---

22 May 2007 : Column WS35

Written Statements

Tuesday 22 May 2007

Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Reports

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (James Plaskitt) has made the following Statement.

On behalf of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI inspection reports on the following councils were published: Manchester City Council, South Lakeland District Council and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. Copies have been placed in the Library.

The BFI reports detail a range of strengths and weaknesses in the housing benefit services provided by councils and make recommendations to improve the security and efficiency of benefit delivery.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State is considering the reports and may ask the councils for proposals in response to the BFI’s findings.

Bichard Inquiry: Implementation of Recommendations

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): My honourable friend the Minister for Security, Counter-terrorism and Police (Mr Tony McNulty) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Copies of the Government’s fourth progress report on implementing the recommendations of Sir Michael Bichard’s inquiry into events surrounding the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses today. Our last report was made in May 2006, and there have been many positive developments since that date. Twenty-one of Sir Michael’s 31 recommendations have now been substantially delivered, and we continue to press ahead with the more technically complex issues that remain outstanding.

Since we initiated work to implement the recommendations from the inquiry, the ambitious and far-reaching programme of work has already delivered major improvements to the sharing of information to protect children and vulnerable adults. It is increasingly apparent that our agenda is now just one part of a much bigger framework covering the use of information to support public protection. So the Government are determined, as we were from day one, to implement the necessary improvements from this crucial work, which demands continuing focus and priority. This latest update clearly reinforces the Government’s ongoing commitment to full delivery.

A key objective from the outset has been the delivery of the IMPACT programme, and we remain committed to delivering the significant improvements which will meet recommendations 1 and 4. We have achieved much already, as previously reported, and since the delivery of the first, incremental achievements, the ongoing practical benefits to the police service have become clear to see. The IMPACT nominal index (INI) continues to prove itself to be an invaluable tool in the police’s armoury against those who would seek to do harm to the vulnerable; for example, with more than 140,000 searches conducted on the system by the end of March and decisions in some 670 child protection cases referred to the police being changed as a result. But there is still some way to go to realise the ultimate goals of the programme. After a review of options in consultation with the main stakeholders, we have decided not to deploy the CRISP application as an interim solution. Our primary focus and efforts are now delivery of the new police national database, which will meet our pledge of a national police intelligence-sharing capability. This work is now being led and managed by the police service itself, through the new National Policing Improvement Agency with its clear focus on policing needs, and is forming the central strand of its comprehensive and practical strategy for matching information systems and technology to policing priorities. The agency is also overseeing the ongoing implementation by police forces of the statutory code of practice on police information management, which came into force in 2005. This, together with the accompanying operational guidance, will ensure improved national standards are properly embedded in day-to-day policing.

The other major focus of our work has been the implementation of the new vetting and barring scheme, which will cover those seeking to work with children and replace the existing arrangements. Following Royal Assent for the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, under which the scheme is established, work has been stepped up to deliver what represents a world-leading and highly innovative system for controlling access to children and vulnerable adults.

Cabinet colleagues at DfES and DH continue to work closely on this important initiative, and we look forward to the launch of the Independent Barring Board in 2008, which will work alongside the Criminal Records Bureau and lead the discretionary decision-making process for the more difficult cases.

Elsewhere, progress is being made, although in some areas technical issues have meant that timetables have had to be revised. The Home Secretary reported last May that we hoped to have achieved direct updating of courts’ resulting to the police national computer by the end of 2008. While my determination—and that of ministerial colleagues at the Ministry of Justice—to achieve this remains undiminished, it has been necessary to drive forward this complex change in step with the wider IT-enabled reforms to the criminal justice system the Ministry of Justice is delivering and so we plan to achieve delivery of recommendation 7 by the end of the 2008-09 financial year. In the mean time, police forces’ performance in updating PNC under the current arrangements remains a broadly sound and improving picture, under the close scrutiny of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

We continue to see increasing take-up of the voluntary training for head teachers and school governors, which focuses on the critical importance of being aware of safeguarding issues when recruiting staff. We have now developed and rolled out new initiatives to extend the training more widely in schools and other local authority sectors.

While we continue to make progress in implementing the recommendations, it is important to note that this work is about more than simply delivering new frameworks and arrangements, such as best practice guidance. We are seeking to address cultural or organisational obstacles through IT-enabled business change, such as new information-sharing capabilities. We have already achieved real improvements, but we must be ever vigilant about the risks to the vulnerable members of society.

Furthermore, we must join up systems effectively between the various jurisdictions in the UK and internationally. The difficulties around the notifications of UK citizens convicted in Europe, which came to light earlier this year and which we have been addressing, were a strong reminder that we must be constantly vigilant to ensure systems, both local and national/international, are all working as they should. Within government and in the key agencies delivering public services, work to safeguard the vulnerable members of the community must be a core priority.

The Bichard work has been the single largest contributor to that cultural change, and I am pleased to commend the progress to this House.

Contaminated Blood Products: Hepatitis C

The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): My honourable friend the Minister of State, Department of Health (Caroline Flint) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Government have today sent a copy of the department's review of all officially held papers for the period 1970-85, including those returned to the department from a firm of private solicitors, on blood products contaminated with hepatitis C to Lord Archer of Sandwell's non-governmental independent inquiry and to other interested parties.

Copies have been placed in the Library.

Russia: Mr Litvinenko

The Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith): Today, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that it has decided, after applying the evidential and public interest tests set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors, to prosecute Mr Andrey Konstantinovich Lugovoy, a Russian citizen, for the murder of Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko. The CPS decision was reached after it had consulted me, which is the usual practice in serious and complex cases. The CPS has concluded that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Lugovoy for murder and it is in the public interest to do so.

It is alleged that in London on or about 1 November 2006, Mr Lugovoy poisoned Mr Litvinenko by administering a lethal dose of polonium 210, a radioactive material. Mr Litvinenko died on 23 November 2006 in a London hospital of an acute radiation injury.

The CPS will now take immediate steps to seek the extradition of Mr Lugovoy from Russia to the United Kingdom so that he can be charged and prosecuted for murder in this country.

I agree with the CPS decision.

Defence: ABRO and DARA

The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): My right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am announcing today, subject to trade union consultation and appropriate parliamentary consent, the creation of a new defence support group by merging together ABRO, retained DARA business units and certain other defence support facilities. This new group, operating as a trading fund, will begin formal trading by April 2008 and will focus solely on the delivery of the defence industrial and technology strategies by being a flexible, responsive, operationally excellent organisation that provides a cost competitive in-house maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade capability in support of the Armed Forces, operating where appropriate in partnership with industry.

DARA is undergoing a major transformation programme: the fast jet and engines businesses closed in March 2007; the rotary wing and components businesses are currently going through a sale process; and we have already announced the retention of the electronics business at Sealand. The VC10 business unit at St Athan has also been subject to a market testing exercise. However, as it is now apparent that sale is unlikely to offer best value for defence, the sale of the VC10 business unit will not now proceed. By retaining ownership, the MoD will better manage the interface between the VC10 business and the defence training review, both of which are based at St Athan in south Wales. A decision will be taken shortly on whether the best value for defence can be secured by transferring the rotary and components businesses outside the MoD. If not, those business units will also form part of the new defence support organisation.

Commitment from the MoD to sustain essential levels of capability and capacity will provide the new defence support group with greater clarity and allow it to implement a programme of continuous improvement. At the same time, the new organisation will look to consolidate and build on ABRO’s and DARA’s existing defence industry relationships and partnerships, by entering into agreements on future equipment programmes. Those will ensure that the MoD retains the intellectual property and design skills required to maintain operational sovereignty in key areas as set out in the defence industrial and technology strategies.

This announcement draws both organisations more closely into delivering key MoD strategies and supporting the Armed Forces. As the plans for the new organisation develop during the course of 2007, we are committed to consulting closely with staff and trade unions.

Local Transport Bill

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Douglas Alexander) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

I am today publishing a draft Local Transport Bill for public consultation and parliamentary pre-legislative scrutiny. The draft Bill contains legislative proposals to help tackle congestion and improve public transport. Copies of the draft Bill, a consultation paper and other accompanying documents are available in the Libraries of the House and the Vote Office.

Our transport system plays a crucial role in our economy and society and, in an increasingly interconnected world, efficient transport networks are now more important than ever. We also need to ensure that we continue to balance the needs of the economy with those of our environment and society. We have made huge progress over the past decade, but we need to ensure that our legislative and institutional frameworks keep pace with the many changes that are going on in the world around us.

The Eddington transport study, published in December last year, provided a number of timely recommendations to enhance the delivery of transport in the UK’s cities. These recommendations were aimed at better equipping us to address the high potential future cost of congestion and ensure transport can continue to sustain economic growth.

I am committed to ensuring that we are well equipped to meet not only today's transport challenges, but also those of 10 or 20 years’ time. The draft Local Transport Bill is a demonstration of that commitment. It is a key part of our strategy to empower local authorities to take appropriate steps to meet local transport needs in the light of local circumstances.

The draft Bill sets out our legislative proposals to:

enable local authorities to improve the quality of local bus services, building on the measures set out last December in Putting Passengers First;reform the arrangements for local transport governance in our major conurbations, to ensure strong local leadership and a coherent approach to transport across individual local authority boundaries and across different transport modes; andreform the existing legislation relating to local road pricing schemes to ensure that, where local authorities wish to develop local schemes, they have the freedom and flexibility to do so in a way that best meets local needs. It will also help to ensure that any schemes are consistent and interoperable from the road user’s perspective.

Consistent with our longer-term strategy on road pricing, the draft Bill would not provide the legal powers that would be needed for a national system of road pricing: we have made clear that decisions on that can be taken only in the light of further practical experience of local schemes. Further, separate legislation would be needed if in future a decision was taken to move towards a national scheme, and there would need to be a full and informed public debate.

Publication of the draft Bill provides an important opportunity to ensure that we get our proposals right through public consultation, and for Parliament to scrutinise the legislation in draft. We need to learn from and build on the diversity of experience of transport professionals and transport users across the country, and I encourage all interested parties to participate in the consultation process.

East Midlands Regional Planning Assessments: Railway

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Tom Harris) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

The Department for Transport has today published the East Midlands regional planning assessment for the railway (RPA), the latest in the series of 11 RPAs covering England and Wales.

Copies of the document have been placed in the Libraries of the House and can also be downloaded from the department’s website at www.dft.gov.uk.

The East Midlands RPA covers the entire East Midlands region, including Derby, Leicester and Nottingham cities, Rutland, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire.

RPAs provide the link between regional spatial planning (including preparation of regional transport strategies) and planning for the railway by both Government and the rail industry, and are designed to inform the development of the Government’s strategy for the railway. They look at the challenges and options for development of the railway over the next 20 years, in the wider context of forecast change in population, the economy and travel behaviour.

A RPA does not commit the Government to specific proposals. Instead it sets out the Government’s current thinking on how the railway might best be developed to allow wider planning objectives for a region to be met and identifies the priorities for further development work.

It is the Government’s intention to publish the remaining RPAs covering the Thames Valley, Yorkshire & Humber, and Wales during this summer.

EU: Budget

Lord Davies of Oldham: My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Ed Balls) has made the following Written Statement.

I am today laying before Parliament the annual European Community Finances White Paper, Statement on the 2007 EC Budget and Measures to Combat Ffraud and Financial Mismanagement (Cm 7090). This white paper is the 27th in the series. It gives details of revenue and expenditure in the 2007 EC budget and covers recent developments in EC financial management and measures to counter fraud against the EC budget. It also includes information on the upcoming review of the EC budget and recent measures taken to improve the management and control of the EC budget, including the initiative the Government announced in November 2006.

Health Select Committee: Workforce Planning

The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Health Services (Rosie Winterton) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Government have today laid before Parliament their response to the Health Select Committee report on workforce planning (Cm 7085).

The Government are responding to the conclusions and recommendations raised by the committee covering issues such as ensuring workforce planning is a priority, the importance of strategic health authorities leading the process locally, the need for a national perspective from the department and the committee's concerns about the effects of the recent growth in National Health Service workforce capacity on the NHS financial position.

Copies of the response have been placed in the Library.

Northern Ireland Policing Board

Lord Rooker: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Peter Hain) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

I am announcing the membership of the reconstituted Northern Ireland Policing Board to take effect from today. The cross-community board is one of the great successes flowing from the Belfast agreement. I should like to pay tribute to all former board members for the considerable contribution they have made to policing in Northern Ireland and the crucial role they have played in ensuring that the PSNI is effective, efficient and responsive to the needs of the community.

The new membership of the board is as follows:

Tom Buchanan MLA, the right honourable Jeffrey Donaldson MP, MLA, David Simpson MP, MLA, Peter Weir MLA, Leslie Cree MLA, Basil McCrea MLA, Martina Anderson MLA, Alex Maskey MLA, Daithi McKay MLA, Dolores Kelly MLA, Professor Sir Desmond Rea, Barry Gilligan, Rosaleen Moore, Suneil Sharma, Brian Rea MBE JP, Trevor Ringland, David Rose, Gearoid OhEara and Mary McKee.

---