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Baroness Noakes: My Lords, before the noble Baroness sits down, she asserted that Higgs, which was earlier asserted to be completely irrelevant to the bodies under this Bill, supports this structure. It does not. Higgs merely requires the non-executives to meet once a year to consider the chairman's performance and to meet the chairman—who, of course, is not a non-executive—to consider the chief executive's performance. There is
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absolutely nothing in Higgs that requires the non-executives to meet for any other purpose. Indeed, anything else would be wholly contrary to the unitary board that is a prized and central feature of our corporate governance in this land. I do not know what the Minister's officials are telling her about Higgs, but it is not true.
Lord Lucas: My Lords, I hope that my noble friend and I will be able to persuade the noble Baroness that this is an issue that we should take seriously on Third Reading. It is daft to allow this to go on. In the two instances in which it has been tried, it does not work. As it is structured, it will be nothing but a hindrance, to the extent that it is employed at all, to maintaining a unitary and effective board. One can take some comfort from the fact that the two organisations have survived with it, but that is absolutely not the way to go and if we let this go on to be a precedent it will crop up again and again until, at some point, it does some real damage. Clearly, this amendment as drafted does not pick it up in all the right ways. Until Third Reading, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Lord Evans of Temple Guiting: My Lords, I beg to move that consideration on Report be now adjourned.
Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.
House adjourned at ten o'clock.
Written Statements
Monday 1 November 2004
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Northern Ireland Police Fund
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has made the following Ministerial Statement.
I have today placed in the library a copy of the report produced by John Steele CB OBE TD DL following his review of the Northern Ireland Police Fund. The Government accept the recommendations in principle and will work with the Police Fund on the implementation process.
Copies of the report have been placed in the Library of both Houses.
Election Expenses
The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker): My right honourable friend the Minister for Local and Regional Government has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
We have today launched a short consultation paper on the increase to the maximum limits of candidates' election expenses for ward elections and elections by liverymen in common hall in the City of London.
Copies of the consultation paper are available in the House Library. Comments are invited by 29 November.
Efficiency Technical Notes
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey): My right honourable friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Paul Boateng) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
In the Spending Review White Paper 2004 Spending Review: New Public Spending Plans 2005–2008 (Cm 6237), and following Sir Peter Gershon's independent review of public sector efficiency, the Government announced the publication of departmental efficiency technical notes (ETNs).
Departments are now publishing these ETNs on their websites, in line with the end of October deadline. Links to the ETNs can be found at www.hm-treasury. gov.uk/performancedocs.
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Regional Development Agencies
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville): My honourable friend the Minister for Industry and the Regions (Jacqui Smith) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
I would like to inform members of the House that, as part of a rolling programme of appointments, I have decided to appoint five new members to East of England Development Agency and South East England Development Agency. The new appointees will take up their positions on 14 December 2004 and their names are set out below.
The new board members will replace members whose terms of office end in December this year and will bring experience from business, local authorities, rural affairs, trade unions and education.
Decisions on the appointments have been made following open competition in accordance with the guidelines set down in the Commissioner for Public Appointments code of practice, and following consultation with key national and regional players.
Civil Service: Sickness Absence
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The report Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service 2003 prepared for the Cabinet Office by Aon Limited shows that the headline figure for the average level of sickness absence was 10.0 days per staff year. This represents a 0.2 days per staff year increase over the equivalent figure of 9.8 days set out in the report for 2002. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the 2003 figures by department/agency. Copies have been placed in the Library.
Departments have established service delivery agreements, which contain their individual targets for reducing sickness absence. Overall, the Civil Service was targeted to reduce sickness absence by 30 per cent (to 7.2 days per staff year) by 2003 against the 1998 baseline. In July 2004 my right honourable friend the Chancellor announced a review into the extent of short and long-term sickness within the Civil Service, and results of that are due to be published shortly. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office is continuing to work with other departments and agencies as they take forward their plans to reduce sickness absence.
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