Written Statements

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Written Statements

Wednesday 16 December 2015

Committee on Radioactive Waste Management

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Andrea Leadsom)]

In January, my noble Friend Baroness Verma announced the commencement of the second triennial review of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM). Today I am announcing the findings of that review, which I am pleased to say support the continuation of CoRWM as the most appropriate body to undertake the hugely important work of providing independent scrutiny and advice on Government’s long-term management of higher activity radioactive waste, including the geological disposal programme.

The review has also examined the governance arrangements for CoRWM in line with guidance on good corporate governance set out by the Cabinet Office and makes some recommendations to ensure that CoRWM operates in the most effective and efficient manner.

The final report of the triennial review of CoRWM can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications and I have made available copies in the Libraries of both Houses.

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UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (James Duddridge)]

My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Baroness Anelay of St Johns), has made the following written statement:

I wish to inform the House that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, together with the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence, are today publishing a progress report on the UK’s third “National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security” which was published on 12 June 2014 (Official Report, 16 June 2014, columns 72-74WS).

The national action plan sets out our priorities on women, peace and security from 2014-17. It is the guiding national policy document that sets out the direction and vision to the Government and their partners as we work to ensure that women and girls are at the centre of our efforts to prevent, respond to and resolve conflict. The report published today outlines the progress in our international and domestic work and gives examples of this against the four main pillars of women, peace and security: participation, prevention, protection, and relief and recovery. The annexes to the report also provide details of activities under way in the UK’s six chosen focus countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Somalia and Syria.

The strategic defence and security review was clear about the importance the Government attach to work on women, peace and security and its centrality to peace and stability overseas. We will continue to collaborate with our international partners and civil society to drive forward this agenda using the international momentum from the high level review of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in October 2015. We will increase efforts to ensure that women's voices are represented in wider peace processes, negotiations and state-building.

We will continue to report to Parliament annually on progress, with our next report due in autumn 2016.

The progress report has been published on gov.uk:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-national-action-plan-on-women-peace-and-security-2014-17-report-to-parliament-december-2015.

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Crisis Relocation Mechanism and Safe Third Countries (Commission Proposals)

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Written Statements

[The Minister for Immigration (James Brokenshire)]

Further to the explanatory memoranda published by the Minister for countering extremism on 30 September, the Government have decided not to opt in to two Commission proposals for regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a crisis relocation mechanism amending regulation (EU) No. 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 establishing criteria and mechanisms for determining the member state responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one member state by a third country national or a stateless person and establishing an EU common list of safe countries of origin for the purposes of directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection, and amending directive 2012/32/EU.

The UK did not opt in to the two temporary proposals allowing for the relocation of individuals in need of international protection between EU member states which were agreed over the summer. So far implementation of these has been extremely slow with only around 160 people relocated from Italy and Greece so far. Member states continue to argue over the detail. Negotiations on a permanent relocation mechanism have also proved long and difficult and it is unlikely consensus will be reached on this in the near future. This reinforces the view that relocation is the wrong response to the crisis and that the time and effort devoted to negotiating these measures would have been far better spent on implementing practical solutions to secure the external border and provide sustainable protection in the region, a position which the UK has been calling for since the beginning of the crisis.

The Government do see merit in establishing an EU-wide safe third country list, especially for those member states who have no experience of operating such a list. However, the UK has successfully operated its own list for many years and already has established procedures and safeguards in place, including parliamentary approval before a country is designated. Opting in would also require the UK to opt in to the underlying 2013 asylum procedures directive. The UK originally did not opt in to this directive as it was deemed not to be in the national interest due to implications for immigration control and the integrity of UK legal systems. Those reasons remain valid and we see no advantage in opting in to this measure.

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Cremations

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities and Family Justice (Caroline Dinenage)]

Today I am launching a consultation which seeks views on proposals for a number of changes to the Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008, and for improving other aspects of cremation practice.

On 1 June 2015 David Jenkins published his report into the way infant cremations were carried out at Emstrey crematorium in Shropshire between 1996 and 2012. The report established that during this period Emstrey crematorium failed to obtain ashes to return to parents following infant cremations.

Scotland had experienced similar problems. In June 2014 Lord Bonomy’s report of his Infant Cremation Commission (ICC) found that in some Scottish cases parents had been incorrectly told that there had been, or would be, no ashes from their babies’ cremations.

I am clear that what happened at Emstrey, and sadly also at other crematoriums, should never happen again. No other family should go through the pain of not having their baby’s ashes returned to them. That is why I am taking action to make sure that after a cremation infant ashes should always be returned to their families.

A majority of the 12 Emstrey report recommendations were for the Westminster Government, including the recommendation that we consider the ICC’s 64 recommendations. In July, I announced our intention to consult on these recommendations and that consultation starts today.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks. I will be writing to families involved in these tragic events to invite them to take part. We will then carefully consider the responses we receive and will announce the changes that we will be making next year.

Copies of the consultation document will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The consultation is also available at:

https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/consultation-on-cremation

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Machinery of Government Change: Pension Wise

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Written Statements

[The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron)]

This written statement confirms that responsibility for the Pension Wise service will transfer from Her Majesty’s Treasury to the Department for Work and Pensions. This change will be effective from 1 April 2016.

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Maritime Growth Study: Government Response

Wednesday 16th December 2015 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Robert Goodwill)]

In November 2014, the Department for Transport launched a comprehensive study, chaired by Lord Jeffrey Mountevans, now Lord Mayor of the City of London, into maintaining the UK’s status as a world-leading maritime centre. The “Maritime Growth Study: keeping the UK competitive in a global market” was published on 7 September, the opening day of London international shipping week 2015, with a commitment from Government to formally respond to the report by the end of the year.

The last such review took place nearly two decades ago and the global economic landscape has changed significantly since then. However, one constant has been the continuing contribution of UK maritime and marine industries to our economy and in keeping seaborne trade moving worldwide. The study highlights that this has been achieved through a highly advanced, world-class maritime cluster spread across the nation that attracts investment and exports services worldwide. The sector’s direct economic contribution is at least £11 billion, while directly supporting at least 113,000 jobs and 6,600 businesses. The UK is truly a “one-stop-shop” for the global maritime market, but the study concludes that there is still much more that it can achieve.

The report recognises that other maritime centres in Europe and the far east are experiencing rapid growth and seeking to replicate our success. Government and industry must therefore work together to reinforce the UK’s role in the global market and put our nation in the best possible position to exploit the expected doubling in world sea trade by 2030. A successful maritime sector will support the Government’s commitment to enhancing domestic productivity, rebalancing the UK economy, increasing exports and raising our global status.

The study involved extensive engagement and independent research to inform and shape its conclusions and recommendations. The process also benefited from the scrutiny and support of an industry advisory group chaired by Michael Parker, chairman of the UK arm of global shipping company, CMA-CGM, and comprising senior business leaders from across the sector.

The report encompasses Lord Mountevans’ recommendations for Government and industry, focusing on four themes in particular: Government leadership, industry leadership, the need for a skilled workforce and the opportunities for marketing maritime UK. The Government welcome his findings and will take forward the recommendations in all four of these areas, partnering with and involving industry as required.

Significant progress is already being made. A new ministerial working group for maritime growth has been established to drive growth and tackle issues impacting the sector. The working group, including representatives from industry, met for the first time last month to discuss items on maritime inward investment and export growth, as well as the opportunities presented by the Government’s proposed reform of apprenticeships. The working group will be supported by a committee that will bring together senior officials from key Departments with an interest in maritime in the new year to identify what further action is required.

Officials will shortly begin the process of updating the Government’s assessment of the seafarer requirement in the UK maritime sector so we have the most up-to-date picture of supply and demand. This will ultimately inform the chair’s recommended review of our support for maritime training (SMarT) scheme to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

A key focus of the study was the role played by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA)-administered UK Ship Register. The register has now seen nearly 12 months of modest, but continuous growth in gross tonnage. However, we will not be complacent about this success and fully support Lord Mountevans’ ambitions for the register, which were informed by evidence from the independent UK Ship Register Advisory Panel. In addition to the agency’s existing plans for creating a more efficient, flexible and customer-focused survey and inspection function, I am pleased to be able to announce the appointment of Simon Barham as director of the UK Ship Register. Simon brings a wealth of commercial shipping experience to the role and will begin the process of making the register more independent from the MCA’s regulatory functions when he starts in 2016. These improvements are being implemented against the backdrop of longer-term work by the Department exploring the scope for more significant reform of relevant MCA services, in particular the UK Ship Register.

While the specific recommendations for industry are for them to consider and respond to, the outcomes being sought, including greater co-ordination to promote the sector as a whole, are vital to achieving the chair’s vision for maritime. The Government are happy to support industry in this endeavour.

I am grateful to Lord Mountevans for his chairmanship of the project. His leadership and experience have helped to produce a compelling report on a sophisticated sector consisting of multiple markets and industries. He played an important role in successfully corralling the views of an expansive and diverse industry with varying interests. It is now for Government and industry to work in partnership to lever the findings from the study and keep the UK maritime sector at the forefront of the global market.

The report, “Maritime Growth Study: keeping the UK competitive in a global market” can be found on: https://www.gov.uk and copies were made available in the Libraries of both Houses on its publication in September.

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