| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
17 July 2008 : Column WS81
17 July 2008 : Column WS81
17 July 2008 : Column WS81
Thursday 17 July 2008
Cabinet Office: Official Receptions
Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Edward Miliband) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have today published a list of receptions hosted by Cabinet Office Ministers in the 2007-08 financial year.
The total cost of receptions held for the financial year 2007-08 was £2,884.00.
| Date | Event | Number | Host |
|
Stakeholder reception to mark the announcement of the Public Service Agreement target for Socially Excluded Adults | |||
Civil Aviation Authority
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Ruth Kelly) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
I am publishing today, and placing in the Libraries of both Houses, Sir Joseph Pilling’s report of his independent strategic review of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK’s aviation regulator. I commissioned this review last September, following a recommendation by the Transport Committee of this House.
I am grateful to Sir Joseph for his thoughtful report and his recognition of the important contribution which the CAA makes to aviation in the UK and internationally. He found that the CAA has been and continues to be highly successful, but he concluded that its framework and organisation could be modernised to meet future challenges in the fast-changing aviation sector.
Some of Sir Joseph’s recommendations are for the Government, including some which are relevant to the separate review of airport economic regulation which I announced recently, and to work on improving the passenger experience. I intend to consider these recommendations in detail over the summer and to make a fuller statement in the autumn. Interested parties who wish to comment on the report should write to me by the end of September.
17 July 2008 : Column WS82
Some of the key recommendations deal with the CAA’s governance and would bring the way that the organisation operates more in line with modern regulatory practice. It would be advantageous to make the governance reforms soon, to help lead the further changes envisaged.
The current chair, Sir Roy McNulty, completes his term next year after a very distinguished period in that office since 2001. My department will shortly start the process of seeking a part-time non-executive chair and then a new chief executive, on the basis envisaged by Sir Joseph Pilling.
I am pleased that the CAA board has welcomed the overall outcome of the review, and has confirmed the CAA’s willingness to work closely with my department in the programme of implementation.
The report is available on the Department for Transport website and printed copies can be obtained from: DfT Publications, Tel: 0870 1226 236, Textphone: 0870 1207 405, Email: dftinf@capita.co.uk
Correction to Commons Written Answer
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
Subsequent to Written Answers I gave on 29 January, 11 March and 2 April 2008, to Parliamentary Questions on data handling, I would like to inform the House that further investigation has revealed additional information.
The response to the honourable Member for Chipping Barnet (Question 175768) [Official Report, Commons 29 January 2008; col. 197W] should have included reference to three further instances of data being accessible overseas:
First, the Vehicle Operator Services Agency has an IT contract with Siemens covering the computerisation of the MoT Scheme. The Siemens data centre is based in the UK and all operational data are stored in the UK. However, some of the data were processed by Siemens staff in India on a controlled basis for the purpose of correcting and updating software code. The data were not transferred to a physical storage device outside the UK, and the data could not be saved, amended or copied to any device in India.
The information that was potentially viewable on this basis was as follows:
information relating to the construction/specification and the registration mark of all vehicles in Great Britain that are subject to the MoT scheme. This does not include any details in relation to the registered keeper of the vehicle;details of 65,500 nominated testers under the MoT scheme comprising individual's name, home address, date of birth, telephone number and driving licence number; anddetails of 16,500 individual authorised examiners under the MoT scheme comprising individual's name, business address, business telephone and fax number.17 July 2008 : Column WS83
Siemens was instructed to revoke all access to operational data from India in relation to the MoT computerisation system on 12 June 2008.
Separately, the central department has a contract with Siemens for a public inquiry service that uses a system provided under contract by RightNow Technologies. That company backs up the information transporting the data electronically via an encrypted channel to its disaster recovery centre in Chicago where it is held in an unencrypted form in a physically secure environment. A further unencrypted tape backup is maintained by Iron Mountain in a vault in New Jersey. The information includes business contact details of DfT staff, and details of calls and callers’ name and telephone number for queries that have been referred to the DfT internal team for answer.
Finally the central department uses an online survey site hosted by SurveyMonkey.com, a US company whose site is hosted in the United States. This facility has been used by the department to conduct surveys including staff surveys. Personal information relating to DfT staff included name, workplace address, qualifications and employment experience. It was also used by VOSA to get feedback on staff events such as their annual conference.
The response to Question 179889 from the honourable Member for Pendle [Official Report, Commons, 11 March 2008; cols. 211-13W] should have included:
In addition to Fujitsu database administrators, IBM database administratorsalso have direct access to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s registers.
Finally, in response to Question 197148 from the honourable Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr [Official Report, Commons 2 April 2008; cols. 1010-11W] the following should have been included:
The central department uses an online survey site hosted by SurveyMonkey.com, a US registered company whose site is hosted in the United States. This facility has been used by the department to conduct surveys including staff surveys. Personal information relating to DfT staff included name, workplace address, qualifications and employment experience. It was also used by VOSA to get feedback on staff events such as their annual conference.
Department for Work and Pensions: Agencies’ Annual Reports and Accounts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord McKenzie of Luton): My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (James Purnell) has made the following Statement.
I am pleased to announce that the Department for Work and Pensions has today laid in the House the 2007-08 annual reports and accounts for its executive agencies: Jobcentre Plus (HC 707), the Pension Service (HC 855), the Disability and Carers Service (HC 719), and the Rent Service (HC 729). The annual report and accounts of the Child Support Agency will be laid shortly.
17 July 2008 : Column WS84
Department of Health: Official Receptions
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Darzi of Denham): My honourable friend the Minister of State, Department of Health (Ben Bradshaw) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have today published a list of official receptions hosted by Ministers at the Department of Health for the financial year 2007-08. The total cost of official receptions for the financial year 2007-08 was £2,129.
Equitable Life
Lord Davies of Oldham: My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Kitty Ussher) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman has today published the report of her investigation into the prudential regulation of the Equitable Life Assurance Society from 1988 to the end of November 2001.
The ombudsman's investigation was launched in 2004 following the publication of Lord Penrose's independent forensic investigation into the events at Equitable Life (HC 290). He concluded that Equitable Life’s own actions ultimately precipitated its financial difficulties in the summer of 2000.
17 July 2008 : Column WS85
The ombudsman has looked at the application of the now replaced prudential regulatory regime under the Insurance Companies Act 1982. Her investigation has covered issues of considerable factual and technical complexity.
Against this backdrop, it was necessary for the bodies subject to the ombudsman’s investigation to make detailed representations on a number of occasions throughout the investigation. Those representations were put forward at the ombudsman’s request to assist her review of the evidence. They highlighted substantive differences of view between the bodies and the ombudsman which she has responded to in the report published today.
The Government recognise that the ombudsman’s report raises issues of concern to all interested parties. The length and complexity of the report mean that the Government will need to consider the report carefully before giving a response to the House in the autumn.
EU: Budget Ecofin
Lord Davies of Oldham: My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Kitty Ussher) has made the following Written Statement.
Budget Ecofin will be held on 17 July in Brussels and the UK Permanent Representative will attend and represent the UK. Discussion will be on the preliminary draft budget for the European Communities for 2009 and the meeting will include conciliation with the European Parliament, during which Council and the European Parliament will discuss expenditure levels. Items on the agenda are as follows:
Preparation for the conciliation meeting with the European Parliament;Conciliation with the European Parliament;Establishment by the Council of the draft EC Budget for 2009.EU: Economic and Financial Affairs Council
Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr Alistair Darling) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council was held in Brussels on 8 July 2008. I attended for the UK. Items on the agenda were as follows.
The French presidency presented the Ecofin work programme for the next six months followed by an exchange of views. As part of the agreed three-presidency approach, the French presidency will begin the first stages of the common priorities agreed with the incoming Czech and Swedish presidencies in 2009. These priorities include boosting confidence in the financial system, continuing the integration of the internal market, and responding to citizens' concerns about the current economic situation. The UK supports the proposed work programme.
17 July 2008 : Column WS86
Implementation of the stability and growthpact
The Council adopted opinions on the updated stability programme for Belgium and the updated convergence programme for Poland. Ministers also agreed to a draft decision ending the excessive deficit procedure for Poland, repealing Ecofin’s decision in 2004 noting the existence of an excessive government deficit. In addition the Council agreed to a decision and recommendations under Articles 104(6) and 104(7) of the EC treaty with regard to the UK, placing the UK in excessive deficit procedure.
Adoption of the euro by Slovakia
The Council adopted the legislative Acts required for the adoption of the euro by Slovakia from January 2009, finalising the agreement at the June European Council, and adopted regulations for the conversion rate of 30.1260 Slovak korunas to the euro. The UK congratulates Slovakia on the substantial reforms made in order to meet the Maastricht criteria for entry into the single currency.
Following the discussion at the June European Council, Ministers held an exchange of views on the situation in the oil and fuel markets and on the French presidency work programme to prepare Ecofin’s contribution to the October and December European Councils. This included reaching political agreement on the principle of weekly publication of oil stock information. The UK supports the work under way to better understand what is driving the development of oil prices under the guiding principles set out in the Manchester 2005 declaration on the need to avoid distortionary fiscal interventions in the oil markets.
Governance of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |