I am announcing today our decisions following the consultation on schools’ revenue balances which ended on October 26 2007.

All local authorities and schools have a responsibility to spend every penny of taxpayers’ investment on children’s learning. I want head teachers and governors to manage their schools’ own finances, plan ahead with confidence and invest wisely. That is why we are funding them with the first ever three-year school funding settlement from 2008-2011.

My Department is absolutely right to take action when the net revenue surplus in school balances has more than doubled since 1999-2000 to £1.7 billion on 31 March 2007, with some schools’ surplus balances running into seven figures and still growing. This revenue funding should be spent on today’s children. It is intended for teachers’ pay and day to day running costs, not capital spending which is funded separately.

I have already given local authorities clear powers to redistribute excessive and uncommitted surplus revenue. Our guidance judges as ‘excessive’ a secondary school carrying over more than 5 per cent. of its annual school income at the end of the financial year; and 8 per cent. of a primary or special school’s income.

My Department has been consulting on an additional proposal for local authorities to be required to redistribute 5 per cent. of all surplus revenue balances held by schools in their area. It was never proposed that this money should come back to Whitehall or damage schools’ financial independence. It would be recycled to local schools, for the benefit of local children and decided by local head teachers, through the local School Forums.

However, I recognise schools’ concerns raised during the consultation. These included the retrospective use of end of year 2006-07 balances to redistribute a small proportion of those surpluses to other schools in 2008-09. I have listened carefully to that concern and I have ruled out any such retrospective proposal.

Schools were also concerned that the proposal would apply to all schools’ revenue surplus balances and would not include a minimum level of surplus to be carried over from year to year; and could include the proceeds of schools’ fundraising. These are all reasonable concerns that require further investigation.

I know that where schools retain a small surplus they are using sound financial management, such as putting money aside for extra staffing costs the following year or against unforeseen changes.

I have listened carefully, based on the responses from a range of stakeholders, and rather than proceed now we will continue to discuss these detailed concerns with schools and work with local authorities to lower excessive surplus revenue balances.

My Department will continue to monitor the overall level of surplus balances during the forthcoming spending review period. If the levels reported do not show a significant reduction we will come forward with further action, having resolved the technical issues, for implementation during the following spending review period.

This demonstrates our clear support for schools to invest wisely and use public money responsibly.

In my statement of 9 October, I outlined details of ex gratia assistance to be provided to Iraqi staff working for our armed forces and civilian missions in Iraq. This statement gives further details of the categories of staff who will be eligible to apply, the assistance which will be offered, and the procedures for applying.

In designing this policy, interested Departments have taken into account a number of factors. As I made clear in my statement of 9 October, we owe our Iraqi staff an enormous debt of gratitude for their dedicated service. HMG has directly employed many thousands of Iraqis since 2003 and has had indirect employment relationships with many more. Both fairness and realism demand that we focus on that sub-set of staff who have had the closest and most sustained association with us, in circumstances which we judge to be uniquely difficult. We have therefore established clear and transparent eligibility criteria which are, as far as possible, objective in nature.

In addition, the operational effectiveness of our armed forces and civilian missions, which depends in large part on the continued contribution of our Iraqi staff, must continue to be paramount. We need to preserve our ability to recruit and retain qualified Iraqi staff as we continue to discharge the obligations and responsibilities set out in the Prime Minister’s statement of 8 October. Both the overall policy, and the design of the scheme in respect of serving staff, have been decided with this in mind.

Finally, we have taken into account the need to ensure that any assistance scheme, in particular in respect of admission to or resettlement in the UK, is practical, realistic and preserves the integrity of wider immigration and asylum policy. For these reasons, we have sought to ensure that admission to the UK is managed as far as possible in line with existing processes and programmes.

The assistance detailed in this statement is offered ex gratia and goes above and beyond the confines of what is lawfully or contractually required. It does not recognise an obligation, or imply a commitment, to assist locally-employed staff in other countries or theatres of operation, past, present or future. It reflects our judgement that the circumstances in which Iraqi locally-employed staff have served have been uniquely difficult.

Categories of staff

Assistance will be offered to Iraqi nationals who meet the eligibility criteria set out below and who work, or have worked, in Iraq in the following capacities:

as direct employees of the UK Armed Forces or the Ministry of Defence;

on Letters of Appointment from the British Embassy in Baghdad or the British Embassy Offices in Basra and the Kurdistan Region;

as direct employees of DFID or the British Council;

and to contracted staff who work or have worked in Iraq in the following capacities, provided that such staff worked in particularly close association with the UK as an integral and visible part of HMG operations, including having regular, substantial and sustained contact with UK official personnel and regular, substantial and sustained attendance at UK official sites:

under the direct authority of the head of the Basra Provincial Reconstruction Team;

for the British civilian police mission, or for international contractors engaged by HMG to carry out police training programmes; or

for DFID's Centre of Government, Ministry of Interior Capacity Building, Civil Society, Economic Reform, Infrastructure Services or Governorate Capacity Building Programmes.

Eligibility criteria for serving staff

Staff who are currently serving in these categories, or who were doing so on or after 8 August 2007, will be eligible to apply for assistance provided that:

they have attained 12 months’ or more continuous service. (In this context, continuous does not refer to service in a single job or capacity. Iraqi staff who have moved between the different categories outlined above will be eligible provided that there was no break in service between moving between different categories and total length of service is 12 months or more); and

that they are (or were) redundant by their employer or that they are (or were) forced to resign their positions because of what we judge to be exceptional circumstances. Decisions on whether a resignation has taken place in exceptional circumstances will be made by representatives of employing Departments on the ground. Staff who are dismissed for misconduct will not be eligible for assistance.

Forms of assistance for serving staff

Staff in the prescribed categories who meet these criteria will be able to apply for one of the following three forms of assistance:

a one-off package of financial assistance. Eligible staff who choose this option will receive a payment equivalent to one month’s salary for every two months that they were employed, up to a maximum payment of 12 months’ salary. In addition, they will be able to claim 10 per cent. of the total sum for each dependant as defined below, up to a maximum of five dependants. Under this formula, the maximum payment would be 18 months’ salary, and the minimum six months; or

Exceptional leave, outside the Immigration Rules. Iraqi staff and their dependants whose applications are successful will be granted entry clearance which will on arrival confer Indefinite Leave to Enter the UK, with no subsequent review. Staff eligible for this scheme will be referred directly by employing Departments. No applications for exceptional leave will be accepted unless directly referred by employing Departments. Assistance with transport to the UK will be provided for staff and dependants who receive leave to enter. On arrival in the UK, staff and dependants will be provided with a reception and integration package designed to establish them in accommodation and to provide them with advice on employment; or

the opportunity of resettlement in the UK through the UK’s Gateway refugee resettlement programme. Provision has been made within the global Gateway programme for a significant number of places for Iraqi refugees in third countries, who are in need of resettlement, to be resettled to the UK. These places will include up to 600 places for staff and dependants who meet the criteria. Staff and their dependants wishing to avail themselves of this opportunity would need qualify as refugees under the 1951 Convention in a third country, and to meet the published criteria for Gateway resettlement. A package of financial assistance will be provided to those who are considered for resettlement under Gateway in order to allow them to support themselves during the screening process in a third country. Resettlement in the UK under the Gateway programme includes a full reception and social integration package.

Procedures for serving staff wishing to apply

In the first instance, serving staff who meet the criteria and who wish to apply upon being served with notice of redundancy or upon being forced to resign their job in extraordinary circumstances should contact their UK-based manager or supervisor.

Staff who have left our employ since 8 August 2007 may apply either to their former UK-based manager or supervisor, or follow the procedures set out for former staff. No applications for exceptional leave will be accepted unless directly referred by employing Departments. Staff outside of Iraq wishing to avail themselves of the opportunity for resettlement via the Gateway programme should also approach UNHCR.

Eligibility criteria for former staff

Staff who formerly worked for HMG in the capacities set out above will be able to apply for assistance provided that they fulfil all of the following criteria:

they worked as interpreters/translators, or in similarly skilled or professional roles necessitating the regular use of written or spoken English; and

they satisfactorily completed a minimum of 12 months’ service (in this context, satisfactory means that they were not dismissed for misconduct or similar reasons); and

they were in our employ on or after 1 January 2005 (but before 8 August 2007).

We may review these criteria for former staff in the light of experience.

Forms of assistance for former staff

Former staff who meet the above criteria will be able either to apply for a one-off package of financial assistance, as set out above; or to avail themselves of the opportunity for resettlement in the UK, together with their dependants, via the Gateway refugee resettlement programme as set out above. Having taken one package they will not be eligible to apply for other forms of assistance.

Details of telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for former staff who meet the above criteria and wish to apply for assistance will be released during the course of this week through a variety of means, including employing Departments’ websites and the local media.

Dependants

For the purposes of this scheme, the following will be automatically considered as dependants:

spouse or civil partner;

children under the age of 18 who are not leading independent lives (that is, are unmarried or not civil partners, or have not formed an independent family unit);

mother or grandmother who is a widow aged 65 years or over;

father or grandfather who is a widower aged 65 years or over;

parents or grandparents travelling together of whom at least one is aged 65 or over.

In addition, relatives who fit the categories below, who are also wholly or mainly dependent financially on the principal applicant, and have no other close relatives in their own country to whom they could turn for financial support, may be considered for inclusion on a case-by-case basis:

parent or grandparent under the age of 65 if they would be left living alone in Iraq in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances;

son, daughter, sister, brother, uncle or aunt over the age of 18 if they would be left living alone in Iraq in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances.

Following a review by the Identity and Passport Service, I have decided that the present requirement for parental consent to passport applications for people aged 16 or 17 should be dropped.

This brings the requirements into line with the age at which adult passports are issued. The decision recognises the fact that many people of that age have left home and are taking day to day responsibility for their lives. The age of 16 is recognised in Scottish law as the age from which young people have the right to determine their own needs and court orders in respect of young people elsewhere in the UK normally expire when the person reaches 16. It is also the age at which the Child Abduction Act 1984 no longer applies, at which National Insurance numbers are issued and compulsory education ends.

Parental consent will still be needed where a court order requires it or the young person has a mental disability.

The Identity and Passport Service will also no longer enquire into whether all those with parental responsibility have agreed to a change of name by a person aged 16 or 17. A person of 16 or over may legally change their own name and there is no requirement in law for parental consent.

At the same time a new requirement will be introduced for applications for passport renewal to be countersigned for applicants aged 11 or under. This is to confirm identity when passports originally issued to very young children are renewed five years or more later when their appearance will have changed considerably. It is important that we do positively identify children as a safeguard against child substitution to facilitate abduction or illegal entry. At present parents applying to renew passports for children are advised to obtain a countersignature if the child’s appearance has significantly changed; this will be replaced by the new simple objective requirement.

These changes will be brought into effect during December, when the necessary changes to application forms and IPS systems have been made.

The informal G6 group of Interior Ministers from France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland and the UK held their most recent meeting in Sopot, Poland on 17-18 October. The Home Secretary attended on behalf of the United Kingdom. A copy of the meeting’s conclusions has been placed in the Library of the House.

Ministers agreed that the G6 was not the best forum to discuss the future of justice and home affairs (JHA) business in the European Union. They did however share a common interest in seeing future developments within the EU focus on effective and practical co-operation.

In discussing the external dimension of JHA, the Ministers agreed there was a real need for operational dialogue with third countries to be fostered in all policy areas, in particular in the fight against drug trafficking and illegal immigration. In particular all noted that it was not possible to deliver on security in the European Union without such engagement. Within that context there was an emphasis on taking forward the EU's Global Approach to migration in Africa and the East and South-East neighbourhoods.

On counter-terrorism, Ministers discussed the terrorist threat and measures to counter it, including the deportation of suspected terrorist to third countries. Ministers reaffirmed in the conclusions of the meeting their commitment to working together to strengthen States’ ability to combat terrorism. The Home Secretary also expressed our continued support to the EU police mission to Afghanistan.

The next meeting of the G6 will be held in Spain in the first half of 2008.

I am today announcing that the Government have decided to maintain the restrictions on the labour market access of migrants coming to the UK from Romania and Bulgaria (the A2) until at least the end of 2008.

Last year the UK decided to open access to our labour market only gradually to nationals of Bulgaria and Romania.

These arrangements have been reviewed and a balance struck between the needs of the UK labour market, the wider impact of the migration of accession state nationals on the UK and the positions adopted by other EU countries (as that affects access to the UK labour market).

We have looked therefore at the evidence of the benefits and the impacts of migration from the A2 and from the A8 (eight countries which joined the EU in 2004), which we have used to inform this decision.

While initial evidence shows that there is a clear positive contribution to the economy from migration, there are some reports of pressures in other areas, including public services. The prudent balance is therefore to maintain restrictions as we monitor the medium to long term effects of accession migration.

From 2008, applications to the existing “Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme” will be accepted only from Romania and Bulgaria as was announced last year. The overall number of migrants coming to the UK through SAWS is unchanged.

The UK also set up the Workers Registration Scheme following the EU accession of eight East European countries (the A8) on 1 May 2004, this scheme continues to operate.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and I wish to make the following statement to the House about the inquests of servicemen and women who have died overseas. All casualties suffered by the UK armed forces are a source of profound regret.  UK service personnel have put their lives on the line to help build strong, stable and democratic nations and protect the interests of the United Kingdom, and we cannot pay high enough tribute to the job they are doing, or the sacrifice some of them have made.  We are committed to assisting the families of UK Service personnel who have died on operations overseas when their loved ones are returned to the UK.

We made statements to the House on 5 June 2006, Official Report, col. 4WS, 12 October 2006, Official Report, col. 26WS, 18 December 2006 Official Report, col. 112WS, 29 March 2007, Official Report, col. 121WS and 20 June 2007, Official Report, 97WS, with information about the conduct of inquests by the Oxfordshire and Wiltshire and Swindon coroners and today we are announcing progress which has been made since the written ministerial statement in June.  This statement shows the position as at 22 October.

Background

Coroners are independent judicial officers appointed and paid for by the relevant local authority.  Their officers and staff are employed by the local authority and/or the police.

Each death of a serviceman or woman killed in an operation overseas whose body is repatriated to England and Wales is subject to an inquest.  The inquest—both the investigation into the death and the holding of the public hearing into the death – is conducted by the coroner with jurisdiction which derives from where the body lies. 

In the case of deaths of servicemen and women whose bodies were flown into RAF Brize Norton until it ceased to be used for repatriations on 31 March 2007, the Oxfordshire coroner, Nicholas Gardiner, has had initial jurisdiction. In the case of deaths of servicemen and women whose bodies have been flown into RAF Lyneham since 1 April 2007, the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner, David Masters, has initial jurisdiction.

The coroner has powers under the Coroners Act 1988 to transfer jurisdiction to another coroner whilst the body is still lying within his district and with the consent of the other coroner. Since late December 2006 the Oxfordshire coroner’s practice was to transfer jurisdiction to coroners closer to the next of kin wherever possible; this practice has been continued by the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner since 1 April 2007. Some inquests of deaths of service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan before December 2006 have also been transferred to other coroners.

Progress with inquests

At the time of the June 2007 written ministerial statement, we reported that since additional funding had been provided by the Government to assist the Oxfordshire coroner, 72 inquests had been held: 62 into the deaths of servicemen and 10 into the deaths of civilians in Iraq whose bodies were repatriated via RAF Brize Norton.

Since June, a further 28 inquests have been held into the deaths of servicemen who died in operations and exercises overseas whose bodies were repatriated via RAF Brize Norton. This includes the deaths of six servicemen in the Czech Republic and one who died in California. This makes a total of 90 inquests for service personnel held since June 2006. Since June inquests into the remaining four civilians who died in Iraq whose bodies were returned via RAF Brize Norton have been held bringing the total to 14 civilian inquests and 104 inquests overall.

Prior to June 2006, the Oxfordshire coroner had heard 33 inquests into deaths of service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prior to 1 April 2007, the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner had heard five inquests into the deaths of service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. Seven other inquests into the deaths of service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan which had been transferred to other coroners have also been held. These inquests are now included in the overall figures of inquests which have been held.

There has been in addition the inquest into the death of a serviceman Private Johnathon Dany Wysoczan, who arrived home Iraq from injured but subsequently died from his injuries. The inquest was held by the Birmingham and Solihull coroner, Aidan Cotter.

Overall, since the operations began there have been a total of 125 inquests into the deaths of service personnel who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, or died in the UK following injuries in those operations.

In two further cases, no formal inquest was held, but the deaths were taken into consideration during inquest proceedings for those who died in the same incident.

Open inquests

(i) Oxfordshire coroner’s jurisdiction

There are 50 inquests to be concluded into the deaths of service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan whose bodies were repatriated via RAF Brize Norton prior to 31 March 2007.  The Oxfordshire coroner has retained jurisdiction in 41 of these cases; nine of these inquests have been transferred to coroners closer to the next of kin.

Two of the open inquests predate the announcement of additional resources for the Oxfordshire Coroner. The oldest outstanding military inquest in his jurisdiction is the inquest into the death of Fusilier Gentle on 28 June 2004 which is due to start on 29 October 2007.  When this inquest has been held, the oldest outstanding military inquest will be into the death of Lieutenant Palmer who died on 15 April 2006. The Coroner has decided to await the completion of a Board of Inquiry covering Lieutenant Palmer’s death and the inquest will not be heard until 2008.

Of the other 48 inquests, inquest hearing dates have been set in 12 cases and pre-inquest hearing dates have been set in four cases. In 32 cases investigations are ongoing but it has not yet been possible for a pre-inquest date to be set.

(ii) Wiltshire and Swindon coroner’s jurisdiction

The Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner, David Masters, does not have a backlog of overseas military inquests in his jurisdiction. Additional resources have, however, recently been provided by the Government to ensure that a backlog will not build up in his jurisdiction now that fatalities are being repatriated via RAF Lyneham. Mr Masters will now be able to engage an additional assistant deputy coroner and coroner's officer and administrative support. He will also be able to provide appropriate accommodation to hold military inquests. These extra resources will help to ensure that bereaved families are responded to sensitively and speedily following conclusions of the investigations. Mr Masters intends to continue his practice of transferring military inquests to a coroner closer to the bereaved family, where possible.

There is one open inquest hearing relating to fatalities which were repatriated via RAF Lyneham prior to the first ministerial statement in June 2006.  These relate to the deaths of 10 crew members who died together in the crash of Hercules XV179 on 30 January 2005. The coroner held a pre inquest hearing in February 2007 and plans to hold a further pre inquest hearing shortly now that he has received a specialist’s report into the crash.

There are 62 open inquests of service personnel who died in Iraq and Afghanistan whose bodies were repatriated via RAF Lyneham after 1 April 2007. The Wiltshire and Swindon coroner has transferred 27 inquests to coroners closer to the next of kin, has two further transfers pending, and has retained 33 inquests.

(iii) Inquests into the deaths of service personnel who returned home injured

There are four inquests which remain to be held of service personnel who returned home injured and subsequently died of their injuries.

We shall continue to keep the House informed on a quarterly basis about progress through the remaining inquests. I have placed a table in the libraries of both Houses which outlines the status of all cases, the date of death of each case and details of the coroner who conducted the inquest. Copies are also available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.

‘We are very grateful for the efforts of all the coroners involved in conducting these inquests.   

Liaison with the next of kin

It is of the greatest importance that the next of kin have full information about the progress on the inquest of their deceased next of kin.

We have been working on better supporting bereaved military families. The written ministerial statement issued on 7 June by the then Minister of State, Ministry of Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (Adam Ingram), gives details of the support which is now being provided and we continue to look for opportunities to improve our procedures.

I am today publishing a Command Paper—‘Towards a Sustainable Transport System: Supporting Economic Growth in a Low Carbon World’ (Cm 7226)—setting out the Government’s approach to transport policy in light of the Eddington Study and the Stern Review. Copies of the Paper have been made available in the Vote Office, the Libraries of both Houses and are also available on the Department’s website.

The Paper first describes how the Government are responding to the recommendations made in the Eddington study to improve transport’s contribution to economic growth and productivity, and how we are ensuring that transport will play its part in delivering the overall level of reductions in carbon emissions recommended by the Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change.

Second, it sets out the Department for Transport’s ambitious policy and investment plans for transport in the period to 2013-14. Third, it proposes a new approach to longer term transport strategy, building on the model recommended by Sir Rod Eddington, and explains how we will engage with passengers, users, the transport industry and other stakeholders as we develop and implement that process.

Alongside the Paper, and as part of the response to Sir Rod’s study, I am also today publishing a consultation document—“NATA Refresh: Reviewing the New Approach to Appraisal”—which seeks views on how improvements should be made to the Department’s transport appraisal framework. The consultation document is available on the Department's website and a paper copy will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.