Written Ministerial Statements

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Written Statements

Wednesday 22 June 2011

Regional Development Agencies

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Mark Prisk)]

I am pleased to announce that I have decided to extend terms of appointment for 24 existing RDA board members listed below until RDA closure.

UK Equity Markets (Competitiveness)

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable)]

My Department published a call for evidence in October 2010 entitled “A long-term focus for corporate Britain”. The call for evidence responded to concerns that capital markets may be increasingly focused on the short-term to the detriment of long-term sustainable growth in the UK. The response to the call for evidence made it clear that, while the UK has strong equity markets, there is scope for improvement.

I have therefore invited Professor John Kay to carry out an independent review, which will examine investment in UK equity markets and its impact on the long-term performance and governance of UK quoted companies. This includes the actions of boards, shareholders and their agents; the impact of rules and practices; and the level of transparency and engagement in the investment chain. The review will also consider the impact of increasing fragmentation and internationalisation of UK share ownership. Professor Kay will be supported by an expert panel of investor and corporate practitioners.

I have placed copies of the terms of reference for the review in the Libraries of both Houses.

Afghanistan: Monthly Progress Report May 2011

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)]

I wish to inform the House that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, together with the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development, is today publishing the seventh progress report on developments in Afghanistan.

The report focuses on key developments during the month of May.

Al-Qaeda founder and leader, Osama bin Laden, was killed by US forces in Pakistan on 2 May. His death, while significant, does not change our strategy in Afghanistan and we remain committed to our military, diplomatic and development work.

On 17 May the Prime Minister confirmed to the House of Commons Liaison Committee that, by February 2012, approximately 400 UK military personnel will have withdrawn from Afghanistan, following the conclusion of specific planned tasks. Over 200 of these troops have already been withdrawn. He emphasised that the UK remains the second largest troop contributor, operating in the hardest part of the country.

Good progress in Afghan uniformed police training and development continued to be made. Nevertheless, leadership training is challenging, owing to inconsistent support from Afghan district level leadership. The increasing number of Afghans wishing to serve in the Afghan national police, as officers, has enabled the Ministry of Interior to apply higher selection standards.

The Taliban’s fighting season resumed in May. As expected, the number of violent incidents increased, as the insurgency attempted to regain lost momentum. Overall, levels of violence, although higher than those seen in April, are broadly in line with what we would expect for this time of year.

I am placing the report in the Library of the House. It will also be published on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk) and the HMG UK and Afghanistan website (http://afghanistan.hmg.gov.uk/).

BBC World Service

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)]

In line with the Government’s response to events in the middle east and north Africa and following the debate on 19 May, the FCO will provide some additional funding for the BBC World Service beyond that provided for in the 2010 spending review (SR10).

The context for the spending review was the fiscal legacy left by the previous Administration. This meant that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in line with other Government Departments, had to make difficult decisions. I therefore agreed total funding levels for BBC World Service of £253 million, £242 million and £238 million over the first three years of the SR10 period. After this time funding of BBC World Service will be transferred to the licence fee.

The original settlement was both fair and proportionate. A 16% real cut in funding over the period, while challenging, is consistent with the settlements provided to other publicly funded bodies. It kept the BBC World Service’s share of the FCO family’s overall budget at or above its 2007-8 level: in 2007-08 the proportion was 13%, and by the time the funding for the World Service transfers to the licence fee it would have been slightly under 14.4%. The World Service settlement was also proportionate to the savings the BBC will make as a whole under the licence fee settlement.

The settlement did present difficult challenges for the BBC World Service. It meant that the World Service has faced some hard choices and decisions, as have the FCO and the British Council. The Government have been looking carefully at what we can do to help. In March 2011 I announced a one-off contribution of £3 million towards World Service restructuring costs.

The BBC itself has also underlined their long-term commitment to the future of the BBC World Service through contributing significant funds, totalling £20 million over three years, towards World Service restructuring costs. I also welcome the BBC’s recent agreement that the World Service will be able to reinvest the reduction in their planned contribution to the overall BBC pension deficit to mitigate the impact on services of the reduction in budget. I understand from the BBC that this should release an extra £9 million over three years for investment in services. One area they have identified as a priority for such funding is the continuation of the Hindi shortwave service. I was pleased that the BBC World Service had itself identified savings earlier in the year to enable a reduced Hindi shortwave service to continue, and I strongly welcome this additional support.

In line with the Government’s response to events in the middle east and north Africa and following the debate in the House of Commons on 19 May, I asked the FCO to look again at whether there were other options open to us to provide support. We recognise that the world has changed since the settlement was announced in October last year—indeed since the World Service announced the subsequent changes to services, including some closures, on 26 January. In the debate on 19 May, a number of Members of Parliament highlighted the impact of the reduction in World Service funding on the BBC Arabic Service. It is right that we should look at ways in which we can assist the BBC Arabic Service to continue their valuable work in the region. So I have agreed that we will provide additional funding of £2.2 million per annum to enable the World Service to maintain the current level of investment in the BBC Arabic Service. This will increase the World Service’s funding as a proportion of the FCO’s budget to just over 14.5%.

In addition, the FCO is discussing providing funding from the Arab partnership initiative for specific projects proposed by the BBC Arabic Service or World Service Trust. Discussions are continuing about a number of projects which are designed to support the development of the media and wider civic society in the middle east and north Africa region which taken together may mean an additional investment of up to £1.65 million over the next two years.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development has recently stated that his Department is discussing placing its relationship with the BBC World Service Trust on a longer-term and more strategic footing. Any support to the World Service Trust provided by the Department for International Development (DFID) will be classed as official development assistance (ODA) in line with the internationally agreed standard laid down by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). I believe that a proportion of the activities carried out by the World Service itself may also be eligible to be classified as ODA. The FCO is working with DFID to agree that any future ODA spend reported by the World Service is fully consistent with the OECD definition.

I have discussed this overall approach with the chairman of the BBC Trust and we have agreed that we will continue to work together to ensure that the World Service retains its global influence and reach in a rapidly changing world.

Deaths of Three British Citizens (Baghdad)

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr William Hague)]

I would like to update the House in the case of the five British hostages who were kidnapped from the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad in May 2007. The House will recall that one of the hostages, Peter Moore, was released alive in December 2009.

The bodies of Jason Creswell and Jason Swindlehurst were returned in June 2009 and that of Alec Maclachlan in September 2009. More tragically, the last remaining hostage, Alan McMenemy, whom we believe to be dead, has yet to be returned, though we continue our efforts to bring him home.

The House will note that HM coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, who is responsible for determining the cause of death, has now completed his inquest into the deaths of Mr Creswell, Mr Swindlehurst and Mr Maclachlan. HM coroner has recorded a verdict of unlawful killing. The evidence placed before the inquest shows quite clearly that these men were deliberately and brutally murdered by their captors.

I am aware that for the family of Alan McMenemy their suffering goes on. Let me reassure Alan’s family, and the House, that we will continue our efforts to bring Alan home.

We understand that the Iraqis are investigating the circumstances of the kidnapping, which we hope will lead to justice for these men. I call upon those holding Alan to show compassion to his wife and children and to return him immediately.

I am sure the House joins me in extending our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these men, and our hope that Alan McMenemy will be returned soon.

Maritime Training Scheme

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning)]

The Government’s principal objective in supporting merchant navy training is to facilitate an adequate supply of UK maritime expertise to meet the nation’s economic and strategic requirements, by assisting organisations providing merchant navy training. In this difficult economic period, the Government have decided that it is right to review the continuing requirement for Government support for training and skills development in this sector and how best to spend any continuing Government funding.

In my written ministerial statement of 8 December 2010, Official Report, columns 24-26WS, I announced my intention to commission a review and I can confirm that today I have launched an invitation to tender. The successful bidder will present its findings to an independent panel, which will report to me by the end of the year and make practical recommendations on how the economic requirement for trained seafarers in the UK can be best met, having regard to current financial constraints.

The terms of reference for the review are as follows:

To review the UK requirement for trained seafarers at sea over the next decade;

To review the UK requirement for trained seafarers ashore over the next decade;

To examine the extent to which the above requirements have to be met by UK seafarers;

To review the effectiveness and efficiency of the existing funding arrangements and the future need for Government intervention to ensure the supply of trained seafarers;

To identify options for supporting the training of seafarers and make recommendations which address the issue of value for money and are reflective of future UK requirements for trained seafarers;

To examine whether previous training targets are reflective of future needs.

Roadside Facilities (England)

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning)]

This statement is to inform the House that following closure of the roadside facilities policy consultation on 2 July last year, I have reviewed the responses and I am introducing a change to the policy to permit the development of truckstops on the motorway network.

The consultation identified strong support from the haulage industry for the development of truckstops. Proposals for dedicated truckstop facilities will now be considered in the context of existing and/or proposed rest facilities on the strategic road network, and will be determined on their individual merit. This will include truckstop facilities that can be accessed direct from motorways—motorway truckstops—which are a type of facility not permitted until now. Where there is evidence to demonstrate that demand for lorry parking exceeds supply, the development of truckstop facilities at existing service areas would be viewed favourably. Proposals for motorway truckstops are unlikely to be supported if they would prevent a potential motorway service area (MSA) being built.

Detailed advice on the mandatory and permitted features of all categories of truckstop is set out in the table that is attached at appendix 1 to the written copy of my statement.

These changes supplement DfT Circular 01/2008 (April 2008). Aspects of policy not touched on in this statement will continue to apply.

I am currently considering ways to reduce regulation, increase competition and improve still further the quality of motorway service areas. To this end, I have instructed officials in my Department to identify those elements of the policy that might instead be better determined at a local level through the current planning system.

I have also instructed my officials to work with the Department for Communities and Local Government to consider how best to take these issues forward in the context of the national planning policy framework. Separately, we will produce an associated DfT technical note, setting out requirements in respect of road safety and operational issues.

This approach accords with the Government’s twin aims of decentralisation and localism, reducing the burden of bureaucracy and strengthening local accountability. It will encourage competition and, through this, improve service for users.

Appendix 1

Truckstops serving the strategic road network—features and levels of provision.