Written Statement of 12 November 2003

DEFENCE

  Project Aquatrine
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Ivor Caplin)
  I am pleased to inform the House that the C2C consortium has today been announced as the preferred bidder for the second of three contracts for the provision of water and wastewater services to Ministry of Defence sites in the North and East of England.

  Project Aquatrine is one of the Government's leading and most significant Public Private Partnership (PPP) Projects and will transfer the responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the Department's water and wastewater assets and infrastructure throughout Great Britain to private sector providers. This Project will enable the transfer of environmental risk to those in the private sector who are best placed to manage it.

  This contract is expected to go live in September 2004 following a pre-commencement period.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

  Best Value Authorities (Discretionary Services)
  The Minister for Local Government, Regional Governance and Fire (Mr. Nick Raynsford)
  The Government has today published guidance for best value authorities in England on the general power to charge for discretionary services provided in the Local Government Act 2003. Copies of the guidance are available in the Libraries of both Houses. Separate guidance is to be issued for Wales.

  The Local Government Act 2003 provides all best value authorities in England and Wales with a new power to charge for discretionary services (section 93). Charges made under the new general power are subject to certain restrictions including a duty to ensure that the income from charges does not exceed the costs of provision.

  The guidance offers advice on:

  The scope of the general power to charge for discretionary services;

  Which authorities benefit from the power;

  Discretionary services;

  The limitation to cost recovery;

  Calculating the costs and setting the charge;

  The Competition Acts and the effect on local businesses;

  The power at section 94 to disapply the new power to charge; and

  22WS

  The power at section 97–98 to modify existing legislation that in some way restricts an authority's ability to charge for the provision of a discretionary service under section 93.

  This guidance applies only to the new power at section 93 of the Act to charge for discretionary services and to the related powers at sections 94 and 97–98 of the Act. It is issued under the power at section 93(6). Best value authorities must have regard to the advice it contains when charging for discretionary services using the new power. Copies are being sent to all best value authorities and other interested parties. The guidance builds on the draft published for consultation in March 2003 and takes account of the responses received to that consultation.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

  Ascension Island
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Bill Rammell)
  The Wideawake Agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States Governments, which allows for the opening of Wideawake Airfield on Ascension Island to civilian charter traffic, was signed on 1 October.

  At present access to Ascension Island for civilians is by ship, or on RAF flights between Brize Norton and the Falkland Islands. The UK Government wishes to improve access to Ascension Island, in order to provide an essential building block for its future economic development. The UK Government has therefore agreed with the US Government that the US Wideawake military airbase on Ascension Island may be used for a limited number of civilian charter flights every week.

  It will be for airlines to decide on commercial grounds whether to take the opportunity to fly to Ascension Island. The UK Government will work closely with the Ascension Island Government to encourage airlines to fly there. A prospectus will be issued in early 2004.

  The opening of the airfield is part of the modernisation process of Ascension Island. In 2002 a fiscal regime was introduced and the first ever Island Council was formed. The Ascension Island Government is working to continue this process and is preparing a strategic plan providing a vision for the Island for the next five years. A copy of the Wideawake Agreement will be laid before Parliament as a Command paper in due course.

HEALTH

  Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Miss Melanie Johnson)
  The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's 12th annual report and accounts 2003 were laid before Parliament today.

  Copies have been placed in the Library.