchers do not always focus on one type of stem cell and may involve several other types. There are valid reasons; for example:

the MRC-funded researchers at the University of Edinburgh are performing comparative evaluation of stem cells embryonic, foetal and adult origin, to define which stages of cell developments are best suited for particular therapeutic applications; and

the University College London (UCL) researchers are studying both embryonic and adult stem cells to understand how stem cells give rise to specialised cells during normal embryonic development and in adults. This is essential for development of potential stem cells for treating neurodegenerative and other diseases.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 18 June (WA 9–10), why they have permitted the genetic modification of embryos to study implantation when they have also stated that there is no intention to implant such an embryo. [HL4417]

The draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill contains provisions to allow researchers to apply for a licence to alter the genetic structure of a human embryo for any of the research purposes specified in Schedule 2 to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. As with any research project licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority at present, the regulatory authority must consider whether the research is necessary or desirable for that purpose.

For research purposes only, the Government intend to remove the restriction on altering the genetic structure of a cell while it forms part of an embryo. This could aid understanding of genetic pathways involved in implantation and the mutations resulting in failure of implantation. For example, modifying a specific gene thought to affect the ability of an embryo to implant will allow scientists to learn about its function by looking at the effects on other genes in the early embryo. This approach could identify potential targets for treatment without the need to place the modified embryo in a woman.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 19 June (WA 29), how they maintain confidence in the regulation of nuclear transfer if no data are held by the Department of Health, and if data on the number of embryos created using cell nuclear replacement (cloning) as part of a research project are not routinely collected by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. [HL4457]

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 sets out the legal parameters and regulatory framework applicable to research using human embryos. Schedule 2 to the Act sets out the activities for which licences may be granted. Licences cannot authorise any activity unless it appears to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to be necessary or desirable for one or more of the purposes specified. The law also makes it clear that no licence shall be granted unless the authority is satisfied that any proposed use of embryos is necessary for the purposes of the particular research project.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 18 June (WA 9), how removal of any nuclei or pronuclei from an embryo would not have significantly altered the genetic structure of that embryo due to the removal of all nuclear genes, bearing in mind that altering the structure was considered by the appeal committee for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority research licence R0153 to involve alteration to the genes or the genome and the resulting heritable characteristics; and [HL4416]

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 18 June (WA 9), bearing in mind that the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill employs a different definition of the nature of pronuclei from that used by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority appeal committee, how the definitions used in the draft Bill correspond to the criteria used by the appeal committee, which suggested that the prohibition contained in Section 3(3)(d) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 would not have extended to research involving pronuclei; and [HL4419]

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 18 June (WA 9), bearing in mind that no Members of Parliament were involved in the appeal decision regarding the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) research licence R0153, how it was established that the HFEA appeal committee's interpretation of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 reflected the intentions of Parliament. [HL4420]

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an independent statutory body with the responsibility of licensing human embryo research under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The decision to licence research project R0153 was taken by the HFEA appeals committee. A summary of how this specific decision was made is available on their website at www.hfea.gov.uk.

The definitions in the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill apply in the context of that Bill only and are therefore not applicable to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and the decision taken by the HFEA appeals committee when it was considering the licence application R0153. If the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill were enacted as it is, provisions in the Bill would allow for the research project R0153 to be licensed by the regulatory authority.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to sign the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. [HL4391]

The UK was active throughout the negotiations to draft the UN International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and we supported its adoption last year at both the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly.

The Government need to conduct a detailed analysis of the provisions of the treaty and their implications for implementation in order to determine the UK’s position towards ratification, including whether we would need to make any reservations. The UK did not sign the convention at the signing ceremony in Paris on 6 February because the UK does not sign international treaties unless it has a firm intention to ratify within a reasonable time frame. We understand that 57 states, including 10 member states of the European Union, have so far signed the convention. The convention requires 20 states to ratify in order to enter into force.

At the adoption of the convention at both the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, the UK made an interpretative statement clarifying our understanding of certain provisions, including what constitutes an enforced disappearance, the application of obligations under international humanitarian law and the procedures applicable to the adoption and placement of children found to have resulted from an enforced disappearance. This statement can be found at: www.fco.gov.uk/ukmisgeneva.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they intend to sign and ratify Protocol 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights in accordance with the Written Statement by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 22 July 2004 (WS 43). [HL4357]

The United Kingdom will be in a position to accede to Protocol 7 when legislation to abolish or equalise three rules of matrimonial property law has been passed. We await a suitable legislative vehicle.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will seek to hold debates in Parliament on the contents of (a) the mandate which will be agreed in Berlin on 21 and 22 June, and (b) the content of the subsequent intergovernmental treaty changing the relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, before the documents in question are signed by them. [HL4332]

Any new treaty would need to be agreed at an intergovernmental conference (IGC). The usual commitments, including a government White Paper prior to the IGC and evidence sessions during it, would apply as well as parliamentary ratification of the eventual treaty texts.

My right honourable friend the Prime Minister delivered the post-European Council Statement, and took questions, in another place on 25 June. The Statement was repeated in the House later the same day.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Under which article of the treaty of the European Union the cost of mobile phone roaming charges could be fixed throughout the European Union; and whether this constitutes a precedent giving the European Union power to impose price control on other charges and products. [HL4010]

The regulation on mobile roaming, which is likely to come into effect by the end of June, has been made under Article 95 of the Treaty of Rome.

The Government are sensitive to concerns as regards the scope of Article 95 and how it may be used in the future. The Government believe that the use of Article 95 as the legal base for this regulation is unlikely to set a precedent which would allow the EU to impose price controls in other areas. This is because of the specific nature of the measure and the distinct nature of the international mobile roaming market.

The Government will continue carefully to consider the suitability of Article 95 as a legal base for other EC proposals on a case by case basis.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they will answer the Question for Written Answer tabled by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 23 May (HL4010). [HL4461]

I have answered the noble Lord’s Question today.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Under which clauses in the European treaties changes to those treaties and all European Union legislation are negotiated in private by the Governments of the member states; and what part the European Commission and the Committee of Permanent Representatives play in these negotiations. [HL4333]

The arrangements for making changes to the European Treaties are set out in Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union. Legislation is adopted using the procedures set out in Part 5, Title 1, Chapter 2, of the Treaty Establishing the European Community.

Discussions in the Council of Ministers are conducted as laid out in the Council of Ministers rules of procedure, which outline the basis for determining whether negotiations are conducted in public. The European Commission and Committee of Permanent Representatives take part in these discussions as appropriate.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What additional measures they will propose to the Environment Agency to deal with the recent increased incidence of summer flooding and to afford more protection to the public in the medium term. [HL4454]

The Government have invested approximately £4 billion across England since 1996-97 to manage the risk from flooding and coastal erosion. Around £600 million will be spent by Defra and local authorities this year. The larger part of this has been allocated to the Environment Agency as the principal operating authority with responsibility for flood risk management in England.

Defra is leading on the cross-government making space for water strategy development programme. This is taking a holistic approach to risk from all forms of flooding (river, coastal, groundwater, surface run-off and sewer) and seeking to develop an integrated portfolio of approaches to managing it. These include:

identifying improvements in managing urban drainage;

a new strategic overview by the Environment Agency of all flood and coastal erosion risk management;

encouraging better resilience and resistance for buildings and emergency infrastructure, improved stakeholder and community engagement;

risk mapping and improved emergency planning;

strengthened policy guidance for planning authorities with respect to development and flood risk; and

revised policy guidance for operating authorities, including the agency, to ensure flood risk management decisions take full account of all economic, environmental and social impacts, including climate change.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will monitor levels of hydatidosis in humans, in order to establish whether levels have risen following the Government's decision not to make the worming of pet dogs mandatory and the introduction of their policy of open access to the countryside under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. [HL4463]

Routine surveillance of human hydatid disease in England and Wales is carried out by the Health Protection Agency. Hydatid disease has a long incubation period which means that infected individuals are often unaware that they have the disease and thus surveillance systems may not accurately show the number of individuals infected.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What percentage of letters before claim are responded to by the Home Office Border and Immigration Agency within the normal time limit set out in paragraph 13 of the Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review under the Civil Procedure Rules. [HL4429]

This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many empty homes there were in England in each of the past five years; and what proportion of these were buy-to-let properties in each case. [HL4452]

The numbers of vacant dwellings are tabulated below. The figures include long and short-term vacancies of less than six months. Information is not held centrally on the proportion of these that are buy-to-let.

Source: Council Tax Base (CTBI) returns for 2002-2005 Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix for 2001.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 19 June (WA 38) regarding the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, on what date the draft bill was published; on what date a public consultation was announced; and what was the closing date prior to the publication of the draft bill for written evidence, other than electronic communications, from the public. [HL4456]

As stated in the Written Answer given on 19 June, Official Report, col. WA 38, the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill was published on 17 May 2007. Its provisions were drawn up based on the White Paper Review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: Proposals for Revised Legislation (Including Establishment of the Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos), published on 14 December 2006. The policy proposals in the White Paper represented the outcome of the Government's review of the law, which included a public consultation exercise that ran from 16 August to 25 November 2005. Five hundred and thirty-five responses were received, in both electronic and paper formats.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 19 June (WA 39–40), bearing in mind that the response of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to the Department of Health's public consultation stated that the “issue of mitochondrial disease is appropriately highlighted as an example where this technology may be clinically useful”, how the classification of embryos created by nuclear transfer to avoid mitochondrial disease as “permitted” embryos to be placed in a woman would prevent a cloned embryo from being implanted when the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill also includes the repeal of the Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001; and [HL4458]

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 19 June (WA 39-40), why they are committed to a ban on human reproductive cloning when it is unclear how exercise of the proposed regulation-making power in proposed new Section 3ZA(5) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, introduced by the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, would necessarily preclude this; and [HL4459]

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 19 June (WA 39-40), to what extent the proposed repeal of the Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001 is a response to the Department of Health's public consultation submitted by the Nominal Licensee for Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority research licence R0152. [HL4460]

The Government are committed to a ban on reproductive cloning and have made this position clear on a number of occasions. Nothing in the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill is intended to permit human reproductive cloning. Provisions in the draft Bill do, however, supersede and therefore repeal the Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001.

Clause 16(5) introduces new Section 3ZA into the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, and defines which eggs and embryos can be placed in a woman. Only permitted eggs and embryos, as defined in the Bill, can be placed in a woman.

New Section 3ZA(5) allows for regulations to include, in the category of permitted eggs and/or embryos, those which have had applied to them in prescribed circumstances a prescribed process designed to prevent the transmission of serious mitochondrial disease. Any such regulations would be subject to affirmative resolution in both Houses.

The draft Bill follows the Government's extensive review of the law on assisted reproduction and embryo research, which was, in part, informed by the recommendations of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's inquiry into human reproductive technologies and the law. The Government agreed with the Committee's recommendation that research undertaken on embryos using the cell nuclear replacement technique for the purpose of studying mitochondrial diseases should be permissible in law, and undertook further consultation on this point. The regulation-making power in proposed new Section 3ZA(5) is intended to provide a mechanism, should research lead to a safe and reliable method to prevent the avoidance of serious mitochondrial disease, for its use in assisted conception treatment, subject to the agreement of Parliament through the affirmative resolution procedure.

Source: Human Reproductive Technologies and the Law, HC 7-I, Fifth Report of Session 2004-05.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will arrange independent inquiries whenever migrant or asylum-seeking children go missing from local authority care, with special emphasis on those aged 14 to 17. [HL4336]

In November 2002, the Department of Health published Children Missing from Care and Home—A Guide to Good Practice in tandem with the Social Exclusion Unit’s report Young Runaways. This was issued along with Circular LAC (2002)17 under Section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, making the guidance a requirement for local authorities. This guidance requires that any child who runs from their care placement, which includes any child who is in the local authority’s care because they are an unaccompanied asylum seeker, should be offered access to a professional independent of their placement to provide them with the opportunity to talk through the reason why they went missing, so that they can be offered the support they need to reduce the possibility of their running again.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the voluntary assisted return and reintegration programme or the assisted voluntary return of irregular migrants schemes allow for a British citizen child to be repatriated together with his parents who have no legal basis of stay in the United Kingdom and wish to be repatriated voluntarily overseas; and, if not, how such a family can apply to be voluntarily repatriated to their home country together with their British citizen child. [HL4370]

Section 58 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 states that British citizens cannot be classed as voluntary leavers. This means that British citizens are not eligible to make a return through any voluntary return schemes including the assisted voluntary return (AVR) schemes operated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on behalf of the Border and Immigration Agency.

In the circumstances outlined in the Question, the parents may be eligible to return through an assisted voluntary return, such as the voluntary assisted return and reintegration programme (VARRP) and the assisted voluntary return for irregular migrants (AVRIM), but the child could not. It is possible that arrangements could be made for them to return together on the same flight but the programme would not pay for the child’s return.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Statement by the Lord President on 1 June (Official Report, col. 1464) that “we have contributed some £744 million since the conflict in Iraq started in 2003”, whether they provided this entire sum for Iraqi refugees; and how much of this sum was (a) allocated to Iraqi refugees in each calendar year from 2003 to 2007; and (b) provided for Iraqi refugees in the year from 11 June 2006 to 11 June 2007. [HL4308]

Since 2003, the UK has pledged £744 million for reconstruction and development for Iraq. This includes contributions from DfID, the FCO, the MoD, the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP), and the UK's share of EC funding. The UK has already disbursed more than £600 million.

Of this total, DfID has disbursed more than £125 million for humanitarian activities, which has been channelled through internationally mandated organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Of this, we have made the following disbursements since 2003, specifically for refugees and displaced people:

DfID continues to support the UN and other humanitarian agencies to assist internally and externally displaced persons in Iraq. So far this year, we have contributed £10 million to support humanitarian agencies working in Iraq and the region.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they are making representations to the Government of Israel concerning (a) the construction of illegal settlement houses in Revava, Yaqir, Qarney Shomron and Alin, in the West Bank; (b) the detention of 4,543 Palestinians in jail pending trial; and (c) the repeated closing of the fruit and vegetable market at Beita, West Bank. [HL4362]

We have not raised these specific cases but are concerned by all on-going settlement activity in the West Bank. Settlements are illegal under international law and settlement construction is an obstacle to peace. The road map is clear that Israel should freeze all settlement construction including the “natural growth” of existing settlements, and dismantle all outposts built since 2001. The EU will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders other than those agreed by both parties. We support this. Our ambassador in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about settlement activity with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni on 28 May.

According to the Israeli human rights non-governmental organisation BTselem, there are currently 9,280 Palestinians in Israeli custody, 5,910 of whom are serving sentences. For those not serving sentences, we call on Israel to charge or release those it holds in custody. My honourable friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, Bill Rammell, raised this issue with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni and Israeli Education Minister Tamir on 10 June.

We have not received any reports on the closing of the fruit and vegetable market at Beita.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What immediate action they, the European Union and United Nations agencies are taking to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Gaza. [HL4398]

On 19 June, DfID announced a contribution of £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for immediate humanitarian needs. The ICRC has delivered medical supplies, repatriated bodies, evacuated medical cases, and supported the Palestinian Red Crescent to deliver blood supplies. It has also assisted the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to deliver basic food supplies to the affected population.

UNRWA is continuing to provide emergency food assistance to 850,000 Gaza refugees, along with other essential services. It is also supporting the 250 people trapped at the Erez crossing. One hundred and four UNRWA containers await transit through the Karni crossing. DfID gave £15.6 million through UNRWA in April this year.

On 19 June, the World Food Programme (WFP) brought in seven truckloads of food, and the World Health Organisation (together with ICRC), brought in three truckloads of medical supplies. WFP hopes to move 10 truckloads per day.

Through the temporary international mechanism (TIM), the European Union is continuing to fund fuel for Gaza’s power station, enabling the continued operation of water, sanitation and health services. It is also paying allowances for government workers. DfID has given £15 million through the TIM so far.

The European Commission's Humanitarian Office (ECHO) is funding major UN agencies. Its programme includes €9.8 million for the World Health Organisation, €6 million for UNRWA’s food programme in Gaza, and €9 million to WFP. In addition to ECHO’s yearly contribution to UNRWA, it will also be making a further contribution to UNRWA’s food aid programme.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will provide, in respect of each mayoral election which has taken place using the supplementary vote system (a) the number of votes cast and percentage turnout; and (b) the number of votes in each case which were not transferable at the second stage, due to (i) no second choice made; (ii) second choice made for the same candidate as the first choice; (iii) second choice made for the other candidate progressing to the second stage of the count; and (iv) uncertainty or other reasons.[HL4449]

This information is not held centrally by the Government.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Who, for the purposes of Section 50(9A) of the British Nationality Act 1981, would be treated as a child's father, if the child is born in the United Kingdom or a qualifying territory on or after 1 July 2006 in the following circumstances (a) neither the mother of the child nor her husband was a British citizen or settled in the United Kingdom or that qualifying territory at the time of the child's birth; (b) the child's biological father was a British citizen or settled in the United Kingdom or that qualifying territory at the time of the child's birth; (c) the child's biological father is named as the father of the child in a birth certificate issued within one year of the date of the child's birth, or satisfies the Secretary of State that he is the biological father of the child; and (d) no man is treated as the father under Section 28 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. [HL4371]

For the purposes of the British Nationality Act 1981, the father of the child would be the mother’s husband.

In matters relating to nationality and citizenship, there is a recognised need for certainty, which would be lost if a person’s status could be altered retrospectively. The law therefore provides that a child born to a married woman should be deemed to be her husband’s for the purpose of acquiring citizenship, and thus that status will not be vulnerable to subsequent revelations or discoveries about his or her true biological origins.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Who, for the purposes of Section 50(9A) of the British Nationality Act 1981, would be treated as a child's father, if the child is born abroad on or after 1 July 2006 in the following circumstances (a) neither the mother of the child nor her husband was a British citizen at the time of the child's birth; (b) the child's biological father was a British citizen otherwise than by descent at the time of the child's birth; (c) the child's biological father is named as the father of the child in a birth certificate issued within one year of the date of the child's birth, or satisfies the Secretary of State that he is the biological father of the child; and (d) no man is treated as the father under Section 28 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. [HL4372]

For the purposes of the British Nationality Act 1981, the mother’s husband would be the father.

In matters relating to nationality and citizenship, there is a recognised need for certainty, which would be lost if a person’s status could be altered retrospectively. The law therefore provides that a child born to a married woman should be deemed to be her husband’s for the purpose of acquiring citizenship, and thus that status will not be vulnerable to subsequent revelations or discoveries about his or her true biological origins.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they will take to ensure that motor accident fraud becomes a policing priority within the national community safety policing plan, as recommended by their own review on this subject. [HL4412]

A wide-ranging cross-Whitehall review of fraud, which reported last year, recommended that the Home Secretary should consider making fraud a policing priority within the national community safety policing plan. The review made no recommendations specifically about motor accident fraud.

Key actions for the police, set out in the national community safety plan update published in November 2006, include the need to have strategies to address all major threats, including fraud.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 4 June (WA 171) regarding government financial assistance to the National Black Police Association, whether in light of their policy to promote integration they will discontinue financial assistance to organisations based on skin pigmentation. [HL4317]

The National Black Police Association (NBPA) is one of a number of staff associations to receive grant-in-aid funding from the Home Office. Other associations include the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Police Federation, the Superintendents Association, the British Association for Women in Policing, the Gay Police Association and the National Disabled Police Association. Each of these associations carries out a number of projects that support the aims and objectives of the Home Office.

The police staff associations represent police officers of all persuasions. However, in a large organisation such as the police, the needs of minority groups can sometimes be overlooked. The NBPA offers support to minority ethnic police officers and staff and aims to improve the working environment of minority ethnic personnel within the police service and to help improve race relations within the community.

The NBPA's main objective is to enable the benefits of membership to be enjoyed by members of the police service who are African, African-Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Asian and Asian sub-continent origin. The NBPA also offers support to associate members, whatever their ethnic group, and is therefore inclusive. Associate membership is open to those persons whose aims are compatible with or supportive of the aims of the NBPA, but who are otherwise ineligible for full membership of the NBPA.

A review of the diversity staff support associations will take place later this year to review their effectiveness and to determine whether they are equipped to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders in the police service in relation to equality and diversity.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many persons have been (a) prosecuted, and (b) convicted of (i) assisting a person to escape from prison or other custodial institution, and (ii) bringing a prohibited article into a prison in each of the past five years. [HL4231]

In England and Wales, assisting a person to escape from prison or other custodial institution and bringing a prohibited article into a prison are not listed as separate offences on the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

The data provided in the table below (E& W) gives the total number of defendants proceeded against and found guilty in England and Wales of selected offences under the Prison Act 1952. Footnote (3) of the table explains this in more detail.

The available data for Northern Ireland (NI) and for Scotland (SCOT) are provided in the tables below.

⁽¹⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis.

⁽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.

⁽³⁾ The above table shows data for the following two offences:

the summary offence (195/46) comprises—conveying spirits into prison, conveying tobacco into prison, attempting to convey spirits into prison, attempting to convey tobacco into prison, placing liquor/tobacco outside prison with intent, office allowing liquor/tobacco to be sold, office allowing liquor/tobacco to be used, placing letter/thing outside prison with intent, conveying an article to a prisoner and attempting to convey an article to a prisoner. The maximum penalty for this offence is six months in prison and or a £1,000 fine.

the indictable offence (099/99) comprises—aiding a prisoner to escape, aiding a prisoner to attempt to escape, conveying article to prisoner to facilitate escape, placing article outside prison to facilitate escape and sending article into prison or prisoner to facilitate escape. The maximum penalty for this offence is 10 years in prison.

⁽¹⁾ Data are collated on the principal offence rule; thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.

⁽²⁾ Data refer to the Prison Act (NI) 1953, Section 30.

⁽¹⁾ Where main offence.

⁽²⁾ Relates to offences of unlawful introduction of tobacco, etc into prison

1. The figures provided on numbers of convictions are derived from information held on the SEJD court proceedings database. The figures for a particular year will exclude the outcome of court proceedings which had not been recorded on the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) criminal history system at the point at which the analysis file for that year was created—generally around 12 months after the end of the year in question. For example, the figures for 2005-06 will exclude any cases not recorded on SCRO by the end of February 2007. As it can take more than a year for the outcome details of some court disposals (particularly in the High Court) to be recorded on SCRO the figures shown are likely to be slight underestimates.

2. The data held centrally on the SEJD database cannot separately identify the offence of aiding a person to escape from prisons from the offence of escaping from prison.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made with the £50 million rainforest initiative announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget speech.[HL4293]

Practical details of the initiative are currently being worked on by DfID officials, the co-chairs of the fund and stakeholders in the Congo basin region. NGOs and officials in other HMG departments (Defra, FCO, HMT) are being kept informed of progress.

Two co-chairs, Professor Wangari Maathai, former winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and Congo Forest Goodwill Ambassador, and the right honourable Paul Martin, Canada's former Prime Minister and Finance Minister, have been selected. They will help develop a clear governance framework to ensure that the fund has strong African ownership.

Decisions on fund policies and on where and how to allocate resources will be taken by the steering board during the design phase. The steering board is likely to include the two co-chairs, as well as two DfID officials, two representatives from the Central Africa Forests Commission (COMIFAC) secretariat, environmental NGO representatives, as well as African Development Bank and World Bank representatives.

There have also been technical working sessions with the officials of the COMIFAC secretariat based in Cameroon to determine which specific components of COMIFAC's convergence plan the fund will support.

The fund is due to start operating in April 2008.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, under English law, a person who leaves his usual place of residence temporarily and solely for the limited purpose of studying elsewhere ceases to be ordinarily resident in the place where he is usually resident and has a settled, habitual mode of life. [HL4397]

As regards entitlement to be registered as an elector, case law has established that a student may be resident both at their permanent home address (for example, the parental home) and in the place where they are studying.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What guidance they have issued to the telecommunications industry on (a) what is an acceptable time frame for the repair of a pensioner's telephone line, and (b) the provision of broadband-enabled telephone lines in isolated areas. [HL4122]

Guidance to the telecommunications industry is a matter for the independent regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom).

The Communications Act 2003 enables Ofcom to impose general conditions of entitlement for customers on specified classes of communications providers. General condition 15 requires communication providers which are providing publicly available telephone services to provide certain special services for their customers who have a disability. General condition 15.5 requires such providers to “provide a priority fault repair service as swiftly as practicable to any subscriber with disabilities who has a genuine need for an urgent repair. Charges for a priority fault repair service shall not exceed the communication provider's standard charge for a fault repair service”. In other words, there already is a mandatory urgent fault repair service for vulnerable and at-risk users.

In the case of BT, this service is provided to customers with a long-term illness or disability who are unable to leave the house unaided and whose telephones are a vital lifeline. The process for registering for the priority fault repair is simple and does not require a doctor's letter. The time to become registered is usually one day from the time an order is received. A confirmation letter is sent to the customer by the following day. There are currently approximately 180,000 customers registered with this service. The general condition does not specify a target time within which faults will be dealt with.

Registration with priority fault repair means that when customers report a fault on their line the adviser will be alerted to the fact they have the service and BT will prioritise the fault accordingly. The service does not have guaranteed response times, but does ensure that repairs for these customers go to the top of the queue. BT's targets are that faults requiring an engineer are cleared within two days; faults that do not require an engineer are targeted to be cleared within four days.

BT also offers customers a free divert to a number of their choice for the duration of the fault, and £1 a day towards the cost of their calls.

There are currently no obligations placed on broadband providers to supply broadband nationally. But we do have a universal service obligation (USO) in the UK for basic telephony and functional internet access. The scope of the universal service obligation is defined by the EC universal services directive 2002/22/EC (“USD”), which is put into UK law by the Communications Act 2003. Universal service ensures that basic fixed line and functional internet access are available at an affordable price to all citizen-customers across the UK.

The latest Ofcom figures reveal that broadband is available to more than 99 per cent of UK households. Thirty-seven per cent of households can choose between four wholesale broadband providers, 8 per cent can choose between three wholesale providers, 12 per cent between two wholesale providers and the remainder can access a BT wholesale offering. At the retail level, consumers have access to a very wide choice of retail broadband products provided by more than 60 internet service providers currently operating in the UK.

The EU Commission is reviewing the scope and future of universal service next year and we expect a Green Paper to be published in the autumn, on which we will consult widely in preparing our response.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How much the Home Office and each of its agencies has spent on translation services in each of the past five years. [HL4296]

Expenditure by the Home Office and its agencies on translation and interpretation services for the past five years was as follows:

The Home Office numbers include those for the National Offender Management Service and the Office of Criminal Justice Reform, which are now part of the Ministry of Justice. The decline in expenditure reflects falling asylum numbers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What representations they have made to the Government of Vietnam about the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of the human rights lawyers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan and the democracy activist Father Nguyen Van Ly. [HL4418]

We are concerned at the recent arrest and sentencing of several peaceful human rights defenders in Vietnam, including Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan and Nguyen Van Ly, who have been charged with “conducting propaganda” against the state. We, along with our EU partners, have made numerous representations to the Vietnamese authorities on this issue.

On 15 May, the EU issued a statement expressing its concern about the current situation and calling on the Vietnamese Government to release all non-violent political activists who have exercised their rights to freedom of expression and association.

My right honourable friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs, Ian McCartney, raised our concerns about the arrest and detention of human rights activists with the Vietnamese Vice-Minister Le Cung Phung during the EU/Association of South East Asian Nations Ministerial meeting in Nuremburg on 14 to 15 March. He also raised this issue with the Vietnamese ambassador on 10 May.

We will continue to raise the question of human rights defenders, along with other human rights issues, with the Vietnamese Government, including during the EU human rights dialogue with the Vietnamese Government on 28 June.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps the Environment Agency will take to ensure the elimination of illegal operators of waste disposal services, which are allegedly still functioning in certain localities. [HL4455]

The recently published waste strategy for England 2007 sets out the Government's commitment to extend the range of powers available so that the Environment Agency and local authorities can be more flexible when dealing with all forms of illegal waste activity.

The agency is currently working closely with the Government on a review of the controls on the handling, transfer and transport of waste with an aim to simplify and modernise regulations that apply to illegal waste activity. Revised controls will make it easier for businesses to understand waste regulation and enable enforcing authorities to use their powers to prevent and tackle illegal waste activity more effectively.

The Environment Agency is working alongside the Government on a number of other measures to prevent and tackle illegal waste disposal, including:

targeted and risk-based enforcement;

strengthened export controls;

improving compliance by waste producers and others in the waste management chain;

simplifying legislation and guidance to encourage compliance;

improving data and information to help compliance and target offenders;

enabling more joined-up enforcement action by the Environment Agency and local authorities; and

ensuring that well prepared cases are bought to prosecution to enable the courts to punish offenders accordingly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether it is their practice to send failed asylum seekers back to Zimbabwe by train, as proposed in the notice dated 3 April 2007 served on the person whose Home Office reference is C1090019; and, if that notice was wrong, whether they will cancel it. [HL3845]

I wrote to the noble Lord on 20 June 2007 with the information requested.