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Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been recipients of notices of intention to deport (a) for working in breach of their conditions, differentiating between persons working in breach of (i) an employment prohibition and (ii) an employment restriction, and (b) for overstaying ; and in each case for each of last six months for which records are available, what grade of official took such decisions and at which Home Office centres or ports they were based.
Mr. Renton : The available information, on a quarterly basis, relating to the numbers of notices of intention to deport issued under section 3(5)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 for the period from 1 October 1988 to 31 March 1989 is as follows :
October to December January to March 1989
1988
Issued by: |Deportation section|Immigration service|Deportation section|Immigration service
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overstaying |228 |282 |165 |443
Working in breach |- |205 |- |259
Decisions to issue a notice of intention to deport under section 3(5)(a) are taken at HEO level in the deportation section and at inspector level in the immigration service. Information about the ports at which the inspectors were serving in each case and about the breakdown into those working in breach of an employment prohibition and an employment restriction is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department since the coming into force of the Immigration Act 1988, how many deportation decisions have been (a) taken and (b) authorised by (i) the deportation caseworking section of his Department, (ii) immigration officers and (iii) immigration inspectors ; and in what proportion of cases detention has been authorised.
Mr. Renton : The statistics currently available are for the period from 1 July 1988 to 31 March 1988. In that period 2,009 notices of intention to deport under section 3(5)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 were issued ; 1,048 persons were detained, mostly for a short period pending resolution of their cases. A total of 568 were authorised by members of the deportation section and, since 1 August 1988, 1,441 by immigration inspectors. Immigration officers are not authorised to take these decisions.
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the delegation of his powers of decision making in deportation taking effect on 1 August 1988 was not published until 20 December 1988.
Mr. Renton : There is no requirement to publicise changes in administrative procedures and it was not at the time considered necessary in this case.
Immigration
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his assessment of the maximum annual rate of immigration of persons of alien culture which is acceptable to the broad mass of the British people.
Mr. Hurd : We do not make such a calculation, but follow a policy of firm and fair immigration control based squarely on legislation and rules approved by Parliament. Such control is essential to tolerant and sound community relations.
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Drugs
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the initiatives he has taken to improve liaison and co-operation between United Kingdom police forces and Her Majesty's Customs anti-drugs units.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The relationship between the police and customs services is very good. In 1988, regional crime squad drug wings mounted over 40 joint operations with customs. The drugs intelligence steering group keeps under review the drugs enforcement strategy and the effectiveness of liaison between police and customs. The national drugs intelligence unit is manned by police and customs officers and provides an essential link between the two enforcement services.
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of British citizens with criminal records for the possession of cannabis.
Mr. John Patten : Records are not kept in this form. The number of persons found guilty, cautioned or dealt with by compounding for the unlawful possession of cannabis in each of the years 1977 to 1987 is published in table 2.3 of the Home Office statistical bulletin issue 25/88 "Statistics of the Misuse of Drugs, United Kingdom, 1987", a copy of which is in the Library.
Prison Farms
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what crops are at present being grown at each prison farm in England and Wales.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Crops are grown at 28 prison farms in England and Wales, and make a major contribution to the dietary needs of the prison system. The main crops grown are :
(1) Potatoes
(2) Brassicas
(3) Onions, leeks, shallots
(4) Swedes, turnips
(5) Carrots
(6) Beetroot
(7) Lettuce
(8) Others (tomatoes, cucumber, peppers)
The allocation between farms for the current year is :
Prison to which farm |Crop type attached --------------------------------------------------------------- Camp Hill |8 Channings Wood |7, 8 East Sutton Park |3, 7, 8 Everthorpe |1, 2, 3, 5 Featherstone |1, 2 Ford |2, 3, 7, 8 Grendon |1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 Guys Marsh |2, 3, 7 Hatfield |1, 2, 6 Haverigg |1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 Hewell Grange |1, 2, 6, 7, 8 Hollesley Bay |1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 Huntercombe |3, 6 Kirkham |1, 2, 3, 4, 8 Leyhill |2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 Lindholme |1, 2, 4, 5, 8 Lowdham |1, 2, 4 Northallerton |2, 4, 6, 8 North Sea Camp |1, 2, 3, 7, 8 Onley |1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 Oxford |1, 2, 5 Portland |4 Standford Hill |3, 4, 6, 7, 8 Swinfen Hall |1, 5 Usk |1, 2 Verne |1 Werrington |2, 3, 7 Wymott |2, 3
In addition, a number of other prison establishments have small areas of cropping, often in polythene tunnels or greenhouses, to make use of available land or inmate labour resources. Crops tend to be of market garden or salad varieties, for local use.
Non-dietary crops are currently being grown at six of the farms referred to --Featherstone, Gartree, Hatfield, Lindholme, Lowdham and North Sea Camp-- as part of normal crop rotation. The produce (generally cereals) is used in animal feed.
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Forage crops are grown at 18 farms to support the prison department's dairy herds.London Prisons (Education)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the amount given by his Department towards the cost of running education services at each London prison.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The educational services in London prisons are provided by ILEA. The salaries of staff employed for this purpose are reimbursed to ILEA by the prison service. Estimated costs in the current financial year are as follows :
|£
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Brixton |128,000
Holloway |316,000
Pentonville |215,000
Wandsworth |262,000
Wormwood Scrubs |198,000
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