Written Ministerial Statements
Wednesday 10 January 2007
Cabinet Office
Transformational Government Annual Report 2006
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Pat McFadden): Following the publication in November 2005 of “Transformational Government - enabled by technology” Cm6683 and the publication in March 2006 of the Transformational Government Implementation Plan, I am today giving notice of the publication of the Transformational Government annual report 2006.
Transformational Government set out a vision for 21st century government, enabled by technology. The first annual report provides an overview of progress against the Transformational Government Implementation Plan and highlights evidence of transformational change already apparent across the public sector. The report also includes IT expenditure in 2005-06 of those parts of the public sector represented on the Chief Information Officers Council. Detailed progress reports against each of the 13 strands of the Implementation Plan will be published on the Chief Information Officers Council website to coincide with the publication of the annual report.
Copies of the annual report will be placed in the Library for the reference of Members and will be available in the Vote Office.
Copies are also available on the Chief Information Officers Council website www.cio.gov.uk
Prime Minister
National Security (Northern Ireland)
The Prime Minister (Mr. Tony Blair): There has been some concern over the arrangements set out in Annexe E which was published along with the St. Andrews Agreement. The Government are therefore issuing a new statement in relation to national security.
This will help bring Northern Ireland into line with a European approach which would provide a consistent and co-ordinated response to the threat from international terrorism which concerns us all. The threat presented by international terrorism to citizens was graphically illustrated by the train bombings in Madrid and the 2005 attacks in London. The loss of life was horrific and completely unacceptable. The handling of national security intelligence throughout the European Union including Northern Ireland is designed to provide a consistent and co-ordinated response to the grave threat posed by international terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Security Service will be completely distinct and entirely separate bodies. All necessary interaction between the Security Service and the PSNI, for example in response to the threat of international terrorism, will, as directed by the Chief Constable, be by way of liaison. No police officers will be seconded to or under the control of the Security Service. The small number of police officers who act in a liaison capacity with the Security Service will be PSNI Headquarters staff acting in that role for fixed time-limited periods to the extent that the Chief Constable deems necessary for them to perform their duties. Policing is the responsibility solely of the PSNI. The Security Service will have no role whatsoever in civic policing.
Leadership and direction of all police work is the responsibility of the Chief Constable who will remain accountable to the Policing Board.
All PSNI officers will be employed by the PSNI and will be accountable solely to the Chief Constable and to the Policing Board and upon transfer to the Ministers for Justice. The Patten policing reforms will be maintained and there will be no diminution in police accountability.
When the Policing Board establishes a special purposes committee under section 28 of the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2003 the Government will make any necessary statutory provision to ensure we will be representative of all political parties on the Board.
Future Justice Ministers will receive the same level of information as does the Board and the special purposes committee.
The Ombudsman will have statutory powers to hold to account all police officers. The Ombudsman will also have statutory access to all information held by the police. The Ombudsman's Office and the Security Service will agree arrangements for the Ombudsman's access to sensitive information held by the Service, where necessary for the discharge of the Ombudsman's statutory duties.
Furthermore, I can confirm that the Government will invite Lord Carlile, and any successor, to review annually the operation of the arrangements for handling national security related matters in Northern Ireland. In the course of his review, he will consult the Chief Constable, the Policing Board and the Police Ombudsman, as well as taking into account any views which the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister and, in due course, Justice Ministers may put to him.
Trade and Industry
UK Civil Plutonium and Uranium Figures
The Minister for Science and Innovation (Malcolm Wicks):
Attached are DTI revised figures for the United Kingdom’s stocks of civil plutonium and uranium as at 31 December 2005 in the Libraries of both Houses, replacing those figures deposited in the Libraries on 22 July 2006. Total stocks of plutonium in
the UK are unaffected by the revision and remain at 139 tonnes at the end of 2005. The distribution of this total between the various material categories has been adjusted following the detection of a clerical error in the original data. We will send the revised figures to the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who will circulate them to member states. The revised figures will be available on the Department’s and the IAEA’s websites.
Transport
UK Vehicle Record (Centralisation )
The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Dr. Stephen Ladyman): After a review of vehicle record services, I have decided to centralise the UK vehicle record in Swansea from late 2008. This will result in a better service to the public and will save approximately £35 million over seven years.
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