Written Statement of 16 July 2004

  Honours System
  The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos):
  My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has made the following Ministerial Statement.

  The Government have received Sir Hayden Phillips's report on his review of the honours system. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

  We shall consider this report alongside the report A Matter of Honour: Reforming the Honours System (HC212) by the Public Administration Select Committee which was published on 7 July. The Government will make a Statement on the way forward later this year.

  Fire and Rescue National Framework
  The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker):
  My right honourable friend the Minister for Local Government, Regional Governance and Fire has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  Today the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is publishing the 2004–05 Fire and Rescue National Framework.

  The Government have ambitious targets for the Fire and Rescue Service. Our overriding aim is to save more lives and stop unnecessary injuries through more effective action to prevent fires and by ensuring that the Fire and Rescue Service is well prepared and equipped to respond to the many challenges it faces. That is why we announced, as part of this year's spending review, a new public service agreement that commits us to achieving long-term reductions in fire deaths and deliberate fires, including real progress in the most disadvantaged areas. This builds on the commitments set out in the June 2003 White Paper Our Fire and Rescue Service.

  The national framework sets out the strategy for meeting these objectives and delivering an improved service that achieves better value for money for the communities it serves.

  The Government published a draft version of the national framework for consultation in December 2003. The response to the draft was overwhelmingly positive. The majority of those who responded supported the Government's objectives and the modernisation programme. We have taken on board many of the useful comments and suggestions we received. As a result, the national framework sets out a shared strategy. It recognises that the Government and fire and rescue authorities must work in partnership to achieve our shared goals. We are also publishing a consultation response today, on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: www.odpm.gov.uk/fire.
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  The national framework has also been updated to reflect progress on modernisation, including the replacement of outdated national standards with new local risk management plans and the establishment of regional management boards which will help to deliver many functions more efficiently and effectively. The expectations of fire and rescue authorities set out in the national framework will be central to the Audit Commission's assessment of the performance of authorities.

  Future versions of the national framework will be published in the autumn, to enable fire and rescue authorities to take full account of the national framework in their annual budgeting process. We will therefore start the consultation on the 2005–06 national framework shortly.

  The Fire and Rescue Services Bill is currently before Parliament. If enacted it will give statutory force to the framework.

  Copies of the 2004–05 Fire and Rescue National Framework are available in the Libraries of the House and are also available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at: www.odpm.gov.uk/fire.

  Universities
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): My honourable friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education (Alan Johnson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
  I made a Statement on 16 March about the results of the consultation on the proposed new criteria for degree awarding powers (DAP) and university title (UT) which ended on 12 December. We then consulted further in May on the following options for degree awarding powers: probationary DAP followed by indefinite DAP; indefinite DAP for organisations in the publicly funded higher education sector and fixed degree awarding powers for other organisations.
  This consultation ended on 25 June. There was overwhelming support for option 2 with just a few respondents expressing preference for neither option or for option 1. I have placed a copy of the consultation report in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament, and it is available on the DfES website at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations/conResults.cfm?consultationld = 1226.
  In light of the results of both consultations, the Government have decided in relation to England:
  to modernise the criteria for the granting of degree awarding powers to make it easier for nontraditional higher education organisations to apply—along the lines set out in the original consultation document;
  to make degree awarding powers for organisations in the publicly funded higher education sector indefinite and fixed for other organisations, subject to satisfactory external quality audit;
  to grant university title on the basis of taught degree awarding powers and student numbers (which remain at current levels); and
  to remove the requirement that institutions must have students in five subject areas to be eligible for university title (this will allow institutions specialising in one subject area to become universities).
  We believe that these changes strike the right balance between our concern to modernise the criteria for both degree awarding powers and university title, and the concerns that emerged during both consultations.
  The detailed revised criteria for England will be published on 1 September and the moratorium on new applications for DAPs from English institutions will be lifted on the same date. The moratorium on new applications for university title under the current criteria remains lifted.

  NHS Foundation Trusts: Healthcare Commission Review
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner):
  My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health has made the following Written Ministerial Statement today.

  Following my announcement on 19 November at col. 826 of my intention to set up a review of the first National Health Service foundation trusts, I wrote yesterday to the chair of the Healthcare Commission (whose statutory name is the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection), Sir Ian Kennedy, asking the commission to provide me with advice in accordance with its statutory obligations.

  The review will consider the challenges, difficulties and experiences of those trusts which became NHS foundation trusts on 1 April 2004 and 1 July 2004, although the views and opinions of those trusts aspiring to be authorised this autumn will be important. In undertaking the review, the Healthcare Commission will need to work closely with the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts. However, the final report will be advice to me from the Healthcare Commission. I have previously made a commitment not to approve any new proposals for NHS foundation trust applications between autumn 2004 and autumn 2005, pending the outcome of this review.

  The terms of reference for the review are:M

  what evidence in general terms is there that NHS foundation trusts are using their powers to improve access to services; improve the quality of care for patients; engage the local community; and engage staff to deliver high quality care to patients and the population;

  what obstacles have NHS foundation trusts faced and do they foresee in achieving the above objectives;
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  what has been the impact of NHS foundation trusts, so far, on relationships within the local health economy;

  in what ways are their governance arrangements assisting or impeding NHS foundation trusts in exercising their powers for the benefit of patients?

  It is my expectation that the report of the outcome of the review will be published in summer 2005. Copies of my letter to Sir Ian have been placed in the Library.

  NHS Dentistry
  Lord Warner:
  My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health has made the following Written Ministerial Statement today.

  We are committed to rebuilding National Health Service dentistry to ensure better access to NHS dental care and to improve oral health in England. We want to see a better deal for patients, dentists and the NHS. We are aware that in some areas it can still be difficult, especially for adults, to access NHS dental care.

  There are over 19,000 dentists in primary care, which is more than ever before. But they are spending less time on their NHS work, which leaves some people unable to get the routine treatment they want on the NHS unless they are prepared and able to travel.

  We have already announced funding of £59 million to tackle access problems and have set up an NHS support team to work with the hardest pressed areas. However we recognise that more needs to be done and that is why I am today outlining the Government's plans to recruit more NHS dentists in the short term, to invest in dentistry and to reform the system for the long-term benefit of the oral health of the people of England.

  To address short-term access problems we will recruit the equivalent of more than an additional 1,000 whole-time NHS dentists by October 2005.

  This objective will be achieved by a range of measures:

  securing extra NHS capacity from dentists who currently work partly in the NHS and partly in private practice;

  attracting dentists back from career breaks and flexible working;

  an international recruitment programme, already under way, targeting dentists from the European Union, including the new accession countries;

  clearing the backlog of dentists waiting to sit the international qualifying exam by December 2004—to allow dentists who have qualified outside the EU to practise here.

  In addition, NHS dentistry will benefit from extra investment:

  we will fund 170 extra undergraduate training places in England from October 2005. This 25 per cent increase will be supported by capital investment of up to £80 million over four years with the first £20

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  million available in 2005–06 and revenue costs which will reach £29 million per annum by 2010–11;

  funding for dentistry will increase by 19.3 per cent (excluding the impact of additional superannuation costs) in 2005–06 compared to spending on dentistry in 2003–04. This compares with growth of 17.8 per cent in overall NHS revenue resources over the same two-year period. At October 2005 the Government will be investing £1.6 billion in dentistry (including £50 million superannuation costs) compared to £1.3 billion in 2003–04;

  financial resources for primary dental services will be devolved to primary care trusts from 1 October 2005. The financial year 2004–05 will be a preparatory year and we will be consulting PCTs now on indicative financial allocations for dentistry for 2004–05 and 2005–06, as well as issuing proposed 2005 contract values for dentists, based on their most recent gross earnings.

  The additional investment will provide a sound foundation on which PCTs can rebuild a NHS dental service fit for the 21st century.

  Long-term change is also required to modernise the dentistry profession and this is why we are introducing new contracts for dentists. We have already made legislative changes. The measures in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 represent the most radical reform of NHS dentistry since 1948. Our proposals for NHS dentistry will underpin a modernised, high-quality primary dental service provided through contracts between PCTs and dental practices. The service will be properly integrated with the rest of the NHS providing better access to services and an improved patient experience.

  We have already made considerable progress on implementation. We have consulted widely with representatives of the profession on the framework proposed for the new primary dental services. A recurrent theme from the consultation is that time is too short for our planned implementation date of 1 April 2005. The British Dental Association asked for phased implementation. I have therefore concluded that we should give more time to the NHS and to dentists to prepare for these significant changes and am also announcing today that the new arrangements will be introduced from 1 October 2005, rather than 1 April 2005. In recognition of the additional work and training dentists and their practice staff will need to prepare for these changes we will make available an extra £9 million to help dental practices prepare for October 2005.

  The new arrangements are modelled on five years' successful experience of personal dental services (PDS) pilots. The PDS continues to provide an opportunity for those dentists and their PCTs who wish to move further and faster towards local commissioning to do so. There are already more than 1,500 dentists in more than 750 practices working under PDS arrangements, out of a total of around 9,000 practices. With this in mind, I am asking PCTs to encourage dental practices to notify PCTs of their intention to move early to local commissioning under existing piloting arrangements.
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  We will shortly publish additional guidance for dentists and PCTs to streamline this conversion process—with a 12-week turnaround time from application to approval.

  We are also using the skills of the whole dental team more appropriately so that hygienists and therapists provide more routine and preventative care. I have already invested an additional £5 million to increase the number of training places for dental therapists from just 50 to 200. Some of those new training places are already on stream, and the first of the additional therapists will be joining the workforce in autumn 2006.

  We are also looking into simplifying the system of patient charges. The NHS dentistry patient charges working group, which involved experts from national patient, consumer and dentist organisations, has made recommendations to Ministers which we are currently considering.

  I can also confirm our aim to publish for consultation the new regulations for local commissioning of primary dental services and dental charging (but not the actual level of charges) in spring 2005.

  This package of measures represents an unprecedented level of government commitment and investment in NHS dentistry.

  Tax and Benefit Reference Manual 2004–05
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey):
  My right honourable friend the Paymaster General (Dawn Primarolo) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  Copies of the 2004–05 edition of the Tax Benefit Reference Manual (TBRM) are today being deposited in the Libraries of the House.

  Her Majesty's Treasury publishes the TBRM annually. It is a technical manual detailing the tax and benefit system, describing both the current and historic regimes. There are also tables of time series covering tax and benefit rates, numbers of taxpayers and benefit claimants, VAT and duty rates and the tax burden on specimen households.

  Central Government Payment Performance
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville):
  My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Nigel Griffiths) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  The overall payment performance of government is 96.68 per cent. Figures for the financial year 2003–04 show that there has been a slight improvement on last year's figure. There has been a continued improvement in the payment performance of a number of departments and agencies, with 20 achieving the

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  average or above, and 24 improving on their performance of last year.

  Government departments and their agencies are required to monitor their payment performance and to publish the results in their departmental or annual reports. The table lists, by department, the proportion of bills paid within 30 days, or other agreed credit period, on receipt of a valid invoice.

  The Government take this issue very seriously, and are committed to improving the payment culture in the UK in order to create fair and stable business transactions. The Government's own payment performance is an important element in this policy.

  Main Departments 2003–04

  Paid on Time %

  Defence Bills Agency (Ministry of Defence)

  100.00

  Privy Council Office

  100.00

  Office for Government Commerce

  99.97

  Registers of Scotland Executive Agency

  99.73

  Office of Water Services (OFWAT)

  99.43

  Department for Culture, Media and Sport

  99.34

  The National Archives (Public Records Office)

  99.26

  Office of Gas & Electricity Markets (OFGEM)

  99.30

  Inland Revenue

  99.07

  Health & Safety Executive

  98.85

  Export Credit Guarantee Department

  98.72

  HM Customs & Excise

  98.60

  Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

  98.14

  Office for National Statistics

  98.12

  Foreign & Commonwealth Office

  97.95

  Cabinet Office (OPS)

  97.79

  Charity Commission

  97.49

  Northern Ireland Court Service

  97.32

  Ordnance Survey

  97.11

  Scotland Office Department for Constitutional Affairs

  96.84

  Postal Services Commission

  96.60

  Office of Fair Trading

  96.51

  Food Standards Agency

  96.33

  Department for International Development

  96.26

  Forestry Commission

  96.26

  Wales Office

  96.03

  Department of Health

  95.88

  Central Office of Information

  95.54

  Department for Education & Skills

  95.43

  Department for Work and Pensions

  94.96

  Department for Transport

  94.87

  Electoral Commission

  94.86

  Defra

  94.61

  Office for Standards in Education

  94.09

  Department of Trade and Industry

  93.60

  Treasury Solicitors Department

  92.62

  Serious Fraud Office

  92.28

  Department for Constitutional Affairs (Lord Chancellor's Department)

  91.43

  Royal Mint

  91.39

  Government Communications HQ

  90.08

  Home Office

  89.90

  Department for National Savings and Investments

  89.19

  Land Registry

  89.13

  UK Trade & Investment (British Trade International)

  88.80

  Office of the Rail Regulator

  88.01

  Northern Ireland Office

  86.23

  HM Treasury

  80.91

  Crown Prosecution Service

  80.55

  Government Actuary's Department

  66.64

  Average Percentage Paid on Time Across Government

  96.68

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  Commonhold
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Lord Filkin):
  My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

  On 14 July I made the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2004. The order will bring into force on 27 September 2004 the whole of the remainder of Part 1 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 except for Section 21(4) and (5).

  I have today also laid before each House the Commonhold Regulations 2004 and the Commonhold (Land Registration) Rules 2004 with, in each case, an explanatory memorandum, which includes a regulatory impact assessment.

  The combined effect of these instruments is that as from 27 September commonhold will be available in England and Wales as a new way of owning interdependent freehold properties, such as blocks of flats. It combines the security of freehold ownership with a robust standard legal framework for the management of common facilities. It will be an alternative to long leasehold ownership and will be equally available for residential and commercial property.

  The implementation of commonhold fulfils a manifesto commitment made in 2001 and will increase housing choice.

  To accompany the Commonhold Regulations my department has published non-statutory guidance. I have placed copies in the Libraries of both Houses. It is intended that the Land Registry Practice Guide in connection with the Commonhold (Land Registration) Rules will be published in the near future following the making of a fee order for commonhold applications. Copies of the regulations and the non-statutory guidance will be available on my department's website and copies of the rules will be available on Land Registry's website.

  e-Conveyancing
  Lord Filkin:
  Since the publication of the e-conveyancing consultation report last year, Land Registry has continued to work closely with stakeholders, including potential service providers, to determine the structure of e-conveyancing services in England and Wales.

  My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr David Lammy) has recently approved a report by Land Registry on its recommended way forward and copies of a document entitled Defining the Service have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. While this document describes the e-conveyancing services to be delivered, it should be noted that these are the subject of ongoing consultation with stakeholders and may be subject to

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  future revision. The e-conveyancing service will comprise three main components:

  A central e-conveyancing service controlled by Land Registry;

  An accompanying electronic funds transfer service to be supplied by an agent bank (or banks); and

  Service delivery channels provided largely by the private sector, but including a Land Registry channel.

  The proposed structure has been agreed by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State who has
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  asked Land Registry to continue work to develop these three services. In the design and build of the central e-conveyancing service and the Land Registry channel, the department will procure the assistance of an IT strategic supplier.

  Land Registry will procure an agent bank (or banks) to support the electronic funds transfer service.

  Land Registry will consider the options for the future fee structure for its e-conveyancing and paper services and report back to my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mr David Lammy) on this by the end of 2004.