House of Commons Hansard Written Ministerial Statements for 29 Apr 2004 (pt 2)

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Annual Report

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Tessa Jowell): I am today arranging for my Department's annual report (Cm 6220) to be laid before Parliament in advance of publication on 30 April.

Copies will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses and the text made available on the Department's website at http://www.culture.gov.uk.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Immigration Rules

The Minister for Citizenship and Immigration (Mr. Desmond Browne): I have today laid before the House a statement of changes to the immigration rules. From 1 May 2004, as a result of the accession of 10 new states to the European Union, nationals of those EU accession states will not require immigration leave to enter or stay in the UK. Consequently it is necessary to remove all references to the individual EU accession states in the immigration rules with effect from the date of accession.

We have also decided to amend the European economic area (EEA) national settlement requirements to enable those currently in immigration categories leading to settlement to aggregate time spent here under the immigration rules with that as an EEA national in the UK when making an application to settle. This ensures that new EU nationals will not have to spend a

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longer time in the UK to qualify for settlement than they would if accession had not occurred. This mirrors the practice followed in previous accessions.

Zahid Mubarek

The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett): I am today announcing that, in line with the House of Lords judgment on 16 October 2003, I have established a public inquiry into the murder of Zahid Mubarek at Feltham Young Offender Institution in March 2000. The hon. Mr. Justice Keith will chair the inquiry; he will be assisted by three expert advisers who will provide advice and support to the inquiry on matters relating to race, prison operations and issues affecting prisoners. The inquiry will start immediately with the following terms of reference:

"In the light of the House of Lords judgment in the case of Regina v. Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Amin, to investigate and report to the Home Secretary on the death of Zahid Mubarek, and the events leading up to the attack on him, and make recommendations about the prevention of such attacks in the future, taking into account the investigations that have already taken place—in particular, those by the Prison Service and the Commission for Racial Equality."

A report of the inquiry, subject to matters of confidentiality, will be published.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Iran

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Bill Rammell): The Government have issued an open licence for the export to Iran of goods that will be listed in the United Kingdom strategic export controls annual report as "Components for Military Aero Engines". The goods will be used by the oil and gas industry overhaul turbines that power pumps for oil and gas pipelines. The goods are military listed because they were originally designed and used for military aircraft engines. In this instance, the Government are satisfied that there is a minimal risk of diversion to a military end use, and are prepared to make an exception to the UK national arms embargo. Other aspects of the application were considered against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria.

TRANSPORT

Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. David Jamieson): I am pleased to announce the Secretary of State's targets for 2004–05 in respect of the Driver, Vehicle And Operator Group.

The Secretary of State for Transport has set a range of high-level targets for the 2004–05 year on behalf of the Agencies within the Driver, Vehicle and Operator Group; the Driving Standards Agency, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Vehicle Certification Agency and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. They are included in the Agencies' Business Plans. The plans also include a range of management targets, performance indicators and key tasks which are

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appropriate to the Agencies' businesses and which reflect the wider DVO change agenda. Copies of the Business Plans will be placed in the Library shortly.

The key targets for the Driving Standards Agency are:

DVO Corporate Objective Secretary of State Target

Deliver core services effectively Deliver 6 week national average car practical test waiting time from January 2005. Maintain or improve levels of candidate satisfaction against the baseline of 90 per cent.

E-enable core customer-facing services Introduce Advanced Speech Recognition for customers booking by telephone in August 2004.

Deliver a One Stop Service Use Automatic Driving Licence Issue system to send pass results to DVLA to enable drivers to receive automatically updated licences from June 2004.

Help improve road safety Deliver a national programme of 6,000 Arrive Alive presentations to 16–19 year olds. Deliver an interactive DVD to support learners to learn to drive safely by the end of March 2005. Improve the quality of trainers by effectively implementing the Approved Driving Instructors assessment programme.

Deliver more efficient services Deliver Return on Capital Employed target of 3.5 per cent. over a five year period after offsetting the surplus in respect of 2003–04 and earlier years.

DVO Corporate Objective	Secretary of State Target
Deliver core services effectively	Deliver 6 week national average car practical test waiting time from January 2005. Maintain or improve levels of candidate satisfaction against the baseline of 90 per cent.
E-enable core customer-facing services	Introduce Advanced Speech Recognition for customers booking by telephone in August 2004.
Deliver a One Stop Service	Use Automatic Driving Licence Issue system to send pass results to DVLA to enable drivers to receive automatically updated licences from June 2004.
Help improve road safety	Deliver a national programme of 6,000 Arrive Alive presentations to 16–19 year olds. Deliver an interactive DVD to support learners to learn to drive safely by the end of March 2005. Improve the quality of trainers by effectively implementing the Approved Driving Instructors assessment programme.
Deliver more efficient services	Deliver Return on Capital Employed target of 3.5 per cent. over a five year period after offsetting the surplus in respect of 2003–04 and earlier years.

The key targets for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are:

DVO Corporate Objective Secretary of State Target

Deliver core services effectively Maintain or improve levels of customer satisfaction to 94 per cent. (2003 baseline 92 per cent.) Issue 98 per cent. of first driving licences within 8 working days Make 95 per cent. of vehicle registration (V5) changes within 12 working days. Maintain records that enable vehicle keepers to be successfully traced—target 75 per cent. of Harmonised Registration Certificates to be issued by March 2005.

E-enable core customer-facing services Completion of Post Office barcoding (BART Phase 3) by August 2004 to enable automatic immediate update of DVLA licensing records. Commence national roll out of Electronic Vehicle Licensing phase 2 by March 2005.

Deliver a One Stop Service First driver to receive replacement licence after passing their driving test, using the Automatic Driving Licensing Issue system by June 2004.

Improve data accuracy First full Harmonised Registration Certificate issued on 1 July 2004.

Help reduce driver and vehicle related crime and anti-social behaviour Reduce revenue loss arising from Vehicle Excise Duty evasion from 4.5 per cent. to 4 per cent. by end of March 2005. Successfully reduce the vehicle "inactive register" arising from Continuous Registration by 10 per cent. by end of March 2005.

Deliver more efficient services Deliver Return on Capital Employed target of 3.5 per cent. Deliver 2.5 per cent. efficiency gain.

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DVO Corporate Objective	Secretary of State Target
Deliver core services effectively	Maintain or improve levels of customer satisfaction to 94 per cent. (2003 baseline 92 per cent.) Issue 98 per cent. of first driving licences within 8 working days Make 95 per cent. of vehicle registration (V5) changes within 12 working days. Maintain records that enable vehicle keepers to be successfully traced—target 75 per cent. of Harmonised Registration Certificates to be issued by March 2005.
E-enable core customer-facing services	Completion of Post Office barcoding (BART Phase 3) by August 2004 to enable automatic immediate update of DVLA licensing records. Commence national roll out of Electronic Vehicle Licensing phase 2 by March 2005.
Deliver a One Stop Service	First driver to receive replacement licence after passing their driving test, using the Automatic Driving Licensing Issue system by June 2004.
Improve data accuracy	First full Harmonised Registration Certificate issued on 1 July 2004.
Help reduce driver and vehicle related crime and anti-social behaviour	Reduce revenue loss arising from Vehicle Excise Duty evasion from 4.5 per cent. to 4 per cent. by end of March 2005. Successfully reduce the vehicle "inactive register" arising from Continuous Registration by 10 per cent. by end of March 2005.
Deliver more efficient services	Deliver Return on Capital Employed target of 3.5 per cent. Deliver 2.5 per cent. efficiency gain.

The key targets for the Vehicle Certification Agency are:

DVO Corporate Objective Secretary of State Target

Deliver core services effectively Have at least 98 per cent. of approved certificates issued error-free.

Help improve road safety Have plans in place and on track to implement new approval procedures for buses by 2007 (working with VOSA).

Deliver more efficient services Achieve at least break even for 2004–05. Complete the roll out of the integrated expense management system across the Agency and provide data to support better business development for 2005–06 Business Plan.

DVO Corporate Objective	Secretary of State Target
Deliver core services effectively	Have at least 98 per cent. of approved certificates issued error-free.
Help improve road safety	Have plans in place and on track to implement new approval procedures for buses by 2007 (working with VOSA).
Deliver more efficient services	Achieve at least break even for 2004–05. Complete the roll out of the integrated expense management system across the Agency and provide data to support better business development for 2005–06 Business Plan.

The key targets for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency are:

DVO Corporate Objective Secretary of State Target

Deliver core services effectively Improve licence application turnaround times by determining 85 per cent. of unopposed applications within 10 weeks from date of receipt of the application. Improve HGV and PSV test availability by offering a test appointment on or within 18 days of the requested date 95 per cent. of the time Maintain or improve levels of customer satisfaction against 2003 baselines (operators licensing 78 per cent., testing 73 per cent.; fitters and presenters—roadside checks 89 per cent., testing 92 per cent.; and MOT customers 93 per cent.)

E-enable core customer-facing services Have a robust MOT computerisation system being rolled out nationally by March 2005.

Deliver a One Stop Service Develop a commercial customer portal delivering access to operator self-service by May 2004, an e-payment facility by 31 March 2005 and development of self service test bookings for implementation by April 2006.

Help improve road safety Contribute to the improved compliance of the lorry, bus and coach industries (operators and drivers) through effectively targeted compliance inspections, penalties and advice; as measured by Performance Gain points (2003 baseline of 8,295,459).

Deliver more efficient services Contribute to the DVO Group 5 per cent. Value for Money target by delivering against an agreed VOSA Value for Money plan, achieving 2.5 per cent. efficiency and 2.5 per cent. effectiveness measures.

Develop joined-up support services Agree design templates for our estate modernisation programme and have completed 30 per cent. of phase one by 31 March 2005.

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DVO Corporate Objective	Secretary of State Target
Deliver core services effectively	Improve licence application turnaround times by determining 85 per cent. of unopposed applications within 10 weeks from date of receipt of the application. Improve HGV and PSV test availability by offering a test appointment on or within 18 days of the requested date 95 per cent. of the time Maintain or improve levels of customer satisfaction against 2003 baselines (operators licensing 78 per cent., testing 73 per cent.; fitters and presenters—roadside checks 89 per cent., testing 92 per cent.; and MOT customers 93 per cent.)
E-enable core customer-facing services	Have a robust MOT computerisation system being rolled out nationally by March 2005.
Deliver a One Stop Service	Develop a commercial customer portal delivering access to operator self-service by May 2004, an e-payment facility by 31 March 2005 and development of self service test bookings for implementation by April 2006.
Help improve road safety	Contribute to the improved compliance of the lorry, bus and coach industries (operators and drivers) through effectively targeted compliance inspections, penalties and advice; as measured by Performance Gain points (2003 baseline of 8,295,459).
Deliver more efficient services	Contribute to the DVO Group 5 per cent. Value for Money target by delivering against an agreed VOSA Value for Money plan, achieving 2.5 per cent. efficiency and 2.5 per cent. effectiveness measures.
Develop joined-up support services	Agree design templates for our estate modernisation programme and have completed 30 per cent. of phase one by 31 March 2005.

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