Lord Sheldon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of suicides of children in prisons.
Lord Sheldon: The actual task is down to the mothers. The mothers should really not take the children to prisons; that is the task.
Lord Sheldon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to reduce tobacco smuggling.
Lord Sheldon: My Lords, is it not essential to reduce the smuggling of tobacco? It affects any increase and clearly results in an artificial weakness.
Lord Sheldon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have committed suicide in prisons since January 2000.
Lord Sheldon: My Lords, by last week there had been 982 suicides since 2000, including 15 children under the age of 18. Staff in prisons try to reduce those deaths but suicides continue.
Lord Sheldon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to end the use of the death penalty worldwide.
Lord Sheldon: My Lords, we need to limit the death penalty, which is much used in China. It is more limited in other countries, and it still exists in parts of the United States. Generally, there has been a reduction in the death penalty, but further limitations must be pressed.
Lord Sheldon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their projection of the likely future of oil prices.
Lord Sheldon: I thank the Minister. Despite the cold winter, we may have a future of warm weather, which could reduce demand in Europe. Although there has been an expectation in 2013, the latest prediction anticipates a slowdown in the global economy if warm weather can actually reduce demand. There can be a reasonable summer.
Lord Sheldon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to build more homes in the south-east of England.
Lord Sheldon: I take notice of the points that the noble Baroness has put forward, but Britain has been building fewer homes in London. In 2011, 18,000 new homes were completed. More houses are needed and they have to be built to meet the requirements.
Lord Sheldon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce legislation to give local authorities control over the digging up of streets so as to minimise disruption to both residents and traffic.
Lord Sheldon: My Lords, I will answer the Question that has been put: except in an emergency, all programmes must be approved by the council before they are undertaken and the council must ensure that congestion on the roads is kept to a minimum.