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Written Statements

Thursday 27 March 2014

Business, Innovation and Skills

Insolvency Service Performance Targets

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jenny Willott): I have set performance targets for the Insolvency Service for the coming financial year, 2014-15.

In recent years there has been a significant fall in the number of new insolvency cases dealt with by the official receiver, from 78,000 cases in 2009-10 to a level of around 27,000 in 2013-14, with the expectation that this will fall further in 2014-15. The number of redundancy claims handled by the Insolvency Service has also dropped from a peak of 117,000 to 75,000 in the current year.

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The Insolvency Service has reduced its cost base significantly to reflect reducing demand, including reducing its work force from 3,200 people to fewer than 1,900 and reducing the number of offices from 36 to 32. Such reductions will continue in 2014-15 as the agency continues to respond to a declining level of work.

In 2014-15 an important priority for the Insolvency Service will be to maintain its current high level of customer service during this period of major change. I have set targets at a level which reflects the challenges the agency continues to face.

The Insolvency Service annual plan 2014-15 will be available from 2 April 2014 at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/About-us. This plan builds on achievements to date and the direction of travel agreed in 2012. It continues the agency’s focus on actions that support its long-term resilience: an enhanced profile and external relationships, an improved funding model, better delivery tools and investment in people capability.

Treasury

Balance of Competences: Economic and Monetary Policy

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Nicky Morgan): HM Treasury today publishes a call for evidence as part of the fourth semester of the Government’s review of the balance of competences, which is looking at what the EU does and how it affects the UK.

The call for evidence looks at the balance of competence between the EU and the UK on economic and monetary policy. The document explains the historical development and legal background to the EU’s competence in this area and asks a number of questions about how the EU’s competence works in practice.

HM Treasury is seeking evidence from a range of stakeholders who have an interest or experience in these areas, including individuals, think-tanks, Parliament, academia and institutions.

The public call for evidence for this report will run from 27 March 2014 until 4 July 2014. The final report on the current balance of competence for economic and monetary policy and what this means for the national interest will be published by the end of 2014.

Copies of the document have been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses and it is available online on the gov.uk website.

Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Sajid Javid): The Government are today publishing the review of the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008. As set out in the legislation, HM Treasury is required to undertake a review and to lay this before Parliament within three years from the date when a reclaim fund is first authorised.

A copy of the review published today is available from the Library of the House and on the HM Treasury website.

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Royal Mint Advisory Committee

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Nicky Morgan): On 27 March 2012, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith), the then Economic Secretary, announced to Parliament, through a written ministerial statement, Official Report, column 107WS, the commencement of a triennial review for the Royal Mint advisory committee on the design of coins, medals, seals and decorations.

I am now pleased to announce the completion of the review.

The advisory committee was established in 1922 with the personal approval of King George V. It exists to raise the standard of numismatic and medallic art in Britain and is expected to ensure that designs meet high standards of art, decency and good taste. Its purpose is to advise Government Departments, and ultimately the Queen, on matters of design with respect to coins, medals, seals and decorations. The eight members and the chair of the committee receive no payment for serving, but may claim reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings, which are funded by the Royal Mint Museum. Expenses, if claimed, are paid by the Royal Mint.

The triennial review was conducted in accordance with Government guidance for reviewing NDPBs.

The review concluded that there continues to be a Government demand for heraldic, typographic, numismatic, technical and design advice. Having considered the delivery option alternatives, the review recognises the services delivered by the committee remain necessary to the business of the Department and ensures the quality of the themes and designs of UK coinage and official medals. Any alternative delivery route would incur a greater cost in both resource and financial terms. As such, the recommendation is to retain the advisory committee in its current form. However, while considering the governance of the committee the review recommends that the committee should make minor adjustments to current control and governance practices to improve the transparency of this small but important function.

Copies of the report of the review will be placed today in the Libraries of both Houses.

Defence

Iraq Fatality Investigations

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Philip Hammond): I wish to inform the House of the progress that my Department has made in establishing a process by which a small number of fatalities of Iraqi nationals arising from UK operations in Iraq, where the deceased person was in the custody of or under the control of UK forces, can be subjected to an examination akin to a coronial inquest.

This step has been prompted by the High Court’s decision in the Ali Zaki Mousa (No 2) judgment. In that judgment the court held that the arrangements set up for criminal investigations by the Iraq historic

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investigations team and the Royal Navy police acting under the Armed Forces Act 2006 are sufficiently independent to meet the requirements of article 2 of the European convention on human rights. But the court also held that, in a number of cases in which a prosecution did not result, a public procedure (similar to a coroner’s inquest) would also be needed so as to involve the public and the families of the deceased to the extent necessary to discharge fully the UK’s investigative obligations under article 2.

The High Court indicated that this requirement could be met by holding

“inquisitorial inquiries modelled on coronial inquests”.

I have agreed to do so in up to 11 cases; the precise number will depend on the outcome of the Iraq historic allegations team’s investigations into the allegations and any resulting trials.

I am pleased to announce that Sir George Newman, who retired from the High Court bench in 2007, has consented to chair the first two investigations. Sir George’s wide experience will be invaluable and I am grateful to him for taking on this important role.

Sir George will investigate the death of Mr Naheem Abdullah as a result of injuries sustained at a road block in Maysan province on 11 May 2003, and the death of Mr Hassan Said as the result of gunshot wounds sustained on 2 August 2003. In both of these cases, the UK service personnel accused were acquitted after early termination of their trials. As a result of the early termination of the trials, resulting in evidence not being publicly presented, an inquisitorial inquiry is needed to meet the requirement for public and family access.

Sir George has been directed not to consider issues of individual or collective culpability, and no prosecutions will result from his examination of these cases. These fatality investigations will serve a similar purpose to a coronial inquest by providing the families of the deceased and the wider public with the fullest possible information as to how the deceased died. Sir George will shortly publish fuller details of his remit and of the procedures that he will adopt.

Sir George will, of course, receive the full support of the Ministry of Defence. He will produce a report setting out his findings and recommendations, and I will arrange for this to be published at the earliest opportunity.

Service Complaints Commissioner's Annual Report

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Anna Soubry): I am pleased to lay before Parliament today the Service Complaints Commissioner’s sixth annual report on the fairness, effectiveness and efficiency of the service complaints system.

I would like to thank the commissioner for her latest report, and for the outstanding contribution she has made in improving the service complaints process during her six years in post. More recently, her involvement in the work to draw up the proposals announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 13 March, Official Report, column 34WS, has been pivotal.

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The report recognises the progress made by the services in 2013, including the introduction of a new monitoring and reporting process to identify and mitigate undue delay in the system. It also raises issues of concern, in particular the apparent increase in bullying and harassment complaints within the Army. I will respond formally to the commissioner once the MOD has considered fully the findings of the report and the recommendations made.

I can also inform the House that I have proposed, and Dr Atkins has accepted, that she should continue in office beyond her currently scheduled leaving date of the end of June. There are two reasons for this. First, it is now clear that the proposals announced on 13 March, including the creation of a service complaints ombudsman, will transform the role of the commissioner. Dr Atkins’ successor will, subject to Parliament approving the necessary legislation, need the right skills and experience to deliver that vision. I have therefore decided to restart the recruitment process, which means that it will not be possible to appoint a new commissioner by the end of June. Secondly, it will be important for the success of the proposed changes that we continue to draw on the considerable expertise and experience which Dr Atkins brings to this area, as plans are worked up in more detail over the coming months. I am grateful to her for her willingness to remain in post, to work in partnership to establish the role of the service complaints ombudsman on a sound and secure footing.

Special Risk Nuclear Indemnity

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Dr Andrew Murrison): It is normal practice when a Government Department proposes to undertake a contingent liability of £300,000 and above for which there is no specific statutory authority for the Department concerned to present to Parliament a minute giving particulars of the liability created and explaining the circumstances; and to refrain from incurring the liability until 14 parliamentary sitting days after the issue of the minute, except in cases of special urgency.

Subject to no objections being received, I intend to authorise the proposal to undertake contingent liability for nuclear indemnity, after the usual 14 parliamentary sitting days. I have today, in accordance with the usual parliamentary procedures, laid a departmental minute on the proposal.

The Treasury has approved that, where the financial impact of an event would make the contract untenable due to the nature of work being undertaken, the contractor may be relieved of their liability. Although the contractor is not working directly with nuclear, there is a low risk that their activities may cause an incident to occur. If, during the period of 14 parliamentary sitting days beginning on the date on which this minute was laid before the House of Commons, a Member signifies an objection by giving notice of a parliamentary question or a motion relating to the minute, or by otherwise raising the matter in the House, final approval of the proposal will be withheld pending an examination of the objection.

Baha Mousa Report

The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mr Mark Francois): I would like to update the House on the progress that the Government have made in implementing the

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recommendations made in the report of the Baha Mousa inquiry, chaired by the right hon. Sir William Gage, which was published on 8 September 2011.

What happened to Baha Mousa was shameful, and undermined the excellent work of so many others. In his report, the chairman made 73 recommendations. In his statement to Parliament that day, Official Report, column 571, the then Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), accepted all recommendations in principle with one exception relating to tactical questioning.

I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Defence has now taken action to consider and address all the accepted recommendations in the report. Many of them proposed amendments to departmental policy, standard operating procedures and oversight, while others focused on training; all personnel who undertake detainee handling now have the skills and experience to manage them appropriately. By strengthening all aspects of the detainee handling process we have returned the rigour and discipline that is synonymous with the high standards rightly expected by our armed forces.

As envisaged in recommendation 44 of the inquiry’s report, the Department has given careful consideration to the possibility of an independent inspection of the UK’s Afghan detention facilities by Her Majesty’s chief inspector of prisons. However, UK detention facilities in Afghanistan continue to be inspected by the Provost Marshal (Army) every six months, and annually by the Army Inspector; they are also visited regularly by the International Committee of the Red Cross to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law. On balance, we believe that this triple inspection regime is already fit for purpose and does not require further amendment.

Education

European Union (Balance of Competences)

The Minister for Skills and Enterprise (Matthew Hancock): I wish to inform the House that, following my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs’ oral statement launching the review of the balance of competences in July 2012, Official Report, column 468, and, most recently, written ministerial statement on the progress of the review on 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 76WS, the Department for Education is publishing its call for evidence on education, vocational training and youth.

The review of education, vocational training and youth is being jointly led by the Department for Education (DfE), Cabinet Office (CO) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The call for evidence period will last 12 weeks, from 27 March 2014 to 30 June 2014, and officials will draw together the evidence and policy analysis into draft reports, which will go through a process of scrutiny which is due to take place by the end of 2014.

As with previous semesters, this report will consult widely. The Departments will pursue an active engagement process, including Parliament and its committees, the devolved Administrations, and civil society in order to obtain evidence to contribute to our analysis of competences. Our EU partners and the EU institutions

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will also be invited to contribute evidence to the review. As the reviews are to be objective and evidence-based, we are encouraging a wide range of interested parties and individuals to contribute.

DfE, CO and BIS will take a rigorous approach to the collection and analysis of evidence. The call for evidence document sets out the scope of the report and includes a series of broad questions on which contributors are asked to focus. The evidence received—subject to the provision of the Data Protection Act—will be published alongside the final report, which is due to be published by the end of 2014, and will be available on the Government website www.gov.uk

The result of the consultation will be a comprehensive, thorough and detailed analysis-based report. It will aid our understanding of the nature of our EU membership and it will provide a constructive and serious contribution to the wider European debate about modernising and improving the EU. The reports will not produce specific policy recommendations.

The calls for evidence documents will be published and available on the Government website: https://www. gov.uk/review-of-the-balance-of-competences

Education Services Grant

The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws): I am announcing today the launch of a public consultation on savings to the education services grant (ESG) for 2015-16.

Local authorities are responsible for providing the schools they maintain with services to support education, such as school improvement and education welfare services. Academies are responsible for the provision of these services for their pupils. The ESG was introduced in 2013-14 and has made the funding of education services simpler and more transparent.

The 2013 spending round announced that the Government will reduce the education services grant by around £200 million in 2015-16 and committed the Department to consulting on the detail of how the reductions will be implemented through realising efficiencies and enabling local authorities to focus on their core role in relation to schools. The Department for Education is committed to helping local authorities and academies to achieve the required savings for 2015-16. Field work has been carried out to collect information about how the ESG is currently being used, and to identify examples of local authorities and academies that have already made savings on these services.

The consultation will be available on the Government website, www.gov.uk

Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission

The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws): Today I wish to inform the House of the publication of the Government’s response to the first annual report by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.

The independent Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission monitors the progress of the Government and others in improving social mobility and reducing

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child poverty in the United Kingdom. The commission plays a vital role in ensuring the Government make progress in both of these areas and we are grateful to them for their thorough and comprehensive report.

We are committed to ending child poverty. We will support families into work, help families to increase their earnings, improve living standards by decreasing costs for low-income families, and prevent poor children becoming poor adults by raising their educational attainment.

We are determined to break down the barriers to social mobility at all stages of a person’s life, from when they are born right through into adulthood, to ensure that everyone can fulfil their potential.

We are tackling the root causes of poverty by giving people opportunities rather than trapping them in dependency.

A copy of the Government’s response will be available later today at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications.

Historical Child Protection Investigations

The Secretary of State for Education (Michael Gove): I wish to inform the House that the Department for Education has received information about Jimmy Savile relating to several children’s homes and schools in England, dating back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. This information was uncovered as part of the document review process undertaken by the Metropolitan Police Service on behalf of the Department of Health.

Having reviewed the information I have decided that the Department for Education should pass the information to the appropriate organisations for further investigation. In most cases the work will be conducted by the relevant local authority; in others the relevant institution or a legacy organisation will take the lead.

In order to ensure consistency of approach with the NHS Savile investigations, I am replicating the arrangements adopted by the Department of Health to quality assure the work. I have appointed Lucy Scott-Moncrieff to provide independent oversight and quality assurance of the process, undertaking a similar role to that of Kate Lampard in the NHS trust investigations. I have asked Lucy Scott-Moncrieff to ensure that investigating organisations take all practicable steps to establish what happened and why at the time of the incidents and any lessons there might be to inform current safeguarding practice in our schools and children’s homes.

I will inform the House of the outcome of this work.

Information has been provided to responsible organisations as set out in the table below:

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Primary and 16-to-19 Assessment and Accountability

The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws): I am today announcing the final elements of our schools accountability reform programme: reforms to primary and 16-to-19 accountability from 2016. This builds on our plans for secondary school accountability.

Progress will now be the most important way in which we will hold schools and colleges to account. The new accountability system will be fairer, measuring the progress that students make while at school or college. This ensures that all students receive equal attention: we will measure the progress that all students make whatever their starting point. This will prevent the unfair focus on those at threshold borderlines.

To help all parents and students to compare schools and colleges, we will require all schools and colleges to publish the key information for primary, secondary and 16-to-19 phases on their websites in a standard format. This information will clearly show the progress that students make, their attainment and how well they do in English and mathematics.

Primary

We are resetting the standard for success for primary schools. Expectations are currently too low (level 4c in English and mathematics). In 2012, fewer than half the

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pupils who had only just reached this expected standard went on to achieve five good GCSEs. Under the new system, we will expect schools to support at least 85% of their pupils to achieve a new higher standard (closer to the present 4b level). With the continued improvement in teaching, the sharper focus of the new curriculum and increased funding, results should rise.

We have invested through the pupil premium so that schools can give disadvantaged pupils the help they need. With more than 1.1 million pupils from reception to year 6 currently benefiting, schools receive £953 for each primary-age pupil rising to £1,300 from April 2014.

To judge schools’ progress more fairly, we will work with experts to introduce a new assessment taken during reception as the baseline. This will sit within teachers’ broader ongoing assessments of children’s development and progress throughout reception. The reception baseline will be used to assess schools’ progress for children who start reception in September 2016 and beyond. Schools that choose not to use an approved baseline assessment from 2016 will be judged on the 85% attainment standard alone.

From September 2016, the early years foundation stage profile will no longer be compulsory. The early years foundation stage will continue to be statutory and the basis for Ofsted inspection of early year settings including children in a school nursery and reception classes, thereby ensuring children receive a broad education and are able to learn and thrive in school.

I can also confirm today that the grammar, punctuation and spelling test will not form part of the primary floor standard in 2014.

16-to-19

Our changes to 16-to-19 accountability support the reforms we have already made to improve the quality of 16-to-19 education and training. The introduction of study programmes and traineeships last September, the reforms to A-levels and vocational qualifications and the emphasis on English and mathematics support our ambitions to make sure that students in this country can compete with the best in the world.

We will introduce new, fairer minimum standards for 16-to-19 providers. Wherever data allow it we will use progress measures. This will apply to academic and applied general qualifications. Where the data are not robust enough, we will use a combined completion and attainment measure.

We will introduce five headline measures of performance for all 16-to-19 providers to give a broader picture of educational outcomes than attainment alone. These headline measures include: progress measures; attainment measures; retention measures; English and mathematics progress measures for those who did not achieve good grades at age 16; and destination measures.

Conclusion

We believe that the single most important outcome for any school or college is to give as many students as possible the knowledge and skills to flourish in the later phases of education and life. The reforms that I have set out today set the framework for schools and colleges to meet this challenge: ensuring all children move on to secondary school ready to succeed and all 16-to-19 students can move into further or higher education or employment.

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Afghanistan (Monthly Progress Report)

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague): I wish to inform the House that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, together with the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development, is today publishing the 35th progress report on developments in Afghanistan since November 2010.

On 2 February, the presidential election campaign opened. Seven of 11 candidates formally launched their campaigns on the first day, with only one choosing to do so from outside Kabul. The remaining candidates began their campaigns in the following days.

On 8 February, the UN reported a 14% rise in the number of civilians killed or injured in 2013. The report considered armed opposition groups responsible for the majority (74%) and Afghan and international forces for 11% of casualties in 2013. A total of 10% of casualties resulted from engagements between pro and anti-Government forces while the remaining 5% were unattributed.

On 13 February, the Government of Afghanistan released 65 US captured detainees who the US believed to have committed serious crimes, including killing US soldiers, and against whom the US thought there was good evidence.

On 27 February NATO Defence Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to support continued planning for a post-2014 training mission in Afghanistan. Defence Ministers also tasked NATO military authorities to assess the implications of delays to the future mission and to undertake planning for other contingencies, including a “zero option”, in light of the uncertainty of securing the necessary legal permissions for the mission.

UK development support of £5.3 million was provided to improve public services in Helmand, Uruzgan and Bamyan provinces through DFID’s strengthening provincial administration and delivery (SPAD) programme. The funds help build capacity in local systems while ensuring the money is properly spent to help local authorities provide better public services to local people.

I am placing the report in the Library of the House. It will also be published on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-progress-reports

Balance of Competences (Review)

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague): My written ministerial statement of 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 76 WS updated the House on progress with the review, on publication of the second set of reports. I wish to inform the House today of the launch of semester four of the review. This is the final semester in the review that I launched in July 2012 and, which will conclude by the end of the year.

Calls for evidence for the seven reports in the fourth (and final) semester cover: economic and monetary policy; information rights; police and criminal justice; education; enlargement; voting, consular and statistics;

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and subsidiarity and proportionality. The call for evidence period for these reports will open from 27 March and close the week of 30 June 2014.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has overall responsibility for the reports covering enlargement and subsidiarity and proportionality, and joint responsibility for the report on voting, consular and statistics. Lead Ministers for each of the other reports will be informing the House separately of the publication of their calls for evidence.

The Enlargement report—will assess the balance of competences between the EU and the UK in the field of enlargement of the European Union, including the impact of enlargement on UK interests, the development and effectiveness of the EU enlargement process and lessons learned from previous enlargements, the role of the member states and EU Institutions in the process, the use of conditionality and of financial and technical assistance, and future challenges and opportunities that enlargement will bring.

The Subsidiarity and Proportionality report—covers the concepts of subsidiarity and proportionality which are fundamental principles to the functioning of the EU. It will address how these are used and applied in practice across EU activity: whether the EU acts only when necessary, and whether action takes place at the lowest level possible, and that the means are proportionate to the end. The report also covers article 352 which provides the EU with the power to act to achieve any of the objectives laid down by in the EU treaties where no other treaty article so provides, including the use and impact of the procedural safeguard provisions on competence.

The Voting, Consular and Statistics—review covers three policy strands each led by the relevant Department: Cabinet Office (voting), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (consular) and the national statistician on behalf of the UK Statistics Authority (statistics). The voting strand seeks views on the balance of competences on subjects including how to vote and stand as a candidate at elections, the franchise and EU democratic engagement initiatives (such as the European citizens’ initiative). The consular strand will consider the EU’s limited competence in consular services, which extends to the co-ordination of efforts between member states and the requirement for member states to treat unrepresented EU citizens, in consular matters, in the same way as they would treat their own nationals. The statistics strand of the review looks at EU competence to require statistical reports, and how that impacts issues such as data collection, respondent burden and the level of demand for information at a time of resource pressure.

The FCO, along with the Cabinet Office and Statistics Authority will take a rigorous approach to the collection and analysis of evidence. Each call for evidence sets out the scope of the reports and includes a series of broad questions on which contributors are asked to focus. The evidence received (subject to the provision of the Data Protection Act) will be published alongside the final report, which is due to be published by the end of 2014, and will be available on the Government website: www.gov.uk.

It is important to encourage a wide range of interested parties to contribute to ensure objective and evidenced based reports. The FCO will therefore pursue an active engagement strategy, consulting widely across Parliament,

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the devolved Administrations, think-tanks, business and civil society in order to obtain evidence to inform our analysis. The EU institutions and our foreign partners will also be invited to contribute, as will members of the public. These final reports will also consider evidence submitted in previous semesters where relevant.

The call for evidence documents are being placed in the Libraries of both Houses. They are also published and available on the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/review-of-the-balance-of-competences

Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mark Simmonds): Tomorrow the UK takes on the chairmanship of the voluntary principles on security and human rights for one year. The voluntary principles provide guidance to extractive companies operating in fragile and conflict-affected areas, on effective risk management and on mitigating the risk that the security around their operations might contribute to human rights abuses or exacerbate conflict. The voluntary principles support our conflict prevention objectives, in line with the Government’s building stability overseas strategy, and help us to meet our commitment to supporting UK extractive companies do business overseas in complex and fragile environments. The voluntary principles also fall within the UK’s business and human rights action plan, as one way of helping companies to abide by their responsibility to respect human rights in line with the UN guiding principles on business and human rights.

The voluntary principles initiative consists of eight Governments, 23 extractive companies and nine civil society organisations. It provides a space for discussion of security and human rights challenges in the extractive sector, and is a useful mechanism for sharing best practice and learning lessons.

We have three priorities for our chairmanship. First, we want to expand Government membership, particularly Governments of fragile and conflict-affected countries, where it can be difficult for UK extractive companies to do business. The more Governments that join the voluntary principles, the easier it is for UK companies, operating in complex environments, to manage their human rights impact, which in turn reduces the risk of violence and conflict. We will encourage greater Government membership through lobbying at ministerial and official level, and supporting roundtables, workshops and other events to promote the voluntary principles and raise awareness of the initiative.

Secondly, we will work to strengthen corporate implementation of the voluntary principles. We will seek to more effectively engage local communities on the voluntary principles, to ensure that their voices are heard on the issues which directly affect them. We will also support project work to strengthen implementation of the voluntary principles on the ground, for example human rights training for public security, and capacity building for both civil society and Governments to enable them to engage more effectively in voluntary principles dialogue with other stakeholders.

Thirdly we want to strengthen the accountability and transparency of the initiative, to bring the voluntary principles more into line with the UN guiding principles

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on business and human rights. This will include efforts to encourage greater public reporting on implementation, and support for peer review initiatives to learn lessons and improve processes.

We will work closely with other voluntary principles participants, and through our network of overseas missions, to deliver these objectives. Our chairmanship is an important opportunity for us to play a leading role in strengthening the initiative to ensure it remains a credible and effective mechanism for managing security and human rights risks in the extractive sector.

Health

Nursery Milk (Scheme)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter): Today I am publishing the response to: “Next Steps for Nursery Milk”—a public consultation on the future of the nursery milk scheme.

The purpose of the consultation was to explore three different options for reforming the scheme: looking at where we can make it more efficient and improve its value for money, while ensuring that all children under five attending a child care setting for more than two hours a day continue to receive free milk.

Of the options for changing the scheme, 53% of respondents ranked the direct supply option as their first preference compared to 39% for the price capping option. Only 16% preferred the e-voucher option.

The nursery milk scheme has been running since the 1940s. The scheme currently funds free milk for around 1.5 million children under five years old in 55,000 child care settings throughout Great Britain. The Government remain fully committed to the nursery milk scheme, and to continuing to supply milk to children under five years old.

In recent years, the prices claimed for milk purchased under the scheme have risen significantly, with a corresponding increase in the total cost of the scheme from £27 million in 2007-08 to £61 million in 2012-13. This trend looks likely to continue with costs potentially rising to £80 million by 2015-16. The main reason for the increasing costs of the scheme has resulted from some suppliers of nursery milk charging as much as 92p per pint of milk when the average shop price is 49p per pint.

The direct supply option is the best way forward for the scheme as it provides best value for money to the taxpayer. Under direct supply, the scheme will be delivered with an estimated saving of £36 million per year, while providing only fresh milk to all eligible children in registered child care or early years settings.

We will engage with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while developing the new scheme and encourage SMEs to consider bidding as part of a consortia of potential suppliers and/or as sub-contractors working with larger organisations to supply and deliver nursery milk.

“Next Steps for Nursery Milk: Government Response” has been placed in the Library. Copies are available to hon. Members from the Vote Office and to noble Lords from the Printed Paper Office.

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Mental Health Act 1983 (Sections 135 and 136)

The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt): I am announcing the details of the joint review between the Department of Health and the Home Office of the operation of sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. These provisions are aimed at giving support to a person experiencing a mental health crisis, by giving the police powers to temporarily remove people who appear to be suffering from a mental disorder, who need urgent care, to a “place of safety”, so that a mental health assessment can be carried out and appropriate arrangements made.

The review will consider whether the primary legislation supports our overarching objective for all public services to respond to the needs of people experiencing mental health crises at the right time, and improving the outcomes for people experiencing mental health crises when they come into contact with the police. The review formally starts today and a briefing paper setting out the aims and time scales has been placed in the Library. Copies are available to hon. Members from the Vote Office, and to noble Lords from the Printed Paper Office.

Work on this issue was initiated by the Home Office, since when the Home Secretary and I; the Minister with responsibility for care and support, my hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) and the Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims have been working together to find the right way forward. We know there is a lot of interest about the way that sections 135 and 136 of the Act operate in practice, and the impacts both on the person detained, and on the use of police and health services’ time and resources. In particular, police officers can be called upon to make decisions on how to help someone experiencing a mental health crisis, when they may not be the best people to do so. We want to look at the evidence and to make sure that this part of the legislation is fit for purpose, clear, and workable.

The review will bring together evidence and cover a range of options, which may include leaving the legislation as it is and making changes to the associated codes of practice, or proposing amendments to the legislation. We will be engaging widely on developing the options with practitioners as well as those affected by the legislation. We will also seek the views of interested hon. Members, including the all-party parliamentary group who recently led a debate on the matter. I welcome the current Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into policing and mental health, which will explore the relevant evidence.

Home Department

Domestic Violence and Abuse

The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May): Today, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has published the findings from its inspection of the police response to domestic violence and abuse. Domestic abuse is a truly appalling crime and I commissioned the HMIC inspection in September 2013 because I was concerned that the police response was not as good as it should be. HMIC has

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conducted a rigorous review and today’s report has exposed significant shortcomings in the police response to domestic abuse.

The report highlights that the current police response to domestic abuse is failing victims. There is a lack of visible leadership and direction set by senior officers. Poor management and supervision fails to reinforce the right behaviours, attitudes and actions of officers, and the report shows that officers lack the skills and knowledge necessary to engage confidently and competently with victims of domestic abuse. Alarmingly, the report also identifies unacceptable weaknesses in some core policing activity, including the collection of evidence by officers at the scene of domestic abuse incidents.

In line with the Government’s aim to end violence against women and girls, I will lead immediate action to ensure HMIC’s findings are addressed.

This Government are committed to tackling domestic violence and abuse and to delivering a better response for the victims of these appalling crimes. We have ring-fenced £40 million for victims’ services; piloted and rolled out Clare’s law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; and placed domestic homicide reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learnt from individual tragedies.

The police now must take urgent action. The HMIC report shows that there needs to be a fundamental change in police culture. I have written today to chief constables and police force leads on domestic abuse, making it clear my expectation that, in line with HMIC’s recommendations, every police force will have an action plan in place by September to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse. I will also establish a national oversight group, which I will chair, to ensure progress is made against each of HMIC’s recommendations. I am already leading work to implement all the actions for the Home Office, including improving data standards, reviewing the domestic homicide review process, and sharing best practice on tackling perpetrators.

This Government have initiated a significant reform programme to professionalise policing, which has included establishing the College of Policing. I expect all chief constables and the college to prioritise the recommendations arising from this report. I will be overseeing their improvements on domestic violence and abuse through the national oversight group, and will report to Parliament again later in the year to update on progress.

I have placed a copy of HMIC’s report on domestic violence and abuse in the House Library.

Taser Statistics

The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green): I am today publishing the statistics on police use of taser in England and Wales for six monthly periods between January 2012 and December 2013. These show that:

Total police use of taser has increased from 2012 to 2013, continuing the trend seen since 2009.

The proportion of taser where the “highest use” was “fired” decreased between 2012 and 2013—accounting for 17% of uses in 2013.

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The most common “highest use” of a taser was “red dot” in each of the last two years, accounting for just over half of all uses.

Full details are available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-use-of-taser-statistics-england-and-wales-2012-to-2013 and a copy will be placed in the Library of the House.

Firearms (England and Wales)

The Minister for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims (Damian Green): I am today publishing statistics on police use of firearms in England and Wales for the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013. These show that:

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The number of police operations in which firearms were authorised was 10,996—a decrease of 1,554 (14.1 %) on the previous year.

The number of authorised firearms officers (AFO’s) was 6,091—a decrease of 665 (10.9%) officers overall on the previous year.

The number of operations involving armed response vehicles was 13,116—a decrease of 1,145 (8.7%) on the previous year.

The police discharged a conventional firearm in three incidents—down from 5 incidents in 2011-12.

Full details are set out in the following tables.

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