Written Statement of 2 February 2004

TREASURY

  Child Trust Fund
  The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Ruth Kelly)
  The Child Trust Funds Bill will ensure that every child, whatever their family background, will have access at the age of 18 when they begin their adult life to a stock of assets which they can invest in their future. The child trust fund will also help children and their parents to understand the benefits of saving and investment and how to engage with financial institutions.

  The Government are today publishing draft child trust fund regulations. These draft regulations will be of particular interest to potential providers of the child trust fund.

  The draft regulations include the requirements for a stakeholder child trust fund account. Every child trust fund provider will make a stakeholder account available as one of the investment options. A stakeholder child trust fund account will have its charges capped at 1.5 per cent. per year, and providers will be required to accept all contributions of £10 and above. No charges will apply to transfers between different types of accounts, including from stakeholder to non-stakeholder, and between providers.

  The Government's decision on the charge cap is in the best interests of consumers, as it encourages as wide a selection of providers as possible to offer child trust fund accounts. A large number of providers will encourage competition and ensure the best value for consumers. The Government will continue to monitor that the level of the charge cap best meets the interests of consumers.

  The decision was evidence-based and considered the particular characteristics of the child trust fund. The economics of the child trust fund are very different to other financial products, such as the stakeholder pensions. In particular child trust fund accounts will be smaller in terms of the average size of funds compared to pensions and will have a lower minimum contribution level than other stakeholder products.

  The evidence on which the decision for the cap was based included the report commissioned by the Government from Deloitte, which looked at the trade-offs of different charge caps for providers and consumers. Deloitte's report will be published later this year, at the same time as their report on the other products in the stakeholder suite.

  The minimum contribution for the stakeholder account has been set to ensure the child trust fund is accessible to all savers, including those who cannot commit to regular contributions. Providers will be free to accept lower contributions if they wish and it is expected that competition amongst providers could drive down the minimum amounts accepted.
  26WS
  The Government will continue to work with the Financial Services Authority on the development of an appropriate regulatory regime.

  Copies of the draft regulations together with an explanatory commentary are available in the Vote Office and the Libraries of the House.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

  Criminal Defence Service Cuts
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (Mr. David Lammy)
  I am today announcing that the Government intend to implement a package of measures which will help achieve better value for money in the Criminal Defence Service (formerly Criminal Legal Aid) while ensuring that help continues to go to those who need it most.

  The package draws upon proposals contained in the consultation paper on the Criminal Defence Service (CDS) "Delivering Value for Money in the Criminal Defence Service", which was published last year. After considering the responses to the consultation we intend to introduce the following changes to the CDS:
  Strengthening the operation of Recovery of Defence Costs
  Orders (RDC0s);
  Abolishing advocacy assistance for early hearings;
  Restricting the scope of the court duty solicitor scheme to remove access for clients who are not in custody and who are charged with non-imprisonable offences;
  Abolish post-charge advice and assistance in criminal proceedings (except that provided by the court duty solicitor);
  Limiting the provision of free police station advice in certain cases to telephone advice only (with limited exceptions).

  I believe that these changes strike the right balance between ensuring the taxpayer receives good value for money and ensuring that publicly funded legal aid is available to those who need it most. We will of course keep the impact of these proposals under review.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

  Making it Happen: The Northern Way
  The First Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. John Prescott)
  I have published today a second progress report on the £22 billion sustainable communities plan, titled"Making it Happen: The Northern Way". It looks at the successes since the communities plan was published in February 2003, and at the challenges still to come. This follows on from the first statement, published in July 2003 on the Thames gateway and the growth areas.

  The statement reports on the action being taken to regenerate our established urban and rural communities in the north and the midlands. It recognises the new confidence and energy that can be found in many of our northern and midland towns and cities, and seeks to build on this.

  We recognise that establishing sustainable communities in the North is as much about economic growth and employment as it is in the rest of the country. The statement makes clear that the north needs

  27WS
  a long-term vision to exploit fully the economic and transport corridors connecting it—a "Northern Way", which looks east to west as well as north to south.

  This idea of a northern way—a bold vision that exploits the economic and transport corridors that bind the north—is an example of the new ways of thinking that we need to tap the potential of the north.

  We are convinced of the potential for an economic renaissance in the north, and we have pledged to work with the RDAs and the regional planning bodies to develop this vision, together with other key partners. This is alongside the other work that the Government is already doing to improve the relative economic performance of the north.

  The report I am launching today offers a vision for renewal and growth that will bring the jobs, investment and renewed housing that can create truly sustainable communities across the northern regions.

  We are working to revive communities, renew the homes and rebuild the streets in the areas most affected by abandonment and decay. I am announcing today that the Merseyside market renewal pathfinder will receive £86 million and that NewcastleGateshead market renewal pathfinder will receive £69 million until March 2006 to help tackle the terrible problems caused by low demand. This is in addition to an allocation of £4 million each for an early action programme.

  By March 2006, Merseyside expects to deliver: the demolition of over 2,700 redundant and obsolete homes, the refurbishment of 325 homes, over 1,600 new homes built and the widespread delivery of additional management measures designed to overcome the problems of low demand.

  By March 2006, NewcastleGateshead expects to deliver: the demolition of almost 2,000 redundant and obsolete properties, 100 new homes built, over 2,000 homes refurbished, and around seven hectares of land acquired for potential later development

  Other announcements today include:
  27 pilot areas have been identified to receive a share of the £89 million Liveability Fund, and these are listed in the progress report. This will help them develop innovative models for delivering a high quality local environment.
  We are creating a sixteenth Urban Regeneration Company in Gloucester. Initial targets are to provide 3,000 new homes and 2,000 new jobs and to attract up to £400 million of private sector investment over 10 years.
  We are also providing funding to support the creation of a Regional Centre of Excellence in every region. These will be used to improve the skills of people involved in the delivery of sustainable communities.
  We will be holding a "Creating Sustainable Communities Summit" in Manchester at the start of 2005, following on from the successful Urban Summit in 2002.
  28WS
  The statement includes examples of the excellent work being done by our delivery partners—such as local authorities, English Partnerships, the regional development agencies, the Housing Corporation and urban regeneration companies—and of how we can work together in future to deliver a step change in sustainable communities.

  I am also publishing today nine regional annexes, providing short progress reports on the delivery of the sustainable communities plan in each English region.

  Copies of "Making it Happen: The Northern Way" and the regional annexes have been sent to all English Members. Further copies of the report and annexes are available in the Libraries of both Houses, and on the website of The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at:www.odpm.gov.uk/communities.

  London-Stansted-Cambridge Growth Area
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Yvette Cooper)
  I am today announcing the extension of the London-Stansted-Cambridge growth area to include Peterborough, and all of Cambridgeshire.

  This takes account of the important role and potential of Peterborough in contributing to growth as part of the London-Stansted-Cambridge growth area, and the work of the Regional Planning Panel for the East of England in preparing new Regional Planning Guidance.

  It also reflects the important work under way on sustainable housing growth across Cambridgeshire, and particularly through the Cambridge Sub Region Infrastructure Partnership, which includes Fenland, East Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.

  The complete list of local authorities now included in the London-Stansted-Cambridge growth area is:

  Braintree

  Broxbourne

  Cambridge

  East Cambridgeshire

  East Hertfordshire

  Enfield

  Epping Forest

  Fenland

  Hackney

  Haringey

  Harlow

  Huntingdonshire

  North Hertfordshire

  Peterborough

  Redbridge

  South Cambridgeshire

  Stevenage

  Uttlesford

  Waltham Forest

  Iraq: Export Licence Applications
  The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)
  Following consultation with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved a further licence 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". Accordingly, Her Majesty's Government consider it appropriate to grant exemptions for the export of riot shields which are to be used by Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) peacekeeping forces in Iraq. The export is consistent with the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. Future applications will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UN embargo and consolidated criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time.

  Crick Report: Government Response
  The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal)
  I am pleased to be able to announce today the Government's initial response to The New and the Old, the report of the Life in the United Kingdom advisory group, chaired by Professor Sir Bernard Crick, which was published on 3 September 2003. The group was established in order to advise the Government on the best way of implementing the provisions in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 which would require prospective British citizens to demonstrate knowledge of English, Welsh or Gaelic and of life in the United Kingdom. I repeat today the warm welcome we gave to the report on its appearance and my thanks to Sir Bernard and his fellow members of the advisory group.

  I will be placing in the Library of the House our responses to each of the recommendations; I summarise below our conclusions on what we consider to be the most important of the report's recommendations.

  We agree that the programme of citizenship studies should be drawn up under the six broad headings of British national institutions in recent historical context, Britain as a diverse society, knowing the law, employment, sources of help and information, and everyday needs. We also accept that a bilingual handbook on life in the United Kingdom should be prepared for the information of all who apply at posts abroad for entry clearance in a category which leads to
  WS 14
  settlement, and work on the preparation of such a handbook is already well advanced under the auspices of the advisory group.

  We accept the group's reasons for concluding that the language criterion for citizenship should be satisfied by evidence that a person has made measurable progress in his or her studies, rather than insisting on a single standard for everyone. For most applicants who are not already fluent, this would mean that they would be required to progress by one English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) level. As a minimum, those with no workable English, or one of the other UK languages, would be expected to progress at least to a basic level of competence.

  The advisory group also recommended that free assessments and tuition should be made available to all who have a route to indefinite leave to remain. The report points out that knowledge of English in particular greatly increases employment prospects, leading to less welfare dependence and greater integration into society. At the same time, the potential cost of full implementation is very high, and the Government cannot undertake to fund it in full in advance of the outcome of next year's spending review. We will study further both the possibility of full implementation of this recommendation and possible alternative ways of targeting our resources on those most in need of help in acquiring linguistic skills, and we will announce our conclusions as soon as possible.

  In addition, and in advance of the spending review, we are continuing with development work on possible means of assessment, delivery mechanisms, and the programmes of study themselves. We will explore the practicalities of piloting language with citizenship programmes from within existing resources in some areas.

  Finally, the advisory group proposed that an advisory board on preparation for naturalisation should be set up. The functions of such an advisory board would expand over time, as the 2002 legislation is implemented, but its early tasks would be to advise on the development of resources for the citizenship curriculum and to oversee the process of implementation of the 2002 legislation. The board may have a role in negotiations with the devolved areas of the UK on how they would wish these proposals to be implemented there. We have agreed in principle to the setting up of the board.

  Defence 2004 Exhibition
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)
  My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  On 1 September 2003 I informed the House that the Defence 2003 exhibition, under the leadership of the Royal Air Force, which was scheduled to take place at the Royal International Air Tattoo, had been postponed by 12 months because of operational pressures (Official Report, col. 913–4W). In light of the

  WS 15
  continued high level of operational commitments and the associated demands upon service personnel and their families, the Ministry of Defence has now concluded that Defence 2004 should not take place. However, the Services will continue to fully support the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) which will take place in July at RAF Fairford, including support for a youth day, an Armed Forces careers convention, and commemorations of Entente Cordiale and the D-Day anniversary. Over the coming months we will be working closely with the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Enterprises who organise the event, to help ensure that RIAT continues its tradition of great success.

  Colchester Garrison PFI
  Lord Bach
  My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr Ivor Caplin) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  There has been considerable interest in the House in the plans to redevelop the Colchester Garrison living and working accommodation. Detailed negotiations are taking place, and I intend to make an announcement to the House shortly.

  Making it Happen: The Northern Way
  The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)
  My right honourable friend the First Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  I have published today a second progress report on the £22 billion Sustainable Communities Plan, titled Making it Happen: The Northern Way. It looks at the successes since the Communities Plan was published in February 2003, and at the challenges still to come. This follows on from the first statement, published in July 2003 on the Thames Gateway and the growth areas.

  The statement reports on the action being taken to regenerate our established urban and rural communities in the north and the midlands. It recognises the new confidence and energy that can be found in many of our northern and midland towns and cities, and seeks to build on this.

  We recognise that establishing sustainable communities in the north is as much about economic growth and employment as it is in the rest of the country. The statement makes clear that the north needs a long-term vision to exploit fully the economic and transport corridors connecting it—a "Northern Way", which looks east to west as well as north to south.

  This idea of a Northern Way—a bold vision that exploits the economic and transport corridors that bind the north—is an example of the new ways of thinking that we need to tap the potential of the north.

  We are convinced of the potential for an economic renaissance in the north, and we have pledged to work
  WS 16
  with the RDAs and the regional planning bodies to develop this vision, together with other key partners. This is alongside the other work that the Government are already doing to improve the relative economic performance of the north.

  The report I am launching today offers a vision for renewal and growth that will bring the jobs, investment and renewed housing that can create truly sustainable communities across the northern regions.

  We are working to revive communities, renew the homes and rebuild the streets in the areas most affected by abandonment and decay. I am announcing today that the Merseyside market renewal pathfinder will receive £86 million and that the Newcastle/Gateshead market renewal pathfinder will receive £69 million until March 2006 to help to tackle the terrible problems caused by low demand. This is in addition to an allocation of £4 million each for an early action programme.

  By March 2006, Merseyside expects to deliver: the demolition of over 2,700 redundant and obsolete homes, the refurbishment of 325 homes, over 1,600 new homes built and the widespread delivery of additional management measures designed to overcome the problems of low demand.

  By March 2006, Newcastle/Gateshead expects to deliver: the demolition of almost 2,000 redundant and obsolete properties, 100 new homes built, over 2,000 homes refurbished, and around seven hectares of land acquired for potential later development.

  Other announcements today include:

  27 pilot areas have been identified to receive a share of the £89 million Liveability Fund, and these are listed in the progress report. This will help them to develop innovative models for delivering a high quality local environment.

  We are creating a 16th urban regeneration company in Gloucester. Initial targets are to provide 3,000 new homes and 2,000 new jobs and to attract up to £400 million of private sector investment over 10 years.

  We are also providing funding to support the creation of a regional centre of excellence in every region. These will be used to improve the skills of people involved in the delivery of sustainable communities.

  We will be holding a Creating Sustainable Communities Summit in Manchester at the start of 2005, following on from the successful urban summit in 2002.

  The statement includes examples of the excellent work being done by our delivery partners—such as local authorities, English Partnerships, the regional development agencies, the Housing Corporation and urban regeneration companies—and of how we can work together in future to deliver a step change in sustainable communities.

  I am also publishing today nine regional annexes, providing short progress reports on the delivery of the Sustainable Communities Plan in each English region.
  WS 17
  Copies of Making it Happen: The Northern Way and the regional annexes have been sent to all English Members. Further copies of the report and annexes are available in the Libraries of both Houses, and on the website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister at: www.odpm.gov.uk/communities.

  London/Stansted/Cambridge Area
  Lord Rooker
  My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  I am today announcing the extension of the London/Stansted/Cambridge growth area to include Peterborough and all of Cambridgeshire.

  This takes account of the important role and potential of Peterborough in contributing to growth as part of the London/Stansted/Cambridge growth area, and the work of the Regional Planning Panel for the East of England in preparing new regional planning guidance.

  It also reflects the important work under way on sustainable housing growth across Cambridgeshire, and particularly through the Cambridge sub-region infrastructure partnership, which includes Fenland, East Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.

  The complete list of local authorities now included in the London/Stansted/Cambridge growth area is:

  Braintree

  Broxbourne

  Cambridge

  East Cambridgeshire

  East Hertfordshire

  Enfield

  Epping Forest

  Fenland

  Hackney

  Haringey

  Harlow

  Huntingdonshire

  North Hertfordshire

  Peterborough

  Redbridge

  South Cambridgeshire

  Stevenage

  Uttlesford

  Waltham Forest.

  Sustainable Communities: Planning Obligations
  Lord Rooker
  On 6 November 2003 the Government published a consultation document setting out their proposals for the reform of planning obligations policy. The Government have also made amendments to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill 2004 to WS 18
  facilitate the proposal to introduce an optional planning charge. On 30 January the Government published a Statement on the reform proposals and today are also publishing a summary of the responses received to the consultation. A copy of the Government's Statement and the summary of consultation responses have been placed in the Library of the House and are also available on the ODPM's website at www.odpm.gov.uk.

  Criminal Defence Service
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Lord Filkin)
  My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, David Lammy, has today announced a package of measures, which will help to achieve better value for money in the legal aid system while ensuring that help continues to go to those who need it most.

  The package draws upon proposals contained in the consultation paper on the Criminal Defence Service (CDS) Delivering Value for Money in the Criminal Defence Service, which was published last year. After considering the responses to the consultation my honourable friend intends to introduce the following changes to the CDS:

  Strengthening the operation of recovery of defence costs orders (RDCOs).

  Abolishing advocacy assistance for early hearings.

  Restricting the scope of the court duty solicitor scheme to remove access for clients who are not in custody and who are charged with non-imprisonable offences.

  Abolish post-charge advice and assistance in criminal proceedings (except that provided by the court duty solicitor).

  Limiting the provision of free police station advice in certain cases to telephone advice only (with limited exceptions).

  He believes that these changes strike the right balance between ensuring the taxpayer receives good value for money while ensuring that publicly funded legal aid is available to those who need it most. The impact of these proposals will of course be kept under review.

  General Commissioners of Income Tax
  Lord Filkin
  On 28 January 2004 I made an order under Section 2(6) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 amalgamating a number of divisions in Greater London and in Hertfordshire with effect from 1 February 2004, as follows.

  The Finsbury and Hornsey divisions shall be merged into a new division to be called the Finsbury and Hornsey division. The Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn divisions shall be merged into a new division to be

  WS 19
  called the Chancery Lane division. The Chelsea, St James Westminster and St George's Hanover Square divisions shall be merged into a new division to be called the Westminster division. The Hertford and Stevenage divisions shall be merged into a new division to be called the Hertford and Stevenage division.
  WS 20
  All the amalgamations were made at the request of the General Commissioners in all the divisions with the aim of improving the organisational efficiency of the divisions concerned. I have placed a copy of the order amalgamating the divisions in the Libraries of both Houses.