Written Ministerial Statements

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

Thursday 16 May 2013

Balance of Competences

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

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

My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and I wish to inform both Houses that following our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs’ oral statement launching the review of the balance of competences in July 2012 and written statement on the progress of the review in October 2012, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, HM Revenue and Customs and the Intellectual Property Office are publishing their calls for evidence.

The review of the internal market: free movement of goods is being jointly led by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Intellectual Property Office, (IPO), with HMRC taking a lead co-ordinating role. The review will consider the balance of competence over intra-EU trade in goods, the customs union and the protection of intellectual property.

The review of trade and investment is being led by BIS and will consider external trade (third country trade) and investment. However, given that trade in goods is a major theme for both reviews, the review teams will be co-ordinating their reviews closely.

The research and development review will cover research, technological development and space. As innovation is closely related to research and technological development, it will fall within the scope of this review.

The call for evidence period will last 12 weeks, from 16 May 2013 to 6 August 2013 and officials will draw together the evidence and policy analysis into draft reports, which will subsequently go through a process of scrutiny before publication in December 2013.

BIS, IPO and HMRC will take a rigorous approach to the collection and analysis of evidence. Each call for evidence sets out the scope of the report and includes a series of broad questions on which contributors are asked to focus. Interested parties are invited to provide evidence with regard to political, economic, social and technological factors. The evidence received (subject to the provision of the Data Protection Act) will be published alongside the final reports in December 2013 and will be available on the Government website www.gov.uk.

The Departments will pursue an active engagement process, consulting widely across Parliament and its Committees, businesses, the devolved Administrations and civil society in order to obtain evidence to contribute to our analysis of the issues. Our EU partners and the EU institutions will also be invited to contribute evidence to the reviews. As the reviews are to be objective and evidence based, we are encouraging a wide range of interested parties and individuals to contribute.

The results of the reports will be a comprehensive, thorough and detailed analysis. It will aid our understanding of the nature of our EU membership and it will provide a constructive and serious contribution to the wider European debate about modernising, reforming and improving the EU. The reports will not produce specific policy recommendations.

The calls for evidence documents are being placed in the Libraries of both Houses. They are also published and available on the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/review-of-the-balance-of-competences.

Balance of Competences

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Maria Miller)]

Further to the oral statement by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), launching the review of the balance of competences on 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 468, and his written ministerial statement on the progress of the review on 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 46WS, we are today publishing a call for evidence for the tourism, culture, and sport report.

The report will be completed by the autumn of 2013 and will cover the overall application of EU competence in the tourism, culture, and sport sectors. In all three sectors that competence is supporting only, meaning that both the UK and the EU may act: and that action by either does not preclude action by the other. The report will be an opportunity to consider this relationship, and to examine the evidence concerning the impact of EU competences on the UK’s national interest in the sectors of tourism, culture, and sport.

The report will not cover EU competences which affect other sectors for which my Department is responsible, including electronic communications, media and the creative industries. This is because the EU does not exercise specific competence for these sectors. It does however act under a wide range of competences which have very significant impacts on them. Many of these relate to the internal market in services, where my Department will be working closely with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in subsequent stages of the review. The Government equalities unit will be separately contributing to the review of the social and employment competence, on which work will start in the autumn of 2013.

The call for evidence period will last until early August. My Department will draw together the evidence into a draft, which will subsequently go through a process of scrutiny before publication in the autumn of 2013.

We will take a rigorous approach to the collection and analysis of evidence. The call for evidence sets out the scope of the report and includes both general and more sector-specific questions on which contributors are invited to focus. The evidence received—subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act—will be published alongside the final report.

My Department will pursue an active engagement process, consulting widely across Parliament and its committees, the tourism, culture and sport sectors, and the devolved Administrations in order to obtain evidence to contribute to our analysis of the issues. Our EU partners and the EU institutions will also be invited to contribute evidence to the review.

The result of the report will be a comprehensive analysis of EU competence in these sectors, and what this means for the United Kingdom. It will aid our understanding of the nature of our EU membership; and it will provide a constructive and serious contribution to the wider European debate about modernising, reforming and improving the EU. The report will not produce specific policy recommendations.

I am arranging for “Review of the Balance Of Competences: Tourism, Culture and Sport—Call for Evidence” to be placed In the Libraries of both Houses.

Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

The Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council will take place in Brussels on 16-17 May. The culture, audiovisual and sport issues will be taken on 17 May. The Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), will represent the UK at the culture and audiovisual section of the Council, together with the Scottish Minister for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop. The Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU, Shan Morgan, will represent the UK at the sport section of the Council.

Culture and Audiovisual

The Council will be invited to adopt a general approach on the proposal for a decision establishing the European capitals of culture action for the years 2020-33. This action will follow on from the current European capitals of culture action which ends in 2019. The proposal takes account of our key concerns in relation to the role of the member states in the selection and designation process, and the UK will support the proposed general approach.

The Council is also expected to adopt a decision designating Aarhus (Denmark) and Paphos (Cyprus) as the European capitals of culture for 2017 and Valletta (Malta) as European capital of culture for 2018. The UK will support this decision.

The Council will hold an exchange of views on cultural diversity in the context of the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) with the USA. This item has been requested by the French delegation. The French Government have expressed concern about protecting cultural diversity in the forthcoming EU-US negotiations. The UK will intervene to say that a broad and ambitious negotiating mandate is in Europe’s best interests in order to deliver a truly comprehensive deal that will bring substantial benefits to the economies of the member states.

The Council will also hold a policy debate on the use of culture as a soft policy option in EU external relations. The UK will intervene in the debate to highlight how we are using culture in our own external relations to promote the UK as a great place to live, work, study and visit, building on the success of the Queen’s diamond jubilee and the London Olympic and Paralympic games last year, and we will emphasise the role of national identity in underpinning cultural diplomacy and building relationships with the wider world.

Sport

The Council will receive a report from the presidency on the state of play in relation to a proposal for a decision authorising the European Commission to participate, on behalf of the EU, in the negotiations for an international convention of the Council of Europe to combat the manipulation of sports results.

The Council is expected to adopt conclusions on dual careers for athletes. These conclusions are based on the “EU guidelines on dual careers for athletes” produced by the EU expert group on education and training in sport, which is chaired by the UK. This is one of the outcomes of the European Union work plan for sport for 2011-14 which highlighted the role of education, training and qualifications in sport. The conclusions recognise that young people should be supported as they seek to continue their education while aspiring to be high performance athletes. This will offer them further opportunities to contribute to society following the end of their athletics careers. The UK will support the adoption of these conclusions.

On anti-doping, the Council will receive a report from the presidency on the recent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) meetings in Montreal on 11-12 May.

The Council will also hold a policy debate on the role of public authorities in combating increased sophistication of doping in sport. In this debate the UK will stress that to tackle doping in sport effectively, information sharing and strong partnerships between the Government, anti-doping organisations, sport and law enforcement agencies are just as important as catching athletes through a rigorous testing regime.

Any Other Business

The German delegation will present a note on the Commission’s draft communication on state aid for films and other audiovisual works. The UK will intervene on this item to indicate that we are broadly supportive of the Commission’s new draft of the communication and that we welcome the Commission’s commitment to complete the consultation process as swiftly as possible.

The German delegation will also present a note on state aid reform—a general exemption from notification requirements for culture. Germany considers that the proposal for an exemption clause for state aid for culture should be discussed by the Ministers for Culture before the Council agrees to give the Commission powers to make such an exemption in the revised enabling Council regulation. The UK is content with the proposal for an exemption clause and we do not expect to have to intervene on this issue.

The presidency will present an update to the Council on the follow-up to the 2008 Council conclusions on architecture: culture’s contribution to sustainable development. These conclusions included a requirement for a stocktake to assess their implementation and impact. This is now being taken forward. The presidency’s update is expected to include a report on the recent conference of the European forum for architectural policies in Dublin on 8-10 May.

The presidency will also update the Council on the current state of play with the proposed regulations establishing the creative Europe and Europe for citizens programmes for 2014-20. Both these programmes will follow on from existing EU programmes. The presidency is currently holding informal trilogues with the European Parliament and the Commission to discuss the creative Europe regulation with a view to facilitating a first reading agreement. The Europe for citizens proposal is currently with the European Parliament, which must give its assent before the regulation can be adopted by the Council.

The Portuguese delegation will present a note on better connections for a better Europe in which they propose two new programmes designed to improve communications between Government and non-Government stakeholders across the EU on matters of general concern to cultural policy makers. We do not propose to intervene on this item. Given the need to prioritise activities at a time of fiscal constraint, we will expect any formal proposals in this area to be properly costed and evaluated before we can form a view on them.

Finally, the Lithuanian delegation will inform the Council of the work programme and priorities for their forthcoming presidency of the Council.

Parliamentary Written Answer (Correction)

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Anna Soubry)]

I regret that the written answer given to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) on 17 April 2013, Official Report column 418W, contained some incomplete figures in the table.

It has been brought to my attention that the information provided by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the table in the original answer did not contain every instance where information of concern about an organisation was received by the CQC. The table below shows the full number of times information of concern was received. I have also taken this opportunity to clarify that the numbers provided in the table are for all information of concern raised about an organisation, and do not specifically relate to children’s heart surgery.

The corrected answer is as follows.



Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, the CQC does not have the responsibility for investigating specific complaints about providers. The CQC is responsible for checking that providers that are registered meet standards of quality and safety. The CQC’s role does not include investigating individual complaints about these services. Under the NHS complaints procedure, formal complaints are raised with the service provider in the first instance. The CQC’s predecessor, the Healthcare Commission, did have responsibility for second stage complaints, once local resolution had been unsuccessful. This responsibility ceased on 1 April 2009.



When the CQC receives information of concern from people who use services, their relatives and members of the public, it uses the information to inform its inspection programme and the quality and risk profile of the service provider.

The CQC has provided the following information:



The following table shows the number of times information of concern has been received by the CQC under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 for specified hospitals by location or provider, by fiscal year. The table shows data for all locations at each provider. Due to the manner in which CQC records this data, it cannot determine the nature of the concern, which may not therefore be related to children’s heart surgery.

Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mrs Theresa May)]

In accordance with section 20(2), 20(3), 20(4) and 20(5) of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM) Act 2011, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, David Anderson QC, prepared a report on the operation of the Act in 2012, which I laid before the House on 14 March 2013.

I am grateful to David Anderson QC for his report, the first on the operation of the TPIM Act 2011. Following consultation within my Department and with other relevant agencies, I am today laying before the House my response to the independent reviewer’s report.

Copies of the Government response will be available in the Vote Office and through the Gov.UK website.

Balance of Competences

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Immigration (Mr Mark Harper)]

I wish to inform the House that the Home Office is today publishing its calls for evidence on the asylum and immigration report and, together with the Department for Work and Pensions, the free movement of persons report of the balance of competences review, launched by the Foreign Secretary by oral statement before the House on 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 468.

Both reports will be completed by late 2013. The asylum and immigration report will cover the asylum and immigration competences that affect nationals from outside the EU/EEA, those not exercising EU/EEA rights, and the control of the UK’s borders. The asylum and immigration call for evidence has been divided into three sections for convenience—borders and visas; asylum; and legal migration—and in recognition of that fact that the UK’s participation operates differently in each area. Interested parties are invited to provide evidence with regard to each.

The free movement of persons report will cover the application and effect of the free movement of persons provisions, one of the “four freedoms” of the EU internal market. The free movement of persons report will focus on the implementation of the right of EU nationals to live, work and study abroad and rights to social security co-ordination under EU law. It will look at articles 18, 20, 21, 45-48 and 49-52 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the primary legislation which established the internal market. The report will also look at the relevant secondary legislation, which includes; directive 2004/38/EC (the “free movement directive”), regulation 883/2004 and its implementing regulation 987/2009, regulation 492/2011 and directive 2005/36/EC.

The Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions will seek evidence to conduct a rigorous analysis of EU competence in these areas. The calls for evidence set out the scope of the reports and include a series of broad questions, which provide a framework for interested groups to contribute to the reports. The evidence received—subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act— will be published alongside the final report in late 2013 and will be available on the new Government website www.gov.uk. The call for evidence period for both reports will last 12 weeks. The Home Office, together with the Department for Work and Pensions in the case of the free movement of persons report, will draw together the evidence and policy analysis into draft reports, which will subsequently go through a process of scrutiny before publication in late 2013.

The Home Office and the Department for Work and Pensions will seek to consult widely across Parliament and its Committees, the devolved Administrations, business, civil society and other interested parties. We will also invite our EU partners and the EU institutions to contribute evidence to the reports. As the review is to be objective and evidence-based, it is important to encourage contributions from a wide range of interested parties to inform the policy debate.

The result of the reports will be a comprehensive, thorough and detailed analysis of the balance of competences between the EU and the UK on the issues of asylum and immigration, and free movement of persons. It will aid our understanding of the nature of our EU membership; and it win provide a constructive and serious contribution to the wider European debate about modernising, reforming and improving the EU. The reports will not produce specific policy recommendations.

I am placing this document and the calls for evidence in the Libraries of both Houses. They will also be published on the Home Office website and the free movement of persons report will also be published on the Department for Work and Pensions website. Both reports will be accessible through the balance of competences review pages on GOV.UK.

Whiplash Claims

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mrs Helen Grant)]

The Government share the widespread concerns about the disproportionate growth in whiplash claims and the impact they have on the price of motor insurance premiums. To address these issues, I announced to this House on 11 December 2012, Official Report, column 32WS, that the Government were launching a consultation on “Reducing the Number and Costs of Whiplash Claims”.

The consultation ran for 12 weeks and sought views from stakeholders on proposals to introduce independent medical panels and on whether to amend the small claims threshold for damages for personal injury claims. It committed the Government to review the submissions received and publish a response in spring 2013.

The consultation closed on 8 March. However, on 15 March the Transport Committee announced an inquiry into whiplash, which would include an examination of the Government’s consultation proposals.

The Government believe that, prior to taking any final decisions on whiplash reform, they should give due consideration to the views of the Transport Committee. The Government also believe that the impact of their recent civil reform programme on the price of motor insurance premiums needs to be assessed. Consumers should be rewarded with the lower litigation costs being reflected in lower insurance premiums.

For these reasons the Government have decided to defer publication of their formal response to the consultation until after the Committee has reported.

The Government’s consultation document was laid before Parliament when the consultation began. It is also available online at:

https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/reducing-number-cost-whiplash.

Balance of Competences

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Chris Grayling)]

I wish to inform the House that, further to the Foreign Secretary’s oral statement launching the review of the balance of competences on 12 July 2012, Official Report, column 468, and the written statement on the progress of the review on 23 October 2012, Official Report, column 46WS, the Ministry of Justice has published its call for evidence in the area of civil judicial co-operation, which includes family matters.

The report will be completed by December 2013 and will cover the overall application and effect of EU instruments in the area of civil judicial co-operation.

The call for evidence period will last 12 weeks. The Ministry of Justice will draw together the evidence and policy analysis into a first draft, which will go through a process of scrutiny before publication towards the end of 2013.

The report will focus on article 81 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union (TFEU), using this and the jurisprudence emanating from it as a legal base.

The Ministry of Justice will take a rigorous approach to the collection and analysis of evidence. The call for evidence sets out the scope of the report and includes a series of broad questions on which contributors are asked to focus. Interested parties are invited to provide evidence in relation to the impact or effect of the competence in their area of expertise. The evidence received—subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act—will be published alongside the final report in late 2013 and will be available on the new Government website: www.gov.uk.

The Department will pursue an active engagement process, consulting widely across Parliament and relevant committees, businesses, the devolved Administrations, judiciary and legal practitioners in order to obtain evidence to contribute to our analysis of the issues. Our EU partners and the EU institutions will also be invited to contribute evidence to the review. As the review is to be objective and evidence based, we plan to encourage a wide range of interested parties to contribute to ensure a high yield of valuable information.

The result of the report will be a comprehensive, thorough and detailed analysis of the findings and aid our understanding of the nature of our EU membership; it will provide a constructive and frank contribution to the wider European debate about modernising, reforming and improving the EU. The report will not, however, produce specific policy recommendations.

I am placing the call for evidence in the Libraries of both Houses. They will also be accessible through the balance of competences review pages on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website.

HS2 Phase One Consultations

Thursday 16th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Patrick McLoughlin)]

The Government have today published two documents for consultation which significantly move forward our work on the HS2 route between London and the west midlands (known as phase 1 of HS2). These are the draft environmental statement and the design refinements consultations.

Publication of the draft environmental statement (ES) is a key step towards delivering the hybrid Bill for the HS2 route between London and the west midlands. The formal ES will be published alongside the hybrid Bill later this year, having been further refined in light of responses to the draft ES consultation.

The draft ES provides, wherever available, information on the likely significant environmental effects of HS2—and our plans wherever possible to mitigate them.

The Government believe that HS2 is vital for this country and will provide a huge economic return. However, I am aware that the building of the railway will cause disruption for those living close to the line of route. I am determined that this disruption should be kept to a minimum and mitigated wherever possible.

Consulting on the draft ES is not a statutory requirement but the Government recognise the importance of ensuring widespread engagement on the scheme. Best design can only be reached with the input of local communities, environmental groups and all levels of Government.

Once the hybrid Bill is deposited, there will be a further period of consultation on the formal environmental statement as part of the parliamentary process.

Alongside the draft ES, I have published a consultation on a series of design refinements for the HS2 route between London and the west midlands. Since we set out our proposed route in January 2012 we have been developing the detailed design of the scheme, listening to the representations from individuals and organisations affected by the route. This refinement process aims to ensure that we design a railway that is as efficient and effective as possible while limiting as far as practicable its impacts on people and the environment.

Many of these proposed refinements are small in scale but some are more significant, altering the local impact of the scheme. To ensure my final decisions on these refinements are informed by the best possible information I have decided to consult on my initial preferences for the more significant changes before deciding whether to include them in the final design of the scheme.

Consultation on both the draft environmental statement and the design refinements closes on 11 July. Consulting on these two documents is part of the process of helping to make HS2 the best it can be, providing passengers with the high level of service they expect while minimising as far as practicable the impact on local communities.