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European Year of Civil Protection
Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has held with his EC colleagues on the United Kingdom's and the Community's plans for the European Year of Civil Protection beginning on 1 July 1993.
Mr. Jack : At a meeting of the Council of Ministers held in November 1990 to discuss civil protection, my right hon. and noble Friend the Lord Ferrers and his ministerial colleagues endorsed a resolution, agreeing in principle that July 1993 to July 1994 should be designated the European Year of Civil Protection. Officials from member states are now working to produce a revised draft resolution.
New Age Travellers
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many hours of police overtime were worked by Avon and Somerset constabulary and Devon and Cornwall constabulary between 20 June and 11 July, as a result of the movements of new age travellers and rave parties ;
(2) pursuant to his answer of 3 July, Official Report, columns 739-40, what further estimates he has of the costs of extra policing required by the movements of new age travellers and various rave parties between 20 June and 11 July in the counties of Avon, Somerset, Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ; and whether he will specify these by police authority.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Police and Fire Services
Mr. Thomason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will specify the change in the cost of providing police and fire services within the metropolitan county areas as compared with non- metropolitan areas during the financial years preceding, including and succeeding the abolition of the metropolitan county councils.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Durham Prison
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average number of hours per day inmates of Durham prison spend outside cells.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The estimated number of hours per day inmates of Durham prison spend outsde cells is 7.5 hours for convicted male inmates, 3.25 hours for male remand inmates and 9.5 hours for convicted female inmates.
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average number of hours spent on education for each year since 1981 in Durham prison.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The total student hours spent on education for each year since 1985 in Durham prison are shown in the table. No figures are available for the years 1981-82 to 1984-85.
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Year |Total student
|hours
------------------------------------------
1985-86 |35,796
1986-87 |48,284
1987-88 |62,902
1988-89 |70,245
1989-90 |58,893
1990-91 |57,818
1991-92 |70,251
European Union
Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the current requirements for the acquisition of a visa for entry into the United Kingdom will be affected by the proposed article 100c (1) of the treaty of Rome.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Article 100c (1) will transfer into the competence of the European Community the determination of the third countries whose nationals are to be subject to a visa requirement for the crossing of external frontiers of member states. Decisions under the article, which will be taken by unanimity until the end of 1995 and by qualified majority voting thereafter, will depend on the outcome of discussions within the Community and cannot be predicted at this stage. The United Kingdom, like all member states, will be under an obligation to align its national visa requirements with such decisions.
Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what alterations he proposes to (a) asylum policy and (b) immigration policy in the light of article K1 of the treaty on European union.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The chapter of the treaty dealing with co- operation in the fields of justice and home affairs, of which Article K1 forms part, will provide a new framework for intergovernmental discussions on these subjects but leave them within national competence. Of itself, therefore, the article does not entail alterations to the United Kingdom's policies on immigration and asylum.
Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what forms of co-operation he will propose in the area of combating international fraud under article K1 (5) of the treaty on European union.
Mr. Jack : I will write to my hon. Friend.
Wrongful Convictions
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many allegations of wrongful conviction upon indictment have been received during the last six months by C3 division of the Home Office with a view to a possible reference to the Court of Appeal under section 17 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 ; and how many allegations have been dealt with.
Mr. Jack : During the six months ending 31 March 1992, the most recent period for which figures are readily available, 301 allegations of wrongful conviction on indictment were received and reviews of 283 cases were completed.
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Maastricht Treaty
Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing title VI of the Maastricht treaty in so far as it relates to justice and home affairs.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Title VI brings together into a more coherent framework existing intergovernmental work in justice and home affairs matters. Additional support services may be needed, which will be negotiated in the usual way through the Community budget procedures. Otherwise, costs will arise only on a case-by-case basis from actions agreed between the member states and will be borne by the member states themselves.
Bail Statistics
Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of (a) all defendants and (b) defendants charged with violent offences, sexual offences, drug offences, robbery, burglary, theft, fraud and criminal damage respectively were granted bail in England and Wales in the years 1980, 1985 and 1990 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : The percentages of all defendants granted bail in England and Wales in the years 1980, 1985 and 1990 are given in the following table :
All offences |1980 |1985 |1990 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summonsed |73 |70 |61 Arrested and bailed |23 |25 |34 Arrested and held in custody |4 |5 |6
These figures are published in chapter 8 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales". Reliable information on the breakdown of remands into bail and custody according to offence groups is not available centrally.
Police (Contracting Out)
Mrs. Gorman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to contract out police functions relating to the issuing of firearms licences and the escorting of heavy loads.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend is considering the responses to the recently concluded public consultation on Home Office proposals to establish a new civilian firearms licensing body. No decisions have yet been taken. As to police escorts for heavy loads, my Department is considering the issues with the police service and local authority associations. No firm decisions have yet been taken.
Wheel Clamping
Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to regulate unauthorised clamping of motor cars on private land and the charging of large sums for their release.
Mr. Charles Wardle : In the light of recent public concern about the activities of firms and individuals offering wheel clamping services on private property, the Government are considering whether any action on their part would be appropriate.
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Mr. T. S. Gill
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to announce his decision in respect to inquiries being made about Mr. T. S. Gill, No. C42698, of Featherstone prison, since March 1991.
Mr. Jack : My right hon. and learned Friend has decided to refer Mr. Gill's case to the Court of Appeal under section 17(1) (a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968. I will write to the hon. Member.
European Parliamentarians
Mr. Cash : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes the Government plans in the way Members of the European Parliament are elected in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : We have at present no plans to change the way in which Members of the European Parliament are elected in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland.
Refugees
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Bosnian and Croatian refugees have been accepted in the United Kingdom to date.
Mr. Charles Wardle : About 1,100 citizens of the former state of Yugoslavia have sought asylum in the United Kingdom between December 1991 and the end of June this year on the basis of claims associated with the various conflicts in that area. The large majority of these applications are still under consideration. Separate figures for the numbers from Bosnia or Croatia are not readily available.
Race Relations
Ms. Abbott : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with the Commission for Racial Equality's investigation into treatment of psychiatric patients of different racial groups ; what measures her Department has taken to support the CRE in its investigation ; and whether she has been asked to authorise a notice under section 50 of the Race Relations Act 1976.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The CRE will be running a pilot study this month in a London psychiatric hospital to test the questionnaire and methodology for the former investigation.
In September, 10 psychiatric hospitals nationwide will form the basis of the CRE's general formal investigation into the treatment of ethnic minority psychiatric patients.
I have agreed to the appointment of an additional commissioner, Dr. Suman Fernando, a practising consultant psychiatrist, to assist in this general formal investigation.
I have not been asked to authorise a notice under section 50 of the Race Relations Act 1976 in connection with this investigation.
Dangerous Driving
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends to increase the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving and by careless driving while under the influence of drink and drugs.
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Mr. Kenneth Clarke : Those whose dangerous or drunk driving has resulted in the tragic waste of another human life deserve to be punished accordingly. We are aware of public concern about the gravity of driving in a manner which causes fatal accidents and believe that the current maximum penalty of five years for these offences does not allow the courts adequately to reflect the seriousness of the worst cases. We intend, when parliamentary time permits, to increase the maximum penalty to 10 years.
Prisoners (Early Release)
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what directions he has given to the Parole Board as to the matters it should take into account when discharging its functions regarding the early release and recall of determinate sentenced prisoners under the Criminal Justice Act 1991.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I have written to the chairman of the Parole Board to give him directions which the board should apply when considering the release and recall of prisoners. The directions are based on the need to protect the public from serious harm from offenders, the desirability of preventing further offending and of securing the offenders' rehabilitation. They will be applied to all parole-elegible prisoners from 1 October this year when part II of the Criminal Justice Act comes into effect.
Copies of the letter and the directions will be made available in the Libraries of both the Houses.
Feltham Remand Centre
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take to improve the regime in Feltham remand centre following the recent report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons on Feltham.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In addition to the work already under way to tackle the issues raised by the chief inspector in his report on Feltham, I have decided to set up a working group with the following terms of reference :
"To support and facilitate the enhancement of the regime at Feltham Remand Centre ; to consider and plan for its long term future ; and to make recommendations".
The group will act to help the governor put into effect as quickly as possible his plans to enhance the regime at the remand centre. It will also look at wider issues such as experience and good practice elsewhere in relation to young remands ; the remanding practices of courts in the Feltham catchment area ; and the long-term future of the remand centre.
Detainees
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were detained under Immigration Act powers (a) overnight, (b) between one night and one month and (c) for a period of more than one month in (i) Harmondsworth detention centre, (ii) the Queen's building Heathrow, (iii) terminal 4 Heathrow, (iv) The Beehive, Gatwick, (v) HM prison, Haslar and (vi) and other establishments, by name, during (1) 1991 and (2) 1992 to the latest convenient date ; and of these people, how many in each category were (A) women, (B) children under 18 years of age and (C) men.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 3 July 1992] : The information readily available relates to the total number of
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persons whose detention spanned at least one night, and is given in the table. Information on the length of the period of detention, the numbers of persons detained at locations other than those listed, and the numbers of women, children and men detained, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Persons detained overnight or longer at certain
locations<1>
Location |1991 |1992
|(year) |(January
|to May)
------------------------------------------------------
Harmondsworth<2> |1,119 |192
Queen's Building, Heathrow |2,253 |928
Terminal 4, Heathrow |2,058 |653
The Beehive, Gatwick |2,897 |1,557
Haslar |519 |143
<1> Unless otherwise stated, the data include persons
initially detained elsewhere prior to being detained
at the location given.
<2> Data mainly exclude persons initially detained
elsewhere, and exclude illegal entrants and deportees
detained.
Asylum
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will provide a breakdown by nationality of the number of passengers seeking political asylum who were detained under Immigration Act powers in 1991 in (a) prison department establishments and (b) immigration detention accommodation.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 6 July 1992] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 7 July, Official Report, columns 133-34 .
Water Pistols
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to ban the import and sale of high-powered water pistols ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh : I have been asked to reply.
There is no reason to believe that the high-powered water pistols currently on sale pose any undue safety hazards when used as intended. I do not propose to introduce a ban on their import or sale.
Bailiffs
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take the necessary action to make it a criminal offence for convicted criminals (a) to own, (b) to be directors of, (c) to be employed by or (d) to seek employment by a business operating as bailiffs.
Mr. John M. Taylor : I have been asked to reply.
The Government has no plans to introduce a series of such offences. The Lord Chancellor's Department requires high standards of those who are recruited as county court bailiffs. Applicants are required to give information about previous convictions. The Department's policy is not to recruit or retain as a baliff any person with a criminal conviction which could conflict with his or her role as officer of the court. Applicants for certification under the distress for rent rules are required to disclose any convictions. The circuit judge dealing with the application would take this into account when considering whether to grant a certificate.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Departmental Objectives
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of The Board of Trade if he will set out the objectives of each division and branch of his Department.
Mr. Heseltine : The current objectives of the various parts of the Department are set out in the HMSO publications "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1992-93 to 1994-95" for Trade and Industry--Cm 1904--and for Energy--Cm 1905. I announced on 3 July my plans for reorganising the combined Department. These plans include the introduction of the management information system for
Ministers--MINIS--system of objective-setting and resource allocation. The first MINIS round will be completed by next spring, and the results--which will show the objectives of each division--will be placed in the Library.
Whales
Mr. Cousins : To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether he proposes to introduce a labelling scheme identifying products which contain material derived from whales.
Pyramid Selling
Mr. Cryer : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many breaches of pyramid selling regulations were prosecuted during 1991 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 15 July 1992] : None.
Post Office
Mr. Bayley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what performance standards his Department has set for the Post Office in the past 12 months.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 15 July 1992] : The Post Office at present sets its own performance standards having consulted the Post Office Users National Council. For 1991-92, for example, Royal Mail successfully delivered 89.8 per cent. of first-class letters the next day, against a target of 87.2 per cent. For 1992-93, the target is 90.5 per cent. The Government proposed, however, in the citizens charter White Paper that performance standards should in future be set by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, who will be advised by the proposed new, independent, advisory regulator. The regulator will also monitor Post Office performance against these targets. These changes will require legislation.
Mr. Bayley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what new information has been provided about compensation and redress when Post Office service falls below standard ; and how this information has been made available to the public ;
(2) when he last reviewed the Post Office compensation arrangements ; and how frequently he intends to review them in the future.
Mr. Leigh [holding answer 15 July 1992] : In line with the citizens charter, the Post Office was asked to carry out
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an urgent review of its redress schemes in consultation with the Post Office Users National Council. The Post Office, together with POUNC, reported in February this year. They agreed to a number of improvements which are now being implemented. The then Secretary of State, in a reply to a question from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield, (Mr. Burden) welcomed the reports--20 February 1992, Official Report, columns 262-63. In future, the Government also intend to introduce legislation to take powers for the Secretary of State to approve the Post Office's arrangements for compensation and redress, on advice on the proposed new independent advisory regulator. In the meantime, the Government will continue to review the Post Office's redress schemes from time to time as necessary. Information on compensation and redress is provided to the public in a number of different ways. The Post Office's commitment to consumer care and details of contact points etcetra were set out in its leaflet "Putting the Customer First", of which 750,000 leaflets were distributed, mainly through post offices, in spring this year. Information on compensation and redress is also set out in the new "Post Guide", which is now being distributed to every household in the country on a rolling basis during the course of this year. The detailed rules are set out in codes of practice for the three Post Office businesses--Royal Mail, Counters and Parcelforce. The codes are all available at post offices. Mr. Bayley : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to introduce a new independent regulator to advise him on issues affecting the interests of Post Office customers.Mr. Leigh [holding answer 15 July 1992] : Legislation to give effect to the Government's proposed reforms of the structure of postal services, including the appointment of an independent advisory regulator, will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.
British Goods and Services
Mr. Amess : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what are his Department's objectives in promoting the sale of British goods and services.
Mr. Leigh : At home, my Department's objective is to help British businesses to produce competitive goods and services. Overseas, my Department's export promotion activities are aimed at increasing the United Kingdom's earnings, thus strengthening the United Kingdom's economic base.
Mr. Amess : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans his Department has to extend the buy British goods campaign.
Mr. Leigh : My Department has no buy British goods campaign. Such a campaign would be in conflict with the Government's free market policies. However, Ministers often point out the advantages of buying British goods and services where they are competitive in design, quality and price.
Animal Testing
Mr. Harvey : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will seek to persuade his EC partners to agree to phase out testing of cosmetics on animals ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Leigh : The United Kingdom has called upon the European Community to set 1998 as a target date for the replacement of all skin and eye irritancy tests subject to there being validated non-animal alternatives. The Government is sympathetic to phasing out all animal testing for cosmetics where suitable validated alternatives are available.
Export Controls
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals the Trade Council expects to receive from the Commission on the harmonisation of extra-European Community export controls during the United Kingdom presidency.
Mr. Needham : I expect to receive proposals shortly from the European Commission on the harmonisation of export controls on dual-use goods.
Compliance Costs
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the subjects of compliance cost assessments carried out since the publication of the White Paper, "Building Businesses Not Barriers".
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Compliance cost assessments--CCAs--are prepared for all policy proposals likely to affect business. A central list of CCAs going back to 1986 does not exist, and would require disproportionate time and effort to produce. Since 1989, details of new CCAs prepared by Departments have been published every six months. Currently the list appears in "Business Briefing", the weekly magazine of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce. CCAs are currently being produced by the Government at a rate of over 50 per annum. The deregulation unit is planning to set up a computerised database of CCAs.
Mr. Sproat : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will institute a review of the effectiveness of the compliance cost assessment system operated by his deregulation unit.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The effectiveness of the compliance cost assessment system is kept under continuous review by the unit.
Civil Servants (Shares)
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidance, other than the civil service pay and conditions of service code and the establishment officers' guide, his Department provides relating to civil servants' shareholdings ; if he will list the number of occasions within the last five years on which civil servants have reported shareholdings to establishment officers in his Department ; what regulations apply to the staff of the next steps agencies within his Department ; what mechanisms are in place to prevent potential conflicts of interest ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : My Department provides standing guidance supplemented from time to time by internal notices to all staff. The latest notice on shareholdings was issued in February 1991. Staff, including those in the Department's agencies, are required to report any possible conflict of interest to their senior line managers. Separate
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arrangements exist for the full disclosure of the financial interests of the most senior grades. In addition, all heads of management units are required to consider the potential for conflicts of interest within their area of responsibility, to provide, if necessary, specific guidance, with detailed reporting requirements and to take action in response to any disclosure of shareholdings by staff, to ensure that conflicts of interest do not occur.Trade Marks
Dame Angela Rumbold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the effect on British industry of the application of the registration of trade marks in Germany.
Mr. Leigh : My Department is not aware of any general problem for British industry in respect of the registration of trade marks in Germany.
Dame Angela Rumbold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to ensure harmonisation across the Community countries for registration of trade marks during the United Kingdom presidency.
Mr. Leigh : An EC directive to harmonise substantive provisions of trade marks laws was adopted in 1988. It requires member states to bring their laws into line with its provisions by the end of 1992. In the United Kingdom, we have prepared the necessary legislation, but the Bill is still awaiting a place in the parliamentary timetable. Implementation by other member states is a matter for them, and not the presidency ; we understand that, by the end of last year, three of them--Denmark, France and Spain-- had passed new legislation in order to implement the directive.
Dame Angela Rumbold : To ask the President of the Board of Trade when the Community Trade Marks Office will be established.
Mr. Leigh : Progress on the regulation to establish the Community Trade Marks Office--CTMO--has been held up for some years, primarily because of the difficulty of securing agreement on the location of the office. This question has become linked with that of the seats of other EC bodies, and any decision will almost certainly be on a package of such seats. We will, however, be pushing hard during the United Kingdom presidency to try to reach agreement on all the other outstanding issues on the regulation, so that the regulation can come into force as soon as a decision is reached on location. The Commission has said that it expects the CTMO to come into operation around two years after the regulation comes into force.
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