Eighth report of session 2009-10

Eighth report of session 2009-10
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2010-02-02
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215543752

Eighth report of Session 2009-10 : Documents considered by the Committee on 20 January 2010, including the following recommendations for debate, Enlargement strategy and main challenges 2009-2010; CSDP: piracy off the coast of Somalia; Financial managemen

Operations in Libya

Operations in Libya
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Defence Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 136
Release: 2012-02-08
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9780215041616

The Defence Committee believes that the Government will need to make some difficult decisions on prioritisation if it embarks on a future mission similar to the Libya operation now that the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) is taking effect. Although the UK was able to satisfy both operations in Libya and Afghanistan and its other standing tasks and commitments, the Libya operation was conducted before the implementation of many of the SDSR decisions on capability reductions. The Committee commends UK Armed Forces for their significant contribution to the successful conclusion of the Libya operation and comments on particular aspects and equipment used in the operation. It notes that at times the Royal Navy was unable to carry out several other important tasks owing to meeting the Libya commitment. Given the high levels of standing maritime commitments it is likely that this type of risk taking will occur more frequently as the outcomes of the SDSR are implemented. For the time being, there will continue to be a heavy reliance on US command and control functions for future NATO operations. The Committee also concerned that future NATO operations will not be possible if the US is not willing or able to provide capabilities such as unmanned aerial vehicles, intelligence and refuelling aircraft. It should be a priority for NATO to examine this over-reliance on US capabilities and assets. This challenge will be heightened by the US stated intention to shift its military, geographic and strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific region.

Free Speech after 9/11

Free Speech after 9/11
Author: Katharine Gelber
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2016-04-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0191083410

Although there has been a lot written about how counter-terrorism laws impact on human rights and civil liberties, most of this work has focussed on the most obvious or egregious kinds of human rights abrogation, such as extended detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition. Far less has been written about the complex ways in which Western governments have placed new and far-reaching limitations on freedom of speech in this context since 9/11. This book compares three liberal democracies - the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, in particular showing the commonalities and similarities in what has occurred in each country, and the changes in the appropriate parameters of freedom of speech in the counter-terrorism context since 9/11, achieved both in policy change and the justification for that change. In all three countries much speech has been criminalized in ways that were considered anachronistic, or inappropriate, in comparable policy areas prior to 9/11. This is particularly interesting because other works have suggested that the United States' unique protection of freedom of speech in the First Amendment has prevented speech being limited in that country in ways that have been pursued in others. This book shows that this kind of argument misses the detail of the policy change that has occurred, and privileges a textual reading over a more comprehensive policy-based understanding of the changes that have occurred. The author argues that we are now living a new-normal for freedom of speech, within which restrictions on speech that once would have been considered aberrant, overreaching, and impermissible are now considered ordinary, necessary, and justified as long as they occur in the counter-terrorism context. This change is persistent, and it has far reaching implications for the future of this foundational freedom.

Sessional returns

Sessional returns
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2010-07-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780215554451

On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees

Cable theft on the railway

Cable theft on the railway
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 84
Release: 2012-01-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780215041494

Last year over 35,000 journeys were delayed or cancelled due cable theft which also cost Network Rail more than £16m. Cable theft from the rail network is part of an increase in metal theft across the country made easy by the way in which stolen metal can be sold to scrap metal dealers. We need urgent reform to improve the audit trail generated by the scrap metal industry so that criminals selling stolen metal into the trade can be identified much more easily. The Committee calls for additional powers for the police to help them in their efforts to combat metal theft. The Government should introduce a new offence of aggravated trespass on the railway to help deter cable thieves. The British Transport Police should be given new powers so that officers can enter both registered and unregistered scrap metal sites along with additional resources to carry out their enforcement work". The Committee also recommends: i) The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 should be reformed so that individuals selling metal have to provide proof of their identity before a transaction can take place; ii) the Government should test the use of cashless trading in the scrap metal industry; iii) there should be greater clarity around compensation arrangements so that train operators cannot profit from disruption caused by cable theft; iv) Network Rail should develop a costed programme of measures to make cable more difficult to steal and v) the Department for Transport should update the Committee on work being undertaken to help passengers stranded on trains near stations to complete their journey

Intervention in the Modern UK Brewing Industry

Intervention in the Modern UK Brewing Industry
Author: J. Spicer
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2011-12-06
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0230355587

This is the story of the radical intervention carried out by the Thatcher administration in response to 1986-89 Monopolies and Mergers Commission inquiry into brewing. It describes the creation of big brewers, the official investigations into what many saw as an uncompetitive structure and the damaging consequences for consumers and licensees.

More Complains Please! - HC 229

More Complains Please! - HC 229
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Public Administration Select Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2014-04-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0215070895

How complaints are handled determines the quality of the relationship between consumers and public services. The best performing organisations welcome complaints as a way of engaging consumers. A failure to recognise the importance of complaints leads to insufficient redress for the individual, limits the impact that complaints have in improving services, and alienates the public. In some parts of public services, there are encouraging signs of increased attention to good complaints handling. However, Government as a whole cannot be said to be complying with best practice in complaints handling or adapting to the needs and expectations of today's citizen. Success depends on the right leadership. The Committee recommend that: there should be a minister for government policy on complaints handling; the primary objective of the Cabinet Office review of complaints handling in Government should be to change attitudes and behaviour in public administration at all levels in respect of complaints handling; in respect of complaints from MPs handled by ministers, replies must be accurate, clear and helpful and with no sharing of confidential information or delegation of responsibility for responding; the Government should create a single point of contact for citizens to make complaints about government departments and agencies; and the Government should provide leadership to those responsible for various parts of administrative justice, to ensure that there is a clear and consistent approach to sharing, learning and best practice.

HC 1135 - National Policy Statement on National Networks

HC 1135 - National Policy Statement on National Networks
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2014-05-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0215071875

The National Policy Statement on National Networks, published in draft for consultation (ISBN 9780108560071), sets out the policy against which decisions will be made on applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects on the strategic road and rail networks. The Committee has a number of detailed recommendations to improve the draft. The NPS should specify more types of transport scheme which the Government thinks are needed, such as enhancements to the rail network to promote east-west connectivity; better road and rail connections to ports and airports and to parts of the country which are currently not well served by those networks; and schemes to promote regional economic development. Criticisms of the DfT's road and rail demand forecasts should be addressed. Estimates of the impact on UK carbon emissions of building more road infrastructure are needed. Adverse impacts of major transport schemes on localities should be set out. The NPS should make explicit reference to the desirability of connecting HS2 to the classic rail network. Promoters of roads schemes must look to improve road safety (including for cyclists and pedestrians). The Government is seeking to accommodate increasing demand for roads by building more infrastructure rather than seeking to manage demand. Investment in the road network will require new funding streams, a challenge that must be addressed. However, a consensus would be required to introduce any road user charging scheme across the strategic road network as an alternative to road taxation.

House of Commons - Education Committee: Foundation Years: Sure Start Children's Centres - HC 346-I

House of Commons - Education Committee: Foundation Years: Sure Start Children's Centres - HC 346-I
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Education Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 78
Release: 2013-12-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780215065810

The Government needs to prove that it is serious about closing the attainment gap for disadvantaged children by setting out coherent, long-term thinking on early years and children's centres. Ministers should start by making clear the Government's strategy for realising its aspiration to put in place a highly qualified workforce with equal pay and status between early years teachers and those in primary schools. The Government also needs to be clear what children's centres should be offering and who they are for. The Committee identified three different types of centres but this is not reflected in current policy. They also found that the stated core purpose is far too vague and broad. The core purpose needs to focus on achievable outcomes and reflect the difference between centres, especially where they do not offer early education or childcare. Stronger accountability is needed for how well individual children's centres perform and, critically, for how effectively local authorities use children centres to improve outcomes for children in their areas. Closing children's centres should go ahead only after proper consultation and where alternative options have been considered. While some changes may make the network as a whole more effective, it should be up to local authorities to decide how best to organise and commission services. Funding pressures mean some targeting of services is inevitable but all families should be able to access the services they need and that universal services of some sort play a significant part in encouraging families to engage in the first place

Careers Guidance for Young People

Careers Guidance for Young People
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Education Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2013-01-23
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780215052483

The Education Act 2011 introduced a new statutory duty for schools to provide independent, impartial careers guidance for their pupils in years 9-11 which came into force in September 2012. The Committee considers the decision to transfer responsibility for careers guidance to schools as regrettable and there are concerns about the consistency, quality, independence and impartiality of careers guidance now being offered to young people. Evidence was heard that there is already a worrying deterioration in the overall level of provision for young people. The Committee believes the Government could do more to promote consistency through central guidance and recommend the Government's statutory guidance and practical guide should be combined into a single publication to assist a consistent approach by schools. The decision to extend the duty to young people in year 8 and to 16 to 18 year-olds in school or college is welcomed. To help ensure quality, it is recommended that schools are required to work towards the Quality in Careers Standard, and to procure guidance services only from qualified providers and individuals. There must also be accountability measures to ensure that schools provide a good quality careers guidance service. It recommends that all schools are required to publish an annual careers plan, which would provide transparency in what could be expected in terms of careers work and would set out the resources allocated to these activities. Also recommended is the National Careers Service's remit is expanded to include a capacity-building and brokerage role for schools, including assisting schools in designing their annual careers plan, the dissemination of local labour market information and the promotion of quality standards.