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Column 532
The Government accept that the new national criminal record system should be run by a central organisation and managed for the benefit of the criminal justice system as a whole. A good deal more work is necessary before final decisions can be taken on the precise shape and status of such an organisation. This work is now in hand. The Government acknowledge the weaknesses, which the report identifies, in the present arrangements for disclosing information from the criminal record for the purpose of assisting employers, licensing authorities, and so on, to judge the suitability of people for particular posts or positions. It is the Government's intention to publish a consultation paper in about 12 months' time outlining their proposals for new disclosure arrangements. By that time, the arrangements for managing the new national criminal records system and the content of the national record should be clearer. Because the recommendations on disclosure have substantial implications for exceptions made under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, the consultation paper will also contain proposals relating to exceptions under that Act.Prisons
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each Her Majesty's prison establishment, the number of (a) category A, (b) category B, (c) category C and (d) category D prisoners for the latest date he has figures ; and if he will list those establishments that hold women prisoners.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information on categorisation is not readily available in the form in which it has been requested by the hon. Member. I will write to him as soon as possible.
The following establishments hold female prisoners.
Askham Grange
Bullwood Hall
Cookham Wood
Drake Hall
Durham
East Sutton Park
Holloway
Low Newton
New Hall
Pucklechurch
Risley
Styal
Derbyshire Constabulary
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) the number of police officers and (b) the number of civilian staff employed by Derbyshire constabulary for each year from 1979.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is set out in the table.
Strength
At 31 |Police officers |Civilian staff<1>
December
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979 |1,587 |634
1980 |1,832 |694
1981 |1,779 |701
1982 |1,754 |705
1983 |1,768 |703
1984 |1,761 |680
1985 |1,765 |685
1986 |1,761 |731
1987 |1,796 |716
1988 |1,786 |710
1989 |1,790 |690
1990 |1,751 |549
(July) 1991 |1,722 |505
<1>Centralisation of the country's common services has reduced the
numbers of civilians employed exclusively on police support.
Party Conferences
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the additional policing costs arising from (a) the Labour party conference in Brighton and (b) the Conservative party conference in Blackpool, in 1990 and in the current year.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the chief officers of the forces concerned that the estimated additional costs are :
0
Year and force |Additional cost
|£
------------------------------------------------
Labour
1990 Lancashire |97,545
1991 Sussex |10,000
Conservative
1990 Dorset |2,000,000
1991 Lancashire |1,379,000
Immigration
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many wives have applied from India for settlement visas to join their husbands in Britain in 1988, 1989 and 1990, respectively ; how many have been granted ; and how many have been refused.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is given in the table.
Wives applying in India for an entry clearance for settlement in the United Kingdom Number of persons Applications |1988 |1989 |1990 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Newly received<1> |1,500 |1,840 |1,860 Granted |1,640 |1,610 |1,760 Of which, granted on appeal |<2>- |10 |10 Refused initially |50 |120 |200 <1> Including applications subsequently withdrawn when the applicant was considered for a cerficate of entitlement to the right of abode in the United Kingdom. <2> Five or fewer.
Parliamentary Constituencies
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the parliamentary constituencies that the Boundary Commission will be reviewing in the three counties of Yorkshire, and Humberside and which it will be reporting on (a) during the next five years and (b) during the next 10 years.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Boundary Commission will be reviewing all the parliamentary constituencies in Yorkshire and Humberside in the course of the fourth general review of constituencies in England.
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The Commission is required to submit its report between February 1993 and February 1998.Police Overtime
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has of the cost to public funds of overtime payments in the police forces in England for each of the last five years ; what representations he has received over the amount of overtime being worked and the cost thereof ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Estimates of expenditure on police overtime are published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, on the basis of information supplied by police authorities. Estimates for the last five years are given in the table. The budget of a police force, including its expenditure on overtime, is the responsibility of the police authority. The Home Office pays specific grant on 51 per cent. of this expenditure 52 per cent. in the case of the Metropolitan police. Local authorities pay the remainder, though their share is supported through the revenue support grant system. We have not received any recent representations about the cost of police overtime.
Estimated Expenditure on Police Overtime
|England |Metropolitan
|excluding |Police
|Metropolitan
|Police
----------------------------------------------------
1986-87 |80.474 |<1>-
1987-88 |87.210 |<1>-
1988-89 |95.863 |<2>68.48
1989-90 |100.609 |59.2
1990-91 |112.973 |59.743
<1> Not available
<2> Outturn figure
Wolds Remand Centre
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he is giving to allowing the company or organisation successfully tendering to manage the Wolds remand centre to have their employees trained at the Prison Service college ; and on what charging basis such facility would be offered.
Mrs. Rumbold : A number of staff will be trained by the Prison Service college in the local inmate database system which the Home Office requires a successful contractor to use, and therefore no charge will be levied for this facility.
The provision of training for prisoner custody officers to meet the standard required under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and the tender document is a matter for the successful company and it will be open to them to seek such training from any source. Those bidding for Wolds have included details of the arrangements that they would make if they were successful.
Private Security Firms
Mr. George : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of private security firms currently employed by his Department, the number of employees for each firm on the contract, the total value of each contract and the total value of all contracts for each financial year since 1984-85.
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Mr. Kenneth Baker : The following private security firms are currently employed by my Department :Lisburn Security Services
Securicor
Group 4
Security Wales
Security Express Guards Ltd.
Security Express
Chubb
Reliance
Defence Security Services
Securite Security Limited
Potton Leisure Limited
The value of each contract is a matter of commerical and contractual confidentiality. Information about the total value of such contracts for each year since 1984-85 is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information about the number of staff employed on each contract is also not readily available ; in some cases the number varies from day to day according to operational requirements.
Dr. Jaffar Dhia Jaffar
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an entry permit to the United Kingdom has been issued to Dr. Jaffar Dhia Jaffar from Iraq in the past 24 months.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I regret that we have been unable to identify Dr. Jaffar from the information given. If the hon. Member will write to me with further details, preferably Dr. Jaffar's date of birth and when and for what purpose he is thought to have come here, I will have further inquiries made.
Roberto Fiore
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to deport Roberto Fiore on the grounds of his complicity in the 1981 Bologna railway bombing.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. The Minister of State, Home Office made clear to a question from the hon. Member for Walsall, North (Mr. Winnick) on 18 May 1989 at column 257 that there was not evidence in this case which would meet the criteria under European Community law for the deportation of an EC citizen. That remains the position.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received since May 1989 concerning Roberto Fiore.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Representations have been received from the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner) and from two members of the public about the possible extradition of Mr. Fiore to Italy.
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Humane Destruction
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidance to police forces of England and Wales in respect of the provision of instruments of humane destruction for use in connection with dangerous dogs or where animals have been injured.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : We do not think that guidance is necessary. It is normal practice for police officers to seek veterinary assistance when there is a need for an animal to be destroyed, except when there is an immediate threat to human life or limb.
Sexual Offences
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy towards the relative priority, within the overall objective of maintaining law and order, accorded by police for surveillance operations targeted towards arresting gay and bisexual men for alleged unlawful sexual acts, exposure or soliciting ; and what is his assessment of the cost effectiveness of this use of police manpower.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The police investigate all allegations of crime. The priority and level of resources given to different kinds of investigation are operational matters for chief officers.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the average fine for a first offence of indecency between males, gross indecency involving two men over the age of 21 years in a discreet public place ; and what information he has as to the average fines imposed by Epsom magistrates and Crown courts on men convicted of this offence since July.
Mr. John Patten : Information on the number of first offences committed and on the location of offences is not collected centrally. Following the Sexual Offences Act 1967 an offence is not committed if two persons over the age of 21 are involved and the act took place in private.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the number of arrests and subsequent convictions in the last full year, by police force, arising from surveillance operations targeted towards alleged sexual offences by gay and bisexual men.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is not recorded centrally. The police investigate all allegations of crime ; measures to detect crime are operational matters for chief officers.
Fund-raising
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to secure amendment
Television Licence Fees
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce the television licence fees which will take effect from 1 April 1992.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : On 14 January 1991, at column 379, my right hon. Friend announced that the fee increase for April 1991, which was set at 3 per cent. below RPI, would be followed by annual increases at RPI over the subsequent four years. The operation of this formula would however be reassessed in 1994.Licence fee increases are based on the annual increase in RPI as at the preceding September, in the same way as rises in pensions and other state benefits. Application of this year's September RPI figure of 4.1 per cent. to the current unrounded fees produces new rounded totals of £80 for a colour licence and £26.50 for a monochrome licence. The necessary regulations to bring these fees into force next April will be laid before the House in due course.
Mr. Joseph Barker
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether Joseph Arthur Lewis Barker will be allowed home leave on parole whilst he is under the supervision of St. Lukes hospital, Middlesbrough ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) when it is intended to move Joseph Arthur Lewis Barker back to Durham prison in order that he may be considered for release on licence ; and when a decision will be made as to his release on licence.
Mrs. Rumbold : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Police Car Chases
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been killed or injured in each of the last 10 years as the result of police car chases.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I will write to the hon. Member.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Ards Peninsula
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will arrange for the preparation of a local area plan for the Ards peninsula.
Mr. Needham : The Ards peninsula is already included in the North Down and Ards area plan 1984-1995. This plan was statutorily adopted on 10 July 1989 after a public inquiry and is due for review by 1995.
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals the Rural Development Council has for a rural action programme in the Ards peninsula ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : I shall write to the right hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.
Pollution, Kircubbin
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has about the discharge of raw sewage at Doctor's bay, Kircubbin ; whether any analysis has been carried out on the discharge ; if he will arrange for the erection of a health warning sign ; and what proposals he has to bring this discharge to an end.
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Mr. Needham : I am not aware of any instances of raw sewage being discharged at Doctor's bay, Kircubbin. The most recent analysis of treated sewage at Kircubbin sewage treatment works satisfied the standard for discharge. There are no proposals to erect a health warning sign or to discontinue the discharge of treated sewage.
International Fund for Ireland
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons in Northern Ireland are employed by the International Fund for Ireland ; and whether the organisation is registered with the Fair Employment Commission.
Dr. Mawhinney : As provided for in article 10 of the agreement establishing the International Fund for Ireland the secretariat of the fund is provided jointly by the two Governments. Within Northern Ireland a total of 11 staff have been seconded from the Department of Finance and Personnel to work for the fund. Given that the fund does not directly employ staff, it would not be appropriate for it to be registered with the Fair Employment Commission.
Ferry Services
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has to improve the ferry service between Portaferry and Strangford ; if he will provide a larger ferry boat ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : Planning permission for improvements to the terminal facilities in Strangford harbour has already been sought and consideration is being given to the provision, subject to the availability of finance, of a larger vessel.
Fish Quotas
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what effect the European Community fish quotas for 1991 have had so far on the number of fishing boats at Kilkeel, Ardglass and Portavogie.
Mr. Hanley : I shall write to the right hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.
Strangford Lough
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Crown Estate Commissioners have his approval to impose mooring charges in Strangford lough ; what the role of the Crown Estate Commissioners will be in his proposals for the future management of Strangford lough ; and if he will make a statement on the relationship between the Crown Estate Commissioners and Strangford lough under his proposals in "Strangford Lough--a Consultation Paper."
Mr. Needham : The Crown Estate does not require the approval of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to impose mooring charges in Strangford lough. As the largest owner of the foreshore and seabed it would seem reasonable that the Crown Estate should be invited to play a role in the proposed management structure for the lough. The right hon. Gentleman will appreciate, however, that at this stage it is much too early for me to give commitments on the operation of the structure.
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Prawns
Mr. John D. Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) what percentage of the European Community quota for prawns for 1991 has already been caught ; and what proposals he has for the prawn fishing industry and its processing plants for the remainder of 1991 ;
(2) if he has requested a transfer of part of the European Community quota for prawns for the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland ; if he has made any representations to the Government in Dublin ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : Landings recorded by 3 October indicated that 90 per cent. of the United Kingdom's quota of 6,235 tonnes of
nephrops--prawns--for area VII had been caught. A limit of 2 tonnes per vessel has been set for the month of October with the aim of keeping this fishery open until the end of the quota year on 31 December. The United Kingdom has obtained from the Republic of Ireland a total of 550 tonnes to add to its own quota. Most of the processing plants have built up stocks in cold stores sufficient to maintain their operations for the remainder of the year.
Folk and Transport Museum
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will provide additional funding for the Folk and Transport museum, Cultra, to provide greater amenities for visitors, particularly in the winter months ;
(2) how many people have visited the Ulster Folk and Transport museum, Cultra, during the past 12 months.
Dr. Mawhinney : My right hon. and noble Friend the Paymaster General, who has responsibility for museums in Northern Ireland, has provided an additional £2 million to the Ulster Folk and Transport museum to enable work to commence this year on the building of a new rail gallery. This is expected to be completed in 1993-94 and is the first phase of a planned £4 million scheme to construct two new galleries which will house the entire transport collection on the Cultra site.
From 1 October 1990 to the end of September 1991 there were 134,650 visitors.
Tourists
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many tourists came to Northern Ireland during the past 12 months ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : Visitor figures are compiled on a calendar year basis. The total number of visitors to Northern Ireland in 1990 was a record 1,153,000, representing an increase of 6 per cent. on 1989. The number of holiday-makers was 222,000, a 40 per cent. increase over the previous year.
Abortions
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many legal abortions have been performed in Northern Ireland during each of the past 10 years ;
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(2) how many legal abortions have been performed in Northern Ireland on single women in each of the past 10 years ; and if he will state the numbers in each age group.Mr. Hanley : While the Abortion Act 1967 does not extend to Northern Ireland, therapeutic terminations of pregnancy can be carried out in Northern Ireland hospitals on strictly medical grounds. The number of such terminations is not recorded separately in the statistical information on obstetric and gynaecological procedures collected centrally.
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what information he has on the number of pregnant women from Northern Ireland who have had legal abortions in Great Britain.
Mr. Hanley : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply which I gave to the right hon. Member for Strangford (Mr. Taylor) on 14 October 1991, Official Report column 48.
Adoptions
Mr. Kilfedder : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many illegitimate babies have been adopted or are waiting to be adopted during the past five years.
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