Policy Announcements, Wednesday 25 July

Government  

• The Ministry of Defence will have its budget increased by nearly £8bn over the next three years. In a statement to the Commons, defence secretary Des Browne told MPs that the added investment was part of announcements ahead of the government's full spending review in the autumn. Browne said that during the CSR period the armed forces would get £7.7bn, an average annual real terms increase of 1.5 per cent. "It is evidence of the government's commitment to defence and to the men and women who serve with the utmost bravery in our armed forces," the defence secretary said. A considerable part of the extra cash will be spent on two long-awaited new aircraft carriers.  
• Britain is to get a "unified border force" to boost the fight against terrorism, the prime minister has said. A "highly visible" uniformed force would bring together immigration and Customs officers, Gordon Brown said. He also announced a review of allowing intercept evidence to be used in court, and doubling the 28 days police can question suspects before charging them. But the Tories said any border force should include police officers, new resources and new powers.  
• The government has launched what it says is the biggest ever public consultation on fighting drugs. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith says she wants ideas on how to steer vulnerable young people away from drug use and get more dealers off the streets. Current and ex-drug users, as well as experts and members of the public, will be among those taking part. There will also be an extra £5m for the Talk to Frank drugs awareness campaign for young people. The government is looking separately at whether cannabis should be reclassified as a Class C to a Class B drug.  
• The system of councils in England is to be reformed, with the creation of nine new unitary authorities. The plans will mean replacing two-tier county and city, borough or district authorities with a single body. Local Government Minister John Healey said the changes were about "empowering citizens and communities". The unitary authorities will be created in 2009 in Bedford, Chester, Cornwall, Co Durham, Exeter, Ipswich, Wiltshire, Northumberland and Shropshire.  
• Every child will be able to access breakfast clubs, out-of-hours tuition and after-school clubs in sport, music and drama as Ed Balls today announced a massive investment of more than £1billion in the extended schools programme over the next three years. Families will also be able to access services such as breakfast clubs, childcare, family learning and parental support, as well as having quick and easy access to specialist services for their child such as speech therapy. The additional investment will mean that every school will be offering access to extended services by 2010. It was confirmed today that the programme remains ahead of trajectory with more than 5,000 - or one in five - schools now offering the core extended services.