Written Statement of 20 November 2002

CABINET OFFICE

  Regulatory Impact Assessments
  The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Douglas Alexander)
  The Government is committed to ensuring that regulations are necessary, give effective protection, balance cost and risk, are fair and command public confidence. In accordance with this, we require Departments to produce and publish RIAs for all regulatory proposals likely to have an impact on business.

  I have today presented to Parliament a Command Paper listing RIAs published between 1st January and 30th June 2002. Copies of those listed have been placed in the libraries of both Houses. This is the seventeenth such Command Paper

  Risk Report
  The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Douglas Alexander)
  The Strategy Unit report, "Risk: improving government's capability to handle risk and uncertainty", is today being published.

  The Government welcomes the report, and we have accepted its recommendations in full. They aim to improve the way we anticipate and handle risk in the day-to-day conduct of our business, to support the effective delivery of public services. The report's recommendations will be implemented through a two-year programme of change, led by the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, Sir David Omand.

  The report looks particularly at those areas of government that involve handling risks that may affect the public, and makes a number of recommendations to improve the involvement of the public in decision making about risks that affect them. It proposes a set of principles that government should follow in handling risks to the public, on which we intend to consult.

  Copies of the report have been placed in the Vote Office, the Printed Paper Office, and the libraries of both Houses.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  National Policing Plan (2003–06)
  The Minister of State for the Home Department (Mr. John Denham)
  I am, later today, laying the first National Policing Plan before Parliament as required by section 1 of the Police Reform Act 2002. It sets out the strategic priorities for the police service in 2003–06 as follows:Tackling anti-social behaviour and disorder.
  Reducing volume, street, drug-related and violent and gun crime in line with local and national targets.
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  Combating serious and organised crime operating across force boundaries.
  Increasing the number of offences brought to justice

  The Plan will be a key element in raising the standards of policing to enable all forces to approach the standards of the best.

  The National Policing Plan is a key element of police reform and sets out for the first time in one document, the performance targets and indicators against which delivery of priorities will be measured. The Plan describes those aspects of police reform, which will be in place over the next three years to support delivery.

HEALTH

  Health Inequalities
  The Secretary of State for Health (Mr. Alan Milburn)
  I am today publishing the results of the cross-cutting review of health inequalities, undertaken as part of the Government's 2002 spending review. The review sets out the Government's long-term approach for narrowing the gap in health between disadvantaged groups and the rest of the population.

  Copies of "Tackling Health Inequalities: 2002 Cross-Cutting Review" have been placed in the Library, and it is also available on the Department's website at http:// www.doh.gov.uk/healthinequalities

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

  International Policing (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Bill Rammell)
  Every effort is being made to ensure that the transition of responsibility from the International Police Task Force (IPTF) to the European Union Police Mission (EUPM) goes smoothly with minimal disruption to stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). For example, personnel from the two missions are co-operating closely to ensure that information and expertise accumulated by the IPTF is transferred to the new Mission. In order to facilitate a smooth transition, an EUPM Planning Team has been established to prepare for the take-over and ensure that the hand-over is effective and thorough. Together these steps will ensure that the EUPM is well-equipped and capable of building on the progress achieved by the IPTF.

  Commander Sven Frederiksen, currently Police Commissioner with the IPTF, will take up this same role with the EUPM thus ensuring that his expertise and experience as Head of Mission will be transferred to the EUPM. This will contribute further to the smooth transition which is crucial to the success of the new Mission.

  In the transition of responsibility from the IPTF to the EUPM there is to be a change of emphasis in the mission mandate. Whereas the IPTF was working closely with police officers in the lower ranks of the BiH Police Service, the EUPM will be looking at reform at a more senior level within the Police Service as well as reform at a ministerial level. To achieve this,

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  contributing countries are providing officers with experience of different policing fields to transfer skills and expertise to the BiH police service.

  The UK remains firmly committed to the peace process in BiH and will be contributing 56 police officers from 34 different police forces across the country, along with 9 civilians, to the EUPM. This comprises over 13 per cent of the total slots allocated to EU member states. All 15 EU member states are contributing personnel as well as seventeen further non-EU states. In total there will be around 500 police officers and civilian staff working in the EUPM.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

  Regional Development Agencies
  The Minister for Employment Relations, Industry and the Regions (Alan Johnson)
  I have published the Regional Development Agencies' reported outputs for the first quarter of 2002–03. These have been placed in the Library of the House and on the DTI website at www.dti. gsi. gov.uk/rda/info/q 1 results.htm Regional Development Agencies' reported outputs in the first quarter of 2002–03.

  The tables below show the Regional Development Agencies' Tier 3 targets for 2002–03 and the number of outputs they have reported as delivering by the end of the first quarter (June 2002). RDAs originally set out the annual targets in their Corporate Plans before the target definitions were finalised. Several RDAs have since chosen to rebase their Corporate Plan targets in line with the subsequently agreed methodology. For more information about the performance monitoring of the RDAs please see the DTI Website. A glossary of terms is at annex A.

  The RDAs' have stated that the Q1 returns are close to profile, and that as a result, RDAs collectively are broadly on track to achieve their annual targets. When considering the figures below it is also worth bearing in mind the following points:
  Some RDAs have been focusing attention on developing partnerships or schemes that are expected to deliver the majority of their results in the latter part of the year.
  Since setting their annual targets some RDAs have identified new opportunities to deliver outputs and are consequently expecting to exceed their targets.
  All outputs are reported on a Gross Attributable basis. Jobs created as a result of Foreign Direct Investment are reported on a gross basis to Invest UK and have been excluded from the Employment Opportunities table, below.

  Table 1—Employment Opportunities: total number of job opportunities as a result of RDA activity—taking new and safeguarded jobs together.

  Tier 3

  Annual Target

  Output for quarter 1

  SWDA

  6,450

  597

  EEDA

  953

  270

  EMDA

  5,150

  340

  ONE

  7,449

  608

  NWDA

  14,532

  1,365

  SEEDA

  2,066

  716

  LDA

  14,450

  2,280

  AWM

  13,545

  423

  YF

  10,500

  1,262

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  Table 2—Business Performance: total number of new businesses added to the regional economy as a result of RDA activities.

  Tier 3

  Annual Target

  Output for quarter 1

  SWDA

  700

  26

  EEDA

  163

  84

  EMDA

  470

  33

  ONE

  406

  21

  NWDA

  804

  114

  SEEDA

  123

  17

  LDA

  990

  45

  AWM

  144

  7

  YF

  700

  61

  Table 3—Brownfield Land: total number if hectares of land remediated to an acceptable condition and/or recycled into effective use as a result of RDA inputs and activities.

  Tier 3

  Annual Target

  Output for quarter 1

  SWDA

  140

  7

  EEDA

  23

  0

  EMDA

  119

  20

  ONE

  117

  2

  NWDA

  442

  110

  SEEDA

  40

  7

  LDA

  30

  23

  AWM

  259

  72

  YF

  88

  4

  Table 4—Education and Skills: total number of learning opportunities and/or support provided or influenced as a direct result of RDA support.

  Tier 3

  Annual Target

  Output for quarter 1

  SWDA

  5,400

  2,240

  EEDA

  3,183

  665

  EMDA

  2,375

  441

  ONE

  18,014

  1,726

  NWDA

  32,792

  7,052

  SEEDA

  3,454

  631

  LDA

  8,700

  3,623

  AWM

  16,215

  1,487

  YF

  14,000

  2,408

  GLOSSARY OF TERMS

  ANNEX A

  Term

  Definition

  Corporate Plan

  RDA plans which set out how resources will be used to achieve the objectives set out in their Regional Economic Strategy.

  Gross

  All outputs directly attributable to projects or programmes

  Gross Attributable

  Gross outputs that are directly attributable to RDA input, i.e. the RDA share of the outputs.

  SWDA

  South West Development Agency

  EEDA

  East of England Development Agency

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  Term

  Definition

  EMDA

  Ease Midlands Development Agency

  ONE

  One NorthEast

  NWDA

  North West Development Agency

  SEEDA

  South East England Development Agency

  LDA

  London Development Agency

  AWM

  Advantage West Midlands

  YF

  Yorkshire Forward

WORK AND PENSIONS

  Benefit Fraud (Islington)
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Malcolm Wicks)
  The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate's (BFI) follow up inspection report on the London Borough of Islington was published today and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

  The BFI first inspected and published a report on the London Borough of Islington in December 2000. The report found that the council had awarded a contract in 1998 to a company to deliver the benefit service on the council's behalf. However, the service was found to be totally inadequate, partly because of weaknesses in the contract but primarily because of the council's failure to manage or enforce it.

  This follow up report finds that the London Borough of Islington had attempted to address many of the concerns raised in the first inspection.

  The London Borough of Islington and its contractor were committed to improving the delivery of the benefit service, and were working closely to achieve this. Amendments to the contract had enabled the council to better manage the work of its contractor. Challenging targets had been introduced for the contractor, while comprehensive management information and a sound checking regime had been introduced to assist the council to monitor quality.

  There had been a significant reduction in the backlog of work and level of customer dissatisfaction since the first inspection. However, at the time of the follow up inspection, claimants were waiting an average of 16 weeks to have their claims dealt with mainly because the council had not tackled the underlying problem of managing the claims process.

  The council had significantly improved its counter fraud activities. It had a stable investigation team and it focused its efforts on the prosecution of fraudsters.

  There had been no tangible improvement in the area of overpayment recovery. Although the council and its contractor had developed a strategy to deal with overpayment recovery, the delay in implementing this had allowed the outstanding debt to rise by 47 per cent. in 2 years.

  The report concludes that the council had planted the seeds for improvement and now needed to ensure that it met its own expectations to deliver a quality benefit
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  service. The BFI saw promising prospects for the council and its contractor to deliver the significant improvements needed for customers to receive a prompt and accurate benefit service.

  In 2000–01, the London Borough of Islington administered approximately £122.4 million in housing benefits.

  The report makes recommendations to help the council address the remaining weaknesses and to further improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as counter fraud activities.

  My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

  Pet Travel Scheme
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr. Elliott Morley)
  On 1 July I indicated that the Government was minded to extend the very successful Pet Travel Scheme to the USA and Canada but would not do so until clarification had been obtained of some points raised in a peer review of a scientific assessment of the risk of importing rabies into the UK if the Pet Travel Scheme was extended to the USA and Canada.

  I am pleased to say that the further work I commissioned has confirmed the results of the earlier risk assessment; extending the Pet Travel Scheme to the USA and Canada will not significantly increase the risk of importing rabies. The Government has decided therefore to extend the Pet Travel Scheme to those countries.

  I have today laid before Parliament a Statutory Instrument giving effect to this decision. It will come into effect on Wednesday 11 December 2002. From that date cats and dogs from the USA, which comply with the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme can enter the UK without going into quarantine for six months. My officials are discussing with appropriate organisations the approval of routes and certification. Until these are available cats and dogs from the USA and Canada will have to spend a short time in quarantine—no more than 3–4 days, while all their documentation is checked. If the animal and documentation meets the requirements of the Pet Travel Scheme the animal will qualify for early release from quarantine.

  The European Union is expected to adopt early next year a Regulation on the movement of pet animals. This is based on the same principles as the UK Pet Travel Scheme, which will then form part of the EU system, although we have obtained derogations to continue all aspects of our current scheme, such as the tick and tapeworm testing. Future decisions, about how animals arriving in the UK will be treated, will be dealt with under the procedure laid down in the Council Regulation, when adopted.