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Mr. John Patten : The Home Office obtained a copy of the book "Error of Judgement" shortly after publication in July 1986. On 2 September 1986, the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) discussed the content of his book with officials of the Home Office criminal department, and subsequently discussed a number of the points raised in the book with an assistant chief constable
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of the West Midlands police. The book was considered by my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd), among a number of representations which had been made to him about the safety of the convictions of the Birmingham Six, before his decision on 20 January 1987 to refer the whole case to the Court of Appeal.Fines
21. Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on his proposals to ensure that fines more closely reflect an offender's ability to pay.
Mr. John Patten : The White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public", published on 6 February, sets out our proposals for ensuring that fines are more closely related to an offender's means. We have invited comments by 30 April.
Neighbourhood Watch
22. Mr. Lord : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest figures for the number of neighbourhood watch schemes now operating in England and Wales.
Mr. John Patten : At the end of December 1989 there were estimated to be over 81,000 neighbourhood watch schemes in England and Wales, covering over 4 million households.
47. Mr. Sumberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has as to the number of neighbourhood watch schemes now operating in the north-west of England.
Mr. John Patten : At the end of December 1989 there were estimated to be 19,500 schemes in the area covered by the Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside police forces.
Bail Hostels
23. Mr. Alexander : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives he plans to involve the private sector in providing bail hostel places.
Mr. John Patten : We have a programme to create 1,000 new bail places at approved hostels between April 1988 and April 1993. About 160 of these places are already on stream and some 500 more are at various stages of development. Although there are no plans for privately managed bail hostels at present, we believe that there is scope now for further private sector involvement in this programme in terms of planning, building, delivery and contracting out of services.
Tyneside Metro
24. Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration was given to the cost of policing the Tyneside Metro when establishing manpower levels for the Northumbria police force.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend approved 38 extra police posts for the Northumbria police as from April 1990. Twenty of these are to deal with general problems of rising crime in the areas in which the
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metro operates. The cost of a further 10 posts, specifically for policing the metro system, is reimbursed by the passenger transport executive.Electronic Tagging
25. Mr. John P. Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on electronic tagging.
55. Mr. Bell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on electronic tagging.
Mr. John Patten : I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave earlier today to a question from the hon. Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen).
Crime Prevention
26. Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will next meet the Association of Metropolitan Authorities to discuss crime prevention initiatives.
Mr. John Patten : My right hon. and learned Friend has at present no plans to meet the AMA to discuss crime prevention. However, the association has been kept closely in touch with the preparation of fresh interdepartmental guidance on crime prevention and it and others have been invited this week to comment on a new draft circular on crime prevention issued on 19 February. Comments should be submitted by 3 April.
Prisons (Vegan Diets)
28. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when regional catering officers last met representatives of the Vegan Society to discuss vegan diets in prisons in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : The principal catering manager for the prison service met the prison liaison officer for the Vegan Society on 9 October 1989. The prison liaison officer was also invited to speak to "in charge" catering officers at the prison service national catering school on 13 December 1989 about the vegan philosophy and diet.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Board
30. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what future steps are being taken to reduce the time taken by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board to deal with applications for compensation.
Mr. John Patten : We authorised the board in December to recruit 10 extra staff. We have now agreed that 50 more staff may be recruited as soon as possible. This meets in full the recent request of the chairman and the recommendation of the Home Affairs Select Committee (Second Report, Session 1989-90-HC92), for 60 more staff to help the board deal with the expected level of new applications and to reduce arrears.
The reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) on 8 December at columns 409-17, set out the revised criminal injuries compensation scheme and described other steps
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already take to improve the board's performance. The first phase of the board's major computer project referred to in that answer will begin in March. The board proposes to use the discretion conferred under the new scheme to delegate to staff decisions on a limited range of cases from 1 April 1990.75. Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to inform the social services departments of all local councils that criminal injuries compensation is available to all victims of child abuse or marital violence.
Mr. John Patten : The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board wrote to all social services departments in Great Britain in October 1989 giving details of the application of the scheme to victims of violence, and in particular to child victims of such crimes.
Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce computers into the offices of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
Mr. John Patten : Portable computers have been in use at the board since 1987. A major computer project--case location and information management system--was approved in December 1989. This is a centralised database system using the mainframe Home Office computer. Training has begun on the first phase of the project, which will go live in March and provide for the registration and acknowledgement of all new claims and the issue of medical and police inquiry forms. Subsequent phases will allow for monitoring of case progress, the issuing of reminder and other letters and accounting and statistical facilities.
58. Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victims in the years 1987, 1988 and 1989 received compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for sums between £550 and £750 ; and what percentage this represented of the total number of awards in those years.
60. Mr. Murphy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victims in the years 1987, 1988 and 1989 received compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for sums between £550 and £750 ; and what percentage this represented of the total number of awards in those years.
Mr. John Patten : The breakdown of awards by size of award is given in paragraph 8.1 of the board's annual report for the year ended 31 March 1989 (Cm 900). These figures indicate that the number of awards of between £550 and £750 in the three years ended 31 March 1987, 1988 and 1989, were about 3,800, 3,700 and 5,700, a percentage of the total awards in these years of 17.3, 17.7 and 20.6, respectively.
Special Constables
31. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider the payment of a bounty or other remuneration to encourage recruitment of special constables.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : This has been considered a number of times by the Police Advisory Board, most recently in
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October 1988, and the conclusion each time was that an incentive award (bounty) was not necessary. However we are asking the board to consider the option of running pilot schemes on an experimental basis in some forces when it discusses further initiatives to strengthen the special constabulary on 27 February.Football Exclusion Orders
32. Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the number of exclusion orders imposed on football supporters for the years 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The exclusion order provisions of the Public Order Act 1986 came into force on 1 August 1987. The number of exclusion orders recorded by the Football Association since then is as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1987 |<1>320
1988 |1,029
1989 |1,038
<1>Five months.
Central European Time
33. Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he proposes to publish the responses he received in respect of the Green Paper on central European time ; and if he will make a statement.
39. Mr. Boateng : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received with regard to central European time ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received with regard to the proposed changes in British summer time.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend will be announcing a breakdown of the responses to the consultation exercise in the near future.
Electoral Systems
34. Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he is giving to the reform of electoral voting systems in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Pornography
36. Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with his EEC opposite numbers about harmonising the laws relating to the display and sale of pornographic films and magazines.
Mr. Mellor : My right hon. and learned Friend has had no personal discussions on this topic, but the Department has contributed to the work of the Council of Europe in encouraging its members to strengthen controls against the distribution of videograms having a violent, brutal or pornographic content, and to the work of the Council and the European Community in securing international
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agreement on minimum standards in broadcasting. We shall continue to stress to our European partners the need to maintain high standards in published and broadcast material. Within the European Community, article 36 of the treaty of Rome allows member states to prohibit or restrict imports on grounds of public morality, provided that there is no arbitrary discrimination or disguised restriction on trade between member states. We intend to maintain strong controls over the display and sale of pornographic material within the United Kingdom.All-seater Football Grounds
37. Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has considered the financial implications of the proposed installation of all-seater stadia for football grounds ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : I understand the football authorities provisionally estimate the cost to be £130 million for clubs in the English football league. But, as set out by Lord Justice Taylor in his final report, the cost could be lower. The Football Trust has indicated that about £75 million should be available to the professional game over the next 10 years. This is in addition to any income from television and pools companies which currently amounts to about £26 million each year.
Prison Officers Association
38. Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met officials of the Prison Officers Association ; and what subjects were discussed.
Mr. Mellor : My right hon. and learned Friend met members of the Prison Officers Association on 18 December. The terms and conditions of service for prison officers, resources, the possibility of agency status for the prison service and the possible use of the private sector to escort prisoners and to run remand centres were discussed.
Permanent Residents
40. Mr. Hanley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the net inflow or outflow of permanent residents of the United Kingdom for the last full year for which data exist.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The available data on net migration to or from the United Kingdom are the estimates produced by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys from the international passenger survey. This defines a migrant as a person leaving one country where he has been resident for more than a year with the intention of residing in a new country for a year or more. The 1988 estimates were of a net outflow from the United Kingdom of 21,000 migrants, resulting from an inflow of 216,000 and an outflow of 237,000. These figures include British citizens and are on a different basis from the figures of people subject to immigration control accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom. More detailed information on these migration estimates is published by OPCS in "International Migration 1988".
Welsh Broadcasting
42. Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the heads of BBC Wales and HTV ; and what matters were discussed.
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Mr. Mellor : My right hon. and learned Friend has not yet met the heads of BBC Wales and HTV, either jointly or separately, but he may have the opportunity at some time in the future.
Taylor Report
45. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations his Department has received following the publication of the Taylor report and his statement on 29 January, regarding proposals contained within the report.
Mr. John Patten : We have received 13 letters from hon. Members and 52 letters from members of the public. In addition, the Football Supporters Association has requested a meeting to discuss the role that supporters can play in implementing the report.
Distress Warrants
49. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of persons against whom distress warrants were issued in 1987, 1988 and 1989 were dependent on state benefits.
Mr. John Patten : The information requested is not available.
74. Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of distress warrants issued by magistrates courts in 1987, 1988 and 1989.
Mr. John Patten : Around 185,000 distress warrants were issued by magistrates courts in 1987 and 560,000 in 1988. Information for 1989 is not yet available.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner
51. Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis ; and what was discussed.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend last held a meeting with the Commissioner on 21 December 1989, when the Commissioner's strategy statement for 1990 was discussed.
Crime Detection
52. Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the crime detection rate in the west midlands in 1989.
Mr. John Patten : Incomplete information for the West Midlands police force area for 1989 indicates the detection rate could be slightly lower than the 42 per cent. for 1988.
Vagrancy
53. Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to repeal sections 3 and 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The Government have no present plans to repeal sections 3 and 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824, as amended.
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Victim Support Schemes
54. Mr. Hayward : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victim support schemes there are in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : Three hundred and fifty-five.
68. Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of Government funding for victim support.
Mr. John Patten : For this year £3.7 million has been granted for victim support schemes in England and Wales. Subject to parliamentary approval, around £4.5 million will be granted for 1990-91. This represents a 200 per cent. increase over four years.
Senior Police Officers
56. Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to improve the selection and training of senior police officers.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Government's response to the Home Affairs Select Committee's report on higher police training and the police staff college outlined their plans to identify at an early stage those officers with the ability to reach chief officer ranks and to provide them with the training they need to perform their jobs effectively.
Assaults on Police
57. Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of serious assaults committed against police officers in the north Wales area during 1989 ; and what were the comparable figures for (a) 1979, (b) 1983 and (c) 1986.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the chief constable of North Wales that there were 308 assaults on members of his force in 1989. There were 109 assaults in 1979, 81 in 1983 and 91 in 1986. Information on the number of serious assaults is not readily available.
Dogs
59. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dogs are kept as domestic pets in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Home Office collects no statistics on the numbers of domestic pets. A report prepared by the London School of Economics for the RSPCA in 1988 estimated the United Kingdom dog population to be 7.3 million.
Prisoners
62. Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many were in prison at the most recent count.
Mr. Mellor : On Friday 16 February there were 47,103 people held in prison service establishments in England and Wales. This represents a fall of 2,288 people since the same time last year.
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Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory
63. Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received calling for an increase in the staffing level at the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I am not aware of any such representations. The staffing ceiling of the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory is set by the Commissioner, within the total ceiling for civil staff set by my right hon. and learned Friend as the police authority.
66. Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current establishment at the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory ; and in how many months in each of the past three years the numbers in post reached full complement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that the current complement of the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory is 297, of which 279 posts are currently filled. The numbers in post have not reached full complement during the last three years.
Mr. Caborn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the performance of the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that no systematic management information about the performance of the laboratory is available, but that the time taken to deal with some types of case, particularly the less serious, has increased in the last year or so. We are discussing with the receiver a case for pay improvements to help deal with staffing problems, and we shall be looking at other management issues and their effect on performance.
81. Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the change in the workload of the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory in each of the last three years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that no management information system exists to provide data on workload, as opposed to the cruder measure of caseload. However, the available figures show that cases dealt with by the laboratory fell from 27,985 in 1987 to 18,053 in 1989, a fall of 35 per cent. I understand that this reduction reflected in part a decision not to carry out forensic examination in certain types of low priority case, such as possession of cannabis cases where a guilty plea is expected.
71. Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory.
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that no systematic management information about the performance of the laboratory is available, but that the
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time taken to deal with some types of case, particularly the less serious, has increased in the last year or so. A factor affecting performance is difficulty in retaining scientific staff, though I understand that the staffing position has recently improved and that the laboratory is now within 5 per cent. of its authorised complement for forensic scientists. We are discussing with the receiver a case for pay improvements to help deal with staffing problems. However, it is important that we look at all the management issues which may have a bearing on performance--not just pay.Prisons (Fire Inspections)
64. Mr. Turner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to lift Crown immunity in relation to fire inspections in prisons.
Mr. Mellor : Although prisons are exempt from the arrangements for fire certification under the Fire Precautions Act 1971, governors are instructed to arrange periodic fire surveys by the local fire brigade, and the advice of Her Majesty's fire service inspectorate is taken if necessary, with the aim of meeting the joint objectives of fire safety and prison security. I see no compelling need to alter these arrangements.
Pregnant Prisoners
65. Mrs. Golding : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider setting up an independent inquiry into the treatment of pregnant women in Holloway prison.
Criminal Justice White Paper
67. Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has received to his criminal justice White Paper.
Mr. John Patten : We have invited comments on the proposals in the White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm 965) by 30 April. The initial reaction has been favourable and my right hon. and learned Friend's statement of 6 February received widespread support in both Houses.
South Yorkshire Police
69. Mr. Duffy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the current manning levels in the South Yorkshire police.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : At the end of December 1989 there were 2,946 police officers on the strength of the South Yorkshire police matched against their establishment of 2,978.
My right hon. and learned Friend has approved an increase of 20 posts for the force establishment subject to the police authority's confirmation of its willingness to meet its share of the cost.
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