---

 
1 Mar 2005 : Column 77WS
 

Written Ministerial Statements

Tuesday 1 March 2005

TREASURY

Civil Registration Reform

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Stephen Timms): The House will wish to be aware of developments in the Government's plans for modernising civil registration.

On 29 March 2004, my predecessor Ruth Kelly announced that a draft Regulatory Reform Order containing provisions relating to the registration of birth and deaths in England and Wales would be presented to Parliament during that session and that presentation of the proposals relating to marriage would be postponed until the present Session.

The Regulatory Reform (Registration of Births and Deaths) (England Wales) Order 2004 was presented to Parliament on 22 July 2004. The Commons Regulatory Reform Committee and the Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee published their reports towards the end of last year concluding that use of the order-making powers of the 2001 Act is inappropriate for modernisation of the registration service in respect of births and deaths. In the light of those reports, I am no longer planning to bring forward a draft Regulatory Reform Order to reform marriage law.

This Government remain committed to the modernisation of the registration service in England and Wales. This service, with its roots in the nineteenth century, touches everyone during their lives and it is important that it reflects the needs of society, families and individuals. Modernisation will provide more choice for the public in how they deal with the service, improved service delivery and easier public interaction with government on a wider range of services.

I am actively looking for ways of delivering the key elements of civil registration modernisation and will be working with stakeholders over the coming months to agree a way forward. I will seek parliamentary approval at appropriate times. In the meantime, new and more modern technology is planned to be introduced that will make it easier for members of the public to deal with the local registration service.

DEFENCE

Osnabruck Court Martial

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon): The conclusion of the recent court martial in Osnabruck, and the lifting of reporting restrictions on an earlier court martial about the same incident enables me to say more about the outcome of both trials,
 
1 Mar 2005 : Column 78WS
 
although I must take into account that both cases are still subject to the statutory process of review and potential appeal.

I was profoundly disturbed when I first saw the photographs. I do, however, share the Chief of the General Staff view that the incidents depicted do not reflect typical behaviour and standards of the British Army. We also agree that it is right to apologise on behalf of the Army to the victims and the people of Iraq.

On Friday the Chief of the General Staff issued a statement on this and future cases. He explained that this was the first in a possible five cases which might come to court where the allegation against members of the British Army is that they committed acts of deliberate abuse against Iraqis. These cases involve up to 22 soldiers.

The CGS announced on behalf of the British Army that he has asked a senior officer to assess what lessons we need to learn in light of this and the other cases that might come to court, and to make recommendations for action. We will publish the findings from this work when the Army is no longer constrained by the legal processes. I fully support this statement.

The Army sets high standards and demands that they are met. The recent courts-martial have demonstrated that those who fail to meet those standards are called to account. The vast majority of servicemen and women do, however, perform to the very highest standards. Their service in Iraq has been outstanding and we are right to be proud of this.

UN Operations (Reservists)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Ivor Caplin): I have today signed a new call-out order made under Section 56 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 so that reservists may continue to be called out to support UN operations in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The current order has expired and this new order takes effect from 1 March 2005. There are no plans to call out Reservists compulsorily under this order as it is expected that the small numbers needed will be met through voluntary mobilisation.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Bellwin Scheme (Torbay Council and Teignbridge District Council)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Phil Hope): Torbay Council and Teignbridge district council experienced exceptional storm and flood damage on 27 October 2004. Given these circumstances, I am satisfied that financial assistance under the Bellwin scheme is justified. Schemes will therefore be established under section 155 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Grant will be paid to the authorities to cover 85 per cent. of the eligible costs above a threshold, which they have incurred in dealing with the storm and flood damage.
 
1 Mar 2005 : Column 79WS
 

Monitoring Spatial Plans

Minister for Housing and Planning (Keith Hill): Today we have published a good practice guide to monitoring our new system of local plans or local development frameworks (LDFs) as they are now called. It sets out a step by step approach to monitoring and producing annual monitoring reports.

This new guidance will help local planning authorities check that their plans are delivering sustainable development and sustainable communities, and where not, trigger an appropriate response. Under the new planning system the ability to produce various local development documents, as opposed to one local plan document, allows authorities to respond quickly to new issues and changing priorities for sustainable development in their areas. Monitoring will play a critical part in identifying these.

To complement the recommended local output indicators in the LDF monitoring guide, we are also publishing today revised core indicators for regional planning. These update those in planning policy statement 11 and in an earlier guide to monitoring regional planning guidance. These are closely aligned with the core indicators for LDFs. They will help ensure a consistent and cost-effective approach to monitoring implementation of key national objectives and targets at the regional and local levels.

Copies of both of these documents will be available in the Libraries of both Houses and on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's planning website: http://www.planning.odpm.gov.uk

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr. Ben Bradshaw): I have today published the Government's new "Strategic Framework for the Sustainable Control of Bovine Tuberculosis in Great Britain". Through the Framework we aim to bring about a Sustainable improvement in control of bovine tuberculosis over the next ten years. Copies of the framework are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

State of UK Seas

The Minister for the Environment and Agri-environment (Mr. Elliot Morley): I have today published "Charting Progress—An Integrated Assessment of the State of UK Seas".

Charting Progress is the first holistic assessment of the state of UK seas, and a step towards an ecosystem approach to management. The Government set out a vision of clean, safe healthy, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas with the marine stewardship report "Safeguarding our Seas" published in 2002. Charting Progress brings together the national scientific monitoring data assembled by over 60 organisations, to assess how far we are from achieving that vision. It is a summary of the comprehensive sectoral and regional reports, which describe and evaluate what this data say about the current state of many components of the
 
1 Mar 2005 : Column 80WS
 
marine ecosystem and the main human impacts upon it. Charting Progress highlights where these states are acceptable, unacceptable and where there is room for improvement. The report also gives recommendations on how to improve our understanding of the marine environment.

This is a joint publication of the UK Government and the devolved Administrations. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. It will be available on the Department's website: www.defra.gov.uk and from the DEFRA publications office.

---