Guidance has today been issued to civil servants on the principles which they should observe in relation to the conduct of Government business before the forthcoming elections to local authorities in England.

The guidance sets out the principles on the need to maintain the political impartiality of the civil service and the need to ensure that public resources are not used for party political purposes.

The guidance will come into force on 13 April ahead of the elections on 4 May.

Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and on the Cabinet Office website at:

www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/propriety–and–ethics/ publications/pdf/2006localelectionguidance.pdf

Further to the statement of 11 January made by my right hon. Friend Baroness Ashton of Upholland, I am pleased to announce the publication of the Cardiff university research into the operation of rule 9.5 of the Family Proceedings Rules 1991 that was commissioned by my Department. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and may be accessed via the DCA website www.dca.gov.uk/majrepfr.htm

The Cardiff university researchers consulted with children and their families to obtain their views on being separately represented under rule 9.5 in Children Act 1989 court proceedings brought by their parents about future contact and/or residence. We wanted to understand the extent to which formal representation through a solicitor and guardian is meeting children's needs or whether there are other ways in which their needs can be met. The researchers focused on the features, both those which were beneficial and those which were adverse, of separate representation, alongside statistical evidence already in the public domain.

The research indicates that provisions for meeting children's needs could be improved. There are a number of important recommendations made in this research report. They include the need for the potential advantages of rule 9.5 to be secured earlier in proceedings; a call for greater judicial continuity in the hearing of cases; the proposal that children should have clear, reliable and age-appropriate information about their parents' separation/divorce from the beginning of proceedings; that children should have a "passage agent"—someone, apart from their parent(s), to support them through the court process; that there should be early identification of the features of the case which are likely to produce intractable behaviour on the part of parents; that the child should always be separately represented before making enforcement orders under the (eventual) Children and Adoption Act; and the need to implement changes to FamilyMan to record (i) if the tandem model was used (ii) who was appointed to represent the child and (iii) name of judge hearing the case.

The research report, alongside consideration of other research focusing on children's welfare and other statistical evidence, will be used to inform the making of rules of court under subsections 122 (1)(b) and (2) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. In the meantime, existing provisions for the representation of children remain in force, which continue to offer a range of ways in which the courts may ascertain children's wishes and feelings.

The Secretary of State, in her response to Price Waterhouse Coopers' second annual evaluation report on the academies programme, announced proposals to align more closely investment in Academies with Building Schools for the Future (BSF). It has now been agreed that "Partnerships for Schools" (PfS) will have responsibility for the Academy building programme.

PfS is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) wholly owned by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and managed and funded under a joint venture between the DfES and Partnerships UK (PUK). PfS was established in March 2004 to work with local authorities (LAs) and the private sector to rebuild or refurbish the secondary school estate. PfS is a national delivery vehicle for BSF, which is a government programme to renew all the secondary schools in England over a 15-year period. PfS ensures that secondary schools buildings are well-designed, built cost-effectively and on time, and that they are properly maintained. PfS does this by building strong Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), enabling the public sector to benefit from the best skills and expertise available in the private sector, and thereby achieving greater efficiencies and economies of scale.

Within the BSF programme education and design specialists from PfS work with LAs to create innovative and exciting learning environments for schools. In addition, the procurement and project management expertise which PfS provides also ensures that the programme is delivered effectively and that economies of scale are achieved, and that the BSF programme is delivered in the most cost-effective and efficient way. By including the delivery of Academy buildings within PfS's remit we will ensure that these aims and objectives are delivered for Academy buildings and ensure that academies are established as part of a strategic programme of investment for each LA. Closer integration of the two building programmes will also enhance the capacity of PfS to secure high standards and greater procurement efficiencies.

A standardised approach to procurement will both support these efficiencies and drive the creation of excellent educational environments which will make a major contribution to radically improving educational opportunities in areas of significant social and economic deprivation.

As a result of the closer integration of the academies building programme with BSF, there will be some technical changes to the way in which academy buildings are procured and constructed. The Department is currently working closely with PfS on the detail of how this closer integration will work. Our intention is to minimise any changes to the way PfS and LAs currently work together. The closer integration of the BSF and the academy building programmes will also support the sharing of good practice in building excellent learning institutions within both the Academies and BSF programmes.

I should like to set out the Government's plans for a Mental Health Bill.

Mental health legislation is about the circumstances in which people with a mental disorder can be treated without their consent, in order to protect them and/or others from harm; and the processes that have to be followed if someone is to be treated without consent. The majority of people with a mental disorder will not require treatment under mental health legislation. At any point in time, one in six of the population has a common mental health problem. At 31 March 2004, there were about 14,000 patients who were being detained and treated in hospital for a mental disorder.

Through sustained investment and ongoing service reform, the mental health system is progressively achieving success in many areas. However, it is important that the present mental health legislation is amended to keep pace with changes in service delivery, to provide safeguards for patients and to prevent harm to individual patients and to the wider public.

We have spent the last seven years consulting on, discussing and redrafting the Mental Health Bill. The draft Bill achieves many of our intentions but we have been reviewing its length and complexity. We have listened to the Joint Committee and our stakeholders, and have looked again at the arguments about amending the Mental Health Act 1983.

As a result, we will introduce a shorter, streamlined Bill that amends the Act. It will reflect the impact of service modernisation and will provide legislation that is easier to understand and implement. It will also help deliver our other objectives: to promote patient safeguards and to protect patients and the public from harm.

The Bill to amend the 1983 Act will:

introduce supervised treatment in the community for suitable patients following an initial period of detention and treatment in hospital. This will help ensure that patients comply with treatment and enable action to be taken to prevent relapse and readmission to hospital. The introduction of treatment in the community reflects modern service provision enabling patients to be treated according to their individual needs and circumstances;

expand the skill base of professionals who are responsible for the treatment of patients treated without their consent;

improve patient safeguards by taking order-making powers with regard to the Mental Health Review Tribunal. We are currently considering across Government the precise terms of the changes, and will continue to consult with stakeholders;

reflect a widespread consensus and the views of the Joint Committee and will introduce a new, simplified single definition of mental disorder;

keep, as recommended by the Joint Committee, the exclusion for drug and alcohol dependency, and preserve the effect of the Act as it relates to people with learning disabilities;

replace the "treatability" test with a test that appropriate treatment must be available. Unlike the treatability test, the availability of appropriate treatment will be a requirement for all groups of patients, regardless of their particular diagnosis. This is important to ensure that patients are not brought under compulsory powers unless appropriate treatment is available;

amend the current Act to remedy an European Court of Human Rights incompatibility in relation to the Nearest Relative. At the same time, we will bring the Act into line with the Civil Partnership Act 2004 in relation to the Nearest Relative provisions.

The Bill will be used as the vehicle for introducing the Bournewood safeguards, through amending the Mental Capacity Act 2005. These safeguards are for people who lack capacity and are deprived of their liberty but do not receive mental health legislation safeguards.

We will address safeguards for children treated on the basis of parental consent through the Children Act 1989. Children detained under the Mental Health Act will continue to receive the same safeguards as adults. We will also look at ways that we can continue to pursue other patient safeguards, such as advocacy, through other means.

We shall publish very soon a report on the outcome of the public consultation on Bournewood and the key features of our Bournewood proposals.

On 20 March I attended a ministerial meeting in Geneva to discuss how best the international community can help deal with the conflict in northern Uganda.

The UK has long been a committed member of the international community's effort to support humanitarian assistance and conflict resolution in Uganda. We have been one of the largest humanitarian donors in Uganda over the last five years—this year we have provided over £20 million in humanitarian assistance.

The 20-year long insurgency by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has destroyed lives and communities in northern Uganda and resulted in 1.7 million people living in camps for internally displaced people. The humanitarian situation in these camps is a cause of considerable concern—a WHO Health and Mortality survey in mid 2005 confirmed that the situation in the north is a humanitarian emergency.

Five LRA commanders have now had International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued for them. The UN Security Council agreed Resolution 1653 in January 2006, which identified the LRA as a threat to regional security. Mediation efforts have not made as much progress as we hoped they would. It is now time to redouble efforts to build a lasting and sustainable peace in northern Uganda.

At the meeting high-level delegations from the UK, US, Netherlands, Norway, and Canada sat down with various United Nation agencies as well as the Government of Uganda to discuss next steps.

The Ugandan government has primary responsibility to protect its citizens and to deal with the conflict and its humanitarian consequences. We welcome their willingness to work with international partners in doing this. A range of proposals for more political action and for alleviating the situation on the ground was discussed. These included improving coordination between the government of Uganda, UN agencies and others on the ground, and addressing issues such as conflict resolution, mitigating the effects of conflict, reintegration of formerly abducted children and ex-combatants, and humanitarian assistance.

A further meeting is planned in a few weeks time in Kampala to take forward these proposals.

My Noble Friend Lord Rooker, the Minister of State for Northern Ireland has made the following ministerial statement:

The Government are pleased today to issue a written statement on Northern Ireland forestry policy and to publish a strategy for the growth and sustainability of forestry.

The Government would like to express thanks to the many people and organisations that replied to the consultation document "Options for Forestry". The responses will be published on the Forest Service's website at: www.forestserviceni.gov.uk.

The responses confirmed the almost universal desire for more forests and woodlands for a number of reasons. These include the desire to improve our environment through tree planting; the perception that tree planting would assist in addressing a need for greater public access to the countryside; and the belief that tree planting would create an economic resource that could be exploited for energy and timber production.

There are many reasons why the amount of forest is low in NI. Nevertheless, the Government's vision is that, in the long-term, the amount of forest should be doubled so that people in NI will have access to the same level of forestry benefits as are available in the rest of the UK. The Government would like the private sector to take the lead in this. This is a challenging aspiration, however recent changes in agriculture, notably reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and the introduction of the Single Farm Payment, will provide additional confidence that forestry is a credible option for land use. To support this the Government will maximise the funding available under the Rural Development Regulation, subject to overall spending priorities.

The forestry strategy will be used to ensure that policies developed by different Departments are joined up. For example, DETI policies on developing renewable energy markets will create a demand for wood based energy, and forest design and management will support DOE policies on conserving biodiversity. The promotion of afforestation in areas close to settlements is also key in enabling the public to enjoy an improved quality of the environment.

The consultation paper pointed to the need to secure a balance of public benefits from forests. Government proposals to improve arrangements for forest management received a broad measure of support and these are adopted within the new Strategy. The more significant of these include:

Improving the statutory basis for the work programmes to be carried out by the Department. The 1953 Forestry Act is focused on wood production, and the Department proposes making provision for other aspects of a modern forestry policy. The Act shall be amended so that the Department will be required to balance the needs for timber production, environmental protection and recreational access, which more accurately reflects the work actually done by the Forest Service to-day.

Subject to this, the Government intend to create a statutory right of pedestrian access to most forests owned by the Department. This will complement the strategies promoted by local government and other public bodies to improve access to the countryside for recreation and tourism.

It is intended that the Department gain statutory powers to regulate tree felling and forest regeneration, to regulate the use of minor public roads for forestry, and to improve control of forest dwelling animals. This will help maintain the overall area of forest in Northern Ireland; it will help industry gain access to timber on affordable terms consistent with road safety considerations; and it will ensure that there is scope for public authorities to take action where wild animal populations threaten the success of the forestry programme.

There should also be fresh provision for the Department to compulsorily acquire land and ancillary rights over land. These powers will be used sparingly and in accord with the well-established rules for the use of such powers by the Civil Service.

The Government also intend to promote greater private sector participation in forestry by disposing of some plantations and by taking powers to participate in partnership arrangements with the private sector and other bodies. The Department should also gain provisions to develop some of its land for non-forest use.

Most of these decisions will require amendments to the Forestry Act that will be introduced in due course. In the interim Government officials will take forward these proposals as far as possible within the existing legislation.

The Government have considered the functions undertaken by the forest service and the arrangements for delivery of the forestry programme. The service now has a core business that includes maintaining the supply of timber, the restoration of areas harvested for timber and verifying the sustainable management of forest. This includes provision for the protection and enhancement of the environment. Along with responsibility for forest recreation, these core programmes will continue to be delivered on a regional basis by the forest service as an agency of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development subject to the outcome of the review of Environmental Governance as announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 21 March 2006. In the meantime, the service should continue to focus on improving efficiency and effectiveness, and a series of measures to achieve this consistent with the Government's "Fit for Purpose" initiative have been approved. A small number of local government and other responses suggested it might be possible for the Department to work with them in developing local partnerships and this will be pursued.

The conclusions of the equality impact assessment carried out at the same time as the review had suggested that forest service policies largely had a positive impact on disadvantaged groups, and this has been endorsed by the responses received.

The development of forests and woods are important to the people of Northern Ireland. The strategy published by the forest service will create a vision for forest expansion and sustainable forest management that will ensure a lasting legacy will be handed on to future generations.

In accordance with Article 81 of The Credit Unions (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and Section 100 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, copies of the Credit Unions Annual Report 2005 have been placed today in the Libraries of both Houses.

In accordance with article 677 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, copies of the Companies Registry Annual Report 2005 have been placed today in the Libraries of both Houses.

I have today appointed Sir John Bourn KCB as the independent adviser on Ministers' interests. He will provide advice to Ministers and permanent secretaries on the handling of Ministers' private interests as set out in Section 5 of the ministerial code.

Under the terms of the code, Ministers are required to provide their Permanent Secretaries with a list in writing of their interests which could give rise to a conflict of interest. As a matter of routine permanent secretaries will send Sir John Bourn copies of Ministers' disclosures with a note of any action agreed. He will also be sent any updates of the disclosures. This will allow Sir John to confirm that he is satisfied with the arrangements put in place.

It will, of course, remain the personal responsibility of Ministers to decide how to act and conduct themselves in the light of the code, and if necessary to justify their actions and conduct in Parliament.

Sir John is highly respected as the Comptroller and Auditor General and is ideally suited to the job of independent adviser on Ministers' interests. His impartiality and integrity are beyond reproach. I am delighted that Sir John has accepted the job which he starts with immediate effect.

I have today announced reforms to the state honours system which mean that I will not exercise my right as Prime Minister to nominate individuals directly for honours.

A new system of independent honours committees was established in 2005 following recommendations by Sir Hayden Phillips GCB and the Public Administration Select Committee. The committees are chaired by individuals from outside Government, with the majority of members from outside Government service. The committees' recommendations are considered by a main honours committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary and consisting of the chairs of all the independent committees. The Cabinet Secretary submits the agreed lists to me who, by law, is the principal adviser on honours to Her Majesty the Queen.

Under these reforms, my principal involvement in honours from this point will be in setting the strategic policy framework. This will involve giving a remit to the independent committees that consider nominations from Government Departments and the public as to the general direction of policy, including priority areas for recognition. From now on I shall forward the honours lists to the Queen without amendment.

These reforms have the agreement of the Queen and take immediate effect. The reforms involve no amendment to statute or to the exercise of the Royal Prerogative.

I have asked the Cabinet Office, in consultation with Departments, to consider the implications of these reforms for other parts of the honours process and to bring forward proposals in due course.

I am pleased to announce the ministerial targets for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for 2006–07. The ministerial targets are:

1. In at least 96 per cent. of incidents, within five minutes of being alerted, take a decision on the appropriate search and rescue response and initiate action if necessary.

1a. Deliver the programme of planned inspections. The MCA wil inspect vessels during 2006–07 in a targeted manner based on factors such as UK policy direction (small passenger vessels), EU policy (ro-ro passenger vessels) and/or risk, based on Marine Accident Investigation Branch statistics on accidents and deaths. Most categories fall into a yearly based regime while others, fishing vessels, are part of a longer term five-year inspection regime.

2b. Carry out 95 per cent. of mandatory expanded inspections.

3. Work with ship owners so that no more than 3 per cent. of UK ships inspected under global port state control arrangements are detained, and the UK shipping register maintains a position on the Paris Memorandum of Understanding White List which is comparable to registers of a similar size and reputation.

4. In 2006–07, reduce the proportion of vessels suffering machinery failures (commercial ships and leisure craft) in the UK by increasing prevention activities, working with other relevant organisations.

5. In 2006–07, strengthen our evidence base by analysing all fatal incidents and serious maritime accidents, to inform our assessment of maritime safety risks and prioritise these to assist with future regulatory policy and planning, including the allocation of costs and resources to activities.

Development Targets:

6. As a category 1 responder, meet the provisions of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 on behalf of the Secretary of State, in so far as his functions include responsibilities to maritime and coastal emergencies (excluding the investigation of accidents).

7. Prepare for a review in 2007–08 of the implementation, effectiveness and impact of the comprehensive prevention strategy, using evidence based information to check the agency's direction in this area.

8. Work with other responders and providers to contribute to improvement of joined up approaches to civil resilience matters, and specifically develop with the Ministry of Defence a harmonised provision for search and rescue helicopters from 2012.

The Austrian Presidency organised an informal meeting of transport Ministers, in Bregenz, Austria, on 2–3 March. The event was hosted by the Austrian Federal Minister for Transport and Innovation, Mr Hubert Gorbach, and I represented the United Kingdom.

The theme for the two-day meeting was road safety.

During the first session, the Transport Commissioner, M Jacques Barrot, presented the midterm review of the EU Road Safety Action Programme, which will be discussed at the Transport Council on 27 March. Mr Gorbach then presented the results of the Expert Meeting on Infrastructure Safety held in Vienna in January. In discussion the UK emphasised the need for effective collaboration and exchange of best practice between Member States, rather than legislation.

The second session, which took place at the Road Safety Training Centre in Röthis, was entitled "Crossing Borders in eSafety". Issues covered here were: driver training using vehicles with the most up-to-date equipment; testing of HGVs and passenger vehicles using the latest eSafety equipment and simulators; and other recent trends and innovations in the road safety field.

Two sessions on the second day covered road safety awareness campaigns in the EU. A number of Member States, including the UK, gave presentations on their experience and previous campaigns. There was a discussion of the benefits of sharing of national campaigns and how to overcome potential difficulties such as copyright. There was also a discussion about implementing a common Europe-wide road safety power campaign, on which the Commission will bring forward proposals.

Mr. Gorbach will report on the Bregenz event to the Transport Council in Brussels on 27 March.

I will attend the first Transport Council of the Austrian presidency which takes place in Brussels on 27 March.

The main items on the agenda are: a debate on the draft regulation on public service obligations in passenger transport; a revised regulation on aviation security; progress reports on air transport negotiations with the USA, implementation of the European Single Sky (SESAR) and the Galileo satellite navigation project; and a debate on the EU strategy for sustainable development.

There will be a policy debate on the draft Public Service Obligation (PSO) regulation for public passenger transport services by rail and by road. The draft regulation sets out to ensure harmonised rules for granting of contracts to passenger transport operators, including rail operators, to provide public services. To focus the debate, the Austrian presidency will ask Ministers to address two multi-faceted questions.

The first set of questions concerns the provisions in the regulation relating to the direct award of contracts for transport services. Part one seeks a Ministerial view whether the provisions of Article 5(6), which provide for the possibility of directly awarding regional or long-distance rail transport services, should be extended to include suburban heavy rail services. The Council and Commission minutes statement tabled at the December Transport Council accepted the principle set out in Article 5(6) but the Government will strongly oppose any further extension. The Government will argue that the inclusion of suburban rail services would effectively prevent the opening of the entire rail market in perpetuity.

Similarly the Government will firmly oppose the extension of the principle of direct award to all transport modes, which is the focus of the second part of the question. The UK will argue that an extension of the principle of direct award to all transport modes is against the principles of the Treaty. We will argue that it is diametrically opposite to the European Council statement in 2000 that called for the speeding up of liberalisation in areas such as transport. And we will argue that any extension of the principle of direct award makes a regulation that should be enabling some increase in liberalisation, largely worthless. At this stage we expect a majority of Member States and the Commission to oppose strongly extending Article 5(6) to all transport modes.

Finally on this section of questions the Government will support the proposition, couched as a question by the presidency, that measures should be put in place to prevent operators in receipt of direct awards from competing in open markets elsewhere in order to prevent distortions of competition.

The proposed regulation also provides for the continuation of public service contracts awarded on the basis of a fair competitive tendering procedure and of a limited duration comparable to the durations proposed in the regulation, until they expire. The second question asks Ministers whether other sorts of existing contracts should be allowed to continue until their expiry date, in particular considering the manner in which these contracts have been allocated and their duration. The Government will argue that contracts put in place before the first Commission proposal for a regulation in this area (26 July 2000) should be allowed to remain in place until they expire provided that they were awarded on the basis of a fair competitive tendering procedure and therefore in conformity with Community law that existed at that time.

We will argue that there are legitimate expectations, legal and financial implications and potentially even human rights concerns that contracts awarded on this basis should remain in place.

Road safety is on the agenda in two parts. The Commission will present its mid-term review of the EU Road Safety Action programme. The review concludes that progress in reducing deaths on roads within the EU was faster in the period 2001–05 than previously, but that the rate of progress is not sufficient to meet the Action Programme's target of a 50 per cent. reduction by 2010, and calls for a renewed effort. The Government welcome the mid-term review and the emphasis in the Action Programme on making progress through collaboration and cooperation rather than European legislation. The Commission has indicated that it will be considering proposals for legislation.

The presidency will make a statement on the informal meeting of Ministers held in Austria in early March, which I attended on behalf of the UK. The meeting covered road safety awareness campaigns, driver training, vehicle technology, and latest trends in research and innovation.

There will be two presentations on inland waterways. The Commission will present its recent communication on the promotion of inland waterways. The Communication sets out an action programme—called NAIADES (Navigation and Inland Waterway Action and Development in Europe)—to boost Inland Waterway transport in order to reduce traffic congestion and harmful effects on the environment. While the Communication does not contain any legislative proposals, it does look at the different options for modernising the regulatory environment. The time frame for the implementation of the plan is the period 2006–13. The Austrian presidency will also report on the findings of a High Level Meeting on inland navigation, which considered the Communication in February.

In regard to aviation security, the Council will be aiming to reach a General Approach on the regulation to replace the existing regulation 2320/02. The new proposal would help to clarify, simplify, and further harmonise legal requirements with the aim of enhancing overall security in civil aviation. The Austrian presidency has indicated that they will be aiming for the Council to reach a general approach, which the Government supports.

There will be a progress report on SESAR, the project for implementation of the Single European Sky (air traffic management). This will be on the basis of a recent Commission communication and a draft regulation on the establishment of a project management group. The regulation is subject to the consultation procedure, and co-decision with the European Parliament does not apply. The Government support the SESAR project as it will allow for an integrated approach to the development of the new generation European air traffic management system involving all parts of the industry. However, the Government also have a number of concerns which have yet to be resolved, in particular, the governance structure, scope and funding of the Joint Undertaking.

The third aviation item covers two aspects of aviation external relations. The Commission will report on the state of play on EU-US negotiations for an air transport agreement. Progress was made during the talks last autumn with the US, and we now await the outcome of a US rule-making process on airline control before we can evaluate whether what is proposed goes far enough to make the Stage One deal on the table acceptable. A decision may be possible at a Council later this year. The second external relations issue is Siberian overflight payments. A solution to this issue has been sought for several years.

There will be Council Conclusions and the Council will consider a specific mandate to allow the Commission to take forward negotiations with Russia.

The Commission will report on the key elements of the concession contract for the Galileo satellite navigation project. The Government will argue strongly for a robust PPP which is affordable for the Community.

There will be a policy debate on the current review of the EU strategy for sustainable development. The Environment Council has been asked to lead on a report for the June European Council, but ten other Council formations, including the Transport Council, have been asked to provide input on the basis of a unified set of questions.

Among the "A" points for agreement at the Transport Council is the draft recast directive on driving licences for which a text was endorsed at the preparatory meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Member States (COREPER) on 15 March 2006. Whilst the Government support much of what is included in the text it is concerned about the proposals on motorcycle staging. The Government consider that the system proposed on motorcycle staging will create significant difficulty for our motorcyclists, with no tangible benefit for road safety in the UK. I therefore intend to enter a minutes statement reiterating the UK's disappointment that it has been impossible to reach agreement on a better approach to motorcycling staging.

The most significant of the Any Other Business items are:

A report from the Commission on the follow-up to its withdrawal of the proposal on access to port services;

A report from the Commission on a new proposal for enhancing supply chain security; and

A report from the Commission on the recent proposal for the promotion of clean road vehicles.

I have today launched the "Railways for All Strategy" which explains how the rail industry will improve access for disabled people. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The strategy describes what the rail industry is doing to improve access for disabled people. It considers all parts of a journey including how the industry will improve the way it provides information, removing barriers to access stations and further refinements in the specification of trains.

A key objective of this strategy is to improve the accessibility of our stations and in support of this, the Government announced last year ring-fenced expenditure of over £370 million through to 2015. This investment is known as the "Access for All" funding and is over and above commitments made in franchises, the ongoing renewal of stations and major station improvement projects.

The "Access for All" funding is split into two parts:

Around £35 million per year is targeted at improving access to and within stations and to all platforms which would improve the accessible route and make the stations step-free. The strategy explains how we have prioritised this investment. These improvements will be targeted at the busiest non step-free stations and will be delivered by Network Rail.

Up to £7 million per year is available as small schemes funding and is targeted at less busy or rural stations where small improvements can go a long way to improving access. From today, bids are invited from train operating companies, local authorities and other parties, and will be assessed against stated appraisal criteria.

The stations which are planned to be delivered over the next three years by Network Rail can be downloaded today from www.dft.gov.uk/access. It is also intended that those stations which will receive small schemes funding will be listed here in due course.

As a rail industry, all parties need to work together to continue to deliver the access improvements many disabled people need. The "Railways for All Strategy" is all about delivering a railway for the 21st century that disabled people feel more comfortable, more secure and more confident in using.