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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 8 July 1997
PRIME MINISTER
Committee on Standards in Public Life
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to receive the Third Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life; and if he will make a statement. [7541]
The Prime Minister: The Third Report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, under the Chairmanship of Lord Nolan, is being published today as Command Paper 3702. I am arranging for copies to be placed in the Vote Office and the Library of the House.
We are committed to ensuring the highest standards in public life in this country. I am grateful to Lord Nolan and his colleagues for the significant contribution that they continue to make towards improving the standards of conduct throughout the public sector. Their Third Report covers local government in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Committee received wide-ranging written submissions and heard extensive oral evidence in open proceedings. It has concluded that there are:
I welcome the Committee's careful examination and analysis of conduct--both of councillors and of officers--in local authorities. Their confirmation of the strengths of local government in Great Britain is reassuring, and demonstrates that there is a firm foundation on which we can build. We entirely accept the Committee's conclusion that now is the time to make a new start on the ethical framework for local government.
Accordingly, we shall now be consulting widely on the Committee's specific recommendations, including with the Local Government Association, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Welsh Local Government Association, the Audit Commission of England and Wales, and the Scottish Accounts Commission. In parallel with this consultation the Nolan Committee will be consulting on a proposal for a new statutory offence of
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misuse of public office, which would apply across the public sector, including local government. Copies of the Committee's consultation paper are available with the Report.
Our intention is to work in partnership with local government to establish a framework for local authorities guaranteeing the highest standards of conduct. Such a framework will be central to achieving our manifesto aim of more independent but accountable local government.
Mrs. Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to work towards a uniform electoral system for the 1999 elections to the European Parliament. [5735]
Mr. George Howarth:
The Government remain committed to the introduction of a proportional voting system for elections to the European Parliament but no decision has yet been taken on the timing of a change.
Sir Robert Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the police widows pension regulations. [5777]
Mr. Michael:
We will be giving early consideration to taking forward the recent review by the Home Department and the Treasury of the police pension scheme in general, including the question of a consultation exercise, but we have no present plans to extend the scope of the police widows pension.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in the Metropolitan Police are currently awaiting a placement with a police station and assigned no other specific duties; and what is the estimated cost of these police officers in salary or costs. [6450]
Mr. Michael:
The Commissioner informs me that there are no officers within the Metropolitan Police District currently awaiting a placement with a police station and assigned no other specific duties.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has made of the cost of providing the necessary retraining arising from his Career Management policy. [6451]
Mr. Michael:
The Commissioner informs me that there will be no increase in the Metropolitan Police's training budget as a result of the introduction of the new tenure policy. Any additional demands for training will not be significant and will be met from within existing budgets.
Mr. Pickthall:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the cost of policing the British Field Sports Rally in Hyde Park on 10 July. [7125]
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Mr. Michael:
The Commissioner informs me that the estimated staffing cost to the Metropolitan Police for policing the British Sports Rally in Hyde Park on 10 July is £119,374, on the basis of a complete eight hour tour of duty for all staff. The figure covers the cost of the normal duties the officers would have otherwise undertaken. No figure is available for the costs of support services, such as catering and transport. The extent to which officers are deployed to police a public order event is an operational decision for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the date and title of the oldest document or archival unit retained by his Department which has not been passed on to the Public Record Office for release for public inspection. [7203]
Mr. Straw:
The oldest documents retained in the Home Office under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958 date from 1876. They are concerned with matters relating to national security. It had earlier been decided that it would not be in the public interest to disclose their nature. Now that the matter has been drawn to my attention by the hon. Member's question, I have asked that this decision be reviewed, given the antiquity of the files in question.
Mr. David Atkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's timetable for dealing with the Year 2000 Computer Problem; who is in charge of the project; how many staff are working on it; what is the projected cost of resolving the problem; and whether the project is on schedule. [7142]
Mr. Straw:
The Year 2000 computer problem will impact directly on the business of the Department. For this reason, the Director of each business area in the Home Office has appointed a Year 2000 manager who is responsible for ensuring that computer systems within their area are Year 2000-compliant. Initial inventory and audits were completed by December 1996 and costed plans for resolving the problem are to be produced by each business area by October 1997. The aim is for all system changes to have been implemented and tested by December 1998, and for the cost of preventive and remedial action to be met from within existing provision. At present, the project is on schedule to meet these dates.
The Corporate Resources Director is chairing a Year 2000 Steering Committee, the terms of reference for which include the monitoring of action taken across the Department to ensure that the timetable is met and the sharing of information to ensure that business areas benefit from experience elsewhere and that they co-operate where appropriate. My Department is represented on the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency's (CCTA) Year 2000 Public Sector Group and is using the guidance issued by CCTA "Tackling the Year 2000".
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Mr. Alan Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what monitoring takes place of the quality of surgery carried out in general practitioners' surgeries in Wales; how this compares with the monitoring of similar surgical work in hospitals; and if he will make a statement. [5321]
Mr. Win Griffiths:
Since 1 April 1996, GPs providing secondary care services in a primary care setting are required to obtain Health Authority approval to ensure the safe and effective provision of such services. Health Authorities must also satisfy themselves of a GPs competence to undertake and continue to undertake minor surgical procedures, as part of their normal general medical services commitments. Authorities must ensure the strict criteria for admission to their minor surgery list is met prior to agreeing to pay for these services, as with any other provider for whom it has a contract to purchase services.
The Committee is, therefore, proposing that in the new climate of improved relations between central and local government, a new start should now be made on building an ethical framework for local government. This would take the best of what already exists, but place responsibility with local government itself. In this context the Committee has unanimously made some forty detailed recommendations. These, if implemented, would result in a radical restructuring of the ethical framework in which local authorities--their members and officers--operate.
"an enormous number of dedicated and hard working people"
in local government. It has, however, identified that there is a lack of clarity about rules or expectation of proper behaviour, which it believes is because the responsibility for the maintenance of standards has moved away from local government.
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