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Written Ministerial Statements

Monday 30 June 2003

DEFENCE

Typhoon

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon): I am delighted to announce that type acceptance of the Typhoon aircraft took place today. This is a significant milestone that triggers the process of accepting individual aircraft into service with the Royal Air Force and the air forces of our collaborative partners: Germany, Italy and Spain.

Delivery to the Royal Air Force, which also represents the achievement of the In-Service Date for this important programme, will signal the beginning of the introduction to service process. Following a very short period in which the safety limitations of initial flying will be confirmed, flying activities will begin with work-up training for BAE Systems instructors. Final confirmatory assessment by Royal Air Force test pilots will follow, after which operational test and evaluation and pilot conversion training will commence.

The Royal Air Force aircraft will be operated from BAE Systems' facility at Warton for an initial period of some 18 months. This will enable the operators to make best use of the facilities and technical expertise available there before the aircraft transfer to RAF Coningsby which will be the first operating base to be home to the Typhoon.

Type Acceptance is an important landmark in this complex programme that will lead to a capability to deploy on operations in the second half of this decade. The many people involved in industry and the Services, both here and overseas, can be justly proud of what they have so far achieved. The House can be assured of our continued commitment to ensuring that the Royal Air Force is equipped with a world class weapon system that will enable them to achieve air superiority well into the future.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Fire Service College

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Phil Hope): In May 2002 Alan Whitehead MP announced the creation of a Task Group to look into the future of the Fire Service College. The Group has now reported, and I have arranged for copies of its report to be placed in both Libraries of the House today.

The Task Group concluded that there was a need for a central Fire Service training facility to serve as a centre of intellectual leadership for the Fire Service. It should take forward work on vocational development through the Integrated Personal Development System, the civil

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contingency response arising from the events of September 11, and the modernisation agenda opened up by the Bain report. It recommended that a national workforce development/training strategy should be drawn up, which would define the role of the College in relation to other providers. It also recommended that there should be a long-term plan for improving the College's infrastructure and services.

I have accepted these and other recommendations of the report. I have agreed that the College should be given a £5 million grant to invest in its infrastructure this financial year, plus £2.5 million to invest in urban search and rescue facilities; and that it should actively examine ways of involving the private sector in its future development. This investment in the College should enable it to develop as a centre of excellence, and play a key role in the modernisation of the fire service.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Same-sex Couples

The Deputy Minister for Women and Equality (Jacqui Smith): The consultation paper "Civil Partnership: a framework for the legal recognition of same-sex couples" is being published today. It sets out proposals for the creation of a new legal status for those same-sex couples wishing to have their relationships recognised in law. Under the proposed scheme, registered partners would gain a comprehensive range of rights and responsibilities that would reflect the roles they play in each other's lives. The public is invited to comment on the Government's proposals by 30 September 2003.

Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Copies of the consultation paper are also available on the website of the Women and Equality Unit http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Maternity Services (Belfast)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Angela Smith): On 8 November last year my hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Mr. Browne), issued a consultation document seeking views on the location of a new centralised maternity hospital for Belfast. This was the second document to be issued as part of a two-year consultation process on this issue. The document incorporated proposals developed by the Belfast City Hospital and the Royal Group of Hospitals Trusts for the location of the new centralised maternity hospital on their respective sites.

The consultation period closed on 28 February. In total 121 responses were received, including six petitions. The responses came from a variety of organisations and individuals, including voluntary and community bodies, local councils, professional bodies, health and social care professionals, political parties and health and social services bodies.

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Having considered the outcome of the consultation process, on 5 June my predecessor made his decision on the location of the new centralised maternity hospital for Belfast. It is his decision which I am announcing today.

It is clear that there are genuinely and strongly held differences of opinion on the location of the new maternity hospital. However, it is equally clear that both Trusts are committed to developing and delivering the best and most sustainable maternity services for women, mothers and babies in the years to come. I look forward to working with both Trusts in moving forward and taking the necessary steps to provide a maternity hospital fit for the 21st century.

In developing their proposals for a centralised maternity hospital, both Trusts also specifically considered the potential benefits of centralising gynaecology services alongside the new maternity hospital. Having reviewed the proposals and the submissions during consultation, the former Minister accepted the conclusion that there are merits in centralising gynaecology services alongside maternity services and this is reflected in his decision.

In reaching his decision, he was mindful of the fact that the maternity hospital will provide care for some of the most critically ill mothers and babies in Northern Ireland. This is a decision that he did not take lightly and some considerable time was spent reflecting on the many issues, both clinical and non-clinical, raised during the consultation process.

In this regard, he carefully considered the proposals submitted by the two Trusts, and the supporting documentation developed by officials in light of the consultation process. This has included an analysis of responses to the consultation process, an equality impact assessment and a high level economic appraisal of the proposals, and the professional view from the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland. In the interests of openness and transparency in the decision-making process I have instructed my Department to place copies of these documents on the Departmental website from today.

In order to arrive at a decision which would allow for the most effective and sustainable service possible, careful and equal consideration was given to the needs of the women, mothers and babies who will use the service.

Having considered the evidence submitted and the outcome of the consultation process my predecessor concluded that neither site could be regarded as having an advantage with regard to the delivery of obstetrics or the care of high risk mothers.

However, he was persuaded that the proposal from the Royal Group of Hospitals, for a maternity Hospital with physical links to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, offered clinical advantages for the care of the

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sick neonate. In light of the evidence he therefore decided that while either site had the potential to deliver a safe and effective regional maternity service, the optimum solution was a new centralised maternity hospital on the Royal Hospitals site with physical links to both the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and the Royal Victoria Hospital.

With regard to gynaecology services, the proposal submitted by the Belfast City Hospital was substantially less costly than that submitted by the Royal Hospitals. However, the proposal from the Royal Hospitals offered a solution which fully met all the requirements of the health building note, whereas the Belfast City Hospital proposal did not meet the required standard for ward accommodation.

My predecessor, therefore concluded that the Royal Hospitals proposal for a new build centralised gynaecology unit was the optimum solution and decided that gynaecology services at the Royal and Belfast City Hospitals should be centralised on the Royal Hospitals site. However, in light of the responses to the consultation process and guided by the advice of officials, he decided that gynaecology cancer services should remain on the Belfast City Hospital site within the new Cancer Centre.

In announcing this decision, I wish to signal my determination to take the required steps to ensure that the new centralised maternity hospital should be available as soon as possible. I have, therefore, written to the Chair of the Royal Group of Hospitals asking him to proceed immediately with the preparation of the necessary business case for the new hospital.

I recognise that there will be disappointment among supporters of the Belfast City Hospital. However, within the context of the continuing redevelopment of both the Royal and Belfast City Hospitals, I can assure everyone that the Belfast City Hospital will continue to have a key role to play in the development and delivery of key regional services. Through the significant investment currently underway in the Regional Cancer Centre, and the recent decision to relocate key services such as haematology and dermatology, it will further establish itself at the heart of Northern Ireland's health care system as a provider of the highest quality local and regional hospital services.

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