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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 28 January 1992.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
County Courts
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement on the efficiency of the county court system.
The Attorney-General : Most areas of county court work are subject to targets which are regularly monitored. The Government are seeking to continue to streamline the work of the county courts through a programme of procedural improvements and the introduction of computer technology.
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Attorney-General how much has been spent on legal aid fees in cases before the county court since 1980.
The Attorney-General : Between April 1980 and March 1991, £1.038 billion of gross payments were made in respect of legal aid work carried out in county court cases. Information of expenditure in each financial year is contained in the legal aid annual reports which are laid before Parliament each year and are available in the Library of the House.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Community Charge
Mr. Jacques Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes in the law he proposes to introduce to facilitate the consideration by magistrates courts of applications for liability orders in community charge proceedings.
Mr. Heseltine : I have been asked to reply.
We intend to bring forward at the earliest opportunity amendments to the Local Government Finance Bill, currently in another place, making provisions which will put beyond any doubt that authorities may present computer evidence in support of applications for liability orders in magistrates courts. These will cover enforcement of the community charge, the non-domestic rate and, in future, the council tax. We are determined that authorities should be given every assistance in recovering tax and charges from those who fail to pay their dues.
Fire Regulations
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had about the inhibition of social functions in village halls by the administration of fire regulations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : None. No fire regulations apply specifically to village halls, but public music and dancing and similar entertainments cannot be provided except in
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accordance with the terms of a licence granted by the district council under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 or in Greater London by the London borough council under the London Government Act 1963. The purpose of this licensing system is to ensure, among other things, that places used for entertainment--and this includes village halls--have adequate safety standards. The fire authority's role is to advise the licensing authority on the requirements that it considers necessary for the premises, in relation to the event in question.Guidance on fire safety matters in smaller premises, including village halls, is included within the Home Department's publication "Guide to Fire Precautions in Existing Places of Entertainment and Like Premises". Chapter 12, which includes a section on village halls, was drawn up in consultation with the Village Halls Forum, a group formed from representatives from village hall committees and organisations concerned with village halls.
Visitors' Permits
Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria used to determine the lengths of stay permitted to temporary visitors from the Indian sub-continent.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The criteria are the same as for any other visitor and are set out in paragraphs 22 to 25 and 104 to 106 of the "Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules"--HC 251, as amended by HC 670--a copy of which is in the Library.
Genetic Fingerprinting
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in the use of genetic fingerprinting for crime detection ; what facilities are at present available ; and when this technique will be available for the use of all police forces.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : This has been passed to the Director General of the Forensic Science Service who will be replying shortly. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Library.
Control and Restraint
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each prison establishment, on how many occasions three-officer teams have been deployed under control and restraint 1 in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Mrs. Rumbold : Control and restraint 1 techniques enable prison officers to deal effectively with limited incidents of violence, which require the restraint of individual prisoners either by individual officers or by three-officer teams with the minimum risk of injury to prisoners or staff.
Information is not collected in the form requested.
George Blake
Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek the return of escaped convict George Blake to this country ; and if he will make a statement on his policy relating to escaped convicts who could be repatriated to continue their sentence.
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Mr. John Patten : It is our policy to seek the extradition of fugitives from countries with which we have extradition arrangements. However, as there is no extradition treaty between the United Kingdom and the Russian federation, we are not in a position to set extradition proceedings in motion. Were there to be an extradition treaty, it would be for the authorities in the other state to determine whether any particular case would fall within the scope of the treaty.Pornographic Disks
Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures his Department intends to take against retailers and libraries to require them to treat pornographic disks as adult publications only ;
(2) what measures his Department intends to take to draw parents', publishers', retailers', and librarians' attention to the problem of access to pornographic disks for children ;
(3) what measures his Department is to take against the existing open access of children to pornographic computer disks ;
(4) if he will introduce legislation to make it illegal for people knowingly (a) to publish an advertisement for computer disks which contain illegal pornography and (b) sell magazines which contain advertisements for illegal pornography on computer disks.
Mr. John Patten : The Government entirely share my hon. Friend's concern about the use of computer technology to store and transmit pornographic material. The criminal law relating to obscenity already applies to such material and there are also legal safeguards against offensive material being sent over public telecommunications systems.
I am advised that the practical issue is therefore not primarily one of inadequate legislation, but of enforcement and obtaining evidence sufficient to bring proceedings. Both the Metropolitan police obscene publications branch and other police forces are very aware of this problem and are monitoring the situation closely. The Government also recognise the well-founded concern about the exposure of children to objectionable material, whatever its form. However this is also a question of parental responsibility and we encourage suppliers and parents to be particularly conscientious in satisfying themselves that children are not obtaining material which is obviously unsuitable.
As far as those who offer to supply obscene material in magazines or elsewhere are concerned, their actions are already prohibited under the Obscene Publications Act. Although I cannot give an authoritative interpretation on a point of law, it is possible that a publisher who knowingly assisted in this by accepting an advertisement could be held to be guilty of aiding and abetting the offence.
Television (Violence)
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will outline the steps currently undertaken by his Department to monitor the level of incidence of violent conduct shown on television.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Under the Broadcasting Act 1990, it is for the broadcasting regulatory authorities--the BBC
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board of governors, the Independent Television Commission and S4C--to monitor the compliance of television programmes with the statutory requirements and codes of guidance which have been issued to broadcasters about violence on television. In addition the Broadcasting Standards Council has been established to reinforce and monitor programme standards in relation to violence, among other things.Leicestershire Police
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about police manpower in Leicestershire.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Leicestershire constabulary had 1,823 police officers and 683 civilian staff at the end of October 1991, which is an increase in actual strength of 443--122 police officers and 321 civilians-- since May 1979. The authorised establishment of the force is 1,827, an increase of 121 posts since 1979. My right hon. Friend announced on 28 November a futher increase of 26 police posts with effect from 1 April 1992.
Immigration and Nationality Registry
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current backlog at the registry in the immigration and nationality department ; and what are the current numbers of outstanding applications in each division.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : At the beginning of January the backlog in the immigration and nationality department registry was 29,842 and the number of outstanding applications in the caseworking divisions was as follows :
|Number
-------------------------------------------
General immigration casework |21,208
Asylum and related casework |68,500
Nationality |51,723
Mr. Younus Patel
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of the detention of Mr. Younus Patel of 55 Park Vale road, Leicester, in Welford Road prison, Leicester.
Mrs. Rumbold : Individual costs of detention are not kept separately. The daily average cost of keeping a prisoner in Leicester prison in 1990-91, the latest period for which figures are available, was £65.14. On this basis the cost of Mr. Patel's detention would be £13,810.
Extradition
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if Parliament will be required to approve the terms of any extradition treaty concluded between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of India ;
(2) under the extradition treaty now being negotiated by Her Majesty's Government and India, what safeguards will be included to provide proper and effective safeguards for individuals to appeal against extradition applications by India ;
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(3) if he will stop negotiations with the Government of India on an extradition treaty in view of widespread concern, about the extent of human rights violations in India ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Kenneth Baker : Extradition arrangements already apply to India under the Commonwealth extradition scheme. When I was in India earlier this month, I agreed with the Indian Government that our respective officials should meet to discuss the possibility of concluding a formal treaty. Indian officials will be visiting the United Kingdom in February. Any extradition arrangements, whether by treaty or under the Commonwealth scheme, have to comply with the safeguards including rights of appeal provided in the Extradition Act 1989, and with provisions in that Act as regards bringing new arrangements into force.
Extradition
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information the British authorities require from foreign countries seeking extradition of a British national.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 27 January 1992] : For extradition under the terms of the European convention on extradition, the request must satisfy the provisions of section 7(2) of the Extradition Act 1989.
Requests from other foreign countries with which we have bilateral treaties are subject to the requirements of paragraphs 7(1) and (2) of schedule 1 to the Act. In all cases the nationality of the fugitive is irrelevant.
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions during the last 10 years when a British national has been extradited from the United Kingdom to a foreign country with which Britain has no extradition treaty.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 27 January 1992] : No person of any nationality has been so extradited.
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on requests for the extradition of British nationals from the United Kingdom to countries with which Britain has no extradition agreement, where international law grants the British authorities jurisdiction.
Mr. John Patten [holding answer 27 January 1992] : If such a request were received, the question whether the interests of justice would best be served by extradition or domestic prosecution would be decided in the light of all relevant circumstances.
Firearms
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total number of recorded crimes involving the use of firearms in each of the past 10 years in (a) the Greater Manchester police authority area, and (b) England and Wales.
Mr. John Patten : Statistics of the number of notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used are published by police force area in table S3.1(A) of "Criminal Statistics England and Wales, Supplementary tables". The most recent issue, for 1989, gives figures for each year between 1979 and 1989. A copy of this publication is held in the Library.
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Police Batons
Mr. Hill : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers to discuss the use of the American side-handled baton ; and if he will evaluate the effectiveness of this baton.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so. The procurement of equipment is the responsibility of chief officers. We have offered to arrange for a scientific evaluation of the side-handled baton if chief officers request it.
Immigration
Mr. Cummings : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Filipino and Thai women who have married British citizens are at present waiting for the necessary visas to join their husbands ; and what is the average length of time they have to wait before receiving the visa.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I have been asked to reply.
A total of 27 Filipino and 98 Thai women married to British citizens are waiting for the necessary visas to join their husbands. The current waiting time for interview is nine weeks in Manila and eight weeks in Bangkok. Successful applicants normally receive their visas on the day of interview.
ENVIRONMENT
Polluters (Prosecutions)
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many prosecutions have been brought by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on polluting companies since the passage of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 ; and what individual fines were levied in each year.
Mr. Trippier : The Environmental Protection Act 1990 received Royal Assent on 1 November 1990. Since then, six prosecutions have been concluded by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, all successfully. The fines were as follows :
£300 with £700 costs
£300 with £2,100 costs
£500 with £4,061 costs
£800 with £6,502 costs
£3,000 with £1,395 costs
£7,500 with £6,140 costs
Coopers and Lybrand
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the projects, the purposes, and the cost of his Department's use of the Coopers and Lybrand group since 1989.
Mr. Heseltine : Coopers and Lybrand has been used for the following projects since 1989 :
Area Economic Study : Basingstoke
Buying Agency : Employment agreement clauses
Crown Suppliers : Assignment of vehicle hire contracts
Crown Suppliers : Privatisation
Crown Suppliers : Senior appointments remuneration for the Buying Agency
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Estate Action Schemes evaluationHousing Corporation : Audit
Litter Baseline survey
National Monument Record marketing strategy
Property Holdings : Government Car Service
Property Holdings : Interdepartmental Despatch Service
Property Holdings : Security equipment and furniture stores PSA Services : Accounts Receivable system
PSA Services : Consultants database
PSA Services : Personnel consultancy
PSA Services : Plus Plan consolidation
PSA Services : Proposed privatisation
PSA Services : Repayment invoicing system
PSA Services : Report writing system
PSA Services : Strategic accounting system
Tyne and Wear Development Corporation : Audit
Uniface : Consultancy
It is not our policy to reveal the cost of individual contracts.
Appeals Tribunals
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the cost to the Exchequer so far of valuation and community charge tribunals ; what is the number of outstanding appeals ; what is the estimated cost to the Exchequer of hearing the outstanding non-domestic rating appeals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : Valuation and community charge tribunals came into being on 1 May 1989, replacing local valuation panels. The cost of the 56 VCCTs in England and their predecessors since 1989-90 is as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1989-90 |9.8
1990-91 |7.6
1991-92 |<1>9.2
<1>estimated.
The relatively high 1989-90 figure includes capital expenditure--in particular on computer hardware--in preparation for handling appeals against the 1990 rating list and the community charge.
At the end of 1991, VCCTs in England had outstanding nearly 600,000 appeals, including non-domestic rating and community charge cases. The following amounts have been provided for English VCCTs in the Government's spending plans :
|£ million
------------------------------
1992-93 |15.9
1993-94 |9.5
1994-95 |9.8
These amounts relate to the full costs of VCCTs including all appeal work, and it is not possible to provide separate figures in respect of rating appeals only. In particular, VCCTs will have jurisdiction over certain classes of appeal concerning the council tax to be introduced from 1993. In preparation for this, the figures for 1991-92 and 1992-93 include £0.5 million and £6.8 million respectively for new computer hardware and applications to enable the efficient processing of council tax appeals.
Wheal Jane Mine
Mr. Mudd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action his Department is taking to terminate the flow of contaminated water from the
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abandoned Wheal Jane mine, Cornwall ; if he will send a Minister to the area without delay ; if he will receive a deputation from Cornwall county council ; and if he will make a statement as to how the incident was enabled to arise.Mr. Baldry : I met representatives from Carrick district council on 21 January, and I visited Cornwall on 23 January to see the work which is currently being carried out to treat the discharge from Wheal Jane. I was impressed by the effort which the National Rivers Authority has put into monitoring since the middle of last year, into remedial treatment in recent months, and into the development of medium and long-term arrangements for treating the discharge. Efforts to prevent the discharge of untreated water failed as a result of an unexpected collapse in the area of the Nangiles adit. I met Councillor David Roberts, chairman of Cornwall county council, on 23 January.
Parliamentary Works Office Staff
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the grades of staff employed by the Parliamentary Works Office who are required to clock in and clock out at the start and finish of their day's work.
Mr. Yeo : Only non-industrial staff participating in the flexitime arrangements are required to clock in and out. Industrial grades enter manually the time of their arrival and depature on the work dockets.
Noise Insulation
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities test the standards of noise insulation in new residential buildings.
Mr. Yeo : On 10 December last year revised building regulations were laid before Parliament which from 1 June 1992 will improve the existing requirements for sound insulation in new dwellings and extend these to flat conversions. Practical problems for the local authority and the builder would not in my view justify sound testing of all new and converted residential properties. The requirements of the building regulations are met by the builder undertaking forms of construction which have been shown to perform satisfactorily under test conditions.
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