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Written Statements

Thursday, 4 March 2004

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Fire and Rescue Service: Regional Control Rooms

The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker): My right honourable friend the Minister for Local Government, Regional Governance and Fire has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

On 11 December when the draft national framework for the Fire and Rescue Service was published I issued a consultation document on the proposals on regional control rooms in England. Those proposals were outlined in the White Paper, Our Fire and Rescue Service, and detailed in the draft national framework.

A copy of my response on the issues raised in the consultation paper is available in the Libraries of the House. The responses broadly endorsed the proposed approach of regional control rooms on the basis of one per region and the proposed governance arrangements.

I have written to the chair of the Practitioners Forum and the chairs of authorities confirming this.

Oil and Gas Licensing

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): My honourable friend the Minister for Energy, E-commerce and Postal Services (Stephen Timms) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to inform the House that I am today inviting applications for petroleum licences over a large number of blocks in the southern, central and northern North Sea and for the area west of the Shetland Islands which will form the 22nd round of offshore petroleum licensing. In parallel to this offshore round I am also inviting applications for the onshore area of the UK. This will be the 12th onshore licensing round.

In deciding which blocks to make available for licensing in the offshore area, I have considered the results of the strategic environmental assessments

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undertaken by my department, on the most recent of which consultation closed in December 2003. After considering the assessments and the responses to the consultation, I have decided to take a precautionary approach and not offer for licence 23 blocks or part blocks because of their proximity to existing conservation sites as highlighted by the environmental assessments. In addition, 20 blocks will not be offered for licensing in these SEA areas at the request of the Ministry of Defence.

Any licences awarded in the round will contain conditions to protect environmental interests and the interests of other sea users. In addition, activities carried out under the licences will be subject to a range of legislation which is designed to protect the marine environment, including regulations which apply to the Environmental Impact Assessment and Habitats Directives to offshore oil and gas activities. This will be particularly relevant to certain blocks in quadrant 217 which contain unusual seabed features.

The licences will also contain provisions to ensure that licensees either undertake exploration work within a relatively short timescale or relinquish the licence at the earliest possible opportunity so that other companies are able to take forward exploration of the area. These requirements support PILOT initiatives to remove barriers to activity on the UKCS.

Tax Law Rewrite Project

Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Paymaster General has made the following Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to tell the House that the Tax Law Rewrite Project will today reach another major milestone. The Inland Revenue will publish the project's third draft Bill, on trading, property, savings and investment and miscellaneous income, for a final round of consultation. The Bill will also cover the special rules for foreign income and partnerships and the relief rules for rent-a-room and foster carers. The Bill will be ready for introduction in Parliament by the end of the year.

Earlier versions of this rewritten legislation have been extensively revised in the light of comments and suggestions from tax professionals and other interested parties. This continuous dialogue between the project team and business interests, tax practitioners, the legal profession and Inland Revenue specialists is a key feature contributing to the success of the project.

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