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Expresso Lucitania
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with the presidency troika under European political co-operation,
Column 97
the banning by the Government of Indonesia of the Portuguese ship Expresso Lucitania ; and if he will deliver a protest to the Indonesian embassy in London over the banning.Mr. Garel-Jones : We have no plans to do so.
Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to answer the letter sent to him by the Merseyside fire and civil defence authority dated 10 February.
Mr. Key : The Department replied on 25 February to Merseyside fire and civil defence authority's letter.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Lease Defaults
Mr. Higgins : To ask the Attorney-General what steps are being taken to review and protect the position of those who sell commercial or private leases on property from liability if the purchaser of the lease defaults ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : In 1988 the Law Commission published its report," Landlord and Tenant Law : Privity of Contract and Estate", Law Com No. 174. It recommended that all the obligations created by leases should bind the parties who for the time being are interested in the land and that those parties should cease to have any liability when they part with those interests, except in cases in which it is objectively reasonable that their liability continue. It is envisaged that in many cases a landlord consenting to an assignment by a tenant of his interest will be able to impose a condition that the tenant guarantees the performance of the lease covenants by his successor, but only until any subsequent assignment. The Lord Chancellor is actively considering the report's recommendations and hopes to be able to make an announcement about them in the near future.
Recorders and Judges
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Attorney-General how many recorders and circuit judges are (a) men and (b) women.
The Attorney-General : As at 1 March there were 795 recorders in office, of whom 752 were men and 43 were women. There were also 469 circuit judges, of whom 447 were men and 22 were women.
Ms. Richardson : To ask the Attorney-General how many county court judges are (a) men and (b) women.
The Attorney-General : County court judges comprise circuit judges and district judges. As at 1 March there were 469 circuit judges in office, of whom 447 were men and 22 were women. There were also 232 district judges, of whom 220 were men and 12 were women.
THE ARTS
Libraries, Cheshire
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister for the Arts what was the expenditure of public libraries in Cheshire on book provision for the last 10 years at constant prices.
Column 98
Mr. Renton : Statistics about the public library service are collected and published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Real terms costs in Cheshire for the 10-year period up to 1990, the latest date for which figures are available, are :
Year |Expenditure
|on books per
|1,000
|population
|£
---------------------------------------
1980-81 |1,205
1981-82 |1,298
1982-83 |1,318
1983-84 |1,377
1984-85 |1,204
1985-86 |1,367
1986-87 |1,291
1987-88 |1,479
1988-89 |1,324
1989-90 |1,362
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Minister for the Arts how many librarians were employed by Cheshire county council on (a) a full-time basis and (b) a part -time basis in 1979 and 1991.
Mr. Renton : This information is not available. However, staff numbers in English library authorities as a whole have remained constant over the last 10 years.
Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art
Mr. Channon : To ask the Minister for the Arts what proposals he has for dealing with the problems encountered in the last report of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art ; and when he proposes to announce his intentions.
Mr. Renton : Following the examination of the system of controls on the export of works of art by the reviewing committee, I have consulted widely on the alternative approaches which would enable pre-eminent works of art to be retained in the United Kingdom. I have asked to receive representations before the end of March. I can assure my right hon. Friend that these representations, involving difficult and complex issues, will be fully taken into account before I take any decisions.
CIVIL SERVICE
Consultants
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will list each private sector consultancy firm which has been retained by each agency within his Department, and for his Department as a whole, for the purposes of advising on the market testing programme ; and whether the appointment in each case was the result of competitive tendering.
Mr. Renton : Ernst and Young have been engaged to advise on the market testing programme for my Department and its agencies. The appointment was by single tender.
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will list those parts of his Department, including executive agencies, carrying out reviews over the last 12 months into the pay and grading of staff ; and the firm of consultants engaged, where appropriate.
Column 99
Mr. Renton : During the last 12 months, two pay and grading reviews have been undertaken in my Department, one in the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency, the other in the Civil Service Occupational Health Service. Outside consultants were not engaged in either case.HOME DEPARTMENT
Crime
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were recorded in Wales in 1979 and 1983 and the latest year available.
Mr. John Patten : The number of notifiable offences recorded in Wales was 127,467 in 1979, 160,882 in 1983 and 229,248 in 1990 which is the latest available year.
Voluntary Admissions
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answers of 26 February, Official Report, column 515 and 5 February, Official Report, column 163 , for what reasons information about the number of officers engaged in obtaining voluntary admissions during 1990-91 is available from the Chief Constable of Northumbria, but not from other forces, where more than 20 per cent. of their clear-up rate is accounted for by this practice.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information on the number of detectives employed in obtaining voluntary admissions in Northumbria was available because of a special study reviewing this practice which was undertaken in that force. Such studies are at the discretion of the chief officer.
Wrongful Imprisonment
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the compensation for wrongful imprisonment so far paid to (a) the four people convicted of the Guildford and Woolwich bombings, (b) Mrs. Maguire and her six co-defendants and (c) the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings ; and when he expects to reach a final settlement in each case.
Mr. John Patten : My right hon. Friend has paid interim awards of compensation to each of those concerned, on the advice of the independent assessor, but it is not our practice to publish details of individual payments to applicants for compensation. We are in touch with those representing the applicants in these cases and will make final payments as soon as possible.
Mr. Ki Tang
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Islington, North dated 8 March 1989, 12 May 1989, 4 April 1990, 5 September 1990 and 17 October 1991, regarding his constituent Ki Tang and the question of rights of appeal for his family who applied to join Ki Tang under the provisions of the United Nations convention on refugees (family reunion).
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I very much regret the combination of circumstances which has caused this delay and shall reply to the hon. Member very shortly.
Column 100
Overseas Voters
Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of overseas voters registered for each parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Rumbold : Final figures for the electoral register for 1992-93 will be published by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys in the summer ; available figures will be published immediately before the general election, should it take place before then. The numbers of overseas electors included in the draft electoral register for 1992-93, together with totals for each constituent part of the United Kingdom, are set out in the table. The figures do not include valid applications which were received too late for inclusion in the draft register, which was published on 28 November 1991.
Overseas electors included in the draft
electoral register
published on 28 November 1991 by
parliamentary constituency
|Number
-------------------------------------------
England |28,179
Aldershot |113
Aldridge-Brownhills |23
Altrincham and Sale |64
Amber Valley |15
Arundel |70
Ashfield |8
Ashford |69
Ashton-under-Lyne |13
Aylesbury |93
Banbury |51
Barking |9
Barnsley, Central |2
Barnsley, East |4
Barnsley, West and Penistone |14
Barrow and Furness |28
Basildon |35
Basingstoke |78
Bassetlaw |19
Bath |89
Batley and Spen |27
Battersea |142
Beaconsfield |110
Beckenham |86
Berwick-upon-Tweed |25
Bethnal Green and Stepney |27
Beverley |55
Bexhill and Battle |92
Bexleyheath |33
Billericay |60
Birkenhead |30
Birmingham, Edgbaston |58
Birmingham, Erdington |8
Birmingham, Hall Green |12
Birmingham, Hodge Hill |4
Birmingham, Ladywood |15
Birmingham, Northfield |31
Birmingham, Perry Barr |14
Birmingham, Selly Oak |79
Birmingham, Small Heath |7
Birmingham, Sparkbrook |23
Birmingham, Yardley |11
Bishop Auckland |16
Blaby |45
Blackburn |26
Blackpool North |19
Blackpool South |22
Blaydon |17
Blyth Valley |15
Bolsover |4
Bolton North East |20
Bolton South East |9
Bolton West |42
Boothferry |49
Bootle |16
Bosworth |46
Bournemouth East |63
Bournemouth West |63
Bow and Poplar |24
Bradford North |13
Bradford South |14
Bradford West |28
Braintree |87
Brent East |43
Brent North |112
Brent South |28
Brentford and Isleworth |114
Brentwood and Ongar |94
Bridgwater |46
Bridlington |46
Brigg and Cleethorpes |61
Brighton, Kemptown |92
Brighton, Pavilion |94
Bristol East |22
Bristol North West |40
Bristol South |20
Bristol West |168
Bromsgrove |15
Broxbourne |46
Broxtowe |43
Buckingham |87
Burnley |13
Burton |31
Bury North |34
Bury South |67
Bury St. Edmunds |62
|Number
---------------------------------------------------
Calder Valley |40
Cambridge |259
Cannock and Burntwood |24
Canterbury |84
Carlisle |22
Carshalton and Wallington |53
Castle Point |39
Central Suffolk |50
Cheadle |72
Chelmsford |77
Chelsea |188
Cheltenham |86
Chertsey and Walton |137
Chesham and Amersham |129
Chesterfield |11
Chichester |96
Chingford |33
Chipping Barnet |83
Chislehurst |81
Chorley |53
Christchurch |89
Cirencester and Tewkesbury |77
City of Chester |78
City of Durham |37
City of London and Westminster South |174
Colne Valley |47
Congleton |45
Copeland |25
Corby |39
Coventry North East |11
Coventry North West |21
Coventry South East |16
Coventry South West |47
Crawley |63
Crewe and Nantwich |33
Crosby |70
Croydon Central |49
Croydon North East |51
Croydon North West |31
Croydon South |89
Dagenham |10
Darlington |35
Dartford |40
Daventry |43
Davyhulme |44
Denton and Reddish |13
Derby North |32
Derby South |27
Devizes |99
Dewsbury |23
Don Valley |13
Doncaster Central |17
Doncaster North |9
Dover |64
Dudley East |8
Dudley West |20
Dulwich |96
Ealing, Acton |128
Ealing North |53
Ealing, Southall |56
Easington |6
East Berkshire |117
East Hampshire |154
East Lindsey |30
East Surrey |73
Eastbourne |82
Eastleigh |95
Eccles |19
Eddisbury |69
Edmonton |29
Ellesmere Port and Neston |60
Elmet |32
Eltham |36
Enfield North |20
Enfield, Southgate |89
Epping Forest |58
Epsom and Ewell |93
Erewash |28
Erith and Crayford |18
Esher |153
Exeter |53
Falmouth and Camborne |51
Fareham |110
Faversham |59
Feltham and Heston |43
Finchley |88
Folkestone and Hythe |54
Fulham |172
Fylde |60
Gainsborough and Horncastle |44
Gateshead East |19
Gedling |27
Gillingham |36
Glanford and Scunthorpe |44
Gloucester |32
Gosport |63
Grantham |73
Gravesham |50
Great Grimsby |11
Great Yarmouth |29
Greenwich |60
Guildford |125
|Number
------------------------------------------------
Hackney North and Stoke Newington |49
Hackney South and Shoreditch |36
Halesowen and Stourbridge |32
Halifax |33
Halton |15
Hammersmith |93
Hampstead and Highgate |225
Harborough |60
Harlow |21
Harrogate |63
Harrow East |63
Harrow West |93
Hartlepool |18
Harwich |61
Hastings and Rye |64
Havant |87
Hayes and Harlington |28
Hazel Grove |37
Hemsworth |7
Hendon North |44
Hendon South |100
Henley |134
Hereford |58
Hertford and Stortford |110
Hertsmere |78
Hexham |53
Heywood and Middleton |4
High Peak |68
Holborn and St. Pancras |97
Holland with Boston |20
Honiton |78
Hornchurch |26
Hornsey and Woodgreen |192
Horsham |143
Houghton and Washington |11
Hove |92
Huddersfield |38
Huntingdon |79
Hyndburn |14
Ilford North |23
Ilford South |48
Ipswich |45
Isle of Wight |55
Islington North |97
Islington South and Finsbury |98
Jarrow |15
Keighley |54
Kensington |162
Kettering |26
Kingston upon Hull East |11
Kingston upon Hull North |31
Kingston upon Hull West |8
Kingston upon Thames |138
Kingswood |31
Knowsley North |15
Knowsley South |21
Lancaster |72
Langbaurgh |44
Leeds Central |8
Leeds East |14
Leeds North East |46
Leeds North West |49
Leeds West |13
Leicester East |15
Leicester South |52
Leicester West |18
Leigh |15
Leominster |89
Lewes |98
Lewisham, Deptford |31
Lewisham East |56
Lewisham West |72
Leyton |25
Lincoln |37
Littleborough and Saddleworth |26
Liverpool, Broadgreen |26
Liverpool, Garston |26
Liverpool, Mossley Hill |27
Liverpool, Riverside |14
Liverpool, Walton |12
Liverpool, West Derby |5
Loughborough |38
Ludlow |38
Luton South |36
Macclesfield |101
Maidstone |57
Makerfield |19
Manchester, Blackley |14
Manchester, Central |16
Manchester, Gorton |30
Manchester, Withington |79
Manchester, Wythenshawe |16
Mansfield |10
Medway |54
Meriden |51
Mid Bedfordshire |87
Mid Kent |45
Mid Norfolk |32
Mid Staffordshire |52
Mid Sussex |81
Mid Worcestershire |48
Middlesbrough |14
Milton Keynes |110
Mitcham and Morden |39
Mole Valley |117
Morecambe and Lunesdale |44
Morley and Leeds South |4
New Forest |86
Newark |37
Newbury |128
Newcastle upon Tyne Central |83
Newcastle upon Tyne East |16
Newcastle upon Tyne North |23
Newcastle-under-Lyme |33
Newham North East |11
Newham North West |20
Newham South |6
Normanton |13
North Bedfordshire |108
North Colchester |104
North Cornwall |61
North Devon |55
North Dorset |70
North Durham |17
North East Cambridgeshire |38
North East Derbyshire |23
North Hertfordshire |88
North Luton |51
North Norfolk |51
North Shropshire |27
North Thanet |37
North Warwickshire |27
North West Durham |17
North West Hampshire |94
North West Leicestershire |24
North West Norfolk |56
North West Surrey |141
North Wiltshire |84
Northampton North |35
Northampton South |58
Northavon |95
Norwich North |46
Norwich South |92
Norwood |68
Nottingham East |37
Nottingham North |6
Nottingham South |42
Nuneaton |21
Old Bexley and Sidcup |44
Oldham Central and Royton |18
Oldham West |12
Orpington |83
Oxford East |101
Oxford West and Abingdon |199
Peckham |22
Pendle |29
Penrith and The Border |32
Peterborough |40
Plymouth, Devonport |35
Plymouth, Drake |40
Plymouth, Sutton |53
Pontefract and Castleford |4
Poole |89
Portsmouth North |42
Portsmouth South |56
Preston |42
Pudsey |28
Putney |156
Ravensbourne |72
Reading East |100
Reading West |69
Redcar |27
Reigate |106
Ribble Valley |55
Richmond (Yorks) |51
Richmond and Barnes |222
Rochdale |21
Rochford |58
Romford |25
Romsey and Waterside |84
Rossendale and Darwen |45
Rother Valley |10
Rotherham |10
Rugby and Kenilworth |102
Ruislip-Northwood |54
Rushcliffe |60
Rutland and Melton |76
Ryedale |50
|Number
-----------------------------------------------
Saffron Walden |73
St. Albans |164
St. Helens North |23
St. Helens South |13
St. Ives |57
Salford East |20
Salisbury |115
Scarborough |34
Sedgefield |14
Selby |50
Sevenoaks |106
Sheffield, Attercliffe |30
Sheffield, Brightside |19
Sheffield, Central |24
Sheffield, Hallam |113
Sheffield, Heeley |23
Sheffield, Hillsborough |20
Sherwood |31
Shipley |60
Shoreham |85
Shrewsbury and Atcham |31
Skipton and Ripon |43
Slough |46
Solihull |67
Somerton and Frome |71
South Colchester and Maldon |71
South Derbyshire |54
South Dorset |54
South East Cambridgeshire |84
South East Cornwall |76
South East Staffordshire |16
South Hams |64
South Norfolk |68
South Ribble |47
South Shields |13
South Staffordshire |43
South Suffolk |41
South Thanet |55
South West Bedfordshire |83
South West Cambridgeshire |115
South West Hertfordshire |113
South West Norfolk |49
South West Surrey |120
South Worcestershire |50
Southampton Itchen |53
Southampton Test |76
Southend East |47
Southend West |38
Southport |72
Southwark and Bermondsey |23
Spelthorne |77
Stafford |79
Staffordshire Moorlands |31
Stalybridge and Hyde |31
Stamford and Spalding |58
Stevenage |63
Stockport |39
Stockton North |2
Stockton South |94
Stoke-on-Trent Central |10
Stoke-on-Trent North |7
Stoke-on-Trent South |8
Stratford-on-Avon |86
Streatham |121
Stretford |26
Stroud |81
Suffolk Coastal |81
Sunderland North |7
Sunderland South |16
Surbiton |83
Sutton and Cheam |81
Sutton Coldfield |59
Swindon |63
Tatton |51
Taunton |61
Teignbridge |61
The Wrekin |38
Thurrock |18
Tiverton |75
Tonbridge and Malling |84
Tooting |92
Torbay |64
Torridge and West Devon |63
Tottenham |23
Truro |59
Tunbridge Wells |88
Twickenham |132
Tyne Bridge |5
Tynemouth |46
Upminster |45
Uxbridge |45
Vauxhall |131
Wakefield |17
Wallasey |40
Wallsend |17
Walsall North |10
Walsall South |12
Walthamstow |30
Wansbeck |10
Wansdyke |37
Wanstead and Woodford |51
Wantage |97
Warley East |16
Warley West |3
Warrington North |21
Warrington South |16
Warwick and Leamington |90
Watford |92
Waveney |52
Wealden |85
Wellingborough |33
Wells |56
Welwyn Hatfield |91
Wentworth |11
West Bromwich East |8
West Bromwich West |5
West Derbyshire |43
West Dorset |61
West Gloucestershire |52
West Hertfordshire |104
West Lancashire |33
Westbury |89
Westminster North |158
Westmoreland and Lonsdale |58
Weston-Super-Mare |45
Wigan |23
Wimbledon |138
Winchester |99
Windsor and Maidenhead |112
Wirral South |48
Wirral West |54
Witney |79
Woking |168
Wokingham |134
Wolverhampton North East |11
Wolverhampton South East |4
Wolverhampton South West |14
Woodspring |69
Woolwich |16
Worcester |52
Workington |12
Worsley |14
Worthing |75
Wycombe |97
Wyre |50
Wyre Forest |59
Yeovil |64
York |63
Wales |890
Aberavon |2
Alyn and Deeside |13
Blaenau Gwent |4
Brecon and Radnor |27
Bridgend |51
Caernarfon |24
Caerphilly |10
Cardiff Central |61
Cardiff North |37
Cardiff South and Penarth |20
Cardiff West |38
Carmarthen |31
Ceredigion and Pembroke North |39
Clwyd North West |33
Clwyd South West |26
Conwy |29
Cynon Valley |0
Delyn |41
Gower |29
Islwyn |6
Llanelli |18
Meirrionnydd Nant Conwy |8
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney |0
Monmouth |56
Montgomery |13
Neath |13
Newport East |11
Newport West |23
Ogmore |7
Pembroke |38
Pontypridd |27
Rhondda |3
Swansea East |7
Swansea West |31
Torfaen |2
Vale of Glamorgan |64
Wrexham |21
Ynys Mon |27
Scotland |1,679
Aberdeen North |16
Aberdeen South |51
Angus East |28
Argyll and Bute |14
Ayr |35
Banff and Buchan |9
Caithness and Sutherland |8
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley |14
Central Fife |6
Clackmannan |5
Clydebank and Milngavie |13
Clydesdale |7
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth |17
Cunninghame North |29
Cunninghame South |12
Dumbarton |38
Dumfries |15
Dundee East |31
Dundee West |12
Dunfermline East |13
Dunfermline West |18
|Number
------------------------------------------------
East Kilbride |24
East Lothian |20
Eastwood |45
Edinburgh Central |91
Edinburgh East |26
Edinburgh, Leith |37
Edinburgh, Pentlands |65
Edinburgh South |97
Edinburgh West |61
Falkirk East |23
Falkirk West |18
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale |28
Glasgow, Cathcart |20
Glasgow Central |15
Glasgow, Garscadden |8
Glasgow, Govan |15
Glasgow, Hillhead |51
Glasgow, Maryhill |15
Glasgow, Pollok |18
Glasgow, Provan |4
Glasgow, Rutherglen |10
Glasgow, Shettleston |3
Glasgow, Springburn |5
Gordon |40
Greenock and Port Glasgow |3
Hamilton |5
Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber |33
Kilmarnock and Loudoun |11
Kincardine and Deeside |55
Kirkcaldy |16
Linlithgow |13
Livingston |13
Midlothian |22
Monklands East |2
Monklands West |7
Moray |15
Motherwell North |4
Motherwell South |9
North East Fife |44
North Tayside |38
Orkney and Shetland |9
Paisley North |11
Paisley South |4
Perth and Kinross |28
Renfrew West and Inverclyde |30
Ross, Cromarty and Sky |25
Roxburgh and Berwickshire |12
Stirling |60
Strathkelvin and Bearsden |45
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale |30
Western Isles |5
Northern Ireland |151
Belfast East |15
Belfast North |9
Belfast South |14
Belfast West |3
East Antrim |7
East Londonderry |9
Fermanagh and South Tyrone |8
Foyle |4
Lagan Valley |6
Mid Ulster |12
Newry and Armagh |3
North Antrim |7
North Down |24
South Antrim |6
South Down |4
Strangford |13
Upper Bann |7
United Kingdom Total |30,899
Inquests
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many inquests were held into deaths which involved allegations of medical or social service negligence in the last five years ;
(2) how many inquests were held into deaths which entailed potential collective or corporate responsibility in the last five years.
Mr. John Patten : These figures are not collected centrally.
Leeds Prison
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the director general of the Prison Service next intends to visit Her Majesty's prison, Leeds.
Mrs. Rumbold : The director general last visited the prison on 25 February and has not yet fixed a date for a further visit.
National Lottery
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to consult the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds concerning proposals for a national lottery ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Burton (Mr. Lawrence) on 13 February, Official Report, column 582.
Obscene Publications Squad
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the total cost from 1987 to 1990 of the Operation Spanner investigation by the obscene publications squad ;
(2) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the number of occasions on which police forces other than the Metropolitan police consulted or liaised with the obscene publications squad in each year from 1987 to 1991 ; (3) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the total running costs of the obscene publications squad in 1990 and 1991, and the projected cost in 1992 ;
(4) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the cost of the installation
Column 112
of the obscene publications squad's paedophile database, the number of officers that are employed to maintain it, the number of names of persons currently listed on the database and the nature of other databases maintained by the obscene publications squad.Mr. Peter Lloyd : The total and projected manpower costs of the obscene publications squad are as follows :
|£
------------------------------------------
1990-91 |<1>855,286
1991-92 |<1>883,606
1992-93 |<1><2>871,302
<1> These costs cover salaries for police
and civilian staff and a
personnel administration charge for
recruitment, training and
the pay roll function. Other costs are
not recorded separately.
<2> Estimated.
The squad does not have a computerised paedophile or other database. Two civilian staff do however maintain a manual index containing about 12,000 records. There is a close liaison between the squad and other police forces when the need arises but no record is kept of the number of times police forces consult or liaise with the obscene publications squad.
Records are not maintained in such a way that it would be possible to identify easily the costs of Operation Spanner. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Metropolitan Police of the Metropolis officers appointed to the obscene publications squad, the method of application or secondments used in selecting the officers appointed, the length of time for which officers are appointed to the squad and the considerations used in determining the time limit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are currently 18 officers, including the superintendent and detective inspector, working in the obscene publications branch. Vacancies in the branch are advertised in Metropolitan police notices.
The criteria for selection are that applicants should be mature and well balanced, and able to carry out sensitive investigation in a professional manner with a minimum of supervision.
Three years is the normal period for which Metropolitan police officers are attached to specialist units, but this is not an inflexible rule and it can be varied with an individual's suitability for the work.
Informants
Mr. Allason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the Home Office's guidelines on the use of informants.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : General guidance about the use of informants by the police is included in the consolidated circular to the police on crime and kindred matters, at paragraph 1.92. Similar guidance about the use of resident informants is contained in Home Office circular 9/92. Copies of these circulars are in the Library.
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Offences
Mrs. Currie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in rank order the number of offences committed per head of population in the most recent year available for each police authority in England and Wales.
Mr. John Patten : The available information is given in the table :
Notifiable offences recorded by the police per 100,000 population
England and Wales 1990
Police force area |Offences
|per 100,000
|population
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Northumbria |14,236
Cleveland |13,363
Nottinghamshire |13,122
Greater Manchester |13,112
Humberside |12,201
Metropolitan Police District<1> |11,642
West Yorkshire |11,420
South Wales |10,649
West Midlands |10,123
Bedfordshire |10,110
Merseyside |9,614
Durham |9,114
Avon and Somerset |8,987
Northamptonshire |8,353
South Yorkshire |8,286
Leicestershire |8,160
Gloucestershire |8,007
Lancashire |7,785
Thames Valley |7,551
Norfolk |7,298
Dorset |7,294
Hampshire |7,178
Gwent |7,084
Staffordshire |6,979
Warwickshire |6,811
Cambridgeshire |6,803
Cumbria |6,782
Kent |6,780
Sussex |6,700
Lincolnshire |6,677
Essex |6,552
Derbyshire |6,501
North Yorkshire |6,403
Devon and Cornwall |6,167
Wiltshire |6,013
Suffolk |5,888
West Mercia |5,836
North Wales |5,805
Cheshire |5,786
Surrey |5,724
Hertfordshire |5,513
Dyfed-Powys |4,427
|-------
Total |8,986
<1> Including City of London.
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.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [pursuant to my reply of 22 October 1991, column Nos. 536-637] : On 22 October 1991, at column 537, I announced that from 1 April the fee for a colour licence would be £80 and the fee for a monochrome licence £26.50. My right hon. Friend has today laid before the House the regulations necessary to bring these fees into
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force. The regulations also increase the fee for a duplicate licence to £3.25 and for a dealer demonstration licence to £3.50.EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Ethnic Minority Teaching
Mr. Kaufman : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science for what reasons he has not replied to letters to him dated 19 November, 20 December 1991 and 22 January 1992 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to courses for teachers of ethnic minority children ; and if he will now reply as a matter of urgency.
Mr. Fallon : The Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, CATE, submitted advice to my right hon. and learned Friend last year, following a review it conducted on teaching English as a foreign language, teaching English as a second language, and teaching English to speakers of other languages as specialisms in courses of initial teacher training.
My right hon. and learned Friend has recently decided to accept CATE's advice and is writing to the right hon. Member to confirm his decision.
Seven-year-olds (Testing)
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science, if he will publish the test results of seven-year-olds for Lambeth and Tower Hamlets ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I undertook on 19 December that I would publish the test results from Lambeth and Tower Hamlets as soon as I had them. Parents and community charge payers have every right to know how their schools are performing. My Department had to press these two LEAs to get their results out.
The results demonstrate that both Lambeth and Tower Hamlets need to give urgent attention to raising standards in their schools. In every single table both authorities are in the bottom quarter of LEAs. In the fundamental skill of reading, Lambeth succeeds in getting only 66 per cent. of its seven-year-olds to the level 2 targets for the age group and Tower Hamlets only 53 per cent. This must be a cause for immediate concern.
The table sets out those results which were missing from the report on the national and local results published on 19 December. Copies of the tables published on 19 December, revised to take in the results from Lambeth and Tower Hamlets, have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
|Percentage of |Percentage of
|pupils at level 2|pupils at
|and above |level 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
English
Lambeth |71 |19
Tower Hamlets |64 |15
Mathematics
Lambeth |68 |10
Tower Hamlets |63 |7
Science
Tower Hamlets |85 |23
Lambeth |80 |26
Reading
Lambeth |66 |21
Tower Hamlets |53 |14
English, Mathematics and Science
Lambeth |73 |18
Tower Hamlets |71 |15
The results are based on returns from 83 per cent. of relevant primary schools in Lambeth and from 74 per cent. of relevant primary schools in Tower Hamlets.
This summer I will require all local education authorities to send me the results of the tests of seven-year-olds from all of their schools. I do not expect the delays that occurred in last year's exercise to happen again.
Consultants
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list each private sector consultancy firm which has been retained by each agency within his Department, and for his Department as a whole, for the purposes of advising on the market testing programme ; and whether the appointment in each case was the result of competitive tendering.
Mr. Atkins : Following competitive tendering, the Department has appointed KPMG Management Consulting to advise on its market testing programme.
Libraries, Cheshire
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the expenditure on school libraries in the county of Cheshire in the last ten years.
Mr. Fallon : This information is not collected centrally.
Schools (Commercial Products)
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what guidelines he issues to local education authorities about the free distribution in schools of commercial products ; and what actions he intends to take with regard to the distribution of the product of which details have been sent to him.
Mr. Fallon : This Department does not issue guidelines to local education authorities about the free distribution in schools of commercial products. The distribution of particular free products is a matter for headteachers and their governing bodies to agree.
Education, Cambridgeshire
Sir Anthony Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state the amount of the increase in the central Government contribution to the cost of education in Cambridgeshire in 1991- 92 over (a) 1990-91 and (b) 1978-79 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Fallon : Local authorities are free to determine their own spending priorities between services within the framework of the annual local authority finance settlement. The overall amount of RSG which
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Cambridgeshire receives and its share of payments from the national non-domestic rate pool is based on its standard spending assessment, SSA, the Government's assessment of the expenditure which the authority would need to incur to provide a standard level of service. The education component for Cambridgeshire's SSA for 1991-92 was £225 million ; and for 1990-91 it was £193.4 million--cash figures. There was no equivalent of SSAs in 1978-79. Cambridgeshire's outturn recurrent expenditure on education in 1978-79 represented some £191 million at 1991-92 prices. That figure includes the cost of higher education which in 1989-90 became the responsibility of the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council, PCFC.Education, Bournemouth
Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list those changes in education and to schools in Bournemouth since 1987 and those currently under way or approved ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : In common with other parts of the country, schools in Bournemouth will have benefited from the reforms introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988.
Statutory proposals have been approved for the enlargement of five voluntary aided primary schools, and for a new county primary school, providing additional places. Approval has been given for one secondary school to change its age range from 11 to 16 to 11 to 18. My right hon. and learned Friend has approved the applications for grant-maintained status from two local secondary schools, one of which has been operating since September 1990. He is currently considering an application from one other secondary school. I understand that the local education authority have plans to transfer one county secondary school to new premises and to make improvements at one voluntary aided primary school.
Sport
Mr. Denis Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what Government grants have been paid to the cities of Edinburgh, Sheffield and Birmingham in the last 10 years in order to provide sports facilities of international standards ; and if he will pay grants to cities providing facilities in connection with the Manchester Olympic bid.
Mr. Atkins : All Government funds for sport in England and Scotland are channeled through the respective sports councils which allocate them according to their policies and priorities. Cities are eligible to apply for grant from existing Government programmes provided normal grant criteria are met.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Foot and Mouth Disease
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the number of outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, and the county in which the outbreaks took place, in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, and to date in 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Maclean : There have been none.Set-aside Scheme
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 5 February, Official Report, columns 187- 88, if he will list the amount of payments recovered or withheld under the set-aside scheme in England for each year since 1988 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Gummer [holding answer 13 February 1992] : This information is set out in the table. It takes account of developments since my earlier answer of 5 February and this has resulted in some very minor discrepancies between the two sets of figures.
Set-aside scheme: England: Payments recovered/withheld
County |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91
|£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------
Avon |- |- |-
Bedfordshire |623.80 |668.00 |478.80
Berkshire |6,898.00 |8,230.00 |459.00
Buckinghamshire |2,805.00 |6,055.00 |5,913.00
Cambridgeshire |114.75 |643.95 |774.92
Cheshire |- |- |-
Cleveland |- |- |521.49
Cornwall |- |1,010.00 |815.70
Cumbria |- |- |-
Derbyshire |- |585.00 |-
Devonshire |2,808.60 |329.00 |-
Dorset |- |- |-
Durham |- |- |-
Essex |- |1,065.00 |1,712.70
Gloucestershire |- |2,024.00 |-
Greater London |- |- |-
Greater Manchester |- |- |-
Hampshire |- |- |-
Hereford and Worcester |- |- |-
Hertfordshire |- |1,175.40 |-
Humberside |- |- |256.00
Isle of Wight |- |- |-
Kent |3,060.00 |- |-
Lancashire |- |- |-
Leicestershire |- |- |20,261.90
Lincolnshire |1,276.00 |2,747.72 |1,026.00
Merseyside |- |- |-
West Midlands |- |- |-
Norfolk |- |4,834.00 |105.14
Northamptonshire |- |- |16,000.50
Northumberland |162.00 |80.00 |-
Nottinghamshire |- |150.00 |6,193.20
Oxfordshire |2,133.00 |6,711.00 |9,259.00
Shropshire |- |- |-
Somerset |- |- |-
Staffordshire |- |- |2,184.00
Suffolk |- |300.00 |-
Surrey |2,800 |- |4,438.00
East Sussex |- |- |-
West Sussex |- |- |-
Tyne and Wear |- |- |-
Warwickshire |4,081.50 |- |831.00
Wiltshire |- |- |-
North Yorkshire |- |- |586.00
South Yorkshire |- |- |3,048.00
West Yorkshire |- |- |2,692.00
|------- |------- |-------
Total |26,762.65|36,608.07|77,556.26
Group Marketing Grant
Mr. Hague : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about the group marketing grant.
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Mr. Curry : The scheme will fall into two phases. In the first, farmers, growers and other producers will be able to carry out a feasibility study, which will need to demonstrate that the proposal has long-term benefits to producers, and is a viable proposition. With the aid of the feasibility study applicants will be able to apply for the second phase, of grant for developing existing groups or starting up new ones. Under this second phase aid is available for legal costs, salaries of key staff, training and expenses of outside directors. The maximum grant per group will be £107,000.
This scheme has been designed expressly to help producers respond to the shortcomings perceived by supermarkets and other big buyers. It will encourage producers to come together in large professionally managed groups, so that they have the confidence and the clout to deal with retailers on equal terms. Producers will be able to choose the format which suits their enterprise--the scheme will not be limited to cooperatives.
The scheme has been drawn up by MAFF after full consultation with the industry. It will be administered by MAFF with the advice of "Food from Britain."
NATIONAL FINANCE
Value Added Tax
Mr. Watts : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the benefits to importers from the postponed accounting system for value added tax from 1 January 1993 ; and what is the additional cost to the large domestic businesses which will be required to account for value added tax on a monthly basis from the autumn of 1992.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed (Mr. Beith), Official Report 25 November 1991, column 375 . A new forecast will be available with the Budget statement.
Some 90,000 businesses will make a cash flow saving in 1992-93 from the postponed accounting system equivalent to deferring payment for six weeks.
Some 1,600 of the largest businesses will also experience a reduction in cash flow in 1992-93 as a result of the introduction of accounting for VAT on a monthly basis. They will still have the cash flow benefit of VAT paid by customers before it is paid to the Exchequer, albeit for a shorter period.
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the revenue yield, in the latest year for which information is available, from VAT on (a) hot takeway food and drink, (b) alterations to residential buildings, (c) alterations to non-residential buildings and civil engineering works, (d) newspaper advertising, (e) cereal bars, (f) non- residential construction and property development, (g) news services, (h) protective boots and helmets supplied by employers, (i) fuel and power supplied to businesses, and (j) water and sewerage services supplied to industry.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Detail about the revenue yield from VAT on specific items of expenditure is not collected on VAT returns. Estimated receipts for 1991-92 are as follows :
Column 119
|£ million
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) |Hot takeaway food and drink |400
(b) & (c) |Alterations to residential & non- |800
| residential buildings and civil
| engineering works
(d) |Newspaper advertising |100
(e) |Cereal bars |10
(f) |Non-residential construction and |500
| property development
(g) |News services |5
(h) |Protective boots and helmets supplied by|-<1>
| employers
(i) |Fuel and power supplied to businesses |100
(j) |Water and sewerage services supplied to |-<1>
| industry
<1> negligible
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenue was generated in 1991-92 by the increase in VAT to 17.5 per cent.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on 13 February, Official Report, column 595 .
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