My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Identity (Meg Hillier) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to inform the House that I have today placed in the Library the annual report of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate for the year 2007. This is the fourth annual report published by the inspectorate.

Publication of the report honours a commitment given by the Government in response to a recommendation of the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures in July 2002 that more information should be made available about the work of the inspectorate.

The report, published today, explains the inspectorate’s role in assessing and in advising Home Office Ministers and officials on applications for personal and project licences and for certificates of designation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. It also provides details of the inspection system through which compliance with licence authorities granted under the 1986 Act is monitored, and about visiting patterns and practice and the number of visits carried out during the year.

The report explains the important role of inspectors in gathering and transmitting information on good practice and provides examples of the many events and initiatives to which the inspectorate made significant contributions during the year. In addition, this year’s report contains special features on the generation, breeding and maintenance of genetically altered mice and on the planning and construction of buildings in which scientific work involving animals is to be conducted.

I commend the report to the attention of Members.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Identity (Meg Hillier) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I wish to respond to the publication Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals—Great Britain—2007, which was presented as a House of Commons Paper (933) today. Copies have been placed in the House Library.

This annual statistical report meets the requirement in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to inform Parliament about the licensed use of animals for experimental or other scientific purposes. It also forms the basis for meeting periodic reporting requirements at EU level. A hard copy is available and supplementary information with additional tables is also available on the Home Office website.

The statistical report shows an overall increase over the previous year of 6 per cent in the number of procedures undertaken. The total number of procedures was 3.2 million, an increase of 189,500 over the previous year. There has now been a relatively small increase for the sixth year running and this is the highest total since 1992. A number of factors, such as investment in research and development and strategic funding priorities, determine the overall level of scientific procedures.

Non-toxicological procedures accounted for about 87 per cent of the procedures carried out. These included fundamental research in human and veterinary medicine to improve understanding of disease mechanisms and possible therapeutic options, and development of vaccines.

Most toxicological studies (78 per cent) were for the safety and efficacy testing of new drugs and medicines and the majority of all procedures (87 per cent) were performed in order to carry out legal or statutory requirements.

In keeping with previous years, those procedures that used mice or rats (or other rodents) were the great majority, at 83 per cent. Those using fish amounted to 10 per cent and those using birds amounted to 4 per cent. The total of all procedures using dogs, cats, horses and non-human primates—that is, those species offered special protection by the Act—was less than 1 per cent of the total.

Genetically normal animals were used in about 1.73 million regulated procedures, up 86,200 (5 per cent) on 2006 figures. This increase is associated with mice used in fundamental studies. However, this is an overall decrease of 2.27 million (23 per cent) since 1995. Genetically modified animals (nearly all rodents) were used in 1.15 million regulated procedures, representing 36 per cent of all procedures for 2007 (compared with 34 per cent in 2006 and 8 per cent in 1995).

Advances in the opportunities to use genetically altered animals for new areas of biomedical research mean that the trend of increased production and use of genetically altered animals has continued. They allow a more precise and often less invasive study of physiological studies and disease mechanisms than was previously possible. Most of the animals concerned are mice, which appear and live as normal. Many are used only in breeding programmes. In fact, just over a third of all procedures in 2007 were accounted for by breeding procedures (37 per cent) conducted in 2007 for the production of harmful mutant and genetically modified animals. Mainly mice (93 per cent) and fish (6 per cent) were used in these procedures.

I should point out in relation to the statistics that the Home Office, as regulatory authority under the 1986 Act, caps the overall amount of animal research and testing that takes place, the imperative being to authorise work that is justified while minimising the numbers of animals used and any animal suffering that may be caused.

Therefore, we ensure in carrying out our licensing function that the provisions of the Act are rigorously applied in each programme of work. All animal use must be justified and, for each particular programme of work, the number of animals used and the suffering caused must be minimised.

The statistical report and supplementary information can be found at: http://scienceandresearch.homeoffice. gov.uk/animal-research/publications-and-reference/statistics/?version=1.

I am also pleased to inform the House that I have today placed in the Library the annual report of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate for the year 2007. This is the fourth annual report published by the inspectorate.

Publication of the inspectorate report honours a commitment given by the Government in response to a recommendation of the House of Lords Select Committee on Animals in Scientific Procedures in July 2002 that more information should be made available about the work of the inspectorate.

The report explains the inspectorate’s role in assessing, and in advising the Secretary of State on, applications for personal and project licences and for certificates of designation under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. It also provides details of the inspection system through which compliance with licence authorities granted under the 1986 Act is monitored, and about visiting patterns and practice and the number of visits carried out during the year.

This report explains the important role of inspectors in gathering and transmitting information on good practice and provides examples of the many events and initiatives to which the inspectorate made significant contributions during the year. In addition, this year’s report contains special features on the generation, breeding and maintenance of genetically altered mice and on the planning and construction of buildings in which scientific work involving animals is to be conducted.

I commend the inspectorate’s report to the attention of Members.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Bridget Prentice) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

My right honourable friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice has today published the eighth report by the President of Appeal Tribunals on the standards of decisions made on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in cases which came before appeal tribunals. The major reasons given for Appeal Tribunals overturning or amending decisions were because new evidence was produced at the hearing, or the tribunal took a different view of the same evidence.

In his report, the President acknowledges improvements by some of the Department for Work and Pensions agencies, particularly the Disability and Carers Service. He questions whether the current method of producing feedback via an annual report is sufficiently focused and of practical use, and suggests a lower level of more direct feedback to agency decision-makers.

The Tribunals Service has in place a number of partnership agreements with Department for Work and Pensions agencies, which deal with benefits and make decisions on behalf of the Secretary of State, covering the interface as part of the end to end process of administering appeals. In addition to the agreements, regular meetings are held to review respective performance and discuss any issues to improve customer service.

This is the second report published by the Ministry of Justice, as responsibility for Appeal Tribunals transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions from 1 April 2006.

Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses, the Vote Office and Printed Paper Office. Copies are also available on the internet at: www.tribunals.gov.uk.

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

The Secretary of State has today laid the Audit Commission's Code of Data Matching Practice as required by Part 2A of the Audit Commission Act 1998, as amended by the Serious Crime Act 2007.

The code governs how all organisations which participate in the Audit Commission's data-matching exercises, including the commission itself, are required to have regard to it. The code also sets out best-practice standards for the Audit Commission and those participating organisations.

The Audit Commission's national fraud initiative is a data-matching exercise aimed at detecting fraud. The new powers, as conferred by the Serious Crime Act 2007, allow the commission to build on its previous exercises by making it available to a wider range of bodies.

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

The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is responsible for the administration of elections in Northern Ireland. Section 14 of the Electoral Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1962, as amended by Section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006, provides that the Chief Electoral Officer must submit an annual report to the Secretary of State. The annual report of the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland for 2007-2008 has been laid before Parliament today. Copies are available in the Vote Office.

My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families (Beverley Hughes MP) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The then Secretary of State for Education and Skills entered into a two-year contract with Serco Ltd in October 2006 for support for the development of children’s centres and the modernisation of services for children and their families. Under this contract, the consortium Together for Children is responsible for supporting, challenging and helping local authorities to build their capacity, with their partners, to plan and commission to time and cost the development of sustainable, high-quality children’s centres.

Parliamentary approval is being sought for expenditure on a continuing service, through an extension of the contract from 1 October 2008 for a further two years. Expenditure on this contract currently rests solely on the authority of the Appropriation Act, in the absence of specific statutory authority. The Children and Young Persons Bill currently before Parliament will put the Secretary of State under a duty to promote the well-being of children. One effect of this duty will be to enable the Secretary of State to enter into this and other such contracts in pursuit of this duty.

The timetable for Royal Assent of the Bill, which is expected in this Session of Parliament, means that parliamentary approval for additional resources of £1,500,000 for this new service will be sought in a supplementary estimate for the Department for Children, Schools and Families to enable expenditure on this new service in advance of Royal Assent of the Children and Young Persons Bill. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £1,500,000 will be met by repayable cash advances from the Contingencies Fund.

The expenditure cannot await parliamentary approval of the enabling legislation because any extension of the contract must take place before expiry of the existing contract on 30 September 2008. Disruption of support for local authorities at this stage would threaten the rollout of children’s centres at a crucial time when key decisions are being taken about where to locate the remaining centres and how to reconfigure existing services in order to achieve universal coverage for children under five and their families. It could lead to a delay in children and families accessing and benefiting from children’s centre services.

The Contingencies Fund advance can be repaid immediately the Children and Young Persons Bill receives Royal Assent.

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

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 received Royal Assent on 26 July 2007.

The Act applies to companies incorporated under companies legislation, other corporations, including public bodies, incorporated by statute, such as local authorities or NHS bodies; organisations incorporated by royal charter; limited liability partnerships and all other partnerships that are employers; Crown bodies, such as government departments; and police forces.

An organisation is guilty of the new offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised causes a death and this amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care to the deceased. A substantial part of the breach must have been in the way activities were managed by senior management.

The majority of the Act was implemented on 6 April 2008, with the exception of Section 2(1)(d) which makes the duty of care a custody provider owes to a person who is detained a relevant duty of care, and Section 10 on publicity orders where we await guidelines to be issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council later this year.

Procedures for caring for some of society's most vulnerable or volatile people are highly complex. That is why it was made clear to Parliament when it passed this legislation that a period of three to five years would be needed for custody providers to prepare for implementation of Section 2(1)(d).

We are publishing a report today which discusses the progress made to date by the various custody providers and what remains to be done. While implementing the Act provides a useful catalyst and driver, reducing deaths in custody is a core part of long-term work by the Government together with custody providers, and this long-term agenda is reflected in the report.

The report includes developments in Northern Ireland for which my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has responsibility under the Act.

Copies of the report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The report is also available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office and on the internet at: www.justice. gov.uk/publications/corporate-manslaughter-progress-custody.htm.

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

I am today announcing that, as part of the review of the law on homicide, on Monday 28 July we will be publishing a consultation paper setting out proposals for reforms on:

partial defences to murder of diminished responsibility and provocation;

the law on complicity in relation to homicide; and

infanticide.

In December 2006, the Law Commission published its report Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide, with wide-ranging recommendations for changes to the law. On 12 December 2007, I announced the second stage of the review of the law on homicide and emphasised the importance of conducting an open and transparent consultation on this important aspect of law.

Following discussions with key stakeholders both within and outside the criminal justice system, we have now developed concrete proposals, including draft clauses, and we wish to put these forward for public consultation prior to introducing legislation.

Copies of the consultation document will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses on the date of publication. The consultation period will last 12 weeks, closing on 20 October.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Identity (Meg Hillier) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I announce that copies of the 2007-08 annual report and accounts for the Criminal Records Bureau have been laid before the House today. Arrangements are now in hand for their publication.

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

In February this year, I published the independent review of the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody (Official Report, Commons, 25/2/08; col. 68WS). I did so in order to canvass the opinions of those both inside and outside Parliament with an interest in this important area of work.

Ministers have now had the opportunity to consider both the recommendations of the review and the responses of stakeholders and I am pleased to announce today that we have decided to implement the recommended reforms. We are therefore taking steps to set up a new tripartite body, to be known as the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody, incorporating senior decision-makers, experts and practitioners in the field. This extended, cross-sector approach to deaths in custody will allow for better learning and sharing of lessons across the custodial sectors and will benefit from direct links to Ministers, as the ultimate decision-makers. The reforms underline our commitment to reducing the number of people who die in our custodial institutions and the new structures will be subject to review after three years to evaluate their impact.

The intention is that the new ministerial council will be in place by early 2009.

Further information on the work of the forum to date and copies of the independent review are available on the internet at www.preventingcustodydeaths.org.uk. Copies of the independent review have also been made available in the Libraries of both Houses.

My predecessor, my right honourable friend Ian McCartney, committed in 2006 to make a Statement to the House once the UK National Contact Point had completed its investigation into DAS Air’s behaviour in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The complaint was submitted to the UK National Contact Point under the auspices of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by the non-government organisation RAID (Rights and Accountability in Development) on 28 April 2005.

I am therefore happy to fulfil that commitment. The UK National Contact Point today published the final statement on the DAS Air complaint. The National Contact Point concluded that DAS Air:

failed to apply due diligence when transporting minerals from Entebbe and Kigali, which had a reasonable probability of being sourced from the conflict zone in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and

undertook flights between Entebbe airport and the conflict zone in eastern DRC. These flights coincided with an illegal occupation of the area by the Ugandan military, during a period when the United Nations and NGOs recorded human rights abuses. A flight ban between DRC and Entebbe was in place during the applicable period, meaning that these flights were in direct contravention of international aviation conventions (the Chicago Convention).

The NCP upheld the allegations brought by Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) and concluded that DAS Air had failed to meet the requirements of the guidelines.

My honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Jim Murphy) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) will be held on 22 July in Brussels. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (David Miliband) will represent the UK.

The agenda items are as follows:

External Relations

Somalia

Ministers are likely to discuss the Commission’s political options and piracy options papers. The former covers the general political situation in Somalia. We agree with its findings and proposals, namely that the EU should continue to support the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in implementing UNSCR 1814, which sets out seven key areas for international action, and increase support for the Djibouti agreement and AMISOM. On the piracy options paper, we agree that the EU should look at ways to help to implement UNSCR 1816 on piracy. Our priority is to ensure a flexible approach from EU member states, bringing greater co-ordination of effort in the region, without duplicating or competing with existing arrangements.

We expect the council conclusions to welcome the recent AU summit and its efforts on Somalia, including calls to reinforce AMISOM; to agree the importance of the UN’s role in Somalia in regard to strengthening the Transitional Federal Institutions. The conclusions may also suggest that the Council Secretariat and European Commission study all possible options on how to best contribute to the implementation of UNSCR 1816.

Western Balkans

Discussion of the western Balkans is likely to be brief, focusing on Serbia and Kosovo. On Serbia, Ministers are likely to discuss the recent formation in Belgrade of a pro-European Government. The Government are supportive of conclusions welcoming the formation of the new Government and encouraging them to fully co-operate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and to play a constructive role in the region. On Kosovo, discussion is likely to centre on progress in deploying the EU’s police and rule of law mission, EULEX. The Government support the reconfiguration of international presences in Kosovo, with EULEX rapidly deploying throughout Kosovo.

EU-Ukraine

The GAERC will discuss the EU’s position at the EU-Ukraine summit on 9 September. The main objective of the summit will be to reach broad agreement on the key elements of a new enhanced agreement currently being negotiated between the EU and Ukraine with a view to providing impetus to the negotiations and to economic and political reform in Ukraine more generally. The presidency is seeking to agree an ambitious EU position at the summit, for which the UK will offer strong support. We want the EU’s new enhanced agreement with Ukraine to be an ambitious one that underpins further reform and holds out the prospect of eventual membership of the EU. There will be no conclusions.

Iran

High Representative Solana is expected to brief Ministers on the outcome of his meeting with Saeed Jalili on 19 July and whether or not the Iranians are ready to accept the terms of the offer made by the E3 plus 3. In the light of this, the council is also expected to discuss a new common position on strengthened implementation of UNSCR 1803. Ministers may also discuss the need for further EU sanctions against Iran in the light of its continued defiance of UNSCRs 1696, 1737, 1747 and 1803, as well as the recent IAEA reports reinforcing concerns about Iran’s nuclear programme. The Government fully support strengthening EU sanctions against Iran and have been pressing partners to support the sanctions track, alongside incentives, as a way of influencing the growing political debate inside Iran.

Middle East

The quartet representative, Tony Blair, is expected to debrief Ministers on the latest developments. France is likely to set out its presidency’s plans for the Middle East peace process. Discussion is also likely to focus on: the EU’s practical and political support for the process; the continuing negotiations between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas; the Gaza ceasefire; and the humanitarian and economic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Government are committed to supporting the process initiated at Annapolis, which has put the Israelis and Palestinians on a path to real negotiations in 2008, leading to a final settlement of two states living side by side in peace and security. Israeli security is absolutely fundamental to a just solution; Palestinian hardship can be tackled only through a political process that creates an economically and socially viable Palestinian state at peace with Israel.

Chad/Central African Republic

We expect the GAERC to focus on the contributions of EUFOR and MINURCAT to the regional security situation. EUFOR is the EU’s military mission to eastern Chad and CAR, and MINURCAT is the accompanying UN police-training mission. The council conclusions will highlight the contributions to EUFOR from non-EU countries, which the Government welcome. The Government will support references to EUFOR’s continued impartiality in all regional conflicts and the good co-ordination between EUFOR and MINURCAT. The Government hope that MINURCAT will continue its deployment in Chad and that the rate of deployment will increase where possible.

Zimbabwe

The Government expect the council to agree conclusions underlining the EU’s deep concern over the situation in Zimbabwe and the deteriorating humanitarian situation. The council conclusions will underline that the EU cannot recognise the 27 June election result as credible or reflecting the will of the Zimbabwean people.

The Government will be pressing partners to adopt a series of extended targeted measures against those involved in human rights abuses and the campaign of violence.

Transatlantic Relations

Ministers are expected to discuss the progress of the Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC) and visa/customs issues.  The Government fully support the TEC as a vehicle to drive forward closer EU-US economic co-operation.  TEC meetings have made some progress, although discussions have been strained at times on controversial issues such as EU imports of US poultry.  Our aim at this meeting is to ensure that such issues do not distract from what we consider to be the TEC’s priorities: eliminating unnecessary regulation, promoting open markets and removing barriers to trade and investment. 

The discussion may also touch on transatlantic relations in general at the request of the Portuguese. The Government support their view that the EU and US have common interests and challenges that must be addressed together, although we caution against attempts to dwell on or exaggerate past disagreements as counterproductive to this aim.

My honourable friend the Minister of State for Energy (Malcolm Wicks) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Government will today, 21 July 2008, publish their further response to the public consultation on UK strategic export controls.

On Wednesday 6 February 2008, I announced to the House the publication of the Government’s initial response to a public consultation on strategic export controls introduced under the Export Control Act 2004. This response is available at: www.berr.gov.uk/europeandtrade/strategic-export-control/legislation/export-control-act-2002/review/index.html. In it, the Government made a commitment to tighten controls in four areas.

I am pleased to announce that since the initial response was published the Government:

have added sting sticks to the UK list of torture equipment;

have started EU negotiations to introduce a new torture end-use control;

are on track to create the new three-category structure for the trade controls, and extend the extraterritorial controls on small arms, MANPADs and cluster munitions, on 1 October 2008. The Government have also now taken the decision to withdraw all cluster munitions from service in the spirit of the Dublin Convention on Cluster Munitions^1;

are on track to move light weapons into category B of the new trade controls on 6 April 2009. This will bring under control the trading activities of UK persons anywhere in the world in relation to those weapons. On the same date, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and long-range missiles (LRMs) will be moved into category B; and

are on track to correct a current legal anomaly on the treatment of non-military explosive goods by 1 October 2008. This will bring a wider range of activities relating to the trading of those goods to embargoed destinations under control. In particular, this will include trading activities of UK persons anywhere in the world.

The initial response also identified a number of other areas where further detailed analysis and discussion were needed. I am now in a position to update the House on these areas. The further response commits the Government to:

negotiate an enhanced EU military end-use control under which licences will be required for export from the EU of any non-controlled goods that the exporter knows are intended for use in listed destinations, by the military, police or security forces, or has been informed by the Government that the goods are or may be so used, but only where there is a clear risk that the goods might be used for internal repression, for breaches of human rights or against UK forces or those of allies;

introduce additional controls on the provision of transport in the highest-risk circumstances through amendments to the trade controls; and

adjust the scope of the current legislative exemptions in relation to transit and transhipment so that there is no exemption for category A goods. For category B goods, we will remove the exemption for specified destinations of concern.

The further response also identifies areas where the Government have decided not to make a change. These are:

ancillary services—the Government have concluded that the sole provision of finance or insurance services and general advertising and promotion should not be controlled for the new category B goods, but active or targeted promotional activities aimed at securing a particular business deal will be controlled;

a pre-licensing registration system for arms brokers—the Government are not yet fully convinced at this stage that the benefits of a pre-licensing registration system would justify the burden that it could impose on legitimate business, particularly in view of steps that they are already taking in other areas;

the current provision in the trade controls that limits the controls on certain activities to those that are done in return for the receipt of a fee, commission or other consideration will be retained, although we will amend the current legislation to clarify what is meant by the term “commission or consideration”;

the harmonisation of the definitions of technology—the response concludes that the current definitions differ for legitimate reasons and so it would be inappropriate to harmonise them, but commits to update guidance to clarify the reasoning behind these differences.

There are also some areas where work is continuing. This further response therefore also:

informs readers that the Government are still considering with non-government organisation and industry stakeholders whether to extend trade controls on activities by UK persons anywhere in the world to cover other weapons, i.e. beyond cluster munitions, small arms, light weapons and MANPADS; and

provides an update on the progress made by the Government in negotiating a torture end-use control in the EU, as noted in the initial response.

I am very pleased to announce this wide-ranging package of measures, which I am satisfied address the main interests of our stakeholders and are at the same time proportionate to the risks concerned, effective and enforceable.

¹ Announced on 30 May 2008.

At its meeting on 15 July, the House Committee considered issues arising from the recent publication of the Register of Interests of Members’ Secretaries and Research Assistants. The committee agreed the following guidance for Members on the issue of passes to their staff:

Members are entitled to apply for passes for up to three staff;

passes provide staff with privileged access to Parliament and to its facilities. A Member should apply for a pass only if such access is required on a regular basis for work directly related to that Member’s parliamentary business; and

full and appropriate disclosure of interests of all Members’ staff must be entered in the Register of Interests of Members’ Secretaries and Research Assistants.

Other issues will be considered by the Committee for Privileges and the Administration and Works Committee in the autumn.

My right honourable friend the Minster for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing (Tony McNulty) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to announce that today my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I are laying before Parliament the annual report of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which will be published today.

This is the fourth annual report from the IPCC. The report covers the work of the IPCC during 2007-08 and includes a discrete chapter on the discharge of its responsibilities in respect of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The report also includes a chapter on deaths during or following police contact, which shows that there were nine fewer fatalities in this period than in 2006-07 and 32 fewer fatalities than in 2004-05.

During this year, the IPCC has made significant improvements in its performance, having set some ambitious targets. I am pleased to see that it is committed to continuing to improve its performance further. In its role as statutory guardian of the complaints system, the IPCC has also in this period carried out a stocktake of how far the current police complaints system has met its original aspirations when it was set up in April 2004; further information will be made available about this in due course.

The IPCC has a key role in increasing confidence in the police complaints system, which will, in turn, impact positively on public confidence in the police.

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

In a Written Statement on 14 May (Official Report, Commons, col. 60WS), I announced that there would be a public inquiry into the death of Baha Mousa, who died in Iraq in September 2003 while being detained by British soldiers.

The inquiry will be held under the Inquiries Act 2005 and it will be chaired by the right honourable Lord Justice Gage, who is about to retire from the Court of Appeal. Lord Justice Gage is a very experienced judge and I am grateful to him for taking on this important task. He has decided to chair the inquiry alone—that is, without other panel members. He may, however, decide to appoint assessors who can assist him with expert knowledge and advice.

The inquiry’s terms of reference are:

To investigate and report on the circumstances surrounding the death of Baha Mousa and the treatment of those detained with him, taking account of the investigations that have already taken place, in particular where responsibility lay for approving the practice of conditioning detainees by any members of the 1st Battalion The Queen's Lancashire Regiment in Iraq in 2003, and to make recommendations.

In my Statement on 14 May, I described the death of Mr Mousa as a disturbing incident; this was not just because a man died in the custody of British soldiers, but because an investigation by the Royal Military Police and subsequent court martial highlighted further important questions that needed to be answered. I am confident that the terms of reference that I have set out not only will enable the inquiry to conduct a thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding the death, but are sufficiently focused to ensure that its conclusions can be reached in a timely manner.

The inquiry will, of course, have the full support of the Ministry of Defence. Much work is in hand to ensure that the inquiry has the material that it needs and that those who will be required to assist the inquiry are given legal advice.

Today my honourable friend the Minister of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills (Bill Rammell) has made the following Written Statement.

I inform the House that the Learning and Skills Council for England has today published its annual report and accounts for the period to 31 March 2008. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

My right honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Planning (Caroline Flint) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Following the Government’s announcement of provisional allocations for housing and planning delivery grant for 2008-09, a number of local authorities expressed concern that their grant had been abated for poor performance on development control. Unfortunately, a figure of 80 per cent was used for all development control targets on which grant is abated, rather than of 60 per cent, 65 per cent and 80 per cent for major, minor and other applications.

The abatement figures have now been corrected. The changes affect all local authority provisional allocations, as there is less abated grant to be redistributed to unabated authorities.

A revised schedule of local authority provisional allocations has been placed in the Library of the House.

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

I am pleased to announce that I am today publishing the Ministry of Defence’s annual report and accounts 2007-08. They combine the department’s annual performance report and departmental resource accounts in a single document that provides a comprehensive overview of the MoD’s financial and non-financial performance for the year, a final assessment of performance against the 2004 spending review public service agreement targets and a provisional assessment of final performance against the 2004 spending review efficiency target. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. They are also available online from the department’s website at www.mod.uk/Defencelnternet/DefenceFor/Researchers/.

This has been a challenging year for defence. The operational tempo remained high with the continuing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In those theatres and others, British forces are making a huge contribution to international security. We have made real progress in developing our relationship with industry, promoting innovation and improving the whole procurement process. Our Armed Forces are now better equipped than ever before. The report also details the considerable progress that the Ministry of Defence has simultaneously made in delivering the capabilities and reformed force structure set out in the July 2004 Command Paper Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities, other elements of the defence change programme, the defence acquisition change programme, the capability review and the Government’s wider sustainability goals.

The success of defence is dependent on the men and women of the Armed Forces and the civilians who support them. They continue to do an exceptional job. The Government remain committed to providing the support that they need and deserve.

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

I have today placed in the Library of the House a report giving a detailed account of the low-flying training that has taken place in the UK low-flying system for the training year April 2007 to March 2008.

Additional copies of The Pattern of Military Low Flying Across the UK 2007-2008 are available on request from the following address: Directorate of Air Staff Complaints & Enquiries Unit, Ministry of Defence, Level 5 Zone H, Main Building, Whitehall, London SW1A 2HB.

Alternatively, it can be viewed on the MoD's website: www.mod.uk/issues/lowflying.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Identity (Meg Hillier) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Further to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 25 July 2007 announcing the establishment of an Ethics Group to provide Ministers with independent ethical advice on the operation and practice of the National DNA Database (NDNAD), I am pleased to announce the publication today of its first annual report.

The report makes a number of recommendations around the processes involved in the taking, use and retention of DNA samples, in particular those taken from volunteers. I have asked the National Policing Improvement Agency and the National DNA Strategy Board to let me have their considered comments on the report’s recommendations as soon as possible.

The Ethics Group report can be viewed on the website of the independent Forensic Science Regulator and I am arranging for a copy of the report to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

My right honourable friend the Minister of State (David Hanson) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The annual report of Her Majesty’s Prison Service for 2007-08 (HC No 860) has today been laid before Parliament. The National Probation Service annual report has also been published today. Copies have been made available in the Libraries of both Houses, the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.

The Prison Service report includes the financial accounts for 2007-08. The financial accounts for the 42 probation boards were produced at the end of June 2008.

The performance of the National Offender Management Service against its targets for 2007-08 is shown in the table.

Notes

The NOMS targets are inclusive of both public and contracted prisons.

* Data relate to total programme completions (before quality reviews).

** MDT March data will be adjusted in June (three months' lag time).

Notes

Figures for public prisons exclude juvenile-only establishments and immigration centres, which are not the responsibility of NOMS.

The Minister of State for Northern Ireland (Paul Goggins) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

Copies of the new Framework Document for the Youth Justice Agency, an executive agency of the Northern Ireland Office, are available in the Vote Office.

This document has been reviewed and revised in line with Cabinet Office guidance on framework documents to ensure that it reflects current best practice in the management and corporate governance of agencies. It has received formal Treasury approval.

My right honourable friend the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Jack Straw) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The Office of the Public Guardian’s annual report and accounts for 2007-08 have been laid before Parliament today.  This document gives full details of the agency’s performance and expenditure for the six months from its implementation on 1 October 2007 to the end of March 2008 and includes the Public Guardian’s annual report to the Lord Chancellor about the discharge of his functions pursuant to Section 60 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

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

The Government have today published Response to Consultation: Case track limits and the claims process for personal injury claims. It summarises the responses received to the consultation paper and sets out the next steps.

Having carefully considered the responses, the Government have decided to establish a new claims process which will apply to road traffic accident personal injury claims valued at between £1,000 and £10,000. Road traffic accident cases constitute approximately 75 per cent of personal injury claims. This new streamlined procedure provides for early notification of a claim; promotes early admissions of liability and early settlements; and removes duplication of work from the process. It introduces fixed time periods and fixed recoverable costs.

The Government have concluded that there should be no change to the small claims limits, including those for personal injury and housing disrepair claims, but that the fast track limit should be increased to £25,000.

Copies of the response have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and can also be obtained free on the Ministry's website at www.justice. gov.uk/publications/cpO807.htm.

Copies are also available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (Ed Balls) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

School inspection plays an important role in both the publicly funded and independent sectors to ensure quality of provision, to protect the interests of pupils and to ensure that parents have reliable information about schools. The Education and Skills Bill now provides an opportunity for us to secure the high quality of independent school inspection and give this system a clear legislative foundation.

Independent schools in England are required to meet the statutory standards set out in the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 (as amended) and are inspected regularly to ensure that they do so. The existence of independent inspectorates allows for simultaneous inspection against both statutory standards and other criteria. For example, the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) checks that schools that belong to the Independent Schools Council (ISC) meet a range of criteria that have to be met in order to belong to ISC. In addition, since 2005 we have been approached by smaller school groupings that want to form their own school inspectorates.

We have therefore proposed to take powers to set criteria for the approval and withdrawal of approval of inspectorates. The proposed criteria cover issues such as the qualifications and experience of inspectors, the inspection framework, management and quality assurance of inspections, public confidence in inspectorates, complaints handling, financial viability and the schools to be covered by new inspectorates. Our proposed criteria were set out in a consultation document published on 21 January 2008 and we have published our consultation response at www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conResults.cfm?consultationId=1528 today. Responses to the consultation have been positive and constructive and I am grateful to all those who have participated.

In its response to the consultation and subsequently, Ofsted has provided evidence that the quality of independent inspection and public confidence in this system will best be promoted by a system of larger inspectorates. It concludes that such a system will make it easier to secure consistent assessment of standards, help to prevent the inspector body from becoming overfamiliar with the school groups with which it was associated and promote public confidence about an inspectorate’s breadth of perspective and genuine independence from the schools that it inspects.

This analysis has led us to re-examine the criteria for size, diversity and the composition of the inspectorial workforce that we consulted on in January. We are therefore today launching a supplementary, limited consultation with those who responded to the initial consultation and other key stakeholders, in which we propose a higher minimum threshold of 350 schools. I have placed a copy of this further consultation in the Library of the House.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Crime Reduction (Vernon Coaker) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to announce that the annual report 2007-08 and accounts of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) will be laid before Parliament today and published on 28 July 2008. Copies of the report will be available in the Printed Paper Office on publication.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Gerry Sutcliffe) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

In my Written Ministerial Statement on 5 March, I said that the Government intended to prepare for an open-market sale of the Tote, and would take advice on strategic options. I also announced that the overriding criterion for a sale of the Tote would be to maximise value for the taxpayer and that the Government would honour their commitment to return half of the net proceeds of any open-market sale to racing subject to the requirements of European state aid and competition rules.

The Government remain of the view that it is appropriate that they remove themselves from detailed involvement in the affairs of the racing and bookmaking industries. They are also keen to give certainty to the Tote and its businesses so that they can develop and flourish for the benefit of their staff and racing.

The Government have received preliminary views from their advisers on the strategic options available with regard to the Tote. It is clear that the Tote is a highly attractive asset which would enjoy significant interest if brought to market in an open auction.

However, the Government will need to be satisfied that it is right to proceed with a sale in the light of current market conditions. The Government intend to commission detailed work on the Tote to be undertaken during the course of the summer, which would provide the necessary groundwork to launch a sale in the autumn. This work will also provide further data on the company which would enable the Government and the Tote Board to consider how best to create further value inside the Tote if, in the light of market conditions, the Government decided in the autumn not to proceed to a sale at that time.

Finally, the Government would like to place on record their warm appreciation of the fortitude and professionalism of the Tote's staff up and down the country at this time. If a sale of the Tote were to proceed, the Government would emphasise in any sale documentation and process both the quality of the Tote's workforce and the north-west as an excellent business destination.

My honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Jim Murphy) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Wilton Park is an academically independent executive agency of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Its annual report and accounts for 2007-08 are laid before Parliament today.

Wilton Park continues to deliver high-value conferences contributing to our overall foreign policy effort. Wilton Park continues to achieve high ratings from participants and sponsors on the value of Wilton Park conferences.

Wilton Park’s performance against agreed targets for 2007-08 is shown below: