On 14 November I chaired the Education, Youth and Culture Council in Brussels, when the Culture and Audiovisual agenda items were taken. Patricia Ferguson MSP, Scottish Executive Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, represented the UK. Education and Youth issues were taken on 15 November.

I chaired a discussion over lunch regarding plans for the switchover to digital television. The aim of the discussion was to share experiences and exchange good practice. All Member States agreed that it was a big challenge, but one that is achievable. Many stressed the added value of digital television especially for minority groups and strengthening cultural diversity. Many felt that state aid may have a role to play in ensuring that minority groups were not left behind. It was noted that different Member States were using different technologies, partly reflecting their different backgrounds. Commissioner Reding (Information Society and Media) noted the close interest of Telecoms Ministers and suggested a joint meeting might be useful in the future.

The Council agreed partial political agreements on the MEDIA 2007 programme, which provides financial support for the European film industry, and the Culture 2007 programme, which will provide financial support for transnational co-operation projects in the field of culture. The budgetary aspects of these programmes will be decided once the financial perspectives have been agreed.

With regard to the Culture 2007 programme, a compromise was reached on the wording relating to the eligibility of non-audiovisual cultural industries, which made clear that EU funding could not be used to support profit-making activities. On comitology, Member States unanimously agreed that all projects applying for an EU contribution of over €200,000 (£135,000) should be submitted to the management procedure. The minimum number of operators participating in projects was also agreed.

The Council agreed to a general approach on the proposal to improve the selection and monitoring procedures and the EU dimension of the European Capital of Culture Programme. In addition, the Council designated Linz and Vilnius as Capitals of Culture for 2009 and nominated the Council's two representatives (Mr Claude Frisoni and Sir Jeremy Isaacs) for the selection panel looking at the proposed Capitals for 2010.

I also chaired an exchange of views regarding the Commission's proposals to develop European digital libraries. All Member States spoke in support of further work on European digital libraries and the great majority supported the Commission's proposed approach of developing a network of digital libraries, rather than supporting a single, central library. Some felt that the latter option would be too costly and instead preferred to build on ongoing work. Co-operation with other Member States would avoid duplication and allow common standards to be developed so that digitised material could be shared more easily. A number of Ministers asked the Commission to do more work on possible costs involved and noted that decisions needed to be taken on what would be funded by the Member States and what would be funded by the EU.

It was noted that there were a number of key issues, such as ensuring that intellectual property rights were respected and making sure the initiative promoted all European languages, including minority languages.

Commissioner Figel (Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism) welcomed the adoption of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity in October and noted that the Commission would soon bring forward a proposal for Community ratification. He also presented the Commission proposal for a European Year of Intercultural Dialogue in 2008.

On 31 October, a Pensions Appeal Tribunal announced its decision in the case of Mr Daniel Martin. The Government welcome the acceptance by the Pensions Appeal Tribunal of the umbrella term Gulf War Syndrome to cover conditions causally linked to the 1990–91 Gulf War. The Government hope that the use of the umbrella term will address the known concern of some Gulf veterans that we have not recognised a link between their ill-health and the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict. We hope that this will help to provide an element of closure for those who have sought some acknowledgement that their ill-health is connected to their Gulf service.

The Government also welcome the decision by the Pensions Appeal Tribunal which found that there was no reliable evidence to show that Gulf War Syndrome is a discrete medical condition. This confirms the view which the Ministry of Defence has consistently taken and which is based on the overwhelming consensus of worldwide medical and scientific opinion.

The level of awards will not be affected by the use of the umbrella term as it has always been the policy of the Ministry of Defence to award in full where evidence of disablement is shown and where that disablement is due to, or aggravated by, service.

The issues surrounding the ill-health reported by veterans of the 1990–91 Gulf Conflict remain a priority for the Government. We have acknowledged that some veterans of the Gulf Conflict have become ill and that this ill-health may be related to their Gulf service. Since taking office in 1997, the Government have made it a priority to assist veterans or their dependants by providing medical help, initiating scientific research, making information available and providing financial assistance. We will continue this approach, as appropriate, for the future.

On 16 December 2004 my predecessor announced to the House, Official Report, columns 1795–1800 (part no.6) volume 428, plans to re-balance the army and reduce the infantry from 40 to 36 battalions, with associated changes to the titles of the infantry battalions and regiments.

Since the announcement, significant further planning and consultation has been undertaken. This has seen detailed and extensive work, which has included a period of local consultation led by the regiments and divisions. As a result, and with the full approval of Her Majesty The Queen, I am happy to announce the new titles of the Regular and TA infantry regiments and battalions as follows:

The Scottish Division

The Queen's Division

The Royal Anglian Regiment

The King's Division

The Prince of Wales's Division

The Light Division

The RoyaL Irish Regiment (27th(Inniskilling), 83rd, 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment) ⁵

The Parachute Regiment

The Brigade of Gurkhas

The London Regiment

1 Currently within the King's Division and not part of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

2 Currently not part of the Royal Anglian Regiment.

3 On formation in Jul 06 the new regiment will have 3 regular Bns with the TA Bn known as 4 LANCS. The 3 regular battalions will merge to form 1 LANCS and 2 LANCS in Mar 07. This is a change to the title announced in Dec 04; this is at the Regiments own request.

4 Formed from Bn HQ and 2 x Coys of RRV with 2 x Coys of LONDONS.

5 Not included are the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment who have not been subject to FAS.

6 As announced on 16 December 2004, 1 PARA will be the core of the new Tri-Service Special Forces Support Group, and will be removed from the infantry structure.

7 Currently within the Queen's Division.

The Chief of the General Staff (General Sir Mike Jackson) has written to the Infantry Colonels Commandant informing them of these changes.

Today the Social Exclusion Unit in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is publishing a major report entitled "Transitions: Young Adults with Complex Needs".

The report proposes:

a renewed focus on the 16- to 25-year-old age group, building on the

Government's successful programmes for disadvantaged children and families;

a focus on the invisible early twenties, the age at which youth policies have tended to end;

the need for all young adults to have a trusted adult in their lives to help negotiate their way around different agencies; and,

smoother—and therefore better—transitions between services by joining up vertically to promote continuity of service from adolescence to adulthood.

The report highlights three key themes:

Thinking and Behaviour

For young adults, issues around thinking and behaviour are particularly critical because decisions made during the transition to adulthood—particularly in areas like education and employment—are some of the most important and far-reaching decisions taken at any time of life.

Age-bound services

The importance of the issue of age boundaries was reinforced during this project by practitioners and young people alike. Two issues dominated the discussion of this area: the often abrupt ending of services once a young person reaches a certain age, and the sometimes poor transition between youth and adult services.

Holistic services and the 'trusted adult'.

Young adults with multiple problems may lack the skills and resilience needed to make the transition to adulthood. Support, advice and guidance are crucial in order for young adults to make a successful transition. For many young adults this will come from their parents, relatives, guardians, or teachers—but not all young adults have these sources of support. For them, this supporting role may be filled by a personal advisor or mentor— or someone else acting in the role of 'trusted adult'.

The report contains 27 action points to be taken forward by Government Departments. The Implementation Team in the Social Exclusion Unit will monitor the progress made by the Departments on individual action points and will work to ensure that the overarching goals contained within the report are pursued across Government.

Baroness Andrews, Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will chair an ad-hoc group of Ministers from key Departments to oversee progress towards the action points contained in the report.

Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Further copies can be downloaded from http://www.socialexclusion.gov.uk/ downloaddoc.asp?id=785

On 6 April I announced the database of parliamentarians' foreign affairs interests that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had created.

Since then, the FCO has been working on a new Parliamentary Question (PQ) management system so that it can be compatible with the next generation of the FCO's desktop IT system which will be introduced next year. The new PQ management system will allow officials throughout the Department to see the FCO questions that hon. Members have asked. In order to concentrate parliamentary information in one place, this new system will also replace the database of parliamentary interests, and in addition to records of Parliamentary Questions hon. Members have asked, it will include records of their participation in foreign affairs debates.

Today I am announcing referral to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) of topics for its 12th Wave work programme,

I am referring to NICE clinical guidelines in the following areas:

Low Back Pain;

Stroke;

Glaucoma;

Irritable bowel syndrome;

Investigation of children with suspected abuse;

Chronic Kidney Disease;

Spinal Cord Compression;

Borderline Personality Disorder; and

Antisocial (Dissocial) Personality Disorder.

I am also asking NICE to consult on the remit and scope for technology appraisals of the following:

Autologous tumour vaccine for stage i-iii renal cell carcinoma;

Idaraparinux sodium for the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation and for the prevention of recurrent venous thromboembolism;

Neuro-imaging in the first onset atypical psychosis;

Cochlear Implants;

Recombinant factor Vila for traumatic bleeding;

Rimonabant for smoking cessation, weight loss and reduction of cardiovascular risk factors of overweight obesity;

Certolizumab pegol and natalizumab for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease;

Varenicline for smoking cessation;

Alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke;

Rituximab and abatacept for the treatment of refractory rheumatoid arthrits Adalimumab and leflunomide for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriatic arthritis;

Ruboxistaurin (LY333531) for diabetic eye disease;

Tegaserod maleate and cilansetron for Irritable Bowel Syndrome;

Continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) for Sleep Apnoea; and

Muragiltazar and tesaglitazar for type II diabetes and associated lipid abnormalities.

Early referral of Herceptin (Trastuzumab) for early stage breast cancer and Velcade (Bortezomib) for multiple myeloma was made on 21 July.

NICE will begin consultation with organisations representing patients, healthcare professionals and the healthcare industries on the remit and scope of these technology appraisals. I will consider the comments arising from the consultation when finalising the precise remit of the appraisal topics.

I will shortly be considering proposals for public health topics which will be included in this programme of work.

Further information including details of the remits of the topics may be found on the NICE website at www.nice.org.uk.

NICE will be publishing indicative timescales for its work on these topics in due course.

The 2004–05 annual report of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority was laid before the House today. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

The statistics for 1 April 2004 to 31 March 2005 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were authorised was 15,981.

The Police discharged a conventional firearm 18 times covering five incidents. In addition, the Police discharged baton rounds in 23 incidents and fired Taser in 35 incidents.

Armed response vehicles were deployed on 13,137 occasions and there were 6,243 authorised firearms officers in England and Wales.

Full details are set out in the tables below:

NUMBER OF OPERATIONS IN WHICH FIREARMS WERE AUTHORISED

NUMBER OF AUTHORISED FIREARMS OFFICERS (AFOs)

NUMBER OF OPERATIONS INVOLVING ARMED RESPONSE VEHICLES (ARVs)

I am today committing a further £25 million to provide humanitarian assistance to those affected by the 8 October earthquake in Pakistan. This will bring DFID's total contribution to the relief effort to £58 million, which together with our pledge of £70 million to the reconstruction effort over three years, means that the UK's total contribution to relief and reconstruction is £128 million.

DFID has focused its initial £33 million of relief support on practical assistance, including shelter and logistics, and funding for the relief programmes of the United Nations, the Red Cross Movement and non-governmental organisations. Although the relief effort has gathered pace, with the onset of harsh winter conditions the need to strengthen relief operations is now critical. In particular, we need to provide for those living above the snow line or in organised or spontaneous camps. Further support for logistics, shelter, camp management, health, water and sanitation, and nutrition is required.

The additional funds announced today will help do this. We will also be giving further support to the United Nations' helicopter operation. As part of this, £5.5 million will go to the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service, as DFID takes on the contracts for four medium lift Mi-8 helicopters for a four month period. With the onset of winter the need is shifting away from heavy-lift helicopters like the UK CH-47 Chinooks—which are now completing their operations—towards medium-lift helicopters to ensure deliveries to remote and isolated communities. The Mi-8 helicopters are ideally suited to the environmental conditions and will be able to deliver relief to any location in the affected area throughout winter.

I can also report that this funding will help support an 86 strong team drawn from 59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers to be deployed under NATO command, to undertake emergency shelter building operations in remote high-altitude areas in the Bagh region. The Royal Engineers unit are highly specialist troops who are trained to operate in winter and mountainous conditions.

DFID will also be providing further support for: shelter and winter kits, including stoves, for high altitudes; management and servicing of camp sites; primary health care centres, mobile clinics, women's health and counselling; water and sanitation in camps, local communities and hospitals; and food in both camps and displaced communities in remote areas.

The Government propose the Commission for Equality and Human Rights would be based in two sites in England, with a majority of staff based in Manchester and a significant presence in London. The CEHR would also have offices in Glasgow and Cardiff and a strong regional presence throughout Great Britain.

The provisions establishing the CEHR are set out in the Equality Bill, which is currently before Parliament.

The decision follows an independent study conducted on behalf of Government to identify suitable options for the location of the new organisation. Further work will be undertaken as to the way in which the functions of the CEHR will be divided between the various sites. All existing Commissions will be fully engaged in this process. The report of the location study, a Race Equality Impact Assessment and Equality Impact Assessment, will be placed in the House Libraries shortly.