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Mr. John Patten : Information for the southern "C" division (which includes the west Lancashire district) is published in the annual report of the chief constable of Lancashire. Statistics of notifiable offences recorded in the Lancashire police force area are published in table 2.4 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 1988" and in table 7 of "Home Office Statistical Bulletin 10/90" ; copies of these publications are available in the Library.
Badgers
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been under the Badgers Act 1973 and the Wildlife and Countryside Acts 1981 and 1985 for taking or destroying a badger ; and what was the percentage of convictions.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No figures are available for specific types of offences under these Acts. However in 1988 there
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were a total of 74 prosecutions for offences under the Badgers Act 1973 and 41 convictions. That is a conviction rate of 55.4 per cent.Fire Service
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on nationally recommended minimum standards to maintain fire service cover.
Mr. John Patten : The conclusions and recommendations in the report of the joint committee on standards of fire cover, which was published in 1985, were recommended to fire authorities by fire service circular No. 4/1985 on 22 May 1985, copies of which are in the Library.
Correspondence
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter dated 2 May from the hon. Member for Worsley with regard to information about possible terrorist activity.
Mr. Waddington : I wrote to the hon. Member, after consulting the police, on 5 June.
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth will be sent a reply to his letter dated 12 March referring to Mrs. Frances Bennett of Rugby.
Mr. Mellor : I replied to my hon. Friend on 26 March. I have today sent him a further copy of that letter.
Mr. John Harker
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will now make a statement about the case of John Harker, prisoner R69121, HM prison Kirkham, Preston, Lancashire ; (2) if he will make a statement as to the outcome of the inquiry into the case of John Harker, prisoner R69121, HM prison Kirkham, Preston, Lancashire.
Mr. John Patten : I will be writing to my hon. Friend shortly about this case.
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why John Harker, prisoner R69121, Her Majesty's prison Kirkham, Preston, Lancashire, has not yet heard from the parole review board held in January 1990.
Mr. John Patten : Mr. Harker's case is still under consideration. We expect the outcome to be known around the end of June.
Teacher Vetting
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he will take to speed up teacher vetting.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that four additional civilian staff have been deployed on this work since April. I am not aware of general delays outside London.
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Arson
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to increase the maximum penalty available to the courts for arson involving damage to property, where no personal injury has occurred.
Mr. John Patten : All offences of arson, whether or not they involve personal injury, already carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Parole
Mr. Orme : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of cases in England and Wales in which a prisoner has not been given the opportunity to be interviewed by a member of the local review committee as part of the process of parole review for the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Mellor : Figures are not recorded centrally. On those rare occasions when an interview is inadvertently denied, our policy is to offer a fresh review.
Police Complaints Authority
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out for each police force in England and Wales the total number of inquiries in which a Police Complaints Authority member supervised the investigation during the most convenient recent 12-months period, the total number of hours spent on such investigations, and assuming the necessity of the Police Complaints Authority to employ its own investigators at executive officer, senior executive officer and higher executive officer grade, and working a normal home civil service week, what would be the cost implications for the Police Complaints Authority.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Strangeways Prison
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest estimate of the cost of repairing the damage recently caused by disturbances at Strangeways prison.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is now able to give the total cost of the destruction and the policing following the prison riot at Strangeways prison.
Mr. Mellor : I announced on 17 May at columns 489-90 plans for the refurbishment of Strangeways prison to provide a range of new and improved facilities, including integral sanitation at a cost of £60 million. This work will also include repair of the damage done during the recent disturbances, which amounts to about £30 million. The Greater Manchester police authority advises that the additional cost of policing as a result of the disturbances was £580,000.
Sunday Trading
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in considering Sunday trading.
Mr. Mellor : Since the defeat of the Shops Bill, the Government have made it clear that they are prepared to
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consider reform short of total deregulation if a solution can be found which is widely accepted, enforceable, practicable and likely to command a parliamentary majority. No such solution has yet emerged and I see no prospect of sufficient support to enable us to put forward legislation in the near future.Dangerous Dogs
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he now expects to bring forward proposals to strengthen the law on dangerous dogs.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend is considering whether to do so.
Dog Fighting
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the priority given to prosecuting those involved in dog-fighting activities.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so.
Open Banking
Mr. Haselhurst : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received representations regarding the security aspects of open banking ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : No. A working group appointed by the standing conference on crime prevention to look into commercial robbery mentioned in its 1986 report the increasing popularity of open-plan offices in bank branches. The working group found no evidence that the move towards open plan increased the risk of attack, but the matter is being kept under review by the Home Office, the Metropolitan police and the banks themselves.
Trevi Group
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what subjects of discussions by the Trevi group the Minister expects to be resolved during the Italian Presidency of the European Economic Community ;
(2) what areas of United Kingdom law are being looked at with a view to changes to meet the needs for common European Economic Community action as identified by the Trevi group ;
(3) if he will list all the meetings of the Trevi group, and the subject discussed at each meeting and decisions arrived at ; and if he will indicate the future areas of work the Trevi group will be addressing.
Mr. Waddington : During each presidency of Trevi a number of working groups meet to further co-operation against terrorism, drug trafficking and other serious crimes, reporting their conclusions to senior officials and Ministers. I and my colleagues will be reviewing the work done under the Irish presidency in Dublin next week, and I shall report the outcome to the House. The declaration made at our last meeting in Paris on 15 December 1989, a copy of which is in the Library, sets out a programme of work which is likely to be further progressed during the
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Italian presidency. No changes in United Kingdom law are currently being considered as a result of work in Trevi, which is concerned with practical police co-operation.Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussions the Trevi group has had about passing information from the United Kingdom, held on the central police computer, relating (a) to criminal records and (b) suspected crime and suspects ; and what protection the group intends to provide to protect the civil rights of any individual so identified ; (2) what discussions the Trevi group of Ministers has had about setting up a European Economic Community-wide database ; and what consideration has been given in such discussions to the laws relating to privacy in such countries.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Trevi Ministers agreed at their meeting in Paris on 15 December 1989 to initiate a study of a possible common information system among member states, designed to combat the most serious forms of crime. The protection of data and of personal privacy is among the considerations to be addressed in this study, which is at an early stage. No decisions have yet been taken on whether to set up such a system and, if so, on what information it should contain or how it should work.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Trevi group of Ministers has agreed with regard to political asylum refused by one European Economic Community state ; how applications will be considered in other European Community states ; and what steps are being taken to harmonise the grounds for granting political asylum.
Mr. Waddington : At their last meeting in Paris on 15 December 1989, EC Immigration Ministers adopted a declaration relating, among other subjects, to measures on asylum. A copy of the declaration is in the Library. The next meeting is to be held in Dublin on 14 and 15 June and the outcome will be reported to the House in the usual way.
Overseas Voters
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of the leaflets printed and distributed encouraging overseas electors to enrol in the United Kingdom ; how many were distributed ; and through what channels in (a) South Africa, (b) Zimbabwe, (c) Australia, (d) Canada, (e) New Zealand and the EC.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Two million copies of the leaflet "Keeping your vote when living abroad" have been printed at a cost of £30,000. Of these, 1,023,000 have been sent to diplomatic posts and missions abroad ; the remainder have been sent to electoral registration officers, or to United Kingdom organisations with overseas connections, or have been retained for future use.
Distribution of the leaflets by British diplomatic posts abroad began in May and is continuing by various means, including mailshots to expatriates, inclusion with renewed passports, and in response to direct requests from individuals, firms and organisations. Details of the precise means of distribution in specific countries could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Prisoners (Disability)
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facilities are provided for disabled prisoners who are (a) physically disabled, (b) blind, (c) mentally ill or (d) deaf.
Mr. Mellor: As indicated in the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East (Mr. Barnes) on 16 May 1990 at column 411, prison establishments seek to meet the needs of those with disabilities on an individual basis. Their requirements are assessed by medical and other staff as part of the reception procedure.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the needs of disabled people in prison.
Mr. Mellor : A survey was undertaken last year into the accessibility of prison establishments for people with disabilities, including inmates, staff and visitors. The survey focused on the problems of those with physical disabilities.
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is any extra support for disabled prisoners' rehabilitation needs on discharge.
Mr. John Patten : The probation service should be informed by the prison authorities of any medical matters relating to the discharge of inmates, with particular attention given to the individual needs of blind or otherwise handicapped prisoners. This procedure will become a requirement with the issue of prison department standing order 1I later this year.
With regard to the provision of after care, the home probation officer can arrange contacts with relevant social services departments and other bodies that are able to offer support and guidance.
Prison Service (Disabled Employees)
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many disabled employees there are in the prison service.
Mr. Mellor : On 1 March 1990, the prison service employed 45 people who had declared that they were registered disabled.
Child Abuse
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to obtain a transcript of the speech of Commander Richard Monk of the Metropolitan police on 7 June, on child abusers, for study by his Department ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : My right hon. and learned Friend asked for a transcript of the speech which Commander Monk made on 7 June.
Polling Stations
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to ensure that all electors arriving at their polling station during the last 30 minutes before the doors of the polling station are closed are not denied their right to vote.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : Polling hours at parliamentary, European parliamentary and local government elections are laid down in the relevant legislation. We have no reason to believe that the statutory requirements are not being complied with, but if the hon. Member knows of a particular difficulty, perhaps he would write to me about it.
Nuclear Accidents
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to what plans or studies have been made or commissioned by the Metropolitan police to assess the measures that would have to be taken in the event of contamination by airborne plutonium resulting from a nuclear weapons accident aboard a Royal Navy ship docked at Greenwich.
Mr. John Patten : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces to questions from the hon. Members for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) and for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 8 June at column 724.
Life Imprisonment
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report, the recommendations from the House of Lords Select Committee on Murder and Life Imprisonment which have been accepted wholly or in part by Her Majesty's Government ; indicating which, if any, have already been implemented.
Mr. John Patten : The White Paper "Crime, Justice and Protecting the Public" (Cm 965) announced our decision that the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for the crime of murder should remain to mark the heinous nature of this crime. We are carefully considering the Select Committee recommendations on the release of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment made by the House of Lords Select Committee on Murder and Life Imprisonment. I welcome the recommendations to improve the arrangements for victims' families, and the recent victims' charter endorses this approach.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Telephone Facilities
Sir David Steel : To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will make it his policy to ensure before 1992 that hon. Members enjoy the same international line telephone facilities to Strasbourg and Brussels which are available to Members of the European Parliament.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : The provision of such facilities is under active consideration at present and I hope proposals will be brought before the Services Committee in the near future.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council how many hon. Members are provided with telephones in accommodation in London not owned by the state outside the House where the cost of calls arising from the use of that equipment is paid for by public funds.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : No hon. Members are provided with such telephones by the authorities of the House.
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Committees (Televising)
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list the number of times and the dates when each Select Committee of the House has been televised since the introduction of television.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : The information requested, which covers the period up to the Whitsun adjournment, is as follows :
Committee and dates on |Total<1>
which televised
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agriculture
29 November 1989
17 January 1990
24 January 1990
21 March 1990
2 April 1990
23 May 1990 |6
Defence
8 November 1989
20 December 1989
11 January 1990<2>
7 February 1990
21 February 1990
28 March 1990
1 May 1990
16 May 1990 |8
Education, Science and Arts
28 November 1989
9 May 1990 |2
Employment
7 March 1990
14 March 1990
18 April 1990
25 April 1990
2 May 1990 |5
Energy
22 November 1989
7 February 1990
28 February 1990
7 March 1990
14 March 1990<2>
25 April 1990 |6
Environment
22 November 1989
17 January 1990
31 January 1990
14 February 1990
28 February 1990
14 March 1990
20 March 1990
21 March 1990
28 March 1990 |9
Foreign Affairs
6 December 1989
13 December 1989
7 February 1990
4 April 1990
25 April 1990 |5
Home Affairs
31 January 1990
7 February 1990
21 February 1990
21 March 1990
9 May 1990 |5
Social Services
10 January 1990
17 January 1990
24 January 1990
31 January 1990
7 March 1990
21 March 1990
4 April 1990
25 April 1990 |8
Trade and Industry
6 December 1989
13 December 1989
17 January 1990 am
17 January 1990 pm
28 February 1990
7 March 1990
28 March 1990 |7
Transport
29 November 1989
6 December 1989
28 March 1990
25 April 1990
16 May 1990
23 May 1990 |6
Treasury and Civil Service
22 November 1989
27 November 1989
4 December 1989
28 February 1990
12 March 1990
28 March 1990
3 April 1990 |7
Welsh Affairs
29 November 1989
13 December 1989
24 January 1990
21 February 1990
2 May 1990
9 May 1990
15 May 1990<2> |7
Select Committee on European
Legislation
1 February 1990
1 March 1990 |2
Select Committee on Procedure
13 December 1989
7 February 1990 |2
Public Accounts Committee
4 December 1989
18 December 1989
24 January 1990
12 February 1990
14 February 1990
21 February 1990
30 April 1990 |7
Select Committee on Televising of
Proceedings of the House
23 April 1990 |1
<1>Total number of meetings.
<2>Denotes meeting away from Westminster.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list the number of times and the dates when each Standing Committee of the House has been televised since the introduction of television.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : The information requested, which covers the period up to the Whitsun adjournment, is as follows :
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|c|Standing Committees on Bills|c|
|c|(by reference to title of Bill committed)|c|
|Dates on which |Total
|televised |number
|of
|sittings
|televised
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Health Service and |19 December 1989 |6
Community Care Bill |11 January 1990
|23 January 1990 am
|23 January 1990 pm
|20 February 1990 am
|20 February 1990 pm
Broadcasting Bill | 9 January 1990 |16
|16 January 1990 am
|16 January 1990 pm
|18 January 1990 am
|18 January 1990 pm
|23 January 1990 am
|23 January 1990 pm
|25 January 1990 am
|25 January 1990 pm
|6 February 1990 am
|6 February 1990 pm
|8 February 1990 am
|8 Feburary 1990 pm
|6 March 1990 am
|6 March 1990 pm
|8 March 1990
Education (Student Loans) |30 January 1990 |1
Bill
War Crimes Bill |20 March 1990 |3
|3 April 1990 am
|3 April 1990 pm
British Nationality (Hong |1 May 1990 |1
Kong) Bill
Protection of Badger Setts Bill |9 May 1990 |2
|23 May 1990
Courts and Legal Services Bill |8 May 1990 |1
[Lords]
Scottish Grand Committee |19 March 1990<1> |2
|22 May 1990
Welsh Grand Committee |10 January 1990 am |4
|10 January 1990 pm
|14 March 1990 am
|14 March 1990 pm
<1>Denotes meeting away from Westminster.
Oral Questions
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council what estimate he has made of the saving in cash and paper if the proposals of the Procedure Committee on oral questions, in its first report of the current Session, HC 379, are accepted.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : If the proposals are accepted it is estimated that savings to the public purse of around £1 million annually will arise. Over 10 million sheets of A4 paper will be saved.
Vote Bundle
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 24 May, Official Report, column 297, what is the total cost to public funds for the supply of
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the Vote bundle as a whole since the 1987 general election and the volume of paper consumed in production of the Vote bundle for the same period.Sir Geoffrey Howe : The total cost to public funds for supply of the Vote bundle as a whole since the 1987 general election is estimated at £17.5 million, to the end of April 1990. The volume of paper consumed in production of the Vote bundle for the same period is estimated at 800 tonnes.
Recycled Paper
Ms. Walley : To ask the Lord President of the Council, pursuant to his answer of 23 May, Official Report, column 297, whether the items mentioned will be made from 100 per cent. recycled paper from low-grade paper waste ; whether orders for the non-recycled versions have ceased ; and when he expects present stocks to be exhausted.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : I understand that the items mentioned will contain more than 50 per cent. pre-consumer recycled waste but will not be produced from recycled low-grade waste. Orders for the non-recycled versions have ceased and present stocks are likely to be exhausted by autumn this year.
Management Consultants
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list the studies conducted inside his Department by management consultants over the last 10 years, naming the consultancy, the cost, the subject and the outcome in each instance.
Sir Geoffrey Howe : No study of this nature has been undertaken by the Privy Council Office in the last 10 years.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Services (Administration)
Mr. Allen : To ask the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed, answering for the House of Commons Commission, when he expects Sir Robin Ibbs to complete his report on the administration of House of Commons services.
Mr. Beith : A timetable for the completion of the review which I announced on 23 May, Official Report, column 179 has yet to be agreed with Sir Robin Ibbs. It is hoped, however, that the Commission will be able to consider any advice from Sir Robin before the end of the year.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Vehicle Test Certificates (Northern Ireland)
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Attorney-General, in 1987, 1988 and 1989, how many persons were convicted in Northern Ireland of not having a vehicle test certificate.
The Attorney-General : I regret that this information could not be made available except at disproportionate cost.
Television Licences (Northern Ireland)
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Attorney-General, in 1987, 1988 and 1989, how many persons were convicted in Northern Ireland of not having a television licence.
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The Attorney-General : I regret that this information could not be made available except at disproportionate cost.Anton Piller Orders
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his written answer of 5 June to the hon. Member for Derbyshire, North-East, which problems the intended changes in the regulations on Anton Piller orders are designed to overcome.
The Attorney-General : The civil justice review recommended that as a general rule the same remedies should be available in both the High Court and the county courts, but that the power to grant Anton Piller orders should normally be reserved to the High Court judiciary in view of the draconian nature of these orders. The Government have accepted this recommendation, which will be taken forward in clause 3 of the Courts and Legal Services Bill and in regulations under clause 3.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Recycled Paper
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his Department is doing to encourage a market for recycled paper and to expand industrial capacity to process waste paper ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : There is already a strong market for paper products which contain recycled fibre. Government Departments generally are important and reliable customers in this market buying general notepaper, index books, graph paper and brown stationery manufactured from recycled fibre. The letterhead paper used in my Department, including that used by Ministers and senior officials, contains recycled fibre and we are increasing the use of recycled paper in our publications.
Following a successful pilot scheme, my Department will by the end of this month be collecting separately, from eight of our London buildings, high- grade office waste paper which is currently used in the production of higher-grade recycled paper.
Post Office
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has received a copy of the Mail Users Association recent report on the performance of the Post Office ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : I received with interest the MUA's report, "Deliver us from the Post Office", published in May last year and its follow-up "Improving Postal Services", published in March this year. Quality of service is an operational matter for the Post Office. However, I know that the chairman regards this as a key priority and is constantly searching for ways to improve performance. In this he has my full support.
Peace Dividend
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies he is undertaking on the effects of the peace dividend on the structure of industry and employment in the United Kingdom.
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