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RAF Chicksands
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to allow empty houses at the RAF base at Chicksands in Bedfordshire to be used for local authority housing. [47702]
Mr. Spellar: The potential Service requirement for vacant Service Families Accommodation at RAF Chicksands is currently under review. A decision on this will be made once the outcome of the Strategic Defence Review is known. Based on this decision Annington Homes, which own the properties, will be in a position to decide their future use.
Defence Committee Report
Mr. Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make his response to the Second report from the Defence Committee on the draft Visiting Forces and International Headquarters (Application of Law) (Amendment) Order 1998 (HC 521). [47611]
Mr. George Robertson:
The response was sent to the Committee yesterday.
30 Jun 1998 : Column: 132
Mr. Gardiner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to reduce the defence estate in London. [48484]
Mr. Spellar:
We have been considering the scope for further rationalisation of our property holdings, in London and elsewhere, in the context of the Strategic Defence Review. In continuation of that work, my Department will be drawing up a Strategic Development Plan for the defence estate in the Greater London area. Work on the plan will involve a thorough examination of site values and costs, linked to their condition and utilisation, with a view to identifying opportunities to meet defence requirements more cost-effectively. Any specific proposals for unit moves that may arise from this work will be subject to further study and consultation in the normal way. Existing studies, such as those relating to RAF Northolt and RAF Uxbridge, will be fully taken into account.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Rotherham of 17 November 1997, Official Report, column 72, if he will make a statement on the current status of the Challenger 2 programme. [48596]
Mr. Spellar:
I am pleased to announce that The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards have become the first regiment to be fully equipped with the Challenger 2 main battle tank. This is a significant milestone in the Challenger 2 programme.
Emergency Provisions Act
Mr. Wicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when she intends to publish the report by Mr. J. J. Rowe QC on the operation during 1997 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996; and what conclusions she has reached concerning the future of the Act in the light of Mr. Rowe's report. [48481]
Marjorie Mowlam: I have received Mr. Rowe's report. It is being published today and copies are being placed in the Library of both Houses. I note that Mr. Rowe is of the firm view that the provisions of the Act are still needed, and am reassured that he concludes that the security forces have operated the powers properly and carefully.
Mr. Rowe fulfils a very important role and I am most grateful to him for his work. The Government agree that the powers are still necessary; Parliament too has endorsed this view by the enactment in April of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1998, which extends the life of the 1996 Act and obviates the need this year for Continuance debates.
However, under powers vested in me by section 62 of the 1996 Act I may, by order approved by resolution of each House, lapse any of the temporary provisions of the Act at any time. Therefore I will, as always, keep the continuance of the provisions under review.
30 Jun 1998 : Column: 133
Mr. Rowe's Report on the operation of the Act during 1997 will inform Parliament's considerations when the Act, or any of its provisions, is next debated.
Mr. Darvill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what targets have been set for the Training and Employment Agency for Northern Ireland for the period 1998 to 2001. [48482]
Mr. Worthington:
The following targets have been set for the Agency:
30 Jun 1998 : Column: 134
Copies of the Targets have been placed in the Library of the House.
Dr. Iddon:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Legal Services Ombudsman intends to publish her seventh Annual report. [48314]
Mr. Hoon:
The Legal Services Ombudsman has today published her seventh Annual Report, and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the names, qualifications and experience of the Chairman and members of the Committee on Standards in Public Life; and if he will state the amount paid by way of expenses, allowances and fees to each of them for the last 12 months. [47610]
Dr. David Clark
[holding answer 29 June 1998]: The information requested is set out in the table.
30 Jun 1998 : Column: 133
1. All 16 and 17-year-olds leaving school will be offered the opportunity of a training place; 65 per cent. of those leaving the Jobskills programme will transfer to employment or to other education or training opportunities; and 65 per cent. of entrants to the programme will achieve a qualification at NVQ level 2 or equivalent.
2. 25 per cent. of 16 to 24-year-olds involved in an Agency training programme will initially enter a Modern Apprenticeship or transfer to a Modern Apprenticeship on completion of level 2 training.
3. To publish a skills survey each year of the Corporate Plan.
4. To ensure that CDP projects increase the achievement rate of their agreed productivity targets from 65 per cent. in 1998-99 to 85 per cent. in 2000-2001.
5. To increase the number of local organisations achieving Investors in People (IiP) status from 120 to 300.
6. To ensure that overall Agency spend in Training and Social Needs areas is no less than 60 per cent. of Agency programme budget.
7. To achieve a score of 500 against the Business Excellence Model by the year 2001.
8. To maintain the Agency's IiP standard and accreditation following reassessment in August 1998.
9. The Agency will contribute to the achievement of the national targets set for New Deal in terms of employment outcomes and employability. We will publish details as soon as they become clear.
10. The Agency will set targets for lifelong learning on an annual basis as the initiatives under lifelong learning emerge and develop.
| Current membership | Experience | Total fees (£) paid since 1 April 1997(1) | Total travel and subsistence costs (£) incurred since 1 April 1997(1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Neill of Bladen, QC | Extensive legal experience. Former Chairman of the Bar Council, Warden of All Souls College, Oxford and Vice Chancellor of Oxford University. Chairman of numerous high level committees and enquiries. | 22,000 | (2)5,609.50 |
| Sir Clifford Boulton, GCB | Former Clerk of the House of Commons. | 4,945.00 | 682.85 |
| Sir Anthony Cleaver | Chairman of AEA Technology plc. Extensive business experience. Academic interests. Involvement with various public sector committees. | 360.00 | -- |
| Lord Goodhart, QC | Legal and political experience. Liberal Democrat Peer. | 4,860.00 | (2)5,309.80 |
| Frances Heaton | Director, Lazard Brothers, and Bank of England. Legal, civil service and private sector background. | 1,980.00 | (2)4,916.90 |
| Professor Anthony King | Academic. Professor of Government, Essex University. | 3,785.00 | 882.40 |
| The right hon. John MacGregor, OBE MP | Extensive political experience Conservative Member of Parliament. | (3)-- | 430.65 |
| The right. hon. the Lord Shore of Stepney | Extensive political experience. Labour Peer. | 1,055.00 | 668.90 |
| Sir William Utting, CB | Extensive experience in social work. Former Chief Inspector of Social Services. | 3,015.00 | -- |
| Ms Diana Warwick | Chief Executive, Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals. Trades Union background. Member of various public and private sector boards. | 5,450.00 | 48.50 |
(1) Relates to all transactions recorded on the Cabinet Office Resource Accounting System at 24 June 1998
(2) Total includes overseas study trips. Lord Neill visited Germany, Sweden, Canada and the USA, and was accompanied by Lord Goodhart (except Sweden), and Frances Heaton (except Germany)
(3) John MacGregor receives payment from the public purse as a Member of Parliament.
30 Jun 1998 : Column: 135
Public Service Delivery
Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on his plans for improving the delivery of public services. [48477]
Dr. David Clark: I am pleased to inform the House that I am announcing today, as part of my wider Better Government initiative, the launch of Service First--the new Charter programme. Service First is the Government's programme to improve public service delivery. It places a new emphasis on promoting responsiveness, quality, effectiveness, and cross-sectoral working. It has been designed to meet the real needs of people, following an extensive and wide-ranging consultation exercise over the last twelve months into the future of the Citizen's Charter programme. Details of the new programme have been placed in the Library of the House.
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