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Obscene Telephone Calls
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many obscene telephone calls were reported in the last year for which figures are available ; how many gave rise to (a) a charge, (b) a prosecution and (c) a conviction ; what plans he has to review the present maximum penalty for this offence ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The figures requested are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information collected centrally does not distinguish making an obscene telephone call from other offences under the Telecommunications Act 1984. The maximum penalty for this offence will be increased from a fine of £400 to a fine of £1,000 by fine upratings in the Criminal Justice Bill.
Homosexual Offences
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the cost to the prison service of gaoling the men who are sentenced each year for the consenting homosexual offences of soliciting, buggery, procuring and indecency, including the cost of keeping these men in custody for the full terms of their sentences.
Mrs. Rumbold : In 1989--the latest information available--178 men were received into prison service establishments following conviction for buggery and indecency between males. At 30 June 1989 the population held for such offences was 375.
The population breakdown between prison types and the relevant cost per week (1989-90) was as follows :
]
Type of establishment |Number |Cost
|per week
|£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local/remand |156 |309
Training prison: open |11 |218
Closed |198 |257
Young Offender Institution |10 |346
|--- |---
|375 |280
Information is not readily available for the length of sentence given or served for such offences. It is therefore not possible to estimate the cost of keeping these men in prison for the full terms of their sentence.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the annual police and court costs involved in prosecuting gay and bisexual men for consenting homosexual soliciting, buggery, procuring and indecency, including men prosecuted for homosexual indecency under byelaws, public order legislation and common law.
Mr. John Patten : Prosecution costs are not available in the form requested.
Women Prisoners
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide the latest figures on numbers of suicides, attempted suicides and self-mutilation inflicted by prisoners at each of the women's prisons.
Mrs. Rumbold : Since 1980, seven women have died at their own hand while in prison service custody. The establishments involved were Holloway, in 1981 and 1985, Risley, in 1986, 1987 and twice in 1989, and Durham in 1990. Accurate information on the incidence of attempted suicide and deliberate self-injury by prisoners is not available. It is planned to introduce new arrangements for reporting all such incidents, in line with a recommendation made by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in his report on suicide and self-harm in prison.
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for the latest year for which there are figures (a) how many women were sent to prison for violent offences, (b) what percentage this is of the total female prison population, (c) what percentage this is of the total prison population and (d) what percentage this is of the population of the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Rumbold : Excluding those committed in default of payment of a fine, 380 females were received into prison service establishments in England and Wales in 1989 under sentence for offences of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. On 30 June 1989 the population of females serving sentences for these offences was 323 and formed 18 per cent. of the female prison population and 0.7 per cent. of the male and female prison population. They also represented six per million of the estimated resident male and female population of England and Wales.
Pornography
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effects the proposed implementation of the single European market in 1992 will have on the importation of sexually explicit material classified as pornography ; and whether the Government will seek special powers to maintain the status quo whereby sexually explicit material which is freely available in other EC member states will continue to be excluded from the United Kingdom.
Mr. John Patten : The introduction of the single market will entail changes in the nature of our customs controls
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with a greater emphasis on selective checks and intelligence. However, it will not require us to relax our prohibitions on the supply of obscene material or our internal controls on display and supply.Deportation
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women, by nationality, are currently awaiting deportation.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The figures in the following table relate to those currently awaiting deportation as the subject of a deportation order made under section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1971, where a recommendation for deportation made by a court was part of a custodial sentence ; under section 3(5)(b) of that Act where deportation on conducive grounds will follow a custodial sentence ; or under section 3(5)(a) of that Act where a woman has remained beyond her permitted stay or has breached conditions attached to her stay. The information on deportation orders made under section 3(6) and 3(5)(b) relates to the period since 1 January 1988, while the third category relates to the period since 1 June 1990.
Women subject to a deportation order
Nationals of |Section |Section |Section
|3(6) |3(5)(b) |3(5)(a)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangladesh |- |- |1
Belize |- |1 |-
Brazil |3 |- |-
Cameron |- |- |1
Chile |1 |- |-
Colombia |19 |- |2
France |1 |- |-
Germany |1 |- |-
Ghana |9 |- |16
Grenada |1 |- |-
Guyana |2 |- |-
Holland |2 |2 |-
Hong Kong |- |- |1
India |3 |- |2
Iran |- |- |2
Jamaica |22 |1 |2
Malaysia |- |- |1
Mauritius |- |- |1
Nigeria |63 |1 |20
Pakistan |- |- |2
Philippines |- |1 |2
Poland |- |- |1
Sierra Leone |- |- |2
Spain |2 |- |-
Trinidad and Tobago |2 |- |-
Turkey |- |- |1
United States of America |7 |- |-
Uruguay |1 |- |-
Yugoslavia |1 |- |-
Zambia |1 |- |-
Zimbabwe |- |- |1
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have been returned to Nigeria ; and how many are awaiting deportation to Nigeria since the introduction of decree 33.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Since 10 October 1990, when the Nigerian Government promulgated decree 33, 82 women have been returned to Nigeria under deportation powers, including 59 who chose to make supervised departures ; and 27 Nigerian women are currently the subject of deportation orders. None of those who have left was affected by decree 33. Two of those awaiting deportation
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committed drug offences in this country on or after 10 October 1990 and may therefore be liable to prosecution on their return to Nigeria.Prisoners
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the cost of detaining (a) a category A prisoner and (b) a category B prisoner.
Mrs. Rumbold : During 1989-90--the latest figures available--the average cost per week of detaining an inmate in a typical dispersal prison, the type of prison in which category A inmates are normally held, was £575. The cost per week in category B training prisons was £318.
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is a requirement for prisoners to be notified of decisions by the parole board in writing.
Mrs. Rumbold : There is no such requirement.
Mr. Terry Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible for communicating the decisions of the parole board to prisoners at Sudbury prison.
Mrs. Rumbold : All parole decisions are notified by the parole unit to the governors of the establishments ; they are then responsible for informing prisoners.
Immigration
Mr. Wells : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants there have been from the Indian sub-continent since the passage of the Immigration Act 1981 each year since 1982.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of persons from the Indian sub- continent accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom in the years 1982- 90 is published in table 15 of the Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration : Statistics United Kingdom 1989" (Cm. 1124), and in table 1 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 3/91 "Control of Immigration : Statistics--Third and Fourth Quarters and Year 1990". A copy of both publications is in the Library.
Gambling
Mr. Dunnachie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been considered by his Department on fruit machine gambling by young people ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The results of the Home Office research study "Amusement Machines : Dependency and Delinquency", published in July 1988, showed that very few young people are at risk of becoming dependent on amusement machines and that there is no clear evidence of any association between the playing of machines and delinquency. We have received no reliable new evidence to contradict these results and remain of the view that further legislative controls are not justified at present.
Jury Vetting
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate for the years 1988, 1989 and 1990 the number of occasions in which the police national computer has been accessed for the purposes of jury vetting ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : The purposes for accessing the police national computer are not recorded centrally. However, statistical returns from chief officers of police show that under arrangement described in Home Office circular 43/1988, criminal record checks were made of the following number of people summoned for jury service :
|Number
---------------------
1988 |1,152
1989 |5,602
1990 |4,146
Prison Sentences
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list how many men and women received life sentences in England and Wales for each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The information requested is given in the table. Data for 1990 are not yet available.
Number of males and females who received Life' sentences 1979 to 1989 England and Wales Year |Males |Females -------------------------------- 1979 |149 |8 1980 |181 |2 1981 |153 |7 1982 |206 |9 1983 |136 |4 1984 |138 |6 1985 |164 |6 1986 |183 |9 1987 |169 |5 1988 |206 |12 1989 |176 |11
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of sentence served by men and women in England and Wales for each year since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The readily available information is published annually in Prison Statistics England and Wales (tables 3.15, 3.16, 4.15, 4.16, 5.15 and 5.16 of the latest volume, for 1989, Cm. 1221), a copy of which is in the Library.
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men and women were released on licence from a life sentence in England and Wales for each year from 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : The readily available information relates to prisoners released from prison service establishments and is published annually in Prison Statistics England and Wales (table 8.5 of the latest volume, for 1989, Cm. 1221), a copy of which is in the Library.
Mental Health Act
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men and women in England and Wales were given an absolute discharge under the Mental Health Act for each year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The number of males and females in England and Wales who were given an absolute discharge, by tribunal under part V of the Mental Health Act 1983 or by the Secretary of State under sections 41 to 49 of the 1983 Act and 65 to 74 of the 1959 Acts, between 1980 and 1989--the last year for which information is available--is given in the table.
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|1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Males |7 |8 |6 |19 |26 |20 |18 |11 |9 |16
Females |- |1 |- |1 |2 |3 |4 |4 |5 |2
|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |7 |9 |6 |20 |28 |23 |22 |15 |14 |18
Dog Attacks
Mr. David Young : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported attacks have taken place on people by dogs in each of the last five years for which figures are available ; how many of these resulted in hospital treatment ; and how many resulted in death.
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has concerning the incidence of injury to humans caused by attacks by dogs during each of the last five years ; and what information he can provide on the breeds of dogs involved.
Mrs. Angela Rumbold [holding answer 20 May 1991] : As there is no requirement to report a dog attack, or injuries caused by dog attacks, statistics on them are not collected centrally. In the last year to May 1991, the number of incidents recorded in London by the Metropolitan police were as follows :
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|Number
-------------------------------------------
German Shepherds (Alsatians) |200
Pit bull terriers |126
Rottweilers |109
Staffordshire bull terriers |43
Undefined cross-breeds |38
Dobermann pinschers |33
English bull terriers |27
Labradors |23
Collies |13
Jack Russell terriers |6
Greyhounds |6
Yorkshire terriers |3
Great Dane |1
Husky |1
Irish wolf hound |1
Rhodesian Ridgeback |1
|--
Total |631
SCOTLAND
Ambulances (Accident/Emergency Journeys)
Mr. Home Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average time taken for an accident/emergency patient to be taken by ambulance from East Lothian to Edinburgh royal infirmary ; what is the average daily number of such journeys ; and whether any patients have died doing such journeys since the closure of the Roodlands casualty unit.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : On average, 45 minutes and nine journeys each day. Roodlands casualty unit did not treat patients suffering major trauma or life-threatening conditions and such patients were always conveyed to Edinburgh. There has been no change therefore in the journey time for such patients. The Scottish ambulance service has no evidence that any patient has died because of the journey time to hospital.
Local Government
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what representations he has received about the proposals for change in local government ;
(2) if he will make a further statement on his proposals for a new structure for local government.
Mr. Allan Stewart : I refer to the reply given by my right hon. Friend on 15 May. A consultation paper setting out the case for change and the principles to be applied in moving towards a single-tier system of local government throughout Scotland will be issued shortly.
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what future role he proposes for Strathclyde regional council ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Allan Stewart : As the hon. Member knows, the existing system of local government in Scotland is under review. My right hon. Friend will be issuing a consultation paper on the structure of local government in Scotland shortly. Strathclyde regional council, together with other councils and interested organisations, will be invited to comment.
Green Belt
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the percentage of land designated as green- belt areas in (a) Scotland, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Renfrew district.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The percentages of land designated as green belt in the areas mentioned are :
|per cent.
--------------------------------
Scotland |1.7
Strathclyde |7.5
Renfrew |78.3
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the criteria used to designate green belt land in Scotland.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The criteria for the designation of green belt land are set out in SDD circular 24/1985. It is for local plans to establish the exact boundaries of green belts within the strategic framework set by the circular and structure plan policies.
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Drinking Water
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the level of nitrates recorded in Scottish drinking water in each of the last 20 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Information is not available in the form requested. Nitrate levels in drinking water differ from one supply to another and may vary seasonally. Surveys carried out in 1975 and 1985 showed that only a very small percentage of the total number of Scottish supply sources contained more than 25 mg of nitrate per litre. Eight of the 12 Scottish water authorities reported that no sources exceeded that figure. All water put into supply was within the EC limit of 50 mg per litre. In 1990 a few small rural supplies were recorded as occasionally exceeding this limit. In these cases nitrate levels are being reduced by blending with other water until the sources can be replaced. Information on nitrate levels in individual supply zones is included in the public records of water quality which water authorities have been required to maintain since 1 July 1990.
Operations
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many operations were cancelled or postponed by Scottish health boards in each month from January 1990 to March 1991.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is not held centrally.
Disability
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are registered (a) blind, (b) deaf or (c) disabled in (i) Scotland, (ii) Strathclyde and (iii) Renfrew district.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Local authorities in Scotland are required to inform themselves of the number of chronically sick and disabled people in their areas but are not required to, and in practice do not, keep registers for this purpose. They do, however, receive information on the number of blind persons voluntarily registered either with local societies for blind people or with the local authorities themselves. The number of blind persons so recorded at 31 March 1990 was 6,709 in Strathclyde, and 14,120 in Scotland. I have no information in respect of Renfrew district.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the mean salary of disabled adults in Scotland.
Mr. Allan Stewart [holding answer 6 June 1991] : There is no information available on the mean salary of disabled adults in Scotland. The survey "Disabled people in the labour market" conducted on behalf of the Employment Service by Social and Community Planning Research Ltd. and published in report "Employment and Handicap" in June 1990 showed that in Great Britain as a whole in 1989 the median earnings of people with disabilities was in the range £150 to £199 per week. The survey cannot provide a reliable estimate for Scotland.
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Paisley, North
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are over the age of 18 years in the constituency of Paisley, North.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I regret that the information requested is not available.
Whisky
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of people employed in the manufacture and distribution of Scotch whisky in each of the last three years.
Mr. Allan Stewart : Employment figures are available for plants manufacturing Scotch whisky as their principal product. No separate figures are available for transport services relating to just the whisky industry.
The table shows manufacturing employment in the whisky and other related industries in Scotland in plants employing 11 or more employees in 1987, 1988 and 1989, the latest year for which figures are available.
Manufacturing employment in the
whisky and other related
industries
|1987 |1988 |1989
-------------------------------------
Scotland |11,000|10,600|10,200
Source: The Scottish Office Industry
Department.
Regional Data System.
Labour Statistics
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next intends to meet the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss employment levels in Scotland.
Mr. Allan Stewart : My right hon. Friend has arranged to meet the Scottish Trades Union Congress General Council on 26 July to discuss economic and other issues.
Education (Early Leavers)
Mr. Wray : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is for each year since 1974 the number of students in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) higher education in Scotland who left their respective courses before completion ; and if he will give in each case the respective percentages for males and females.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 10 June 1991] : This information is not held centrally.
Child Immunisation
Mr. Kirkwood : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will set up a joint working party with the British Medical Association in Scotland to review the impact of the new child immunisation targets in GP contracts on small rural practices ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will now consider allowing an element of discretion in the setting of immunisation targets for children in small practices which find it impossible to meet the current target levels in the new GP contract ;
(3) how many representations he has received from small GP practices which are unable to reach
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immunisation targets for children because of the small number of children suitable for vaccination in their patient lists.Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 10 June 1991] : These matters are governed by the statement of fees and allowances, the terms of which are negotiated with the profession on a Great Britain basis. The health departments are at present reviewing a number of detailed aspects of the GP contract, in consultation with the profession, with the aim of improving still further the quality of general medical services. Against this background, I see no need for a joint working party on this specific issue.
My Department can trace only one such representation, made before the implementation of the new contract.
Nuclear Waste
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list, by location, the proposed 6,000 drill holes he has authorised the nuclear industry to make in Caithness, in respect of ascertaining a suitable site for a nuclear waste dump ; when he expects them to report their findings ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 23 May 1991] : The exact location of any shot holes, up to the maximum of 6,000 granted planning permission by my right hon. Friend, is an operational matter for the chairman of UK Nirex Ltd. He wrote to the hon. Member for Moray (Mrs. Ewing) on 13 May on this subject and I have placed a copy of his letter in the Library of the House. UK Nirex expects to identify its preferred site for a repository later this year.
Planning
Mr. Norman Hogg : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects the planning powers of new town development corporations to be transferred to district councils ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Allan Stewart [holding answer 6 June 1991] : The Scottish new town development corporations, apart from Glenrothes, exercise certain planning powers under special development orders. It is the Government's intention, as stated in the White Paper "The Scottish New Towns--The Way Ahead" that these orders will be revoked at the time of dissolution of each development corporation. Each new town will then become integrated into the normal planning system.
Education
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in the Official Report for each regional council area (a) the total money allocated for the implementation of the five to 14 years curriculum and testing in (i) training of staff and (ii) introductory and closure day courses for staff and what were the full costs of full implementation, (b) the total money allocated to appoint development officers for five to 14 years development and for development planning and information technology officers and what were the estimated costs for full implementation, (c) how many and what percentage of head teachers will be granted additional
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relief to cope with developments of the five to 14 years curriculum and testing and (d) what increase in per capita allowances for 1991-92 have been allocated per pupil.Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 6 June 1991] : The cost of the five to 14 development programme has been met almost entirely by central Government, either directly or through support for work carried out by the primary assessment unit in the Scottish Examination Board, and by the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum and the colleges of education ; expenditure on the programme in 1990-91 was over £2 million, and will be at the same level in the current year.
In addition specific grant is paid at a level of 75 per cent. against expenditure by authorities on in-service teacher training for the five to 14 programme.
Per capita allowances and other forms of support for individual schools are a matter for education authorities themselves ; information on these is not held centrally.
General Government support to local authorities in the form of aggregate Exchequer finance was increased for 1991-92 by 10.5 per cent. over the level in the previous year.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Paisley, North
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single parents receive income support in the constituency of Paisley, North.
Miss Widdecombe : The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Mrs. Irene Adams : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single parents in receipt of child benefit there are in the constituency of Paisley North.
Mr. Jack : The information requested is not available.
Benefits (Guidelines)
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidelines he has issued to the benefits agency on the balance between maintaining the level of service to the public and cost-cutting exercises.
Miss Widdecombe : The balance between service delivery and cost is achieved through the process of agreeing aims, objectives and targets. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has agreed the aims, objectives and targets for 1991-92 with the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. These are set out in the agency's business plan which is published and available in the Library. The targets cover service delivery, efficiency, budgetary performance and customer satisfaction.
Family Credit
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average delay that a claimant for family credit experiences between applying for the benefit and receiving an award ; how many claimants there are for family credit ; and what measures are proposed to improve service to the low paid and people in need.
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Mr. Jack : The administration of family credit is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
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