Written Statement of 18 June 2004

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

  Register of Learning Providers
  The Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Mr. Charles Clarke)
  Following the recent announcement notice by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary which set out new immigration measures being developed for marriages, students and managed migrants I can now provide further details of the measures relating to education.

  Student mobility is a welcome feature of 21st century globalisation and we benefit from it. The recent British Council report showed that students from overseas currently contribute £3 billion a year to the UK economy. It estimated that half a million English language students come to the UK annually. But we must make sure the system is not abused. Those coming to study here must be genuine students studying at a genuine and registered college.

  As you will know, we are encouraging English language schools to seek accreditation with existing bodies such as the British Council or the Association of British Language Schools. This is a positive step forward to ensuring we retain our reputation for high quality educational provision. It will provide reassurance to students coming into the UK to learn English and safeguard the future of the sector within the UK.

  We have also been looking at measures to ensure that students attending other private education providers are able to receive genuine opportunities. Partly for this purpose, the Department for Education and Skills has been developing plans for a register of educational providers and I can now announce that this will be in place by the end of the year. We will then make the register available to the Home Office to support them in making their decisions on granting leave to study. They propose only to issue leave to study to students attending providers on the register.

  The register will be of educational providers who are able to provide evidence of their business and will prevent entirely bogus providers from bringing purported students to the UK. We know these providers are in the minority and that a much greater number of providers are working to make genuine opportunities available to their students. For this reason we are working to make the scheme as straightforward as possible for those genuine providers, who will easily be able to provide evidence of their work. Those providers who receive public funding, and private providers who are accredited, have undergone robust assurance measures already and we will not be looking to undertake further checks on them I will provide further information on the registration scheme in the summer.
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  There were other measures proposed to support student immigration. These included asking institutions to report students who have leave to study but do not attend to the Home Office. We are currently consulting with the education sector on these measures and will provide more information in a month or so's time.

NORTHERN IRELAND

  Hydebank Wood Prison
  The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Paul Murphy)
  I wish to announce that with effect from 18 June 2004, in accordance with the powers conferred on me by Rule 5(1) of the Prisons and Young Offenders Centre Rules (Northern Ireland) 1995, that part of the site of HM Young Offenders Centre Hydebank Wood, known as Ash House and the adjoining land be designated as Hydebank Wood prison. The parts to be designated as Hydebank Wood prison are indicated on the map, by the words "Hydebank Wood", which I have today placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

HOME DEPARTMENT

  Prison Service
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Paul Goggins)
  I have today placed in the Libraries of the House copies of the Prison Service's second annual sustainable development report, covering the period April 2003 to March 2004.

  The report sets out the significant progress being made by the service in addressing its sustainable development commitments. Most prisons are now more energy efficient, use more environmentally preferable goods and products, employ better waste management practices, and manage more sensitively the wildlife and habitats which exist on the prison estate. In addition, the report describes the service's social impacts in respect of reducing re-offending and improving prisoners' prospects on release.

  The report also details the service's future aims, particularly for meeting the targets set under the Government's framework for sustainable development on the Government estate and the initiatives planned to continue its successes.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

  Millennium Dome and Greenwich Peninsula
  The Minister for Housing and Planning (Keith Hill)
  On 29 May 2002 my noble Friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton advised the House of Lords that English Partnerships had entered into legally binding conditional contracts with Meridian Delta Ltd (MDL), a consortium consisting of Lend Lease and Quintain Estates and Development plc, and Anschutz Entertainment Group (Anschutz), for the future use of the dome and development of approximately 190 acres of land on the Greenwich Peninsula. Since then, planning permission and other consents have had to be secured under the terms of the May 2002 contracts but I am pleased to be able to advise the House today that
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  the conditions attached to those contracts have been satisfied and the overall transaction has gone unconditional. This is a major milestone in the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula and the growth of the Thames gateway.

  The long-term benefits we have secured for future generations of Londoners are a fitting legacy for the dome project and for the public investment that has gone into the Greenwich Peninsula.

  Four billion pounds of private sector investment, including a £550 million cash return over the next 20 years, will bring new jobs, new homes, new services and infrastructure to London. This is a fantastic result, and reflects the commitment and vision of all our private and public sector partners. Every £1 of public money on the Peninsula has attracted over £6 from the private sector.

  The timetable going forward is now as follows. During the summer Anschutz will appoint a contractor for the construction of the new arena inside the dome, for work to start in spring 2005. At the same time MDL will submit to Greenwich Council a planning application for Millennium Square, the major new public space proposed next to the dome. MDL expect contractors to start delivering early infrastructure works to facilitate the wider development late in 2004 and, once detailed planning permission has been secured for the first phases, start of work on the housing and other facilities is expected in late 2005 or early 2006.

  Construction of the arena is expected to be completed in spring 2007, together with other leisure uses under the dome roof, the plans for which Anschutz will be working up in the coming months. Millennium Square will be completed within the same timescale, and the residential development will be well under way by the time the new arena opens for business in 2007.

  This stage has been achieved only through a considerable effort and close co-operation amongst a number of private and public sector partners. English Partnerships (EP) has secured contracts that are set to deliver an exemplar sustainable community and a fabulous addition to London's entertainment offer. EP will continue to work in partnership with the developers as work progresses and EP's, Quintain's and other third parties' land is drawn down for development. The London Borough of Greenwich granted planning permission on 23 February 2004 for the development, and was robust in securing a highly valuable package of measures of public benefit through the section 106 agreement negotiations and related matters. The Mayor of London, through various of his functions and organisations (primarily Transport for London), has been instrumental both in facilitating the planning permission and in completing elements of the contractual negotiations. MDL and Anschutz have both invested substantial time and considerable money already in preparing the physical plans and developing other matters in preparation for a long period of activity in developing out the site and creating the sustainable community and a magnificent new entertainment hub for London.

  The development will see: the creation of an estimated 24,000 new jobs; the building of over 10,000 new homes, 3,800 of which will be social rented, low cost and family units; significant infrastructure improvements; 48 acres of open spaces and parkland; and the building of new
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  community and health care facilities including new schools, all of which will lead to the wider regeneration of the local area and beyond. Some £4 billion of private sector investment is expected from this transaction alone; and across the Peninsula, every £1 of public sector investment will be levering in over £6 of private sector money.

  This development will continue the innovation and high quality established at the Millennium Village and elsewhere on the Peninsula. The Village is already paving the way on high density living, achieving new levels of energy efficiency, creating the high quality environment that is needed, and providing integrated services through the new school and health centre that are at the heart of the development. It is setting standards from which important lessons can be learned, and establishing best practice that will influence wider development, on the Peninsula and elsewhere. The development enabled by the completion of the transaction being announced today will deliver a community several times the size of the Millennium Village while incorporating the type and variety of public facilities and infrastructure that are required of a 21st century sustainable community. The numbers of new homes will also make a substantial contribution to delivering the step change announced in the Sustainable Communities Plan, particularly for the Thames gateway growth area.

  Anschutz will transform the inner part of the dome into a world-class 26,000 capacity entertainment and sports arena. Anschutz is committed to investing at least £120 million in the Arena, with EP receiving, after a priority return to Anschutz, 15 per cent. of the profits. We cannot reveal the details of the priority return, as it impacts on Anschutz's ongoing business and is commercially confidential.

  The arena is only part of the story. In the outer rim of the dome, Anschutz will construct a mixture of retail, entertainment and leisure facilities—this part of the development is currently known as the dome waterfront. EP will receive at least a third share of the profits, after the developer's priority return. At least a further £65 million will be invested in this area by the private sector. EP will also receive payment for the hotel site next to the dome.

  On the rest of the land EP and MDL have agreed that they will develop the site jointly over the next 20 or so years, with an end date of 2025. The detailed terms provide for EP to remain ownership of its land until individual plots are required for development. The payout will work as follows: first EP will receive an agreed, indexed, minimum land value, on the sale of any parcel of land—this protects against any downturn in the market; secondly, a share of MDL's profits after deduction of development costs to reflect the enhanced planning consent and the market value at the time of sale to the developer. The share to be received by EP increases over time throughout the development phases from 40 per cent. to 75 per cent.

  Where MDL develops land itself, English Partnerships will receive the agreed indexed minimum land value plus a share of sale proceeds, or the value of the development—both after costs—once the development is complete. This share ranges from 15 to 20 per cent. depending on timing.
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  Over the period of the deal, EP expects to receive a financial return in the order of £550 million in cash terms. This is based on a validated assessment of expectation from the sale of the land, and does not include any additional return which may flow from the profit shares in respect of the dome, nor any redevelopment proceeds in the event that the dome is demolished after 2018. Up to that date Anschutz and MDL are contractually required to maintain the dome. Should the dome structure ever be removed and the land redeveloped, EP will be entitled to a 50 per cent. share of redevelopment proceeds. This protects English Partnerships' position on the redevelopment value of the land.

  With the completion of the contracts English Partnerships costs incurred in respect of the sale process and decommissioning of the dome site have now ceased. The total costs incurred by English Partnerships in those areas that have now concluded are as follows:

  First dome sale competition

  £6.7 million

  Latest sale process

  £9.0 million

  Decommissioning

  £6.7 million

  Total

  £22.4 million

  In addition, EP has already incurred costs of £8.2 million on the management, maintenance, security and insurance of the dome site up to 31 May, offset by income from events and lettings of £1.4 million. These figures have been regularly reported to Parliament. As previously reported to Parliament EP will continue to meet the dome's necessary management, maintenance, security and insurance costs until Anschutz completes the construction of the arena. However, those costs will gradually reduce as preliminary works start before the main contract commences. EP estimates its average monthly cost will fall from the recent £190,000 to around £60,000 when the main arena contract starts in spring 2005.

  All of EP's costs from when it took ownership of the dome (in July 2001) to the completion of the arena's construction, and including the costs of the entire sale process, will be recovered from sale proceeds. Based on the above figures to date, and an estimate of the likely future management, maintenance, security and insurance costs, the total costs that EP expects to incur in relation to the dome project, over six years and after taking account of offsetting income from events and lettings, is around £33 million.

  The Government, in recognition of the leading role played by the Lottery, through the Millennium Commission, in helping to regenerate the Greenwich Peninsula, has consistently stated that it will receive a fair share of proceeds from the sale and development of the dome. The division of proceeds with the Lottery has now been agreed. EP will retain all of the first £30 million of development receipts, to cover most of those dome-related costs described above, as a first call on proceeds. Thereafter, EP will retain 87 per cent. of receipts and the remaining 13 per cent. will be passed to the Lottery in recognition of the contribution of the dome. This share will be reflected in a new legal agreement between EP and the New Millennium Experience Company, which will bind the parties to the respective shares of proceeds over the period covered by EP's contracts with MDL and Anschutz.
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  Under the terms of the original acquisition of the land EP paid British Gas £20 million, for the original transfer of the land, plus £4.3 million as a share of EP's sale receipts to date on the southern part of the Greenwich Peninsula as required in the original purchase transaction, which entitled British Gas to 7.5 per cent. of all open market value land sales. British Gas has also received a further £10 million in respect of the enhanced value of Greenwich Peninsula due to MDL's proposals and the retention of the dome. This represents good value for money and reduces EP's liability under the original purchase agreement.

  In agreeing this deal, the Government focused on four main aspects: value for money; regeneration benefits for the area; deliverability and an innovative use for the dome.

  With regard to value for money, we made clear throughout that we would only proceed with the deal if it provided value for money for the Government. That included comparison with the value for money that could be delivered by demolishing the dome, or by alternative development scenarios retaining the dome. The currently estimated value of the development to EP, assuming the full scheme is developed, of around £550 million will depend on market fluctuations over 20 years for the eventual outturn, but we are confident that the structure of the deal will deliver excellent financial returns for the taxpayer as well as enormous public benefits on the ground.

  This deal enables the Government to benefit from the increasing value of the land across the peninsula both now and over time. This is sensible, and in the public interest. As the development proceeds, land values will increase. This will be reflected in the land value element in the payment to EP when the land is sold for development. In turn, this will enable EP to reinvest more money in creating sustainable communities; in new housing, including for key workers; in environmental improvements; and in supporting the delivery of regeneration and best practice throughout England.

  With regard to regeneration benefits, these are described briefly above. There is much more, which will only become apparent once the development has begun, environmental improvements are being made, jobs are being filled and homes are being built. It is a programme of fitting scale and quality for a site that was the centrepiece of the Millennium celebrations and is now a flagship project for London and the Thames gateway.

  As regards deliverability and sustainability, the participants in the development include players established records in delivering developments of the size and quality this project requires. This is their core business.

  Anschutz Entertainment Group is part of the Anschutz Corporation, one of the largest private corporations in the United States of America. It has worldwide sporting and entertainment interests, including the Staples centre arena in Los Angeles and the new arena it is building in Berlin. Lend Lease is a major development company, quoted on the Australian stock exchange and operating in 40 countries. It owns Bovis in the UK and has successfully developed the Sydney Olympic village and Bluewater shopping centre. Quintain is a significant player that is quoted on the

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  London stock exchange. It is also involved in Wembley, and several other large mixed use developments and regeneration schemes.

  These players have the resources, the experience and the ability to deliver.

  Finally, in relation to the use of the dome, the arena and associated entertainment and leisure facilities will be a highly appropriate use for what is widely acknowledged to be a world class landmark building. Public access is assured. Keeping the dome as the lynchpin of the development has been welcomed by the London Borough of Greenwich and the Mayor.

  The Government believes that the regeneration programme now secured for the Greenwich peninsula amply satisfies all four of the criteria that were set out for it.

  We look forward to work starting on site in the near future, leading to the delivery of the continued regeneration of a key site in the evolution of Greenwich, London and the Thames gateway.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

  Mental Capacity Bill
  The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs (Mr. David Lammy)
  The Mental Capacity Bill has been published today.

  This Bill is the culmination of extensive consultation and careful consideration over many years, of the needs of people who lack mental capacity. It also benefits considerably from pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee. The Committee made 99 recommendations for improvements to the Bill, 88 of which the Government have accepted and used to improve the Bill introduced today.

  The overriding aim of the Bill is to improve the lives of vulnerable adults, their carers, families and professionals. It provides a statutory framework for decision making for people who may lack capacity, making clear who can take decisions, in which situations and how they should go about this.

  The Bill is based on clearly defined principles. Its starting point is that everyone has the right to make their own decisions, and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise. No one should be labelled as incapable—each decision should be considered individually and everyone should be helped to make or contribute to making decisions about their lives. The Bill sets out clear guidelines for, and limits on, other people's role in decision making.

  The Bill has the potential to improve the lives of millions of people. At some point in their lives, everyone is likely to be affected by mental incapacity—either personally or because of caring responsibilities. Up to 2 million people currently lack capacity, including for example, over 700,000 people in the UK who suffer from dementia and 145,000 adults in England who have severe and profound learning disabilities.

  People affected by a lack of capacity are not well served by the current law, which has grown up in a piecemeal way. It is difficult to plan ahead for a time when you might lose capacity and there is no reliable framework to support carers in their decision making.
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  The absence of a clear legal framework means that it is not always clear who can do what, or how anyone can determine where another person's best Interests lie. Some people may think they can do whatever suits them, perhaps because of a family relationship. Others may err on the side of doing too little, worrying about criticism or even prosecution for the actions they might take.

  We know that there is much good practice in making decisions on behalf of adults who lack capacity. The Bill will over-time bring about a quiet revolution in public attitudes and practice, building on current good practice and existing statutory and common law rules. The Bill will provide greater empowerment and better protection for vulnerable people, and for those who face the difficult and sensitive task of handling decisions on their behalf.

  The Bill offers better protection both for people who lack capacity and for carers and professionals. For the first time it offers statutory guidance to help assess what constitutes someone's best interests. All decisions must be made in the best interests of the incapacitated person, with adequate weight given to what they themselves would have wanted—their wishes, feelings, values and beliefs—while ensuring that the decision is the least restrictive of their basic rights and freedoms.

  Guided by these principles, the Bill provides a legal basis for a person to undertake acts in connection with care and treatment on behalf of an adult who lacks capacity. This provision was drafted as a "general authority" in the draft Bill, but we have renamed and recast it to ensure that it is not misinterpreted or misunderstood. This provision is not about granting a new authority to intervene in the life of someone lacking capacity, but simply confirms that carers are protected from liability when they demonstrably act in the best interests of a person who lacks capacity to consent to what is done.

  The Bill provides formal mechanisms to support the decision-making process and offer protection to those involved. It establishes lasting powers of attorney (LPAs), allowing people to appoint an attorney to act on their behalf if they should lose capacity in the future. Unlike a current enduring power of attorney (EPA), an LPA can extend to welfare and health matters (as well as financial matters) if the donor wishes. The Bill also creates a system of court appointed deputies to replace and extend the current system of receivership in the Court of Protection.

  The Bill clarifies, with additional safeguards, the current common law rules about advance decisions to refuse treatment. This confirms that people may plan ahead, if they wish, to refuse specific treatments. A properly made, valid and applicable advance decision has the same weight as a refusal of treatment made by a person with capacity. But doctors will need to consider whether the advance decision is really valid and applicable, and any doubt must always be resolved in favour of the preservation of life.

  There is a range of other provisions in the Bill to protect the needs of the person lacking capacity. It introduces a new criminal offence of neglect or ill treatment, which can be used against a carer, attorney or deputy who has ill-treated or wilfully neglected a person

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  who lacks capacity. A person found guilty of such an offence may be liable to a term of up to five years' imprisonment.

  The Bill sets up a new court of protection and a new statutory figure, the Public Guardian. Both will be built around the needs of those who lack capacity. The new court will have jurisdiction to consider applications for both financial and health and welfare decisions. The Public Guardian will be the registering authority for LPAs and court appointed deputies and will work with other agencies, such as the police and social services, to respond to any concerns about possible abuse.

  Following the recommendations of the Joint Committee, the Bill now provides for properly controlled research that respects the requirements in the clinical trials directive (2001/20/EC) implemented in the UK on 1 May 2004. This will allow for research into conditions related to mental incapacity and how people with capacity problems can be helped. Research studies will be endorsed by a research ethics committee to ensure the project is necessary, safe and cannot be done using people who have mental capacity. There will be stringent safeguards around an individual's participation in a study.

  The Bill will also now provide for an independent consultee, to speak up for people who do not have a relative or carer when decisions are taken about serious
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  medical treatment or long-term residential care. The intention is that such consultees will also be involved in annual care reviews for those people, where they have previously been involved in the original decision. There will be a regulation making power to extend the provision to other serious decisions and vulnerable groups, on which we intend to consult with stakeholders.

  The Government agree with the Joint Committee's view that codes of practice will be essential for the proper and effective implementation of the new legislation, and that drafts should be available to assist the parliamentary consideration of the Bill. Therefore, codes of practice will be available at Commons Committee stage. There will be extensive consultation on full codes of practice to accompany the Bill when it becomes law and these will be laid before Parliament in draft. Copies of the draft codes will be made available in the Libraries, the Vote Office and the printed paper Ooffice when they are published at Committee stage.

  Finally, the Government very much welcomed the Joint Committee's finding that many of the fears which have been raised about possible connections between the draft Bill and euthanasia appear to be misplaced. The Bill has nothing at all to do with euthanasia. Its aim is to empower, and increase protection for thousands of vulnerable adults. For the avoidance of any doubt the Bill now expressly states that nothing in it affects the law on murder, manslaughter or assisted suicide.