My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Des Browne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Mr Keith Murray McNeish for a three-year term of office as a member of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body commencing March 2007. This appointment has been conducted in accordance with the guidance of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Derek Twigg) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

In May 2006, the then Veterans Minister announced that the Ministry of Defence would later this year be introducing an enhanced post-operational mental healthcare programme for recently demobilised reservists. He undertook to make a further announcement to confirm the details of the service.

I am now pleased to be able to confirm that the programme, to be known as the Reservists Mental Health Programme (RMHP), will become operational with effect from 21 November 2006.

The programme is open to any current or former member of the UK Volunteer and Regular Reserves who has been demobilised since 1 January 2003 following an overseas operational deployment and who believes that the deployment may have adversely affected their mental health.

An individual who thinks that they are eligible and who would like an assessment should ask their GP for a referral. This is the preferred method of contact, to ensure that both the GP and the RMHP assessors are kept aware of all the factors affecting the individual's health. Referrals from civilian psychiatric services are also accepted but the patient's GP is to be kept informed. In exceptional circumstances, individuals can contact the assessment centre directly. The programme is being co-ordinated by the Reserves Training and Mobilisation Centre (RTMC), Chilwell, Nottinghamshire.

Eligible reservists will be offered a mental health assessment. This will be conducted at the RTMC by appropriately qualified members of the Defence Medical Services (DMS). If an individual is assessed as having an operationally related mental health problem that is amenable to treatment by the RMHP, then they will be offered out-patient treatment by the DMS. This will be available at one of MoD's 15 departments of community mental health in the UK, which will offer treatment in consultation with the individual's GP. The programme will be monitored in order to ensure that it meets the needs of demobilised reservists. The programme will run for an initial period of three years, at which point there will be a formal review to decide whether it should continue or be modified.

Further details of the programme are available at the RTMC website www.army.mod.uk/rtmc/rmhp.htm.

The Reserve Forces continue to make a vital contribution to the ongoing success of military operations. In return, we have a duty of care to them, and this new programme is an important enhancement of the medical services that we provide.

Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Cabinet Office DEL will be increased by £171,376,000 from £208,004,000 to £379,380,000. The resource DEL and capital DEL limits are different because of the treatment of capital grants. Capital grants are treated as capital in the operating cost but treated as resource in the face of the estimate. The administration costs limits will be decreased by £6,538,000 from £225,930,000 to £219,392,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from a number of machinery of government transfers to and from Cabinet Office. Other changes to DEL are transfers to other government departments for their contribution to the funding of the Parliamentary Counsel Office. The changes in the capital element of the DEL arises from recent machinery of government transfers to and from the Cabinet Office and a budgetary transfer to SIA.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Alan Johnson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Education and Skills departmental expenditure limit (DEL), (including the Office for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools (OFSTED) which has a separate estimate) will be decreased by £99,618,000 from £59,702,608,000 to £59,602,990,000. The administration cost budget will be increased by £331,000 from £272,230,000 to £272,561,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following tabl:

Within the administration cost budget changes, the impact is set out in the following table.

Resource DEL

The decrease in the resource element of the DEL of £112,598,000 arises from a decrease in the voted element of the resource DEL of £408,984,000 and an increase of £296,386,000 in the non-voted element of resource DEL mainly in the department's non-departmental public bodies.

Voted Resource DEL

The £408,984,000 decrease in the voted element of the resource DEL arises from:

RFR1

A £361,672,000 virement to non-voted resource DEL, £81,234,000 to support schools and teachers, £271,213,000 to support further education and lifelong learning, £4,200,000 for student support, £5,025,000 to support children and families.

A movement of £43,275,000 from RFR2 to RFR1, £2,000,000 in respect of foundation stage strand of the primary national strategy, £40,800,000 to meet commitments in RFR1, £475,000 for Sure Start contributions to Directgov.

A movement of £44,524,000 from RFR3 to RFR1, £29,524,000 for local area agreements and £15,000,000 for repayment of Children's Fund advance from RFR1.

An increase of £9,014,000* in receipts, for the Higher Education Innovation Fund £8,714,000 and for Investors in People £300,000. A decrease of £46,000 in receipts for Business Fellows.

Transfers from the Cabinet Office of £396,000 for the Parliamentary Counsel Office, from the Home Office £5,683,000 capacity funding for prison education, from the Department of Health £2,000,000 for the Education Intervention Programme.

Transfers to the Department of Trade Industry of £350,000 for the National Council of Graduate Entrepreneurship, to the Home Office £8,323,000 for prison education, £1,340,000 for the post-Bichard vetting scheme, to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport £2,130,000 for museums and galleries programme.

Transfers due to machinery of government changes to the Department for Constitutional Affairs £5,545,000 for special educational needs tribunals, to the National Assembly for Wales £19,935,000 for the Welsh element of student loans.

A £1,300,000 reprofile from 2006-07 to 2007-08 for the Youth Media Fund £500,000 and Youth Challenge Fund £800,000.

RFR2

A movement of £43,275,000 from RFR2 to RFR1, £2,000,000 in respect of foundation stage strand of the primary national strategy, £40,800,000 to meet commitments in RFR1, £475,000 for Sure Start contributions to Directgov.

A movement of £4,000,000 from RFR2 to non-voted £2,574,000 for national professional qualifications within Integrated Learning Centres, £1,426,000 for the National College for School Leadership.

A reprofile of £3,500,000 for early education pilots from 2006-07 to 2007-08.

RFR3

A movement of £44,524,000 from RFR3 to RFR1, £29,524,000 for local area agreements, £15,000,000 for repayment of Children's Fund advance from RFR1.

Non-voted resource DEL

The £296,386,000 increase in non-voted resource DEL arises from the movement of £361,672,000 from RFRI voted resource DEL, £4,000,000 from RFR2 voted resource DEL.

An increase of £9,014,000 matching expenditure for the Higher Education Innovation Fund £8,714,000 and for Investors in People £300,000. A decrease of £46,000 for Business Fellows.

Transfer to the National Assembly for Wales £159,000 for Open University funding.

Transfers due to machinery of government changes to the National Assembly for Wales £78,095,000 for the Welsh element of student loans.

Capital DEL

The increase in the capital element of the DEL of £12,980,000 arises from a £288,065,000 increase in the voted element of capital DEL and a decrease of £275,085,000 in the non-voted element of capital DEL.

Voted Capital DEL

The £288,065,000 increase in the voted element of the resource DEL arises from:

RFR1

An increase of £219,187,000 for schools and teachers. An increase of £3,697,000 for capital grants to local authorities to support schools. An increase of £201,000 for capital grants to local authorities to support children and families.

An increase of £65,000,000 for higher education due to a reduction of receipts in respect of the Science and Research Innovation Fund.

Transfers due to machinery of government changes to the Department for Constitutional Affairs £20,000 for special educational needs tribunals.

Non-voted Capital DEL

The £275,085,000 decrease in the non-voted capital DEL arises from the movement of £223,085,000 to voted capital DEL.

A decrease in matching expenditure of £65,000,000 to support higher education funding. A transfer from the Department of Health £13,000,000 for University College London.

Administration Cost Budget

A £331,000 increase in the administration cost budget arises from the transfer from the Cabinet Office of £396,000 for the Parliamentary Counsel Office. Transfers due to machinery of government changes to the Department for Constitutional Affairs £65,000 for special educational needs tribunals.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Douglas Alexander) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

The Department for Transport's departmental expenditure limit (DEL) for 2006-07 will be decreased by £13,206,000 from £13,060,028,000 to £13,046,822,000 and the administration budget will be increased by £248,000 from £264,722,000 to £264,970,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:

Resource Change: Administration (total increase of £248,000)

Voted: total increase of £248,000.

RfR1

A transfer of £248,000 from the Cabinet Office (Parliamentary Counsel Office) to provide funds for the parliamentary counsel costs.

Resource Change: Programme (total decrease of £15,753,000)

Voted: total decrease of £10,084,000,

RfR1

A net transfer of £10,084,000 to other government departments comprising:

£16,494,000 to the Scottish Executive in respect of the change in responsibility for making payments for Scottish Rail Services to Scottish Ministers; partially offset by

£6,410,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions to reflect increased subsidy payments to train operator companies arising from a charge placed upon them by the Office of Rail Regulation following the transfer of rail safety activities from the Health and Safety Executive.

Non-Voted: total decrease of £5,917,000.

RfR1

A transfer of £5,917,000 from British Transport Police Authority to the Scottish Executive in respect of the change in responsibility for making payments for Scottish rail services to Scottish Ministers.

Capital change (total increase of £2,547,000)

Voted: total increase of £2,547,000

RfR1

A transfer of £2,547,000 from other government departments; comprising:

£2,531,000 from the Scottish Executive in respect of the change in responsibility for making payments for Scottish rail services to Scottish Ministers;

£16,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions to reflect increased subsidy payments to train operator companies arising from a charge placed on them by the Office of Rail Regulation following the transfer of rail safety activities from the Health and Safety Executive.

The changes to DEL outlined above do not require a supplementary estimate as the department has sufficient voted resources to support expenditure consistent with currently agreed budgetary limits.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (John Hutton) has made the following Statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department for Work and Pensions DEL will decrease by £5,668,000 from £7,785,869,000 to £7,780,201,000 and the administration budget will decrease by £4,136,000 from £5,831,270,000 to £5,827,134,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table.

Resource DEL

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:

RfR2

i. a reduction in provision of £4,507,000 (administration) relating to the transfer of rail safety from HSE to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR);

ii. a reduction in provision of £1,594,000 (other current) relating to the transfer of rail safety from HSE to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR); and

RfR5

iii. an increase in provision of £371,000 (administration) due to a transfer of funding from the Cabinet Office for the transfer of the functions of the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

Capital DEL

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:

RfR2

iv. an increase in provision of £78,000 due to a successful bid from the invest to save budget; and

v. a decrease in provision of £16,000 relating to the transfer of rail safety from HSE to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

Administration Costs

The movement in the administration cost limit arises from those items noted above as affecting administration costs.

Movements from non-voted expenditure

Additionally there are the following drawdowns that are neutral in overall DEL terms:

Housing Benefit Reform Fund (HBRF)

vi. £20,000,000 into RfR2 for employment programmes within Jobcentre Plus;

vii. £4,200,000 into RfR2 for the Rent Service;

viii. £37,250,000 into RfR2 for modernisation of housing benefit; and

Employment Development and Skills Fund (EDSF)

ix. £40,000,000 into RfR2 to increase provision for Jobcentre Plus.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health (Patricia Hewitt) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Subject to the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department of Health's element of the departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £5,418,000 from £87,170,719,000 to £87,176,137,000 of which the administration cost limit will be increased by £375,000 from £226,944,000 to £227,319,000. The Food Standards Agency DEL will be increased by £715,000 from £144,132,000 to £144,847,000. The overall DEL including the Food Standards Agency will be increased by £6,133,000 from £87,314,851,000 to £87,320,984,000. The impact on resource and capital are set out in the following table.

The Department of Health DEL has increased by £5,418,000 made up of transfers from the Home Office £18,436,000 for prison healthcare services, the Department of Trade and Industry £1,600,000 for changes in pension scheme calculations and the Cabinet Office £457,000 (administration costs) for services of parliamentary counsel. These increases are offset by transfers to the Department for Education and Skills £15,000,000 mainly for capital building programmes and childcare services and to the Home Office £75,000 (administration costs) for a transfer of staff.

The Department of Health's administration cost limit has increased by £375,000 comprising a transfer to programme budgets of £7,000 for library services and net interdepartmental transfers of £382,000 (detailed above).

The changes to the Food Standards Agency resource element of the departmental expenditure limit arises from an interdepartmental transfer from Defra, to be used in paying for the staff costs of the Wine Standards Board from July 2006 when the responsibility was passed on to the FSA. As a result of this, the administration costs of the Food Standards Agency will increase by £415,000 from £52,008,000, to £52,423,000.

The changes to the Food Standards Agency capital element of the departmental expenditure limit arises from a take-up of EYF to increase capital expenditure reflecting the Food Standards Agency's headquarters capital investment programme. As a result of this, the Food Standards Agency capital costs will increase by £300,000 from £647,000 to £947,000.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Alistair Darling) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Expenditure Limits

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Department of Trade and Industry's DEL will be increased by £276,102,000 from £6,600,353,000 to £6,876,455,000 and the administration costs limit will be increased by £5,177,000 from £330,907,000 to £336,084,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:

RfR1

i) utilisation of £9,300,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility (EYF) entitlement in respect of the impairment of Small Business Service venture capital funds;

ii) utilisation of £10,000,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of modernisation of the Post Office network;

iii) utilisation of £3,200,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of nuclear decommissioning support for the former Soviet Union;

iv) utilisation of £2,000,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of the renewable energy Performance and Innovation Fund;

v) utilisation of £3,377,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of the waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive;

vi) utilisation of £10,220,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of knowledge transfer legacy schemes;

vii) utilisation of £2,270,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of Ofcom;

viii) utilisation of £7,512,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of business support legacy schemes;

ix) utilisation of £6,610,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of Rover task force programmes;

x) utilisation of £3,500,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of Section 432 inspection into the collapse of MG Rover;

xi) utilisation of £3,900,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of the ACAS change programme;

xii) utilisation of £700,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of the shipbuilders credit guarantee scheme;

xiii) utilisation of £630,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of Royal Mail representation;

xiv) utilisation of £850,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of Government Decontamination and Recovery Service and the direct.gov website;

xv) transfer of £350,000 from the Department for Education and Skills in respect of the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship;

xvi) transfer of £4,750,000 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in respect of energy demand reduction trials;

xvii) virement of £2,200,000 from non-voted to voted expenditure in respect of nuclear decontamination support for the former Soviet Union;

xviii) increase of £75,000,000 in respect of a subsidy for the Post Office rural network;

xix) virement of £491,000 from voted to non-voted expenditure in respect of the regional development agencies reflecting increased contributions from other government departments;

xx) virement of £900,000 from voted to non-voted expenditure in respect of the inclusion of the Manufacturing Advice Service within the regional development agencies' “single pot”;

xxi) utilisation of £6,978,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of non-voted expenditure of the Coal Authority;

xxii) virement of £774,100,000 from voted to non-voted expenditure in respect of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority reflecting increased external receipts;

xxiii) increases of £56,945,000 in the non-voted expenditure of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and £230,000 of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority in respect of the superannuation charges adjusted for past experience (SCAPE) pension changes on the UKAEA pensions scheme;

xxiv) transfer of £1,600,000 of non-voted expenditure to the Department of Health in respect of the SCAPE pension changes;

xxv) transfer of £200,000 of non-voted expenditure to the Ministry of Defence in respect of the SCAPE pension changes;

xxvi) reduction of £10,000,000 in respect of a virement to the science research councils of non-cash provision;

xxvii) reduction of £700,000 in respect of a reclassification to annually managed expenditure of age discrimination programmes;

xxviii) transfer of £650,000 to the Welsh Administration in respect of the waste from electrical and electronic equipment directive;

xxix) transfer of £1,244,000 to the Scottish Administration in respect of the waste from electrical and electronic equipment directive;

xxx) transfer of £8,020,000 to the Department for Communities and Local Government in respect of the machinery of government transfer of the Equal Opportunities Commission and Women's Equality schemes;

xxxi) transfer of £8,063,000 of non-voted expenditure to the Department for Communities and Local Government in respect of the machinery of government transfer of the Equal Opportunities Commission and Women's Equality schemes; and

xxxii) transfer of £800,000 to the Cabinet Office in respect of the machinery of government transfer of the Social Enterprise Unit.

RfR2

i) Increase of £10,000,000 in the non-voted non-cash expenditure of the Medical Research Council in respect of a virement of non-science underspends;

ii) increases of £2,763,000 in the non-voted expenditure of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and £782,000 of the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils in respect of the SCAPE pension changes; and

iii) increase of £334,000 in the non-voted expenditure of the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils to reflect reclassification of certain EU receipts from resource to capital.

Also within the change to resource DEL, the changes to the administration costs limit are (RfR1):

i) utilisation of £7,730,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement;

ii) utilisation of £1,894,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement in respect of Invest to Save projects related to Supplier Route to Government, the Chameleon project and the Insolvency Service;

iii) transfer of £1,525,000 from the Cabinet Office in respect of the Parliamentary Counsel Office;

iv) transfer of £1,257,000 to the Department for Communities and Local Government in respect of the Government Offices for the Regions early release scheme;

v) transfer of £309,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions in respect of the machinery of government transfer of the Engineering Inspectorate;

vi) transfer of £3,036,000 to the Department for Communities and Local Government in respect of the machinery of government transfer of the Equal Opportunities Commission and Women's Equality schemes; and

vii) transfer of £470,000 to the Cabinet Office in respect of the machinery of government transfer of the Social Enterprise Unit.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from:

RfR1

i) Virement of £18,582,000 to non-voted expenditure in respect of increased contributions from other government departments for the regional development agencies for the Northern Way Growth Fund;

ii) virement of £10,000 from voted to non-voted expenditure in respect of the Competition Commission;

iii) utilisation of £4,116,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of university innovation centres capital grants;

iv) utilisation of £23,687,000 from the unused balance of the department's end-year flexibility entitlement in respect of non-voted expenditure of the regional development agencies;

v) reduction of £6,055,000 in respect of a virement to the science research councils of non-science underspends;

vi) utilisation of £9,468,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF administration entitlement for the national measurement system;

vii) utilisation of £7,132,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF administration entitlement for corporate services programmes;

viii) utilisation of £15,301,000 from the unused balance of the department's EYF entitlement to provide for a shortfall in non-voted launch investment receipts; and

ix) a reduction of £14,214,000 in non-science departmental unallocated provision in respect of utilisation by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council.

RfR2

i) increase of £6,055,000 in the non-voted expenditure of the Medical Research Council, vired from non-science underspends;

ii) utilisation of £19,731,000 from the unused balance of the department's non-science EYF entitlement in respect of non-voted expenditure of the Medical Research Council;

iii) an increase of £14,214,000 in non-voted expenditure by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council funded by utilisation of non-science departmental unallocated provision; and

iv) a decrease of £334,000 for the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils to reflect reclassification of certain EU receipts from resource to capital.

Postal Services Commission: Winter Supplementary Estimate 2006-07

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Postal Services Commission's DEL will be increased by £40,000 from £151,000 to £191,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from draw down of end-year flexibility of £40,000 to fund investment in IT. There is no change to the resource element of the DEL.

Office of Gas and Electricity Markets: Winter Supplementary Estimate 2006-07

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets' DEL will be increased by £1,000 from £651,000 to £652,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital is as set out in the following table.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from a token increase in administration costs to cover an increase of £269,000 in expenditure offset by an increase of £268,000 in A in A. There is no change in the capital element of the DEL.

At the forthcoming Energy Council in Brussels during the morning of 23 November, Lord Truscott will represent the UK.

Informal discussions at the pre-council dinner on 22 November will address the Commission's planned EU strategic energy review which is scheduled to issue early in 2007. It constitutes a stock-taking and action plan on all aspects of the EU's energy policy.

The substantive item on the main council agenda of 23 November will be a debate on promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy as part of the energy policy for Europe. The UK hopes that Ministers will agree robust council conclusions on the Commission's Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which was released on 18 October 2006.

The remaining agenda items will cover:

International relations in the field of energy: the presidency and Commission will provide information on EU/Russia, the Energy Community Treaty, the Energy Charter Treaty and on other co-operation with third countries;

Energy Star: the presidency/Commission will provide a progress report on this agreement between the EU and US, which aims to promote energy efficient office equipment by means of a labelling scheme;

Review of the Community guidelines on state aid for environmental protection: Commission Services will provide information on the state of play of this review, and

Electricity blackouts of 4 November 2006: information from the Commission.

My right honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Geoff Hoon) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (Margaret Beckett), Sir John Grant (UK Permanent Representative to the EU) and I represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Brussels. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Des Browne) represented the UK at Defence Ministers' discussions.

The agenda items covered were as follows:

Foreign Ministers

Civilian Capabilities Improvement Conference: The presidency took note of the progress made on civilian military co-ordination, gender mainstreaming, and working with NGOs and expressed its gratitude to member states for providing personnel for ongoing civilian missions.

Commission Legislative Work Programme 2007: The Commission briefed the council on its legislative work programme for 2007 under the following headings: modernising the European economy; addressing the challenges of European society; secure, competitive and sustainable energy; and making Europe a better place to live.

December European Council: Annotated Draft Agenda: The council took note of the presidency's plans to group discussion at the European Council in Brussels on 14 and 15 December under four main headings: EU enlargement; justice and home affairs; innovation and energy; and external relations.

Relations with Russia: The council exchanged views on the draft negotiating mandate for the successor to the EU-Russia Partnership and Co-operation Agreement. The draft will be sent to COREPER (Permanent Representatives Committee) for further discussion before returning to the council for approval ahead of the EU-Russia summit in Helsinki on 24 November.

Enlargement: The council took note of a presentation by the Commission on the EU’s enlargement strategy, a report on integration capacity, and progress reports on Turkey, Croatia and the Western Balkans.

Western Balkans: UN special envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, briefed the council on the Kosovo status process. Conclusions were adopted on the negotiating mandates for visa facilitation and readmission agreements with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

Middle East: The council adopted conclusions expressing deep concern at the escalating violence in Gaza and in the West Bank and deplored the military operation in Beit Hanoun on 8 November and the firing of rockets on Israeli territory. It urged the Palestinians to work towards a Government of national unity reflecting the quartet principles. The council underlined the importance of preserving and strengthening the capacity of Palestinian institutions and expressed its readiness to provide enhanced support to a Palestinian Government that the EU can engage with. The council also extended the border assistance mission in Rafah for a further six months.

On Lebanon, conclusions called on all parties in the region to comply with UNSCR 1701, notably the arms embargo.

Iran: High Representative Solana briefed the council on discussions in New York about a new Security Council resolution.

Uzbekistan: The council adopted conclusions underlining its profound concern at the human rights situation in Uzbekistan and renewing restrictive measures imposed after the Andijan massacre in May 2005. The council agreed to reinstate technical talks with the Uzebkistan Government under the partnership and co-operation agreement to promote Uzbek compliance with the principles of respect for human rights, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.

Northern Uganda: The council adopted conclusions reaffirming its support for peace talks between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army and urging the parties to implement their obligations under the cessation of hostilities agreement.

Defence Ministers

Military Capabilities: The council took note of the Force Catalogue 2006; a list of military capabilities that member states have declared available for a European security and defence policy operation.

Operations: The commander of the EU military operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, General Viereck, and High Representative Solana briefed the council on recent events in Kinshasa and proposals for drawdown of the operation. The EU security sector reform and police missions would remain in place after the closure of the military mission.

High Representative Solana and commander of the EU military operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, General Reith, briefed the council on proposals to reduce the number of troops. A decision to drawdown would be taken before the end of the year on the basis of the security situation.

High Representative Solana briefed the council on the African Union Mission in Sudan/Darfur (AMIS) as well as prospects for a UN supporting package.

Civil-military Co-ordination: The council welcomed ongoing work on improving effective co-ordination of civilian and military crisis management instruments.

European Defence Agency: The council took note of the report submitted by the head of the agency on its activities, agreed the agency's budget for 2007 and adopted council guidelines for the agency's work in 2007.

The presidency postponed by 12 months the decision to set the agency's three-year financial framework. The joint action establishing the agency requires the setting of a three-year financial framework, but this has proved difficult to achieve over the past two years. The presidency postponed this decision following a failure to reach a consensus in the council. The requirement to set a financial framework will be addressed in the review of the joint action, to take place in 2007.

Conclusions covering civilian and military capabilities, the European Defence Agency, civil-military co-ordination and military response to disaster response were also agreed.

Joint session with Defence and Foreign Ministers

Democratic Republic of Congo: The council adopted conclusions welcoming the generally peaceful and orderly conduct of polling in the second round of presidential elections on 29 October and called on the candidates to take all possible steps to prevent any further acts of violence following events in Kinshasa on 11 November.

AOB

Afghanistan: The council exchanged views on EU engagement in Afghanistan and on action to reinforce the EU’s presence, including a possible civilian mission under the European security and defence policy.

The council also recalled the EU’s longstanding commitment to Afghanistan, including its major role in reconstruction and stabilisation efforts, working with international partners.

My honourable friend the Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education (Bill Rammell) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Anne Lambert, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU, attended the Youth Council on behalf on the UK. I represented the Government at the Education Council.

Ministers discussed the following issues:

Youth

The draft resolution on implementing common objectives for young people to promote their active European citizenship was adopted without discussion.

Ministers exchanged views on “better knowledge and understanding of youth”. They agreed that there was a need to support the development of youth policy with independent research based on practical experience. There was agreement that there should be a two-way relationship between policy and practice, with research concentrated in areas where policy decisions were most relevant to young people. The council also endorsed the setting up of an EU database on youth policies to support implementation and evaluation. The UK tabled a paper but did not intervene in the discussion.

Modernising Higher Education

The education part of the council was dominated by a public debate on the EIT (European Institute of Technology) and the wider reform of higher education (HE) in the EU.

On the latter, I underlined the crucial importance of the reform process and the supporting role of the EU. I noted that some progress has been made since Hampton Court, but we now need to inject a sense of urgency. Links between business and HE are needed to ensure the right supply of skills and qualifications for the labour market and widening participation. To this end I proposed that a compendium of best practice in modernising universities should be drawn up on the back of the ongoing peer-learning activity between member states. This was supported by the Commission and many member states.

EIT

Ministers gave a cautious welcome to the Commission's recent proposal. For the UK, I said the EIT's success would depend on its clarity of purpose. The focus on knowledge transfer is welcome. It is now crucial to ensure that the EIT provides value for money. We have concerns about the budget and want to be sure that resources will not be diverted from elsewhere. The Commission hopes that the regulation will be adopted by the end of 2007 and that two Knowledge and Innovation Communities would be up and running by 2010.

Vocational Education and Training

The council adopted conclusions on enhancing European co-operation in vocational education and training (VET). These will encourage member states to develop strategies to raise skills levels and improve the quality and attractiveness of vocational training. The informal meeting of Education Ministers on 4-5 December will pursue this theme. The Commission flagged up two forthcoming initiatives: a communication on adult learning; and a consultation on developing a European Credit Transfer System for VET.

Efficiency and Equity in Education and Training Systems

The council also adopted conclusions on efficiency and equity in education and training systems. These will encourage member states to develop education policies which produce the best outcomes for all groups in society, including disadvantaged young people. The presidency inserted a reference to member states' exclusive responsibility for the organisation of the education systems.

European Qualifications Framework

The council agreed a general approach on the draft recommendation on a European Qualifications Framework (EQF). The EQF will give a model for comparing qualifications in different member states and thereby support mobility.

AOB

The presidency reported that the recommendations on education key competences and a mobility charter had been approved by the European Parliament. The French delegation presented a proposal for the development of a European teaching aid as an introduction to the history of the arts in Europe.

My honourable friend the Economic Secretary (Ed Balls) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Government Actuary's departmental expenditure limit will be reduced by £71,000 from £917,000 to £846,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are set out in the following table.

The change in the resource DEL and capital arises from a machinery of government requirement to transfer these funds to the Office for National Statistics to reflect the transfer of the occupational pension schemes survey function to meet a recommendation of the Morris review of the actuarial profession.

My honourable friend the Minister of State (Bill Rammell) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The UK has a continuing obligation under the United Nations charter to promote the well-being of the inhabitants of its overseas territories, and we are committed under the White Paper Partnership for Progress and Prosperity—Britain and the Overseas Territories to ensuring their social and economic development. I am therefore pleased to tell Parliament that in response to representations about students from our overseas territories, the Department for Education and Skills will be making changes to our Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations and to the Student Fees (Qualifying Courses and Persons) Regulations from the 2007-08 academic year to allow these students to pay home fees, and not the higher overseas fee rate. This policy change will also apply to students from the overseas territories of Denmark, France and the Netherlands.

Annexe A—The specified territories to which the change will apply are:

British Overseas Territories

Anguilla

Bermuda

British Antarctic Territory

British Indian Ocean Territory

British Virgin Islands

Cayman Islands

Falkland Islands

Montserrat

Pitcairn Islands

South Georgia & the South Sandwich Isles

St Helena & its dependencies

Turks & Caicos Islands

Overseas Territories of Other EU Member States

Greenland & Faeroe Isles (Denmark)

Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Marten) and Aruba (Netherlands)

French Possessions

New Caledonia

French Polynesia

Wallis and Futuna

Mayotte

St Pierre et Miquelon

French Southern and Antarctic Territories

My honourable friend the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality (Liam Byrne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

My honourable friend the then Minister for Immigration announced on 21 July 2005 (Official Report, col. 155 WS) that we would begin last summer the initial phase of our programme of targeted screening for infectious tuberculosis (TB) of people seeking to enter the United Kingdom for longer than six months at the entry clearance stage in Bangladesh, Sudan, Tanzania and Thailand (which also processes entry clearance applications from Cambodia and Laos). We now intend to implement the main phase of the scheme in China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa and Zimbabwe. We are also considering the feasibility of introducing the scheme in a small number of further countries. A further Written Ministerial Statement will be made prior to any rollout of the scheme in countries additional to those listed above.

Pre-entry screening of travellers should be seen as an integral part of our wider effort to combat TB in the UK. The UK also provides significant support for global TB control through a number of different channels, including support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria and the STOPTB partnership as well as support for research on the development of new effective and affordable drugs. Her Majesty's Government also provide support to countries to build capacity in their health services to diagnose and treat all major causes of illness including TB.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Government have submitted their economic evidence on the national minimum wage to the Low Pay Commission. The commission will take this and all the other evidence received into account when preparing its next report on the minimum wage, which will be submitted to the Government by the end of February 2007. Copies of the Government's economic evidence have been placed in the House Library and will be posted on the Department of Trade and Industry website (www.dti.gov.uk/employment/pay/national-minimum-wage/index.html). The Government submitted their evidence on non-economic issues to the commission last month. A combined volume of the non-economic and economic evidence will be placed in the House Library at a later date.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Des Browne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Ministry of Defence Supplementary Estimate Votes A 2006-07, will be laid before the House on 21 November as HC 18. This outlines an amendment to the maximum numbers of personnel to be maintained for service in the Armed Forces during financial year 2006-07.

Copies of these reports will be placed in the Library of the House.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Des Browne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the Ministry of Defence departmental expenditure limits (DEL) will be increased by £1,592,272,000 from £32,018,905,000 to £33,611,177,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table:

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:

the take-up of end year flexibility of £120,000,000 resource DEL direct (near cash) and £72,000,000 capital DEL;

a transfer in of £72,000 from the Cabinet Office in respect of this year's funding arrangements for the expansion of the Parliamentary Counsel Office;

a transfer in of £200,000 from the DTI as contribution to the principal non-industrial superannuation scheme (PNISS) also known as the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) pension scheme;

to increase request for resources 2 by £1,040,000,000 resource DEL and £360,000,000 capital DEL to reflect the costs of peacekeeping in Iraq and Afghanistan; and

to increase request for resources 3 by £7,210,000 for war pensions benefits costs and £500,000 for war pensions benefits programme costs—far eastern prisoners of war, to reflect the latest forecast outturn.

In addition there is a transfer from resource DEL indirect (non-cash) to resource DEL direct (near cash) of £100,000,000, mainly for fuel costs.

My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Ed Balls) has made the following Written Statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, National Savings and Investments DEL will be increased by £9,000,000 from £170,294,000 to £179,294,000 and the administration costs limits will be increased by £9,000,000 from £170,294,000 to £179,294,000. Within DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are set out in the following table.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from end year flexibility being drawn down to support expenditure on major project commitments. There is no change in the capital element of DEL.

Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the National School of Government will be a separate non-ministerial department from January 2007. The national school's departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be £1,341,000 and the administration costs limit will be £640,000. These figures reflect a transfer from the Cabinet Office estimate with no net change in expenditure.

Within the DEL change, the impact of resources and capital are as set out in the following table.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Peter Hain) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval, the Northern Ireland Office (NSO) will be taking a 2006-07 winter supplementary estimate. The effect this will have is to increase the NIO's DEL by £30,843,000 from £1,206,618,000 to £1,237,461,000.

The change in the resource element of the DEL £30,843,000 relates to the drawdown of end year flexibility £42,270,000 of which £13,100,000 is near cash resource, £15,793,000 is non-cash and £13,377,000 is capital. The department is also receiving a resource budget transfer of £166,000 from the Cabinet Office. As DEL stated excludes depreciation, the change is adjusted by £11,593,000 to £30,843,000.

The cash drawdown is in relation to additional resource requirement for various business areas within the department such as the PSNI, the NI Prison Service, the Public Prosecution Service and the Youth Justice Agency. The non-cash element is required for NDPBs such as the PSNI, the NI Human Rights Commission, the Criminal Justice Inspectorate and the NI Policing Board.

The change in capital DEL by £13,377,000 is required for various business areas within the department such as the PSNI, the Police Ombudsman, the Probation Board for Northern Ireland and the Criminal Justice Inspectorate.

My honourable friend the Financial Secretary (John Healey) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, the Office for National Statistics’ departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £2,205,000 from £193,998,000 to £196,203,000, and the administration budget will be increased by £1,545,000 from £166,878,000 to £168,423,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table.

Resource Change: Admin (total increase of £1,545,000)

Voted: total increase of £768,000.

Take-up of £250,000 from the invest to save budget to fund the quality measurement framework project.

Transfer of £61,000 from GAD in respect of a machinery of government change to provide funding to the occupational pension scheme survey.

Transfer of £457,000 from Cabinet Office in respect of a machinery of government change for Civil Service statistics.

Non-voted: total increase of £777,000

£777,000 from the invest to save budget to fund the quality measurement project.

Resource Change: Programme (total increase of £650,000)

Voted: total increase of £650,000.

To reduce EC income by £650,000 from £1,000,000 to £350,000 to reflect latest forecast.

Capital Change (total increase of £10,000)

Voted: total increase of £10,000

Transfer of £10,000 from GAD in respect of a machinery of government change for the Occupational Pension Scheme Survey.

Subject to parliamentary approval of the new estimate, the Deputy Prime Minister's Office departmental expenditure limits for 2006-07 will be £1,960,000 as set out in the table below.

The administration costs limit for the Deputy Prime Minister's Office will be £1,960,000. This resource will be used for the costs of its administration.

My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Industry and the Regions (Margaret Hodge) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I have decided to reappoint the chairs of EEDA, ONE and Yorkshire Forward, as listed at Annexe A. The reappointments will all be for a period of three years from 14 December 2006 until 13 December 2009.

I have placed further details of these reappointments in the Libraries of both Houses. All of them were made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

My right honourable friend the Paymaster General (Dawn Primarolo) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Subject to parliamentary approval of any necessary supplementary estimate, HM Revenue and Customs departmental expenditure limit (DEL) will be increased by £56,085,000 from £4,802,839,000 to £4,858,924,000 and the administration costs limits will be increased by £9,887,000 from £4,482,376,000 to £4,492,263,000.

Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the following table.

Resource Change: Admin (total increase of £9,887,000)

Voted: total increase of £9,887,000.

RfR1

i. Take up of £90,000,000 end year flexibility to support ongoing merger costs of HMRC and to meet efficiency targets.

ii. Transfer of £80,113,000 to the Home Office in respect of a machinery of government change to provide funding to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

Resource Change: Programme (total increase of £18,676,000)

Voted: total decrease of £5,270,000.

RfR1

i. Transfer of £7,012,000 to the Home Office in respect of a machinery of government change, which provides funding to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

ii. Transfer of £1,742,000 from the Cabinet Office in respect of Parliamentary Counsel Office funding.

Non-voted: total increase of £23,946,000.

RfR1

Transfer of £23,946,000 from the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) to cover additional costs associated with the National Insurance Fund.

Capital Change (total increase of £27,522,000)

RfR1

Voted: total increase of £27,522,000

i. Increase of £30,590,000 arising from the drawdown of capital EYF to support the costs of major investment in IT and business systems infrastructure following the creation of HMRC.

ii. Transfer of £6,897,000 to the Home Office in respect of a machinery of government change, which provides funding to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

RfR2

i. Increase of £3,829,000 arising from the drawdown of capital EYF to support the costs of IT investment in the Valuation Office Agency.

My honourable friend the Minister of State (Jim Knight) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Government Actuary has reported on the results of his valuation of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) as at 31 March 2004. His report, which takes account of the reforms to the TPS that will be introduced on 1 January 2007, including the increase in the contribution rate paid by teachers from 6 per cent to 6.4 per cent, recommends that, from that date, the employer contribution rate for the TPS should increase from the current rate of 13.5 per cent to 14.1 per cent.

The principal factor underlying the increase in the contribution rates relates to continuing improvements in life expectancy compared to the assumptions adopted in the previous valuation. The agreed package of TPS reforms will deliver savings on the employer contribution rate of some £280 million a year compared to the contribution that would have been required if the existing scheme provisions had remained in place. This reform package, which includes an agreement on cost sharing between members and employers of any future changes in the contribution rate and a cap of 14 per cent on the employer rate from the 2008 scheme valuation onwards, should ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the TPS. A copy of the Government Actuary's report has been placed in the House of Commons Library.