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Private Landlords Projects
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Yvette Cooper): The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is allocating £2 million to help tackle private rented sector problems in areas of low housing demand. Up to £180,000 per year for the next two years will be provided to each of five areas: Stoke-on-Trent, Hartlepool, Bolton, and groups of authorities in West Yorkshire and East Lancashire.
The money will help them to test how they can make best use of the full range of existing powers in their areas of special social need, and to gather good practice to support other local authorities with similar problems, pending the Housing Bill's proposed introduction of selective landlord licensing. The authorities in Gateshead and Salford will be working alongside this initiative.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is allocating funds from the £2 million for dissemination purposes, to ensure that lessons learned are spread to all authorities who wish to benefit.
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Prize Competitions
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell): In May 2002 the Department issued a consultation letter concerning the law on prize competitions and lotteries. This followed the report of the independent Gambling Review, chaired by Sir Alan Budd, which the Department published in July 2001.
The consultation document asked for replies by the end of August 2002. We received 70 responses, and have been considering them carefully.
The Government are clear that lotteries will continue to be the preserve of good causes only. There should be no commercial, for-profit lotteries. The law should provide for a clear and enforceable distinction between lotteries and prize competitions, and the Government intend that the overall Bill on gambling which they propose should achieve that.
The Bill will remove the restrictions on prize competitions in section 14 of the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976. Under the Bill, prize competitions will be distinguishable from lotteries in that they either require a degree of skill, or that they have a clear and open free entry route. Competitions based on forecasting will be regulated as betting.
Subject to any requirements arising from the European Regulation on Sales Promotions which is currently under discussion, the Bill will also provide for promotional prize draws.
The Bill will act against so-called chain gifting schemes such as Women Empowering Women.
We have made available a full statement of the conclusions which the Government have reached about these issues. We have sent this it to all respondents to our consultation exercise and deposited copies in the
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Libraries of both Houses. The statement is also available on the Department's website on www.culture.gov.uk.
TRANSPORT
Cycling Projects Fund
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Dr. Kim Howells): I have today announced grants totalling £2.285m to 155 bidders to the second round of the Department's Cycling Projects Fund. The fund was launched in 2002 as a two-year funding programme to support the growth of local provision for cycling.
The response from schools, NHS providers, cycling groups and both the voluntary and private sector has been excellent. I have therefore decided, as in Round One, to double the amount of grant originally available as part on the Government's ongoing commitment to encouraging cycling.
The fund was open to organisations, other than local traffic authorities, promoting any project that could be expected to achieve an increase in cycling. Typical examples included cycle parking, cycle routes, cycle training and workplace facilities for cyclists.
The winning schemes come from all over the country and my Department's funding will allow projects to the value of over £5m to progress. The schemes cover a wide variety of projects including cycle parking, safe routes to school, local and National Cycle Network routes, cycle training and promotional projects aimed at raising the profile of cycling. I am confident these projects will be as successful as those we funded in Round One and will help us achieve a significant increase in cycling at the local level.
My Department is encouraging local highway authorities to make funds available for similar projects.
I have placed in the Libraries of the House a copy of the Department's Press Notice published today providing a full list of the winning projects.
CABINET OFFICE
Draft Civil Contingencies Bill
The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Mr. Douglas Alexander): I am today publishing a draft Civil Contingencies Bill (Cmd 5843) which, with the accompanying non-legislative measures, will deliver a single framework for civil protection in the United Kingdom.
The Bill will codify existing best practice at the local level, ensuring consistency and enhancing performance and communication; it will deliver a new regional civil protection tier to enhance existing regional resilience; and it will modernise the legislative tools available to Government to deal with the most serious emergencies, providing greater flexibility, proportionality, deployability and robustness.
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A Parliamentary Joint Committee formed from members of both Houses will undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposals.
Copies of the draft Civil Contingencies Bill, Explanatory Notes, the Regulatory Impact Assessment and the consultation document Draft Civil Contingencies Bill are available in the Libraries of both Houses and can also be viewed on the UK Resilience website (www.ukresilience.info). Interested parties are invited to submit their comments and views on the content of the draft Bill.
I am also publishing an interim revision of Dealing with Disaster, which contains core guidance to emergency planners and local responders. This latest version takes account of changes in structures, practice and legislation, pending a further, comprehensive revision once the Civil Contingencies Bill is brought into force. This is also available in the Libraries of both Houses and can be viewed at www.ukresilience.info.
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Constitutional Reform
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (Mr. Christopher Leslie): The Government announced on 12 June a substantial package of constitutional reforms. That package includes the creation of a new Supreme Court to replace the existing Appellate Committee of the House of Lords and the establishment of a new Judicial Appointments Commission, on a statutory basis, to recommend candidates for appointment as judges.
These are issues of profound constitutional importance, and the Government will consult widely on how best to take each forward. We intend to publish on 14 July a consultation paper on a Judicial Appointments
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Commission and a new Supreme Court. The consultation period will run until November 2003, after which the Government will develop policy proposals, taking into account responses to consultation. At the conclusion of that process, legislation on these issues will be introduced at the earliest opportunity.
Lord Irvine of Lairg announced to the Lord Chancellor's Department Select Committee his intention to consult on the future of the rank of Queen's Counsel. We therefore intend to publish a consultation paper on this issue, also on 14 July, with consultation closing in November. We will announce the Government's next steps early in 2004.
A consultation paper on court working dress was published on 8 May, with responses sought by 14 August. The Government will be discussing the outcome of the consultation and how best to take the matter forward, with the senior judiciary.
TREASURY
Financial System (Major Operational Disruption)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Paul Boateng): I am announcing today our reply to the responses to the consultation document "The financial system and major operational disruption" (Cm 5751). I have asked Sir Andrew Large, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England (Financial Stability) to establish a Task Force to research and make recommendations on the issues arising from the consultation responses. The Task Force is charged to make final recommendations by the end of February 2004, with an interim report to be produced by early November 2003.
Copies of the summary of responses to the consultation exercise and the terms of reference of the Task Force have been placed in the Library of the House.