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Bacon's CTC
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what requirements have been put on the trustees of Bacon's city technology college about the money he has made available to them to build the city technology college should they decide not to proceed with the city technology college.
Mr. Eggar : Paragraph 24(A)iv of the CTC funding agreement requires the CTC on termination of the agreement to repay to the Secretary of State sums determined by reference to :
"(a) the value at that time of the College's site and premises and other assets held for the purposes of the College ; and
Column 478
(b) the extent to which expenditure incurred in providing those assets was met by payments by the Secretary of State under this Agreement."Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) if he will investigate the failure of the sponsors of Bacon's city technology college to offer all staff of Bacon's school security of appointment at the city technical college, as previously agreed between the school and the city technical college ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) whether he will make it his policy to contribute to the redundancy payments of staff of Bacon's school, when it closes on 31 August, who have not been offered equivalent employment at the new Bacon's city technology college or achieved employment elsewhere.
Column 479
Mr. Eggar : My right hon. and learned Friend has been kept informed by the trustees of the Bacon's city technology college of progress towards the opening of the school, including issues of staffing. He is considering generally the question of liability of any redundancy payment.Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw), Official Report, 9 May, columns 561-64, when the valuation of £1.5 million was made for the proceeds of the present site of Bacon's school ; when the site will be put on the market ; and what is the present estimate of the proceeds.
Mr. Eggar : The Bacon's school site was valued in 1989 at £1.5 million, following the advice of agents. The site will be marketed this autumn, with this figure as a guide price.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the new building for Bacon's city technology college will be available for occupation.
Mr. Eggar : The Bacon's CTC autumn term starts on 23 September, by which time most of the new building will be complete and available for occupation.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the cost of the chapel that has been built in the new Bacon's city technology college ; and who has agreed to pay for it.
Mr. Eggar : The cost of the chapel, which is assessed at £140,000 will be met entirely by the Southwark diocesan board of education.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what role his appointee on the trustee of Bacon's city technology college has played in the appointment of staff at the new college.
Mr. Eggar : The Secretary of State's nominee on the Bacon's CTC trust has been directly involved only in the appointment of the principal of the college.
HEALTH
Maternity Units
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities have community maternity units ; and how many places in these units each district health authority provides.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Information relating to beds in wards designated for general practitioner--maternity use, is given in the table. Consultant obstetric wards also have beds available for use by general practitioners.
Average number of beds available daily in general practitioner
maternity units by district health authority
1989-90
District health authority |Available
|beds
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
North Tees |15
South Tees |13
East Cumbria |8
West Cumbria |10
Northumberland |21
Gateshead |6
Hull |2
East Yorkshire |11
Grimsby |20
Scunthorpe |16
Scarborough |12
Harrogate |6
Airedale |5
Calderdale |6
North Derbyshire |22
Leicestershire |38
North Lincolnshire |0
South Lincolnshire |8
Central Nottinghamshire |8
Peterborough |12
East Suffolk |18
Norwich |1
North Bedfordshire |1
Basildon and Thurrock |7
Mid Essex |24
North East Essex |31
Newham |2
Enfield |15
Redbridge |4
Tunbridge Wells |8
Bexley |8
East Dorset |6
Portsmouth and South East
Hampshire |54
South West Hampshire and
Southampton |36
Winchester |10
Bath |77
Aylesbury Vale |8
Wycombe |9
Northampton |5
Oxfordshire |32
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly |17
Exeter |29
North Devon |11
Plymouth |20
Somerset |8
Kidderminster and district |24
Worcester and district |11
Shropshire |72
North Staffordshire |30
South East Staffordshire |6
North Warwickshire |10
South Warwickshire |1
Coventry |19
Dudley |31
Sandwell |2
Walsall |11
Wolverhampton |21
Crewe |5
Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble |44
Chorley and South Ribble |25
Bolton |4
Bury |1
Salford |4
Trafford |6
|----
England |1,008
Source: KHO3.
Hospital Readmissions
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 23 May, Official Report, column 593, to the hon. Member for Don Valley, if he will make it his practice to keep central records of national health service patients who have been discharged from hospital, and within three months required subsequent hospitalisation for the same or a different but related complaint.
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Mr. Dorrell : There are no plans to do so. Patients may be re-admitted for a variety of reasons. Work carried out on using re-admission data to develop an outcome measure has encountered considerable difficulties in defining the necessary data and interpreting them.HOME DEPARTMENT
Police (Compensation)
Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on how much compensation, in out of court settlements, has been paid by each police authority for each of the last five years that figures are available.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Out-of-court settlements are made under section 48(2)(b) of the Police Act 1964 at the discretion of the police authority concerned ; the information requested is not held centrally.
Assistant Commissioner Alun Wyn-Jones
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restitution or compensation has been made to Assistant Commissioner Alun Wyn-Jones following the decision that insufficient evidence for prosecution existed.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the precise terms of the inquiry into the certain matters concerning Assistant Commissioner Alun Wyn-Jones.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The precise terms of reference of the inquiry which the acting Commissioner, with the agreement of my right hon. Friend, asked Mr. Nobes to conduct into Mr. Wyn-Jones's conduct were a matter for the acting Commissioner and not for my right hon. Friend.
Prison Discharge Grant
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received calling for the prison discharge grant to be increased to the equivalent of two weeks' payment.
Column 482
Mrs. Rumbold : We have received representations to this effect from the Association of Chief Officers of Probation.
Refugees
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to provide capital and revenue support for more short-stay hostels for newly arrived refugees in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Government currently have many aspects of asylum-seeking under review, but have no present proposals on the matters raised in this question.
Satellite Television
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement regarding the proposed dedicated satellite television sex channel.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : If the proposed channel were to be uplinked from the United Kingdom, it would be subject to the licensing regime of the Independent Television Commission. This requires licensees to ensure, inter alia, that nothing is included in their programmes which offends against good taste or decency or is likely to be offensive to public feeling. If the service were to be uplinked from another European country, it would need to comply with international instruments which prohibit the broadcasting of pornographic programmes.
Vagrancy
Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Mansfield (Mr. Meale) on 27 February, Official Report, columns 502-4, if he will give the same information for prosecutions for vagrancy offences for (a) men and (b) women ; and how many were convicted in each case.
Mr. John Patten : The information requested is given in the tables.
Column 481
Table A1 Number of males prosecuted and convicted for the offence of begging by petty sessional
divisions 1987-89
Petty sessional division 1987 1988 1989
|Prosecuted|Convicted |Prosecuted|Convicted |Prosecuted|Convicted
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England and Wales
Bristol |- |- |3 |3 |12 |11
North Bedfordshire |- |- |1 |1 |1 |1
Luton |- |- |- |- |1 |-
Forest |- |- |1 |- |- |-
West Berkshire |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Aylesbury |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Cambridge |5 |5 |6 |5 |8 |8
Teesside |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Penwith |2 |1 |- |- |- |-
South East Cornwall |- |- |- |- |4 |4
Truro and South Powder |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Carlisle |- |- |2 |2 |3 |3
Penrith and Alston |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Diss |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Exeter |2 |2 |6 |6 |- |-
Plymouth |- |- |- |- |7 |6
Teinbridge |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Torbay |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
Bournemouth |- |- |- |- |3 |2
Brighton |2 |2 |4 |4 |13 |12
Hastings |1 |- |1 |1 |- |-
Hove |2 |2 |- |- |1 |1
Manchester |- |- |1 |1 |2 |1
Alton |- |- |- |- |2 |2
Droxford |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Lymington |1 |- |- |- |- |-
Odiham |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Southampton |1 |1 |1 |- |2 |-
Hereford (Borough) |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Cheshunt |- |- |- |- |4 |4
Dacorum |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Watford |2 |2 |- |- |1 |1
Canterbury and St.
Augustin |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Blackpool |- |- |- |- |2 |1
Lancaster |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Preston |2 |2 |- |- |- |-
Rossendale |- |- |- |- |4 |1
Liverpool |- |- |7 |6 |5 |4
St. Helens |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Daventry |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Northampton |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Wellingborough |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
York |5 |5 |3 |3 |- |-
Guildhall Justice Room |- |- |- |- |3 |3
Bow Street |192 |187 |162 |158 |599 |580
Clerkenwell |8 |8 |21 |20 |152 |143
Greenwich |- |- |1 |1 |1 |1
Marlborough Street |44 |40 |72 |66 |70 |63
Marylebone |48 |45 |82 |68 |49 |44
Old Street |- |- |2 |2 |5 |5
South Western |7 |7 |2 |2 |4 |4
Thames |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Tower Bridge |2 |1 |3 |2 |5 |5
West London (Southcombe
Street) |7 |7 |9 |8 |9 |9
Wells Street |3 |1 |2 |1 |- |-
Camberwell Green |2 |2 |- |- |1 |1
Horseferry Road |49 |47 |55 |52 |209 |204
Highbury Corner |7 |6 |38 |34 |31 |29
Oxford |12 |11 |12 |9 |38 |35
Lambeth |- |- |- |- |1 |1
North Oxfordshire and
Chipping Norton |1 |- |- |- |- |-
Yeovil |- |- |- |- |3 |3
Stratford |- |- |- |- |2 |2
Barnet |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Brentford |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Bexley |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Ealing |1 |1 |2 |2 |10 |9
Hampstead |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Hendon |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |1
Haringey |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Tottenham |- |- |- |- |5 |2
Harrow |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Willesden |3 |2 |8 |6 |10 |7
Wimbledon |1 |1 |- |- |1 |1
Uxbridge |- |- |- |- |2 |2
Richmond upon Thames |1 |1 |1 |1 |1 |-
New Spelthorne (Feltham) |2 |2 |- |- |- |-
Doncaster |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Kingston upon Thames |- |- |- |- |4 |1
Waltham Forest |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Redbridge |2 |2 |- |- |- |-
Lowestoft |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Guildford |- |- |1 |1 |1 |1
Staines and Sunbury |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Birmingham |- |- |- |- |1 |-
Coventry |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Leeds |3 |3 |1 |- |- |-
Wakefield |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Chippenham |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Salisbury |- |- |- |- |2 |2
Swindon |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Cynon Valley |1 |- |- |- |- |-
Cardiff |3 |3 |5 |3 |1 |-
Neath |- |- |- |- |1 |1
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
England and Wales |430 |405 |530 |477 |1,313 |1,237
Table A2
Number of females prosecuted and convicted for the offence of begging by petty sessional divisions
1987-89
England and Wales
Petty sessional 1987 1988 1989
division
|Prosecuted|Convicted |Prosecuted|Convicted |Prosecuted|Convicted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cambridge |- |- |- |- |2 |1
South East Cornwall |- |- |- |- |2 |2
Falmouth-Penryn |- |- |1 |1 |2 |2
Plymouth |- |- |- |- |2 |2
Brighton |- |- |- |- |4 |3
Hove |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Manchester |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Odiham |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Grimsby and
Cleethorpes |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Liverpool |- |- |2 |2 |1 |1
Guildhall Justice Room |- |- |- |- |2 |2
Bow Street |12 |12 |14 |13 |19 |18
Clerkenwell |1 |1 |3 |1 |8 |7
Greenwich |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Marlborough Street |1 |1 |4 |4 |7 |6
Marylebone |6 |6 |5 |5 |6 |6
West London
(Southcombe
Street |- |- |1 |1 |1 |1
Camberwell Green |- |- |- |- |2 |1
Horseferry Road |6 |6 |4 |3 |27 |26
Highbury Corner |2 |2 |3 |3 |1 |1
Oxford |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Islington |- |- |1 |- |- |-
City of Westminster |2 |1 |- |- |- |-
West Ham |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Croydon |3 |3 |- |- |- |-
Ealing |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Tottenham |- |- |2 |1 |- |-
Dorking |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
|-- |-- |-- |-- |-- |--
England and Wales |36 |35 |43 |35 |89 |82
Table B1. Number of males prosecuted and convicted for the offence of sleeping out by petty sessional divisions 1987-1989
England and Wales
1987 1988 1989
Petty sessional division |Prosecuted |Convicted |Prosecuted |Convicted |Prosecuted |Convicted
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luton |- |- |- |- |1 |-
West Berkshire |2 |2 |1 |1 |1 |1
Thurrock |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Manchester |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Oldham |- |- |- |- |2 |-
Portsmouth |- |- |- |- |2 |-
Grimsby and Cleethorpes |- |- |- |- |2 |2
Blackpool |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Preston |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Wyre |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Liverpool |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Selby |- |- |9 |1 |- |-
York |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Bow Street |3 |3 |1 |1 |2 |2
Marylebone |2 |2 |3 |3 |1 |-
South Western |2 |2 |- |- |4 |4
Thames |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
West London (Southcombe Street) |- |- |1 |1 |1 |-
Horseferry Road |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Highbury Corner |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Ealing |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Hendon |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
Haringey |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Uxbridge |- |- |1 |1 |2 |2
Barking |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Leeds |- |- |1 |- |- |-
Cardiff |- |- |1 |1 |- |-
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
England and Wales |13 |13 |17 |13 |21 |14
Table B2. Number of females prosecuted and convicted for the offence of sleeping out by petty sessional divisions 1987-1989
England and Wales
1987 1988 1989
Petty sessional division |Prosecuted |Convicted |Prosecuted |Convicted |Prosecuted |Convicted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liverpool |- |- |- |- |1 |-
Bow Street |1 |1 |- |- |- |-
Marlborough Street |- |- |- |- |1 |1
Marylebone |- |- |- |- |1 |1
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
England and Wales |1 |1 |0 |0 |3 |2
Prisoners (Drugs)
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the average number of doses of drugs administered per inmate in each of Her Majesty's penal establishments in the latest available year.
Mrs. Rumbold : This information is not available.
Overseas Visitors
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas visitors were initially refused leave to enter and were removed from the United Kingdom (a) between January and April 1988 inclusive, (b) between January and April 1991 inclusive, (c) between January 1987 and December 1988 inclusive and (d) between January 1989 and December 1990 inclusive ; and what were their nationalities.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The total numbers of passengers by nationality who were refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom in 1987, 1988 and 1989 are published in Table 1 of the annual Home Office Command Papers "Control of Immigration : Statistics, United Kingdom"--Cm 415, 726 and 1124 for each year from 1987 to 1989 respectively--copies of which are held in the Library. Corresponding information for January to April 1988, year 1990, and January to April 1991 is given in the table. It is not possible from the information available centrally to ascertain how many of those refused leave to enter and removed from the United Kingdom sought entry as visitors.
Passengers refused leave to enter and
removed from the United Kingdom
Number of persons
Nationality |January to |Year 1990 |January to
|April 1988 |April 1991
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe |1,392 |2,681 |767
Austria |23 |90 |15
Belgium |8 |6 |2
Bulgaria |7 |58 |26
Cyprus |59 |154 |44
Czechoslovakia |6 |106 |85
Denmark |1 |6 |-
Finland |16 |38 |15
France |47 |34 |8
Germany (D.R.) |1 |<1>54 |2
Germany (F.R.) |25 |11
Greece |3 |1 |-
Hungary |5 |107 |77
Italy |20 |3 |2
Luxembourg |- |- |-
Malta |5 |21 |10
Netherlands |25 |25 |2
Norway |22 |88 |18
Poland |32 |93 |35
Portugal |177 |49 |14
Romania |2 |23 |18
Spain |189 |10 |1
Sweden |39 |164 |57
Switzerland |39 |80 |22
Turkey |514 |389 |110
USSR |10 |168 |34
Yugoslavia |117 |903 |170
Americas |862 |4,420 |1,132
Argentina |23 |86 |43
Barbados |3 |36 |12
Brazil |108 |932 |222
Canada |25 |114 |32
Chile |32 |64 |15
Colombia |137 |750 |151
Cuba |- |7 |5
Guyana |9 |57 |14
Jamaica |113 |580 |136
Mexico |29 |150 |34
Peru |17 |132 |42
Trinidad and Tobago |13 |131 |33
United States of America |345 |1,319 |369
Uruguay |2 |18 |4
Venezuela |6 |44 |20
Africa |1,416 |5,155 |1,282
Algeria |396 |978 |57
Egypt |9 |40 |13
Ethiopia |3 |52 |21
Ghana |120 |479 |164
Kenya |42 |202 |56
Libya |9 |41 |9
Mauritius |52 |219 |62
Morocco |238 |634 |41
Nigeria |227 |848 |350
Sierra Leone |38 |321 |103
Somalia |4 |49 |21
South Africa |100 |530 |154
Sudan |15 |16 |6
Tanzania |22 |102 |35
Tunisia |65 |188 |18
Uganda |34 |193 |84
Zambia |18 |100 |28
Zimbabwe |24 |163 |60
Asia |1,198 |3,902 |1,192
Bangladesh |153 |339 |143
China |12 |63 |35
Hong Kong BDTC |119 |261 |51
India |209 |488 |149
Indonesia |5 |44 |-
Iran |93 |363 |44
Iraq |18 |56 |22
Israel |51 |243 |53
Japan |73 |222 |66
Jordan |10 |27 |14
Kuwait |1 |1 |-
Lebanon |26 |80 |92
Malaysia |148 |858 |282
Pakistan |105 |435 |125
Philippines |40 |148 |39
Saudi Arabia |13 |14 |1
Singapore |38 |63 |13
Sri Lanka |48 |94 |43
Syria |11 |55 |8
Thailand |25 |48 |12
Australasia |51 |351 |137
Australia |33 |219 |96
New Zealand |18 |132 |41
Others |468 |2,671 |861
British Overseas citizens |19 |40 |9
Other countries not
elsewhere specified |252 |1,248 |389
Stateless |197 |1,383 |463
All Nationalities |5,387 |19,180 |5,371
<1> Refusals recorded as GDR refusals prior to the unification of Germany
on 3 October 1990.
Jamaican Citizens
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Jamaican citizens were initially refused leave to enter the United Kingdom as not being genuine visitors (a) between January and April 1988 inclusive, (b) between January and April 1991 inclusive, (c) between January 1987 and December 1988 inclusive and (d) between January 1989 and December 1990 inclusive.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information available is given in the table.
Jamaican citizens refused leave to enter
and removed from the United Kingdom
Reason for refusal
|Not a genuine |Other reasons<2>
|visitor<1>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
January to April 1988 |91 |22
January to April 1991 |114 |22
January 1987 to December 1988 536 157
January 1989 to December 1990 1,184 199
<1>Persons refused under paragraph 22 of the immigration rules.
<2>Some may have sought entry as visitors but been refused for reasons
other than not being a genuine visitor.
Electoral Procedures
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he holds as to which European Community countries use mechanical or electronic means to count votes at national elections.
Mrs. Rumbold : Our information, which may be incomplete, is that electronic ballot paper counting machines are used at La"nder, federal, European
Column 490
Parliament and--probably--some local elections in Germany. We shall try to obtain further details, and I will write to my hon. Friend when we have done so.Shops Reform
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those organisations which his Department is consulting about the reform of the Shops Act 1950 ; and when he expects these consultations to be concluded.
Mrs. Rumbold : To assist in the possible development of acceptable proposals for the reform of the law on Sunday trading, I have held or plan to hold separate discussions with representatives of the following organisations :
The Shopping Hours Reform Council ; Sort Out Sunday ; OPEN (Outlets Providing for Everyday Needs) ; the Keep Sunday Special Campaign ; the Free Church Federal Council ; the General Synod of the Church of England's Board for Social Responsibility ; the Churches Main Committee ; the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland ; the Lord's Day Observation Society ; Churches Together in England ; the Board of British Jews ; the National Consumer Council ; the Retail Consortium ; the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers ; the GMB ; the Association of District Councils ; the Institute of Safety and Public Protection ; the National Federation of Meat Traders ; and the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourist Board.
I have also met representatives of the Horticultural Trades Association in relation to a proposed private Member's Bill on Sunday trading sponsored on their behalf.
I hope to be able to conclude this programme of separate discussions in the early autumn. I am keeping open the possibility of joint discussions thereafter.
Maguire Case
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secrertary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Maguire case.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : On 12 July 1990, my predecessor referred to the Court of Appeal, under section 17(1)(a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, the cases of Mr. and Mrs. Maguire, their sons, Vincent and Patrick, Mr. William Smyth and Mr. Patrick O'Neill. At the same time, he also sought the views of the Court of Appeal as to whether it was possible to refer to the court, under section 17(1)(a), the case of Mr. Patrick "Guiseppe' Conlon, who died in 1980. The court subsequently decided it could consider such a reference under section 17(1)(a), and the case was regarded as having been referred accordingly. My predecessor referred these cases in the light of the interim report of Sir John May who, on 19 October 1989, had been appointed by the Government to inquire into the circumstances leading to and deriving from the trial of the Maguire family and their co-defendants, as well as that of the Guildford Four.
The Court of Appeal has now quashed the convictions of all seven defendants for the unlawful possession of explosives. Under the provisions of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, any person whose conviction has been quashed on the basis of a new or newly discovered fact following a reference by the Home Secretary of the case to the Court of Appeal is entitled to apply for compensation. The amount will be decided on the basis of advice from an independent assessor. I will, of
Column 491
course, give careful consideration to any application that is made to me by the Maguire family and their co- defendants. In the case of Mr. Patrick "Guiseppe" Conlon, I will be prepared to consider an application from his family or other personal representative. It is a matter of concern that there should have been such a serious miscarriage of justice in this case, which has resulted in the wrongful imprisonment of those involved. The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, which I announced on 14 March, was established in part to ensure that, so far as possible, the likelihood of such events happening again would be minimised. The royal commission will be able to take this case into account during its deliberations. At the same time, I understand that Sir John May will continue to look into various aspects of the Maguires' case, and the Government will consider very carefully any further report by Sir John May.Pet Shops
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to local authorities in establishing whether pet shop premises are suitable as respects (a) size, location, lighting, ventilation and cleanliness and (b) food and drink.
Mrs. Rumbold [holding answer 24 June 1991] : None ; under section 4(1) of the Pet Animals Act 1951, local authorities are able to authorise qualified veterinary surgeons to inspect licensed premises, if professional guidance is needed in a particular case, or more generally.
Mrs. Ann Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will indicate the type and extent of veterinary training given to environmental health officers for the purposes of carrying out their functions under the Pet Animals Act 1951.
Mrs. Rumbold [holding answer 24 June 1991] : The training of environmental health officers in connection with any duties they may have under the Pet Animals Act 1951 is a matter for local authorities. As local authorities may appoint a veterinary surgeon to inspect licensed premises in their area or may seek veterinary advice subsequent to the inspection of premises by an official, there should be no difficulty in obtaining professional veterinary advice when necessary.
Flooding
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statutory requirements are in operation to provide advance public warning of flooding rivers, estuaries and inland waters ; if he will list those places which have a standard advance public flood warning system in operation ; what form these systems take ; what funding is provided for this purpose ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Curry : I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to her on 26 June 1991.
Column 492
SCOTLAND
Salmon
Mr. MacLennan : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the dumping of Norwegian salmon on the British market.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : We have received representations from a number of hon. Members, and from salmon farming interests in Scotland, about the effect of Norwegian imports on the European Community market for farmed salmon, particularly the market in France. The Government understand the industry's concerns and we are working closely with it to secure the future of the salmon farming industry in the United Kingdom.
Full-time Education
Mr. Sillars : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of Scottish children between the ages of 16 and 18 years remain in full-time education.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The proportion of Scottish children between the ages of 16 and 18 years remaining in full-time education was 32.3 per cent. in 1989.
Footpaths and Bridleways
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Don Valley of 4 June, Official Report, column 201, if he will make it his practice to keep central records of the number of public footpaths and public bridleways that have been created or closed to the general public.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : No. Each roads and planning authority, under the terms of its appropriate legislation, is responsible for the creation or closure of public footpaths and public bridleways in its area. There is no demonstrable benefit in my right hon. Friend compiling information of this type where he is not the authority responsible.
Scientific Units
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will ensure that a proportion of the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage scientific units are located in the highlands ; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The location of scientific units for the Nature Conservancy Council for Scotland and subsequently Scottish Natural Heritage is a matter for the bodies themselves.
Polyscythaemia
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of polyscythaemia were diagnosed in Scotland in each of the past ten years.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The number of in-patient cases treated for primary polyscythaemia in the period 1981-90 was as follows :
Year |<1>Cases --------------------------- 1981 |224 1982 |195 1983 |193 1984 |230 1985 |210 1986 |169 1987 |197 1988 |203 1989 |186 1990 |194 <1> Estimated.
Special Schools
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he intends to take to enable the Greater Glasgow health board to increase the provision of speech therapists and occupational therapists at special schools within Glasgow.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : On 11 June I instigated a number of measures designed to meet the shortage of speech therapists and of therapy services for children with special educational needs.
These measures include a review of future demand, encouragement to qualified staff who are no longer in employment to return to work and a study to assess the feasibility of introducing in-service training courses for teachers to assist with the delivery of speech therapy treatment. Such courses would be supported by specific grant resources of 75 per cent. of the cost.
Greater Glasgow health board has already taken steps to increase its provision of speech and occupational therapists.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Hong Kong
15. Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions Her Majesty's Government have had with the government of the People's Republic of China about the future of Hong Kong.
Mr. Hurd : During my visit to Peking in April, I discussed Hong Kong with senior Chinese leaders. A further round of official talks on Hong Kong's new airport took place in Peking on 18-22 May. The 19th plenary meeting of the Sino-British joint liaison group took place in Hong Kong on 11-13 June. There are also frequent contacts on diplomatic channels.
20. Mr. Michael J. Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to visit Hong Kong in the near future.
Mr. Hurd : I have no immediate plans to visit Hong Kong again.
Syria
16. Mr. Bell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on current British-Syrian relations.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Relations have been consolidated since the resumption of diplomatic ties last November. In that time I have visited Damascus twice--most recently this month--and the Syrian Foreign Minister has visited
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London. These contacts were useful. The Syrians were members of the coalition against Iraq. They have a major role in the peace process, in Gulf security and in Lebanon. They are also seeking to help over British hostages in Lebanon.Poland
17. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to visit Poland ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no immediate plans to visit Poland. During the state visit of President Walesa in April, my right hon. Friend had discussions with the Polish Foreign Minister. I myself visited Poland in March this year.
The Gulf
18. Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Kuwait and Southern Iraq were last discussed at the United Nations Security Council.
Mr. Hurd : Since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Security Council has kept the situation between the two countries under constant review. It was last discussed during informal consultations of members of the Security Council on 11 June.
Cyprus
19. Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals he has to meet the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, Mr. Rauf Denktash.
Mr. Garel-Jones : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to meet Mr. Denktash.
Middle East
21. Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had about solving the outstanding problems in the middle east ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is in regular touch with all the parties concerned on the outstanding middle east problems including the Arab-Israel dispute, Gulf security, regional disarmament and the situation in Iraq.
23. Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the prospects for release of the British hostages in the middle east.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : My visit to Lebanon and Syria was a further opportunity to work for the hostages' release. The Governments of both countries said they shared our determination to achieve their freedom. We are also in close touch with the Iranian Government, who have said that they will continue to use their influence to achieve the hostages' release. As I said after the visit, there are no conclusive signs of an immediate release, but the trends are encouraging.
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35. Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the middle east peace process.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The United States Secretary of State continues with our full support in his attempts to secure the agreement of all parties to the convening of a peace conference. There remain unresolved differences, mainly of a procedural nature. We have played our part in urging the parties to resolve these problems in order to allow the peace process to begin. We regard Israel's policy on settlements as a serious obstacle to this process.
36. Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Britain's contribution to finding a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict acceptable to the international community.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We have given our full support to the United States Secretary of State's initiative to restart the peace process. This offers the best hope of progress. We have urged the parties to the dispute to show the necessary flexibility. We are in close touch with the United States of America and our EC partners on the way forward. We remain concerned about the situation in the occupied territories in particular the continued establishment and expansion of settlements.
Japan (Prisoners of War)
22. Mr. Amos : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with the Japanese Prime Minister, at next month's G7 meeting in London, the question of compensation for second world war Japanese prisoners of war.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : As I made clear in my reply to the Adjournment debate moved by my right hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Sir B. Braine) on 6 June, it is our view that the question of compensation was settled in the 1951 peace treaty.
Sierra Leone
24. Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Sierra Leone about the security of its borders with Liberia ; and if he will make a statement.
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