Policy Announcements, Tuesday 15 May

**Government **

• A new government scheme could see abandoned public buildings sold to community groups for as little as £1 in an attempt to revive local facilities. The properties would include unused pubs, schools and police stations, as well as empty leisure centres and hospital sites. Communities secretary Ruth Kelly said that providing communities with control of key assets would help foster "a new era of civic pride". The news, which comes after Gordon Brown called for communities to become more involved in making local decisions, will use funds announced in March. It will see the Department for Communities and Local Government providing £400,000 to monitor 20 pilot schemes to increase the transfer of assets. And there will also be a £30m Cabinet Office Community Assets fund to help organisations run properties.
• The government is to bring forward proposals to give Parliament the final say over whether Britain goes to war. Previous calls to strip prime ministers of war-making powers have been rebuffed - but Gordon Brown has said he backs giving MPs more say over such things. And in a government amendment to a Tory motion, ministers agreed Parliament's role needed to be more "explicit". The Conservatives described the move as a "U-turn" and said ministers had bowed to "strength of feeling" in Parliament. The prime minister can currently go to war without parliamentary approval, using the Royal Prerogative - although there was a vote on the Iraq war.
• The government is facing a legal challenge to the launch of compulsory home information packs (HIPs) for house sales in England and Wales. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said it would seek a judicial review of the decision, which is set to cost home sellers £400-600. It said the government had failed to consult properly on the new law. After 1 June, property put up for sale has to have a HIP, holding title deeds and an energy performance certificate.
• Education Secretary Alan Johnson today launched a young people's consultation on whether the education and training leaving age should be increased to 18. The young people's consultation which is a magazine and questionnaire aims to canvas young people's views about raising the leaving age proposals. A recent poll found that (90%) of respondents support the idea of staying in education or training until the age of 18 but the consultation launched today aims to gain a picture of young peoples views in particular.

Conservatives  

• David Cameron plans to block Scottish MPs from voting on legislation that applies only to England if the Tories win power. The Conservative leader will promise the constitutional changes in the run-up to the next election. If his plans were realised, Gordon Brown and others representing constituencies north of the border would be denied a say on legislation covering areas such as English schools and hospitals