My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Des Browne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The 2007 report of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) has now been published. I wish to express my thanks to the chairman and members of the review body for their report. I am pleased to confirm that the AFPRB's recommendations are to be accepted in full, with implementation effective from 1 April 2007.

In line with the AFPRB recommendations, the basic military salary for officers and all other ranks will increase by 3.3 per cent. In addition, a restructuring of pay range 1 will see those on the lowest pay level, some 13,000 service men and women, receive a total pay increase of 9.2 per cent. A further 6,000 service personnel on the next lowest level will receive 6.2 per cent.

The rates of specialist pay, including flying pay, submarine pay, diving pay and hydrographic pay, will also increase by 3.3 per cent.

The Government have also accepted the AFPRB's recommendation to introduce additional targeted financial retention incentives for Royal Marine and Infantry Other Ranks, and an extension to the aircrew financial retention incentive, in order to meet specific challenges in retaining our experienced people.

Also, the AFPRB has confirmed its support for the introduction of the tax-free operational allowance, which I announced to the House on 10 October (Official Report, col. 175) and has so far been paid to around 31,000 service men and women who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans; and the removal of the 100-day initial qualifying period for the longer separation allowance. Together these measures demonstrate this Government's commitment to provide special recognition for those serving their country on operations.

Copies of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body report are available in the Vote Office and the Library.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (John Reid) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am announcing the publication today of the summary of responses and next steps arising from the Government's consultation paper on reform of the laws of bribery. The consultation sought views on proposals on how to amend the bribery law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The consultation has confirmed that there is broad support for reform of the Prevention of Corruption Acts. The Government remain committed to a fundamental reform of our bribery laws and we shall bring forward legislative proposals as soon as we are in a position to do so.

It is clear that there is significant and influential opposition to the Government's draft Bill of 2003, and we have therefore concluded that that Bill is unsuitable for presentation to Parliament. However, no consensus has emerged from the consultation as to what the scheme of new offences should look like. There remains fundamental disagreement between stakeholders on which of a number of differing models should be adopted. I regret to conclude that there is insufficient support for any one model to justify its being submitted to Parliament at this time.

The Government are therefore asking the Law Commission to undertake a thorough review of our bribery laws with a view to fundamental reform and in so doing to look at the full range of structural options for the scheme of bribery offences. Since the Law Commission last considered this area of law, the context of reform has moved on. The Law Commission will take into account the issues and views that have emerged during our work since the introduction of the 2003 draft Bill. It includes additional practical experience of UK law enforcers in operating the existing law and other countries' experience of implementing international conventions in this area. We are also asking the Law Commission to look at the wider context on corrupt practices so that it will be clear how existing provisions complement the law of bribery. This part of the review will comprise a summary of provisions and not recommendations for reform. I have written to the Law Commission today setting out the agreed terms of reference for its review. A copy of the terms of reference is attached.

We are asking the Law Commission to prioritise its review and to produce a draft Bill. We will make additional resources available to expedite the process.

The consultation also sought views on a separate operational proposal to amend and enhance the Serious Fraud Office's powers in foreign bribery cases. This proposal was on balance favourably received. We shall take forward this proposal as soon as a suitable legislative vehicle has been identified.

Copies of the summary of responses and next steps document will be placed in the Libraries. The document will also be available on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/haveyoursay/responses.

Law Commission's Terms of Reference - Bribery

To review the various elements of the law on bribery with a view to modernisation, consolidation and reform; and to produce a draft Bill. The review will consider the full range of structural options including a single general offence covering the public and private sectors, separate offences for the public and private sectors, and an offence dealing separately with bribery of foreign public officials. The review will make recommendations that:

provide coherent and clear offences which protect individuals and society and provide clarity for investigators and prosecutors;

enable those convicted to be appropriately punished;

are fair and non-discriminatory in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998; and

continue to ensure consistency with the UK's international obligations.

The process used will be open, inclusive and evidence-based and will involve:

a review structure that will look to include key stakeholders;

consultation with the public, criminal justice practitioners, academics, parliamentarians and non-governmental organisations;

consideration of the previous attempts at reform, including the recent Home Office consultation, and the experiences of law enforcement and prosecutors in using the current law; and

comparing, in so far as is possible, the experience in England and Wales with that in other countries: this will include making international comparisons, in particular looking at relevant international conventions and the body of experience around their implementation.

The review will also look at the wider context on corrupt practices to see how the various provisions complement the law of bribery. This will provide the wider context in which the specific reform of bribery law can be considered. This part of the review will comprise a summary of provisions not recommendations for reform.

My right honourable friend the Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs (Ian McCartney) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

My department is today launching three consultations on implementation of European company law directives.

The first of these is the consultation on the implementation of the Statutory Audit of annual and consolidated accounts directive (directive 2006/43/EC). This directive is in part a response at EU level to the corporate scandals of earlier in the decade. It updates the provision on auditor qualification, ethics and registration as well as providing for external quality assurance, public oversight and investigations. There are also provisions for co-operation between audit regulators, both in the EU and with third countries. In respect of listed companies, there are new provisions on audit committees and the oversight of third-country auditors. Existing UK law already provides for many of the requirements of the directive, and only minor adjustments will be required in these areas. There are, however, some areas, such as audit committees and the provisions for third-country auditors, where new provision will be needed. The Government propose to build on the existing UK audit framework in their implementation of these provisions, and options are set out in the consultation document. This directive must be implemented in the UK by 29 June 2008.

The second consultation document concerns implementation of a directive that amends EC accounting directives, (the 4th and 7th company law directives, bank accounts and insurance company accounts directive) (directive 2006/46/EC). This directive was part of the EU Company Law Action Plan, produced by the Commission in 2003, reflecting issues arising from the post-Enron environment. The overall objective of this directive was to,

“further enhance confidence in the financial statements and annual reports published by European companies”

(EU Commission) by improving access to reliable and complete information. This directive must be implemented in the UK by 5 September 2008.

Finally, the third consultation being published today is looking at the implementation of the cross-border mergers directive in the UK (directive 2005/56/EC). This directive aims to establish for the first time a legal facilitative framework enabling cross-border mergers between companies in the European Economic Area (EEA). This directive also deals with employee participation issues where participation rights exist in any of the merging companies or under the law of the member state in which the company resulting from the merger will be registered. This directive must be implemented by 15 December 2007.

These consultative documents will be placed in the Libraries and will be available on the DTI website.

These consultations ask a wide range of questions about the scope of the directives concerned and suitability of the implementing measures proposed. We welcome views from all stakeholders with an interest in these areas.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (James Plaskitt) has made the following Statement.

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council was held on 22 February in Brussels. There were no health or consumer affairs issues. I represented the UK.

The first items were the preparation for the Spring European Council and the tripartite social summit through the endorsement of a set of key messages to the European Council.

Ministers endorsed the key messages from EPSCO to the Spring European Council. There were calls for new EU minimum social standards, but they did not receive much of an echo, as there was more interest in strengthening the social dimension of the Lisbon process. Nine member states, led by France, said the joint letter they had signed last week supported the presidency's goal of strengthening social Europe. I endorsed the broad focus of the key messages and stated that there was a lot the UK could support in last week's letter; for example, the idea of social Europe supporting working people and citizens more widely, in particular the most disadvantaged; the need to uphold European values of cohesion, solidarity and social justice; and the emphasis on lifelong learning, equal opportunities and poverty. However, it was important also to emphasise the flexible labour market and the dismantling of barriers to mobility. I added that the means by which we promoted these objectives were important, as the existing body of directives already provided the basis for fair and decent minimum standards, and we were not persuaded of the case for further new minimum social standards. We should focus instead on delivering Lisbon and our individual national reform programmes. The presidency concluded that the European social dimension needed common objectives, notably on combating poverty, especially child poverty and social exclusion. Migration could be covered, too, even though it had not been mentioned in this meeting.

The tripartite social summit on the eve of the Spring Council would discuss the Commission's strategy for 2008 and better regulations.

The Council adopted a resolution on the contribution of older people to economic and social development in the context of demographic change in Europe. It debated the process of open co-ordination on demography and the presidency's idea of a European family alliance. I emphasised the primacy of the Lisbon goals and process, and the vital importance of increasing labour supply. After a table round of very similar interventions, the presidency concluded that all delegations supported its approach. There was no need for a new process. The Lisbon strategy and the existing open co-ordination would suffice. Work under the family alliance and the High-Level Group on Demography could be accommodated within them, and the Commission's annual progress reports would assess progress.

Under other business, the Council noted the annual work programmes of the Employment Committee and the Social Protection Committee for 2007, and the Commission reminded members of its recent communication on the “New Community strategy on health and safety at work 2007-12”, which will be raised again in May.

My right honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Geoff Hoon) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) will be held on 5 March in Brussels. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mrs. Margaret Beckett) and I will represent the UK.

The agenda items are as follows:

General Affairs

Preparation of the European Council on 8 to 9 March: The Council will discuss the draft agenda for the Spring European Council on 8 to 9 March, including climate and energy security, better regulation and the Lisbon agenda. The Spring European Council will be an opportunity for the EU to show global leadership in tackling climate change.

External Relations

World Trade Organisation/Doha Development Agenda: If this remains on the agenda, the Commission will update the Council on the WTO round.

Sudan: The Council will discuss support for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (AMIS). The presidency is leading an initiative to secure further EU funds for the African Union, both bilaterally and through the Commission. We will be indicating our support for this initiative and will join the presidency in encouraging member states that have not yet committed significant funds to do so.

We also expect the Council to adopt conclusions calling on the Sudanese Government to give explicit consent to the UN heavy support package for the peacekeeping force, condemning Sudanese non-co-operation with the UN Human Rights Council and reiterating the need for an inclusive political process under the African Union-UN initiative.

Uzbekistan: We expect the Council to discuss the human rights situation in Uzbekistan ahead of the review in May of the EU measures imposed after the Andizhan killings.

Middle East Peace Process: We expect the Council to focus on the EU’s response to the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG). The Commission is likely to brief partners on proposals for an international mechanism for support to the Palestinian people. We support the Commission’s efforts.

Western Balkans: The main focus of discussion is likely to be Bosnia. We expect the Council to adopt conclusions welcoming the outcome of this week's Peace Implementation Council, which is likely to extend the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and the Bonn powers.

Iran: The Council is expected to adopt conclusions deploring Iran's non-compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737, underlining the Security Council’s intention to adopt further measures and reiterating EU support for a negotiated solution. We will also brief partners on the E3+3 senior officials’ meeting in London on 26 February.

My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Health Services (Rosie Winterton) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

We shall lay before Parliament regulations to increase National Health Service charges in England from 1 April 2007. There will be a cash increase in the prescription charge of 20p, from £6.65 to £6.85, for each quantity of a drug or appliance dispensed.

The cost of prescription prepayment certificates will rise to £35.85 for a four-month certificate and £98.70 for an annual certificate. These offer savings for those needing more than five items in four months or 14 in one year.

Prescription charges are expected to raise some £425 million for the NHS in 2007-08. Charges for elastic stockings and tights, wigs and fabric supports supplied through the hospital services will be increased similarly.

For courses of dental treatment begun on or after 1 April 2007, the charge for band 1 will be £15.90, band 2 will be £43.60, and band 3 will be £194.00.

All these increases are below the current level of inflation.

In order to continue to provide help with the cost of spectacles or contact lenses to children, people on low income and individuals with complex sight problems, optical voucher values will rise by an average of 2.7 per cent. NHS charges and optical voucher values in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for the devolved Administrations. Details of the revised prescription, dental charges and optical voucher values have been placed in the Library.

In due course, we shall lay regulations to make 12-month pre-payment certificates (PPC) available from July 2007 via direct debit instalments and to replace the four-month PPC with a three-month PPC at a fee of £26.85.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health (Patricia Hewitt) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am responding on behalf of my right honourable friend the Prime Minister to the twenty-second report of the Review Body for Nursing and Other Health Professions (NOHPRB), Cm 7029, and the thirty-sixth report of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB), Cm 7025, which were laid before Parliament yesterday. The reports have been placed in the Library, and copies are available in the Vote Office for honourable Members. I am grateful to the chairs and members of the review bodies for their hard work.

The NOHPRB has recommended an increase in the Agenda for Change pay rates of 2.5 per cent from 1 April 2007. It has also recommended that the minimum and maximum high-cost area supplements should be increased by 2.5 per cent.

The DDRB has recommended that the basic rate of pay for junior doctors should be increased by £650—equivalent to about £1,000 when the banding multiplier is applied—and that of all other hospital doctors by £1,000. It has also recommended that the top and bottom of the salary range for salaried general medical practitioners should be increased by £1,000. In addition, it has recommended a zero increase in GP pay and an increase of 3 per cent in the gross earnings base for general dental practitioners. The DDRB calculates that its recommendations will increase the NHS medical and dental pay bill per head by just under 2 per cent.

The review bodies’ pay recommendations are being accepted; however, to ensure consistency with the Government's inflation target, and in line with other parts of the public sector, the awards will be staged. All awards that represent an increase up to and including 1.5 per cent will be paid in full from 1 April. But all awards which represent an increase above 1.5 per cent will be paid in two stages, with 1.5 per cent from 1 April and the balance from 1 November. The Government recognise that the staff affected will be disappointed that their award is not being paid in full from 1 April, but we believe that this approach is fair for staff, consistent with the Government's inflation target and affordable for the NHS.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Paul Goggins) has made the following Ministerial Statement:

The fifth report of the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) on the pay of governor and officer grades in the Northern Ireland Prison Service was published yesterday.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Peter Hain) has accepted the recommendations, which are in two parts. The basic increase will be implemented from 1 April 2007, and the efficiency award will be implemented following confirmation from the PSPRB that the efficiency element of the package has been delivered. The cost of the award will be met from within the existing budget allocation for the service.

Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries.

My honourable friend the Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety (Tony McNulty) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I have today published a consultation paper, Banning Offensive Weapons, which seeks views on further measures to restrict the supply of weapons that are being used in violent crime.

The Government's primary concern is public safety, and the consultation paper provides an opportunity to contribute to and shape the debate on whether we should ban the sale and import of samurai swords and other weapons and whether to provide exemptions to the ban for certain activities.

Copies of the consultation document are available in the Library and on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk. We should be glad to receive views by 28 May 2007.

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Gerry Sutcliffe) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The sixth report of the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) on the pay of governing governors and other operational managers, prison officers and related support grades in England and Wales in 2007 has been published today and copies placed in the Library. I thank the chair and members of the PSPRB for their hard work in producing their recommendations.

The PSPRB has recommended a restructuring of the prison officer pay scale to a new seven-point scale and a restructuring of the pay ranges for governing governors and other operational managers within a new 21-point spine, from 1 April 2007. The PSPRB has also recommended for those staff not affected by the restructuring (principal and senior prison officers, prison officers on the second long-service incremental point and unified support grades) an increase in basic pay of 2.5 per cent. The recommendations will lead to a 2.8 per cent growth in the overall pay bill, to £888 million, excluding oncosts.

Although I have decided that the PSPRB's recommendations will be implemented in full, the Government have announced that all pay review body awards—including to doctors, dentists, nurses and judges, as well as prison officers—will be staged so as to be consistent with the Government's wider economic objectives to secure economic stability and steady growth.

The key pay review body recommendations are:

restructuring of the prison officer pay scale to a new seven-point scale;

restructuring of the pay ranges for operational managers within a new 21-point spine;

required hours addition for operational managers to be uprated by 2.5 per cent;

the “Operation Tornado” emergency response payment to prison officers to be uprated to £18 per hour;

on-call allowances and dirty protest payment uprated by 2.5 per cent;

a 2.5 per cent increase to the basic pay rates of principal and senior prison officers, prison officers on the existing second long-service incremental pay point and unified support grades; and

all other allowances and ex-gratia payments to remain at their current levels.

Recommendations 1 to 5 will be implemented from 1 April. Recommendations 1 and 2 will benefit those below the top pay scale by up to 10 per cent. Recommendation 6 will be paid in two stages: 1.5 per cent will be paid from 1 April 2007, in line with other pay review bodies, with the balance to 2.5 per cent paid from l November 2007. The cost of the award will be met from within the delegated budget allocation for the Prison Service.

The Government remain committed to the independent pay review body process. They do not take decisions to stage recommendations lightly. This year's decisions do not provide any indication of future responses.

My honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (John Reid) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Further to my Statements to the House on Wednesday 10 and Tuesday 16 January 2007, I have placed in the Library today the report of the Home Office internal inquiry into handling notifications by other European countries of criminal convictions for UK citizens. The report reinforces the importance of the Home Office's reform programme, which I announced last July, and which is already addressing the issues raised in the report.

My right honourable friend the Paymaster General (Dawn Primarolo) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

This Government are determined to ensure that all individuals pay the proper amount of tax on their employment income, other non-employment income and capital gains. Despite the Government's focus on tackling tax avoidance schemes, there are a minority who continue to seek ways to avoid paying an appropriate share of tax, which is unfair on the majority of taxpayers and can undermine funding of public services.

The Government have continued to see evidence of schemes that use partnerships to generate losses that can be offset by individuals against other income or capital gains using sideways loss relief. HMRC's compliance activity in this area and the disclosures that have been received, following the extension of disclosure rules to cover loss creation schemes from 1 August 2006, have highlighted that this type of avoidance activity is still widespread. Despite the introduction of extensive anti-avoidance legislation in this area, scheme providers are continuing to devise and operate more contrived schemes.

Prompt and decisive action is required to ensure that all taxpayers pay their fair share of tax. The Government are therefore announcing, with effect from today, two changes to the rules for sideways loss relief.

Currently, the amount of a partnership's trading losses for a tax year for which a non-active partner can claim sideways loss relief is restricted broadly to the amount of capital that the partner has contributed to the partnership. The Government propose to introduce new legislation to exclude certain capital contributions from this amount. The capital contributions to be excluded will be those paid by non-active partners on or after 2 March 2007 where the main purpose, or one of the main purposes, for contributing the capital to the partnership is for the partner to obtain a reduction in tax liability by means of sideways loss relief.

The Government also propose to introduce an annual limit of £25,000 on the amount of trading losses for a tax year for which an individual who is a non-active partner in a partnership can claim sideways loss relief. The new limit will apply to trading losses sustained as a non-active partner on or after 2 March 2007.

Legislation will be included in this year's Finance Bill. A technical note with full details of this measure will be issued on HMRC's website today.