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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 29 November 1991
TRANSPORT
Bus Companies
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will state the number of bus companies in the United Kingdom for each year since 1985 and the number of mergers and takeovers of bus companies for each year since 1985.
Mr. Freeman : The approximate numbers of bus and coach operators in Great Britain are given in the table. The Department of Transport does not collect this information for Northern Ireland.
|Number
-------------------------
March 1986 |5,800
March 1987 |5,900
March 1988 |5,900
March 1989 |6,000
March 1990 |6,200
March 1991 |6,400
These figures are based on the total number of PSV operators' licences issued by the traffic area offices. There is considerable uncertainty about the number of smaller operators because of the high rate at which such operators enter and leave the industry. A comprehensive register of mergers and takeovers is not maintained by the Department. However, table 10.3 in the recently published transport statistics report "Bus and Coach Statistics Great Britain 1990/91" illustrates the increasing importance of consortia in the provision of local bus services.
Light Railways
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many light railways or tramways are now under construction or planned in the United Kingdom ; and what funding and grants are available for constructing them.
Mr. Roger Freeman : Light railways are under construction in Manchester and Sheffield and some 40 other light rapid transit schemes have been proposed or are being considered. We are prepared to grant-aid worth while schemes under section 56 of the Transport Act 1968 subject to the availability of resources.
Community Transport
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met representatives of the Mobility Alliance to discuss the development of community transport projects.
Mr. Freeman : My Department works closely with the Mobility Alliance on all aspects of community transport operations.
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In addition, we fund the Community Transport Association's information and advice service which provides valuable advice to many community transport groups around the country.Northern Line
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what investment proposals London Regional Transport has for improving the Northern line.
Mr. Freeman : I understand that improvements to stations at the southern end of the Northern line costing around £45 million are likely to be in London Underground's investment programme over the next three years, as are major track and structural renewals throughout the system, amounting to some £55 million. During 1992-93, London Underground intends to spend around £10 million on escalator refurbishments, including those at Clapham North, Clapham South, Tooting Broadway and Tooting Bec. The modernisation of the Northern line remains London Underground's next major line improvement priority after the Central line scheme is completed in 1995.
ENVIRONMENT
Local Government Commission
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish the terms of reference for the Local Government Commission.
Mr. Portillo : Clause 13 of the Local Government Bill provides for the Local Government Commission to recommend the structural, boundary or electoral changes which appear to it desirable, having regard to the need to reflect the identities and interests of local communities and to secure effective and convenient local government.
A paper on the Government's draft guidance to the Local Government Commission for England was issued for consultation on 25 November. Copies were sent to the local authority associations and other interested organisations and placed in the Library.
European Charter
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he intends to ratify the European charter for local government.
Mr. Portillo : The Government do not intend to sign the European charter of local self-government. Local government is not a suitable subject for regulation by an international convention.
Estate Action, Hackney
Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what bids he has received from the London borough of Hackney for the estate action programme 1992-93 ; what estates were covered by the bid and at what cost to each ; and what order of priority was identified by Hackney council in the bid.
Mr. Yeo : Hackney has set its estate action bids for 1992-93 in the context of the strategy of its comprehensive estates initiative, which covers five of its worst large panel system-built estates.
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The 1992-93 bids are for three of those estates, as follows :
|£
----------------------------------
Clapton Park |2,750,000
Trowbridge |4,427,000
New Kingshold |600,000
The bids are not individually prioritised. They will be considered in competition with other bids made to my Department by other authorities and, if they progress, they will do so subject to progress being achieved on a number of factors which are set out in the estate action guidelines. Regard will also be had to the progress of the wider comprehensive estates initiative, which is the subject of continuing discussions between my Department and the council.
Underwater Archaeological Sites
Mr. Onslow : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress his Department is making with the management of underwater archaeological sites since taking over responsibility for administering the relevant sections of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894.
Mr. Yeo : The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 remains the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, but in April this year my Department took over responsibility for the operation of the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 in English waters.
Since then we have taken a number of steps to ensure that important underwater archaeological sites are adequately protected. In May we moved quickly to protect a site in the Erme estuary, south Devon and have licensed archaeological work on that and a further eight protected sites this season.
Since the majority of protected sites were discovered by amateur divers, it is important that they should understand the basics of archaeology and to that end we have granted the Nautical Archaeology Society almost £30,000 in 1991-92, with similar levels likely in the following two years, to expand its training and education programme. Protection can be effective only for known sites. We have therefore expanded the programme of our contractors, the archeological diving unit of St. Andrews university, to examine further sites which might merit protection and increased the resources of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England for the preparation of a central record of historic wrecks, as proposed in the environment White Paper "This Common Inheritance".
My Department has also been working in conjunction with the joint nautical archaeology policy committee on an explanatory note for divers to remove misconceptions about the operations of the legislation affecting wrecks and a draft code of practice for seabed developers whose operations might affect archaeological sites.
Elm Energy and Recycling Project
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the eligibility of the Elm energy and recycling project, Wolverhampton for a city grant ; when he expects a final
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decision on the project's eligibility to be made ; what procedures have been used in assessing the project ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Key : No formal application for city grant has been made to the Department. Representatives of the firm will be meeting my officials to discuss their proposals next week. Following that meeting the Department will be able to advise Elm Energy on whether an application for city grant is likely to be successful.
Drought Orders
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many drought orders his Department has granted in each year since records began.
Mr. Baldry : Since 1976, when the Drought Act 1976 brought in the present drought order powers, the Secretary of State for the Environment has made the following numbers of drought orders :
|Number
----------------------
1976 |116
1977 |nil
1978 |17
1979 |nil
1980 |2
1981 |nil
1982 |13
1983 |5
1984 |82
1985 |nil
1986 |nil
1987 |nil
1988 |1
1989 |74
1990 |65
<1>1991 |28
<1>To date.
This table corrects a misprint in my answer to the hon. Member of 7 November 1991, Official Report, Vol. 198, column 1 . The number of drought orders made by the Secretary of State in 1984 was 82, not 92 as shown in that answer.
Declaration of Financial Interests
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to make new regulations about declaration of financial interests by councillors and senior officials of local authorities ; and when such regulations will come into operation.
Mr. Key : Regulations will be made and will come into operation as soon as possible ; they will not concern officials' financial interests.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Gould : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the 1989-90 rates bill and his estimate of the 1991-92 council tax bill for a couple and two 1991-92 community charges for a two bedroom flat in a council tower block and a two-bedroom turn-of- century terraced house in (a) Barnet, (b) Brent, (c) Croydon, (d) Hackney, (e) Harrow, (f) Havering, (g) Kensington and Chelsea, (h) Lewisham, (i) Southwark and (j) Waltham Forest.
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Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 26 November 1991] : The information requested is not available.Housing Expenditure
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of gross national product is accounted for by public spending on housing.
Mr. Yeo [holding answer 28 November 1991] : The latest available outturn figure for gross expenditure on housing in Great Britain, including spending from receipts and on housing benefits, relates to 1989- 90 when it accounted for 2.2 per cent. of gross domestic product.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Intergovernmental Meetings
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out to date the conclusions and agreements he has reached in the Trevi series of intergovernmental meetings.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : Ministers of Interior/Justice of the member states of the European Community are scheduled to meet on 2 and 3 December. At the present time, therefore, no conclusions have been reached or agreements made following the intergovernmental meetings which have taken place during the Dutch presidency.
Brixton Prison
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he was informed of the recent Staffordshire police operation in Brixton gaol ;
(2) if the involvement of Staffordshire police inside Brixton prison was made known to Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons when preparing his report.
Mr. Kenneth Baker : The allegations on which the questions appear to be based fall to be considered by Mr. Colin Bailey, whose appointment was announced by the chief constable of Staffordshire on 20 November. As I made clear in my reply to the hon. Member on 21 November at column 265, information relating to the prisoners' intention to escape was not reported to Ministers until after the escape. It was made available to prison service headquarters and to the governor of HM prison Brixton in February 1991 and to HM chief inspector of prisons in the context of his inquiry into the escape.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate the alleged break-in to Brixton prison three days prior to the escape of two suspected IRA terrorists.
Mrs. Rumbold : The allegations have been looked into. There is no evidence to substantiate them.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facilities exist in Brixton prison to screen incoming packages.
Mrs. Rumbold : Primarily x-ray facilities and metal detectors.
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Wandsworth Prison
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 November, Official Report, column 330, if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the reason for the presence of 24 police officers in the vicinity of Wandsworth prison on 7 July 1991.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : On 7 July 1991 the governor at Wandsworth received information that an escape attempt might be made from the prison. In accordance with standard procedures, the governor informed the Metropolitan police. A decision was made by the police to attend.
Young Offenders
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were transferred from Hewell Grange to the young offender institution at Finnamore Wood camp during September 1991.
Winchester Magistrates Court
Mr. John Browne : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if, when considering whether to approve the closure of the magistrates court in Winchester, he will take into account the extra transport costs which such closure would impose on the inhabitants of Winchester ;
(2) what information he has on the specific information, including details of the accountancy formula used, on which Hampshire magistrates court committee has based its proposed decision to close Winchester magistrates court.
Mr. John Patten : These questions do not arise because I understand that the Hampshire magistrates courts committee has as yet taken no decision about the Winchester courthouse. The Home Secretary's approval for the closure of any magistrates courthouse is required only if there is an appeal to him by the paying local authority concerned under section 56 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1979 against a courts committee's decision to close it. If there were to be an appeal in the case of Winchester full account would be taken of all the relevant arguments including the circumstances of court users.
Correspondence
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 22 October to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State regarding an application by a citizen of Sudan.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 27 November.
Criminal Intelligence Service
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes are proposed to the executive powers of the executive co-ordinator of the
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regional crime squads ; and whether the executive co-ordinator is to be given overall control of the regional criminal intelligence offices and the technical support units.Mr. Peter Lloyd : When the new national criminal intelligence service is established in 1992, the executive co-ordinator of the regional crime squads will become one of its two deputy directors. There will be no change to the existing situation in which the executive co-ordinator has no executive authority in relation to either the regional criminal intelligence offices or the technical support units.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will (a) list the titles of the branches and squads for the Metropolitan police specialist operations department, and (b) state how the creation of the national criminal intelligence service will affect these units.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is as follows : SO1 International and Organised Crime Branch
1 Squad. Major investigation pool
2 Squad. National office for the suppression of
counterfeit currency
3 Squad. Extradition, passport and illegal
immigration-deportation
5 Squad. Central cheque squad
6 Squad. Stolen motor vehicle investigation squad
SO2 Crime support branch
SO3 Scenes of crime branch
SO4 National identification bureau
SO5 Miscellaneous force indexes
SO6 Metropolitan and City police company fraud squad
SO7 Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory
SO8 Serious crime branch (flying squad)
SO9 Regional crime squad
SO10 Crime operations group
SO11 Metropolitan police criminal intelligence branch
SO12 Special branch
SO13 Anti-terrorist branch
SO14 Royalty protection branch
SO15 Royal palaces division
SO16 Diplomatic protection group
SO17 PNC bureau
SO18 Palace of Westminster
It is presently intended that parts of these units will become part of the national criminal intelligence service.
The commercial criminal intelligence bureau (presently part of SO6) will become part of the national criminal intelligence service.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the transitional and full "cut over" date for users of the integrated national criminal intelligence system ; (2) which existing databases will form the basis for the integrated national criminal intelligence system ;
(3) if he will list the location of all the regional criminal intelligence offices ; and indicate which offices (a) are fully computerised, (b) have an interfacing capacity with national intelligence units and (c) have been earmarked for closure in the proposed reorganisation of the national intelligence gathering system ;
(4) if he will detail which, if any, national intelligence units are using new computing facilities provided as part of the integrated national criminal intelligence system.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are currently nine regional criminal intelligence offices, none of which is fully computerised and all of which interface with the police national computer. Their locations are :
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Regional criminal |Location intelligence offices --------------------------------------------------------------- 1 |Manchester 2<1> |Durham 3 |Wakefield 4 |Birmingham 5, 6 and 9 |London 7 |Bristol 8<1> |Cardiff <1> Earmarked for closure on 31 March 1992.
A computer system is being developed to support the new national criminal intelligence service and it is intended that the system will be introduced in 1994. It will incorporate selected data from the national drugs intelligence unit database and will replace the crime pattern analysis facility presently provided by the police national computer.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there are any plans to create a DNA database as part of the national criminal intelligence system or on the new PNC 2 computer.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are no such plans. The question of establishing a DNA database has been put to the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice.
Metropolitan Police Computer
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details not involving national security of the Metropolitan police C department computer, including (a) a description of the indexes held and number of entries, (b) the number of terminals attached to the system, and (c) the number of officers qualified to use the system.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that C Department of the Metropolitan police ceased to exist with the reorganisation of the service in 1987.
Following reorganisation, a number of C department branches amalgamated with other branches to form specialist operations department.
There are 123 separate computer systems in specialist operations department. Information regarding the indexes held, the number of entries, the number of terminals attached to the systems and the number of officers authorised to use them is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will give brief details of the computer systems in use and those planned for the Metropolitan police force ; (2) if he will give details of the new computer facilities that are planned for all users of the Metropolitan police specialist operations department computer.
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