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Written Ministerial Statements
Thursday 1 July 2004
HOME DEPARTMENT
Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Caroline Flint): I am pleased to inform the House that the review of section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 has now been completed. Section 24, the so-called confidentiality clause, prohibits the disclosure by Home Office Ministers and officials of confidential information relating to the use of animals in scientific procedures other than in the discharge of their functions under the 1986 Act. It creates a criminal offence and provides a maximum punishment of two years imprisonment and a fine for unauthorised disclosure of information. The Government undertook to review section 24 in the context of our commitment to freedom of information.
The conflicting views expressed about section 24 in the course of the review have shown it to be a complex and contentious issue that does not lend itself to a decision that will satisfy all those with an interest. The House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures, as well as animal protection and anti-vivisection groups, have called for the repeal of section 24. Those representing the views of many in the scientific community, while supporting other means of progressing openness and transparency about the use of animals in scientific research, have expressed significant concern about the potential impact of repealing section 24 and have urged strongly that it be retained.
In the circumstances, we have concluded that section 24 should be retained for the time being. We do not, however, rule out the future repeal of section 24 and, therefore, propose to review the matter again in two years' time.
In the meantime, we are pressing ahead with plans to increase openness about the use of animals in scientific procedures by publishing anonymised information about projects licensed under the 1986 Act as part of the Home Office publication scheme under the Freedom of Information Act. This can be done without repealing section 24 and is being taken forward as part of consultation with the scientific community about the revision and streamlining of the project licence application process. This consultation is now well advanced and new processes and training arrangements will be piloted over the summer 2004 with a view to publishing the first licence information under these arrangements in the autumn 2004.
In addition, we have concluded that there would be value in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate publishing an annual report on its work. The Inspectorate's first annual report will be published in the autumn of 2004.
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DEFENCE
Defence Aviation Repair Agency
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): The chief executive of DARA has been set the following key targets for financial year 2004–05.
| Key Target | Details | Target |
|---|---|---|
| KT1–Quality | The measurement of attributable major customer concerns received from DARA's customers. | Achieve less than 15 attributable major customer concerns annually, on average FY2004–05—FY2006–07. |
| KT2–Business Performance and Efficiency | The measurement of DARA's return on capital employed (RoCE). | Achieve an annual return on capital employed of at least3.5 per cent. |
| KT3–Business Sustainability | The measurement of DARA's order book cover. | Achieve a closing order book of at least £200 million at the end of FY2004–05, which includes at least £100 million to be deliverable in the following year. |
| KT4–Wider Markets | The measurement of DARA's progress towards wider markets penetration. | Present a business case to the Ministerial Advisory Board (MAB) for DARA's potential in the civil aerospace market, by end July 2004. Then, by the end of FY2004–05, to present a long-term business plan for significant growth in the proportion of revenue from non-MOD customers. |
| KT5–Cost Reduction | The measurement of DARA's reduction in costs. | To reduce total DARA costs by at least 5 per cent. in real terms by the end of 2004–05. |
Defence Communications Services Agency
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): Key targets have been set for the chief executive of the DCSA for financial year 2004–05 as follows:
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The Naval Recruiting and Training Agency
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): Subsequent to a proposal by the agency's owner, the Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, I have today set the 2004–05 key targets for the Naval Recruiting and Training Agency, as follows:
To deliver RN personnel to the trained strength (or to other training organisations), to the required quality standard, within 5 per cent. variance from the tasked requirement.
To deliver RN recruits to within 2 per cent. variance from the tasked requirement.
To maintain success rates of 95 per cent. in career training (including targeted employment modules) and 97 per cent. in examined pre-joining training.
To maintain the trained strength of the Royal Naval Reserve at 2120, pending review of the trained strength requirement.
To reduce the cost of the NRTA HQ overhead, compared with the 2003–04 baseline figure.
To achieve net benefits of £15.3 million in financial year 2004–05 from the partnering arrangement with Flagship Training Limited.
To maintain performance in phase 2 and phase 3 training delivered to Army and Royal Air Force personnel, following establishment of the Defence College of Electro-Mechanical Engineering.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Council of the European Union
The Minister for Europe (Mr. Denis MacShane): The forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union is as follows:
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