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On 9 June 2008, Mrs Caroline Spelman, MP for Meriden, asked the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to investigate the circumstances of the employment of a member of her staff from 1997 to 1999, following press reports that parliamentary allowances may have been misused. The allegation is that Mrs Spelman subsidised the cost of nannying services out of her parliamentary allowances and that her administration assistant (Mrs Haynes) did not undertake secretarial or administrative duties to the extent for which she was paid. The Commissioner conducted a most thorough investigation and has concluded that the arrangements entered into by Mrs Spelman with Mrs Haynes had the unintended effect of misapplying some of Mrs Spelman's parliamentary allowances for non-parliamentary purposes. In effect there was an element of cross-subsidy. The Commissioner has reached this conclusion on the basis of the high standard of proof adopted by him for this inquiry, i.e. that it is significantly more likely to be true than not to be true. The Committee agrees with the Commissioner's conclusion that for two years from June 1997 Mrs Spelman paid Mrs Haynes from her parliamentary allowances a salary as her part-time administration assistant that enabled Mrs Haynes to work also as her nanny without additional or separate financial reward. This had the effect of misapplying part of Mrs Spelman's parliamentary allowances. This breach, which occurred at a time when both the Rules and expectations were less stringent than they are now, was unintentional. Mrs Spelman has accepted the Commissioner's findings and has agreed to pay back the misapplied sums.
The Government has pledged to reduce over 10,000 pages of regulatory guidance, following its 'Red Tape Challenge', to help businesses comply with environmental laws. But the MPs point out that regulations have an important role in safeguarding our health and the environment. The Government's strategy to create a green economy - 'Enabling the Transition to a Green Economy' - is too focused on voluntary action and fails to set a clear trajectory or any time-bound milestones for businesses to achieve. There is concern that introducing mandatory emissions reporting for big business has been delayed and Ministers are urged not to go back on their promise to do so. The recent financial crisis has demonstrated the clear risks from such a market-led approach, particularly when markets do not reflect the value of the services provided by nature - such as clean fresh water, pollination of crops, etc. This report urges the Government to: develop minimum sustainability standards; set out how data on natural capital in the National Accounts will be used; develop targets for improving the state of the environment and establish transparent reporting against such targets; and use the Natural Capital Committee's work on a 'natural asset stock check' as one of the basket of indicators used to measure the green economy. The Government should fully incorporate the principles of 'Enabling the Transition' into future revisions of the 'Plan for Growth'. Expenditure involved in making the transition to a green economy should be seen as an investment, not simply a cost.
Government response to HC 504, session 2010-11 (ISBN 9780215555816)
The European Commission proposes that 30% of 'direct payments' made to farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) would be conditional on compliance with three new 'greening' measures. While supporting the Commission's desire to improve the environment, the EFRA Committee rejects the approach proposed. Instead it calls for the EU to set high-level objectives for the CAP that provide for flexibility to apply the right measures for local conditions through 'decentralising' environmental protection under the CAP to Member States. This report highlights the huge benefit that UK 'agri-environment' schemes have brought to biodiversity, food production and the countryside. The Committee also urged Defra to ensure that the UK's tenant farmers should not be excluded from these schemes. The Committee concludes that Defra must ensure the balance of funding between mandatory and voluntary aspects of the CAP should not leave UK farmers at a competitive disadvantage relative to their counterparts in the rest of Europe. MPs also warn that measures proposed by the Commission would be even more complex than the current system - adding costly bureaucracy and generating more errors in the system. Likewise, the committee concludes that the Commission's crop diversification measure would in the UK have perverse consequences that are far less environmentally beneficial than crop rotation. Of the three 'greening' measures offered, the Commission's proposal for Ecological Focus Areas (EFA) has the potential to deliver the greatest environmental benefit. However, the lack of definitions within the proposals make it difficult to assess what, if any, such benefits would actually be delivered
The Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) has concluded a year-long inquiry into the future of the Civil Service with only one recommendation: that Parliament should establish a Joint Committee of both Houses to sit as a Commission on the future of the Civil Service. It should be constituted within the next few months and report before the end of the Parliament with a comprehensive change programme for Whitehall with a timetable to be implemented over the lifetime of the next Parliament. The Report considers the increased tensions between ministers and officials which have become widely reported, and places the problems in Whitehall in a wider context of a Civil Service built on the Northcote-Trevelyan settlement established in 1853 and the Haldane principles of ministerial accountability set out in 1919. The government's Civil Service Reform Plan lacks strategic coherence and clear leadership from a united team of ministers and officials. The Northcote-Trevelyan Civil Service remains the most effective way of supporting the democratically elected Government and future administrations in the UK. Divided leadership and confused accountabilities in Whitehall have led to problems: a low level of engagement amongst civil servants in some departments and agencies, and a general lack of trust and openness; the Civil Service exhibits the key characteristics of a failing organisation with the leadership are in denial about the scale of the challenge they face. There is a persistent lack of key skills and capabilities across Whitehall and an unacceptably high level of churn of lead officials, which is incompatible with good government.
The UK Government has been found guilty of failing to meet EU air quality targets in our cities, some of which will not meet the required limits until 2030. However, meeting EU standards should be the minimum requirement. Regardless of EU rulings it is unacceptable that UK citizens could have their health seriously impaired over decades before this public health problem is brought under control. The Government must act urgently to: The Government must act urgently to: update the 2007 Air Quality Strategy, adopting a cross-Government approach with clear demarcation of responsibilities between departments and between central and local government; meet EU nitrogen dioxide targets as soon as possible; engage with local authorities to establish best practice in tackling air pollution across the UK; introduce a national framework for low emission zones to help local authorities reduce air pollution; adjust planning guidance to protect air quality in local planning and development; build in air quality obligations to transport infrastructure; examine fiscal and other measures to gradually encourage a move away from diesel vehicles towards low emission options; close legal loopholes to end the practice of removing filter systems from existing vehicles; apply pressure at European level to ensure effective EU legislation and emission standards backed up by a robust testing regime; and Institute a national public awareness campaign to increase understanding, publicising the UK-AIR forecast website and encourage measures to reduce air pollution.
A report that includes the final report from Sir Thomas Legg on the review of past payments to Members of Parliament of Additional Costs Allowance (the 'second home allowance'), and the report from Sir Paul Kennedy on his decisions on appeals from MPs against Sir Thomas' rulings.
The true story of MI5's persecution of a British citizen across various countries since 1990. First the TV newscasters watched me while they read the news. Then co-workers were subverted which continued throughout my working life. MI5 sent people in the street to stalk me. On 17 November 2001 they ordered Americans to shoot me, and their plot failed. Finally in August 2005 began the Mind Control Torture which has continued ever since whereby security service agents read my thoughts and repeat them interspersed with swearing and sexual abuse.
The Government needs to show real commitment to dealing with the impact that HS2 will have on our countryside and wildlife. It is imperative that an infrastructure project on such a large scale implements proper environmental safeguards and ensures that impacts are minimised. That won't happen if HS2 Ltd can avoid implementing safeguards if they consider them to be 'impracticable' or 'unreasonable'. There needs to be a separate ring-fenced budget for these safeguards and for compensation, separate from the rest of the HS2 budget, to prevent the environment being squeezed if HS2 costs grow. The Government's aim of 'no net biodiversity loss' on HS2 is not good enough - it should aim for environmental gains that the Government promised in its white paper on the Natural Environment. In any case, the Government can't demonstrate it will cause no net harm because it has still not surveyed 40% of the land to be used. Ancient woodland should be treated with particular care. HS2 will damage some woodlands, and where that happens, compensation measures should be much higher than the level indicated in the calculation that HS2 Ltd will use. The HS2 Hybrid Bill will be given its second reading on 28 April, after which it will be referred to a dedicated select committee to examine 'petitions' against it. The Committee criticises the procedure's failure to fully address the requirements of EU and national directives on environmental assessments, which it wants to be at least partly rectified in the forthcoming Parliamentary proceedings