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Police: Pay
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Jacqui Smith) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
On 6 December 2007, I published Sir Clive Booth’s report Determining Pay in the Police Service. Sir Clive Booth recommended that a pay review body for police officers should be created. I indicated that the Government accepted his recommendations and we would consult on proposals for implementing the necessary changes to the police officer pay machinery.
On 8 January 2008, I wrote to the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) asking it to consider a multi-year deal for police officers based on the index used by the Police Arbitration Tribunal (PAT) in 2007. I made it clear that if the PNB agreed such a deal, it could be implemented in full, and the issue of implementing a pay review body for police officers would become less pressing. We therefore deferred consultation on the implementation of a pay review body while negotiations on a multi-year deal were taking place. The Government’s approach on this was also set out in From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our Communities Together (Cm 7448) published on 17 July 2008.
The official side of the PNB made an offer of a three-year pay deal that was one of the most generous in the public sector. Regrettably, there was a failure to agree with the staff side on this basis. In the event that the PNB had agreed a multi-year deal there would have been no role for a pay review body for some time but, disappointingly, for the third consecutive year a deal was not agreed.
The Government are therefore today beginning consultation on proposals for implementing a pay review body for police officers. Sir Clive Booth already
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The consultation will close on Wednesday 5 November 2008.
I have today placed a copy of the consultation document in the Library of the House.
Terrorism: Control Orders
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): My right honourable friend the Minster for Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing (Mr Tony McNulty) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
Section 14(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of every relevant three-month period on the exercise of the control order powers during that period.
The level of information provided will always be subject to slight variations based on operational advice.
Control orders continue to be an essential tool to protect the public from terrorism, particularly where it is not possible to prosecute individuals for terrorism-related activity and, in the case of foreign nationals, where they cannot be removed from the UK.
As stated in previous quarterly statements on control orders, control order obligations are tailored to the individual concerned and are based on the terrorism-related risk that that individual poses. Each control order is kept under regular review to ensure that obligations remain necessary and proportionate. The Home Office continues to hold control order review groups (CORGs) every quarter, with representation from law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, to keep the obligations in every control order under regular and formal review and to facilitate a review of appropriate exit strategies. During this reporting period, three CORGs were held in relation to the orders currently in force. In addition, further meetings were held on an ad-hoc basis as specific issues arose.
During the period 11 June 2008 to 10 September 2008, one new non-derogating control order was made. Six non-derogating control orders were renewed in accordance with Section 2(6) of the 2005 Act. In total, 16 control orders are currently in force, four of which are in respect of British citizens. Three individuals subject to a control order live in the Metropolitan Police Service area; the remaining individuals live in other police force areas. All of these control orders are non-derogating.
During this reporting period, 120 modifications of control order obligations were made and 61 requests to modify a control order obligation were refused. A right of appeal exists in Sections 10(1) and 10(3) of the
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Seven judgments have been handed down by the High Court in control-order cases during this reporting period. Three of these judgments have been handed down in the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v Abu Rideh. An interim judgment in a modification appeal was handed down on 23 June 2008 in which the court ordered that a modification be made to Abu Rideh’s reporting requirements. Final judgment was reserved until the conclusion of the substantive review of the control order under Section 3(10) of the 2005 Act. Following the hearing under Section 3(10) in July, a judgment was handed down on 8 August 2008 in relation to the issue of compliance with Article 6 of the ECHR (a closed version of the judgment was handed down on 31 July 2008). The court ordered that further disclosure of the closed case against Abu Rideh should be made available to him or withdrawn from the case. No appeals against this judgment have been submitted by either side as yet. A further interim judgment in relation to modification appeals submitted by Abu Rideh was handed down on 15 August 2008. The court ordered some further modifications to Abu Rideh’s reporting and visitor obligations but upheld the Secretary of State’s decision to refuse to allow Abu Rideh to have access to the internet.
Two of the judgments handed down in this reporting period relate to the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v AP. A closed judgment in relation to Article 6 compliance was handed down on 14 July 2008. A judgment was handed down in the substantive 3(10) review of AP’s control order on 15 August 2008. The court found that there was reasonable suspicion that APis, or has been, involved in terrorism-related activity and that a control order is necessary to protect the public from a risk of terrorism. The court also found that no further disclosure was necessary in order to ensure compliance with Article 6. The judgment dealt with two modification appeals lodged by the controlled person. On the first appeal, the court found that a modification made to AP’s control order by the Secretary of State had created a package of obligations which was in breach of Article 5. APwas subsequently served with a modified control order. The second appeal in relation to restrictions on meetings and mosque attendance was dismissed. Both AP and the Secretary of State have sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal; decisions with regard to permission are pending.
Two judgments have been handed down in other cases in relation to modification appeals lodged by controlled persons. A judgment was handed down in the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v AEon 21 July 2008 in which the court upheld the Secretary of State’s decision to refuse AE
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Full judgments are available at http://www.bailii.org/.
The following statements were received between Tuesday 16 September and Monday 22 September 2008
Armed Forces: Compensation Scheme
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Derek Twigg) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
It has been brought to my attention that replies I gave on 14 May 2008 (Official Report, Commons, col. 1578W) to the honourable Member for North Devon (Mr Harvey) and on 6 June 2008 (Official Report, Commons, col. 1182W) to the honourable Member for Woodspring (Dr Fox) overreported the percentage and number of rejected claims made under the Armed Forces compensation scheme.
The original data and subsequent revisions are shown in the tables below.
| Table 1: Previously released and revised AFCS rejection percentages (excluding medical discharges) | |||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | Apr 07-Dec 07 | |
| Table 2: Previously released and revised AFCS rejection figures | |||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | Apr 07-Dec 07 | |
Armed Forces: BAES LSM
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Derek Twigg) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I am pleased to announce that on 20 August we signed a 15-year partnering agreement with BAE Systems Land Systems Munitions (BAES LSM) for the future supply of general munitions to the Armed Forces. This is the first opportunity since contract signature to inform the House.
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The new contractual arrangements have been developed under the umbrella of Project MASS (Munitions Acquisition—The Supply Solution), which is a key strand for delivering the defence industrial strategy (DIS) within the general munitions field. The contractual partnering agreement is underpinned by a broader non-contractual strategic partnering arrangement between BAES LSM and the MoD for the longer-term delivery of joint objectives in the munitions sector.
At present, 80 per cent, by value, of the general munitions used by the Armed Forces for front-line operations and training are procured from BAES LSM under a contract due to end in 2010. The new, innovative partnering agreement will continue to cover about 80 per cent of the general munitions requirement, including small arms and medium calibre ammunition, mortar shells and artillery shells and will ensure continuing security of supply for a minimum of 15 years. The new agreement, which is worth at least £2 billion and, depending on the level of demand, potentially in excess of £3 billion, also incentivises BAES LSM to deliver a modern, world-class industrial base.
This is excellent news for defence. Not only will the new arrangements deliver a long-term, secure supply of battle-winning munitions for our Armed Forces, it will ensure that the UK retains an important sovereign capability, directly sustaining some 1,700 UK jobs. It is also excellent news for BAES LSM and for its highly skilled work force in the north of England and south Wales, who are to be commended for their continued commitment and contribution to our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, under the current arrangements. During this period of high demand, the company has stepped up production to meet the challenge, providing up to one million rounds of small arms ammunition a day from their manufacturing facility at Radway Green, near Crewe.
Our new partnering agreement with BAES LSM is an important milestone in the implementation of the defence industrial strategy, which is providing a framework for real change in the defence industry and its relationships with the MoD.
Armed Forces: Qinetiq
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Derek Twigg) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
This Statement updates the House on the successful sale by the Ministry of Defence of its entire holding of ordinary shares in QinetiQ Group plc (QinetiQ). QinetiQ was created in 2001 from the majority of the MoD’s in-house science and technology laboratories. Given the market-sensitive nature of the transaction, it was not possible to inform the House in advance of the decision to sell.
The MoD announced on 9 September 2008 that it would sell its remaining 18.9 per cent stake, comprising approximately 125 million ordinary shares, in the company. The sale process was completed on the same day through an accelerated book-build process, achieving
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The Government retain a special share in the company. This provides the Government with the right to block certain activities or ownership that could be contrary to UK defence and security interests or which could threaten QinetiQ’s ability to provide its MoD customers with impartial advice.
The sale brings the total raised for the taxpayer from the privatisation of QinetiQ to approximately £830m (net of costs).
Department for Transport: Official Receptions
Lord Bassam of Brighton: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
I have today published a list of receptions hosted by Department for Transport Ministers in the 2007-08 financial year.
The total cost of receptions held for the financial year 2007-08 was £408.10.
| Official receptions hosted by Ministers at the Department for Transport | |||
| Date | Event | Number | Host |
Freedom of Information Act 2000
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): My honourable friend the Minister of State (Michael Wills) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
Tomorrow I will deposit copies of The Freedom of Information Act 2000—Statistics on implementation in Central Government: Q2—April-June 2008 in the Libraries of both Houses. Copies will also be available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.
This is the quarterly monitoring statistics report analysing the performance of central government in the fourth full year of freedom of information.
HMS Tireless
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness Taylor of Bolton): My right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Bob Ainsworth) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
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Following my Statement on 12 June 2008 about the incident that took place on board HMS Tireless in March 2007, I would like to inform the House today that the investigation undertaken on behalf of the Chief of Defence Materiel to consider issues relating to the procurement, supply and management of oxygen generators has concluded.
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