Northern Ireland Security Bill human rights issues
“significant”
This Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights
‘Legislative
Scrutiny Third Progress Report’ (HC 303/ HL 46) examines the human rights
implications of both government and private bills before Parliament, in
accordance with the new legislative scrutiny sifting system which it has
adopted from the beginning of the 2006-07 parliamentary session.
MoD "must provide opportunities" for SMEs to
compete on procurement
This Report from the House of Commons Defence Committee
‘The
Defence Industrial Strategy: Update’ (HC 177) examines progress on the
Government's
‘Defence
Industrial Strategy: Defence White Paper’ (Cm. 6697)published in December
2005.
Mental Health Bill human rights examined
This Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights
'Legislative
Scrutiny: Mental Health Bill' (HC 288/HL 40) examines the provisions of
the
'Mental
Health Bill' (HLB 1) in relation to human rights compatibility issues and
considers significant omissions from the Bill which could have enhanced the
protection and promotion of human rights.
ePassport chips have only 2-year warranty
This Report from the National Audit Office
'Identity
and Passport Service: Introduction of ePassports' (HC 152) examines the
Identity and Passport Service's project to introduce ePassports. An ePassport
contains an electronic chip and antenna, to store and transmit the passport
holder's digital photograph and biographical information to an electronic
reader. The chip also contains an electronic signature confirming the issuing
country and the integrity of the data to provide extra checks at border
control.
Hybrid House of Lords proposed
Reform of the House of Lords is an issue which has provoked
intense debate and policy initiatives for over 100 years. The Lords has changed
and evolved through history, and continues to do so.
This White Paper
'House
of Lords: Reform' (Cm. 7027) from the Department for Constitutional Affairs
(DCA) looks at the evolution of the House of Lords, from the
Parliament
Act 1911 to the present day, and discusses current steps towards the reform
of the House of Lords, aiming to set the stage for the upcoming free votes on
the composition of a future House of Lords.
Provisional IRA take up political roles
This
13th
Report from the Independent Monitoring Commission examines the continuing
activities of paramilitary groups, assessing the state of preparedness of
paramilitary groups and the incidence of paramilitary violence between 1
September and 30 November 2006.
UK assets worth £300bn
The National Asset Register (NAR) covers all central
government departments together with their executive agencies (including
trading funds). In addition, it includes information on executive
non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), NHS bodies and public corporations.
The NAR records all tangible fixed assets (including military and
heritage assets), intangible fixed assets (such as software licences), and
fixed asset investments (such as share holdings) owned by departments.
Foreign national prisoners to be automatically
deported
The
UK
Borders Bill relates to immigration and asylum matters.
It proposes
provisions dealing with detention at ports, biometric registration, treatment
of claimants, enforcement, deportation of criminals and information resources.
It implements elements of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND)
review published in July 2006, and it is part of a package of measures to
support the work of the Border and Immigration Agency.
Olympic Park risks 'need managing'
This is the
first
in a series of National Audit Office reports on the preparations for
hosting the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It is an early
look at the progress that has been made to put in place the necessary delivery
and financial arrangements since 2005. Achievements include setting up the
Olympic Delivery Authority, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic
Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. The
layout of the Olympic Park has been finalised, nearly all the land has been
acquired, and work on the physical site is underway. The Olympic Delivery
Authority has published a draft Transport Plan for consultation and is
preparing the Olympic planning applications.
Proposals for the legacy
use and ownership of the venues are developing, along with plans for delivering
and measuring the wider benefits of the Games.