Written Answers
Thursday, 29 January 2004.
Supreme Court
asked Her Majesty's Government:What expenditure, if any, the Department for Constitutional Affairs has incurred in relation to the instruction of surveyors, construction firms, property agents or other professional services in relation to the identification of, or preparation for, potential sites for a Supreme Court. [HL841]
My department has incurred expenses of approximately £104,000 in relation to fees for professional services during the current search for potential sites for the new Supreme Court.
Domestic Violence: Supporting People Programme
asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to ensure that victims of domestic violence can get access to safety and support, including refuge services, funded through the Supporting People arrangements; and what funds were committed to this work by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister during 2003. [HL727]
The Supporting People programme, which was launched on 1 April 2003, has put in place a new integrated policy and funding framework for housing-related support services, including those people experiencing domestic violence.So far the programme has funded accommodation-related outreach services, support and resettlement for victims of domestic violence, as well as funding housing-related support for women who are staying in refuges. The current annual expenditure for domestic violence services under the Supporting People programme is approximately £56 million for 2003–04.
Millennium Dome
asked Her Majesty's Government:In relation to the contracts signed between English Partnerships, Meridian Delta Limited, AEG and Quintain in May 2002, what is the long-stop date after which English Partnerships has the right to rescind the contracts if the deal has not gone unconditional; and in the event what costs English Partnerships can recover from other signatories of the contracts. [HL914]
The contracts signed in May 2002 between English Partnerships, Meridian Delta Ltd and Anschutz Entertainment Group are commercially confidential. In order to protect the parties' interests it is normal commercial practice not to reveal details of contractual arrangements. Revealing such details may prejudice the Government's position and compromise the Government's ability to achieve value for money in the future.The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will review this position once the deal has gone unconditional, when we will make public as much information as possible without compromising commercial interests for the future.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 11 December 2003 (
WA 23), what are the grounds for the statement that "all of English Partnerships' costs in relation to the Dome will be recovered from sale proceeds"; and whether that is contingent upon the deal with Meridian Delta Limited going unconditional. [HL915]
The expected financial returns to English Partnerships from the sale of the Dome and associated land on the Greenwich peninsula will exceed English Partnerships' costs in relation to the Dome by a multiplier of several times. English Partnerships' costs will be repaid in the early phases of the continued development of the peninsula. Those phases will begin as quickly as possible after the deal with Meridian Delta Limited goes unconditional.
Children: Financial Support
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will set out their estimates of the annual cost of raising children compared with the amounts payable to parents in respect of child tax credit, child benefit and other child-contingent income support for:
in each case showing the result at the annual family income levels of £0, £10,000, £20,000, £30,000, £40,000 and £50,000. [HL871]
Financial support for children through child tax credit and child benefit is the same for single-parent and two-parent families. The levels of financial support for children depend on gross family income and in 2004–05 they will be:
| Income level | £0 | £10,000 | £20,000 | £30,000 | £40,000 | £50,000 |
| Onechild | £3,030 | £3,030 | £1,405 | £1,405 | £1,405 | £1,405 |
| Two children | £5,235 | £5,235 | £3,470 | £1,980 | £1,980 | £1,980 |
| Three children | £7,435 | £7,435 | £5,670 | £2,550 | £2,550 | £2,550 |
More support is available for families with a child aged under one or a disabled child and where working families pay for eligible childcare costs.
The Government do not estimate the costs of raising children because the differences in costs between families are too great to allow for a meaningful average.
Vat
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 11 December 2003 (
WA 82), whether they will clarify the scope of the exemption under the European Community Sixth VAT Directive for "certain services closely linked to sport or physical education supplied by non-profit-making organisations to persons taking part in sport or physical education". [HL902]
The provision quoted from Article 13(a)(l) of the Sixth VAT Directive [77/388/EEC] concerns services supplied by non-profit-making organisations to persons taking part in sport or physical recreations. The supply of services to such organisations, including construction services, is not eligible for exemption under Article 13(a)(1).This article is transposed into UK legislation in item 3 of group 10 of Schedule 9 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 as:
"the supply by an eligible body to an individual, except, where the body operates a membership scheme, an individual who is not a member, of services closely linked with and essential to sport or physical education in which the individual is taking part."
The term "eligible body" is defined in the legal notes to the group. Full guidance on the application of the exemption is given in Customs and Excise's Public Notice 701/45 which is available from its website at www.hmce.gov.uk.
Disability Sports
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Mclntosh of Haringey on 18 December 2003 (
WA 183), whether they will provide details of the breakdown of the £1.05 million grant between the seven disability organisations recognised by Sport England. [HL899]
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) receives the grant to cover the operating costs of the seven national disability sports organisations (NDSOs). The NDSOs make up the board of EFDS and make all budgetary decisions, including how the £1.05m Exchequer grant is spent.
Northern Ireland: Sport
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Mclntosh of Haringey on 15 December 2003 (
WA 111), and 18 December ( WA 182) whether they will clarify governmental responsibility for sport in Northern Ireland. [HL903]
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure is responsible for the central administration and promotion of sporting matters in Northern Ireland. Its role is to set the legal, financial and policy framework for the delivery of services by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland.The Sports Council for Northern Ireland is responsible for the development of sport in Northern Ireland, including the distribution of public funding to individual sports.The Sports Council's Exchequer funding in 2003–04 is approximately £8.9 million.The council is also the distributor of Northern Ireland's share of the National Lottery proceeds for sport, which is approximately £6.8 million.
Olympic Games 2012: London Bid
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in the event of the United Kingdom hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, they estimate that more than 10 per cent of the population of London will become paying spectators to various events. [HL907]
The Government have not estimated how many London residents will become paying spectators should London stage the Games in 2012.
asked Her Majesty's Government:What powers will be needed in order to impose an extra levy on Londoners to pay for the 2012 Olympic Games in the event of the United Kingdom hosting the event. [HL908]
No new powers would be needed in order to levy a council tax to raise London's contribution to staging the Games. The Greater London Act 1999 would allow the cost of the Mayor's contribution to be raised through the council tax precept.
asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they propose to take, if the 2012 Olympic Games are hosted by the United Kingdom, for local taxpayers in areas outside London where events might take place to have similar levies put on their local taxes as has been proposed for local taxpayers in London. [HL909]
The Government have no plans to increase council tax payments for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games in areas outside London. Almost all the events outside Greater London will take place in existing or already planned facilities at comparatively limited additional cost.
asked Her Majesty's Government:In the event of the United Kingdom hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, which events will take place in areas where it is not proposed to impose extra local taxes, as suggested for Londoners. [HL921]
Under the plans announced by London 2012 Ltd on 16 January, the canoeing, mountain cycling, rowing, sailing, shooting and preliminary football events will take place outside Greater London.
Azinphos-Methyl: Inveresk Study
asked Her Majesty's Government:When the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) approved the experiment conducted in 1998 at Inveresk Research, Scotland, and funded by Bayer Chemicals, in which 50 men were exposed to a dose of the pesticide Azinphos-methyl; (a) whether that approval took cognisance of the efforts of Bayer Chemicals to persuade the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reverse pesticide controls introduced to protect children; (b) what was the HSE's attitude to the EPA's policy of declining to accept human experimental data concerning pesticides; and (c) what discussion took place between the HSE and the EPA before the HSE approved Bayer Chemicals' research protocol; and [HL766]When the Health and Safety Executive approved the experiment conducted in 1998 at Inveresk Research, Scotland, in which 50 men were exposed to a dose of the pesticide Azinphos-methyl, whether it considered (a) that the identities and interests of the chairman and members of research ethics committees (REC) should be declared; and (b) that any of the following should be withheld from a bona fide inquirer: a copy of the research protocol; a copy of the information sheet issued to research subjects; correspondence between the applicant and the REC; and the report of the experiment to the REC. [HL792]
The HSE did not approve the study. There is no requirement or procedure for HSE approval of research projects of this nature.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they have reviewed the Inveresk study subsequent to the questions raised about it; and, if so, what were their conclusions. [HL793]
The HSE has not reviewed the study. But discussion and correspondence with the company at the time, prompted by parliamentary and ministerial inquiries, gave no reason to doubt that it was carried out in accordance with health and safety legislation and generally accepted ethical protocols.
Agricultural Exports
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will discuss the ending of subsidies for the agricultural exports of developed countries at the Davos inter-governmental meeting. [HL949]
The issue of export subsidies on agricultural products was. taken up at Davos in the context of wider discussions on the Doha development agenda. The Doha agreement commits all members of the World Trade Organisation to negotiations aimed at reducing agricultural subsidies and protection, with a view to phasing out of all forms of export subsidies. The issue of agriculture was considered central to getting those negotiations back on track.
Countryside Stewardship Scheme: Payments
asked Her Majesty's Government:Given the increase in grain prices, when they expect to increase payments to holders of countryside stewardship scheme agreements under the "income forgone" principle. [H1.968]
Payment rates are regularly reviewed to take account of changes in agreement holders' costs and any "income forgone". Payment rates for both countryside stewardship and the proposed higher level environmental stewardship scheme, which will replace it, will be reviewed in the light of the introduction in 2005 of the single farm payment as part of CAP reform.
Nhs: National Programme For Information Technology
asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in 2003 in implementing the National Programme for Information Technology in the National Health Service with particular reference to London; and whether any significant setbacks have arisen. [HL661]
The National Programme for Information Technology in the National Health Service (NPfIT) has met all its key milestones in the year 2003. Following the publication of a notice in the Official Journal of the European Community (OJEC) on 31 January 2003, a major procurement exercise has taken place. This has been primarily concerned with letting contracts for IT systems and services that will enable improvements to be made in patient choice, and in patient care and treatment.In 2003 the following contracts were awarded:
- to British Telecommunication (BT) to set up and run the national NHS Care Records Service (NHS CRS) worth a total of £620 million to run until 2013
- to Accenture as the local service provider in the north-east, worth a total of £1,099 million to run until 2013
- to BT as the local service provider for London, worth a total of £996 million to run until 2013
- to SchlumbergerSema to provide core services for the national electronic booking system valued at £64.5 million over five years
- to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) as the local service provider, worth a total of £973 million, for the north-west and West Midlands clusters to run until 2013
- to Accenture as the local service provider in the east, worth a total of £934 million to run until 2013.
The remaining local service provider contract for the southern cluster and the National NHS Network (N3) will be awarded in the near future.
The contracting process for the London cluster proceeded to schedule, and there have been no major setbacks.
NPfIT has put in place strong programme management arrangements, including the mitigation of risks, in line with the Office of Government Commerce's measures to ensure the successful delivery of major IT projects.
These include the appointment of an experienced Director General, the establishment of a design authority for NPfIT, the appointment of a programme management consultancy to strengthen programme controls, the appointment of chief information officers for each strategic health authority, the appointment of regional implementation directors for each of the five clusters and the appointment of a core team whose members are drawn from earlier successful major projects in the public and private sectors.
The design authority will develop and control the standards and specifications for applications and systems to ensure the interoperability, scalability and durability of systems newly deployed within the programme.
Nhs: Sexual Health Services
asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they are taking to encourage primary care trusts to improve services for sexual health and to reduce waiting times for accessing clinic services; and [HL846]
Whether the amount of funding for sexual health services at a local level will be adequate, when this amount is determined by primary care trusts which have competing claims for resources. [HL847]
The Government are supporting primary care trusts' (PCTs) provision of sexual health services through the National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV. We have invested £47.5 million to implement the strategy and committed a further £20 million for each of the next two years. In addition, we have this year allocated a further £26.4 million to improve genito-urinary medicine (GUM), contraception services and HIV prevention. Funding is being allocated to PCTs to pump-prime improvements to services, targeting those areas most in need. This money is in addition to the main NHS allocations which, under Shifting the Balance of Power, PCTs now have the flexibility to use in the way which best meets the needs of local populations.Each PCT now has a named sexual health lead who is responsible for taking forward the implementation of the sexual health strategy locally. To support PCTs in this role, the Department of Health has published toolkits of good practice for both commissioning sexual health services and undertaking sexual health promotion. Standards for the treatment of HIV have also been published, and further standards for sexual health are in preparation.A pilot survey of waiting times in GUM will take place this year, with a view to introducing an annual national survey which will provide data to support a GUM waiting times indicator. These performance management and support measures will help to ensure implementation of the strategy at local level and that the necessary investment is made to modernise services where improvements are most needed.
Mental Illness
asked Her Majesty's Government:How many people (and what proportion of the population, broken down into age groups) they estimate:
This information is not available in the form requested.There were 37,736 finished consultant episodes in National Health Service hospitals for 2002–03 where schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders were the primary diagnosis.The Office for National Statistics
(http:// www.statistics.gov.uk) collects information on a systematic basis about current correlates of mental illness, including age, gender, socio-economic status, physical health and other factors, and estimates mental illness prevalence rates.
Information is also available from independent research about the relationship between risk factors and the likelihood of an individual within the population developing a mental illness.
A12: Capel St Mary Link Road
asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress is being made with plans for the Old London Road link road at Capel St Mary, Suffolk. [HL912]
Draft compulsory purchase and side roads orders for the A12 Capel St Mary Pound Lane Link Road were published in July 2003. Three objections have been received and the Highways Agency is endeavouring to resolve these. Were a public inquiry to be necessary, future progress on the scheme would depend on the outcome of that inquiry.I have asked the Highways Agency to keep the noble Baroness informed of progress.
Road Schemes: Public Inquiries
asked Her Majesty's Government:What criteria are used by the Highways Agency in deciding whether to hold a public inquiry into a road scheme. [HL913]
A public inquiry may be held into draft orders under the Highways Act 1980 and Acquisition of Land Act 1981, to which objections have been submitted. If there is a statutory objection to these orders, then a public inquiry will be held. In other cases a public inquiry will be held where the weight or nature of the objection means that the issues can be properly explored only by a public hearing.If there are no draft orders but an environmental statement is published and representations have been received, the decision on whether an inquiry should be dispensed with in a particular case will be taken by the Government Office for the Region on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport and the First Secretary of State.
Congestion Charging
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 18 February 2003 (HL Deb. col. 1011) on congestion charging stating that the Government are committed to providing a uniform minimum standard of exemptions or concessions from local road user charges, what progress they have made in deciding on such a standard; and, in particular, what criteria they are using in establishing it. [HL953]
We plan to consult on local congestion charging guidance later this year. This will cover the scope for exemptions and concessions at both a national and local authority level, reflecting experience gained in London and Durham.