Second Report
Instruments of interest
DRAFT IMMIGRATION, ASYLUM AND NATIONALITY ACT 2006
(DUTY TO SHARE INFORMATION AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION FOR SECURITY
PURPOSES) ORDER 2007
1. This draft Order specifies passenger, crew,
freight[1], service and
other travel-related information which the "border agencies"
(i.e. the Home Office, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the
Police) may share. The information may also be disclosed to the
Security and Intelligence Agencies where relevant. Section 37
of the Immigration, Nationality and Asylum Act 2006 created a
requirement for one or more codes of practice about the use of
the shared information and the form and manner in which such shared
information is to be made available. A working draft of that code
of practice has been placed in the Library for information and
the Home Office intend to lay the final version before the debate
on the Order takes place on 28 November. The Home Office plan
to lay several more instruments on the acquisition of the data
at the end of November. They are not dependent on this affirmative
Order, although they are part of the same e-Borders programme
to implement the electronic collection and bulk sharing of passenger
and crew information.
EDUCATION (LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITY PERFORMANCE
TARGETS) (ENGLAND) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2007 (SI 2007/2972)
AND THE EDUCATION (SCHOOL PERFORMANCE TARGETS) (ENGLAND) (AMENDMENT)
REGULATIONS 2007 (SI 2007/2975)
2. The Department for Children, Schools and Families
(DCSF) have laid the Education (Local Education Authority Performance
Targets) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2972),
and the Education (School Performance Targets) (England) (Amendment)
Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2975). One effect of the Regulations
is that there will be a new requirement to set progression targets
at key stages 2, 3 and 4, which will focus on pupils making progress
of two levels of attainment at each key stage. DCSF provided no
information about the consultation process on these proposals
in the Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the Regulations. A
consultation process was in fact carried out between January and
April 2007, and a summary of consultation responses is available
on DCSF's website. This shows that there were 140 responses to
the proposal to set progression targets related to two levels
of attainment; and that, of these 140, 63 (45%) disagreed with
the proposal and 44 (31%) agreed (the remainder were not sure).
We voiced our concern to DCSF that this information had not been
included in the EM, and we have received a letter (printed at
the Appendix) which apologises for this omission and undertakes
that the Department will submit a revised EM. The letter also
explains why, despite the outcome of that consultation process,
the Department have decided to proceed with the proposal; and
it refers to further consultation which DCSF have held in the
context of discussions with educational organisations on Public
Service Agreement (PSA) targets, formulated with HM Treasury.
EDUCATION (SCHOOL DAY AND SCHOOL YEAR) (ENGLAND)
(AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2007 (SI 2007/3071)
3. The Department for Children, Schools and Families
have also laid the Education (School Day and School Year) (England)
(Amendment) Regulations 2007. Under Regulations dating from 1999,
maintained schools in England have been required to meet for 380
school sessions (190 days) in each academic year; and teachers
must also work for an additional five "non-contact"
days (when pupils are not present), which schools commonly use
for Curriculum and Professional Development. This SI allows schools,
in the school year 2007-2008 only, to use up to two additional
school sessions (one day) for teacher training relating to the
Key Stage 3 reforms. We asked DCSF whether organisations representative
of parents had been consulted over this change, but were told
that the Department had taken the view that there was no need
to do so, and that representative organisations were informed,
not consulted. We feel obliged to question whether this approach
takes sufficient account of the potential impact on childcare
arrangements of the change.
PPP ADMINISTRATION ORDER RULES 2007 (SI 2007/3141)
4. The PPP Administration Order Rules
2007 set out a special insolvency regime for the companies providing
services under a public-private partnership agreement or "PPP
agreement", as defined by section 210 of the Greater London
Authority Act 1999 (which restricts them to certain transport
companies). They are intended for use in relation to the PPP companies
contracted to provide repairs and improvement to the infrastructure
of the London Underground, including Metronet. These Rules are
based on the provisions of the Insolvency Rules 1986 (S.I. 1986/1925)
but contain certain tailored provisions, which, for example, would
limit the insolvency practitioner's ability to sell off assets
that might jeopardise the running or maintenance of the London
Underground.
COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY SINGLE PAYMENT AND SUPPORT
SCHEMES (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2007 (SI 2007/3182)
5. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA) have laid the Common Agricultural Policy Single
Payment and Support Schemes (Amendment) Regulations 2007. The
most important provisions in the Regulations concern the incorporation
of sugar funding into the Single Payment Scheme (SPS), and the
setting of "voluntary modulation" (VM) rates (i.e.,
the transfer of funds from farming subsidies, in the first pillar
of the Common Agricultural Policy, to rural development schemes).
As regards sugar funding, the consultation process which DEFRA
conducted between February and May 2006 showed that over 90% of
respondents supported the approach being followed in the Regulations.
However, views have been more divided over the proposed VM rates.
These were made public in a Ministerial statement in March 2007
(HC Hansard, 29 March 2007, column 131WS). The National Farmers
Union commented that the announcement showed that English farmers
would be at a disadvantage by comparison with their counterparts
in the rest of Europe; however, environmental organisations welcomed
the announcement.
1 In this context, "freight" can include
goods sent by post (e.g. prohibited or restricted goods such as
firearms, drugs or paedophile pornography) but does not include
letters or documents sent by post. Back
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