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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 20th June 1991
PRIME MINISTER
Bananas
Mr. John P. Smith : To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he has received any representations about the absence of a decision by the European Council of Ministers on trade arrangements for bananas after 1992 ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) if he will seek an agreement with his European counterparts at the Luxembourg summit on trade arrangements for bananas after 1992 which guarantees the price and existing access of eastern Caribbean bananas ;
(3) what steps he intends to take to honour the commitment made in 1987 to guarantee the supply of eastern Caribbean bananas to the United Kingdom after 1992 ;
(4) if he will raise the question of the European Commission's delay in reaching decisions on the Banana protocol under the Lome convention at the forthcoming Luxembourg summit.
The Prime Minister : The European Commission is considering arrangements to apply to bananas in the single European market post-1992. The Government will seek to ensure that new arrangements fulfil our commitments to Commonwealth Caribbean suppliers. We shall also take account of consumers interests, the need for budgetary restraint, trade policy considerations and the competition and efficiency objectives of the single market initiative. I have discussed the issue with the Prime Ministers of Dominica and Jamaica and am very alive to their economic needs.
Officials are in touch with the Commission, who are aware of the need to make proposals as soon as possible. In the absence of these proposals it would be premature to raise the issue at the Luxembourg European Council.
Council of Europe
Mr. Ward : To ask the Prime Minister if he has made any changes to the composition of the United Kingdom delegation to the 43rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
The Prime Minister : I have appointed my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Atkinson) from the Government Benches to be a representative on the delegation to the 43rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in succession to my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Morris). I have also appointed my hon. Friend the Member for Reading, West (Sir A. Durant) as a substitute delegate.
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ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Wormwood Scrubs (Escape)
Mr. Riddick : To ask the Attorney-General whether he intends to ask the police to investigate the alleged involvement of the Rev. John Papworth, and Mrs. Anne Randle in the escape of George Blake from Wormwood Scrubs prison ; and if he will make a statement.
The Solicitor-General : The police have already completed an investigation, but it failed to reveal sufficient evidence to justify the institution of proceedings against the Rev. John Papworth or Mrs. Anne Randle for any offence.
Legal Aid
Mr. Gerry Steinberg : To ask the Attorney-General in what percentage of cases the Legal Aid Board pays an assisted person's costs or fees.
The Attorney-General : The Legal Aid Board pays an assisted person's legal costs in all legally-aided cases. These are offset by any contribution due from the assisted person under the rules for financial eligibility for legal aid. In a successful civil action, costs may also be offset by any costs recovered from the other side and, where necessary, out of property recovered in the action.
Shootings, Northern Ireland
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Attorney-General (1) what recommendation assistant chief constable Sampson made with regard to the prosecution of Royal Ulster Constabulary officers in connection with the shootings of Eugene Torman, Sean Burns and Gervaise McKerr on 11 November 1982 ;
(2) what recommendation assistant chief constable Sampson made with regard to the prosecution of Royal Ulster Constabulary officers in connection with the shootings of Roddy Carroll and Seamus Grew on 12 December 1982 ;
(3) what recommendation assistant chief constable Sampson made with regard to the prosecution of Royal Ulster Constabulary officers in relation to the shooting of Michael Tighe in November 1982 ; (4) what recommendation assistant chief constable Sampson made with regard to the prosecution of MI5 officers in connection with the shooting of Michael Tighe in November 1982.
The Attorney-General : As is the usual practice with police reports covering criminal investigations, the report by Mr. Colin Sampson has not been published and any recommendations he may have made accordingly remain confidential. I have nothing to add to the statement which I made to the House on 25 January 1988.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Public Order Act
Mr. Shore : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the Public Order Act seeking more effective powers to prevent provocative racist marches ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : We have carefully considered the Commissioner's reported remarks. At present we are not persuaded that the Public Order Act requires amendment. We shall continue to keep the legislation and its operation under review.Animal Experiments
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what licences have been issued for the animal procedures carried out on behalf of Kraft General Foods on the effects of the ingestion of coffee ; and what steps have been taken to establish such procedures are in accord with practices licensed in the United Kingdom under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 ;
(2) what licences have been issued for animal procedures carried out on behalf of Nestle on the effects of the ingestion of large volumes of coffee ; and what steps have been taken to ensure such procedures are in accord with practices licensed in the United Kingdom under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Mrs. Rumbold : We are not aware of any work of this nature being carried out in this country.
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Policing, Northumberland
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what increase has been made to the number of police officers and civilian auxiliaries for Northumberland over each of the past five years, and what has been the increase or decrease in crimes reported, detected and cleared up over that period.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is set out in the tables :
(i) Northumbria Police establishment and civilian strength Year |Police |Civilian staff 31 December |establishment |strength ------------------------------------------------------------ 1986 |3,378 |1,101 1987 |3,453 |1,115 1988 |3,483 |1,116 1989 |3,514 |1,157 1990 |3,552 |1,202 1991 |<1>3,586 |<2>1,226 <1> With effect from 1 October 1991. <2> Strength as at 31 March 1991.
Change in recorded crime (Northumbria)
Year |Recorded |Percentage |Recorded |Percentage |Crime |Percentage
|crime<3> |change from |crime<4> |change from |cleared up |change from
|previous year |previous year |previous year
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986 |164,889 |157,665 |63,651
|+4% |+5% |+13%
1987 |172,057 |164,956 |71,875
|-7% |-7% |-6%
1988160,768 |153,108 |67,728
|+13% |+12% |-
1989 |181,629 |171,733 |67,880
|+12% |+11% |+13%
1990 |203,825 |190,248 |76,654
<3> Including all criminal damage.
<4> Excluding offences of 'other criminal damage' valued at £20 or less.
(ii) Change in recorded crime (Northumbria)
Year Recorded crime Percentage change from previous year Recorded crime Percentage change from previous year Crime cleared up Percentage change from previous year
1986 164,889
4 157,665
5 63,651
13
1987 172,057
7 164,956
7 71,875
6
1988 160,768
13 153,108
12 67,728
1989 181,629
12 171,733
11 67,880
13
1990 203,825 190,248 76,654
Including all criminal damage.
Excluding offences of other criminal damage' valued at £20 or less.
Visa Applications
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of visa applications that have been refused in each of the last three years from (a) Pakistan, (b) India, (c) Bangladesh and (d) Sri Lanka.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is given in the table.
Applications for entry clearance for
settlement or temporary
purposes refused initially<1>
Number of persons
|1988 |1989 |1990
---------------------------------------
Bangladesh |3,520 |4,270 |4,540
India |7,860 |9,380 |15,470
Pakistan |10,980|12,320|16,530
Sri Lanka |810 |710 |1,050
<1> Some applications refused
initially are granted subsequently on
appeal.
Advertising
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what budget his Department has for advertising in ethnic newspapers or magazines, the services and responsibilities of his Department ; and what amount of money has been spent on this publicity in each of the last five years.
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Mr. Kenneth Baker : The Home Office does not set a specific ethnic publications advertising budget. Each case is considered on its merits in conjunction with advertising agencies and the Central Office of Information. The total for the current financial year will not, therefore, be known until year-end.
Figures for the past five years, inclusive of VAT, are :
|£
----------------------
1986-87 |11,400
1987-88 |64,600
1988-89 |40,300
1989-90 |30,200
1990-91 |34,100
Sexual Offences
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men were sentenced in 1989 to terms of custody, in prisons or young offenders institutions for sexual offences ; and how many of these were sentenced for homosexual buggery, soliciting, indecency and procuring where there was either explicit consent by the parties concerned or an absence of coercion, threats or intimidation.
Mr. John Patten : Information requested is given in the table. Data as to whether consent was given or there was
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an absence of coercion, threats or intimidation by the offender is available centrally only where lack of consent is an element of the offence.
Number of males sentenced to immediate imprisonment for certain
sexual offences-1989
England and Wales
Immediate Custody
Offence |Young Offender |Unsuspended and Partly
|Institution |Suspended Sentence
|of Imprisonment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Sexual Offences |223 |2,137
Buggery with consent |- |10
Buggery without
consent |11 |167
Soliciting by a man<1> |1 |5
Indecency between
males |3 |20
Procuring of males |- |3
<1> Data does not distinguish as to whether males or females have been solicited or
importuned by male offenders.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether men imprisoned for consenting homosexual behaviour will be required to undergo the Government's proposed programme of treatment and supervision of sex offenders.
Mrs. Rumbold : Subject to the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 and the general criminal law, a homosexual act in private is not an offence provided that the parties consent thereto and have attained the age of 21 years. In the structured programmes to be introduced in certain prisons, priority will be given to those offenders who are likely to represent the greatest risk to the community on release.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the main routes by which asylum seekers from Zaire, Angola, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Uganda, Ghana, Turkey, Somalia, Zambia and Ethiopia come to the United Kingdom ; and what are the intermediate stopover points en route.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The available information relates to passengers who apply for asylum on arrival in the United Kingdom. Among those who arrived in the first quarter of 1991 and whose point of embarkation or transit is known, more than 50 arrivals of the approximate total of 3,000 are recorded as having come from each of the following :
Addis Ababa
Bombay
Brussels
Calais
Colombo
Delhi
Dhaka
Entebbe
Istanbul
Lagos
Larnaca
Moscow
Muscat
Nairobi
Paris
Rome
Sofia
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals made a further
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application for asylum in the United Kingdom after having the first application refused, in each year since 1988.Mr. Peter Lloyd : Reliable information is not available. Further applications are not included in the figures for new asylum applications.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give (a) the spending on energy efficiency in 1989-90 and 1990- 91, (b) the number of dedicated energy managers and the number of person years devoted to energy management in 1989-90 and 1990-91 and (c) the number of energy audits completed in the last five years, all in relation to the 21 buildings for which energy consumption figures were given in the answers of 30 April 1990, Official Report, columns 399-402.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The information in relation to the 21 buildings for which energy consumption figures were given in the answers of 30 April 1990, Official Report, columns 399-402 is as follows : (a) I am not able to provide this information as responsibility for expenditure on energy efficiency for this part of the Home Office rested with property holdings at the Department of the Environment for the periods referred to.
(b) There was one dedicated energy manager in 1989-90 and one in 1990-91. The number of person years for both periods was 1.1. (c) Seven energy audits were completed in the last five years. Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 3 June, Official Report, columns 77-78, what information is available on spending by his Department on energy efficiency outside the prison service estate.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Pursuant to the answer of 3 June, Official Report, columns 77-78, the energy management team have only recently taken over responsibility from the property holdings for these buildings. Although surveys have been carried out there has to date been no significant investment in energy management. Bids for such expenditure are currently being considered.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can now provide 1990-91 figures for the energy spending and the energy consumption for each of the 21 buildings for which 1989-90 information was published in the answers of 30 April 1990, Official Report, columns 399-402.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The energy spending and energy consumption for each of the 21 buildings listed in the answers of 30 April 1990, Official Report, columns 399-402 are as follows :
Building |Cost |Consumption
|KW hours
---------------------------------------------------------
Abell House |119,802 |4,268,974
Branston |403,084 |39,212,806
Cleland House |100,322 |3,306,880
Clive House |67,923 |2,519,786
Corby |15,530 |443,219
Cowley |9,677 |492,893
Dunkeswell<1> |0 |0
Easingwold |29,131 |1,653,504
Fire Service College |290,000 |18,540,159
Harmondsworth |69,350 |3,710,101
Horseferry House |79,479 |3,132,230
Inverness |6,984 |156,524
Langhurst |9,376 |263,196
Leeds |31,400 |1,999,029
Lunar House |187,548 |9,148,240
Olympia House |20,979 |1,184,635
Queen Anne's Gate |377,377 |13,283,831
Sandridge |37,981 |1,913,691
Steventon |42,857 |2,034,932
Woking<1> |6,408 |378,437
All costs calculated using average figures.
<1> Building closed.
Police
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to obtain from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis a copy of the document on the meeting which took place recently to discuss the police response to political changes.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand the document referred to in the question is an internal management document belonging to the Metropolitan police service. It served as an annotated agenda for the Commissioner's conference. This is an annual event where the top 140 managers in the Metropolitan police service review the performance of the service and plan for the future.
Telephone Tapping
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any proposals to amend the legislation governing telephone tapping ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : I have no intention to amend the legislation.
Redwood Publishing Limited
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the acquisition by BBC Enterprise of Redwood Publishing Ltd. ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I am not aware of any representations made to us concerning the BBC's acquisition of Redwood Publishing Limited. The Monopolies and Mergers Commission is considering the effects on the market of television broadcasters, including the BBC, promoting their own magazines and other goods.
Immigration
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer, Official Report, 3 June, column 81, what was the nature of the matters which led to the dismissal and suspension of officials ; how many officials were dismissed and suspended in (a) the Passport Agency and (b) the immigration and nationality department ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Of the eight dismissals, five involved staff working in the Immigration and Nationality
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Department and related to abuse of position, refusal to work where posted and three instances of unauthorised absence. The three staff working in the passport agency were dismissed for failure to observe working procedures, following a criminal conviciton and custodial sentence and unauthorised absence.Of the eight suspensions, five involved staff working in the immigration and nationality department or the immigration service. Two of these related to cases resulting in dismissal (abuse of position and refusal to attend work) ; two involved failure to observe working procedures and one offensive behaviour.
The three passport agency cases involved two of those resulting in dismissal (failure to observe procedures and the criminal conviction) and the other a financial irregularity.
Citizenship Applications
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Mr. Fereidoun Sadeghilakhtaki applied for British citizenship (H.O. Ref : 51 10/12/87) ; when a decision is to be taken on his application ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Mr. Sadeghilakhtaki applied for British citizenship in December 1987. Inquiries on the case started in October 1989. Our request to Mr. Sadeghilakhtaki for his passport, marriage certificate and other evidence received no response. An inquiry from the Bradford citizens advice bureau in May this year about the case indicated that Mr. Sadeghilakhtaki had moved to a different address. We are now asking again to see the necessary documentation, and a decision on the case should be possible as soon as we have received and examined this evidence.
Immigration Ministers' Meeting
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the meetings of Trevi and European Community Immigration Ministers in Luxembourg on 13 and 14 June.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The meeting of Ministers concerned with immigration was the tenth in the series of meetings held towards the end of each presidency since 1986.
Discussion at the Immigration Ministers' meeting focused on the draft external frontiers convention. Ministers welcomed the progress made in negotiations under the Luxembourg Presidency and concentrated on outstanding issues. The external frontiers convention, the provisions of which are described in more detail later, provides for agreed standards of immigration control over third country nationals at the external frontiers of the European Community, supported by a computerised list of those who are inadmissible. It contains provisions relating to visas, including the mutual recognition by other member states of visas issued for short visits by one member state. In addition it provides for travel without visas between EC member states by third country nationals lawfully resident in an EC country in circumstances in which they would otherwise require visas. The convention further envisages the harmonisation of the visa policies of EC member states in due course. Difficulties arose over provisions in the draft convention
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