I would like to pay tribute to members of the Property Advisory Group for their considerable help to the Office. In particular, I would like to thank Robin Broadhurst for chairing the Group over the last five years. His second period of appointment is now ending, and we considered this would be an appropriate time to make these changes. The Property Advisory Group has played an important part in telling us about developments in the property market and in helping to ensure that new policy takes account of market practice. I am very grateful to members for all their hard work and commitment. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will want to include some individual members of the Group on the new ad hoc groups we are establishing, and I look forward to working with them. The Group's final meeting will take place on 8 July and we will shortly publish its final Annual Report.

The new Properly Consultative Group will begin work on Monday 15 September, and I look forward to welcoming members to its first meeting.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/illegali/.

The total amount spent on the illegal imports programme for 2002–03 was just over £3.7 million.

the most significant single factor in reducing the size of an outbreak is early detection of disease;

a 20-day standstill regime does not appear justified on cost-benefit grounds unless more than one large outbreak every five years can be expected;

a six-day standstill cannot be justified on cost-benefit grounds alone unless outbreaks are expected more frequently than around one in l2 years (and on some assumptions they would need to be even more frequent);

however, even if outbreaks occurred only once in 20 years, the six-day standstill is not greatly more expensive than a zero standstill policy; and

standstill regimes do effectively reduce the size (and therefore the cost) of outbreaks, especially the more extreme outbreaks such as that in 2001.

OTHER FACTORS

The Government do not believe that they can determine future arrangements solely on the basis of this cost-benefit analysis. There is a strong case for a standstill as part of the livestock movements regime on precautionary grounds.

The Government's veterinary advisers are clear that a longer standstill is more effective in capping disease outbreaks but a six-day standstill is better than zero days because it reduces the spread of disease and increases the chances of early detection. Any standstill regime would also help protect against the spread of other diseases and foster improved animal welfare more generally.

THE DECISION

The Government therefore support a standstill period as a valuable long-term element in the movement regime. However, the cost-benefit analysis clearly shows that a return to the 20-day standstill for cattle, sheep and goats could only be justified under very unlikely scenarios. The Government have therefore decided that the standing regime from 1 August should be based on a six-day standstill.

The existing arrangements for pigs will continue, except that the arrival of a pig on a mixed holding will impose a 20-day standstill on any other pig on the holding, but only a six-day standstill on any cattle, sheep or goats there.

EXCEPTIONS

The Government have listened carefully to arguments for specific exceptions to the general arrangements and have made some provisions where necessary. For this reason, an exemption was introduced on 30 May for show animals.

The Government now propose to introduce a further specific modification to the regime to facilitate the autumn sale and trading of male breeding livestock. In future, male breeding rams and bulls may move on to a farm during the period August to November without triggering a general six-day standstill for the farm, so long as it goes into a DEFRA-approved isolation facility, provided that a six day standstill applies to all livestock in that facility. Similarly they will be allowed to move from a farm under standstill to a market if placed in a DEFRA-approved isolation facility for six days beforehand. Similar arrangements will be put in place for goats. The Government believe that this new arrangement strikes the right balance between ensuring that farmers can trade successfully and ensuring that autumn breeder markets do not become a centre of disease spread.

DETECTION AND BIOSECURITY

The Government have made it clear that progress needs to be made to improve detection and biosecurity. They consulted recently on how to achieve this. As a result, from 1 August, there will be a limit of 48 hours for animals staying on market premises. There will also be some minor changes to the legislation on empty vehicles leaving markets without first cleansing and disinfecting.

Work on veterinary farm inspections, the presence of vets at markets, cleaning and disinfection at markets, the role of dealers and distance limits will continue over the coming months in the context of the Government's animal health and welfare strategy. In particular, we will investigate the proposals for a veterinary presence at markets and the possibility of annual veterinary visits to farms, as part of our draft action plan to take forward animal disease prevention and control in partnership with industry and other key stakeholders. We hope to consult on a draft plan in July 2003.

The abolition of employers' mandatory retirement ages (dismissal at a given age) unless employers can objectively justify them.

The possibility of including in our implementing regulations, a default retirement age of 70, at which employers could retire employees.

A list of proposed legitimate aims which employers, exceptionally, could use to help justify the retention of a small number of age-related practices.

Some changes to the legislation regarding unfair dismissal and redundancy.

Retirement age in particular is a crucial issue on which there is no clear consensus. For this reason we have provided a number of options for discussion and would invite all interested parties to engage in the consultation process. The information obtained from the consultation will be used to shape the content of the legislation.

The Employment Directive deadline for full implementation of the age legislation is the end of 2006. However, it is the Government's aim to have the regulations in place but not in force by the end of 2004. This will provide all those affected by the legislation ample time to prepare for changes before the legislation comes into force in October 2006.

I have placed copies of the consultation paper and other related documents in the Libraries of the House.

To give notice of address within 10 working days of receipt of an applicaticn for accommodation for at least 75 per cent. of applicants.

KEY TARGET 2:

Less than 3.3 per cent. of occupants should experience significant defects within 14 days of moving in.

KEY TARGET 3:

To complete the planned upgrade of 1,200 properties by 31 Mar 2004.

KEY TARGET 4: To complete:

at least 95 per cent. of emergency repairs within 24 hours of notification;

at least 90 per cent. of urgent repairs within five working days of notification;

at least 95 per cent. of routine repairs within two months of notification.

KEY TARGET 5:

To reduce the management margin progressively towards 10 per cent. by November 2005, to better balance supply and demand while delivering other Key Targets (The DHE's interim target for 31 March 2004 is to have a management margin of 11.4 per cent.).

KEY TARGET 6: To reduce dissatisfaction:

with the quality of the property provided as SFA by 1 per cent. to 17 per cent. of occupants by 31 Mar 2004;

with the service that occupants receive from DHE personnel by 1 per cent. to 19 per cent. of occupants by 31 Mar 2004.

Copies of the DHE's Corporate Plan will be placed in the Library of the House.

To improve Single Living Accommodation by delivering 1,000 Grade 1 bedspaces under Project SLAM, and report on the provision 1,500 bedspaces under parallel Single Living Accommodation Projects. To ensure that at least 65 per cent. of MOD Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the United Kingdom meet the criteria for satisfactory condition.

KEY TARGET 2

To provide an estate of the right size by producing and gaining agreement to a Core Sites Implementation Plan by 31 March 2004.

KEY TARGET 3

To achieve Accrued Estates Disposal Receipts of £661 million by 31 March 2008, including £187 million by 31 March 2004.

KEY TARGET 4

To achieve the key milestones planned during 2003–04 to allow for the implementation of the Ministry of Defence estates change initiatives of Project Alexander, Regional Prime Contracting and Project Aquatrine by 31 March 2006.

KEY TARGET 5

To pursue activities leading to the sustainable use of MOD estate assets over time by implementing Environmental Management Systems, on 40 per cent. of all MOD sites by 31 March 2004.

In addition, recognising the role of the Agency in delivering a new way of managing the defence estate, the following development targets have been set for the Agency to achieve by 31 March 2004:

Copies of the new Defence Estates Corporate Plan will be placed in the Library of the House.

• The Defence Housing Review Team
• Ministry of Defence
• 2nd Floor
• St Giles Court
• 1–13 St Giles High Street
• London WC2H 8LD
• Or by email:
• mailto:dgmo-dmcs3@defence.mod.uk

The RMP were engaged in assisting with the regeneration of the local Iraqi police service, by ensuring that they had proper training, equipment and infrastructure to operate as professionally as possible. This task included routine visits to police stations in the area. The police station in Al Majarr Al Kabir is one of a number that the RMP planned to visit last Tuesday.

Al Majarr Al Kabir is a town of approximately 60,000 people, situated to the south of Al Amarah, in Maysan province. The town has always been fiercely independent and was free of Saddam's regime by the time coalition forces reached it. The main focus of military operations in the area in recent weeks had been the implementation of a weapons amnesty, and thereafter, the recovery of illegal weapons.

These weapons searches were unpopular with the local population, although none had been conducted in the town itself. Local religious leaders had called for further searches to be resisted and on 22 June, a 1 PARA patrol in the town were faced with a hostile crowd of some 500 people. The soldiers fired baton rounds in order to enable them to be able to withdraw from the town. At a meeting the next day, officers from 1 PARA agreed with the town council that weapons searches would be suspended, and that the council would themselves take responsibility for recovering heavy weapons.

With this agreement in place, the following day the RMP section booked out at around 0910, planning to visit three towns in the area—Al Majarr Al Kabir being the first. Routine force protection measures in place required that they should all be armed, should have their body armour and helmets with them, should have working communications, and that there should be at least two vehicles—in fact they had three.

We judge that they would have reached the town at around 0940–0955, shortly before a 1 PARA patrol also entered the town. We cannot yet be certain, but it may be that the attack on the PARA patrol took place before the attack on the BMP. The attack on 1 PARA commenced at around 1030, when the patrol was stoned by a large crowd. At some point a crowd also appears to have massed outside the police station. While attempting to move their vehicles inside the police compound, the RMP came under fire, and it seems at least one of them was killed at that point. The crowd evidently then stormed the police station. British forces were informed a short while later by local Iraqis that all six of the RMP personnel had been killed.

We understand that attempts were made to contact the RMP section as events unfolded. This is one of the details we will be trying to establish as part of the investigation.

In the follow up to these incidents, Iraqi leaders in the province are continuing to work closely with us. We will not lose sight of our overall aim to support a better Iraq, and an Iraq that is for the Iraqi people. British forces in Iraq continue to do an excellent job in taking this important work forward.

As they do so, our thoughts remain with those that have lost their lives, and their loved ones who mourn them.

http://www.culture.gov.uk:/