Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
Her Majesty's Government how many people were killed by individuals who had previously been convicted of murder or manslaughter, in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The Home Office collects data on the number of people in England and Wales who are known to have been killed by persons who had been previously convicted of homicide. The information is given in the table; it is also published on the gov.uk website:
Table 1: Number of homicides in England and Wales known to have been committed by suspects who had been previously convicted of homicide1,2,3 , 2006/07 to 2015/16 |
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| 2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
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Number of homicide victims | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
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1. Source: Homicide Index, Home Office |
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2. Homicide Index data are designated as National Statistics |
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3. As at 14 November 2016; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. | |||||||||||
The figure excludes persons who have been killed by those who may have been convicted outside England and Wales (for whom there is incomplete information), and persons who have been killed by those not previously convicted of homicide by reason of their mental state.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the findings of Professor Tyler of Exeter University relating to transgender fish in rivers affected by residues of contraceptive pills, what action they intend to take to avoid health risks to humans.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The class of substances known as Endocrine disruptors (EDCs) which include oestrogens found in contraceptive pills are a hazard to some wildlife. While it is correct that EDCs are a recognised environmental issue, which continues to be researched with a view to the protection of wildlife, EDCs do not pose a threat to drinking water supplies as drinking water treatment facilities will remove oestrogens, if they were to occur in river water.
The Environment Agency is currently commissioning work to survey the incidence and severity of intersex in wild fish in a number of rivers that were surveyed 15 years ago, to assess how the situation may have changed.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for acts of terrorism in Northern Ireland were made (1) in each of the five years prior to the making of the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998, and (2) in each year from the making of that Agreement until the devolution of policing and criminal justice on 12 April 2010.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
Northern Ireland Office officials are currently undertaking a consolidation exercise to confirm the answer to these questions. I will write to my Noble Friend once this exercise has been completed.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many persons convicted of acts of Northern Ireland-related terrorism have been granted early release from prison since 10 April 1998.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
Northern Ireland Office officials are currently undertaking a consolidation exercise to confirm the answer to these questions. I will write to my Noble Friend once this exercise has been completed.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many letters of comfort were issued to on-the-runs (1) in the five years before 10 April 1998, and (2) between that date and 12 April 2010.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
It is assumed that by ‘letters of comfort’ my Noble Friend means those letters issued under the administrative scheme introduced by the previous Labour Government which were intended to inform individuals that, as at the date of the letter, the recipient was ‘not wanted’ for questioning or prosecution in Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK.
Prior to 10 April 1998, no such letters were issued. The first such letters were signed by Mr Jonathan Powell (the then Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff) and were sent to Sinn Féin on 15 June 2000. A total of 156 individual such letters were issued during the scheme, 144 were issued prior to 12 April 2010.
The following table provides more detail of all letters that were issued.
2000 | During the year: (a) 2 individuals received the above mentioned letters from Jonathan Powell, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff; (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2001 | During the year: (a) 16 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office; (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2002 | During the year: (a) 17 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office; (b) 19 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2003 | During the year: (a) 9 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office; (b) 23 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2004 | During the year: (a) 0 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office; (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2005 | During the year: (a) 4 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (1 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 17 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin for the first time that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland” (in the cases of 12 of those individuals it appears that Sinn Féin had already been notified of that fact at a meeting). A further 46 are similarly informed during the year and had been also advised as such at an earlier time by the Northern Ireland Office. |
2006 | During the year: (a) 8 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (2 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 5 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2007 | During the year: (a) 58 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (35 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2008 | During the year: (a) 6 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (2 of them were on the Irish Government List and 1 had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 1 individual informed in writing for the first time by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”; a further 7 individuals are similarly informed during the year and had also been advised as such at an earlier time by the Northern Ireland Office. |
2009 | During the year: (a) 21 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (2 of whom receive the same letter on two separate occasions, and 10 others of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 5 individuals informed by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2010 | During the year: (a) 11 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (4 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 5 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin for the first time that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. A further 29 individuals are similarly informed during the year and had also been advised as such at an earlier time by the Northern Ireland Office. In addition, 4 individuals are informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin for the first time that they were “wanted for return to prison in Northern Ireland” but were “eligible to apply to the Sentence Review Commissioners for early release”. 2 of those 4 individuals had previously been informed that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2011 | During the year: (a) 1 individual received an above mentioned letter from the Northern Ireland Office (the individual had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 1 individual informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
2012 | During the year: (a) 3 individuals received the above mentioned letters from the Northern Ireland Office (1 of whom had previously been informed that they were ‘wanted’); (b) 0 individuals informed in writing by the Northern Ireland Office via Sinn Féin that they “would face arrest and questioning if they returned to Northern Ireland”. |
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 27 March concerning the amnesty against prosecution for members of the IRA, whether the administrative scheme of comfort letters sent to on-the-runs has been terminated; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
In March 2014, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland first announced that the administrative scheme established by the former Labour Government into the so-called ‘on the runs’ was at an end. This was repeated in a statement to the House of Commons following publication of a detailed report into the scheme by Lady Justice Hallett in July 2014 (HC Deb 17 July 2014 Col 1040). It was further confirmed in a statement to the Commons on 9 September (HC Deb 9 September 2014, columns 779-789). In her report, Lady Justice Hallett concluded that “The administrative scheme did not amount to an amnesty for terrorists…Suspected terrorists were not handed a ‘get out of jail free’ card”. This Government has always been clear. In May 2010, had we at any time been presented with a scheme that we thought amounted to an amnesty, immunity or exemption from prosecution, we would have stopped it immediately. As far as those who received letters are concerned, the Government made very clear in the statement on 9 September 2014 that “Those who received individual or composite letters, or any other form of indication, stating that they were “not wanted” and who derived comfort from that should cease to derive any such comfort. In short, the recipients should cease to place any reliance on those letters” (Col 779). This Government believes in the application of the rule of law without fear or favour - where there is evidence sufficient to warrant prosecution people will be prosecuted.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Shaughnessy on 13 March (HL5692), in the context of NHS hospital sleeping accommodation, what is their definition of the opposite sex of (1) men, and (2) women.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
As set out in the guidance Eliminating mixed sex accommodation in hospitals, it is for each trust to determine how best to accommodate patients, taking into account national guidance on action to eliminate mixed sex accommodation, the relevant quality and safety standards, and patients’ own preferences. A copy of the guidance is attached.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of whether the differences in the legal constraints placed upon ownership and use of (1) shotguns, and (2) drones available to the public, are proportional to the risks posed to the public and property by each of those devices.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The shotgun licensing process is governed by the Firearms Act 1968. Under section 28 of the Firearms Act, the chief officer of police will only grant a shotgun certificate to individuals who, after investigation, are deemed not to pose a threat to public safety or to the peace.
Extensive checks are carried out on every applicant for a shotgun certificate, and are taken into account by the chief officer in their assessment of suitability. In respect of drones available to the public, it is vital that drones are operated safely and responsibly, and the use of drones for criminal purposes is something Government takes very seriously.
The Government is currently consulting on the future safe use of drones, including proposals such as registration and making drones electronically identifiable and strengthening penalties for breaking the law. The consultation can be found on gov.uk and closes on 15 March 2017.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 10 January (HL Deb, col 1856), what is their definition of a social enterprise.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Social enterprises are businesses with primarily social/environmental objectives, whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or community rather than mainly being paid to shareholders or owners. We are currently refreshing our own government estimates of the nature and size of the social enterprise market in the UK, and we will publish our research early in 2017.
Asked by: Lord Tebbit (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they are currently spending on measures to prevent (1) dementia, and (2) HIV and AIDS.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
We will invest more than £300 million on dementia research over the course of this Parliament. This includes research into causes, diagnosis, cures, care and prevention of dementia.
A key aspiration in the Challenge on Dementia 2020, published in February 2015, is to improve public awareness and understanding of the factors which can increase the risk of developing dementia and how people can reduce their risk by living more healthily.
Public Health England (PHE) has responsibility for the risk reduction element of the 2020 Challenge and has allocated around £62,000 in 2016-17 to support this ambition.
PHE has also allocated £2.5 million in 2016-17 for its Prevention and Sexual Health Promotion programme. These monies are dispersed on HIV prevention programmes, the HIV Prevention Innovation Fund, support for the national HIV self-sampling service, as well as the Sexual and Reproductive Information Service, and on monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
On 4 December 2016, NHS England announced an investment of up to £10 million over 3 years as part of a major extension to the national HIV prevention programme led by PHE. The aim is to support those most at risk of acquiring HIV through providing access to pre-exposure prophylaxis within a clinical trial. NHS England also funds access to post-exposure prophylaxis.