RfR 1: Eliminating Poverty in Poorer Countries

a transfer of £10,000,000 resource from the Unallocated subhead to the Reducing Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa Grants subhead;

a transfer of £14,000 resource from DFID Reducing Poverty in Asia subhead to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a contribution to a British Geological Survey visit to Afghanistan;

a transfer of £3,250,000 resource from the Central Reserve to the Reducing Poverty in the Rest of the World Administration subhead;

a transfer of £1,000,000 resource from DEFRA representing a contribution to the Environmental Know-How Fund;

These transfers are as follows:

D.E.L provision for the Wales Office of £4,154,000 (net of depreciation) including £3,330,000 for administration costs is included within the limits of the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

Details of the changes are available in the House Library.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL, since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting. The change in depreciation is due to capital spending on The Rent Service and Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency programmes and transfer from the provision for Regional Development Agencies to the Department of Trade and Industry.

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

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

Within the capital element of the DEL there is a net transfer of £66,267,000 from non-voted to voted provisions, comprising: £14,500,000 from provision to non-voted English Partnerships; £8,078,000 supplementary credit approvals for other housing programmes; £5,556,000 local authority Supplementary credit approvals for Fire New Dimension Search and Rescue and £67,133,000 to partly fund the New Deal for Communities reclassification).

(2) The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Local Government DEL will be increased by £27,947,000 from £41,331,545,000 to £41,359,492,000. Within the DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are tabled below.

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

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from draw down of £12,000,000 from the capital modernisation fund (end year flexibility), £2,149,000 from the Invest to Save Budget and a transfer of £5,700,000 to resource to increase provision for Local Government on Line.

Notes:

For 2001–02 and 2002–03 the amounts shown are those recorded in the outturn (NNDR3) returns. For 2003–04 the amounts shown are the provisional outturn for the year based mainly upon authorities' provisional contributions to the non-domestic rating pool. For 2004–05 the estimates are based on:

The amount of non-domestic rates in England for 2004–05 to be redistributed to local authorities will be £15 billion.

The calculation of the distributable amount for 2004–05 is set out in the table below.

9. Item 1(ii)(c): City Offset—the amount which the City of London will not be required to pay into the non-domestic rating pool. It is the amount which will be retained by the City to meet its own expenditure. In 2004–05, City offset is to be set to zero.

10. Item 1(iii): net adjustment in respect of appeals and other amendments to the rating list affecting liability for previous years rates settled in that year: comprising repayments and associated interest payments.

11 Item 2: the rateable value of non-domestic hereditaments on the central rating list times the multiplier, less the net effect of transitional arrangements, and adjusted for appeals and other changes in respect of previous years.

12. Item 3: Almost all properties previously included in the Crown List are included in the local list figures at item 1.

13. Item 4: the contribution from central government to offset the amount of the Secretary of State's estimate of income foregone as a result of transitional arrangements established by regulations under section 58 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and the transitional relief scheme, announced by written PQ on 25 November 1999, Official Report, column 70W.

Internet cafes will be classified as an A1 use;

Warehouse clubs will be taken out of the Use Classes Order, thus becoming sui generis;

Motor vehicle showrooms will no longer enjoy permitted development rights for a change-of-use to any Al use.

There will be no other changes to the Al or A2 Use Classes.

The current A3 Use Class includes cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars, and takeaways. The consultation revealed that there is widespread concern that such a broad classification, which allows change of use from restaurants to pubs without the need for planning permission, contributes to the increase in the number of licensed premises. On 4 March this year, the hon. Member for Harrow East, Mr McNulty made a statement to the House announcing the Government had considered these representations carefully and proposed to put pubs and bars into a separate class.

Although restaurants and cafes will retain their A3 classification, this class will be modified to omit the reference to the sale of hot food for consumption off the premises. Class A3 will therefore be restricted to restaurant or cafe type uses. A change of use to Al or A2 Use Classes will be permitted but all other changes of use will require planning permission. Pubs and bars will be classified under a new Use Class A4.

Takeaways will be classified under a new Use Class A5 due to the high level of concern expressed during the consultation about the specific impacts on amenity caused by such businesses and their customers. Both A4 and A5 Use Classes will be permitted a change of use to Al, A2 or A3 classification. Any other proposed changes of use will require planning permission.

We do not propose to make any amendments to the current B Use Classes.

Neither do we propose to make changes to the current C Use Classes.

We propose to make one change to the current D Use Class, an additional Use Class D3: Late Night Leisure. Most existing late night uses are already covered by existing classes, however nightclubs do not have a clear classification within the current Use Classes Order, and the impact on amenity of nightclubs is distinct and different from other uses. We will, therefore introduce a new Use Class D3 will be the classification for nightclubs. Planning permission will be required for any change of use from or to a D3 classification.

A statutory instrument giving effect to these changes will be made in due course.

The order will be made under section 55(2)(f) of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and it is therefore not subject to the Parliamentary procedures set out in section 333 of the Act.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

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

an increase in total Treasury administrative costs of £2,525,000 resulting from:

a partial draw down of eyf of £3,700,000 for the central Treasury, this increases voted central Treasury administration spend to the planned level published in the 2002–03 Departmental Report;

a partial draw down of eyf of £1,500,000 for DMO;

a transfer of £18,000 to the Cabinet Office for the transfer of the honours and dignities function;

an increase in AinA of £1,000,000 from secondments with matching spend;

a switch of £2,600,000 from OGC administration costs to OGC programme spend;

a transfer of £58,000 from OGC to ODPM, for the Ordnance Survey pan government agreement, this switch was not included in the Winter Supplementary as it would have produced a negative RfR;

an increase in AinA of £999,000 from OGC consultancies with £1,000,000 spend, giving a token £1,000 increase;

a partial draw down of programme eyf of £300,000 for Budget documentation;

a reduction in HM Treasury programme cost of capital of £7,758,000;

funding of £350,000 programme spend from the Invest to Save Budget for a project on banking;

a net transfer of £990,000 programme costs, for the honours and dignities function, to the Cabinet Office;

an increase in OGC programme spend of £2,600,000 resulting from the switch from administration costs mentioned above;

an increase in DEL CFERs of £603,000

^* Depreciation which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from the draw down of £103,246,000 administration costs EYF; draw down of £36,000 allocated funds from the Evidence Based Policy Fund and a net reduction in the forecast asset figure of £32,000.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from the draw down of capital EYF and other resources EYF, totalling £44,031,000 as set out in the Public expenditure Outturn White Paper (CMS884), and an increase of £540,000 to VOA costs for the book value of assets sold.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL. is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

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

administration costs changes resulting from the take up of DEL end year flexibility of £56,563,000 as set out in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 5884); a transfer of £2,500,000 from capital investment to administration costs to meet Lorry Road User Charging costs; a transfer of £77,000 to the Rural Payment Agency in respect of VAT recipe verifications; a transfer of £8,500,000 from non-voted Departmental Unallocated Provision in resource DEL to voted administration costs in resource DEL; and

programme expenditure changes in respect of the take-up of DEL end-year flexibility of £5,907,000 as set out in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 5884): a transfer of £4,000,000 from DEFRA for work undertaken in respect of the illegal importation of Products of Animal Origin; a transfer of £154,000 from the Cabinet Office to cover the cost of a transferred asset; a transfer of £1,000,000 from capital investment to programme expenditure to meet Lorry Road User Charging costs; and a transfer of £244,000 to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in accordance with the Ordnance Survey Pan Government Agreement.

As a result of the specified resource DEL changes mentioned in the above paragraph, the administration costs limit has increased by £58,986,000.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from the draw down of £1,500,000 resource from the Invest to Save Budget to fund the Citizen Information Project. This is partially offset by a transfer of £637,000 in total to other government departments in relation to work to develop the Neighbourhood Statistics programme. The transfers comprise £281,000 to the Home Office, £198,000 to the Department for Education and Skills, £94,000 to the Department for transport, £59,000 to the Department of Health and £5,000 to the

Within the Administration Cost limits changes, the impact is set out in the following table:

The change in the resource element of the DEL of £768, 103,000 arises from £683, 160,000 increase in the voted element if the resource DEL and an increase of £84,943,000 in the non-voted element of the resource DEL.

VOTED RESOURCE DEL

The £683, 160,000 increase in the voted element of the resource DEL arises for RfR1 from the Machinery of Government change of £648,227,000 (Department of Health £634,557,000; Home Office £7,447,000 and Department for Constitutional Affairs £6,223,000); the net transfer in from the Department for Culture, Media

Depcartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Administration costs limit will be increased by £863,000 from £138,960,000 to £139,823,000

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from the partial take up of DEL end year flexibility of £3,000,000 capital expenditure as set out in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 5884).

The £1,137,000 increase in the Administration Cost limit for RfR2 arises from the reclassification of £1,000,000 programme to administrative expenditure; the transfer in of £137,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions for the ongoing costs of the Childcare team.

CAPITAL DEL

The change in the capital element of the DEL of £71,826,000 arises from a £62,473,000 increase in the voted element of the capital DEL and an increase of £9,353,000 in the non-voted element of the capital DEL.

VOTED CAPITAL DEL

The £62,473,000 increase to the voted element of the Capital DEL arises from an increase for R FRI from an in year draw down of £26,750,000 to fund the Capital Modernisation Fund projects through the Standards Fund; from the £20,000,000 transfer in from RfR2 Sure Start for Nursery Education grants; from the Machinery of Government changes of £ 15,723,000 from the Department of Health (£45,000) for IT and furniture; (£9,500,000) for Capital Modernisation Fund Children Services and (£6,178,000) for Secure Accommodation.

NON-VOTED CAPITAL DEL

The £9,353,000 increase to the non-voted element of Capital DEL arises from an increase for R FRI of £9,302,000 for the Machinery of Government changes from the Department of Health for Credit Approvals for Personal Social Services. An increase to the non-voted element of Capital DEL in RFR3 for the take up of £51,000 from the Invest to Save Budget for the Children's Centre project aiming to improve the quality of partners existing services.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

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

the take up of £10, 875,000 for Serious Crime funding. This was allocated to the Home Office at SR2000;

a claim on the Reserve of £21,300,000 for work in Iraq;

the take up of End of Year Flexibility of £3,000,000;

a transfer of £154,000 to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise (HMCE) for a building which is solely used by HMCE staff;

a switch from capital to resource of £ 145,000;

a decrease of £5,000 resource due to a reduction of £5,000 in the forecast loss on sale of an asset. This is a non-cash item;

a transfer from non-voted DEL to voted DEL of £2,000,000;

a further increase in resource of £5,015,000. This is offset by an increase of £5,015,000 Operating Appropriations in Aid.

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

a claim on the reserve of £3,700,000 for work in Iraq;

a transfer of £460,000 from the Cabinet Office;

a switch from capital to resource of £145,000;

a further increase in Capital of £5,000. This is offset by an increase in non-operating appropriations in aid of £5,000.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from transfers to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister of £125,000 toward costs of reimbursing the Ordnance Survey under the Pan Government Agreement; a transfer from the Department for Education and Skills of £1,250,000 toward the costs of strategic commissioning of educational initiatives in museums and galleries and £130,000 for funding of the Club Links sporting programme; transfers to the Department for Education and Skills of £37,000,000 for funding of the School Sports Co-ordinator programme and £300,000 for funding of the schoolteachers' coaching programme; transfers from the Home Office of £2,000,000 for match funding of the Step into Sport volunteer initiative and £134,000 for match funding of the Public Library Volunteer Scheme; and £104,794,000 other Resource DEL to fund ongoing programmes.

The increase in the Department's administration costs limit arises from the transfer of £20,000 administration costs from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister toward the costs of local public service agreements and transfer of £762,000 administration costs to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister toward the administration costs of Government Offices; and take up of £3,747,000 of administration costs end year flexibility as set out in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 5884).

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from take up of end year flexibility as set out in the Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (Cm 5884) of £5,000,000 for further development of Culture Online; £3,256,000 for the royal parks and £62,521,000 other Capital DEL to fund ongoing programmes.

The increases will be offset by inter-departmental transfers and drawdown of end year flexibility entitlement and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

^* Depreciation is included in both the Resource and Capital DEL figures so it must be removed to arrive at the correct figure for total DEL.

The Crown Prosecution Service's element of the Attorney General's DEL will be increased by £76,367,000 from £435,294,000 to £511,661,000 and the Administration Costs Limit will be increased by £76,367,000 from £325,207,000 to £401,574,000.

The increase of £76,143,000 in the resource element of the DEL is from the Criminal Justice Reserve to fund the CPS's core business so that it can continue contributing to meeting criminal justice performance targets.

The increase of £200,000 arises from a transfer from the Home Office to support the six-month extension to the Visual Recording of Suspects' pilots and the increase of £24,000 is from the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) for the Case Preparation Project pilots.

The Capital Modernisation Fund provided £1,800,000 in 2003–04 to enable the CPS to develop a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) that would support secure e-mail and data transfer with other CJS organisations: and barristers and solicitors in the private sector. During the planning stage, an alternative simpler solution was identified and tested and it is this initiative that will be taken forward by Criminal Justice Information Technology (CJIT). CJIT have indicated that they do not require the funding to be transferred and consequently the decrease in the capital element of the DEL arises from the CPS returning £1,800,000 capital to the Capital Modernisation Fund.

The Serious Fraud Office's (SFO) DEL will increase by £5,440,000 from £23,410,000 to £28,850,000 and the Administration Costs Limit will increase by £2,240,000 from £16,235,000 to £18,475,000.

The increase in the resource element of the DEL arises from additional costs relating to two blockbuster fraud cases; £2,240,000 relates to increased administration costs and £3,200,000 relates to programme costs— mainly investigation and prosecution costs.

The change in the capital element of the SFO DEL arises from a £450,000 increase in I.T. hardware spending, which relates to one of the blockbuster cases. These changes in DEL are supported by a claim on the DEL Reserve. This was agreed due to these cases being considered different from normal SFO cases in terms of their size and complexity and because of the strong public interest in pursuing them.

There is no change in the resource element of the DEL for the Treasury Solicitors' Department (TSOL). The increase in capital of £2,050,000 from £3,200,000 to £5,250,000 arises from major areas of capital expenditure relating to the implementation of new systems and the upgrading of the Department's I.T. infrastructure. The new major systems include a practice and case management system, (which enables the Department to more effectively manage and monitor its casework), a new electronic records and electronic document management system and, also, an upgrade to the Department's financial systems.

There is no increase in the TSOL's administration cost limit.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL. is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from additions from the DEL reserve of £8,600,000 to support core departmental activities, additions of £2,206,000 from the Policy Innovation Fund for the newly formed shareholder executive and net transfers from other government departments of £327,000.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from additions of £23,000 from the Policy Innovation Fund for the newly formed Shareholder Executive and net transfers from other departments of £290,000.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

The change in the resource element of the departmental expenditure limit for the Department of Health arises from: take up of End Year Flexibility (EYF) £349.632 million as set out in table 6 of the public expenditure 2002–03 provisional outturn white paper Cm 5884 published in July 2003; a transfer from the capital DEL £318 million; additions from the invest to save budget £0.803 million; net transfers from the Home Office of £7.369 million for drug treatment and care and match funded social care projects, offset by contributions to the Home Office invest to save substance misuse project; to the Scottish Executive £-2.565 million (£0.067 million administration cost limit) for out of area treatments, offset by a contribution for the high security infectious diseases unit and national screening committee costs; transfer to the Department for Education and Skills £-637.965 million (f-4.976 million administration cost limit) mainly for the machinery of Government change for child care policy; a transfer to Department of Trade and Industry £-0.056 for a contribution to review body costs; a transfer from Office of the Deputy Prime Minister £0.154 million (£0.162 million administration cost limit) mainly for local government public service agreements; a transfer from Office for National Statistics £0.059 million (administration cost limit) for a neighbourhood survey and a transfer from Department for Work and Pensions £4.386 million for a contribution the residential allowance grant.

The change in the capital element of the Department Expenditure Limit for the Department of Health arises from: a transfer to the resource DEL £-318 million; additions from the invest to save budget £0.191 million; a transfer to the Department for Education and Skills £-25.575 million for the machinery of government

£287,548,000 from £66,009,788,000 to £65,722,240,000 and the Administration Cost Limits (ACL) decreased by £10,377,000 from £349,302,000 to £338,925,000.

The Department of Health DEL will be decreased by £304,400,000 from £65,887,613.000 to £65,583,213,000 and the ACL will reduced by £15,229,000 from £312,677,000 to £297,448,000. The Food Standards Agency DEL is increased by £16,852,000 from £122,175,000 to £139,027,000 and the ACL will increase by £4,852,000 from £36,625,000 to £41,477,000. The impact on resource and capital are set out in the following table.

change for child care policy; a transfer to Cabinet Office £-0.750 million for development of a website and a transfer to Home Office £-0.083 million for a contribution to the invest to save budget.

The changes to the Food Standards Agency resource element of the Departmental Expenditure Limit arise from: a claim for end year flexibility of £16,840,000 (£13,872,000 programme and £1,468,000 administration costs) to fund existing 2003–04 pressures; to incorporate a transfer of £1,500,000 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to cover the cost of additional illegal import enforcement and inspection work; to correctly record the split of FSA income between programme and administration income; and to transfer £3,419,000 from the FSA to the Meat Hygiene Service, an executive agency of the FSA.

The Department of Health's administration cost limit has reduced by £-15.229 million from £312.677 million to £297.448 million as detailed above and by a transfer of £-10.541 million to programme costs. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) administration cost limit has increased by £4.852 million from £36.625 million to £41.477 million as a result of incorporating administration cost EYF and correctly classifying FSA income.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

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

Within the non-voted resource element of the DEL, there has been a net increase of £50,616,000 comprising:

As a result of the above changes to the resource element of the DEL, and technical reclassification of £3,145,000 from administration to programme expenditure, there has been a net increase of £22,838,000 in the gross administration costs limit, from £356,423,000 to £379,261,000.

The decrease of £25,717,000 in the voted capital element of the DEL arises from:

The net increase of £13,491,000 in the non-voted capital element of the DEL arises from:

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from the draw down of £37,190,000 End Year Flexibility.

The extra resource costs cover a range of areas within the Department such as policing + security, central administration, political, criminal justice and prisons.

The change in the capital element of the DEL arises from the draw down of £8,424,000 End Year Flexibility.

The extra capital costs cover a range of areas within the Department such as policing + security, central administration, political, criminal justice and prisons.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

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

RFR1

RFR2

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

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

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from a transfer of resources from the Department of Trade and Industry to UK Trade & Investment of £2,000,000 in respect of the Global Partnerships programme.

increased technical synergy and coherence;

improved operational effectiveness;

better integration of teams;

enhanced development opportunities and career prospects for staff; and,

reduced overhead costs.

MOD has undertaken a regional impact assessment to assess the effect on staff and local communities. This particularly supports the move of staff to Portsmouth, an area of economic deprivation. Of the options open to Dstl, the plans are most consistent with the aims of the review of public sector relocation being undertaken by Sir Michael Lyons on behalf of the Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister, and have been approved the Treasury.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of Resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

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

The take up of the Resource end year flexibility of £80,872,000.

An increase in RfR2 of £1,140,000,000 for military operations.

A transfer of £275,000 to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as a share of Ordnance Survey costs under a pan Government agreement.

An increase of £80,000 from the Invest to Save budget for quadrupole resonance detectors.

An increase of £98,000 from the Invest to Save budget to introduce an alert system for pluvial flooding to complement the Environment Agency's flood warning service.

A transfer of £9,000 from the Department of Work and Pensions as a contribution to the Veteran Agency's helpline.

An increase in Resource Appropriations In Aid of £50,300 from an out of court settlement relating to a breach of confidentiality, which will be offset by a donation to charity of the same amount.

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

An increase in RfR2 of £256,000,000 for military operations.

An advance of £73,782.000 for Landing Ship Dock Auxiliary vessels as agreed in SR2000.

An increase of £20,000 from the Invest to Save budget for quadrupole resonance detectors.

To meet an average of 99 per cent for measured services against agreed performance targets.

KT2 SERVICE FULFILMENT

To commission an average of 95 per cent of new service requests on, or before, dates agreed by Customers with the DCS A.

KT3 SERVICE RESTORATION

To restore an average 97 per cent. of interrupted services classed as Operationally Urgent within four hours of the fault being reported to the DCSA, or within other specific periods agreed with customers and to restore Business Critical services in accordance with periods as specified in CSAs.

KT4 SERVICE SUPPORT

To achieve an average 90 per cent. success rate against standards in response to demands on all DCSA Operator Assistance Centres (OACs) and helpdesks facilities.

KT5 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

To achieve a Customer Confidence Index of 54 in Financial Year 2003–04. Key Target measurement has changed from last year and will be achieved by the Agency 's Customer Relationship Management staff undertaking a series of face-to-face interviews with DCS A customers. The information obtained from these interviews will be processed and a Customer Confidence Index (CCI) produced. If this measure is delivered it will represent an eight percent increased compared to 2002–03.

KT6 EFFICIENCY MEASUREMENT

To achieve an improvement in effectively by reducing the average unit cost of output by 3 per cent.

KT7 INTRODUCTION OF NEW PROJECTS AND SERVICES

To deliver new projects to time, cost and performance as expressed at the 90 per cent confidence level to a tolerance of 10 per cent.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of Resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

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

the take-up of End Year Flexibility (EYE) by the Scottish Executive amounting to £391,203,000;

an increase of £25,424,000 for Council Tax Benefit adjustments;

an increase of £14,964,000 for Rent Rebate adjustments; and

an increase of £9,286,000 for safety cameras.

The DEL increase also includes the following transfers between the Scottish Executive and other Government departments, amounting to a net increase of £9,334,000. These are:

a transfer of £30,100,000 from the Department for Transport;

net transfers of £2,565,000 from Department of Health;

a transfer of £2,202,000 from the Department for Trade and Industry;

net transfers of £17,895,000 to the Department for Work and Pensions;

net transfers of £6,952,000 to the Department for Constitutional Affairs; and

a transfer of £686,000 to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Administration costs provision for the Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General is £6,552,000, with DEL provision at £6,952,000.

introduce a financial threshold of 5 hours for the initial decision-making process, which can only be exceeded with prior authority of the LSC;

ensure that no legal aid work is undertaken in asylum appeal cases without prior approval from the Legal Services Commission, which will set financial thresholds in individual cases which pass a merits test for legal aid;

introduce accreditation for all lawyers and case-workers doing legally aided asylum work;

introduce a Unique Client Number to reduce unnecessary changes of solicitor.

The LSC will have the power to vary the financial threshold up or down for individual firms whose track record justifies this. The LSC will also continue to allow top quality firms with a good track record on appeal cases to proceed without prior authority up to a set financial threshold. Any autonomy granted by the LSC will have to be earned.

These measures will apply in England and Wales.

THE CONSULTATION

We outlined three proposals:

a curb on the amount of time for which lawyers would be paid in individual cases;

accreditation of lawyers and other case-workers to ensure quality representation;

the introduction of a Unique Client Number to prevent unnecessary changes of solicitor.

We received 260 responses to the Consultation Paper. The House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee also inquired into our proposals and reported on 31 October 2003.

There was overwhelming support for the introduction of accreditation and the Unique File Number. There was widespread concern about the proposals to curb the amount of time for which lawyers would be paid in individual cases. Respondents also made many suggestions about where savings might be achieved and there was some criticism of Home Office systems and procedures. Officials from the Home Office, Department for Constitutional Affairs and Legal Services Commission are examining the initial decision-making stage of the asylum process, with particular regard to the role that legal aid and publicly funded practitioners play. This work may lead to further changes in the way that legal aid for asylum seekers is delivered beyond those now proposed. In particular, consideration is being given as to whether legal aid is needed at the initial stage in all cases. The Government will make a further announcement on any further changes in due course. We are very grateful for all the responses, and especially the report of the Constitutional Affairs Committee. We have considered carefully all the points which have been made.

OUR REVISED PROPOSALS

In our consultation paper, we proposed that there should be a cap of 5 hours' work at the initial stage, that is prior to the initial decision by the Home Office as to whether asylum should be granted. There would be higher caps for stated exceptions. We now propose that there should instead be a financial threshold for preparation time allowed for the generality of cases up to the initial decision for asylum cases. The norm for this threshold will be 5 hours. The LSC will also introduce a threshold for immigration non-asylum cases. This will normally be between 3 and 5 hours depending on the circumstances of the case. Once this threshold is reached, suppliers will only be allowed to proceed under legal aid with prior authority from the LSC. Professional disbursements and VAT will not count towards these thresholds. The LSC will introduce separate thresholds for professional disbursements which require prior authority to exceed. Extensions are only likely to be granted, on application to the LSC, in genuine and complex cases where there is a real prospect of success. The LSC propose to allow a limited number of firms, where it is confident work is to a high standard, devolved powers to self-grant to a higher figure.

In all but exceptional cases (unaccompanied minors; applicants going through fast-track initial decision processes; those suffering from a recognised and verifiable mental incapacity which makes it impractical to undergo an interview without support) funding for attendance by a representative at the substantive asylum interview will not be authorised. The LSC will introduce rules to ensure that in these exceptional cases where attendance at interview is authorised, this will be by the advisor in the case or the immigration supervisor, not by an agent or outdoor clerk, until accreditation is introduced.

Before any preparatory work can be carried out under legal aid for an asylum appeal, the LSC will need to be satisfied itself that the case merits being pursued. Currently, this decision can be made by individual firms. There will therefore be no guarantee of any legally aided work being allowed at the appeals stage in individual cases. If, however, the LSC is satisfied that the appeal case merits representation, it will set a financial threshold up to which firms will be able to work before they need to seek an extension from the LSC. Thresholds would be set for individual cases depending on the facts of the case, and the experience and previous outcomes of the firm. As now, applicants will be able to seek a review of refusal of funding by the LSC for an appeal against rejection of their asylum claim, but any such review will be considered on the papers only.

The LSC will proceed with a fixed fee of £150 plus VAT for applications for leave to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.

The LSC is presently finalising the details of the skills and competencies required for each of three levels of accreditation now being proposed. It will then invite the Law Society to recruit independent assessment organisations which will ensure that all advisers undergo objective tests of their competence and evaluation of a portfolio of work conducted. As set out in our original proposals, those on the most rigorous advanced level will be entitled to increased remuneration as a result of their skill and experience for work they personally conduct. This we propose to be at 5 per cent. above current rates.

The Unique Client Number will be required to be used for all dealings between advisers and the LSC in a case once it has been issued, and will be submitted with all claims for payment once an initial decision has been made.

In addition, the LSC will also consult over limiting choice of representative in locations where fast-track procedures are in operation to dedicated duty representatives authorised under contract. This is intended to prevent touting and poaching of clients at centres such as Oakington and Harmondsworth which currently leads to wasteful duplication of resources. The LSC will also consult over the use of experts in asylum cases, whether it is necessary to have a separate interpreter at substantive asylum interviews for the client, in those exceptional cases where funding is authorised for attendance by a representative at the substantive asylum interview and whether there should be a fixed fee for advocacy before the adjudicators in order to ensure value for money is obtained.

IMPLEMENTATION

The introduction of prior authorisation by the LSC in every asylum and immigration case (with the exception of 5 hours for advice at the initial stage and any other earned autonomy granted by the LSC) will require a significant change in processes and procedure which will take some time to bed in efficiently. There will therefore be a transitional additional 2 hours at the initial stage for most firms before extensions are required from the LSC. The timetable will be as follows:

Transitional 7 hour threshold for initial stage applies to suppliers in London on 1 March 2004.

Transitional 7 hour threshold for initial stage applies to all other suppliers on 1 April 2004.

5 hour threshold for initial stage applies to all suppliers in England and Wales on I May 2004.

Authorisation from LSC required for appeals from 1 April 2004.

The thresholds will apply to all work whether done on new or old cases started after introduction.

Accreditation will be introduced from April 2004, and will become compulsory by April 2005. The Unique Client Number will be introduced from April 2004. The requirement to apply to the LSC for prior approval to appeal an initial Home Office decision will also apply from April 2004.

SAVINGS

These revised proposals are estimated to save around £30 million in 2004-05 against what we would be spending were we not to introduce prior authorisation.

Taken together, these measures will bring asylum legal aid under effective control and cut out unnecessary expenditure. Costs will be limited, and targeted at the most deserving cases. Quality representation will be recognised and rewarded by the new accreditation scheme, and wasteful duplication of cases will be ended.

The change in the Department for Constitutional Affairs capital DEL is the net effect of:

RFR1

Take-up of end-year flexibility of £14,510,000 capital costs; a transfer of £9,695,000 capital costs from the Home Office in relation to the CJS Reserve; and a transfer of £111,000 capital from HM Treasury in relation to the Invest to Save Budget.

The change in The National Archive capital DEL is the net effect of: take up of end year flexibility of £1,869,000 resources.

The increases will be offset by inter-departmental transfers, increases to Appropriations in Aid, take up of End Year Flexibility entitlements and a charge to the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.

^* Depreciation, which forms part of resource DEL, is excluded from the total DEL since capital DEL includes capital spending and to include depreciation of those assets would lead to double counting.

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

an increase in provision of £86,000,000 (administration costs) and £222,000,000 (other current) under the End Year Flexibility Scheme;

an increase in provision of £70,000 (administration costs) as a result of a transfer from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for local Public Services Agreements;

a transfer of provision of £5,750,000 (other current) to the Department for Education and Skills for costs incurred by the Adult Learning Inspectorate on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions;

an increase in provision of £ 18,294,000 (grants) as a result of a transfer from the Scottish Executive for expenditure on Administration Subsidy;

an increase in provision of £2,000,000 (administration costs) as a result of a transfer from the Department for Transport for the costs of Cullen;

an increase in provision of £ 11,500,000 (other current) as a result of a transfer from the Department for Education and Skills in respect of Basic Skills training courses and work carried out by Job Centre Plus;

an increase in provision of £1,000,000 (administration costs) due to a drawdown from the Capital Modernisation Fund for the Supported Employment Programme;

a transfer of provision of £137,000 (administration costs) to Department for Education and Skills for Sure Start;

a transfer of provision of £4,386,000 (administration costs) to the Department of Health for the administration costs of additional financial assessments;

a transfer of provision of £399,000 (administration costs) to the Scottish Executive for the administration costs of additional financial assessments;

a transfer of provision of £395,000 (administration costs) to the Welsh Assembly for the administration costs of additional financial assessments;

a transfer of provision of £9,000 (administration costs) to the Ministry of Defence for the telecom costs of the Veteran's Agency Helpline;

an increase in provision of £1,946,000 (non budget) following a transfer from the Department for Education and Skills;

a transfer of provision of £690,000 (administration costs) to the Department for Education and Skills in respect of Caxton House, Rent and Premises Services:

a transfer of provision of £170,000 (administration costs) to the Department for Education and Skills in respect of the costs of Detached National Experts;

a transfer of provision of £30,000 (administration costs) from the Department for Education and Skills in respect of the Family and Children Survey;

a transfer of provision of £13,000 (other current) to the Home Office in respect of the costs of withdrawal of benefits research;

an increase in provision of £17,635,000 (administration costs) for the Makinson Bonus scheme.

the processing of benefit claims and their ongoing maintenance are made as simple and speedy as possible with the minimum of duplication. The fullest possible sharing of information helps ensure that customers receive the highest attainable levels of service;

information that could lead to the identification of fraud and error is routinely shared so that joint action can be taken to eliminate overpayments;

the welfare of customers, and staff of local authorities and Jobcentre Plus, is protected by the sharing of good working practices and regular exchange of information.

In 2003, BFI inspected Jobcentre Plus to determine the effectiveness of its working relationships with local authorities and see how the recommendations from the first report had been progressed by the new organisation.

Particular improvements highlighted in the report include the recruitment of Regional Fraud and Programme Protection Managers to work closely with local authorities and the successful roll out of electronic transfer of data systems. Both local authorities and Jobcentre Plus reported this had a positive impact on the relationship.

The BFI did find that many of the 49 recommendations from its earlier report had not been carried out. Specific areas identified for improvement included training staff in liaison duties, ensuring that joint working with local authorities features sufficiently in business plans and securing better management information at a national level on joint working performance. However, the report found that there was variation in performance, with some Jobcentre Plus offices making greater effort than others in their relationships with local authorities.

The report finds examples of good practice and some improvements since the first inspection. However, the report makes 45 recommendations to help Jobcentre Plus address the weaknesses and to further improve the working relationship with local authorities.

Jobcentre Plus is announcing its Action Plan for dealing with the BFI's recommendations, and is to set up a Senior Steering Group, including local authority representation, to oversee the implementation of the BFI's recommendations and report progress to Ministers on a quarterly basis.