SCPO PARLIAMENTARY UPDATE JUNE 2009

(A) PROGRESS OF LEGISLATION

Click on title to follow link to Westminster Bill page

1.           Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill [HL]: Lords Prov Comm 16/06; 18/06

2.          Business Rate Supplements Bill: Lords Prov 3R 16/06

3.          Coroners and Justice Bill: Lords Prov Comm  23/06

4.          Equality Bill: Commons Prov Comm 16/06; 18/06

5.          Finance Bill: Commons Prov Comm 16/06; 18/06

6.          Health Bill [HL]: Commons Prov Comm 16/06; 18/06

7.          Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill [HL]: Commons Prov Comm 16/06; 18/06

8.          Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]: Lords Prov 2R 23/06

9.          Policing and Crime Bill: Lords Prov Comm 22/06

10.       Political Parties and Elections Bill: Lords Prov Rep 17/06; Prov 3R 24/06

11.        Postal Services Bill [HL]: Commons Prov 2R no date

12.       Saving Gateway Accounts Bill: Lords Prov 3R 17/06

                              13.       Welfare Reform Bill: Lords Prov Comm 18/06; 22/06; 25/06; 30/06; 02/07

 

 

(B) CURRENT CONSULTATIONS

 

Click on title to follow link to consultation page. Date in brackets is consultation closing date.

                                                                              

·         European Commission proposals to amend the Pregnant Workers Directive (22 June)

·         Free-to-air listed events review (3 Jul)

·         Justice Issues in Europe (10Jul) Call for evidence issued by Commons Justice Committee. One of the major tasks of the Swedish EU Presidency (beginning July 2009) is to develop a new five-year programme for justice and home affairs-the ‘Stockholm programme’.  Questions asked in this consultation include: How action taken at a European level on justice issues has affected people? What has worked well and what has not worked?

·         A Safer Way: Consultation on Making Britain's Roads the Safest in the World (14 Jul) Seeking views on the vision, targets and measures for improving road safety in Great Britain for the period beyond 2010.

·         Promoting High Standards of Conduct by Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) Internationally (17 Jul)

·         Protecting the Public in a Changing Communications Environment (20Jul)

·         UK Consultation on the European Commission Proposal for an Equal Treatment Directive (28 Jul) Seeking views to inform the UK Government’s further consideration of a proposed European Commission Directive to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation outside the areas of employment and vocational training.  There must be unanimity amongst all member states before this Directive is adopted.

·         Smart Metering for Electricity and Gas (3 Aug) Proposals relating to the roll-out of smart meters to all domestic households by 2020. 

·         Oversight of the Immigration Advice Sector (6 Aug)

·         Draft guidance on how to measure and report your greenhouse gas emissions (7 Aug)

·         Reforming the Medical Statement (19 Aug) Proposals to change the traditional ‘sick line’ from GP’s with a ‘fit note’; amending the regulations that lay out how medical statements are done to include an option, “may be fit for some work now” and rationalising some of the medical categories. 

·         Implementation of the EU Agency worker directive (31 Aug) Proposals to implement this directive on the basis of the CBI/TUC agreement of May 2008 which allows for equal treatment to apply after a temporary agency worker has been in a given job for 12 weeks.

·         Proposals for A Future Exemptions Regime under The Radioactive Substances Act 1993 and The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 (4 Sept)

·         Voting rights of convicted prisoners detained within the United Kingdom (29 Sept)

·         Making choice and control a reality for disabled people – Consultation on the Right to Control (30 Sept)

 

                (C) REPORTS, NEWS and EARLY DAY MOTIONS

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ASYLUM, MIGRATION AND REFUGEES

BENEFITS
DEFENCE
ECONOMY
EMPLOYMENT

JUSTICE
PEOPLE AND PARLIAMENT
SCOTTISH AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
SOCIAL EXCLUSION

TRANSPORT

ASYLUM, MIGRATION AND REFUGEES

• Asylum applications rose by 33% in the first quarter of 2009 compared with Q1 2008, at 8380, mainly driven by Zimbabwean applications the Government reported. In Q1 2009, 5,145 initial asylum decisions were made, excluding dependants; 59% of initial decisions were refusals, 29% were granted asylum and 12% were granted Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave.

·         The Home Affairs Committee published a report on Human Trafficking in the UK which estimated that, despite a lack of robust and collected data, between 100,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked into the EU each year.  About 330 children are trafficked into the UK each year and 60% of child victims go missing from local authority care. 

·         The report recommends raising public awareness and training public officials in the various indicators of forced labour; and found that enforcement of the minimum wage and accommodation regulations in the gangmaster sector was, “at best patchy and at worst non-existent.”

·         The then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced details of a policy U-turn that will allow more Gurkha veterans to settle in the UK.  All former Gurkhas with at least four years service will be allowed to move to Britain with their families.  As opposition parties welcomed the decision, Smith said, "I'm making resources available to do this and making it clear there should be no time limit on these applications."

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BENEFITS

·         Writing to the Prime Minister announcing his resignation, in a letter that was also sent to a number of newspapers, Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said, "We need to show that we are prepared to fight to be a credible government and have the courage to offer an alternative future. I am therefore calling on you to stand aside to give our party a fighting chance of winning."  Yvette Cooper is the new Work and Pensions Secretary.

·         Statistics published by HMRC showed that in 2007-08 6 million families and 10 million children received child and working tax credits; and 336,000 working people on low incomes without children received tax credits, up 10% on the previous year.  The level of overpayments was £1b, less than half the level of 2003-04, with the average size of overpayments at £705.

DEFENCE 

·         In response to a written Parliamentary question, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office revealed it had spent £48.9m on private security between July 2007 and June 2008 continues “to provide guarding of our staff and missions in high-threat environments such as Iraq and Afghanistan.”

·         The MOD announced a review into its policy on the role of women in close combat roles.  The review, required under the Equal Treatment Directive in EC law, will build on the last review in 2002 which recommended that the traditional policy that only male personnel should be deployed in close combat situations should be continued. 

• Since the last review, combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan where there are often no discernible "front lines" has led to female soldiers unavoidably being at risk of coming into direct contact with their opponents.  1 in 5 British soldiers deployed to Afghanistan has been female.

ECONOMY

·         The Treasury Committee published its third report on the Banking Crisis looking at the issue of corporate governance and pay in the City.  The Committee concluded that the banking crisis exposed serious flaws and shortcomings in remuneration practices in the banking sector and that bonus-driven remuneration structures encouraged reckless and excessive risk-taking and were not aligned with the interests of shareholders and the long-term sustainability of the banks.

EMPLOYMENT

·         The Government announced the lowest increase in the minimum wage since it was introduced in 1999, between 4p-7p dependent on age.  From October 2010 21 year-olds will be moved on to the adult rate, having previously been 22 year olds and over.  

·         Following a consultation, the Government announced that from October, tips will no longer be allowed to count towards raising workers' pay up to the minimum wage.  Employers will, however, still be under no obligation to pass on any gratuities prompting calls from trade unions for the Government to go further to ensure a "fully transparent tipping system". 

JUSTICE

·         The Home Office published statistics on terrorism arrests and outcomes between the period 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2008 during which time there were 1471 terrorism arrests.  35% resulted in a charge, 9% had alternative action taken and 56% were released without charge. 

PEOPLE & PARLIAMENT

·            Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin MP is to stand down from his position "in order that unity can be maintained" on 21 June, making way for the election of a new Speaker on 22 June. Mr Martin felt that his position as Speaker was untenable as he faced criticism for the way he handled the MPs expenses scandal.

·            The Commons Procedure Committee has published a report into the Parliamentary e-petitions system, urging the Government to approve the funding required for the e-petitions system in line with recommendations they agreed to in July 2008. 

·            Two Labour Lords have been suspended from the House of Lords until the end of the Parliamentary session after being found guilty of breaching parliamentary rules by offering to seek amendments to legislation in return for payments of up to £120,000.  Two other Labour peers implicated in the affair, former Scottish MP Lord Moonie and Lord Snape, were cleared of any wrongdoing but ordered to apologise to the Lords for "inappropriate" conduct.

·            The Boundary Commission for Scotland published revised recommendations for constituencies and provisional proposals for regions for the Scottish Parliament.  Under the proposals which are now open to consultation until 21 June, Scotland keeps its total of 73 Holyrood constituency seats and eight regions but boundaries are rejigged to take account of population changes since the 1990s.

·            Following a number of resignations, Gordon Brown reshuffled the Cabinet.  Hazel Blears, John Hutton, Jacqui Smith and James Purnell were the most senior departures.  Sir Alan Sugar has been brought in as Enterprise Tsar; Alan Johnson is the new Home Secretary, Bob Ainsworth the new Defence Secretary and Lord Mandelson has been elevated to first Secretary of State. 

·            Gordon Brown announced plans to set up a National Democratic Council to make recommendations for a major shake-up of the UK’s constitution to report in time for inclusion in the next Labour Party manifesto.  Matters the new council would consider include a Bill of Rights, a written constitution, voting at age 16, extending freedom of information and reform of the House of Lords.

SCOTTISH AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

·         The Scottish Affairs Committee published a report in Credit Unions in Scotland calling on the UK Government to cap interest rates on loans across the whole of the financial sector as currently exists for credit unions.  The report also agrees with the aim of the credit union movement across the UK to recruit more affluent members and says there has "never been a better time for credit unions to build on their existing success and raise their public profile. 

·         A row broke out with the Scottish Government as the report expresses disappointment that ring-fenced funding for credit unions from the Scottish Government has decreased from £2.7m before 2008 to only £250,000 now.  The Scottish Government insisted that this only represents a tiny amount of the possible funds credit unions can access as they can also apply to a wider £42m fund.  .  

SOCIAL EXCLUSION

·         Figures from the Department for Work and Pensions showed that Britain is a more unequal country than at any time since modern records began in the early 1960s; with levels of deprivation and inequality rising for a third successive year in 2007-08.  Since 2005 the poorest 10% of households have seen weekly incomes fall by £9 a week to £147 once inflation is accounted for, while those in the richest 10% of homes have enjoyed a £45 a week increase to £1,033.

·         The Treasury Committee published a report on the 2009 Budget voicing concern over the "the lack of any substantial measure to combat child poverty in both the Pre-Budget Report 2008 and Budget 2009."  The report also highlighted that of the anticipated 3m unemployed this year, 40% will be under the age of 25. 

TRANSPORT

·         The Environmental Audit Committee published a report on “Reducing CO2 and other emissions from shipping” insisting that the Government must work out the UK’s share of global emissions from shipping and commission research on the level of emissions that would be compatible with delivering the objective of limiting global warming to 2ºC.