I am today announcing a range of improvements to the strategic road network that will tackle congestion, improve safety and reduce the impact of traffic noise.Measures that minimise the effect of traffic on the people who live alongside roads are as important as trying to ensure that people can travel safely and reliably. For this reason we will be installing quieter surfacing on over 60 per cent. of the trunk road network, including all concrete stretches, within the period of the 10 year plan.I am now able to announce the timetable for the resurfacing of all stretches of concrete roads and that within the next four years we will resurface the 26 stretches affecting the largest number of people. The remaining stretches will be resurfaced between 2007 and 2011.The early work will benefit some 11,500 properties and cost in the order of £77 million. Details have been placed in the Library, along with copies of the report by TRL Ltd that compares estimated noise levels with actual noise levels.In the light of the recommendations of the Regional Planning Bodies, the Statutory Environmental Bodies, local authorities and other stakeholders I have asked the Highways Agency to add the following road schemes to the Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI) at a cost of £637 million:

I am publishing today the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency's annual business plan. Copies have been placed in the Library.The business plan highlights the Agency's achievements in 2002–03 and sets out the key tasks and targets for the coming year.This comprehensive plan has been formulated within the context of the Agency's ongoing remit to lead the modernisation of the NHS purchasing and supply function. The Agency has a strategic role to set out a major development agenda for purchasing and supply in the NHS and to develop a co-ordinated implementation plan for doing so. The business plan sets out clearly how the Agency will achieve these aims.

I am today publishing "Making Change Happen", the Government's annual report on learning disability services. The report describes progress made in implementing the programme of action set out in the White Paper Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century (Cm 5086) and contains a response to Making Things Happen, the first annual report of the Learning Disability Task Force, published in January this year.People with learning disabilities are among the most socially excluded and vulnerable groups in society. In March 2001 we published

The first Afghanistan Development Forum took place in Kabul on 13–14 March 2003. The Afghanistan Transitional Administration (ATA) presented its budget for the next financial year (2003–04) to donors. This was another milestone in Afghanistan's rehabilitation as a functioning state. It was well attended by many Afghan Ministers and a large number of donors, including officials from my Department. Donors welcomed the progress that the Afghans have made in the last 15 months, and acknowledged the huge challenges still to be faced.The Afghan Transitional Administration presented its National Development Budget for the coming year (1382). The total budget of $2.3 billion is to cover both the ordinary and the development budgets. The ordinary budget, which covers civil service, police and army salaries as well as operating and maintenance budgets, totals $550m. The development budget covering 12 broad sectors for development as outlined in the National Development Framework, totals $1.7 billion. Whilst donors will continue to fund most of both budgets the ATA plan to raise $200 million in domestic revenue to contribute to the ordinary budget.The ATA expressed their commitment to begin to reform the public administration. Reforms announced included the completion in the next six months of a nominal payroll database for civil servants and the enforcement of an immediate freeze on civil service numbers. A review will also be conducted of ministries' functions and senior staffing levels. While we welcome these announcements on reform we shall continue to seek more detail and press for urgent implementation.Donors responded positively to the ATA budget, already pledging over $1.8 billion for 2003–04. My Department reaffirmed our Tokyo commitment to provide at least £40 million a year for five years. We also pledged to increase this amount, depending on performance, especially on public administration reform. We announced a possible additional £10 million for 2003–04 depending on progress. The ATA welcomed this approach and encouraged other donors to follow it.

Data reported by Energy Conservation Authorities in England under the Home Energy Conservation Act 1995 in the period 1 April 1996 to 31 March 2002 has been placed in the Libraries of the House. This data has also been published on the Department for Food and Rural Affairs' website, at address http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/energy/heca95/index.htm. Authorities have reported an overall improvement in domestic energy efficiency of approximately 10 per cent. as measured against a 1996 baseline.

I am gravely concerned at reports that Northbridge Services Group, a UK company, is recruiting British, South African, French and other ex-servicemen as military units to work in Côte d'Ivoire. The crisis in Côte d'Ivoire has caused enormous suffering for the people of that country, and threatens the stability of the wider region. The Linas-Marcoussis agreement offers Ivorians the opportunity of a peaceful, political settlement, which addresses the key issue underlying the crisis. Ivorians are now making progress in setting up a broad-based government of National Reconciliation, under the terms of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement. Any deployment of foreign military units at this time would seriously undermine the peace process, and the efforts of the UK and wider international community to support a durable, political settlement. We have made it clear to Northbridge Services Group that the UK Government would deplore any intervention of this sort.

Following consultations with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a licence to export antennae masts to Ghana. These masts will be used, by the Ghanaian Armed Forces in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).The DRC is subject to an EU arms embargo, imposed by a Declaration of 7/4/1993. The embargo was put in place mainly to ensure the safety of international troops and civilian personnel deployed in the DRC.The decision to grant an exemption to the EU arms embargo on the DRC was made on the basis that the equipment is needed by bona fide UN peacekeepers and is proportionate to the needs of the Ghanaian peacekeepers. It does not affect HMG's continued support for the EU arms embargo on the DRC.HMG fully supports the Ghanaian troops deployed to the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC. The decision underlines our continued support for the work being done by peacekeepers within the country.

I am pleased to announce that the gross discretionary social fund budget for 2003–04 will be £677.5m. This represents an increase of more than £50m over the total gross budget at April 2002. This increase will be funded through higher loan recoveries, plus an increase in net Treasury funding of £20m for this year. The £20m is the first of three annual increases from a £90m boost for the discretionary Social Fund announced in the Autumn 2002 pre-Budget report.As part of the 2003–04 allocation, we have increased the community care grant budget by £10m. This is a significant increase that will help the most vulnerable. It has been distributed so that every district benefits by an increase in their CCG budget and districts move closer to meeting the same proportion of demand nationally.The loans budget will be £558m, an increase of £40m over that at April 2002. To maintain fairness within the scheme, the loans budget will continue to be allocated to districts to support consistency of outcome for applicants wherever they live.£1.5m will be retained centrally as a contingency reserve. For example to provide additional help to districts facing unexpected and unplanned expenditure.Details of individual district budget allocations have been placed in the Library.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be making a number of minor changes to the discretionary social fund, with effect from 7 April 2003. The changes to the fund are minor clarifications of guidance and directions, and, in the main, are consequential to legislative changes being made in respect of other social security benefits.Details of the changes have been placed in the Library.

On 7 October 2002 my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced the ending of the routine granting of exceptional leave on a country basis and a review of its use and scope to focus it on those who really need special humanitarian protection but do not qualify as refugee.In the past, exceptional leave has been used far too widely—it was only ever intended to be granted to those able to demonstrate compelling compassionate or humanitarian reasons for staying in the United Kingdom. Instead, the widespread use of exceptional leave has acted as a pull factor, encouraging economic migrants to apply for asylum in the United Kingdom in the belief that they will be given exceptional leave when their claim is rejected.That is why we have decided to replace the exceptional leave system with a new Humanitarian Protection system. From now on the UK will only offer international protection to those who really need it.From today Humanitarian Protection will be granted only to those who, though not refugees would, if removed, face in the country of return a serious risk to life or person arising from the death penalty, unlawful killing or torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.Under the new system those who qualify for Humanitarian Protection will be granted leave for three years, at which point a person with a continuing need for protection will be eligible to apply for settlement in the United Kingdom. A person with no continuing need will not get any further leave.The Secretary of State will also retain the discretion to grant limited leave to those who do not qualify for Humanitarian Protection or leave under the Immigration rules. The circumstances in which Discretionary Leave will be granted will be defined and tightly focused. This leave will normally be granted for two periods of three years, but there is scope to grant shorter periods depending on the individual circumstances. Again, it will not be renewed unless a person continues to qualify for such leave.Both the Humanitarian Protection and Discretionary Leave systems will be far more focused and clearly defined than the exceptional leave system. Failed asylum seekers who do not fall into one of these categories will not be granted any leave and will be removed. We are determined that the asylum system will no longer be a short cut to work or settlement in the UK. I believe that these measures, when taken alongside the provisions in the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, will take us even further forward in our efforts to reduce the number of unfounded asylum applicants seeking to abuse our immigration system.

The Ministry of Defence's Vaccines Interactions Research Programme is studying whether the combination of vaccines and nerve agent pretreatment (NAPS) tablets used to protect United Kingdom personnel during the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict can give rise to adverse health effects. The study involves four groups of 12 marmosets. One group was given the full range of vaccines which could have been administered during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict (anthrax, plague, pertussis, yellow fever, cholera, tetanus, polio, hepatitis B, typhoid and meningitis), one was given pyridostigmine bromide, which is the active ingredient of NAPS, one was given both vaccines and pyridostigmine bromide, and the last was the control group, which received neither. The marmosets are being monitored over a period of 18 months and a number of indices, such as cognitive performance, EEG, sleep, endocrine functioning and immune responsiveness, are measured at regular intervals.Preliminary results from the first three months of the study are now available and are being presented by means of a scientific poster at the British Toxicological Society's annual conference at Herriott Watt University in Edinburgh. These preliminary results provide data on behaviour, sleep, EEG, body weight, cholinesterase inhibition and muscle function and indicate no apparent adverse health consequences three months following the administration of vaccine and/or pyridostigmine bromide. I am placing copies of the abstract and poster in the Library of the House. They will also be available on the Ministry of Defence's website.In addition, preliminary immunology results will be reported at the 3rd international meeting of the Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccines Research from 12 to 16 April. Copies of the abstract and poster presentation will then be placed in the Library of the House and will be made available on the Ministry of Defence's website.The study as a whole is due to complete in December 2003 and the results are expected to be published in the peer reviewed scientific literature thereafter.

A new call-out Order has been made under section 56 of the Reserve Forces Act 1996 to allow reservists to continue to be called-out into permanent service to support operations in the former Yugoslavia. This replaces the existing Order that expired on 31 March. The new Order is effective until 31 March 2004.Since 1995, when NATO operations commenced in the former Yugoslavia, the reserve forces have historically provided around 10 per cent. of the total UK manpower in theatre. At present, there are around 230 reservists from all three Services serving in Bosnia and Kosovo. They are providing specialist skills in fields such as logistics, signals and medical support.

The Ministry of Defence's Regional Prime Contract for Scotland was awarded yesterday, 31 March 2003 to AMEC Turner Ltd.The contract will run initially for seven years with an option to extend to a total of 10 years. Worth £460 million, the contract covers the provision of estate management and construction services to the Ministry of Defence in Scotland. It provides for capital works (known as "core works") and facilities management and property maintenance services ("core services").Regional Prime Contract Scotland is the first of a total of five such contracts covering the United Kingdom.

Defence Estates (DE) is being re-launched today as an agency of the Ministry of Defence with new responsibilities. This follows consideration, within Project Alexander, of how the defence estate should best be managed as a corporate asset. In particular, the new arrangements will clarify customer supplier relationships.The changes are in line with the overarching and comprehensive strategy for the defence estate, set out in "In Trust and On Trust" in June 2000 and also represent a further application of the principles of Smart Acquisition within the Department.In future Defence Estates will be responsible and accountable, through its Chief Executive, for managing the delivery of estate maintenance and new works to meet internal customers' requirements. This will be achieved by:

I am pleased to announce that Callum McCarthy has agreed to be the next chairman of the FSA Board. With experience of the public sector, as a senior practitioner in the financial services industry and as chairman of a highly successful regulator, he will prove invaluable to the FSA as it tackles the regulatory challenge of the future. Callum McCarthy will take up his new duties in September.

I am pleased to announce that on Thursday 3 April I intend to publish in draft form the Public Audit (Wales) Bill, together with draft explanatory notes.The UK Government is committed to producing more of its Bills in draft form before they are formally introduced into Parliament. This allows advanced scrutiny of the Bill, as well as public consultation on the terms of the proposed legislation, which in turn helps the planning of the legislative process.The Public Audit (Wales) Bill sets out proposals to unify the audit scrutiny of Welsh public bodies (including the National Assembly) in a single audit body to be known as the "Wales Audit Office" in English and "Y Swyddfa Archwilio Cymru". The Auditor General for Wales will head the organisation.The Bill proposes bringing together the existing functions of the Auditor General for Wales and most of the functions currently exercised by the Audit Commission in Wales under the Wales Audit Office. Further details about the content and the public consultation will be given when the Bill is published on Thursday.