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Mr. Jack : Subject to the provisions of the Bail Act 1976, as amended, the decision whether to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the judicial discretion of the court. Decisions are taken in the light of all the available information about the defendant and the alleged offence. Magistrates have been advised about the provisions of the Act via Home Office circulars sent to clerks to justices ; copies of the circulars are available in the Library. In addition, all magistrates receive training under the auspices of the Lord Chancellor's Department and this covers the bail decision-taking process. The 1976 Act specifically provides that bail may be withheld if the court is satisfied that there are substantial grounds for believing that, if released on bail, the defendant would commit an offence.
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons released on bail by Harwich magistrates court, have been arrested for another offence, released on bail again, arrested for another offence, released on bail again, and been arrested and bailed for four or more offences ;
(2) how many persons released on bail by Harwich magistrates court, have been arrested for another offence, released on bail, and again arrested for a third offence ;
(3) how many persons released on bail by Clacton magistrates court, have been arrested for another offence, released on bail again, and arrested for a third offence ;
(4) how many persons released on bail by Clacton magistrates court were arrested for another offence while still on bail in 1991, 1981 and 1971 ;
(5) how many persons released on bail by Harwich magistrates court, were arrested for another offence while still on bail in 1991, 1981 and 1971 ;
(6) how many persons released on bail by Clacton magistrates court have been arrested for another offence,
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released on bail again, arrested for another offence, released on bail again, and been arrested and bailed for four or more offences.Mr. Jack : The information is available only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of the State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received about the situation in which persons on bail are arrested for a further offence and are released on bail again ; and what reply he has made.
Mr. Jack : My right hon. and learned Friend has noted the publicly expressed concern of the Association of Chief Police Officers about offending on bail. He has received representations on the subject from a Lincolnshire county councillor and from nine hon. Members, five of whom wrote after the councillor's approach to them. In addition, it has been referred to in a number of letters which have been concerned with crime more generally. Replies to these representations have acknowledged the strength of the concerns being expressed and have referred to the various steps that either have been taken or are being taken to reduce the risk of offending on bail.
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what current plans he has to review the situation under which persons released on bail are arrested for a further offence while on bail ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : As part of a wider programme of work to tackle the problem of offending on bail, my Department has convened a group which is widely representative of the different organisations and agencies involved in the criminal justice system. This group is currently reviewing the bail decision taking process. In a separate forum, concerns about the arrangements for police bail are also being examined.
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons were arrested for another offence while on bail (a) two, (b) three and (c) four or more previous offences in (i) a 1991, (ii) 1981 and (iii) 1971, in England ;
(2) how many persons were re-arrested for another offence while on bail in (a) 1991, (b) 1981 and (c) 1971, in England.
Mr. Jack : The information is not collected centrally. In February this year, the Home Office published a survey of research into offending on bail--research and planning unit paper 65--a copy of which is available in the Library.
Crime Statistics
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the number of reported crimes in (a) Harwich and (b) Clacton for each of the last 20 years ;
(2) if he will list the number of reported crimes in Essex in each year for the last 20 years.
Mr. Jack : Information on the number of recorded offences in the Essex police force area are published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales". The latest figures for 1991 are published in Home Office statistical bulletin 2/92. Copies of all these publications are available in the Library.
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Separate figures for Harwich and Clacton are not collected centrally.Prison Population
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the prison population in (a) England and (b) Wales, at the latest available date.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : On Thursday 9 July the prison population in England was 44,831 and in Wales, 920. These figures do not include the 1,367 prisoners being held in police cells on that day.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners on remand exercised their right to vote in the last general election.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No record was kept by the Prison Service of the number of prisoners who voted in the last general election.
Prison Mother and Baby Units
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places are currently available in mother and baby units in prisons.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are 38 places currently available in prison mother and baby units.
Police Cells
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were held in police cells in each of the police forces in England and Wales on the last convenient date.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The position on 9 July was as follows :
Police force |Number of
|prisoners
---------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |37
Bedfordshire |24
Cambridgeshire |21
Cheshire |38
Cleveland |7
Cumbria |15
Derbyshire |23
Devon and Cornwall |6
Durham |3
Dyfed |19
Essex |42
Gloucestershire |9
Greater Manchester |263
Gwent |17
Hampshire |7
Hertfordshire |24
Humberside |27
Lancashire |74
Leicestershire |23
Lincolnshire |5
Merseyside |85
Metropolitan |140
North Wales |10
North Yorkshire |21
Northamptonshire |27
Northumbria |56
Nottinghamshire |20
South Wales |68
South Yorkshire |34
Staffordshire |10
Suffolk |15
Surrey |9
Sussex |15
Thames Valley |20
Warwickshire |8
West Mercia |28
West Midlands |31
West Yorkshire |81
Wiltshire |5
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department paid each police force for holding people in police cells in 1990 and 1991.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The amounts paid to each police force holding prisoners in police cells during 1990 and 1991 are shown in the table.
Police force |1990-91 |1991-92
|£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |- |2,992,791
Bedfordshire |- |596,010
Cambridgeshire |- |1,673,619
Cheshire |1,843,386 |2,658,450
City of London |38,818 |225,689
Cleveland |421,101 |376,773
Cumbria |288,643 |181,300
Derbyshire |528,641 |691,645
Devon and Cornwall |- |687,452
Durham |237,793 |802,560
Dyfed |- |1,437,798
Essex |350,560 |1,176,095
Gloucester |62,001 |453,446
Greater Manchester |15,931,767 |20,522,278
Gwent |- |1,236,786
Hampshire |- |1,252,012
Hertfordshire |156,124 |3,562,244
Humberside |3,309,716 |3,309,549
Kent |160,984 |1,843,171
Lancashire |3,785,273 |6,127,386
Leicestershire |570,304 |1,997,202
Lincolnshire |753,405 |637,272
Merseyside |2,936,037 |2,683,711
Metropolitan |4,786,233 |11,316,943
North Wales |303,878 |496,536
North Yorkshire |- |1,676,589
Norfolk |- |634,553
Northamptonshire |237,479 |602,855
Northumbria |2,496,433 |2,730,444
Nottinghamshire |447,112 |610,263
South Wales |624,067 |3,138,284
South Yorkshire |2,784,105 |3,110,568
Suffolk |- |542,205
Surrey |- |433,548
Sussex |- |320,430
Thames Valley |153,368 |1,620,820
Warwickshire |729,730 |596,031
West Mercia |386,300 |1,294,179
West Midlands |1,812,584 |2,823,517
West Yorkshire |6,591,246 |5,425,886
Wiltshire |- |241,072
Camera Technology
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the Government's estimate of the potential of new camera technology to reduce road accidents.
Mr. Charles Wardle : It is too early to evaluate from road accident statistics the contribution to any reduction
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that may be made by the new camera technology. But inappropriate speed is a factor in about one third of all fatal road traffic accidents and 13 per cent. of injury accidents at junctions in urban areas are associated with jumping red traffic lights. The new camera technology can be expected to have a beneficial effect in both of these areas.Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he expects all police authorities to be co-operating in speed camera technology ;
(2) what steps he is taking to encourage the use of speed cameras on roads.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The decision to equip police forces with speed camera equipment rests with the chief officers and their police authorities. We will be monitoring that position and ensuring that the effectiveness of the equipment is known to chief officers.
Wratness Mine Depot
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what price the Wratness former Royal Naval mine depot was sold earlier this year.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Negotiations are still in progress with a prospective purchaser of this site.
Armley Prison
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were held under rule 43 (GOAD and own protection) in Armley prison, Leeds during May.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : A total of 216 prisoners were held under prison rule 43 at Her Majesty's prison Leeds during May. Of these, 209 were held for their own protection and seven were for the maintenance of good order or discipline.
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether mentally ill people are held in solitary confinement in Armley prison, Leeds.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No prisoners in England or Wales are kept in solitary confinement. This is a type of punishment designed to deprive a prisoner of all human contact and is not available under the prison rules. At HM prison Armley, Leeds all mentally ill inmates are held in the health care centre in single rooms or on an open ward. Those allocated a single room spend the normal daytime hours in association with other inmates.
Air Guns
Mr. Simpson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any plans to increase the regulation and control of the ownership or use of air guns.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a question from the hon. Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth) on 22 May 1992, at column 312.
Pregnant Prisoners
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners at Holloway were pregnant on the last date for which figures are available.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : On 9 July there were 25 pregnant women detained in Holloway.Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were pregnant on the last date for which figures are available.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : A survey on 10 July 1992 indicated that 52 prisoners in establishments in England and Wales were known by health care staff to be pregnant.
Speeding Offences
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many speeding offences there were in 1991.
Mr. Jack : Provisional figures for 1990 show that, in England and Wales, 633,828 alleged speeding offences were dealt with by the police. These comprise 12,285 written warnings, 448,380 fixed penalty notices and 173,163 court proceedings. Statistics for 1991 are not yet available.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what efforts are made to ensure that remand prisoners may exercise their right to vote.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Only unconvicted prisoners, including civil prisoners and fine defaulters, who are at least 18 years of age and who are registered as electors can vote, by means of a postal vote. An instruction to prison service establishments includes guidance on prisoners' eligibility to vote, and on handling applications for postal votes from prisoners. Consideration is now being given to supplementing this with a reference in the prisoners' information pack, which is given to prisoners on reception into prison, about the right of unconvicted prisoners to vote.
Custodial Sentences
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given to magistrates and judges about the extent to which they should have regard to the number of places in the prison system when considering whether to impose a custodial sentence.
Mr. Jack : No such advice has been issued.
Women Prisoners
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications are outstanding from women prisoners who seek a place for their children in mother and baby units.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Applications for a place on a mother and baby unit are considered by a multi-disciplinary team at a case conference. There are seven very recent applications which are awaiting consideration.
Animal Research
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's role in the Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods in relation to animal research.
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Mr. Charles Wardle : The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods is a new body established by the European Commission, and is concerned with the validation of alternatives to the use of animals in research.
The United Kingdom remains committed to the search for ways of refining, reducing or replacing the use of living animals in scientific procedures. It stands ready to play a full part in the work of the centre.
Public Appointments
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list any public appointments by his Department since 1987 which have involved people from organisations criticised in published reports by DTI inspectors ;
(2) if he will list any advisers retained by his Department since 1987 who have been criticised in published reports by DTI inspectors.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : From the information available to us, we have no knowledge of any appointments made by my Department of persons criticised by DTI inspectors.
Identity Cards
Mr. Ralph Howell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further consideration has been given to the introduction of identity cards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Ravensbourne (Sir J. Hunt) on 18 June, at column 1022.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff his Department currently employs ; what are the total personnel costs ; and what were the staffing levels and personnel costs in 1970.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : The Home Office currently employs 46,303 non- industrial staff and 3,050 industrial staff. This includes those staff working in agencies. The forecast staffing costs for the year 1992-93 are £951,688,000.
In January 1970 the Home Office employed 16,889 non-industrial staff and 3,975 industrials. These figures are taken from the 1970 publication of "Civil Service Statistics". Figures are not available for staffing costs.
Disabled Employees
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner) of 30 June, Official Report, column 517, how many and what proportion of his Department's employees were registered disabled in 1989 and 1990.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : In 1989, 143 members of staff in the Home Office were registered disabled, representing 0.3 per cent. of all staff. In 1990, the number was 147.5, again approximately 0.3 per cent. No record has been kept of staff with disabilities who have chosen not to register.
Column 539
Mass Trespass
Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to amend section 39 of the Public Order Act 1986 to deal with the criminal offence of mass trespass.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to his question on 10 July 1992, at column 372.
Primary Purpose Rules
Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make changes in the primary purpose rules following the recent judgment of the European Court.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I see no reason to do so.
Primates
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the standards set out in the code of practice for the housing and care of animals used in scientific procedures with regard to primates.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The Home Office code of practice for the housing and care of animals used in scientific procedures is based closely on guidelines drawn up jointly by the Royal Society and the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. The code of practice contains a section on the special considerations which should be taken into account in the housing and care of primates. We have no plans to amend the code.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of remand prisoners brought to trial since 30 September 1991 (a) in magistrates courts had spent more than 56 days in custody since their first appearance and (b) in the Crown court had spent more than 70 days from first appearance before magistrates to committal in the Crown court.
Mr. Jack : The information requested is not readily available centrally. According to the February 1992 time interval survey of magistrates courts, 34 per cent. of custodial remands for indictable offences--that is, no bail--took more than 56 days from first listing to completion at the magistrates courts.
Criminal Justice Act 1991
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish information pursuant to section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.
Column 540
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Under section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 I am required to publish each year information to enable those engaged in the administration of criminal justice to become aware of the financial implications of their decisions, and to assist them in the performance of their duty to avoid discrimination on the grounds of race, sex or any other improper ground.
To fulfil this requirement, I propose to publish in mid-September information on race and gender. In mid-October I propose to publish a third set of information on finance. In all three cases this material will be widely disseminated among the judiciary, stipendiary and lay benches and lawyers ; and to members of the Crown prosecution service and magistrates courts, police and probation services.
I shall place copies of each of these publications in the Library. The publications this year will provide broad brush information in respect of race, gender and finance issues. As required by section 95 of the Act, I will publish further material on these subjects on an annual basis. In the light of comments from the recipients of this year's information, and of improvements in our own monitoring arrangements, future publications will add more detail.
Naturalisation
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time taken to process applications for (a) registration and (b) naturalisation ; and how long those applying in both of those categories in December 1991 can expect to wait.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 13 July 1992] : The average time taken in June 1992 to grant applications for registration and naturalisation was 15 and 27 months respectively.
Those who applied in December 1991 for registration can expect on average to wait nine months for a decision and for naturalisation between 15 and 18 months.
Immigration
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of (a) Jamaica, (b) Turkey, (c) Morocco, (d) the USA, (e) Australia, (f) Malaysia, (g) Hong Kong, (h) Guyana, (i) Trinidad, (j) Colombia and (k) Algeria were (i) granted and (ii) refused permission to enter the United Kingdom at ports of entry in each quarter since January 1991 to the nearest available date.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 13 July 1992] : The information requested is given in the table.
Column 539
Passenger admissions and persons refused leave to enter and removed, for selected nationalities
1st quarter 1991 2nd quarter 1991 3rd quarter 1991 4th quarter 1991 Year 1991 1st quarter 1992
|Admissions|Refused |Admissions|Refused |Admissions|Refused |Admissions|Refused |Admissions|Refused |Admissions|Refused
|and |and |and |and |and |and
|removed |removed |removed |removed |removed |removed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jamaica |4,700 |102 |6,640 |102 |9,220 |90 |5,470 |98 |26,000 |392 |4,700 |100
Turkey |13,800 |80 |18,700 |86 |24,200 |75 |17,400 |85 |74,100 |326 |13,900 |57
Morocco |2,720 |36 |3,790 |47 |6,640 |92 |3,890 |59 |17,000 |234 |3,150 |21
USA |341,000 |286 |670,000 |270 |778,000 |315 |555,000 |291 |2,340,000 |1,162 |475,000 |228
Australia |71,500 |74 |118,000 |59 |136,000 |68 |93,400 |49 |419,000 |250 |64,000 |65
Malaysia |11,400 |126 |20,700 |375 |29,200 |157 |21,000 |140 |82,200 |798 |11,300 |70
Hong Kong
(BDTCs and BN(O)s) |14,200 |35 |16,900 |70 |35,200 |60 |13,700 |58 |79,900 |223 |12,500 |34
Guyana |990 |13 |1,280 |14 |2,070 |14 |1,280 |16 |5,630 |57 |920 |9
Trinidad and Tobago |3,030 |27 |4,050 |16 |5,910 |9 |3,510 |18 |16,500 |70 |2,500 |13
Colombia |3,450 |103 |5,010 |148 |5,900 |109 |4,130 |119 |18,500 |479 |3,290 |102
Algeria |2,140 |47 |3,620 |51 |5,660 |48 |3,160 |80 |14,600 |226 |2,260 |60
<1> Provisional figures.
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Table 1
Persons<1> admitted as returning residents
Number of admissions
Nationality |2nd quarter|3rd quarter|4th quarter|1st quarter
|1991 |1991 |1991 |1992
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe |26,990 |38,160 |24,420 |26,600
Austria |2,360 |2,840 |2,100 |2,370
Bulgaria |70 |110 |70 |100
Cyprus |1,390 |2,580 |1,190 |1,280
Czechoslovakia |150 |190 |120 |190
Finland |1,630 |2,400 |1,390 |1,650
Germany (Democratic Republic) |<2>- |<2>- |<2>- |<2>-
Hungary |260 |560 |250 |300
Malta |1,670 |3,140 |1,610 |1,740
Norway |3,020 |3,720 |2,620 |2,930
Poland |1,880 |3,340 |1,500 |1,880
Romania |80 |120 |70 |90
Sweden |6,760 |7,600 |6,110 |6,510
Switzerland |4,260 |5,003 |3,840 |3,920
Turkey |2,110 |4,610 |2,470 |2,280
USSR |170 |310 |260 |260
Yugoslavia |1,190 |1,640 |830 |1,110
Americas |49,480 |57,140 |43,400 |46,960
Argentina |330 |340 |280 |340
Barbados |520 |570 |430 |380
Brazil |780 |1,000 |700 |890
Canada |8,520 |10,620 |7,540 |7,700
Chile |450 |620 |390 |530
Colombia |640 |750 |410 |620
Cuba |- |<3>- |<3>- |<3>-
Guyana |290 |400 |250 |270
Jamaica |1,730 |2,160 |1,550 |1,940
Mexico |310 |370 |270 |330
Peru |190 |250 |160 |220
Trinidad and Tobago |880 |1,100 |660 |1,000
USA |34,550 |38,660 |30,530 |32,420
Uruguay |60 |50 |30 |60
Venezuela |220 |250 |180 |250
Africa |13,280 |19,890 |12,650 |15,820
Algeria |440 |720 |370 |330
Egypt |930 |1,240 |740 |870
Ethiopia |50 |70 |70 |90
Ghana |1,650 |2,270 |1,740 |2,060
Kenya |1,070 |1,510 |910 |1,000
Libya |220 |380 |180 |140
Mauritius |1,040 |1,460 |780 |1,040
Morocco |790 |2,460 |1,000 |1,010
Nigeria |2,600 |4,010 |3,150 |4,400
Sierra Leone |220 |280 |220 |320
Somalia |40 |30 |20 |40
South Africa |2,460 |2,790 |1,840 |2,560
Sudan |170 |280 |150 |170
Tanzania |390 |701 |360 |380
Tunisia |260 |490 |260 |270
Uganda |140 |230 |130 |180
Zambia |240 |300 |230 |270
Zimbabwe |570 |660 |504 |680
Asia |41,950 |50,170 |35,450 |46,330
Bangladesh |1,880 |2,580 |1,520 |2,200
China |190 |200 |160 |230
Hong Kong BDTC |1,040 |1,350 |800 |1,220
India |13,290 |14,230 |11,170 |16,460
Indonesia |180 |200 |120 |140
Iran |3,440 |5,220 |3,210 |3,340
Iraq |310 |640 |480 |440
Israel |1,750 |2,070 |1,510 |1,690
Japan |5,710 |6,770 |4,980 |5,550
Jordan |420 |560 |360 |390
Kuwait |110 |150 |140 |110
Lebanon |1,420 |1,720 |1,180 |1,290
Malaysia |2,520 |3,200 |2,110 |2,800
Pakistan |4,600 |4,960 |3,770 |5,450
Philippines |1,630 |1,590 |1,160 |1,620
Saudi Arabia |200 |320 |190 |230
Singapore |670 |810 |600 |730
Sri Lanka |1,600 |2,370 |1,210 |1,350
Syria |200 |350 |180 |220
Thailand |800 |880 |600 |850
Australasia |19,460 |21,490 |16,690 |17,930
Australia |12,170 |13,400 |10,210 |11,250
New Zealand |7,280 |8,090 |6,480 |6,680
Others |6,690 |9,580 |5,660 |6,560
British Overseas Citizens |950 |1,300 |840 |1,090
Other countries not elsewhere specified |2,400 |3,600 |2,200 |2,790
Stateless |3,340 |4,680 |2,620 |2,680
All Nationalities |157,840 |196,440 |138,270 |160,180
<1> Excluding EC nationals to whom the immigration rules on returning residents do not apply.
<2> Ceased to be a separate nationality following the unification of Germany.
<3> 5 or fewer.
Returning Residents
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people, by nationality, have requested entry to the United Kingdom as returning residents, in each quarter since May 1990 ; how many have been (a) readmitted as such, (b) been readmitted for a limited period and (c) been refused entry to the United Kingdom.
Column 542
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 6 July 1992] : The available information is given in the tables. Information is not available on persons seeking admission as returning residents who were found not to satisfy the relevant requirements of the immigration rules but who were admitted for a limited period under another category.
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HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
Select Committees
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the right hon. Member for
Berwick-upon-Tweed, as representing the House of Commons Commission, when the firm responsible for preparing verbatim reports of minutes of evidence taken before Select Committees was appointed ; what opportunities have been given to other firms to provide this service ; and on what basis the charges payable to the firm are determined.
Mr. Beith : The appointment of a shorthand writer to the Houses of Parliament is made by the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House of Commons pursuant to Resolutions agreed to by both Houses in 1813. The present incumbent, like her predecessors since that time, is the senior partner in the firm of W. B. Gurney and Sons. The structure of charges for parliamentary work is renegotiated periodically : such a review took place in 1989, and a further one, initiated by the Clerks of both Houses, is currently in progress. These reviews take into account the likely cost and efficiency of alternative suppliers of this service. Interim adjustments to the level of charges are made by reference to the fees negotiated by the Institute of Shortland Writers with Her Majesty's Treasury for Government work.
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