Policy Statements and Initiatives
MoD: Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, has announced that approval has been given for the early phase of design of the submarine that will deliver the UK's nuclear deterrent well into the 2060s. The submarines that will replace the existing Vanguard Class will be powered by a new nuclear propulsion system known as the Pressurised Water Reactor 3.
Under this next phase, contracts are likely to cost in the region of £3bn. Overall, it is estimated that the submarines will be within the £11-14bn estimate set out in the 2006 White Paper. As part of the Value for Money Study conducted alongside the Strategic Defence and Security Review, it was concluded that the MoD could demonstrate its commitment to disarmament by reducing the number of warheads & missiles carried on our submarines and this work is already underway.
HO: Music festival organisers have been asked to review their measures for tackling illicit drug use at their events by Baroness Browning, the government's new minister for crime prevention & antisocial behaviour reduction. In an open letter to all the major summer events, Baroness Browning also expressed her concern over the demand for so-called 'legal highs' and called for increased vigilance.
Newswire – CCC: The Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, Chris Huhne, has made an oral statement to the House in which he announced that Government would accept the Committee on Climate Change's recommendations on the 4th Carbon Budget (2023-2027) in full.
This will legislate a cut in emissions of 50% (on 1990 levels) by 2025 and will put the UK on track to meeting the 2050 target (an 80% reduction in emissions). It will limit emissions over the budget period to 1,950 MTCO2e across all sectors of the economy.
CLG: Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced a definition for zero carbon homes that ‘strikes the right balance between delivering the zero carbon homes for the future and creating the right conditions to get the homes the country needs built’. Tough standards for fabric energy efficiency (insulation, glazing) will be included in future changes to the Building Regulations.
Press release & links ~ Written ministerial statement: Buildings and the environment ~ Zero Carbon Club ~ Zero carbon homes: Impact assessment
ScotGov: The new Scottish Government's 2020 renewable electricity target has been raised to 100%. First Minister, Alex Salmond, has also launched an online portal showcasing Scotland's burgeoning offshore wind sector and announced the signing of a new strategic agreement between the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney and the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) in Nova Scotia, Canada, to collaborate on the development & deployment of power generation from the sea.
Scotland has an estimated quarter of Europe's offshore wind & tidal energy resource and 10% of its potential wave capacity. Lease agreements have been secured for offshore wind developments in Scottish waters with the potential to generate around 10 GigaWatts of electricity by 2020, while similar agreements have been signed for 6 wave & 5 tidal projects in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters with a potential capacity to generate 1.6 GW.
Press release & links ~ Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) ~ Related ScotGov PR: New marine energy projects
BIS: Changes to Intellectual Property systems could add up to £7.9bn to the UK’s economy, the first report looking at how it can drive growth said last week. The publication of Digital Opportunity follows a 6-month independent review of IP & Growth, led by Professor Ian Hargreaves. He was asked to consider how the national & international IP system can best work to promote innovation and growth.
His recommendations aim to give the UK a competitive advantage – and put it on a par with international competitors. Taken together, they have the potential to add up to 0.6% to annual GDP and to cut the costs of doing business with IP-related business by £750m within a decade.
BIS: A Government commissioned report has been published on how best to transfer Post Office Ltd from Government ownership into a mutual run for the public benefit. The proposals in the report by Co-operatives UK, the trade association for co-operative enterprises, would give the local owners of Post Office branches – the sub-postmasters – together with employees, charities, customers and local communities, a much greater say in how the network is run.
Ministers believe that transferring ownership of Post Office Ltd – not the privately owned individual branches - to a mutual could better align these interests and help secure a positive future for the network. The core purpose of the Post Office is to operate for the public benefit and this should be entrenched, with legal safeguards, for perpetuity.
The Postal Services Bill, which is currently being scrutinised & debated by the House of Lords, includes provisions for 2 alternative ownership structures of Post Office Ltd: either Government continuing to hold 100% of the shares or the Post Office being reconstituted as a mutual that is run in the public benefit.
DfT: Inflation busting rises in rail fares could become a thing of the past if the £1bn annual cost savings in the railways envisaged in a report published last week are achieved, the Government has said. Responding to Sir Roy McNulty’s independent Rail Value for Money study, Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond welcomed the report and emphasised the need to reduce the cost of our railways.
The recommendations of Sir Roy’s highly detailed report entitled ‘Realising the Potential of GB Rail’ will now be considered and will feed into Government proposals to reform the rail industry to be published later in the year.
Press release ~ Sir Roy McNulty’s independent Rail Value for Money study: Realising the Potential of GB Rail ~ TUC comment ~ CBI comment
DfT: Government strategy to tackle congestion caused by motorway closures and drive down the £1bn annual cost to the economy has been unveiled by Roads Minister, Mike Penning, ahead of a national summit. The Minister also announced the launch of a £3m fund for police forces to purchase laser scanning technology to speed up of the investigation process and incident clear up times.
A 10 point action plan will help ensure that closures take place only when they are absolutely necessary and for the minimum amount of time. This will help keep traffic moving, supporting economic growth for the future prosperity of the country.
Press release & links ~ Review of Investigation and Closure Procedures for Motorway Incidents - Preliminary Report
MoD: PM David Cameron informed the House of Commons Liaison Committee last week that around 400 UK military personnel had already, or would early in the New Year, leave Afghanistan.
DfT: Over 400 Whitehall road transport regulations have been placed on the Red Tape Challenge website – a Government-wide site aimed at reducing bureaucracy - for 4 weeks. It asks everyone whether they think that a regulation is well designed and provides vital protections, or is badly designed, badly implemented or simply a bad idea.
ScotGov: The Scottish Government's new Cabinet team has been announced by First Minister Alex Salmond, subject to the necessary parliamentary approval.
