Written Statement of 26 April 2004

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

  Planning Permission (Duration)
  The Minister for Housing and Planning (Keith Hill)
  The Planning and Compulsory purchase Bill contains provisions to reduce the default period for the commencement of development under a planning permission, listed building consent or conservation area consent from five to three years. This provision is a crucial part of our agenda for speeding up the operation of the planning system.

  Local planning authorities have flexibility under existing legislation to vary the length of a permission or consent. This flexibility will remain. The time limit for the commencement of development will normally be three years from the date of permission or consent, but a local planning authority may direct a longer or shorter period as it considers appropriate. Local arming authorities should look favourably upon requests for longer periods of duration where there are valid planning grounds for such a request. There will be cases where three years is unlikely to be long enough to allow developers to complete all the preparation needed before starting work. Longer periods are likely to be appropriate, for example, for complex generation projects.

  After the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill has completed its Parliamentary passage, the Government will issue guidance to local planning authorities on the new provisions. In this guidance we will make clear the need for flexibility on the part of local authorities in their dealings with applicants on the duration of permissions and consents.

  Antisocial Behaviour
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Yvette Cooper)
  The Government is today publishing draft guidance for social landlords on how they should prepare and publish their statements of policies and procedures for tackling antisocial behaviour on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website for consultation

  Section 12 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 places a new requirement on all social landlords (local housing authorities, registered social landlords and housing action trusts) to prepare and publish statements.

  The consultation is aimed at all social landlords in England and those with an interest in housing and antisocial behaviour issues, including tenants groups. I would therefore urge the sector and others with an interest in these issues to consider the draft and supply their views.
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  A key part of tackling antisocial behaviour is to ensure that tenants know exactly what their landlord will do about it when it occurs. Tenants often feel left in the dark when they are experiencing problems with antisocial behaviour. They may not know what options are available to them or the landlord. Sometimes the problem may be because front-line housing management staff are unclear about what procedures they should be following either.

  Guidance is intended to support landlords in preparing and publishing their statements, helping them further define and develop their approaches to tackling antisocial behaviour and ensuring they work in partnership with other agencies to meet the needs of their tenants and the wider community when deploying interventions.

  Following consultation, statutory guidance issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will apply to local housing authorities and housing action trusts in England. The housing corporation will issue statutory housing management guidance in the form of a circular for registered social landlords, under the requirements of the Anti-social Behaviour Act. The National Assembly for Wales (NAW) will be issuing similar guidance in Wales.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Draft Identity Cards Bill
  The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett)
  I am today publishing a draft Identity Cards Bill for consultation as part of a document explaining the need for legislation entitled "Legislation on Identity Cards: A Consultation" (CM 6178).

  The draft Bill establishes the legislative framework that would be necessary for the incremental introduction of the national identity cards scheme as set out in "Identity Cards: The Next Steps" (CM 6020) published in November 2003.

  The draft Bill includes provisions that would:
  set up a National Identity Register that would include identity information on individuals who have been registered and issued with an identity card;
  establish a family of ID cards based on new and existing documents;
  create powers to ensure that the details provided by an applicant can be checked against information already held on other databases to guard against fraud. Each use of these powers will require Parliamentary approval;
  provide reassurance that disclosure of information from the National Identity Register without the individual's consent will not be allowed, apart from for prescribed purposes such as on grounds of national security or for the prevention or investigation of crime, and to ensure there is independent oversight of these arrangements;
  establish new criminal offences for the possession of false identity documents. These will cover offences relating to the new identity card as well as existing identity documents that are false or have been improperly obtained;
  allow a date to be set when it would become compulsory to register and be issued with a card (but not compulsory to carry a card which is specifically prohibited in the draft Bill). This provision, together with the mandatory requirement to make ID cards the required proof of identity could be

  35WS
  brought in only following a vote in both Houses of Parliament, on a detailed report which sets out all the reasons for the proposed move to compulsion and how the Government propose to implement compulsion. Both Houses would be able to amend the proposition before being asked to take a final decision;
  enable regulations to be made, once it was compulsory to register and be issued with an identity card, to make it a requirement to provide proof of identity by the production of an identity card to access public services.

  We welcome the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee's announcement of its intention to examine the draft Bill.

  Copies of the consultation document "Legislation on Identity Cards: A Consultation" are available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office and have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses, and can also be viewed on the Identity Cards website www.identitycards.gov.uk. Interested parties are invited to submit their comments and views on the content of the draft Bill by 20 July 2004.

  Terrorism Act 2002–03
  The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. David Blunkett)
  I am pleased to announce that Lord Carlile of Berriew QC has completed the report on the operation of the Act, which will be laid before the House today.

WORK AND PENSIONS

  Benefits (Third Party Deductions for Fines)
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Chris Pond)
  One of the Government's priorities is to improve performance in 36WS
  the collection of fines and reinvigorate fines as an effective penalty for those who commit crime, thereby increasing public confidence in the criminal justice system.

  Currently, offenders who default on payment of fines and are receiving income support, jobseeker's allowance or pension credit, may have the sum of £2.80 deducted weekly from their benefit, by way of a third party deduction, until the fine or fines are recovered in full.

  However, this cash repayment is frequently too low for effective enforcement of financial penalties. It is often below the minimum repayment rate that magistrates can accept from offenders unable to pay immediately and in full, and it results in a repayment period that is too drawn-out.

  We are therefore increasing the amount of this weekly deduction from £2.80 to £5. This increase will be subject to the normal rules governing implementation of the various third party deductions from benefit that may be made, including the maximum amount for such deductions. If those rules preclude a £5 deduction but would allow one of £2.80, that rate will apply instead. This change is also consistent with the £5 now required from some non-resident parents on benefit towards child support maintenance.

  This will support the Government's efforts to restore confidence in fines as an effective penalty and therefore a credible alternative to prison. The increase is aimed at those offenders who simply refuse to repay their fines or those who opt to pay by deduction from benefit. It supports the wide-ranging work that the Department for Constitutional Affairs is carrying out in this area.

  We propose to amend regulations so that the increase will come into force from April 2005.

  Draft Identity Cards Bill
  The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)
  My right honourable friend the Home Secretary (David Blunkett) today published a draft Identity Cards Bill for consultation as part of a document explaining the need for legislation, entitled Legislation on Identity Cards: A Consultation (CM 6178).

  The draft Bill establishes the legislative framework that would be necessary for the incremental introduction of the national identity cards scheme as set out in Identity Cards: the next steps (CM 6020) published in November 2003.

  The draft Bill includes provisions that would be required to:

  set up a national identity register that would include identity information on individuals who have been registered and issued with an identity card;

  establish a family of ID cards based on new and existing documents;

  create powers to ensure that the details provided by an applicant can be checked against information already held on other databases to guard against fraud. Each use of these powers will require parliamentary approval;

  provide reassurance that disclosure of information from the national identity register without the individual's consent will not be allowed, apart from for prescribed purposes such as on grounds of national security or for the prevention or investigation of crime, and to ensure there is independent oversight of these arrangements;

  establish new criminal offences for the possession of false identity documents. These will cover offences relating to the new identity card as well as existing identity documents that are false or have been improperly obtained;

  allow a date to be set when it would become compulsory to register and be issued with a card (but not compulsory to carry a card, which is specifically prohibited in the draft Bill). This provision, together with the mandatory requirement to make ID cards the required proof of identity could be brought in only following a vote in both Houses of Parliament, on a detailed report which sets out all the reasons for the proposed move to compulsion and how the Government propose to implement compulsion. Both Houses would be able to amend the proposition before being asked to take a final decision;

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  enable regulations to be made, once it was compulsory to register and be issued with an identity card, to make it a requirement to provide proof of identity by the production of an identity card to access public services.

  We welcome the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee's announcement of its intention to examine the draft Bill.

  Copies of the consultation document, Legislation on Identity Cards: A Consultation are available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office and have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and can also be viewed on the identity cards website (www.identitycards.gov.uk). Interested parties are invited to submit their comments and views on the content of the draft Bill by 20 July 2004.

  Terrorism Act 2003: Report on Operation
  Baroness Scotland of Asthal
  I am pleased to announce that Lord Carlile of Berriew QC has completed the report on the operation of the Act, which will be laid before the House today.

  Planning Permission
  The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)
  My right honourable friend the Minister for Housing and Planning has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill contains provisions to reduce the default period for the commencement of development under a planning permission, listed building consent or conservation area consent from five to three years. This provision is a crucial part of our agenda for speeding up the operation of the planning system.

  Local planning authorities have flexibility under existing legislation to vary the length of a permission or consent. This flexibility will remain. The time limit for the commencement of development will normally be three years from the date of permission or consent, but a local planning authority may direct a longer or shorter period as it considers appropriate. Local planning authorities should look favourably upon requests for longer periods of duration where there are valid planning grounds for such a request. There will be cases where three years is unlikely to be long enough to allow developers to complete all the preparation needed before starting work. Longer periods are likely to be appropriate, for example, for complex regeneration projects.

  After the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill has completed its parliamentary passage the Government will issue guidance to local planning authorities on the new provisions. In this guidance we will make clear the need for flexibility on the part of local authorities in their dealings with applicants on the duration of permissions and consents.