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European Court of Human Rights: B and L v United Kingdom
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): On 13 September 2005 judgment was given in the case of B and L v United Kingdom. This case concerned an application before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg challenging the Marriage Act 1949 prohibition on the marriage of parents-in-law to children-in-law. It was held that the prohibition was in violation of Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Government have accepted this judgment and intend to implement it by amending the Marriage Act 1949 by way of a remedial order. Subject to parliamentary approval, this amendment, when in force, will allow marriages between parents and children-in-law. The Government will lay a document containing a draft remedial order and the other information required by the Human Rights Act 1998 before Parliament shortly.
The parallel provisions in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Schedule 1, Paragraphs 3 and 9; Schedule 27, Paragraph 13 and 17 (in part)) will not be commenced so that same-sex couples that wish to form a civil partnership will have parity of treatment in this regard.
General Commissioners: Amalgamation of Divisions
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: On 21 November 2005 I made an order under Section 2(6) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 amalgamating a number of divisions in Kent, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Devon, Suffolk, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire as follows.
With effect from 1 December 2005
Dartford and Gravesend Divisions are merged into Dartford and Gravesend Division.
Bath and Barton Regis with Grumbalds Ash Divisions are merged into Bath, Barton Regis and Grumbalds Ash Division.
With effect from 1 January 2006
Axminster, Crediton, Exeter City, Sidmouth and Tiverton Divisions are merged into Exeter and East Devon Division.
Bury St Edmunds and Lackford Divisions are merged into West Suffolk Division.
Ipswich Borough and Woodbridge Divisions are merged into East Suffolk Division
Banbury and Brackley Divisions are merged into Banbury and Brackley Division.
North Nottingham and South Nottingham Divisions are merged into Nottingham Division.
With effect from 17 February 2006
All the amalgamations were made at the request of the general commissioners in all the divisions with the aim of improving the organisational efficiency of the divisions concerned. I have placed a copy of the order amalgamating the divisions in the Libraries of both Houses.
Inspectorate for Justice, Community Safety and Custody
The Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith): Today the Government will publish a policy statement announcing their intention to create a single inspectorate for justice, community safety and custody. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
The Government are committed to creating an independent and robust inspection regime for the justice system. In March a consultation exercise was launched that sought views on the purpose, function and future structure of inspection in this sector. The consultation period ended in June and after careful consideration of views the Government believe the best way to realise that ambition is to create a single inspectorate for justice, community safety and custody.
The policy statement outlines proposals for the design of the new inspectorate. Building on the excellent work done by the five existing inspectorates for the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, court administration, prisons and probation, the new inspectorate will be a modern organisation that provides a strong, expert and independent public voice and gives authoritative assurance and constructive criticism on how the system is working for the people who rely on it: victims, witnesses, defendants, jurors, convicted offenders, professionals and the wider public as its ultimate funder and beneficiary.
The new inspectorate will have a general duty to inspect and report on the functioning of the justice system and the delivery by the bodies within it of their duties relating to wider community safety. Inspection of and reporting on the treatment and conditions of those in prison and other specified forms of custody will be a special duty of the inspectorate.
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The Government look forward to working with those concerned with the future of the justice system to implement a unified and strongly led inspectorate that is forward-looking and focused on improving services so as to reduce crime and re-offending and promote confidence in the system as a whole.
Northern Ireland Compensation Agency: Corporate and Business Plan
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Rooker): My honourable friend the Minister of State for Northern Ireland (David Hanson) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
I have today published the Compensation Agency's combined corporate plan (2005–08) and business plan (2005–06). The corporate plan sets out the long-term strategic goals for the agency over the three-year period, and the business plan sets out the agency's key objectives and performance targets for the coming year.
Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Public Bodies Database
Lord Bassam of Brighton: In a Written Ministerial Statement of Thursday 10 February 2005 (Official Report, col. WS 46) it was announced that the previous annual Cabinet Office publication Public Bodies had been replaced by an online searchable database. I am pleased to announce that the 2005 update of the database has now been completed. Data on individual public bodies as at 31 March 2005 were made available online during the summer, and the package has now been completed with the provision of summary reports and a printable (pdf) file of all the 2005 data. The database is accessible at www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/ndpb/ndpb.nsf.
The database lists the public bodies sponsored by central government, with contact details, information about their remit and about the membership of their boards. The figures are broken down between male and female members for individual bodies, and summaries are provided at departmental level for the proportions of board members who are women, have declared they have a disability or come from a minority ethnic background.
Comparisons with 2004 database returns show that diversity levels have remained broadly similar. There has been a small increase in the proportion of appointees who have declared they have a disability, but a slight decrease in the percentage of appointments held by women and by people from minority ethnic backgrounds. This reinforces the Government's commitment to continue to pursue their diversity objectives and to promote outreach activity and plans.
The database also includes information about the Government's task forces, ad hoc advisory groups and reviews, giving a more complete picture of the bodies
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and groups working to deliver the Government's objectives.
Copies of a printed version of the pdf file are available in the Library.
Ship to Ship Transfers in the Firth of Forth
Lord Davies of Oldham: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Alistair Darling) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
Forth Ports plc has submitted a revised and amplified oil spill contingency plan to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
The revision and amplification of the plan has been prompted by proposals that ship to ship transfer of oil carried as cargo should take place within Forth Ports' harbour authority area. Ship to ship transfer is a lawful activity. Ship to ship transfers within harbour authority areas already take place in the UK at Scapa Flow, Sullom Voe Oil Terminal and Nigg Oil Terminal, in some cases for as long as 25 years.
The MCA's role is limited to approving harbour authorities' oil spill contingency plans to ensure that they address the potential risks of activities carried out in those areas, including ship to ship transfers. There is no provision for the MCA to reject an oil spill contingency plan submitted to it. It must either approve the plan or, if the plan is not compatible with the national contingency plan or is not appropriate for dealing with oil pollution incidents which may occur in the area in which the harbour authority or operator has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility, it may direct that the plan be altered. It is the duty of the harbour authority to alter the plan if so directed by the MCA. Failure to maintain the plan (with any directed alterations) or failure to implement the approved plan in the event of an oil pollution incident is a criminal offence.
The MCA will co-ordinate a public consultation to assess the implications for relevant nature conservation sites of Forth Ports' revised and amplified oil spill contingency plan. The consultation is designed to establish whether the revised and
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amplified plan will adversely affect the integrity of those nature conservation sites.
The Government have reached no view on the applicability of the ECJ judgment of 20 October 2005 on the Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, commonly known as the Habitats Directive, outside the context in which the case was brought.
However, the substantive provisions of that directive demonstrate the need for an additional activity—an appropriate assessment of the impact of the plan on the conservation objectives of designated protected sites in the Firth of Forth—which has not hitherto been explicitly addressed during the approval process but which, in my opinion, ought to be carried out as a matter of good policy.
Given the very strong interest which this subject has generated on local economic, environmental and public health grounds, I consider it entirely appropriate that such an assessment is conducted and taken into account when analysing the adequacy of the oil spill contingency plan to deal with incidents in the harbour authority's area of responsibility as the MCA is required to do under the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998.
The consultation will include the submitted oil spill contingency plan material and supporting information from Forth Ports and Scottish Natural Heritage. The consultation will assess the implications of the plan for the protected sites (in view of their conservation objectives) with a view to ascertaining whether the plan will adversely affect the integrity of the sites concerned.
The planned duration of the consultation exercise is 12 weeks. Time will also be required, after the consultation period is over, for the analysis and presentation of the results of the consultation.
At the end of this process, in the light of the consultation responses and taking into account the advice of Scottish Natural Heritage, the statutory nature conservation authority, the MCA will finalise its appropriate assessment and consider whether any amendments to the plan are needed.
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