asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Statement by Lord Adonis on 6 December 2007 (WS 215), on what evidence the decision to suspend adoptions of Guatemalan children by United Kingdom residents was based. [HL1555]

The decision to suspend adoptions from Guatemala was based on: information from the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, including the Report of a Fact-Finding Mission to Guatemala in Relation to Intercountry Adoption 26 February-9 March, which is publicly available; information from the meeting of the Technical Assistance Programme to Guatemala on 11-12 September 2007 at the Hague Conference at which the report was presented; information provided by overseas Governments; and information relating to individual adoption cases.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Statement by Lord Adonis on 6 December 2007 (WS 215), under what powers the Minister acted in reaching the decision to suspend adoptions of Guatemalan children by United Kingdom residents, given that the relevant sections of the Children and Adoption Act 2006 are yet to be implemented. [HL1556]

As with the suspension of adoptions from Cambodia in 2004, the suspension of adoptions from Guatemala has been implemented using prerogative powers.

The Children and Adoption Act 2006 provides in respect of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, for statutory powers for the suspension of adoptions, but the relevant provisions are not fully in force. We expect to publish a timetable for implementation of the relevant provisions shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Statement by Lord Adonis on 6 December 2007 (WS 215), by what criteria and timescales the decision to suspend adoptions of Guatemalan children by United Kingdom residents will be monitored and reviewed. [HL1557]

The suspension will be kept under review until the Government can be satisfied that the safeguards in the Guatemalan adoption system are sufficient to properly protect children and their families. The Department for Children, Schools and Families will work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to monitor the effects on the ground of any changes to adoption legislation and practice in Guatemala.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Statement by Lord Adonis on 6 December 2007 (WS 215), what consultation took place before the decision to suspend adoptions of Guatemalan children by United Kingdom residents; and with whom. [HL1558]

The decision to suspend adoptions from Guatemala was taken in consultation with Ministers in the devolved Administrations and with Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office Ministers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Statement by Lord Adonis on 6 December 2007 (WS 215), how many adopters' dossiers for the adoption of Guatemalan children by United Kingdom residents had been reviewed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families at the time of the decision to suspend adoptions and will now not be processed. [HL1559]

Nineteen applications to adopt from Guatemala were held by the Department for Children, Schools and Families that were not able to proceed when the suspension was introduced.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their estimate of the cost of paying the widows of servicemen who married in retirement a full pension based on their husband's total pensionable service in the Armed Forces; and how that cost is calculated. [HL1462]

I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given by my honourable friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the other place on 6 November 2006 (Official Report, col. 797W). The calculations have not changed since this date.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the profits of the sale of Chelsea Barracks will be included in the Ministry of Defence's budget settlement for the next three years; and, if so, whether they will be ring-fenced to support housing for frontline troops. [HL1350]

The MoD will retain the full benefit from the sale of Chelsea Barracks, which will be reinvested in service accommodation. The MoD's Comprehensive Spending Review reflects anticipated receipts from the sale of Chelsea Barracks during the Comprehensive Spending Review years.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many, and which, organisations regularly funded by Arts Council England (ACE) there were in each ACE region in the year 2007–08; and how many, and which, subject to an appeal process, there will be in each region in 2008–09. [HL1227]

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, announced in October last year that grant in aid for Arts Council England would rise to £467 million by 2010-11—an increase of £50 million over current levels.

The figures for 2007-08 are as follows

A list of organisations will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The Arts Council operates at arm's length from the Government and decisions about which arts organisations to fund in 2008-09 are entirely for it.

Arts Council England will make a full announcement at the beginning of February when final decisions have been taken.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there has been full compliance with Part L of the building regulations in all new dwellings built in the last year. [HL1219]

I refer the noble Lord to the Answers I gave on 16 January, (Official Report, col. WA 248).

No central register of non-compliance is kept so it is not possible to state the level of compliance with Part L of the building regulations in all new dwellings built within the last year. An independent assessment of compliance with part L (2006) is due to begin shortly.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many criminal prosecutions were brought by the Charity Commission for each of the last three years for which figures are available; and, of those cases, how many gave rise to a conviction. [HL1394]

The Charity Commission is not a prosecutory body and so cannot bring criminal prosecutions, nor refer matters direct to the Criminal Prosecution Service. If the commission discovers evidence of suspected criminal activity within or relating to charities, it passes these to the police and other law enforcement agencies to consider and take forward. To facilitate this, the commission has, and continues to develop strong working relationships with the police and other relevant bodies.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether funding letters to (a) the Learning and Skills Council; (b) the Sector Skills Development Agency; (c) Ofsted; and (d) the Quality Improvement Agency contained provisions specifically related to increasing the knowledge base of the children's workforce with regard to children's speech, language and communication needs; and whether they will set out for each body what those provisions were. [HL1536]

There is no specific mention of developing the children's workforce with regard to children's speech, language and communication needs in the current grant letters for the Sector Skills Development Agency or the Quality Improvement Agency. The Learning and Skills Council's remit letter does include support for the development of the children's workforce as a whole and Ofsted do publish survey reports on a range of aspects which can and do include matters relating to teacher training and workforce development.

The Children's Plan acknowledges the need to provide additional support to speech and language services in tackling barriers to learning. It also includes a commitment to invest further in the inclusion development programme (IDP), which aims to increase the skills of the whole early-years and school workforce in dealing with children with speech, language and communication needs.

On 11 September 2007, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and the Secretary of State for Health launched a major review of the provision of services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs, led by the honourable Member for Buckingham, Mr John Bercow. As part of his review, Mr Bercow will examine how the children's workforce can best be organised and supported to meet the needs of children with speech, language and communication needs. He will submit an interim report in March, prior to his final report in July 2008.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will issue guidance on the interpretation of the phrase “parental responsibility” in Part I of the Children Act 1989. [HL1551]

My department issued The Children Act 1989: Guidance and Regulations Volume 1 Court Orders on 24 January. The guidance, which revises that previously issued in 1991, sets out what is meant by parental responsibility and how it can be obtained and lost. It was issued to local authority chief executives and directors of children's services and is available for free public download on my department's website. It will soon be available (as a priced publication) from The Stationery Office.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

On how many occasions police have been called to children's residential homes in relation to minor offences in the last three years; and what measures are in place to reduce the use of the criminal justice system for low-level offending in children's residential homes. [HL1425]

Data on police being called to children's homes are not collected nationally.

The Government fund the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care to help promote effective practice within the children's homes sector. Sample protocols between children's homes and the police to improve joint working and reduce inappropriate reliance on the criminal justice system are being developed.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which projects have been funded from (a) the Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund and (b) any other anti-extremism funding via the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund, in each district and unitary authority area in east Lancashire in the past 12 months; which bodies are responsible for delivering them; what is the purpose of each of them; and how much funding each received. [HL1404]

Details of all projects funded through the Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund in 2007-08 are available in the Library of the House. This information details which projects have been funded in each local authority; which bodies are responsible for delivering them; and the purpose of each project. Funding allocations for each local authority have also been provided. Figures for individual projects will be available from the relevant local authority.

Details of all projects funded through the Preventing Violent Extremism Community Leadership Fund in 2007-08 are also available in the Library of the House. None of the projects funded is based in the east Lancashire area.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In how many youth offender panels each of the youth offending teams has participated to date. [HL1420]

The Power of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, Section 21(3a) requires every youth offender panel to have a youth offending team member. In principle therefore, youth offending teams should have been involved in every youth offender panel to date.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 8 February 2005 (WA 107), what was the outcome of their consideration of the use of the electoral register by local authorities. [HL1406]

The Representation of the People Regulations 2001 were amended in 2006 to enable local authorities to use the full electoral register for the purpose of holding a local poll under Section 116 of the Local Government Act 2003.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether Government departments other than the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have incurred European Union financial penalties since 1993; what the reasons were for such penalties; and what their individual costs were to the Exchequer. [HL1402]

The United Kingdom has never incurred a financial penalty under Article 228 (ex Article 171) of the Treaty Establishing the European Community.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 11 December 2007 (WA 30), what was the underspend in the Objective 2 regional programmes in 2007 in each English region. [HL1573]

There were no underspends on the objective 2 programmes in eight out of nine English regions in 2007. In the north-west region, there was an underspend of £3.4 million which represents less than 1 per cent of the region’s overall allocation of £637 million.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What administration costs were incurred by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in relation to the European structural and cohesion funds for the last financial year for which figures are available. [HL1426]

The costs incurred by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in administering European structural and cohesion funds for the current financial year total less than £400.

DCMS only deals with cases above the £1 million threshold for European structural and cohesion fund payments. All cases below this amount are administered by Government Offices for the Regions.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to introduce primary or secondary legislation regarding deactivated firearms; and, if secondary, how it will be achieved. [HL1534]

We will be consulting on how best to control deactivated firearms and no decisions have been taken on the means of achieving this.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What plans the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has to visit the United States; when any such visit will take place; and for what purpose. [HL1457]

The United States has played and continues to play a critical role in the peace process, further progress towards the devolution of policing and justice and investment in Northern Ireland. Successive Secretaries of State have worked closely with the United States and have made regular visits to discuss policy. The present Secretary of State continues this policy. It is not the practice, not least for security reasons, to discuss future engagements of government Ministers.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there is a central register of people who have been given temporary residency in the United Kingdom; if so, how many people are currently on such a register; and what arrangements are in place to record the departure from the United Kingdom of such persons at the end of their legal residency. [HL297]

Information relating to people who have been given temporary residence in the United Kingdom is recorded in several databases, temporary residence being interpreted as those lawfully resident in the country for a period exceeding six months.

These include the Case Information Database and the UK Visa database, which hold records of persons granted temporary residence and will include those whose leave is current and those whose leave has expired. They are therefore not a record of those currently in the country.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

For how many successive years they are requiring local authorities to find 3 per cent cash efficiency savings; and for how many years they expect local authorities to find such savings without making cuts in services. [HL1429]

During the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review period (2008-09 to 2010-11), there will be no mandatory targets for efficiency gains for individual councils in England. While the sector overall is expected to deliver 3 per cent per annum efficiencies over this period—in line with the minimum requirement for the public sector as a whole—targets will only exist at the local level where these are negotiated as one of the up-to-35 targets in each local area agreement.

Cuts in services do not result in valid efficiency gains. Cash released through efficiencies is retained by councils for reallocation to meet local priorities for services. Looking at ways of delivering better services in more efficient ways should be part of normal business processes for any organisation.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which projects have benefited from Lottery funding in each district and unitary authority in Lancashire in each of the past three years and the current year; which bodies were responsible for delivering them; what was the purpose of each of them; and how much funding each received. [HL1407]

The figures for grants awarded during the last three completed financial years and the current financial year to date for the areas requested are set out in these tables. These figures are for grants that are recorded on the department's Lottery grants database as location specific. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Lottery Grants Database is searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk and uses information supplied by the Lottery distributors.

Lottery grants have been awarded by the Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, Sport England, Arts Council England, UK Film Council and UK Sport. Details of each grant individually could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the purpose of the visits by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the United States; who the Secretary of State met; what Northern Ireland Office officials were present; and how much the officials' visit to the United States cost. [HL1152]

The United States continues to make a vital contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland. As such it is important that my right honourable friend maintains regular contact with the US administration, key political interests and other influential opinion formers in order to help sustain their support for the peace process and critically achieve Stage 2 devolution. Such visits also enable my right honourable friend to support the devolved administration in the crucial area of attracting inward investment in Northern Ireland.

The Secretary of State was supported by a private secretary, the NIO political director and, on the visits in July and October, by the director of communications. For details of costs I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave on 28 January (Official Report, cols. WA 86-87).

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What measures are being taken in Northern Ireland to identify prisoners, including those on remand, who are vulnerable to self-harm or suicide; whether they are improving mental health assessments of prisoners on initial reception and after sentencing; and what are the implications for observing vulnerable prisoners while they are in their cells. [HL1124]

The Prison Service has introduced a considerable number of recent improvements and new initiatives in order to identify and support prisoners who are vulnerable to self-harm and suicide.

I will write to the noble Lord setting out the detail of these improvements and I will make arrangements for a copy of my letter to be placed in the Library.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 14 January (WA 241) concerning Christmas leave for prisoners in Northern Ireland, who the two prisoners who returned to prison late were; and what punishment they received. [HL1411]

David Patrick Conboy, who was due back on 28 December, was returned to custody on 6 January, when he had been unlawfully at large for eight days. His date of release has accordingly been extended by eight days.

Phillip Ronald Gray, who was due back on 2 January, was returned to custody on 8 January, when he had been unlawfully at large for five days. His date of release has accordingly been extended by five days.

Both inmates have been charged under Prison Rules although their adjudications are currently adjourned as their cases have been referred to the PSNI with a view to prosecution. Both inmates have also forfeited the remainder of their home leave quotas.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will discuss with Network Rail and National Express East Coast whether further car parking provision is required for passengers on the East Coast Main Line between Leeds and London. [HL1470]

The Department for Transport specified that proposals to increase car parking for stations on the East Coast Main Line should be addressed during the replacement of the InterCity East Coast franchise that was undertaken during 2007. Details of the invitation to tender were published on the department’s website on 12 November 2007.

The winning bidder, National Express, has committed to increasing car parking spaces as part of its contractual obligations. Up to 2,000 more car parking spaces are to be provided by the end of the seven-year franchise with half of these expected within the first two years. Spaces will be provided at Wakefield Westgate and other stations between Leeds and London.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 11 December 2007 (WA 29), in view of the long-term nature of a railway electrification process, what would be the effect on the business case for railway electrification if the cost of oil was forecast at $200 a barrel in 2020 and passenger and freight train traffic continued to grow in line with the trends over the last five years. [HL1510]

A sustained rise in the cost of oil to $200 a barrel in 2020 would improve the business case for railway electrification, with the extent of any improvement depending on the specific scheme. However, any decision on electrification would need to take account of its effect on the implementation of the programme now being worked up to deliver the capacity improvements set out in the high-level output specification as part of the July rail White Paper.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will ensure that the Woodhead Tunnel is maintained in such a way that it could be reopened as part of any future expansion of the passenger and freight rail network. [HL1526]

National Grid is installing a new transmission in the newer Woodhead Tunnel and this will need to be maintained to an appropriate standard. The older Woodhead tunnels will be sealed. National Grid's proposal would not preclude future consideration of reopening the route for rail use.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In respect of (a) the British Hallmarking Council; (b) the Coal Authority; (c) the Compensation Commission; (d) the Office of Communications; and (e) the Office of Fair Trading, how many criminal prosecutions were brought by that regulator for each of the last three years for which figures are available; and, of those cases, how many gave rise to a conviction. [HL1374]

(a) British Hallmarking Council—No criminal prosecutions or convictions in the last three years.

(b) Coal Authority—No criminal prosecutions or convictions in the last three years.

(c) Compensation Commission—We presume this was supposed to be referring to the “Competition Commission”, in which case there have been no criminal prosecutions or convictions in the last three years.

(d) Office of Communications—

(e) Office of Fair Trading—The OFT has not brought any criminal prosecutions in the last three years. However, in December 2007, the Metropolitan Police, on behalf of and at the request of the OFT, charged three individuals with criminal price fixing under Section 188 of the Enterprise Act 2002. It is fully anticipated that a prosecution will follow.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In respect of (a) the Football Licensing Authority; (b) the Gambling Commission; and (c) the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, how many criminal prosecutions were brought by that regulator for each of the last three years for which figures are available; and, of those cases, how many gave rise to a conviction. [HL1375]

Within each of the last three years no criminal prosecutions were brought by (a) the Football Licensing Authority or (b) the Gambling Commission (prior to 1 September 2007 neither the Gambling Commission or its predecessor the Gaming Board held powers of prosecution). The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (c) has brought one prosecution within this period which led to a conviction.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many criminal prosecutions were brought by the Information Commissioner for each of the last three years for which figures are available; and, of those cases, how many gave rise to a conviction. [HL1392]

The information requested is in the following table:

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why the letter from Lord Jones of Birmingham to Lord Berkeley dated 18 December 2007 regarding the Second Reading of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill has not been placed in the Library of the House, as the letter itself states. [HL1463]

I regret the delay in depositing your letter in the Libraries of the House due to an administrative oversight. The papers were placed in the Libraries on 17 January.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which police forces have made use of restorative justice interventions for young offenders; and in how many cases. [HL1422]

Restorative justice interventions are used in a number of police forces but statistics on the number of forces and the number of cases are not held centrally.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What funding and measures are in place to promote the use of restorative justice in children's residential homes. [HL1424]

Children's homes are inspected against the National Minimum Standards (NMS) for Children's Homes which require that homes encourage acceptable behaviour and constructive staff response to inappropriate behaviour when it occurs. The NMS require that the consequences of unacceptable behaviour are clear to staff and children and that any measures applied are relevant to the incident and are reasonable. Homes use a range of interventions and responses to ensure that children's behaviour is properly managed. The Government fund the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care in order to promote effective practice in the sector. However, there are no dedicated national sources of funding specifically to promote restorative justice.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will set up an inquiry to examine whether delays in traffic on the A1 road, due to road works to the north of Grantham, could have been avoided by better planning. [HL1438]

The Highways Agency will not be setting up an inquiry to examine whether delays in traffic on the A1 due to road works to the north of Grantham could have been avoided by better planning.

The project has been subject to reviews before and during construction to ensure that delays on this route are minimised. Actions adopted by the project to minimise potential delays have included offline construction, minimising single lane contraflow and advance warning of planned works.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the arrangements for the Highways Agency to monitor the amount of litter along motorways and trunk roads in the United Kingdom when the responsibility for litter-picking contracts has been delegated to local authorities. [HL1520]

The Highways Agency is responsible for clearing litter from motorways and a small number of trunk roads in England. Their agents are contracted to remove litter from those roads as part of a rolling programme of litter clearance.

Local authorities clear litter from the majority of trunk roads in England. The Highways Agency encourages partnership working between its managing agents and local councils so that, wherever possible, litter picking, grass cutting and carriageway repairs can be co-ordinated to minimise disruption to the travelling public.

Route stewardship arrangements are in place to monitor the amount of litter on the motorway and trunk road network and particular “hot spots” are dealt with over and above routine litter picking.

Scotland and Wales have separate arrangements.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many schoolchildren were in receipt of free school meals in 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2005. [HL1277]

Data on the receipt of free school meals is only available from 1989.

1989

In 1989 the number of schoolchildren in maintained nursery and primary schools taking free school meals was 515,395, equivalent to 13 per cent (to the nearest whole number). The number of schoolchildren in maintained secondary schools taking free school meals was 235,270, equivalent to 8 per cent (to the nearest whole number). The number of schoolchildren in maintained special schools taking free school meals was 28,466, equivalent to 31 per cent (to the nearest whole number). The number of schoolchildren in all maintained schools taking free school meals was 781,362, equivalent to 11 per cent (to the nearest whole number).

1995

In 1995 the number of schoolchildren in maintained nursery and primary schools taking free school meals was 815,258, equivalent to 18.7 per cent.

The number of schoolchildren in maintained secondary schools taking free school meals was 387,554, equivalent to 13.0 per cent.

The number of schoolchildren in all special schools taking free school meals was 32,934, equivalent to 36.1 per cent.

2005

In 2005 the number of schoolchildren in maintained nursery and primary schools known to be eligible for free school meals was 717,230, equivalent to 16.9 per cent.

The number of schoolchildren in maintained secondary schools known to be eligible for free school meals was 465,520, equivalent to 14.0 per cent.

The number of schoolchildren in all special schools known to be eligible for free school meals was 30,690, equivalent to 33.6 per cent.

The latest information on pupils eligible for free school meals can be found in tables 3a, 3b and 3c of the Statistical First Release Schools and Pupils in England, January 2007 (Final), which can be found at www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000744/index.shtml.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proposals they have to ensure that all public buildings have facilities to recharge electrical powered vehicles. [HL1410]

I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 23 January (Official Report, col. WA 54).

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many children under 15 were in custody in (a) young offender institutions; (b) secure children's homes; (c) secure training centres; and (d) private prisons on 1 January of each year between 2000 and 2008; and [HL1475]

How many young people aged 15 to 18 were in custody in (a) young offender institutions; (b) secure children's homes; (c) secure training centres; and (d) private prisons on 1 January of each year between 2000 and 2008. [HL1476]

The secure estate for children and young people holds children and young people up to and including the age of 17, as well as a small number of young people who reach 18 in the course of their sentences.

The table below, which contains information provided by the Youth Justice Board, shows the number of children aged under 13 and young people aged 15-17 held in young offender institutions (YOIs), secure training centres (STCs) and secure children's homes (SCHs) on 1 January in each year from 2001 onwards. The number of 18 year-olds held in juvenile young offender institutions is shown separately. There were no 18 year-olds in secure training centres or secure children's homes. Numbers in custody on 1 January 2000 are not available.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proportion of young people under the age of 18 who are in custody receive individual therapy, counselling or support for drugs-related problems. [HL1479]

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) funds a substance misuse service across the secure estate for children and young people. Those young people who have misused substances (about 7 per cent of those in custody) receive targeted support based on their level of need and the substances they have misused. Those young people (about 5 per cent) who require specialist treatment, such as those needing detoxification, receive individual specialist support from a range of providers, including healthcare.