Ninth Report
Instruments Reported
The Committee has considered the following instruments
and has determined that the special attention of the House should
be drawn to them on the grounds specified.
A. Draft Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
(Continuance in force of sections 1 to 9) Order 2007
Summary: This Order extends, for a further 12
months, the current provisions for the supervision of terrorist
suspects by means of control orders. There are currently 18 control
orders in force. The annual report by the Independent Reviewer,
Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, on how the system is operating is
due to be published before the end of February and we trust that
it will be made available to the House in good time for the debate.
This Order is drawn to the special attention of
the House on the grounds that it is politically and legally important
and gives rise to issues of public policy likely to be of interest
to the House.
1. The Home Office have laid this Order under
section 13(2)(c) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 together
with an Explanatory Memorandum (EM).
2. The Order extends, for a further 12 months,
the current provisions for the supervision of terrorist suspects
by means of control orders. Such orders may be imposed on any
individual that the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds
for suspecting is, or has been, involved in terrorism-related
activity and presents a risk to the public. This Order would extend
these arrangements until 10 March 2008.
3. There are currently 18 control orders in force.
Two of those subject to such orders have absconded, and a third
absconded before such an order could be imposed.
4. The annual report of the Independent Reviewer
of the operation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, Lord
Carlile of Berriew QC, which will give details of how the control
order system is operating, was not laid with the Order. It will
be of particular interest as last year's report was unable to
comment on the whole of the control order regime because the courts
had not, at that stage, ruled on all the legal challenges brought
by those subject to control orders. The EM states that it is due
to be published before the end of February: we trust that the
report will be made available to the House in good time for the
debate.
5. The arrangements set out in the current Order
were intended to be temporary. When the equivalent Order was laid
last year, the then Home Secretary made a statement (HC Deb 2
February 2006 cols 478-490) setting out a programme of work being
undertaken to review and clarify counter-terrorism legislation.
It was anticipated that revised legislation would be presented
for pre-legislative scrutiny in the first half of 2007: the
House may wish to enquire about progress.
B. Education (New Secondary School Proposals)
(England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/59)
Summary: These Regulations provide for competitions
for new schools held under the Education Act 2005 to be decided
by the schools adjudicator rather than the School Organisation
Committee (SOC) in cases where the local authority or Church of
England or Roman Catholic diocese has an interest in any of the
proposals. The Regulations will be superseded by provisions in
the Education and Inspections Act 2006, which the Government aim
to bring into force in May 2007. The timing of this use of secondary
legislation raises questions about the adequacy of the Department's
forward planning, and seems liable to cause confusion to interested
parties involved in any competition already underway.
These Regulations are drawn to the special attention
of the House on the ground that they give rise to issues of public
policy likely to be of interest to the House.
6. The Department for Education and Skills (DfES)
have made these Regulations under sections 66 and 120 of, and
paragraphs 5 and 10 of Schedule 10 to, the Education Act 2005
("the 2005 Act"). An Explanatory Memorandum (EM) has
also been provided.
7. The Regulations provide for competitions for
new schools held under the 2005 Act to be decided by the schools
adjudicator rather than the School Organisation Committee (SOC)
in cases where the local authority or Church of England or Roman
Catholic diocese has an interest in any of the proposals.[1]
8. The EM states that the 2005 Act and associated
Regulations provide for competitions for new secondary schools
to be decided by the SOC for the area in the first instance. In
fact, while the powers for those associated regulations were in
the 2005 Act, the Education (New Secondary School Proposals) (England)
Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2139) were brought into force only on
1 September 2006. That instrument made provision for the procedures
to be followed where a local authority invited proposals for a
new secondary school, which had to be passed to the SOC for decision
(and to the schools adjudicator if the SOC could not reach a unanimous
decision). SI 2007/59 amends SI 2006/2139.
9. The EM states that the schools competition
provisions of the 2005 Act will be superseded by corresponding
provisions of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 ("the
2006 Act"). DfES are currently consulting on those provisions.
Under the 2006 Act, competitions for new schools will be decided
either by the local authority, if the local authority have no
interest in any of the proposals, or by the schools adjudicator,
if the local authority have such an interest. In either case,
the decision of the local authority or of the schools adjudicator
will be final.
10. In short, using powers in the 2005 Act, SI
2007/59 has been made in January 2007 to amend SI 2006/2139 which
was also made under the 2005 Act, but came into force only four
months earlier (in September 2006); and it will be superseded
by provisions in the 2006 Act which have not yet come into force.
The consultation paper relating to the relevant provisions of
the 2006 Act[2] includes
a statement that DfES "aim to bring these school organisation
and governance provisions into force in May 2007", that is,
four months after SI 2007/59 was made.
11. The Department have advised the Committee
that the arrangements introduced by SI 2007/59 stand on their
merits, and would have been introduced regardless of the commencement
of the provisions of the 2006 Act. However, given the timing described
above, we feel obliged to question whether there has been effective
forward planning by the Department, since in this case it falls
to Parliament to consider secondary legislation which will be
superseded by provisions in primary legislation expected to be
commenced in the very near future.
12. Moreover, as the EM makes clear, the changes
made by these Regulations will affect at least one new school
competition launched since September 2006 but before January 2007.
"Since [September] two local authorities have initiated a
total of three competitions by publishing notices inviting proposals
for new secondary schools. Only one of these competitions is likely
to fall to be decided under the 2005 Act … the Department
has written to the local authorities concerned explaining that
the regulations have been made and will come into force on [9
February], and separately to the local authority, SOC and proposers
involved in the competition which will be immediately affected
by the Regulations." We suggest that this process is liable
to cause confusion to those with an interest in any competition
which is already under way, including parents concerned about
educational provision in their area.
C. Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations
2007 (SI 2007/114)
Summary: These regulations, which implement a
European Union obligation, end the exemption for caving and climbing
leadership from the principal regulations. Nonetheless, HSE have
used an innovative approach to the problem, based on maintaining
an "equivalent level of safety" to that required by
the regulations and as provided for by best practice in the industry.
We commend the solution.
These Regulations are drawn to the special attention
of the House on the ground that they give rise to issues of public
policy likely to be of interest to the House
13. These Regulations have been laid by the Department
for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the Health and Safety Executive
(HSE), under sections 15(1) and 82(3)(a) of the Health and Safety
at Work etc Act 1974, together with an Explanatory Memorandum
(EM), a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and a Transposition
Note (TN).
14. These Regulations amend the Work at Height
Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/735: "the principal Regulations")
to apply those Regulations to those whose work concerns the provision
of instruction or leadership to persons engaged in caving or climbing
by way of sport, recreation, team-building or similar activities.
15. When consulting on the proposed implementation
of Directive 2001/45/EC on working at height, HSE received requests
from the adventure activity sector for an exemption from those
Regulations in relation to caving and climbing work. Rather than
delay giving other workers the benefits of the principal Regulations,
HSE decided to consider the position of the adventure sector separately
at a later date.
16. These Regulations now end that temporary
exemption but allow duty holders working in caving and climbing
to use alternative means to maintain an equivalent level of safety
to that already provided in the principal Regulations in connection
with the use of ropes. Because the natural environment in which
cavers and climbers move is never constant, they are required
to adopt a flexible approach to ensure that the techniques applied
are the most appropriate to the given situation. This equivalent
level of safety can be achieved by following existing good practices
found in the caving and climbing activity sector. Incident rates
in the adventure activities sector are comparable with the improving
safety standards among industrial rope access workers, as reported
by the International Industrial Rope Access Trade Association.
The opportunity to compare the safety performance of these two
groups of workers provides an important check and balance in the
issue of "equivalent safety". Work already done by HSE
has confirmed that the approach set out in these Regulations provides
a sensible way of resolving the sector's previous concerns.
We commend the solution.
1 An SOC normally comprises five groups, representing
the local education authority, the Church of England diocese for
the area, the Roman Catholic Diocese for the area, the local Learning
and Skills Council, and existing schools in the area. Back
2
See: Education and Inspections Act 2006: Consultation on School
Organisation and Governance Regulations and Guidance (November
2006): http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conDocument.cfm?consultationId=1439
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