House of Commons Hansard Debates for 14 Jun 1990

39. Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to have the results of the Devon and Cornwall police investigation into aspects of the Birmingham pub bombings case.

62. Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to have the results of the Devon and Cornwall police investigation into aspects of the Birmingham pub bombings case.

96. Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to have the results of the Devon and Cornwall police investigations into aspects of the Birmingham pub bombings case.

Mr. Waddington : I refer the hon. Members to the answer given earlier to the question from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood (Ms. Short).

23. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to ensure that material in police or other official archives relating to the Birmingham pub bombings case will not be destroyed.

56. Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to ensure that material in police or other official archives relating to the Birmingham pub bombings case will not be destroyed.

65. Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to ensure that material in police and other official archives relating to the Birmingham pub bombings case will not be destroyed.

79. Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to ensure that material in police or other official archives relating to the Birmingham pub bombings case will not be destroyed.

Mr. Waddington : As I made clear in response to a question from the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 26 April, I understand that the West Midlands police and the Devon and Cornwall constabulary have made arrangements to ensure that all material in their possession relating to the Birmingham pub bombings case is stored in secure conditions pending the outcome of further inquiries into the safety of the convictions of the Birmingham Six. Relevant papers in the possession of the Home Office will also be preserved.

38. Mr. Sedgemore : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to recover the 2,000 or so non- material statements which were not made available to solicitors acting for the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.

Mr. John Patten : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given earlier to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks).

53. Mr. Nellist : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received about the Birmingham six ; and if he will make a statement.

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Mr. John Patten : Since the beginning of this year, we have received representations from Members of both Houses of Parliament, representatives of the clergy and members of the public, both here and abroad, expressing concern about the safety of the convictions of the Birmingham Six.

Careful consideration is given to all representations received about the safety of convictions. My right hon. and learned Friend has asked the chief constable of the West Midlands police for a report on a number of points arising out of representations made to him about the safety of the convictions of the Birmingham Six. These matters are now the subject of inquiries by the Devon and Cornwall constabulary, and my right hon. and learned Friend will take full account of the report of the outcome of those inquiries, together with any other relevant information, before deciding whether his further intervention in the case would be justified.

55. Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to recover the playing cards which were an exhibit in the Birmingham pub bombings case but which have since disappeared.

98. Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to recover the playing cards which were an exhibit in the Birmingham pub bombings case but which have since disappeared.

Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken to recover the playing cards which were an exhibit in the Birmingham pub bombings case but which have since disappeared.

Mr. John Patten : The cards, which were mentioned in the evidence for the defence, were not an exhibit at the trial. It was, of course, open to the defence to bring them before the court if they had wished to do so, but they did not. However, the police are making inquiries to trace the present location of the playing cards said to have been used by various members of the Birmingham Six on the train journey from Birmingham to Heysham.

Police Allowances

Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on his discussions with the Police Federation regarding allowances and the community charge.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : Regulations to modify police rent allowance were laid on 9 March. These regulations took account of representations made be my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) and representatives of the staff side of the police negotiating board, including the Police Federation. The discussions resulted in a number of important changes to the original proposals.

Immigration

21. Mr. Teddy Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals have been made under the 1992 programme to facilitate the greater access of residents in European Economic Community nations to the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : These matters remain under discussion between member states. My right hon. and

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learned Friend will in the usual way report to the House the conclusions of the current meeting of Immigration Ministers in Dublin.

Concessionary Television Licences

22. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received from pensioners' representatives about free television licences ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mellor : Since 1 January we have received 103 letters from people representing pensioners about free or reduced price television licences for pensioners. Ninety-seven were from hon. Members and six from organisations. We have no plans to change the present concessionary arrangements.

Strangeways Prison

25. Mr. Barry Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost of the damage caused to Strangeways prision, Manchester, caused by the recent disturbances.

Mr. Franks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated total cost of damage to Strangeways prison, Manchester, caused by the recent disturbances.

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.

Mr. Aitken : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to refurbish Strangeways prison to enable it to be brought back into use as soon as possible.

64. Sir Fergus Montgomery : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to refurbish Strangeways prison to enable it to be brought back into use as soon as possible.

Mr. Yeo : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress of his plans to refurbish Strangeways prison.

84. Mr. Burt : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to refurbish Strangeways prison to enable it to be brought back into use as soon as possible.

Mr. Mellor : As I announced on 17 May at columns 489-90 the refurbishment of HM prison Manchester should be completed in about three years' time. One of the remand wings--K wing--should, however, be back in use by October of this year, and the remaining accommodation in the remand wings should be available in about a year's time.

Sunday Trading

Mr. Robert Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward legislation in the light of recent judgments on Sunday trading cases by the courts ; and if he will make a statement.

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Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made on the question of Sunday trading.

Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it remains the Government's intention to reform the Shops Act 1950.

Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made on the question of Sunday trading.

Mr. Tim Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on reform of the Shops Act 1950.

Mr. Mellor : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given earlier to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Welwyn, Hatfield (Mr. Evans).

Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many written representations in favour of and against Sunday trading he has received since 3 May.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : Since 3 May 1990 we have received 10 written representations broadly in favour of Sunday trading and three against.

Police Houses

29. Mr. Beith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the pay and conditions of police officers living in police houses.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : We have recently received a large number of representations from police officers, from hon. Members on behalf of police officers and from police representative organisations. These refer, in particular, to the Police (Amendment) Regulations 1990 and a proportion concern the position of officers living in provided accommodation. In response we have explained the reasons for setting aside certain aspects of the police negotiating board agreement on rent allowance. My right hon. and learned Friend has also made a number of important changes to the original proposals to meet points which were raised.

Prison Boards of Visitors

30. Mr. Alexander : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the uprating of car mileage allowances payable to members of prison boards of visitors to the same level as that payable to prison staff and members of other prison committees.

Mr. Mellor : The co-ordinating committee made representations to the prison department in May 1988 to request that rates for boards of visitors travelling, subsistence and loss of earnings should be linked to the civil service rates rather than those applicable to justices of the peace.

Violent Crime

31. Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of who are the most likely victims of violent crime.

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68. Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of who are the most likely victims of violent crime.

77. Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of who are the most likely victims of violent crime.

Mr. John Patten : Recent research shows that in England and Wales young people aged 16 to 24 remain most at risk of becoming victims of assaults, and young men are by far at the greatest risk. People in England and Wales are less likely to be victims of violent crime (robbery, assaults and sexual assaults) than in most western European countries, the United States of America, Australia and Canada.

Prison Conditions

32. Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to accelerate the ending of slopping out in prisons.

89. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to speed up action to provide access to sanitation in prisons to enable the procedure of slopping out in British prisons to be phased out by the year 2000.

94. Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to accelerate the ending of slopping out in prisons.

Mr. Mellor : I refer the hon. Members to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Caithness and Sutherland (Mr. Maclennan) on 3 May 1990 at column 659.

35. Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what submissions he has received recently about the state of prisons in England.

Mr. Mellor : The Home Office receives numerous communications about the state of prisons. These vary considerably in content from an individual's problem to more general concerns.

82. Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will next meet the chairman of the Prison Officers Association to discuss prison regimes.

Mr. Mellor : My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans at this stage to meet the chairman of the Prison Officers Association to discuss prison regimes, but should a request be made he will give the matter urgent consideration.

Football Matches

34. Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to introduce legislation to enable chief constables to veto the holding of Football Association and league football matches.

75. Sir Marcus Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what machinery now exists for the exercise of a police veto on a football fixture.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : On 8 May when my right hon. and learned Friend met representatives of the Football League

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they agreed to work out urgently with the Association of Chief Police Officers effective arrangements for obtaining police advice about the scheduling of fixtures and to act upon it on all occasions. We shall keep these arrangements under review, but at present we have no plans to introduce legislation on this matter.

Drugs

36. Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on any new Government initiatives to deal with the drugs problem.

Mr. Mellor : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes) on 29 January at column 19 in which I listed recent initiatives for combating the misuse of and traffic in drugs.

Further developments include :

the announcement of plans for a United Kingdom task force to advise other countries on ways of reducing the demand for drugs ; the setting up of a joint police/customs task force, to target cocaine and crack ;

plans for the first seven Home Office drug prevention teams to be located in the London boroughs of Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Southwark and in Birmingham, Brighton and Liverpool ;

a further tranche of drug-related assistance to Colombia, amounting to some £4.5 million ;

the unanimous adoption of a detailed 35-point political declaration at the conclusion of the world ministerial drugs summit in April giving a commitment to a range of practical measures to reduce the demand for drugs and combat the cocaine threat.

Police Manpower, Warwickshire

40. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current level of police manpower in Warwickshire ; and what it was three years ago.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : The position at 31 March is set out in the table :

1987--965 (2 vacancies)

1990--975 (45 vacancies)

Trevi Group

45. Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next intends to meet other members of the Trevi group to discuss the implications of open frontiers on levels of drug smuggling and terrorist activity.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend is attending meetings of Trevi Ministers in Dublin today and tomorrow at which progress is strengthening police co-operation with a view to the implementation of the single European market will be reviewed. The Government are strongly committed to such co-operation, while believing that checks at United Kingdom ports and airports will continue to play a necessary part in combatting terrorism, drug trafficking and other crimes.

Public Order Laws

47. Mr. Key : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is considering any amendments to the public order legislation currently in force.

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Mr. Peter Lloyd : In reply to a question from my hon. Friend, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd), the then Home Secretary, announced on 26 October 1989 at column 620 that an evaluation of section 39 of the Public Order Act 1986 was to be undertaken to obtain a clearer picture of the consistency and effectiveness of its application. We are now considering the representations received.

My right hon. and learned Friend is also considering the recommendations in Lord Justice Taylor's final report on the Hillsborough stadium disaster for the creation of some new offences and penalties in connection with behaviour at sports grounds.

Prison Officers

98. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next expects to meet the Prison Officers Association to discuss pay and conditions ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Mellor : My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans at present to meet the Prison Officers Association to discuss pay and conditions of service. Discussions concerning the annual pay award are currently taking place between officials of the Treasury, the Home Office and the appropriate trades unions, including the Prison Officers Association.

Videos

50. Mrs. Maureen Hicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the enforcement of the Video Recordings Act 1984 which restricts retailers from hiring 18 videos to children under the age of 18 years.

61. Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he is making of the effectiveness of the law prohibiting the sale of 18 classification videos to minors ; and what steps he is taking to make enforcement more effective.

Mr. Mellor : The Criminal Justice Act 1988 provides powers for local authority trading standards officers to enforce the provisions of the Video Recordings Act 1984 and the manner in which they discharge these duties is a matter for each local authority to decide. The Video Standards Council has recently drawn up a code of practice for the industry and we shall be monitoring its effectiveness closely. However, we have not ruled out the possibility of fresh legislation if such self-regulation proves inadequate.

Prison Population

51. Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current prison population ; what it was one year ago ; and what are the equivalent figures for young offenders.

87. Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current (a) adult and (b) young prisoner prison population ; and what it was one year ago.

72. Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current prison population ; what it was one year ago ; and what are the equivalent figures for young offenders.

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Mr. Mellor : On Friday 8 June the total prison population, including those held in police cells, was 45,630. The corresponding figure for 9 June 1989 was 48,604. The latest information available in the form requested is for 31 March, when the total number of prisoners held in prison service establishments was 46,888 : 37,224 were adult prisoners ; 9,664 were prisoners aged under 21, of whom 6, 655 were sentenced young offenders. The corresponding figures for 31 March 1989 were 49,180, 38,597, 10,583 and 7,395 respectively.

Metropolitan Police

52. Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the Metropolitan Police Commissioner ; and if he discussed traffic problems.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend last met the Commissioner on 5 June. Although traffic problems were not on the agenda on that occasion, regular contact is maintained with the Metropolitan police on traffic issues.

66. Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to discuss police manpower.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend last discussed police manpower with the commissioner on 21 December, when he met him to discuss his strategy statement for 1990, which was published on 11 January.

Mid-Glamorgan Fire Service

54. Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will next meet the chairman of the Mid-Glamorgan fire service to discuss emergency planning procedures.

Mr. John Patten : I have no plans for such a meeting.

Prisons, Isle of Wight

57. Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to increase the current levels of security at Her Majesty's prisons on the Isle of Wight.

Mr. Mellor : A number of improvements to the physical security of the three prisons on the Isle of Wight are currently in hand, planned or under consideration.

Football Hooligans

58. Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the statutory provisions relating to the imposition of restriction orders and exclusion orders on football hooligans.

60. Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers there are to allow courts to impose restriction orders and exclusion orders on football hooligans.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : Since August 1987 part IV of the Public Order Act 1986 has empowered courts to impose exclusion orders on those convicted of football-related offences as defined in that Act to prevent them from attending designated matches in England and Wales. Since

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