House of Commons Hansard Debates for 30 Nov 1989

Mr. Nicholls : The commissioner for trade union members has provided White Paper accounts to the Secretary of State for Employment and the Comptroller and Auditor-General as required by the Employment Act 1988. Copies of the statement of accounts will be laid before each House by the Comptroller and Auditor-General in due course.

Closed Shop

Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many complaints he has received each year since 1979 from firms and employees on the pre-entry closed shop.

Mr. Nicholls : Ministers and officials in the Department of Employment continue to receive complaints from a variety of sources which describe difficulties experienced as a result of the operation of closed shop arrangements, involving pre-entry closed shops. However, no record is maintained of the number of such complaints received each year and, in any case, it is not always clear whether a complaint relates to pre-entry or post-entry arrangements. In addition, it would not be possible to establish precisely which complaints were made by firms and employees.

Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many complaints the commissioner for trade union rights has received (a) from local authority employees, (b) from National Health Service employees and (c) from any employee working in the public sector against their union on the closed shop.

Mr. Nicholls : I have been advised by the commissioner for trade union members that precise figures concerning the number of complaints by type of employer are not available as complaints relate to the trade union not the employer, who is often not involved or identified. Complaints in relation to the closed shop are outside the scope of the commissioner's assistance.

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Disabled People

Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his response to the interim results of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys report entitled "Disabled Adults : Service, Transport and Employment 1989" ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls : The results set out in the report published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in June 1989 have been taken into account in the review of services for people with disabilities which my Department has been undertaking. However, the report does not provide, with sufficient precision, the information about the nature and consequences of employment difficulties arising from disability which my Department needs to plan its services. My Department has commissioned a further survey to provide such information, and the results of that survey will be available soon.

Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to strengthen programmes aimed at a change in employers' attitudes towards the employment of disabled people ; and if he will make a statement.

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Mr. Nicholls : The adequacy of current programmes aimed at encouraging employers to adopt and implement good policies and practices on the employment of people with disabilities is being considered in the review of services for people with disabilities which my Department has been undertaking. A consultative document covering the conclusions reached in the review will be published as soon as possible.

Hosiery and Textile Industry

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list, by year and by region since 1979, the figures for job losses in the hosiery and textile industry ; and if he will make a statement regarding forecasts of these figures for the coming year.

Mr. Nicholls : There are no figures for job losses and job gains. Net changes in employment can be given, but only for dates when censuses of employment are taken. The available information from censuses taken in September 1981, September 1984 and September 1987 is as follows :

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Employees in employment<1> in the Textile industry<2> by region                                        

Thousand                                                                                               

Region                    September    September    September    Net change<3>                         

                         |1981        |1984        |1987        |1981 to 1984|1984 to 1987             

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

South East               |13.1        |10.2        |10.6        |-2.9        |+0.4                     

East Anglia              |1.4         |1.9         |1.6         |+0.5        |-0.3                     

South West               |5.7         |5.2         |5.2         |-0.6        |0.0                      

West Midlands            |13.0        |12.2        |12.6        |-0.8        |+0.4                     

East Midlands            |80.5        |72.4        |71.3        |-8.1        |-1.1                     

Yorkshire and Humberside |57.4        |47.6        |45.9        |-9.8        |-1.7                     

North West               |52.7        |40.7        |41.7        |-12.0       |+1.0                     

North                    |8.6         |8.3         |7.1         |-0.2        |-1.3                     

Wales                    |4.0         |3.6         |3.6         |-0.4        |-0.0                     

Scotland                 |38.6        |32.9        |31.1        |-5.8        |-1.7                     

Great Britain            |275.0       |234.9       |230.7       |-40.1       |-4.2                     

<1> The figures exclude the self-employed.                                                             

<2> Class 43 of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980 (Textiles including hosiery)               

<3> Changes calculated on unrounded employee estimates.

Between census of employment dates, information about employees in employment subdivided by region is available only for those industry headings listed in Table 1.5 of Employment Gazette, a copy of which is in the Library.

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Footwear Industry

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list, by year and by region since 1979, the figures for job losses in the footwear industry ; and if he will make a statement regarding forecasts for these figures for the coming year.

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Employees in employment<1> in the Footwear industry<2> by region                

                                                                                

                                                                                

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Redundancy Fund

Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans for the redundancy fund.

Mr. Nicholls : Proposals will be included in the 1989 Employment Bill to merge the redundancy fund with the national insurance fund. This will simplify administration and provide a single source of funding for the relevant payments. No change will occur in the statutory entitlements of employees as a result of this merger.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Broadcasting

Mr. Thurnham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to safeguard consumers' rights when the independent television companies are allowed to broadcast home-selling programmes ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. David Mellor : Under our proposals on broadcasting, the Independent Television Commission will be required to draw up a code on advertising and sponsorship, with which its licensees must comply. In drawing up the code, the ITC will need to take account of the relevant provisions of the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. Article 12(3) of the convention states that forms of advertisements such as direct offers to the public for the sale, purchase or rental of products or for the provision of services shall not exceed one hour per day.

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next plans to meet the chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority to discuss broadcasting.

Mr. Mellor : My right hon. and learned Friend keeps in regular touch with the chairman of the IBA on a wide range of broadcasting matters.

Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many homes in Britain are receiving multi-channel television via satellite dish aerials on their own premises at the latest available date.

Mr. Mellor : We do not collect information on this subject, but I understand that research carried out by Continental Research indicated that in October 1989 352,000 households had direct-to-home satellite dishes.

Wandsworth Prison

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take to implement the recommendations of the chief inspector of prisons in his report on Wandsworth prison.

Mr. Mellor : A statement by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) setting out the action being taken was published on 19 October 1989 as his

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response to the report of Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons on Wandsworth prison and a copy was placed in the Library.

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will reconsider his rejection of the recommendation by the chief inspector of prisons to install integral sanitation at Wandsworth prison in seven years in the light of his announcement of more resources for prison refurbishment.

Mr. Mellor : The speed of refurbishment is determined largely by the need to keep a prison fully operational while the work goes on. The large programme of refurbishment already in hand at Wandsworth, which includes the installation of toilets and washbasins in 300 cells, cannot be increased or accelerated while its full use as a local prison remains so essential to meet current high levels of overcrowding.

Guildford Four

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give powers to Sir John May's inquiry into the case of the Guildford Four to compel witnesses to attend, to subpoena documents and to provide immunity from prosecution to witnesses.

Mr. John Patten : My right hon. and learned Friend has no power to confer on Sir John May the power to compel witnesses to attend his inquiry or to subpoena documents. We have no reason to believe that he will not be able to conduct his inquiry satisfactorily in the absence of such powers.

The question of offering immunity from prosecution to any person in respect of criminal offences is a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will usually consult the Attorney-General. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General to a question from the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen) on 6 November 1989 at columns 439-40.

Animal Experiments

Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the project licences issued in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, either partly or wholly applicable to Huntingdon research centre, Cambridgeshire, have been referred to the Animal Procedures Committee.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : This information is treated as confidential between the applicant, the Home Office and the Animal Procedures Committee. The annual reports of the committee for 1987 and 1988 (HC 36 and 458) show the kinds of applications which are considered by the committee.

Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many of the project licences permitting regulated scientific procedures in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at

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Huntingdon research centre, Cambridgeshire, are classified as being of mild severity, how many of moderate severity and how many of substantial severity ; and what is the total number ;

(2) how many project licences currently exist authorising regulated scientific procedures in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at Huntingdon research centre, Cambridgeshire ; (3) how many regulated scientific procedures conducted in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at Huntingdon research centre in 1988 involved the use of dogs ; (4) how many regulated scientific procedures were conducted in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at Huntingdon research centre, Cambridgeshire, in 1988 ;

(5) how many regulated scientific procedures were conducted in accordance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 at Huntingdon research centre, Cambridgeshire, in 1988, for the purpose of testing cosmetics and toiletries or their ingredients.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : This information is treated as confidential.

Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the regulated scientific procedures at the Huntingdon research centre, Cambridgeshire, were terminated as required by section 10(2)(b) in accordance with the inviolable termination condition.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : Details of such terminations are not available centrally. It is the practice for project licences to include specific provisions for end points which have effect before the condition imposed by section 10(2)(b) of the Act is reached.

Commission for Racial Equality

Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases the Commission for Racial Equality has dealt with in each region in the last three years.

Mr. John Patten : The available information on cases of racial discrimination referred to the commission is provided in the following table :


Region              Cases handled      

                   |1986|1987|1988     

---------------------------------------

London             |252 |307 |342      

South              |241 |265 |389      

Midlands and Wales |246 |380 |391      

North and Scotland |277 |319 |318

Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is Government policy concerning funding for the Commission for Racial Equality for the next year.

Mr. John Patten : The commission's statutory duties and strategic priorities are being taken into account in determining its grant-in-aid for next year.

Cable Television

Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many homes in Britain are receiving multi-channel television through cable television systems at the latest available date.

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Mr. Mellor : I understand from the Cable Authority that on 1 October 1989 a total of 287,219 households in the United Kingdom were connected to cable systems, of which 75,811 were connected to broad band cable systems.

Philippine Immigrants

Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants from the Philippines have been admitted to work as domestic servants in the last three years.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : The numbers involved cannot be separately identified in the statistics of passenger admissions.

Young Offenders

Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many specialised units for young offenders exist in the United Kingdom ; and if he will list them.

Mr. Mellor : There are 35 male and female young offender institutions in England and Wales. The position in Scotland and in Northern Ireland is a matter respectively for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland. The list of the young offender institutions in England and Wales is as follows :

Aylesbury

Bullwood Hall

Campsfield House

Castington

Deerbolt

Dover

Drake Hall

East Sutton Park

Eastwood Park

Everthorpe

Feltham

Finnamore Wood

Glen Parva

Grendon

Guys Marsh

Hatfield

Hewell Grange

Hollesley Bay Colony

Huntercombe

Kirklevington Grange

Lowdham Grange

The Mount

New Hall

Northallerton

Onley

Portland

Stoke Heath

Styal

Swinfen Hall

Thorn Cross

Usk

Wellingborough

Werrington

Wetherby

Whatton

Female prisons which are also designed as young offender institutions.

Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders are presently awaiting trial in local adult prisons.

Mr. Mellor : According to the records held centrally, about 640 males and 60 females aged under 21 were held

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as untried prisoners in local prisons and in remand centres not exclusively designated for those aged under 21 in England and Wales on 30 September 1989.

Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if young offenders once sentenced are automatically confined in specialised units.

Mr. Mellor : The great majority of young offenders who receive custodial sentences are sentenced to detention in a young offenders institution. Of these, male juveniles and short sentenced young adults are committed directly from court to a young offender institution ; the rest are initially committed to an allocation unit, usually within a local prison or remand centre, for a short period for assessment before being transferred to an appropriate young offender institution.

Young offenders sentenced to detention in a young offender institution may be retained in a prison, at the direction of the Secretary of State, for example for judicial, compassionate or medical reasons, for accumulated visits, or for reallocation.

Child Abuse

Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will initiate legislation to extend the magistrates courts powers to include protecting any children living with the applicant, in addition to the current protecting of only children of the family.

Mr. John Patten : The Law Commission is reviewing the civil law on domestic violence, which is in need of rationalisation ; and I do not think it would be sensible to bring forward legislative proposals on a piecemeal basis in advance of consideration of the commission's proposals as a whole.

Birmingham Pub Bombings

Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the inquiry referred to in the replies by the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) to the hon. Member for Motherwell, North (Dr. Reid), Official Report, 26 October, columns 1032-33, will look at material collected by the Devon and Cornwall police in the course of their investigations into the appeal of those found guilty of the Birmingham pub bombings.

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