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Mr. John Patten : The working group submitted its report last July. Its recommendations are being considered within the Home Office.
Racially Motivated Crimes
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought in each of the past 15 years for each category of racially motivated crimes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : Information is not collected on the number of prosecutions for offences which were racially motivated. The research and planning unit of the Home Office published in 1989 a paper, No. 54, on "Racially motivated incidents reported to the police", a copy of which is in the Library.
Cheltenham Conference (Security)
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the cost of the policing operation to protect the Prime Minister when she addressed the Conservative party in Cheltenham on 31 March 1990.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Chief Constable of Gloucestershire that the estimated additional cost of policing the Conservative party conference in Cheltenham was £120,000 over the three days.
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Leicestershire Police Authority
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional support he is proposing to offer the Leicestershire police authority to meet its extra policing requirements.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend has approved 53 additional police posts for the Leicestershire constabulary for 1990-91. The police authority has applied for 25 police posts for 1991-92. This will be considered, with the advice of Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary, along with the applications from other police authorities. The aim is to announce decisions on force increases in the autumn.
Vehicle Removal
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Newham, North- East of 30 March, Official Report, column 373, if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the daily average of vehicles recorded as parked unlawfully in Green street and Katherine road in the London borough of Newham and as to whether he has any proposals to increase the number which are removed.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that no specific records are kept of the average number of unlawfully parked vehicles in these roads.
Routine enforcement action is undertaken by traffic wardens and police officers, usually by issue of a fixed penalty notice. However, there will be many instances where illegally parked vehicles will be driven away before an officer is able to issue a notice.
The removal of illegally parked vehicles will continue to be arranged subject to traffic conditions and the availability of resources. There are no plans at present to increase the number of vehicle removals in the specified roads.
Correspondence
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now reply to the letter sent to him by the hon. Member for Gower on 5 March regarding staffing at Swansea prison.
Mr. Mellor : I replied to the hon. Member on 6 April.
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now reply to the letter sent to him on 24 February by the hon. Member for Gower regarding his constituent from West Cross, Swansea.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I replied to the hon. Member on 5 April.
Serious Disorder, London
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to make an early decision as to whether events on Saturday 31 March in London constituted a riot for Riot Damages Act purposes.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The receiver for the Metropolitan police district is satisfied that the terms of the Riot
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(Damages) Act 1886 apply. The Metropolitan police announced on 2 April that any person who believed that they had a claim for damage to a house, shop or building or any property in such premises should make a claim to the receiver, G9 branch, 2 Bessborough street, London SW1V 2JF within 14 days of the disturbance on 31 March, or submit notice of intention to make such a claim.Parking Offences
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many motor vehicles were towed away for fixed penalty offences in London in 1989 ;
(2) how many motor vehicles were wheel-clamped in London in 1989 ; (3) how many vehicles towed away in London in 1989 were towed away for (a) dangerous parking, (b) obstruction, (c) restricted street offences, (d) parking in designated parking bays and (e) parking in residents' parking bays ;
(4) how many vehicles wheel-clamped in London in 1989 were clamped for (a) dangerous parking, (b) obstruction, (c) restricted street offences, (d) parking in designated parking bays and (e) parking in residents' parking bays.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that during 1989 a total of 149,666 vehicles were wheel-clamped and 116,315 vehicles were removed for illegal parking in London.
Information about the number of vehicles wheel-clamped or removed for specific offences could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
As a matter of police policy, fixed penalty notices are issued to all vehicles before wheel-clamping. In the case of vehicles which are removed for parking offences, although the great majority are issued with a fixed penalty notice, there are certain circumstances where the issue of a fixed penalty is not appropriate because of the seriousness of the offence.
Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines are used by the Metropolitan police for the priorities for the wheel-clamping and removal of motor vehicles.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Wheel-clamping and vehicle removal operations are used by the Metropolitan police as an aid to the enforcement of parking regulations.
Guidelines are issued to all officers engaged on these duties. In areas where wheel-clamping is authorised, any offending vehicle may be clamped or removed. Police officers are expected to exercise discretion as to whether wheel-clamping or removal is the desirable course of action dependent upon prevailing circumstances. A vehicle would not normally be clamped if it is parked in a position which causes serious obstruction or danger to other road users, or if it is parked in a bus lane, bus stop or cab rank, on the approach to or exit from a pedestrian crossing, adjacent to a fire exit or across an access used by emergency vehicles or leading to private premises. In order of priority, enforcement action is concentrated on those vehicles which are causing danger, obstruction, parked illegally in restricted areas or parked illegally in permitted parking places.
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Personal Injury
Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the percentage of all crimes represented by crimes of violence and of road accidents involving personal injury in each of the county police areas in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Mr. Waddington : The information requested on crimes of violence is given in the following table. Information on road accidents is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister for Transport.
Violence against the person as a percentage of total recorded crime
in non-metropolitan police force areas.
Police force area |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989
Percentages
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |3.3 |3.3 |3.5 |4.1 |5.0
Bedfordshire |4.9 |4.4 |4.7 |5.0 |5.2
Cambridgeshire |3.8 |4.0 |4.6 |4.9 |5.8
Cheshire |4.2 |4.1 |4.3 |5.0 |5.4
Cleveland |3.6 |3.4 |3.7 |4.1 |4.1
Cumbria |3.8 |3.7 |4.8 |5.7 |6.3
Derbyshire |4.6 |4.7 |5.2 |6.6 |6.7
Devon and Cornwall |3.8 |3.6 |3.9 |4.8 |5.0
Dorset |2.7 |2.6 |3.1 |3.5 |3.5
Durham |3.8 |3.7 |4.5 |4.9 |5.2
Dyfed-Powys |4.5 |5.0 |5.4 |6.3 |8.2
Essex |3.8 |3.6 |4.4 |5.5 |5.0
Gloucestershire |3.1 |3.1 |2.9 |3.5 |3.7
Gwent |5.5 |5.4 |6.0 |7.3 |7.8
Hampshire |3.2 |3.3 |3.4 |4.0 |4.1
Hertfordshire |3.4 |3.4 |3.9 |4.5 |4.5
Humberside |5.3 |5.0 |5.6 |6.2 |6.3
Kent |2.9 |3.2 |3.8 |4.1 |4.5
Lancashire |2.9 |2.7 |3.1 |3.4 |3.2
Leicestershire |4.4 |4.3 |4.6 |5.2 |5.1
Lincolnshire |4.1 |3.7 |4.2 |4.9 |5.2
Norfolk |2.9 |2.7 |3.4 |4.2 |4.1
Northamptonshire |3.8 |4.3 |4.8 |5.4 |5.4
North Yorkshire |3.1 |3.6 |3.8 |4.4 |5.0
North Wales |4.8 |4.7 |5.3 |6.2 |6.5
Nottinghamshire |5.6 |5.7 |6.2 |6.4 |6.9
South Wales |2.8 |2.8 |3.1 |3.3 |3.8
Staffordshire |7.4 |6.8 |7.0 |7.9 |8.7
Suffolk |4.2 |4.0 |4.8 |5.1 |5.4
Surrey |4.0 |3.9 |4.9 |5.5 |5.2
Sussex |3.1 |3.4 |3.6 |4.0 |4.4
Thames Valley |3.0 |2.9 |3.3 |3.8 |3.7
Warwickshire |3.3 |3.4 |3.6 |4.4 |4.5
West Mercia |4.3 |4.4 |4.5 |5.4 |6.0
Wiltshire |4.9 |4.7 |5.8 |6.2 |7.2
Probation Service
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the discussion paper on the probation service and the independent sector, foreshadowed in chapter 10 of the Green Paper, "Supervision and Punishment in the Community", will be available.
Mr. John Patten : The discussion paper "Partnership in Dealing with Offenders in the Community" was published yesterday ; a copy has been placed in the Library. It has been distributed to probation services and other criminal justice agencies, and to a wide range of voluntary and other organisations. Further individual copies may be obtained, free of charge, by writing to :
Room 440
Criminal Justice and Constitutional Department
Home Office
50 Queen Anne's Gate
London SW1H 9AT
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Tyre Dumps (Fires)
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contingency plans exist to deal with a major fire at a major tyre dump in Britain.
Mr. Waddington : It is the duty of each fire authority to make provision for firefighting purposes in its area, and to ensure that its fire brigade has adequate and efficient fire cover arrangements. These would include contingency plans for all significant fire risks such as those inherent in major tyre dumps for which the fire service has available special techniques. Typically, a comprehensive contingency plan would also detail arrangements for liaising with the police and the other emergency services, and for the evacuation of the area should the situation require it.
Rule 43 Prisoners
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will initiate a review of the policy of holding prisoners subject to rule 43 protection in the same buildings as other prisoners ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : Prisoners segregated under rule 43 for their own protection are housed in separate buildings where it is practicable to do so. At most establishments, however, this is not feasible because of the relatively small numbers of such prisoners and the need to make maximum use of the limited accommodation available.
Police Complaints Authority
Mr. Flannery : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what power the Police Complaints Authority has to investigate events occurring before its establishment in April 1984.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 gives the Police Complaints Authority no investigative powers, but vests it with considerable powers to supervise investigations into complaints or, in some circumstances, into incidents which have not been the subject of a complaint. The Act precludes the authority from supervising the investigation of any matter which occurred before its establishment on 29 April 1984.
Police Equipment
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide full details of the names and sponsors of the international police equipment conference.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The international police exhibition and conference (IPEC) is organised by a private company, Major Exhibitions and Conferences Ltd., for which my right hon. and learned Friend has no responsibility.
Fraud Squads
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in respect of the fraud squad within each police force in England and Wales (i) the number of officers allocated to the fraud squad,(ii) the number of fraud squad officers as a percentage of the total number of police officers in each force, (iii) the planned numbers in the fraud squad for each force up to
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the year 2000, (iv) the number of prosecutions for fraud for the latest available date, (v) the number of convictions for fraud for the latest available date and (vi) the amount spent on computer hardware and software during the year 1988-89 ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The future allocation of officers to specific duties is an operational matter for each chief officer of police. Information on computer expenditure by fraud squads is not available and would be obtained only at disproportionate cost. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his question on 30 March 1990 at column 631 for the remainder of the information requested.
Radio Stations
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the new franchises which the shadow Radio Authority has advertised for in respect of (a) the numbers of franchises to be issued and (b) the date when the franchises are to take effect ;
(2) if he will make a statement on the recent announcement by the Independent Broadcasting Authority that it is inviting letters of intent for new radio franchises.
Mr. Mellor : The shadow Radio Authority has invited letters of intent from prospective licensees to assist in the process of drawing up a plan for the introduction of new independent stations. This exercise will give the authority an indication of the geographical spread of demand for new services, and the nature of that demand. The number of new licences which will be advertised in due course will be determined by factors such as local audience demand, financial viability, frequency availability and the extent to which the range and diversity of listener choice would be enhanced. In the course of the 1990s several hundred new services of various sizes could gradually emerge across the country. Advertising of licences for specific services will start when the Radio Authority is formally established in January 1991, if Parliament approves the provisions of the Broadcasting Bill.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the proposed licence fee for the radio stations franchised by the shadow Radio Authority.
Mr. Mellor : Under the provisions of the Broadcasting Bill the Radio Authority will be expected to receive its income from licence fee revenue. The authority aims to operate a differential scale of fees for the various services which it will license, but has yet to determine what those fees should be. We propose to amend the Broadcasting Bill in order to require the Radio Authority to publish its tariff of licence fees.
Detective Inspector Paul Matthews
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the Chief Constable of the West Midlands for a report as to whether any complaint has been received against former Detective Inspector Paul Matthews regarding his role in the case against Malcolm Herring.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand that such a complaint has been received, and that it is being investigated by the
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team led by Mr. Donald Shaw, Assistant Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, under the supervision of the Police Complaints Authority.Prisoners' Earnings
Mr. Rees : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the average weekly earnings of prisoners in England and Wales.
Mr. Mellor : Following a recent increase in inmates' earnings, it is estimated that average weekly pay in 1990-91 for inmates in England and Wales (including those who are unoccupied) will be about £2.80. All convicted inmates, as well as those unconvicted inmates who offer themselves for work, receive a basic weekly payment of £1.75 whether occupied or not. A range of flat-rate, piece-rate and incentive pay schemes provide opportunities to earn up to a maximum of £5.87 per week in certain workshops and kitchens.
Mr. Rees : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is (a) the average and (b) the maximum weekly earnings of a prisoner undertaking group I, group II and group III employment, respectively.
Mr. Mellor : With effect from 9 April 1990, the weekly rates under the flat rate scheme for inmates in England and Wales are as follows :
|Average|Maximum
|£ |£
----------------------------------
Group I |2.95 |3.55
Group II |2.75 |3.35
Group III |2.55 |3.15
Mr. Rees : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the hourly overtime rate for prisoners' work.
Mr. Rees : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the weekly rate of earnings paid to prisoners for whom no work is available.
Mr. Mellor : With effect from 9 April 1990, £1.75.
Extradition
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (i) those countries within the European Community which will extradite their nationals to the United Kingdom when charged with fraud-related offences committed here and (ii) those countries within the European Community to which the United Kingdom would extradite British nationals resident here to face charges of fraud committed in those countries.
Mr. John Patten : Fraud is included as an extraditable offence in all the bilateral treaties between the United Kingdom and the other members of the European Community, and is also covered by the backing of warrants procedure which operates between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
The United Kingdom, which has very limited extra-territorial jurisdiction, is prepared (subject to the circumstances of the case and our treaty arrangements
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with the country concerned) to extradite United Kingdom nationals to stand trial in the place where the offence was committed. This contrasts with the position in many civil law countries, which have wide extra-territorial powers to prosecute for offences committed outside their territory, but which are restricted constitutionally from extraditing their own nationals. The United Kingdom's extradition arrangements with the member countries of the European Community reflect this difference of approach.Under the treaties with Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Portugal and Spain, the United Kingdom may extradite nationals to stand trial abroad, but those countries have discretion to refuse the extradition of their nationals here. The Netherlands are in a broadly similar position, although an amendment to their domestic law in 1981 now permits the extradition of a Dutch national here if the Dutch authorities are satisfied that there is sufficient guarantee that the offender would be returned to serve any prison sentence in the Netherlands. The Luxembourg treaty expressly prohibits the extradition of their nationals, while allowing United Kingdom nationals to be extradited there. Three further treaties, with Denmark, Greece and Italy, prohibit the extradition of nationals in either direction, so that the United Kingdom cannot at present extradite United Kingdom nationals to those countries. (This limitation on United Kingdom freedom of action will be removed later this year when the United Kingdom ratifies the European convention on extradition, which will take the place of existing extradition treaties with convention countries.) There are no restrictions on the extradition of nationals in either direction between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
Mr. Neil Larkman
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the inquest into the death of Neil Larkman at Swansea prison on 4 November has not yet taken place ; and why the original date was deferred.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The conduct of an inquest is a matter for the coroner, who has informed me that the inquest into the death of Neil Larkman began on 22 March when the evidence of several witnesses was heard. The hearing was then adjourned at the request of solicitors acting for Mr. Larkman's family because two witnesses failed to appear. The coroner has now issued subpoenas for their attendance at a resumed hearing on 3 May.
Armley Prison
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were in Armley Prison on the night of Monday, 2 April and Tuesday 3 April ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : On the mornings of Tuesday 3 April and Wednesday 4 April 1,311 and 1,273 prisoners respectively were held at Her Majesty's prison Leeds. Population figures are not collated separately for the evening.
Manchester Prison
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners during the recent disturbances at Her Majesty's prison, Manchester escaped outside prison boundaries ; and how many of such prisoners were recaptured.
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Mr. Mellor : No prisoners have escaped from Manchester prison during the recent incident.
Bramham Moor Hunt
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up an inquiry into the circumstances resulting in the deaths of four horses at the Bramham moor hunt's point-to-point meeting at Wetherby racecourse on Saturday 31 March.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 5 April 1990] : No. These are matters for the responsible authorities.
Victim Support, Newcastle
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy towards victim support schemes in east Newcastle.
Mr John Patten [holding answer 5 April 1990] : The Home Office pays grant in aid (£3.7 million in 1989-90 and £4.5 million subject to parliamentary approval this year) to Victim Support headquarters for the benefit of local victim support schemes. The grant is administered by the funding panel of Victim Support in accordance with agreed criteria which provide for payment of salaries or running costs. I understand that salaries grant is paid for two posts in the east Newcastle scheme. Responsibility for the funding of one of these posts was taken over from the local authority from 1 April 1989.
TRANSPORT
Maritime Safety
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has prepared a paper for presentation to the International Maritime Organisation requesting urgent consideration of the application of a revised standard of damage stability to all existing roll- on roll-off passenger ships, as recommended by the steering committee of the roll-on roll-off ferry safety research programme ; and when in May the maritime safety committee of the International Maritime Organisation will meet.
Mr. McLoughlin : My Department has already submitted a paper to the 58th session of the maritime safety committee of the International Maritime Organisation, which takes place from 21 to 25 May 1990. Our paper sets out the work and recommendations of the ro-ro safety research programme, and proposes that
"the Committee consider the adoption of a standard of residual stability for existing ro-ro ferries higher than that now required by the Convention",
and will include the steering committee and overview reports.
Marchioness
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a further grant to the Marchioness disaster fund to cover the cost of legal representation of the relatives of the victims at the forthcoming inquest ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr McLoughlin : I announced on 18 October 1989 that the Government had contributed £125,000 to the
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Riverboat Trust Fund set up by the mayor of Southwark, following the Marchioness disaster. Payments from the trust are matters for the trustees within the terms of the deed of trust, and I see no reason for a further contribution to the fund for the suggested purpose.Toton Goods Yard
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will meet the chief executive of the British Rail Property Board to discuss the use of British Rail land at Toton for Transport related uses.
Mr. Portillo : No ; this is a commercial matter for British Rail.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will obtain a copy of the Halcrow Fox Consulting Engineers report on the viability of access to the Toton goods yard through existing transport routes ;
(2) what proposals he has to develop road and rail links between the A52 and the proposed Toton international freight terminal ; (3) what steps he is taking to ensure that an international freight terminal for the east midlands is built at Toton goods yards on land currently owned by British Rail.
Mr. Portillo : The responsibility for planning international rail freight services rests with British Rail. Any road implications of particular proposals will be considered by my Department in due course.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what correspondence he has received from Nottinghamshire county council, Mr. Cedric Ford and the Nottinghamshire chamber of commerce regarding delays in the freeing of derelict land in the ownership of British Rail in the Toton area.
Mr. Portillo : I am not aware of any such correspondence.
Rail Safety
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 29 March, Official Report, column 239, if he will place in the Library a copy of the full report on the test carried out by the railways inspectorate into the safety effects of the incapacitation of one- person operation train drivers.
Mr. Portillo : No tests were carried out by the inspectorate ; it observed the exercise carried out by London Underground Ltd. The chief inspecting officer of railways was satisfied by the result.
Sub-standard Shipping
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the powers that exist at present to eliminate sub-standard shipping from entering ports in the United Kingdom ; and if he has any plans to amend those powers.
Mr. McLoughlin : The United Kingdom, with 13 other European countries, is a signatory to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on port state control, under which foreign ships using its ports are subject to inspection to
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