| Previous Section | Home Page |
Plutonium
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many permanent withdrawals from safeguards of plutonium under article 14 of the 1978 tripartite safeguards agreement between the United Kingdom, Euratom and the International Atomic Energy Agency, have been made ; what were the quantities involved ; and what were their isotopic compositions.
Mr. Baldry : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) on 21 May 1990 at column 12.
Tritium
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what safeguards measures exist in the United Kingdom to ensure detection of the diversion of tritium from peaceful to non-peaceful applications.
Mr. Baldry : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Worcestershire, South (Mr. Spicer) to the hon. Member for Meirionydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas), Official Report, 30 November 1989, columns 400-1.
Hunterprint
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether the company Hunterprint had any printing contracts for work associated with the privatisation of the gas industry or has any outstanding printing contracts for work associated with the privatisation of the electricity industry.
Mr. Peter Morrison : Hunterprint were involved in printing material used in the flotation of British Gas plc. The question of their participation in the forthcoming privatisation of the electricity industry is a matter subject to commercial negotiation.
Column 9
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
May Inquiry
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Attorney-General if he has any plans to make additional powers available to the May inquiry.
The Attorney-General : No. Sir John May has made no suggestion to me or to the Home Secretary that the effectiveness of his inquiry is being impaired by its non-statutory basis.
PRIME MINISTER
Rockall
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Prime Minister which Minister is responsible for matters relating to the Isle of Rockall.
The Prime Minister : In terms of the Island of Rockall Act 1972 as read with the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, Rockall is part of the Western Isles Islands area. It forms part of the Crown Estates. The responsibilities of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State extend to Rockall as to the rest of Scotland.
Rivers, Estuaries and Bays
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list all studies being carried out with money from the United Kingdom Government or European Economic Community funds to provide new crossings, barrages or major environmental schemes in United Kingdom rivers, estuaries or bays, and indicate when each report is expected to be completed.
The Prime Minister : This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Ivory
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make it her policy not to extend the reservation enabling Hong Kong ivory traders to dispose of their stocks when it expires ; and if she will make a statement.
The Prime Minister : As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs stated in his reply of 11 May to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks), the six-month reservation will be withdrawn on 18 July 1990. It will not be extended.
Local Enterprise Companies
Mr. Wallace : To ask the Prime Minister whether she has any proposals to extend the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration to include the administration of local enterprise companies.
The Prime Minister : I have no plans to do so. Local enterprise companies will be private companies formed under the Companies Acts, and as such are outwith the jurisdiction of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, which encompasses Government Departments, public corporations and public bodies whose functions are exercised on behalf of the Crown.
Column 10
Leaks
Mr. Douglas : To ask the Prime Minister if she will list the number of leaks from Departments of State since June 1983 and give details of the steps which have been taken to trace such happenings and the numbers of individuals who have been held accountable.
Redistribution of Wealth
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if it is the intention of the Government to commemorate in some form those who devoted their activities to trying to bring about in the United Kingdom a redistribution of wealth from richer to poorer citizens.
Salman Rushdie
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Prime Minister if it remains the Government's policy that Mr. Rushdie will receive the full protection of the authorities, regardless of any financial and manpower cost, so long as there remains a threat to his life.
The Prime Minister : Mr. Rushdie's protection is a matter for the police, who will take any action that they consider necessary in the circumstances.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is his policy in respect of the trend towards increasing foreign control of United Kingdom manufacturing industry.
Mr. Redwood [holding answer 7 June 1990] : The Government's general policy is set out in the blue paper on mergers policy, published in 1988.
Our policy towards inward investment by foreigners in the United Kingdom is to welcome it and, broadly speaking, this applies to inward investment by way of acquisition of existing companies as much as to direct inward investment. United Kingdom companies engage in a considerable quantity of overseas investment, including acquisitions of foreign companies, and it is in the interests of the United Kingdom economy that there should be as little official interference as possible in this two-way flow.
For this reason, it is also our policy to try to reduce the barriers to takeover that exist in the European Community. The European Commission brought forward a set of proposals in May to reduce and eliminate barriers within the Community.
Nevertheless, there are instances in which foreign ownership of a United Kingdom company may raise particular concerns, and in such cases the power to make a reference to the MMC is available for use.
Column 11
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Global Warming
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, as a result of the Bergen conference, he has any plans to provide new funding to assist developing countries in their efforts to reduce emissions of global warming gases.
Mrs. Chalker : The issues covered by the Bergen ministerial declaration include assistance to developing countries in the context of global environmental problems. The Government expect that the international community will take this into account in developing a global response to possible climate change. The Government are planning to allocate additional resources to helping developing countries to deal with sources of greenhouse gas emissions such as deforestation and the inefficient use of energy.
Environmental Programmes
Mr. Jack : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans Her Majesty's Government have to help developing countries with their environmental programmes.
Mrs. Chalker : Our policies are set out in a new booklet, "The Environment and the British Aid Programme", a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
I have arranged for a copy to be sent to my hon. Friend.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Channel Tunnel (Policing)
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an application has been received from Kent county police to enable further police officers to be recruited to police the channel tunnel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend has received an application for 52 posts in 1991-92 for policing the channel tunnel. This will be considered in the coming months with advice from Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary. Seventy police posts have already been approved in connection with the tunnel.
Mr. McCrindle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any discussions have taken place between the developers of the channel tunnel and his Department over the level of police manpower required to police the tunnel ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waddington : No. Under section 14 of the Channel Tunnel Act 1987 the policing of the tunnel system is a matter for the chief constable of the police force for the county of Kent.
West Midlands Serious Crime Squad
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of West Yorkshire as to whether DCI Matthews was interviewed in connection with the inquiry into the west midlands serious crime squad during his recent visit to this country.
Column 12
Swansea Prison (Dispute)
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the impact of the dispute at Swansea prison on detention conditions for persons detained by the police in south Wales.
Mr. Mellor : I very much regret that the dispute at Her Majesty's prison Swansea has led to a number of prisoners having to be held in police cells in the area.
The responsibility for the care and conditions of prisoners in police custody rests with the chief officer of police concerned. We recognise that police cells are not designed for long-term detention and that therefore their use for people who ought to be in prison leaves a lot to be desired. I am sure that the police are doing the best that they can in the difficult circumstances under which they are operating.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to try to resolve the current dispute at Swansea prison ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mellor : A meeting between representatives of local and regional management, and local and national Prison Officers Association was held on Tuesday 5 June. Whilst the actual dispute was not resolved, sufficient good will now exists between the two parties which should enable police cells to be cleared of prisoners by Wednesday 13 June.
It was agreed that local management and POA should meet locally in an attempt to resolve the current difficulties.
Police Manpower
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the number of (a) police officers and (b) other staff employed by each police force in England and Wales in (i) 1974, (ii) 1979 and (iii) the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested for 1974 and 1979 can be found at appendix 1 of the annual report of Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary for 1974 and at Appendix 7 of the annual report for 1979, copies of which can be found in the Library. The comparable position at the end of 1989 is set out in the table :
|c|At 31 December 1989|c|
Force |Police |Civilians<1>|Traffic |Cadets
|Wardens
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |3,055 |816 |145 |-
Bedfordshire |1,038 |341 |32 |-
Cambridgeshire |1,190 |453 |43 |-
Cheshire |1,874 |503 |40 |-
Cleveland |1,468 |457 |31 |-
Cumbria |1,152 |361 |32 |-
Derbyshire |1,790 |690 |80 |-
Devon and Cornwall |2,830 |914 |114 |-
Dorset |1,258 |487 |66 |15
Durham |1,357 |532 |22 |-
Dyfed Powys |934 |234 |21 |-
Essex |2,799 |986 |123 |33
Gloucestershire |1,162 |337 |35 |-
Greater Manchester |6,965 |2,098 |195 |-
Gwent |1,000 |250 |21 |9
Hampshire |3,118 |939 |85 |-
Hertfordshire |1,647 |526 |79 |-
Humberside |1,993 |668 |68 |-
Kent |2,978 |962 |119 |-
Lancashire |3,174 |1,077 |116 |-
Leicestershire |1,748 |612 |92 |-
Lincolnshire |1,185 |427 |21 |-
Merseyside |4,680 |1,391 |139 |-
Norfolk |1,353 |386 |40 |20
Northamptonshire |1,119 |366 |37 |-
Northumbria |3,526 |1,157 |155 |-
North Wales |1,332 |423 |33 |-
North Yorkshire |1,379 |436 |22 |-
Nottinghamshire |2,320 |612 |74 |-
South Wales |3,118 |1,082 |97 |-
South Yorkshire |2,946 |869 |66 |-
Staffordshire |2,172 |651 |39 |68
Suffolk |1,184 |419 |33 |-
Surrey |1,654 |506 |43 |-
Sussex |2,924 |875 |138 |-
Thames Valley |3,645 |1,243 |150 |-
Warwickshire |977 |319 |23 |-
West Mercia |1,974 |822 |47 |-
West Midlands |6,846 |2,230 |244 |32
West Yorkshire |5,217 |1,710 |193 |33
Wiltshire |1,119 |435 |40 |-
City of London |785 |304 |73 |-
Metropolitan |28,176 |13,083 |1,338 |178
<1> Full-time plus part-time on 2:1 basis.
Arms Theft, Kent
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will call for a report from the chief constable of Kent on the circumstances of the burglary of rifles and ammunition from a cadet force armory at Longfield upper school, Dartford, Kent.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. The burglary of rifles and ammunition at Longfield upper school is an operational matter for the Kent police and is already under investigation.
Crime Statistics
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to improve the clear-up rates of police forces in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Decisions about the priorities and methods for the investigation of crime are a matter for chief officers in the light of local circumstances. They already seek to target their resources on those crimes which are of most concern to the public. Clear-up rates for the most serious offences, including violence against the person and sexual offences, remain high at 75 per cent. or more. Most crime is against property, where there is a range of practical preventive measures which we can all take to help the police.
Salman Rushdie
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further steps are being taken to ensure that the police and security protection given to Mr. Rushdie is adequate, in view of the further threats to his life.
Column 14
Mr. Waddington : It would not be sensible to give details of the protection afforded to Mr. Rushdie, but the police will take whatever steps they judge necessary in the light of the threat and any other relevant circumstances.
Police Budgets
Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the percentage increase in the budget of each police force in England and Wales in each year since 1974 in (a) money and (b) real terms ; and if he will make a statement on efforts being made by his Department to improve value for money in the police service.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information relating to police force budgets is not readily available and could only be obtained at
disproportionate cost.
The Home Office is strongly committed to encouraging better value for money in the police service, in partnership with chief officers and police authorities. The main elements in Home Office activity are :
(1) inspection of forces by HM inspectorate of constabulary : developments include further extension of the matrix of indicators used by the inspectorate to assist the inspection process, the publication of inspection reports and the appointment of a business consultant :
(2) encouragement of a programme of efficiency scrutinies in forces, with 19 scrutinies completed or under way ;
(3) through controls on police establishment, encouragement of civilianisation, which has released 4,700 officers for operational duties over the last 7 years, with a further 800 posts due to be civilianised this year ;
(4) following a Home Office/Treasury study on police manpower, a programme of work is under way to improve and standardise measures of police workloads, activity and effectiveness ;
(5) follow-up action on papers produced by the Audit Commission as part of their current programme of work in the police service, include monitoring by HM inspectorate of action taken by forces.
Electoral Registers
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he takes to ensure that no overseas elector has his name included on an electoral register in circumstances where his name was not previously included on the register for the same electoral division.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In order to ascertain the eligibility of applicants, electoral registration officers will as a matter of course check old registers, to ensure that potential overseas electors (or, in appropriate cases, a parent or guardian) were included on the register for the constituency within the previous 20 years. Guidance recently issued to registration officers by the Home Office explains which registers should be checked in particular circumstances, and how old registers can be checked when copies are not available locally.
Birmingham Prison (Shortages)
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what shortages of kit at Birmingham prison were discovered as a result of the special stock-taking early in the curent year.
Mr. Mellor : A full check in March showed significant shortages of shirts, pants, socks, shoes and towels against the scales laid down to ensure adequate stocks in use, being laundered and in store. Stocks have since been replenished.
Column 15
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there are adequate stocks of underwear at Birmingham prison to enable each inmate to be given a weekly change of underwear.Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when, further to the letter of 8 May from Mr. A. H. Chapman of C3 division to the Rev. J. Gilmore, the document publicised by Granada Television was made public and by whom.
Mr. John Patten : The letter to the Rev. Gilmore contained a typographical error. The document to which it referred was a police report and not, as wrongly stated, a public report. A letter correcting the inaccuracy has been sent to the Rev. Gilmore.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has anything further to add to his Department's statement on the Birmingham pub bombings, dated 29 March, that the document publicised by Granada Television was written before the original trial.
Mr. John Patten : I understand that the document in question was in fact written in 1975 after the trial of the six men for the Birmingham pub bombings.
Prisons, South-West
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison spaces in the south-western region need to be replaced or refurbished as a result of recent riots.
Mr. Mellor : A total of 407 cells at Bristol, Dartmoor and Pucklechurch were damaged to such a degree that major refurbishment work will need to be undertaken before they can be brought back into use.
Cells damaged at other establishments where disturbances took place have already been repaired.
Hilda Murrell
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the latest representations made to him by the chief constable of West Mercia in the case of Hilda Murrell.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend has not received any recent representations from the chief constable of West Mercia police on this matter.
Young Offenders
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current average length of sentence for young offenders in (a) Wales, (b) England and (c) England and Wales.
Mr. John Patten : Information for 1988 is given in the table. Data for 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.
Column 16
|c|Average length of sentences
of immediate custody for
offenders aged|c|
|c|14 to under 21 years|c|
|Months
--------------------------------
England |8
Wales |8
England and Wales |8
Chinese Citizens (Temporary Asylum)
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards Chinese citizens in the United Kingdom seeking temporary asylum.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : All applications for asylum in this country are considered in accordance with our obligations under the United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees.
While the situation in China remains uncertain we are continuing to allow Chinese nationals who were in the United Kingdom on 4 June 1989 to remain here on an exceptional basis. Applications from other Chinese nationals are considered on their individual merits.
Laboratories
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received on the plan to make his Department's laboratories self-financing from April 1991.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The plans to introduce direct charging for forensic science services from 1 April 1991 are being developed in consultation with representatives of police authorities and their chief officers and their views are being fully taken into account. No other representations on this matter have been received.
Police Civilian Staff
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions have taken place between his Department and the Association of Chief Police Officers about trade union membership of police civilian staff ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There have been discussions between the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the local authority associations on a range of issues affecting police civilian staff including training, gradings, career development and representation.
The ACPO has suggested that civilian staff should be represented by a single union. Any such development would be a matter for the staff themselves and their local authority employers. My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to require police civilians to belong to a single union or to restrict their trade union or bargaining rights.
Prisoners (Early Release)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has undertaken any study to ascertain whether early release from prison for prisoners serving short terms could be allowed under executive release powers with minimal consequence to the community in order to bring occupancy of prisons nearer to their design capacity ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : My right hon. and learned Friend has seen no need for such a study.
Column 17
London Fire Brigade
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list each fire station in the London fire brigade that does not have any accommodation or facilities for female firefighters ; and if he will call for a report from the London fire and civil defence authority explaining what proposals it has in the case of each fire station in this category.
Mr. John Patten : With the exception of Leyton fire station, all fire stations within the area of the London fire brigade have facilities for female firefighters. The existing fire station at Leyton cannot be adapted because of its size and design, but the London fire and civil defence authority is currently constructing a replacement fire station which, when completed, will provide separate facilities for female firefighters. On present plans the new station will open during 1991.
Prisons (Slopping Out)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in England and Wales where slopping out still takes place.
Mr. Mellor : The majority of prison places have access to night sanitation and we are looking at ways of providing access for three quarters of all places within the next few years. A list of the prisons in England and Wales at which some or all of the places did not have access to night sanitation as at April 1990 has been placed in the Library.
Fire Prevention
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's proposals for fire prevention campaign activity nationally for the next two years.
Mr. John Patten : We propose to build on the success of our smoke alarm television campaign with particular emphasis on increasing ownership amongst the elderly and lower socio-economic groups. The campaign will also seek to emphasise the need for maintenance of smoke alarms.
We intended to produce an educational and publicity package for five to eight-year-olds. We also hope to produce an integrated educational package to cover the range of school age groups. We shall be promoting national fire safety week in October in conjunction with the insurance industry and the fire liaison panel network. We shall be continuing to work closely with fire brigades and we propose to hold a series of national and regional conferences for senior fire prevention officers in order to encourage and foster greater awareness on publicity and education and to establish a co- ordinated approach to local and national publicity.
It is our aim to help minimise the risk from fire breaking out and thereby reduce casualties and deaths. In addition to the above, there are a number of continuing educational and publicity initiatives concentrating on the main risk areas activated throughout the year with the valued assistance of local fire brigades.
| Next Section
| Home Page |