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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 20 March 1990
HOME DEPARTMENT
Deputy Secretaries
Mr. Tom Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the responsibilities of each of the deputy secretaries in his Department and the numbers and ranks of staff reporting to each.
Mr. Waddington : The responsibilities of the deputy secretaries and the numbers of their staff are as follows :
Broadcasting and miscellaneous department, equal opportunities and general department, immigration and nationality department, and passport department |5,100
Criminal justice and constitutional department, criminal policy department, research and statistics department |500
Establishment department, finance and manpower department, fire and emergency planning department |2,000
Legal adviser's branch |27
Police department |2,400
Prison service |32,400
<1> To the nearest hundred, except for legal adviser's branch.
The deputy secretaries have staff reporting to them in a wide variety of grades ; detailed information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Secure Unit, Wakefield
Mr. O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been issued on the practice of courts sending offenders to the Newton Lodge, Wakefield secure unit ; what information he has on the current practice ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : Courts have powers under the Mental Health Act 1983 to authorise the detention of accused and convicted persons in hospital if the relevant requirements of the Act are met. The Home Office has issued circulars on the provisions of the Act in 1983 and 1984, but we do not provide guidance on the use of these powers in relation to individual secure units. We maintain regular contact with the Newton Lodge unit whose management is the responsibility of the district health authority.
Metropolitan Police
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requests or instructions have been given to the Metropolitan police by the Government concerning development of revenue-earning potential.
Mr. Waddington : No such approach has been made to the Metropolitan police by the Government. However, the Commissioner announced in his strategy statement for
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1990 that he has initiated a study of the scope for increasing receipts to the force as part of his concern to see that the best possible use is made of available resources. Any proposals which emerge will be put to me as police authority.Car Clamps
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis on what steps are being taken to end unlawful parking in Green street and Katherine road in the London borough of Newham and as to how many parking offenders had their cars clamped in the London borough of Newham in the last 12 months.
Mr. Waddington : I understand from the Commissioner that traffic wardens patrol the area daily and these roads are among those in the area targeted for enforcement by the area traffic unit. Vehicle removal teams are also deployed in the area from time to time. Wheelclamping may take place only in areas where it has been authorised by order by the Secretary of State. It has not been authorised in the borough of Newham.
Wandsworth Prison
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of violence have been reported as having occurred at Wandsworth prison during each of the years 1984 to 1989, inclusive.
Mr. Mellor : Information is not available in the form requested. The table shows numbers of charges of assault on which prisoners were found guilty on adjudication :
1984 |151 |30 |3 |-
1985 |146 |26 |1 |-
1986 |78 |31 |- |-
1987 |61 |30 |- |-
1988 |65 |30 |- |-
1989 |87 |17 |2 |62
The figures include cases of gross personal violence, which ceased to be a separate offence on 31 March 1989, and charges of attempt--and also, since 1 April 1989, incitement and assisting another prisoner--to commit an offence. The new offence of fighting also came into force on 1 April 1989. The 1989 figures are provisional. In the following numbers of other incidents, acts of violence by a prisoner on a member of staff or another person were reported :
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Private Interest Registration
Ms. Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the requirements laid down for members appointed by him to bodies such as the Independent Broadcasting Authority to register their private interests ; and where the register of interests is kept.
Mr. Mellor : Under parargraph 4 of schedule 1 to the Broadcasting Act 1981, I have to be satisfied, before appointing a person to be a member of the Independent Broadcasting Authority, that he has no financial or other interest likely to prejudice the discharge of his duties as a member. This applies in particular to interests in programme contractors, advertising agencies and manu-facture or sale of wireless or other telegraphic equipment.
Assurances are sought from potential new members and repeated annually for existing members. Other broadcasting bodies are generally covered by comparable arrangements.
Uncharged Prisoners
Mr. John P. Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been placed in custody without being charged with any offence for more than a year in (a) the last five years and (b) the last 10 years, in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Mellor : All persons in prison service establishments are held following a charge, conviction or sentence for a criminal offence, except for persons committed to prison for contempt of court and for certain civil debts and those detained under the Immigration Act 1971 and for a maximum of seven days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1976. Information for all years on non-criminal prisoners held in prison service establishments could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, according to records held centrally no non-criminal prisoners in prison service establishments in England and Wales on 31 December 1979, 1984 or 1989 had been held for more than one year.
The information requested on persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 in immigration detention centres is not available. However, no person currently detained solely under Immigration Act powers in the United Kingdom has been held for more than a year. Such cases are very rare.
Persons held in police custody prior to charge are subject to the provisions of either the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which places an upper limit of 96 hours on the period of detention ; or the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, which enables them to be detained for up to 48 hours on police authority and for up to an additional five days on that of the Secretary of State.
Fire Precautions
Mr. Janner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to publish his comprehensive Guide to Fire Precautions in Existing Places of Public Entertainment and Like Premises.
Mr. John Patten : Our "Guide to Fire Precautions in Existing Places of Entertainment and Like Premises" was published on 8 March. Copies have been placed in the Library.
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Internal Audit
Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the subject matter of the internal audit report that was drawn to the attention of a Minister in his Department in 1989.
Mr. Waddington : The internal audit report was of a systems review of Her Majesty's fire service inspectorate.
Crime (London)
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many crimes involving indecency were reported to the police in London during 1989 ; and if he will give the number in each of the categories used by the police force ;
(2) how many crimes of malicious damage and vandalism were reported to the London police during 1989 ;
(3) how many crimes of violence against the person (non-sexual) were reported to the police in London during 1989 ; and if he will give the number in each of the categories used by the police force ; (4) how many drugs offences were reported to the London police during 1989 ;
(5) how many thefts by housebreaking and attempted housebreaking were reported to the London police during 1989.
Mr. John Patten : Information about crime in London in 1989 will be available later this month when the regular annual statistical bulletin on recorded crime is published. The corresponding information for 1988 was published in table S3.1 of "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary tables 1988, Vol.3", a copy of which is available in the Library.
Risley Remand Centre
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the dates on which Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons or any member of his staff has visited Risley remand centre since the inspection of February 1988 ; what reports were compiled following such visits ; and whether copies of such reports have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Mellor : Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons has not visited Risley remand centre since his full inspection in 1988. One inspector visited Risley on 20 April 1989 as part of his review of the working of remand centres. He briefed Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons on his return, but no report was submitted either to my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) or to my right hon. and learned Friend.
Pensions
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the pension that an inspector in the police force will receive, having completed maximum years' service, on retirement at the end of March ; and what is the pension currently received by inspectors with similar service who retired in March 1980 and March 1970 ;
(2) what is the value at current prices of the average pension received by police of all ranks on their retirement in (a) 1979 and (b) 1969 ;
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(3) what is the value at current prices of the average pension received by fire brigade personnel on their retirement in (a) 1979 and (b) 1969 ;(4) what is the value, at current prices, of the pension received by an ex- police inspector with maximum years' service who retired in (a) March 1970 and (b) March 1980 ;
(5) what was the average pension paid to fire brigade personnel who retired in 1989 ; and what is the average pension currently received by fire brigade personnel who retired in (a) 1979 and (b) 1969 ; (6) what was the average pension paid to police of all ranks who retired in 1989 ; and what is the average pension received currently by police of all ranks who retired in (a) 1979 and (b) 1969.
Mr. Waddington : Particulars of average police and fire service pensions are not held centrally and this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The information requested about the relative pension position of police inspectors retiring at certain dates is given in the table.
annual pension
Police Consultative Committees
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which London boroughs are not members of the local police consultative committee ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Five London borough councils have refused to nominate representatives to their local police-community consultative group : Brent, Ealing, Hackney, Haringey and Lambeth.
We deplore the fact that these five groups are obliged to operate without the support of their local council and without the resources which other councils make available. I hope that they will reconsider their position. The fact that these groups nevertheless operate effectively reflects great credit on all of those involved.
HIV
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male and female prisoners in England and Wales have been found to have contracted the human immuno deficiency virus since monitoring commenced in March 1985 ; and how many prisoners are currently HIV positive.
Mr. Mellor : On 19 March 1990 the prison population of England and Wales included 61 male and seven female prisoners reported as having been identified as HIV antibody positive. On the same date the numbers of identified cases reported since March 1985 were 242 males and 42 females.
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Prisons (Syringes)
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many needles or syringes, contrary to prison rules, have been found in prison establishments in England and Wales during the past three years.
Mr. Mellor : The following numbers of finds were reported by prison service establishments in 1987-89 :
1987 |49 |92
1988 |77 |114
1989 |98 |187
NORTHERN IRELAND
Health and Social Services
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what additional funding will be allocated for health and social services boards in Northern Ireland for the financial year beginning on 1 April ; what is the basis of the calculation on which the allocations are made to the separate boards ; and how much will be allocated to the Eastern health and social services board.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : In 1990-91 the health and social services boards will have available to them an extra £55 million. In addition they will have the proceeds of their cost improvement programmes amounting to some £9 million. These resources are being allocated to boards to enable them to cover the forecast level of inflation, to advance services in a number of priority areas and to continue progress towards the regional strategy objectives through their operational plans. The 1990-91 allocations also continue the process of progressive equalisation of resources between boards.
The Eastern health and social services board's allocation for 1990-91 will be £386,804,000. In addition it will receive the major share of some £5.85 million which has been reserved for key developments including regional medical services.
Fair Employment
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the code of practice mentioned in his reply of 21 February, Official Report, column 768, to the hon. Member for Londonderry, East has been agreed with the Fair Employment Commission.
Mr. Cope : Although the code of practice has not been agreed with the Fair Employment Commission, which came into being on 1 January 1990, it was agreed with its predecessor, the Fair Employment Agency in 1985.
Railways
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is his estimate of the cost of police and Army time spent in protecting, checking and clearing explosives from the tracks of Northern Ireland railways in each of the last five years.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 27 February 1990] : The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Equal Opportunities
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what child care provision his Department provides for pre-school age children of employees ; what child care provision for school holidays or after-school care is provided for employees' children aged five years or over ; what plans there are for increasing provision in the next five years ; and how these are to be funded.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 5 March 1990] : The Northern Ireland Civil Service is considering with the trade unions whether child care facilities for under five-year-olds can be provided for its staff. Two holiday playschemes, which were funded by parental fees and grants from the Northern Ireland Civil Service, were established on a pilot basis during the 1989 summer holidays and one scheme in the 1989 Christmas holiday. These schemes are now being evaluated to gauge their success and to consider if further playschemes should be developed.
The small home Civil Service part of the Northern Ireland Office which comprises about 200 staff divided between London and Belfast, does not provide child care facilities of its own. Staff can, however, link into schemes already set up by larger Departments, both in London and Belfast and we hope to continue to be able to take advantage of any new schemes.
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures he has implemented to ensure that recruitment and promotion policy in his Department does not directly or indirectly discriminate against applicants who were mature students or women returning to work following a career break due to child care.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 5 March 1990] : It is the policy of the Northern Ireland Civil Service and home Civil Service that all eligible persons shall have equal opportunity for employment and promotion on the basis of their ability, qualifications and aptitude for the work.
The detailed policy statement on equality of opportunity issued by the Northern Ireland Civil Service makes it clear that any advertisements, whether internal or external, must not indicate or appear to indicate any intention to discriminate in selection for recruitment and promotion. It also states that opportunities to obtain information on careers in the Civil Service must be readily available to all existing and potential applicants and that the eligibility criteria for recruitment should be formulated to ensure that they are related to job performance and are non- discriminatory. There is no age limit for recruits except in the case of administrative trainees (age limit 36) and direct entrant executive officers II (age limit 50). These limits are necessary in order that recruits can realise the career expectation associated with recruitment to the grades in question.
There are no age limits which preclude officers from considerations for promotion. In pursuance of its equal opportunity policy, an equal opportunities unit has been established within the Department of Finance and Personnel. The unit has introduced a detailed monitoring system which includes recruitment and promotion. Details of its work are contained within three published reports ; copies of which are available in the Library.
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Equal opportunity policy in the small home Civil Service element of the Northern Ireland Office is kept under regular review. An equal opportunities guide for staff which emphasises its commitment, is near completion. Internal promotion procedures for this group are also currently under review.Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of civil servants in his Department are women at each of the grades (a) seven, (b) six, (c) five, (d) four, (e) three, (f) two and (g) one.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 5 March 1990] : The proportion of staff who are female in each of the following grades in the Northern Ireland Civil Service is :
With regard to the home Civil Service part of the Northern Ireland Office, female staff account for 4 to 5 per cent. of the total at grade 7 level ; there are currently no female staff at grades 1 to 6.
Privatisation
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total sum paid out in fees to outside organisations in the furtherance of privatisation by his Department in 1979-80 and in each subsequent year ; and what is his estimate for 1990-91.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 12 March 1990] : The information is as follows :
1979-80 |Nil
1980-81 |Nil
1981-82 |Nil
1982-83 |Nil
1983-84 |Nil
1984-85 |Nil
1985-86 |52,380
1986-87 |4,298
1987-88 |2,411
1988-89 |1,549,937
<1>1989-90 |2,760,488
<1>1990-91 |1,800,000
<1>Estimated
PRIME MINISTER
Mr. Colin Wallace
Q51. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister if she will refer the circumstances surrounding the case of Colin Wallace to the Security Commission under Lord Griffiths of Govilon or the security services tribunal under the chairmanship of Lord Stuart-Smith.
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Arts Institutions
Q52. Mr. Jessel : To ask the Prime Minister which arts institutions she has visited officially since 1 January.
Q112. Mr. Devlin : To ask the Prime Minister which arts institutions she has visited officially since 1 January.
Q138. Mr. Gerald Bowden : To ask the Prime Minister which arts institutions she has visited officially since 1 January.
Q170. Dr. Goodson-Wickes : To ask the Prime Minister which arts institutions she has visited officially since 1 January.
The Prime Minister : On 24 January I visited the Tate gallery, and on 28 February I went to the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford. On 1 March I attended a performance of "Don Pasquale" at the Royal Opera House, and the following day I visited the Arts Council. I also visited the Burrell collection in Glasgow on 10 March.
Scottish Islands
Q63. Dr. Godman : To ask the Prime Minister when last she travelled officially on a passenger ferry between the Scottish mainland and one of the Scottish islands ; and if she has any plans to undertake such a journey in the near future.
The Prime Minister : I hope to do so if a suitable opportunity arises.
Quangos
Q120. Mr. Harry Ewing : To ask the Prime Minister how many quangos were in being in June 1979 ; and how many there are at the present time.
The Prime Minister : On 1 April 1979 there were 2,167 non- departmental public bodies and on 1 April 1989 there were 1,555.
Zimbabwe
Q192. Mr. Hunter : To ask the Prime Minister on what occasions since 1980 Her Majesty's Government have made representations of concern to the Zimbabwean Government about the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe ; and what has been the cause of this concern.
The Prime Minister : We are opposed to abuses of human rights wherever they occur. We have made a number of representations since 1980 on behalf of individuals detained without charge in Zimbabwe, including most recently Mr. Lewis-Walker, Mrs. Brown, Mr. Clive Harding and Mr. Ivor Harding, all of whom were subsequently released.
Foreign Bases
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Prime Minister if she will state the Government's policy in relation to the use of bases in the United Kingdom which are in control of other countries for military purposes elsewhere in the world and on prior consultation concerning such use.
The Prime Minister : Under long-standing arrangements, the use by the United States of bases in the United
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Kingdom in an emergency would be a matter for joint decision by Her Majesty's Government and the United States Government in the light of the circumstances prevailing at the time. No other country has operational military facilities made available to it in the United Kingdom.Advertising Expenditure
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Prime Minister what was the total publicity and advertising expenditure including for privatisation of her Department and public bodies for which she has responsibility in (a) 1979 and (b) 1989.
The Prime Minister : Expenditure for 1979 is not available except at disproportionate cost. The estimated total expenditure on publicity and advertising by the Cabinet Office and those public bodies for which I am responsible in 1989-90 is £2,543,290. None of it is for privatisation. Over 84 per cent. of the total represents recruitment advertising by the Civil Service Commission.
NHS Hospitals
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to a National Health Service hospital.
The Prime Minister : I have visited various National Health hospitals eight times during the past year including Dewsbury hospital last month.
New York
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Prime Minister when she next expects to pay an official visit to New York.
The Prime Minister : I have no plans to visit New York.
Engagements
Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 March.
Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 March.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 March.
Mr. Boswell : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 March.
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 20 March.
The Prime Minister : This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today. This evening I hope to have an audience of Her Majesty the Queen.
WALES
Cancer
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what target date it is his policy to set for the publication of the figures for the incidence of leukaemia, lung cancer,
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colon cancer and stomach cancer (a) for Wales generally and (b) for each district in Wales following the end of each year.Mr. Grist : As indicated in the answer I gave the hon. Gentleman on 15 March there is no set target date for the publication of this data. The Department is, however, considering what steps might be taken to ensure prompt publication of this information in future.
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