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HEALTH
Medical Careers
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Hutton): My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health is today announcing proposals for a new framework of measures to improve rewards for national health service consultants and modernise medical careers in England. Copies of the proposed new framework have been placed in the vote office.
The new framework involves using the extra resources that the Department had previously set aside for implementation of a new consultants' contract (rising to some £250 million by 2005–06) to achieve the continued objective of giving greater rewards to consultants who do most for NHS patients and reforming the way the NHS delivers patient care.
To ensure that this extra investment delivers improvements in NHS consultant capacity, productivity and value for money—and helps reform ways of working—there will be a national framework within which local health services will have a choice of investing in local implementation of the contract negotiated with the British Medical Association in June 2002, where there is a high level of local consultant support; investing in new annual incentives for consultants who make the biggest contribution to improving patient care; and investing extra resources in the new system of clinical excellence awards that is due to be introduced from April 2004.
Within this framework, NHS trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities will be asked to deploy the available resources in ways that most effectively support local priorities for improving the efficiency, quality and responsiveness of patient care.
The new framework will be accompanied by new standards for consultant job planning to help provide more varied and flexible medical careers and a more productive, collaborative approach to planning and reviewing consultant's work for the NHS. There will also be new standards governing the relationship between private practice and NHS work to improve transparency and prevent any potential conflicts of interest. Consultants will need to meet these standards to be eligible for the new incentive payments and to demonstrate that they are meeting the standards expected under the new clinical excellence award scheme.
In line with the objective of supporting medical careers, the Department will be introducing on a phased basis a new system of sabbaticals for consultants. Initially, by 2005–06, funding will be made available to enable around 800 consultants each year to have sabbaticals of around two to three months, with coverage extending as workforce capacity expands.
The Department will also be working closely with the medical royal colleges to modernise medical training, recruitment and career structures. Reforming medical careers in this way will help deliver in a more effective way the treatment patients need most and enable doctors to develop their skills to the full.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Terrorism Act 2000
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett): I am pleased to say that Lord Carlile of Berriew QC has completed the report on the operation of part VII of The Terrorism Act 2000, which will be laid before the House today.
Detention Powers
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett): I have today laid before Parliament a draft Order to continue the powers of detention in the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 for a further 12 months. It will be debated, by both Houses of Parliament, early in March.
Where terrorism is concerned, our paramount responsibility is to ensure public safety and national security. So long as the present public emergency subsists, where a person is suspected of terrorism of the sort which led to 11 September 2001 and is considered to be a threat to national security but cannot currently be removed—and for whom a criminal prosecution is not an option—we believe that it is necessary and proportionate to provide for extended detention, pending removal. The person would be free to leave the UK if he wished to do so.
The Court of Appeal unanimously upheld our position on the need for these detention powers, last October. The Court agreed that the detention powers are not discriminatory and comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. The draft Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (Continuance in force of sections 21–23) Order 2003 provides for the continuation of the immigration powers under Part IV of the 2001 Act to certify, and to detain pending removal, suspected international terrorists, subject to safeguards. The continuation is from 14 March 2003 until 13 March 2004.
Of the 15 foreign nationals who have so far been detained using the powers under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act, two have voluntarily left the United Kingdom. The other 13 remain in detention.
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My decisions to certify and detain these individuals were made on the basis of detailed and compelling evidence. That evidence will be examined by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission when the individuals' appeals are held, as provided for under the Act. The Commission is equivalent to the High Court. It has the power to overturn the certificates which I have issued in respect of those detained.
The detention powers in Part IV of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act are a cornerstone of the UK's anti-terrorism measures. It is essential that we are able to take firm, swift action against those who threaten the safety of this country.
DEFENCE
Anti-Tank Guided Weapon
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): The Ministry of Defence has selected the JAVELIN weapon system, produced by a joint venture of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, as the preferred solution to the requirement for a new Light Forces' Anti-Tank Guided Weapon (LF ATGW). This follows a rigorous and comprehensive assessment phase, which included comparative live-firing trials between JAVELIN and the SPIKE system (offered by Rafael and MBDA). Taking all of these factors into account, JAVELIN provides the best overall solution to our LF ATGW requirement in terms of risk, affordabilty, operational effectiveness and value for money.
JAVELIN, which is already in service with the United States Army, will provide the British Army with a significantly improved capability when it replaces the existing MILAN system. The weapon system is highly manoeuvrable, man-portable and is capable of destroying the most advanced tanks and armoured vehicles at ranges up to 2.5 km.
The contract, subject to satisfactory conclusion of negotiations, will be placed shortly. It will be worth over £300 million and is expected to create or sustain over 300 jobs across the United Kingdom in a diverse range of manufacturing companies.