Download or read book BBC annual report and accounts 2006 07 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-01-22 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Culture, Media and Sport Committee's oral evidence session on the BBC annual report and accounts 2006-07 was followed up with some written questions. The Committee has concerns about the structure and content of the BBC reply to those questions. In particular it is not clear why the BBC Trust takes different views on transparency of employee costs and on transparency of talent (presenters or actors etc) costs, and why grouping of payments in bands for one but not the other presents data protection or breach of confidence issues. The Committee also questions why viewing figures for BBC3 are given in three-minute reach figures rather than the standard 15-minute reach used throughout the annual report, and why the BBC3 figures excluding repeats of BB1 programmes were not provided. On Freesat, a joint venture to provide a national satellite-based free-to-view digital service, the failure to disclose the contribution of the licence-fee payer is held to be unreasonable. The Committee would like greater clarity about who speaks for the BBC: the Trust or Executive. Future responses should make clear where accountability lies for particular issues, and the BBC should take a more constructive approach to responding to Parliamentary scrutiny.

Download or read book The work of the Committee in 2007 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-01-23 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: work of the Committee In 2007 : First report of session 2007-08, report, together with formal Minutes

Download or read book The draft Local Transport Bill and the Transport Innovation Fund written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-08-03 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The draft Local Transport Bill consists of a package of measures intended to promote stronger joint working between local authorities and bus operators, to support the introduction of local road pricing schemes and to enable changes to be made to local transport governance. This report follows the structure of the draft Bill. Although the remarks are related to specific clauses some of the recommendations have a more general application. Included with the report is consideration of the Transport Innovation Fund, which is closely linked to congestion and the draft Bill. The Committee is however unhappy that at the end of their inquiry the Secretary of State announced further consultation on parts of the Bill related to the powers and status of the traffic commissioners on reform of the Bus Service Operators' Grant and transitional arrangements for quality contract schemes.

Download or read book Draft Cultural Property Armed Conflicts Bill written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Culture, Media and Sport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The draft Bill published as Cm. 7298 (ISBN 9780101729826)

Download or read book Securing food supplies up to 2050 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009-07-21 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The long-term securing of the UK's food supplies is a fundamental responsibility of Government. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) must concentrate on building capacity in the food and farming industries so that they can respond to market signals in ways that will reduce the risk of food shortages. Producing sufficient food is only part of the challenge: how food is produced is equally important. The Committee notes that increases in production will have to take place in the context of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the food system, reducing reliance on fossil fuel-derived inputs, and conserving soil and water. Consumer engagement will be vital if Defra is to achieve its vision for the UK food system. The report does not advocate food self-sufficiency for the UK and emphasises the importance of strong trading relationships with a variety of countries. Defra's response to the challenge of securing food supplies must take place in a European and global context. The focus of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy must be on sustainable food production, whilst encouraging European farmers to make their contribution to meeting the world's future food demands. The Committee also highlights the development of "food colonialism" or "land grabbing"- a phenomenon that involves the large-scale acquisition of land overseas by wealthy investors in order to grow food for people in the investor country. The report also calls for an urgent increase in spending on public-sector food and farming research.

Download or read book The last report written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Science and Technology Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-11-07 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 28 June 2007, the Prime Minister announced changes to the machinery of Government that had an impact upon the select committee system within the House of Commons. As a result, the Science and Technology Select Committee will be dissolved and replaced by a new Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee at the beginning of the next session of Parliament. This Report explains the role that the Science and Technology Committee has played within Parliament and the science community. It outlines the Committee's innovations, its impact and concerns regarding future science scrutiny in the House of Commons. It concludes that, in the long term, a separate Science and Technology Committee is the only way to guarantee a permanent focus on science across Government within the select committee system and recommends that the House be given an opportunity to revisit this issue.

Download or read book The future of the UK s strategic nuclear deterrent written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-03-07 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government white paper (Cm 6994, ISBN 9780101699426) recommended the renewal of the Trident system, and wanted a decision made in 2007 as delay would imperil the UK's security. This report analyses the white paper's findings and conclusions, and explores the key issues and questions which should be addressed in the debate on the future of the deterrent. The Committee reports some disagreement with the Government's timetable for procurement of new submarines. The reduction in the total number of warheads is welcomed, but as the number deployed on submarines is not to change the Committee is uncertain of the operational significance of this measure. The Committee would also like clarification of the nature and geographical scope of what the Government considers the UK's "vital interests" for which the nuclear deterrent exists. There appears to be no legal consensus that the proposals are consistent with all of the UK's international obligations, in particular the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, so political considerations will govern the renewal decision. Detailed estimates of the costs are vital to inform the debate. The Committee acknowledges the Government's efforts at openness on this matter.

Download or read book Scrutiny of Mental Health Legislation written by Great Britain. Parliament. Joint Committee on Human Rights and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this Report, the Joint Committee on Human Rights considers: the draft Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice; draft guidance on Bournewood patients (people who lack capacity to consent to the arrangements made for their care, where those arrangements amount to a deprivation of liberty); and the Government's approach to the Council of Europe Recommendation (2004/10) on the protection of the human rights and dignity of persons with mental disorder. This paper builds on two previous reports published by the Committee on the Mental Health Bill during its passage through Parliament in 2006-07 ('Legislative Scrutiny: Seventh Progress Report (HL 112 / HC 555)', ISBN 9780104010754; and 'Legislative Scrutiny: Mental Health Bill (HL 40 / HC 288)', ISBN 9780104010136), both of which are available to purchase below.

Download or read book Justice Delayed written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008-12-15 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report contains the Committee's views on the Ombudsman's report on the prudential regulation of Equitable Life throughout the 1990's until it was forced to close to new business in December 2000. Noting aswell that, now eight years later, the situation remains unresolved. The Committee feels that the Government should, without further delay, accept the Ombudsman's findings of maladministration on the part of the former Department of Trade and Industry, the Government Actuary's Department, and the Financial Services Authority. They support the Ombusman's recommendation for a full and unreserved apology from those public bodies concerned. There are valid arguments to be had about the means of providing redress, but there is concern that the Government may choose to act as judge on its own behalf by refusing to accept that maladministration took place. This would seroiusly undermine the Ombudsman;s office and the ability to learn lessons from the Equiable Life affair. The Committee also strongly supports the recommendation for a compensation scheme. Where regulators have been shown to fail so thoroughly, compensation should be a duty, not a matter of choice. While the aim should be restore individuals to the position they would have been had the maladministration not occurred, it is essential that the public purse benefits from an appropriate measure of protection. In particular, the emphasis must be on compensating individuals only for that loss that is fairly attributable to regulatory failure. Further, despite the basic presumption that loss must be accurately assessed, the main priority must be prompt resress. Policyholders have already been waiting almost a decade and substantial numbers have either died or are advancing in years. Justice delayed will mean justice denied to even more people.

Download or read book Existing Housing and Climate Change written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The UK contains more than 26 million homes which, collectively, emitted 41.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2004, representing more than a quarter of the UK's emission of the main greenhouse gas driving climate change. The Government plans that the three million more households to be added to the housing stock over the next 12 years will be as carbon-neutral as modern building methods, technologies and regulation can make them. But the Government must pay as much attention to reducing the carbon footprint of the existing housing stock, given the UK's challenging target of reducing carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050. Domestic energy efficiency measures taken since 1970 have halved what UK domestic energy demand would otherwise be, but the amount of energy used now needs to decline sharply if the target is to be achieved. Chapters examine: regulation and encouragement; financial incentives; energy performance certificates; breaching the barriers to change; newer technologies; older buildings. There are many existing means to achieve rapid reductions in carbon emissions. such as cavity-wall insulation, loft insulation, double-glazing, condensing boilers, more efficient lighting. One problem is that of engaging with a greater proportion of the population and convincing them of the need for action. The proposed Green Homes Service due in late 2008 should provide a one-stop source of information for householders to overcome this "information barrier" to quick, simple and cost-effective action in many homes. The Committee believes that substantial and rapid change is possible if millions of individuals and families can be encouraged to rise to the challenge.

Download or read book The performance of the Department for Transport written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-04 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report the Transport Committee calls on the Government to implement the vision for transport - including improved traffic flows on motorways, rail electrification and high speed rail, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport - that has been established under the current Secretary of State, Lord Adonis. The Department has made progress in a number of important areas, both recently and over the past decade, and has also established a new sense of direction, despite a too-frequent change of ministers. The Committee reviews progress against the Government's integrated transport plan, 'Transport 2010', which was adopted in 2000. Whilst much has been achieved, the ambition to build up to 25 light rail lines has not. It calls on the Government to publish a comprehensive progress report against the targets that it set itself. It also calls for strong action on local bus services which, outside London, are still not integrated with other local transport services. Bus use outside London continues to decline, apart from a slight increase after the introduction of free bus travel for older and disabled people. The Committee calls for full implementation of the Local Transport Act which gives local authorities powers to introduce bus quality partnerships and quality contracts; and for the Traffic Commissioners to be given adequate resources to carry out punctuality monitoring.

Download or read book Human Rights Annual Report 2007 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Human rights annual report 2007 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published as Command paper Cm. 7340 (ISBN 9780101734028)

Download or read book Justice Denied written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the Committee's response to the Government's response (HC 41-!, session 2008-09, ISBN 9780215525536) to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's 4th report of session 2007-08 (HC 815, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780102957303).

Download or read book DIUS s Departmental Report 2008 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Departmental report published as Cm. 7392 (ISBN 9780101739221)

Download or read book Coastal towns written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Communities and Local Government Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2007-11-21 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government's first response (Cm. 7126, ISBN 97801017712620) to the Committee's report on coastal towns (2nd report session 2006-07, HCP 351, ISBN 9780215032843) was not well-received by the Committee, other members of Parliament and organisations such as the British Resorts and Destinations Association. It was felt that the response failed to recognise the necessity for specific measures to support coastal communities. The Committee requested a more considered response from the new Secretary of State. The further response is published as appendix 3. The Government now accepts a number of the Committee's recommendations, especially the need for further research on the challenges facing these communities, and the disproportionately high rise in the number of people claiming sickness and disability benefit. The Committee welcomes the Government's intention to establish a cross-departmental working group on issues affecting coastal towns and its commitment to establish a coastal areas network supported by Government and the regional development agencies.

Download or read book Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report considers the case for Parliament to be able to initiate and conduct inquiries into serious and significant matters of public concern. It takes up the recommendationmade by this committiee's predecessor Committee (in the Government by Inquiry Report) that there should be a parliamentary mechanism for initiating inquiries. These would take the form of Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry, composed of parliamentarians and others. In the Report, the committee examines the justification for creating Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry in particular, that they would enable Parliament to hold the Executive to account more effectively. Then it covers some of the practical issues involved in setting up inquiries of this nature: how Parliament could instigate an inquiry, its composition, and its operation and powers. The committee concludes that it is crucial, in constitutional sense, that Parliament has the necessary powers and abilities to scrutinise the Executive and hold it to account. Proper parliamentary scrutiny should include the ability to establish and undertake inquiries into significant matters of public concern. Parliament has, in the past, conducted investigationsof this kind and as the great forum of the nation, should be expected to do so. The committee's recommendation for Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry would promoteeffective parliamentary accountability by creating a process for Parliament to initiate inquirieswhere it rather than the Executive sees fit.

Download or read book The Work of the Committee in Session 2008 09 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2009 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: work of the Committee in Session 2008-09 : Second report of session 2009-10, report, together with formal Minutes