Lord Acton: My Lords, is my noble friend aware that in a Written Question on 4 May I advocated that educated prisoners should teach illiterate prisoners how to read? Is he further aware that my noble friend Lady Scotland gave a positive reply? She went on to say: "There are plans to support activity to train prisoners, prison officers and staff from other agencies to become adult learner...
Lord Acton: My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lady Gale on introducing this debate, the first one specifically on women prisoners that I can remember. I doubly congratulate her on receiving such an enthusiastic response from your Lordships that her Unstarred Question has, with a wave of the usual channels' magic wand, turned into a two-and-a-half hour debate. As all noble Lords have stressed, the...
Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 2 February (WA 77), whether the travelators at Heathrow Airport fell below the required standard during the first six months of 2004; if so, in how many months; and by how much they did not meet the required standard.
Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have set a time limit for replying to the reports of Joint Committees of the Houses of Parliament, as they have with the reports of Select Committees of each House.
Lord Acton: My Lords, is my noble friend aware that the commission was chaired by an eminent South African academic? In the hope that this is a favourable augury of South Africa's attitude, are the Government planning to hold talks about the executive summary, and ultimately about the report, with the South African Government?
Lord Acton: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the Chief Inspector of Prisons is doing an admirable job? Can she say whether there are any plans either to change or to merge her job?
Lord Acton: My Lords, has South Africa shown its hand recently on these matters, particularly in relation to land nationalisation and the matter raised by the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, about the UN being unable to assess the amount of food required for the next season?
Lord Acton: My Lords, will the proposed legislation affect the position of the Chief Inspector of Prisons and her inspectors?
Lord Acton: My Lords, last week in answer to my supplementary question on a Starred Question put by the noble Baroness, Lady Park, the Minister gave a figure of 2 million Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa. Today she has given a figure of the number of Zimbabweans seeking to enter Botswana. Does she have a figure for how many Zimbabwean refugees there are in Botswana and how many there are in Mozambique?
Lord Acton: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that this decision of ZANU-PF may lead to still greater numbers of Zimbabwean refugees striving to get into South Africa, Botswana, and Mozambique? What are the reactions of the South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique Governments to this development, and will she remain in touch with them?
Lord Acton: My Lords, unlike my noble friend Lady Rendell of Babergh, who I congratulate on this Question, I will give my case history. I have given up drinking, smoking, gambling, swearing, pudding and coffee. Smoking was infinitely the hardest. I started smoking at my colonial Rhodesian school when I was 12. The big boys smoked and the tough boys smoked. I was puny, and smoked hoping that I would be...
Lord Acton: My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the American law of privacy? Is he aware that my American law professor wife has written an altogether admirable book called Invasion of Privacy on the subject? Over the years, in the interests of education and inter-party harmony in exchanges in your Lordships' House, I have had to ask her to send copies to the noble Earl, Lord Ferrers, and even the then...
Lord Acton: My Lords, my noble friend said that, when the figures are available, he expects them to show a small increase in the number of library visits in 2002–03. What does that compare to? What was the number of library visits in 2001–02?
Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 25 March (WA 109–10), whether they will ensure that prison governors are aware of the advantages to prisoners of a system of educated prisoners teaching illiterate prisoners to read, as promoted by the Shannon Trust and other organisations.
Lord Acton: My Lords, is my noble friend aware that the noble Lord, Lord Williamson, is to be the new Convenor of the Cross Benches? A lot of people sitting around me do not know that.
Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government: In the light of the report in the Observer of 14 March that all women prisoners in Winchester and St Edmunds Hill prisons are to be moved into other prisons and replaced by men prisoners, what steps are they taking to reduce the number of women prisoners.
Lord Acton: My Lords, recent reports have it that Mr Mugabe plans to announce his retirement date at the ZANU-PF congress in December. I doubt it. Mr Mugabe has spent most of his life seeking and exercising power; such people do not retire easily. Another reason for my doubts is that in 1983–84 Mr Mugabe sent the 5th Brigade into Matabeleland. Its members massacred between 6,000 and 20,000 Ndebele and...
Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the statement by the Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 23 February regarding benefits of mentoring at the Shannon Trust (HL Deb, col. 3), whether they intend to foster such mentoring throughout the prison service.
Lord Acton: asked Her Majesty's Government: Further to the answer by the Lord Warner on 10 March (HL Deb, col. 1233) on the National Health Service smoking cessation services, how many women who used the services in 2002–03 failed to give up smoking.
Lord Acton: My Lords, in the Carter report, the section dealing with the regional offender managers states: "The inspection regime would need to be aligned to this new structure". What are the implications of those words for prison and probation inspectors?
