My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department has today announced a change to the Home Detention Curfew Scheme (HDC).HDC has been in operation since 1999. It provides an effective and measured transition for offenders moving from custody into the community. Eligible prisoners are subject to a careful risk assessment before any decision is taken to grant them early release. Previous amendments to the scheme have balanced extensions to the period of early release with restrictions designed to maintain public confidence in the scheme as a whole. In April 2003 the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department announced an extension of HDC to a maximum of four and a half months. The extension was accompanied by the introduction of a presumption against release for prisoners convicted of certain serious offences—those which the Government consider cause the public particular concern.Prisoners released under the HDC scheme serve the remainder of their custody period at home under electronic curfew, usually from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. At present there are approximately 3,700 prisoners on electronic tag. The scheme is kept under constant review.Public confidence in the scheme is essential. It is for this reason that the Home Secretary has already made it clear that offenders serving sentences for certain current offences and prisoners with any history of sexual offending must be considered unsuitable for release on HDC unless exceptional circumstances exist. This presumption against HDC will continue to apply.A recent case has highlighted the fact that, in addition, there will be exceptional cases where an offender may be considered unsuitable for HDC even though he or she has not committed one of the offences which give rise to the presumption, if to grant HDC would undermine public confidence in the scheme. This will depend on the circumstances of the particular case.The Home Secretary has decided that such exceptional cases should be referred to the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service who will take the decision whether or not to grant HDC.

My right honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Planning has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.The Government have always been clear that county councils and other authorities with strategic planning expertise would play a key part in preparing draft revisions of regional spatial strategies and in their implementation. Draft Planning Policy Statement 11, which we published for consultation in October, sets out in some detail how the county councils and these other authorities can assist the regional planning body, including exercising functions on behalf of that body within a partnership arrangement.The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill already encourages regional planning bodies to enter into arrangements with county councils and these other authorities but it does not require them to do so. The Local Government Association, the County Councils Network and others have expressed concern that, without a guarantee of involvement for county councils on the face of the Bill, their role could be marginalised under the new arrangements.I have discussed with the association and the County Councils Network how we might secure in legislation our policy intention for the future role of county councils without creating unnecessary bureaucracy or providing opportunities for unreasonable delay or obstruction. I am pleased to announce to the House that, as a result of these discussions, we will be tabling an amendment to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill which is currently in the House of Lords. Whether or not the Bill is amended is ultimately a matter for that House to decide.This amendment would require regional planning bodies to seek advice on the preparation, review and monitoring the implementation of regional spatial strategies from county councils and other authorities with strategic planning expertise. They would in turn be under an obligation to provide advice, providing that their delivery of services was affected in some way. I would also amend our draft Planning Policy Statement No 11 on Regional Planning to explain in more detail how this would work in practice.The amendment would also allow regional planning bodies to enter into arrangements with counties, other authorities with strategic planning expertise and district councils to carry out functions on behalf of the regional planning body.I am delighted that, in the light of this proposal, the Local Government Association and the County Councils Network have agreed to give their full support to making the new regional planning arrangements a success. I look forward to our promoting together a system that I believe will deliver better strategic plans for our regions in the years ahead.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.I am today publishing National Service Framework for Renal Services, Part One: Dialysis and Transplantation.The national service framework (NSF) programme is a major part of our agenda to tackle health inequalities and to drive up standards across the National Health Service. Part one of this NSF covers dialysis and transplantation. It sets standards and identifies markers of good practice that will help the NHS and its partners to manage the demand for renal services, increase fairness of access and improve choice and quality in dialysis and kidney transplantation.This is an important part of our modernisation programme to improve renal dialysis and transplantation services over the next 10 years. The framework sets out five quality standards to provide a flexible, responsive service that provides patients with better access and choice. It identifies 30 markers of good practice drawn from national and international evidence. This NSF builds on the programme of modernisation set out in the NHS Plan and the national service frameworks for diabetes, coronary heart disease, older people, and children. It reflects the principles of empowering patients and frontline staff contained in the NHS Plan and

Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved further licences to export military list goods to Iraq. The arms embargo against Iraq remains in place under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003), with the exception of "arms and other related material required by the (Coalition Provisional) Authority to serve the purposes of this and other related resolutions".

Following consultations with this department, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry issued a licence for the export to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) of bomb disposal suits and equipment. This equipment will be used by the Royal Nepalese Army, who are part of the Ituri Brigade of the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC).UN Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1493 (2003), adopted on 28 July 2003, implemented an embargo on the provision of arms and any related materiel to all armed groups operating in the east of the country. Operative Paragraph 21 of the SCR provides an exemption to the embargo for "supplies to MONUC"

My right honourable friend the Prime Minister led the UK delegation and was accompanied by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs.The council noted the recent elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive and looked forward to the restoration of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, established under the agreement.The main issue for discussion was indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages, and the council has agreed a programme to take forward joint working in this area. I have placed a copy of the communique' in the Libraries of the House.