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Midland and Oxford circuitCambridgeshire (the part formerly Huntingdon and Peterborough), part of Derbyshire, Hereford and Worcester, Humberside (the part formerly in Lincolnshire), Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands.
North Eastern circuit
Cleveland, Durham, Humberside (excluding the part formerly in Lincolnshire), part of North Yorkshire, Northumberland, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire.
Northern circuit
Cumbria, part of Derbyshire, Lancashire, part of North Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside.
South Eastern circuit
Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire (except that part formerly Huntingdon and Peterborough), East Sussex, Essex Greater London, Hertfordshire, Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, Surrey, West Sussex.
Wales and Chester circuit
Cheshire, Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid-Glamorgan, Powys, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan.
Western circuit
Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Somerset, Isle of Wight, Wiltshire.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Privatisation (Eastern Europe)
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has offered any assistance to the Czechoslovakian Government in producing their privatisation programme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 21 March that the know-how fund will be extended to
Czechoslovakia. Among the first activities will be a visit to explore particular Czechoslovak needs in the promotion of free markets and privatisation.
Cambodia
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will support efforts to ensure the Cambodians in the Thailand border camps come under the supervision of the United Nations.
Mr. Sainsbury : Camps for displaced persons along the Thai-Cambodian border are administered by the Cambodian resistance factions themselves. But the United Nations has contributed to humanitarian assistance in the camps for a number of years. The creation of neutral sites under direct United Nations administration may be necessary as part of a comprehensive political settlement leading to free and fair elections in Cambodia.
Eastern Europe
Mr. Dickens : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on (a) policy towards the recent events in eastern Europe and (b) his latest assessment of the consequences of a unified Germany.
Mr. Waldegrave : We warmly welcome the rapid progress towards democracy in eastern Europe, which will
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lead to greater prosperity and freedom for all. The elections in the GDR last weekend showed clearly the desire of the people for unity with the FRG and fundamental political and economic change. We look forward to the elections in Hungary this weekend, and to others in the coming months.We shall be working hard for a successful outcome to the discussions on external aspects of German unification and are confident that a united Germany will be a welcome and influential force for strengthening democracy and prosperity in Europe.
Daphne Parish
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the location of the prison in Iraq where Daphne Parish is being held ; and whether she has been allowed to see any member of the British consular staff since her conviction and sentence were announced.
Mr. Waldegrave : Mrs. Parish was visited by the British consul general in Baghdad on 15 March. She was well, but was naturally distressed to hear of Mr. Bazoft's execution. At that time Mrs. Parish was being held at Abu Ghraib prison. She has now been moved to a women's prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Iraq
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has regarding Iraq's nuclear capability.
Mr. Waldegrave : Iraq is a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and, as such, is obliged to declare all nuclear facilities to the International Atomic Energy Agency. One facility, a research centre at Tuwaitha, has been so declared.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Religious Broadcasting
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representation he has received from the shadow Radio Authority about the interpretation of the restrictions on broadcasting religious matters in the Broadcasting Bill known as the "no undue prominence" and "no editorialising" provisions, as they will apply to the ownership of licences by religious groups ; and if he proposes to issue any guidance about how the Radio Authority intends to interpret these provisions.
Mr. Mellor : The Broadcasting Bill contains no prohibitions on ownership of radio stations by religious bodies. We are currently discussing with the regulatory bodies the programme content provisons in the Bill which are relevant to religious broadcasting. Application of such provisions will be a matter for them ; but our discussions include the question of whether it would be helpful to issue guidance on the effect of these provisions.
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Protection of Animals
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to provide disincentives to those who torture or abuse wild animals not covered by the terms of the Protection of Animals Act 1911.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to his question on 19 March at column 458.
Police Inspectorate
Mr. Forman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish reports by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary on its inspections of police forces.
Mr. Waddington : Yes. I shall from today publish the reports by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary on police forces inspected annually under the Police Act 1964, that is the 42 provincial forces including the City of London police ; and also those which the inspectorate makes on the Metropolitan police at the invitation of the Commissioner. The first three reports, published today, are of the 1989 inspections of police forces in Norfolk, South Wales and Staffordshire. Copies of these reports, and of a booklet about Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary, have been placed in the Library.
I have decided to publish these reports so as to increase public awareness of the significance of the inspectorate's role and functions ; to draw police achievements and good practice to wider attention ; to identify more publicly the scope for improvements and help accelerate the process of improving value for money in the police service ; and to respond to public and parliamentary interest in the police.
Immigration
Mr. Raffan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to make changes in the immigration rules.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend has today laid before Parliament a statement of changes in the immigration rules. The main changes are the introduction of a visa requirement for nationals of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia ; changes in the arrangements for Commonwealth citizens with grandparents born in the United Kingdom so that they will qualify for settlement after four years' residence rather than on arrival ; and an increase in the minimum sum or income which persons must invest or have at their disposal to qualify as a business man or person of independent means. These changes are consolidated in a new statement of the immigration rules. The new visa requirements will come into effect on 1 April 1990, the other changes on 1 May 1990. A statement listing and explaining all the changes is available in the Vote Office.
Vulnerable Prisoner Units
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to increase the number of vulnerable prisoner units.
Mr. Mellor : An additional unit planned at Wayland prison will hold 96 prisoners and is expected to be in
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operation in June. The unit at Channings Wood prison is being extended to double its capacity to 112. The extension is due to be completed by the end of this year.Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will (a) list the national and regional vulnerable prisoner units and (b) state their current capacity and occupancy levels.
Mr. Mellor : The information is as follows :
In addition, a wing of Littlehey prison, not referred to as a vulnerable prisoner unit, houses prisoners formerly segregated under rule 43. Capacity is 112 and occupancy at 16 March 1990 was 112.
Lay Visitors, Southwark
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take with respect to concerns expressed in the Southwark lay visitors panel's annual report.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : As with all annual reports from lay visitors' panels, the issues which have been raised by the Southwark panel's annual report have been carefully considered in consultation with the community involvement branch and local officers from the Metropolitan police. Detailed responses have been sent direct to the panel about the reports and points which have been raised.
Drugs
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost in the latest year for which figures are available of police work directed at drug enforcement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are more than 1,500 police officers throughout the country with a major commitment to drugs work. In addition, many other officers contribute to the prevention and investigation of drug- related offences in the course of their duties. Reliable estimates of the cost of this work are not therefore available.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost in the latest year for which figures are available of the probation service's work with offenders with problems of drug abuse.
Mr. John Patten : The information available to the Home Office about the cost of probation service activities does not make it possible to identify separately the cost of the probation service's work with offenders who have problems of drug abuse, but this is a duty which is regarded as a priority.
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Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost in the latest year for which figures are available of treatment facilities provided in prisons for offenders with problems of drug abuse.
Mr. Mellor : Monitoring of the expenditure, including medical expenditure, of the prison service is insufficiently detailed to enable costs on specific activities such as helping drug misusers to be separately identified.
Police Consultative Groups
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will provide the funds for police consultative groups in London to meet on a London-wide basis to discuss policing matters.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. The emphasis within the formal consultation process provided under section 106 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 is on flexible local arrangements which cater for the varying needs of each individual local community. It would not be appropriate for the Home Office to fund a body which is not an essential part of these arrangements.
Racism and Xenophobia
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has received to his Department's memorandum COM (88) 318 Final submitted to the European Community ; whether consideration of it has been concluded ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The draft European Community resolution on the fight against racism and xenophobia has yet to be considered by the Council of Ministers. The Government's position is unchanged from that set out in the explanatory memorandum to Parliament and has been reflected in negotiations at official level on this subject.
Prison Population
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is prepared exceptionally to release all sentenced prison inmates serving sentences of six months or less with a view to bringing the total population in prison service establishments in England and Wales within their total certified normal accommodation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : No. The power of executive release is one we have always kept in reserve, for use only in the last resort.
We have already taken a number of initiatives to reduce the prison population, both diverting people from custody and greatly expanding the prison building programme. These measures are now taking effect.
Payphones in Prisons
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on extending payphones in prisons in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : We believe that the use of cardphones by inmates is an important way of sustaining relationships with family and friends during the time in custody and can help inmates to prepare for release.
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Following the successful introduction of cardphones in open establishments and the current programme of installation at category C and equivalent female and young offender establishments, a pilot scheme to give unconvicted inmates access to cardphones, subject to certain safeguards, will start shortly at Her Majesty's prison Manchester. We hope that, if the trial is successful, cardphones can be extended for the use of unconvicted inmates in all other local prisons and remand centres. There are no plans at present to instal cardphones for the use of category B or category A inmates.Rule 43
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what review his Department is conducting of the existing policy on rule 43 inmates in prisons in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Mellor : A review was completed last year. I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis) on 31 October 1989 at column 116.
Prisoners
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for the latest date available, how many prisoners in England and Wales serving (a) less than three years, (b) three to four years, (c) four to five years, (d) five to 10 years and (e) more than 10 years but less than life were (i) white or (ii) from an ethnic minority ;
(2) for the latest date available, what was the male and female sentenced prisoner population in England and Wales ; and how many emanated from an ethnic minority.
Mr. Mellor [holding answer 8 March 1990] : The latest available information is given in the table.
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Sentenced population<1> of Prison Service establishments in England and Wales on 30 September 1989:by length of sentence, ethnic origin and sex Number of prisoners<2> recorded (including <1>Including fine defaulters. <2>The figures are those recorded centrally and are approximate.
Electronic Monitoring
Sir Charles Irving : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many defendants have been subjected to electronic monitoring at each of the three magistrates courts where experiments have taken place ; how many have offended while on bail ; how many have otherwise breached the conditions of bail ; and how many have subsequently been remanded in custody.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 13 March 1990] : The information requested is given in the table. Electronic
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monitoring is a very precise and accurate method of detecting automatically even minor breaches of the relevant bail conditions, compared to conventional methods. Some defendants commit offences or otherwise breach bail conditions whatever conditions may be imposed on them by the courts. For example 40 per cent. of male defendants refused bail and remanded in custody in January 1989 had previously committed offences on bail or otherwise breached bail conditions.Column 797
<1> Of the 26 defendants who have breached their conditions 23 have been remanded in custody except two in North Tyneside and one in Tower Bridge who have absconded and are still violating.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Advertising Expenditure
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total publicity and advertising expenditure, including for privatisation, of his Department and public bodies for which his Department has responsibility in (a) 1979 and (b) 1989.
Mr. Curry : The information requested is supplied by financial years. The total estimated publicity budget for my Department for 1989-90 is £2.5 million. Comparable figures for the year 1979-80 are not available on an identical basis due to changes in the way the figures are recorded. The spend for 1979-80 was £256,000. This figure, however, includes recruitment and other types of advertising as well as promotional publicity. It would be possible to distinguish between the two only at disproportionate cost.
No privatisations took place in the Department in the years 1979 and 1989.
Sulphadimidine
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if the review of medicines containing the active ingredient sulphadimidine has yet taken place ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The review of existing veterinary medicinal products containing sulphadimidine as an active ingredient is under way and those products that meet modern standards of safety, quality and efficacy qualify for reviewed product licences.
GATT
Sir Richard Body : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the final position paper on agriculture prepared by the European Economic Community for the Uruguay round of general agreement on tariffs and trade negotiations in Geneva ;
(2) what offers have been made by the European Economic Community to the Uruguay round negotiation of the general agreement on tariffs and trade for substantial and progressive reductions in agricultural support ; how those offers would affect the scope and level of agricultural trade between the United Kingdom and Canada, Australia and New Zealand ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : I am arranging for a copy of the Community's comprehensive position paper on agriculture, submitted for the GATT negotiations in December 1989, to be placed in the Library of the House.
The Government are working actively with our Community partners to develop this position and to carry the negotiations forward on this basis.
A successful outcome to the negotiations will bring benefits to agricultural trade worldwide.
Dressed Poultry
Mr. John Townend : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will seek a derogation under the new European Economic Community poultry health regulations to allow the continued processing and marketing of New York dressed poultry ;
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(2) what information he has about derogations under European Economic Community poultry health regulations for the continued use of the effile , roped, method of dressing poultry in Italy and France.Mr. Gummer : The EC Commission's proposals to the Council for a new regulation on poultrymeat hygiene make provision for member states to continue to authorise the marketing of partially eviscerated (effile ) poultry. At our insistence, the Commission has suggested, although only tentatively, that this authority should extend to the marketing of uneviscerated (New York dressed) birds.
There are no grounds for discriminating between the two forms of production and we shall resist firmly any attempt to prevent us authorising the marketing of uneviscerated birds under conditions consistent with public safety.
Food Products (Labelling)
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he has any plans to introduce quantitative labelling of characterising ingredients in food products for human consumption.
Mr. Gummer : The European Commission is committed to making proposals requiring quantitative declaration of the major characterising ingredients of foodstuffs as part of its single market programme. The United Kingdom has been pressing the Commission to bring forward proposals and they are expected to be tabled formally within the next few months.
Genetically Engineered Yeast
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the method of announcement chosen by his Department to inform the public about the introduction of genetically engineered yeast.
Mr. Maclean : The announcement of the clearance given to this product was made by means of a news release circulated to the national, regional and specialist media and the simultaneous issue of the independent scientific advice on which the decision was based to some 240 organisations which might have a special interest in the subject.
Pet Food
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what controls exist over the safety and contents of pet food ; what steps he takes to ensure dogmeat is not included in dog food ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer : The safety of pet foods is required by sections 73 and 73A of the Agriculture Act 1970. Controls on the contents are contained in the Feedingstuffs Regulations 1988 (as amended). These controls require the ingredients used to be declared either individually or according to specific categories. Enforcement of the regulations has produced no reason to believe that dogmeat has been used as an ingredient. Indeed, my information is that pet food manufacturers maintain strict quality controls and that the meat they use is from food animals passed as fit for human consumption.
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Shellfish
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish figures showing the quantity of nephrops used to produce scampi landed or imported into the United Kingdom over the last five years ; and whether he is able to estimate what landings can be anticipated for the rest of the year.
Mr. Curry [holding answer 19 March 1990] : We do not collect the figures requested.
However a proportion of landings and imports of nephrops into the United Kingdom is used to produce scampi. In particular, nephrops landed as tails, as opposed to landed whole, are mostly used to produce scampi. It is too early in the year to estimate landings and imports for 1990 but figures for the last five years are as follows :
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tonnes Sources: Fisheries Departments Statistics Units. Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Overseas Trade Statistics. <1>Imported weight; whole nephrops and tails are not separately recorded in import data. <2>Provisional.
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