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Written Ministerial Statements
Thursday 30 October 2003
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Combined European Parliamentary Elections
The Minister for Local Government, Regional Governance and Fire (Mr. Nick Raynsford): My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs have today issued a joint consultation document seeking views on draft Statutory Instruments which would make provision for the conduct of European parliamentary elections in Great Britain and Gibraltar, for the combination of polls of these elections and certain other elections in England and Wales, for amendments to the Greater London Authority election rules, and for giving effect to the Government's announced intention to move the date of the English local council and Greater London Authority elections in 2004, so that they take place at the same time as the European parliamentary elections.
Comments are invited from key stakeholders and interested parties for the deadline of 11 December 2003.
Copies of these documents are available in the Libraries of the House and will also be available on the OPDM and DCA websites.
NORTHERN IRELAND
North/South Implementation Bodies
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Paul Murphy): I have today placed in the Library papers relating to decisions that have been taken during the period 1 July 2003 to 30 September 2003 which relate to the North/South implementation bodies and Tourism Ireland Ltd under the terms of the exchange of notes of 19 November 2002 (Cmnd 5708).
TREASURY
Tax Law Rewrite
The Paymaster General (Dawn Primarolo): The tax law rewrite project at the Inland Revenue has completed its rewrite of the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) regulations. The regulations were laid today. They were accompanied by a detailed commentary on them by the project. Copies of the commentary have been placed in the Library of the House.
The rewritten regulations complement the modernisation of the legislation for employment income in the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
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There will be no change in practice for employers and employees generally. But those who do use the regulations will find them clearer and more consistent.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Sustainable Procurement in Government
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Margaret Beckett): The UK Government is committed to the achievement of sustainable development. Continued action is needed by all sectors in society to ensure that our social, economic and environmental objectives are achieved simultaneously. The scale of central civil government procurement—estimated at £13 billion per year—means that the purchase of goods, works and services by Government has the potential to contribute directly to sustainable development across a wide range of sectors, from construction to information technology.
Following the recent high-level cross-Government review by the sustainable procurement group, we are clear that central Government procurement can and should support sustainable development within the framework of the Government's procurement policy and its overarching aim of achieving value for money, and the EC procurement rules.
The revised guidance published today by Defra and the Office of Government Commerce makes clear the relationship between sustainable development objectives and the legal and policy framework for procurement. It demonstrates practically how to integrate relevant sustainable development issues at the various stages of the procurement process. It replaces the Joint Note on Environmental Issues in Purchasing issued in 1999 by HMT and DETR. Followed properly, there should be no conflict between relevant sustainable development objectives and obtaining value for money. Indeed, there will be synergies between them, for instance in purchasing energy efficient goods that reduce whole life costs.
We are keen that consideration of environmental impacts should be built in right at the start of the procurement process (at the business case and specification stages), when options are being considered, as this approach is likely to have most potential to contribute to sustainable development objectives, as well as being more appropriate under the EC rules. The consideration of whole life costs is important at these early stages, as well as at the award stage.
This revised guidance signals our support for sustainable procurement across government and meets one of the headline recommendations of the Sustainable Procurement Group. Defra and OGC will continue to work closely together with other departments and the Government's central buying agencies OGCbuying.solutions and NHS PASA on minimum standards for commonly purchased products, departmental environmental procurement strategies, ongoing development of sustainable product information and environmental risk assessment for larger procurement projects. These will be progressed
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primarily under the procurement section of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.
Our first priority is for environmental procurement to become embedded across the board in Government purchasing, in order to build upon the progress already made in this area. The understanding, by purchasers, of the scope to consider social issues in procurement is less developed, and further discussion of this by the cross-Government Sustainable Procurement Group is planned, leading towards more comprehensive guidance.
Sustainable procurement will not be achieved overnight, but this guidance is a vital first step to put in place the structures to support and encourage all those involved in government procurement in delivering this important commitment. Copies of the Joint Note on Environmental Issues in Purchasing have been placed in the Library and can also be found online at www.ogc.gov.uk/ or http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/sdig/improving/contextf.htm
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Equality and Human Rights
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Minister for Women (Ms Patricia Hewitt): A fair and prosperous Britain must provide opportunity for all. A society that is to flourish must make full use of the talents of all its members. Thriving societies and economies are based on strong, cohesive communities where diversity is celebrated as a strength and discrimination tackled.
Equality matters to everyone—it is not a minority concern.
Last October the Government launched the consultation document "Equality and Diversity: Making it Happen" to seek views on the role, priorities and structure for Great Britain's statutory equality institutions in the new century to help meet this vision of a cohesive and prosperous society.
The consultation drew a strong response from a wide range of interested groups and individuals. I am placing a summary of those responses and copies of the responses themselves in the Libraries of both Houses.
In the light of the consultation the Government have concluded that a single body represents the best option for realising its vision of a fairer, more inclusive and prosperous Britain. A single equality body provides an effective and flexible framework for supporting our equality legislation as well as underlining the importance of equality as a mainstream concern.
Many respondents also highlighted the potential role a new body might play in providing support for human rights as well as equality. The government also considered carefully the sixth report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which called for integrated institutional support for human rights and equality. We have therefore decided that the new body's remit should cover the promotion of human rights together with its equality responsibilities.
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The Government recognises the crucial contribution to the diversity agenda already made by the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission and the need for a single body to build on and protect the programmes they have put in place. Role of the New Body
The working title of the body will be the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. It will promote an inclusive agenda, underlining the importance of equality for all in society as well as working to combat discrimination affecting specific groups. It will promote equal opportunities for all and tackle barriers to participation. It will play a key role in building a new, inclusive sense of British citizenship and identity in which shared values of respect, fair treatment and equal dignity are recognised as underpinning a cohesive, prosperous society. It will promote a culture of respect for human rights, especially in the delivery of public services.
I intend to publish a White Paper next spring making detailed proposals for the body and seeking comments. At this point the Government has reached no conclusions on key issues such as the governance of the body and its internal structure. A range of views on these and other questions were expressed during the consultation, which need further examination and debate with interested stakeholders. I am therefore establishing a task force with members reflecting the interests concerned to provide advice on these issues. This reflects the Government's commitment to an open and transparent process for developing the new body. The task force will include representatives of the existing commissions and the new anti-discrimination strands of sexual orientation, religion and belief, and age. It will also include members with a particular interest in human rights as well as people from Scotland, Wales and other interests.
The responses to the White Paper will inform the preparation of legislation to establish a single body which will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows. Late 2006 would be the earliest that the new body can be established.
There was a strong call in the consultation for the body's arrangements in Scotland and Wales to fit well with devolved legislation, institutions and policies and for its policies to take account of the social, cultural and economic circumstances of Scotland and Wales. The Government will set out proposals for the Commission's Scottish and Welsh arrangements in the White Paper to be published next spring. Key Priorities for the New Commission
The Government looks forward to the Commission's priorities being defined through continuing consultation and debate. However, the Government believe the following principles should underline its work:
- Promoting equality and diversity in the round, fostering understanding of their importance in underpinning a prosperous and cohesive society; promoting a culture of respect for human rights and acceptance of the responsibilities that go with them.
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Giving full attention to the specific needs of individual groups who receive legislative protection against discrimination, ensuring the availability of relevant skills and expertise.
Improving support for individuals through better and more accessible provision of services, particularly advice and information.
Working in partnership with business and public sector organisations, meeting the requirement expressed strongly by business and others for a single, accessible source of advice and guidance covering the breadth of legislative obligations as well as advice and support on good practice.
Mainstreaming equality and human rights in the public sector and public service delivery. Key tools will be the promotion and enforcement of the Race Relations Amendment Act statutory duty on public bodies to promote equality of opportunity, the planned disability duty, awareness of the duties under the Human Rights Act and working to encourage good practice in equality and human rights generally.
Developing partnerships with a range of bodies at regional and local level, including statutory, voluntary and business organisations, to deliver local, accessible information and advice to individuals, public sector bodies and businesses.
Bringing a strategic, modern approach to enforcement of equality legislation supported by up to date enforcement tools.
Promoting community cohesion through providing support to local initiatives to promote dialogue and understanding between different communities and groups, where relevant drawing upon the balance between rights and responsibilities contained in the Human Rights Act.
We will therefore ensure that the single body has robust and transparent means of ensuring that the voices of specific groups are heard and that they have a significant role in steering the policy and approach of the body on matters of concern to their strand. We will also ensure that strand specific work is clearly identified, supported and attracts appropriate priority, visibility and profile within the organisation; and that fit for purpose governance and organisational structures are developed which reflect this approach.
Disabled people and their organisations have raised concerns that a single equality body should meet their particular needs. The Government recognise the distinctive aspects of the disability rights agenda and the concerns above that reflect the relatively recent establishment of the Disability Rights Commission and the fact that there has been relatively little time for the distinctive disability rights legislation to take hold. There is also a demanding programme of disability legislative reform over the next few years requiring sustained and major campaigns of information, advice, publicity and guidance to ensure effective implementation.
Our White Paper will put forward proposals developed in conjunction with key stakeholder interests to deal with these and other related concerns.
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