Written Ministerial Statements
Monday 21 May 2007
Treasury
Services Review (Disabled Children)
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Ed Balls): Budget 2006 announced that the second Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) would be informed by a series of policy reviews. One of the reviews announced at the Budget was a joint HM Treasury and Department for Education and Skills policy review of children and young people. This included a sub-review on how services can provide greater support to families with disabled children to improve their life chances.
The Government are today publishing the final report of the disabled children review, to inform and influence the CSR. In line with the Government's report, “Improving the life chances of disabled people”, the review has worked towards the best ways of creating equality for all disabled children. Improving their educational, social and emotional development, and their opportunities for independent living, choice and control, is a key part of this process.
The final report, published today, sets out the further action that needs to be taken to improve outcomes and equality of opportunity for disabled children and their families. It aims to facilitate, better support, and improve outcomes for disabled children in the following areas:
empowering disabled children, young people and their families—offering parents and their disabled children choice and the power to take decisions about their own care and influence local priorities, to improve service quality and responsiveness;
promoting more responsive services and timely support— prioritising disabled children at a local and national level, with early interventions and coordinated and timely support, to bring up standards of provision across the country, make it easier for families to access holistic support, and prevent conditions deteriorating.
improving service quality and capacity—boosting provision of services which are vital for improving outcomes for disabled children and their families. The Review focuses mainly on specialist services such as short breaks and equipment, but also tackles barriers to accessing universal services such as healthcare.
Copies of the report are available in the Vote Office and the Library of the House.
Defence
Astute Class Submarines
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): I am pleased to announce today that the MOD has placed an order with BAE Systems to commence work on the build of the fourth submarine in the Astute Class, which will be known as Audacious.
The Astute class is the next generation of nuclear powered attack submarines. The First of Class, Astute, is on schedule to be launched on 8 June 2007, and is due to enter service in 2009.
The Astute Class will be the largest, most capable and widely deployable attack submarines that the Royal Navy has ever operated, and will replace the Swiftsure and Trafalgar Class, which have been in-service since the 1970s and 1980s respectively. The Astute Class will have improved communications systems to support joint operations and an enhanced ability to operate in shallower littoral environments. BAES (Submarine Solutions) is also responsible for the design and build of the first three boats (Astute, Ambush and Artful).
Today's announcement demonstrates our commitment to the attack submarine programme, as set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy. It also demonstrates our commitment to the Royal Navy. These submarines are needed to fulfil duties around the globe. It demonstrates the best of British technology and our determination to develop and transform the UK submarine industry over the coming years.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Performance Targets
The Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare (Mr. Ben Bradshaw): I have set the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) the following Performance Targets for 2007-08.
1. To achieve a minimum of 90 per cent. of project milestones in commissioned projects which support DEFRA's strategic objectives and intermediate outcomes.
2. To achieve a mean score of 4.5 on a scale of 0 to 5 for the assessment of customer satisfaction using the agreed methodology.
Managing the Agency Effectively
3. To recover the full economic costs of the Agency's services from Government Departments, Agencies and External Customers.
4. To deliver the efficiency targets set out in the Business Plan.
5. To deliver e-Government and commercially exploit research outputs in ways that do not prejudice moves to new agency by setting up potential conflicts of interest.
6. To work with Defra's Delivery Relationship Team and heads of other potential constituent organisations, providing sufficient CSL resource, to develop and get agreed by Ministers proposals for a new Regulatory Science Agency that would commence operations by 1 April 2009. Subsequently, to provide strong leadership in implementing the preferred option.
7. To formulate a Science Audit Implementation Plan and deliver key outcomes (including a Communication Strategy; a coordinated approach to international science collaboration; increasing staff involvement in scientific publications).
Further details are given in the CSL Business Plan for 2007-08 copies of which have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare (Mr. Ben Bradshaw): I have set the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) the following Performance Targets for 2007-08.
Provide a high standard of services to the satisfaction of customers
Customer Satisfaction Survey overall score to exceed 82 per cent.
Fulfil commitments on time, within budget and to agreed standards of quality
Delivery of R and D milestones which support Defra's Strategic Objectives and Intermediate Outcomes to exceed 90 per cent. score
Enhance scientific capability and reputation
Achieve high standard of excellence based on indicators of scientific and technical quality with an overall score to exceed 75 per cent.
Recover the full cost of services, invest for the future and deliver the transformation plan
The target for annual surplus set under the Laboratory Strategy Programme—£0.2 million
Operate with simple, reliable and effective processes
Exceed agreed 2.5 per cent. Gershon Efficiency Plan savings
Respect and help the agency's people to develop
Annual Staff Survey satisfaction score to exceed 63 per cent.
Further details are given in the Cefas Business Plan 2007-08, a copy of which has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Agriculture Development Scheme
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Barry Gardiner): The Agriculture Development scheme (ADS) is an Exchequer-funded, competitive scheme which has operated in its present form since 2003 to help farmers and other bodies within the food chain to improve their competitiveness through better marketing. Details of the projects that have been supported under ADS may be found on DEFRA's website. The projects that have been supported have, in all cases, been ones that were originally proposed by bodies within the industry itself. The priorities of the scheme have been the encouragement of co-operation and collaboration benefiting primary producers, giving backing to benchmarking and the spread of best practice, promotion and development of assurance schemes, and opening up new markets.
Independent evaluations that have been carried out of the effectiveness of ADS have shown that the projects which it has supported have been highly successful in meeting these objectives, and that the scheme as a whole has been responsible for significantly improving the degree of market orientation shown by the food chain generally. I should like to pay tribute to the energy and commitment of those who have been responsible for delivering these projects, and for achieving these results.
The independent evaluations that I have referred to also made reference to the need to keep the scheme priorities under review, and have pointed out the need for support to be given to projects aimed at achieving specific environmental and sustainability criteria. Accordingly, I have decided that the time has come to reassess the scheme priorities.
After bids have been received for the next ADS panel that will be held later this year, the scheme in its present form will be closed to new applications. Projects currently being supported under ADS will be unaffected. This decision will be publicised via the media and DEFRA's website, and also communicated in writing to agricultural organisations, food chain bodies, and other interested parties. Potential applicants for ADS funding will be given notice of the date by which their bids must be received in order to be considered by the adjudication panel later this year.
It should be noted that after the new 2007-2013 Rural Development Programme for England has been approved by the European Commission, funding may be available under Axis 1 of that programme for projects concerned with the same kinds of priorities as have applied since 2003 under ADS. That funding will be managed by Regional Development Agencies, in line with the regional priorities which each of those Agencies set out in their Axis 1 implementation plans.
A further announcement will be made in due course about successor arrangements for ADS.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
General Affairs and External Relations Council
The Minister for Europe (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon): My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary Sir John Grant (UK Permanent Representative to the EU) and I represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Brussels. The Minister of State for defence equipment and support, Lord Drayson, attended the Defence Ministers' discussions on 14 May.
The agenda items covered were as follows:
Preparation of the European Council on 21 /22 June
The Council took note of the Presidency's draft annotated agenda for the European Council on 21/22 June. This covers the Constitutional Treaty. Justice and Home Affairs and Economic and Social issues, including strengthening police cooperation and climate change. The European Council is also likely to discuss foreign policy issues, such as the European Neighbourhood Policy and Central Asia.
The Council discussed the Black Sea region on the basis of a Commission Communication. The initiative, which the Government broadly support, gives an overview of EU cooperation with the region, outlines
the main challenges and proposes strengthening the EU's cooperation with regional organisations.
The Council adopted Conclusions welcoming the Commission's Communication while underlining the importance of continued cooperation with the Black Sea region. The Council invited the Commission to carry out a review of the initiative in the first half of 2008.
Preparation of the EU-Russia Summit
The Council discussed EU-Russia relations in advance of the Summit in Samara on 18 May. Discussion at the Summit is expected to cover energy, climate change, human rights and the investment climate as well as topical regional and international issues.
The Presidency briefed the Council on the EU's human rights dialogue with Uzbekistan on 8 and 9 May. There was broad support in the Council, including from the Government, for the EU to maintain pressure on Uzbekistan to implement its international human rights obligations.
The Council agreed a common position extending the EU's visa ban for a further six months against eight Uzbek officials directly involved in the events at Andizhan in May 2005.
The Council adopted Conclusions expressing its continued concern about the human rights situation in Uzbekistan and calling on the Uzbek authorities to release detained human rights defenders. The Conclusions welcomed the EU's first round of talks with Uzbekistan on 8 and 9 May and reiterated the EU's readiness to pursue a regular dialogue with Uzbekistan on human rights issues. The Government support these talks as a means of encouraging Uzbekistan to make concrete progress on human rights concerns.
The Council discussed the security situation in Darfur and agreed to provide further funding of €40 million for the African Union Mission in Sudan from the Africa Peace Facility. In response to a call from External Relations Commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, on Member States to provide additional financial support to the African Union Mission, the Netherlands announced it would be contributing a further €10 million in funding.
The Presidency briefed the Council on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia and reaffirmed the EU's support for the African Union Mission in Somalia.
The Council adopted Conclusions expressing continued concern about the situation in Somalia and reiterating the obligation of all parties to comply with international humanitarian law. The Conclusions also welcome the talks between the Transitional Federal Government, Ethiopia and the Hawiya leadership committee while recalling the importance of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1744 to address the political, security and humanitarian challenges faced in Somalia.
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