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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 24 November 1992
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Matrix Churchill
Mr. Hain : To ask the Attorney-General what documents were given by the Law Officers' Departments to HM Customs and Excise before it prosecuted Matrix Churchill ; on what dates the documents were given ; what was the source of any such documents provided ; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : On 3 December 1990 Sir Hal Miller, then my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove, wrote to me enclosing documents supplied to him by The Sunday Times about the affairs of Matrix Churchill. The company was then the subject of a continuing investigation by HM Customs and Excise to which the documents were forwarded on the 4 December 1990 in accordance with the usual arrangements for transfer of correspondence.
Inquiries have been made in all the Law Officers' Departments, but no further documents have been located which were received and passed to HM Customs and Excise prior to the institution of proceedings relating to Matrix Churchill.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Police Authorities
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all the organisations and individuals he has (a) consulted and (b) invited to submit comments, suggestions or representations about the future structure and funding of police authorities in England and Wales ; when their reports were received or are expected ; and what process of consultation and discussion he intends to undertake.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No formal consultations have taken place nor have comments formally been invited. If changes are proposed, consultation will take place with those directly concerned.
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the individuals outside his Department who are advising his Department on the future structure and funding of police authorities in England and Wales ; when their reports were received or are expected ; and what process of consultation and discussion he intends to undertake.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 23 November 1992] : It is Ministers, not officials, who are responsible for policy. It does not seem appropriate to give the names of individual officials advising Ministers when it is Ministers, not officials, who are responsible for decisions on policy. If changes are proposed, consultation will take place with those directly concerned.
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Drugs
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people aged (a) 16 to 21 years, (b) 22 to 30 years and (c) 31 to 45 years were arrested for possession of crack cocaine in (i) London and (ii) Wales in each year since 1989 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : The table shows the number of people who have been dealt with for offences involving crack cocaine in London in 1990, 1991 and 1992. There were no persons dealt with in Wales in any year. Figures for actual arrest are not collected centrally.
|c|Persons dealt with for offences involving "crack"|c|
|c|London (Metropolitan and City police districts)|c|
Age at time of |1990 |1991 |<1>1992
disposal
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Up to 21 years |6 |9 |6
22-30 years |19 |31 |25
Over 31 years |10 |30 |23
|-- |-- |--
Total |35 |70 |54
<1> So far recorded.
Young Offenders
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Her Majesty's prison Manchester will be used for young people awaiting allocation to a young offender institution once it becomes fully operational.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are no immediate plans to use Manchester prison for this purpose, but the invitation to tender issued in connection with the market testing of the establishment covers the possibility of its holding young prisoners.
Sir Dudley Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington of 7 August and 24 August about the growth of juvenile crime in the mid-Warwickshire area.
Mr. Jack : I shall write to my hon. Friend this week.
Mr. Colin Wallace
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now refer the conviction of Mr. Colin Wallace for the manslaughter of Jonathan Lewis to the Court of Appeal for review.
Mr. Jack : My right hon. and learned Friend has the power under section 17(1)(a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 to refer a conviction to the Court of Appeal ; but he would normally do so only if presented with new evidence or a consideration of substance which had not been before the courts and which appeared to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction. Since my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Mr. Patten) wrote to the hon. Member on 30 June 1990, no representations claiming to have identified such evidence or other consideration of substance has been made to the Home Office.
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Police (Court Attendance)
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many man-hours were used by police officers attending courts in (a) Carlisle and (b) Cumbria in each of the last five years for which figures are available ; and what proportion of total police man-hours this represented in each year.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I will write to the hon. Member.
HM Inspector of Police
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each regional crime squad in England and Wales the dates on which each has been inspected by Her Majesty's inspector of police in each year since 1980.
Mr. Charles Wardle : All the information requested is not readily available, but I will write to the hon. Member.
Prison Officers (Name Badges)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of his Department as to the wearing of a name badge by prison officers working in prisons in England and Wales ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The procurement process through competitive tendering has commenced in order that name badges will be provided for every member of the prison service by 1 April 1993. As from that date all staff, including prison officers, coming into contact with prisoners or the public will be required when they do so to wear name badges. Further, staff will be encouraged to wear name badges in any circumstances where it will be useful or courteous to do so. This policy is in accord with the citizens charter, the report by Lord Justice Woolf and the White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice". The wearing of name badges will be a tangible sign of the shared commitment by all employed in the Home Office prison service to deliver a quality public service.
Police (Ethnic Minorities)
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of police officers of each rank are from the ethnic minorities.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information is as follows.
|Per cent.
----------------------------------------------
Chief Constable |0.00
Deputy Chief Constable |0.00
Assistant Chief Constable |0.00
Chief Superintendent |0.18
Superintendent |0.20
Chief Inspector |0.17
Inspector |0.34
Sergeant |0.47
Constable |1.65
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the police are from ethnic minorities in England and Wales.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The percentage of police officers in England and Wales from ethnic minorities on 31 August 1992 was 1.34 per cent.
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Vulnerable Prisoner Units
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision exists for vulnerable prisoner sections in custodial centres for persons under the age of 18 years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are no formally designated sections within juvenile units for vulnerable persons. Under rule 46(1) of the Young Offender Institutions Rules 1988, the governor may arrange for an inmate to be separated from others where this would be in his or her interest. But this would be unlikely to be a long-term solution to problems being faced by a vulnerable juvenile and the governor of the establishment would be concerned to find other means of providing protection, for example, by use of disciplinary procedures in respect of those using or threatening violence.
Crack
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seizures of the drug crack there were in the Northumbria police authority area in 1991.
Mr. Jack : There were no recorded seizures of the type of cocaine known as "crack" in the Northumbria police area during 1991.
Drug-related Offences
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of crimes committed while under the influence of drugs, in Blyth Valley and the Northumbria police authority area, in each year since 1979.
Mr. Jack : It is not possible to estimate with any accuracy the number of crimes committed by offenders under the influence of drugs.
Young Offenders (Dyslexia)
Mr. Heppell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders in remand or prison institutions suffer with dyslexia.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Records of the number of young offenders with dyslexia are not held centrally. When young offenders are received into remand centres or young offender institutions, their educational needs are assessed. The aim is to help offenders prepare for their return to the community by providing a programme of activities including education, training and work.
Drug Abuse
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what areas within the Northumbria police authority area have been identified as having the highest levels of drug abuse ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : I understand that Northumbria police judge that most drug misuse occurs within the major centres of population in the Tyne and Wear conurbation.
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Prison Officers' Accommodation
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officer quarters at each of the London prisons were occupied by prison officers on November.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of prison quarters occupied by prison officers on 16 November 1992 in the six London prisons is as follows :
|Number
------------------------------
Belmarsh |<1>10
Brixton |154
Holloway |141
Pentonville |100
Wandworth |126
Wormwood Scrubs |196
<1>flats (one bedroomed)
Vehicle-related Projects
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the vehicle-related projects which were wholly or partly funded by his Department under the probation supervision grant scheme and the safer cities programme in 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 23 November 1992] : The list of projects is set out in the table. The 1992-93 section includes a recently approved scheme which is additional to the number quoted in my earlier reply of 26 October, at column 457, and my letter of 30 October to the hon. Member.
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Vehicle-related
projects funded in
1991-92
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the Probation Supervision Grant Scheme
South Glamorgan |Dragon Wheels
West Glamorgan |Guiding Hands Association
Northumbria |YMCA North Shields
Oxfordshire |Trax-Oxfordshire Motor Project
Shropshire |Telford Drive
Somerset |Mendip Motor Project
West Sussex |Car Offender Project
North Yorkshire |Croft Motor Trust
West Yorkshire |Bradford Motor Education Project
| (jointly funded by Safer Cities)
West Yorkshire |NACRO Focus
From the Safer Cities Programme
Bradford |Keighley Motor Project
Bradford |Canterbury Motor Project
Bristol |Southmead Racing Bangers Project
Coventry |Henley Green Motorcycle Project
Hartlepool |Motor Cycle Project
Hull |Orchard Park Wheels Project-Summer 1991
Nottingham |Wheelbase
Salford |Swinton Karting Project
Salford |General Education in Automobile
| Responsibility in Salford (GEARS)
Sunderland |Town End Motor Project
Sunderland |Warden Law Motor Sports Park
Wandsworth |Wandsworth Motor Project
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Vehicle-related
projects funded in
1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the Probation Supervision Grant Scheme
Avon |Bristol Wheels Project
Essex |Essex Motor Project
South Glamorgan |Dragon Wheels
West Glamorgan |Guiding Hands Association
West Midlands |Shard End Driver Training Project
Northumbria |Motoring MACPI (Multi-Agency Crime
| Prevention Initiative)
Northumbria |Motorvation Youth Project
Northumbria |YMCA North Shields
Oxfordshire |Trax-Oxfordshire Motor Project
Shropshire |Telford Drive
Somerset |Mendip Motor Project
West Sussex |Car Offender Project
North Yorkshire |Croft Motor Trust
West Yorkshire |Birstall Urban Motorcycle Project
| for Youth (BUMPY)
West Yorkshire |Bradford Motor Education Project
| (jointly funded by Safer Cities)
West Yorkshire |NACRO Focus
From the Safer Cities Programme
Bradford |Keighley Motor Project
Bradford |Canterbury Motor Project
Coventry |Henley Green Motorcycle Project
Nottingham |Wheelbase
Deportation
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-United Kingdom (a) men and (b) women were deported from Britain, following the completion of their prison sentence in each of the last five years ; and of those, how many were deported to (i) Nigeria, (ii) other West African countries, (iii) Colombia and (iv) Pakistan.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 23 November 1992] : The information available is given in the table. Data for men and women separately, and on the country to which the person is deported, are not available.
|c|Persons removed from the United Kingdom under the|c|
|c|deportation process as a result of a court recommendation.<1>|c|
Nationality of |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991
person
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total |490 |469 |396 |372 |402
Of which:
Nigeria |146 |172 |204 |172 |205
Ghana |67 |39 |40 |23 |16
Sierra Leone |2 |1 |1 |1 |1
Colombia |9 |8 |8 |13 |22
Pakistan |38 |26 |11 |11 |16
<1> Under section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1971.
TREVI Group
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to put the future agreements made at the Trevi Group before Parliament.
Mr. Wardle : The Secretary of State for the Home Department will continue to report to the House on the decisions of Trevi Ministers by means of a written answer after each ministerial meeting. Any arrangements which need parliamentary approval will naturally be put to the House.
ENVIRONMENT
Energy Review
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution his Department will be making to Her Majesty's Government's energy review ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : My officials are contributing fully to the work of the review.
Capital Receipts
Ms. Janet Anderson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the amount of reserved part of capital receipts set aside as provision to meet credit liabilities but not yet used to redeem debt for each local authority and standard economic region and one total for England ; and if he will place the information in the Library on floppy disk.
Mr. Robin Squire : Information on the total amount set aside as provision for credit liabilities at 31 March 1991, as reported by local authorities, has been placed in the
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Library of the House. Local authorities are not required to identify separately amounts originating from set-aside capital receipts.Building Effects Review Group
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement outlining the action undertaken by his Department resulting from the United Kingdom buildings effects review group report published in 1989.
Mr. Maclean : A number of recommendations in the United Kingdom buildings effects review group report have been implemented. These include the setting up of the national materials exposure programme, the establishment of more urban pollution monitoring sites, the development of inventories of stock at risk for a range of economically important materials, work on air pollution effects on stained glass and the development of economic models to assess the costs of air pollution damage to buildings and materials. In addition, overall research on air pollution effects in a number of areas has been sustained as recommended in the BERG report.
Fire Extinguishers
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps have been taken in Government offices to replace fire extinguishers which use ozone-depleting substances ; and when replacement will be completed.
Mr. Maclean : It is my Department's policy to avoid the use of fire extinguishers which use ozone-depleting substances. All portable halon fire extinguishers in DOE buildings have been replaced by ozone-friendly alternatives. Other departments have been advised to follow a similar policy with a view to phasing out the use of ozone-depleting substances as soon as is practically possible and within the time scale set out by the Montreal protocol and other international agreements.
Contaminated Land
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement outlining compensation payment levels to be granted following the appearance of a piece of land on the newly established contaminated land register.
Mr. Maclean : The Government have no plans for compensation in respect of land included on the proposed local authority registers of land which may be contaminated.
Audit Fees
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received from local authorities on the level and percentage rise of audit fees charged to local authorities by the Audit Commission.
Mr. Robin Squire : I have received a number of representations from parish councils about the cost of the requirement for regular audit. I have received no representations from local authorities about the rate of audit fees as such, or about the percentage rise of audit fees.
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Urban Regeneration Agency
Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of Barnsley as a possible location for the urban regeneration agency.
Mr. Robin Squire : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Inner Cities gave in response to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Bates) on 11 November, Official Report, columns 789-90.
Orimulsion
Mr. Oakes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will name the power stations which have applied to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to burn orimulsion.
Mr. Maclean : The chief inspector of Her Majesty' inspectorate of pollution has received two applications under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 from National Power to burn orimulsion in its power stations at Pembroke and Padiham. He has also received two applications under that Act from PowerGen to burn orimulsion in its power stations at Ince and Richborough.
Rents
Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to ensure that rent levels required by housing associations do not increase above the level of inflation.
Mr. Baldry : For tenants of registered housing associations whose tenancies commenced after 15 January 1989, rents are set by each individual housing association in accordance with its overall rent policy.
For tenants of registered housing associations whose tenancy began before 15 January 1989 rents are set by the rent officer under the Rent Act 1977. The rent officer will take into account the age, character, locality and state of repair of a dwelling while disregarding any shortage of similar accommodation in the area.
EC Structural Funds
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in what way allocations to local authorities under the revenue support grant settlement and capital approvals take account of allocations to individual local authorities under European structural fund programmes ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robin Squire : European structural fund programmes do not provide specific allocations for individual local authorities. European regional development fund receipts are not take into account, therefore, in determining revenue support grant settlements. Local authorities do, however, receive capital approvals to provide public expenditure cover for European regional development fund receipts, which from 1993-94 will be automatic.
Bathing Water
Mr. Martlew : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will identify the beaches in the north-west of England that failed to meet the bathing water quality standard during 1992.
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Mr. Maclean : Bathing waters not meeting the standards for coliform bacteria in 1992 were Southport, St. Anne's (2), Blackpool (3), Bispham, Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Heysham, Morecambe (2), Bardsea, Newbiggin, Roan Head, Askam, Haverigg, Seascale, St. Bees, Allonby (2) and Skinburness.
Urban Programme
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has had from local authorities affected by the announcement on 13 November that there would be no more new starts under the urban programme.
Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. and learned Friend and other Ministers have received a few representations from local authorities about the arrangements set out in my letter of 13 November to urban programme authority leaders for an urban partnership fund, which will use uncommitted urban programme money alongside local authority capital receipts and other resources to promote urban regeneration.
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (i) if he will list those authorities eligible for urban programme funding (a) that are also in receipt of successful city challenge project allocation, (b) that put forward city challenge projects which failed and (c) that did not bid for city challenge ;
(2) if he will list the local authorities in England that received an allocation from the urban programme this year.
Mr. Robin Squire : Tables 1 and 2 list successful and unsuccessful city challenge authorities. Taken together, the tables list all 57 authorities which received an urban programme allocation in 1992-93.
Table 2-unsuccessful city challenge authorities ----------------------------------------------------- Bristol |Leeds Burnley |Oldham Coventry |Plymouth Dudley |Preston Gateshead |Rochdale Greenwich |Salford Halton |Sheffield Hammersmith and Fulham |South Tyneside Haringey |Southwark Hull |St. Helens Islington |Wandsworth Knowsley |The Wrekin Langbaurgh
Table 2-unsuccessful city challenge authorities ----------------------------------------------------- Bristol |Leeds Burnley |Oldham Coventry |Plymouth Dudley |Preston Gateshead |Rochdale Greenwich |Salford Halton |Sheffield Hammersmith and Fulham |South Tyneside Haringey |Southwark Hull |St. Helens Islington |Wandsworth Knowsley |The Wrekin Langbaurgh
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his present estimate of urban
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programme allocation for 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95 (a) nationally, (b) for each region and (c) by urban programme authority.Mr. Robin Squire : (a) The public expenditure provision of the urban programme is £237 million in 1992-93, £176 million in 1993-94 and £91 million 1994-95. This will allow us to fund existing commitments in future years and provide an additional £20 million in 1993-94 for projects as part of capital partnership.
(b) The 1992-93 provision includes the urban crime fund initiative. The main urban programme provision for each region for 1992-93 is set out in the table.
-
---------------------------------------------
|£ million
Northern |36.520
North West |38.954
Merseyside |28.285
West Midlands |35.488
East Midlands |9.913
Yorkshire and Humberside |25.997
London |43.172
South West |2.665
In addition, local authorities contribute 25 per cent. of the cost of revenue projects, estimated at about £16 million, and will receive £11 million for projects supported by district health authorities from the Department of Health. Regional allocations for future years have not yet been made.
(c) For initial allocations to urban programme authorities for 1992-93, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 5 June, Official Report, column 666.
Industrial Improvement Grant
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many industrial improvement area grant schemes will finish in March 1993.
Mr. Robin Squire : This information is not available in the form requested. Individual and commercial improvment area grants often form part of larger block projects which cannot easily be disaggregated.
Radiation
Dr. John Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his Department's comparative assessment of the annual radiation exposure to individuals from (i) natural background radiation in the environment, (ii) iodine 125 discharged from hospitals in sewers, (iii) iodine 125 in drinking water and (iv) krypton 85 discharges from the thermal oxide reprocessing plant received by the public in the vicinity of Sellafield.
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 20 November 1992] : (i) Exposure of individuals to natural background radiation is kept under review by the National Radiological Protection Board. An NRPB report published in 1989 gave the average effective dose from background radiation to the United Kingdom population as 2,200 microsieverts per year.
Column 558
(ii) NRPB estimated the effective dose to sewer workers from iodine 125 to be 1.2 microsieverts per year.(iii) A study by St. Bartholomew's medical school funded by Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution found the effective dose to the public from iodine 125 in drinking water to be in the range 0 to 7 microsieverts per year.
(iv) The THORP plant is not operational. However, the effective dose from krypton 85 emissions from THORP under proposed discharge limits contained in draft authorisations recently published by HMIP would not exceed 6.4 microsieverts per year to members of the critical group in the Sellafield area.
For comparison, the International Commission on Radiological Protection has recommended a limit on effective doses from man-made sources--other than doses received by a patient undergoing medical treatment--for members of the public of 1,000 microsieverts per year.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Straw : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what work has been undertaken within his Department on the effect of the Labour party's proposals for domestic rates and the Liberal Democrat proposals for local income tax ; and at what cost.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 20 November 1992] : Both the Labour party's proposals for "fair rates" and the Liberal Democrat proposals for a local income tax were considered thoroughly during the review of local government finance in 1991 and throughout the passage of the Local Government Finance Bill.
The annual cost of the local government review was estimated to be some £1 million. It is not possible to segregate the costs of work of considering some proposals rather than others during the course of that review and the Committee stages of the Bill.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Court Fees
Mr. Byers : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what percentage increase is planned for each type of court fee ; when such increases are proposed to take effect ; and what is the estimate of the additional income arising from the fee increase.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The County Court Fees (Amendment) Order 1992, which comes into force on 30 November 1992, and 1 April 1993 in respect of proceedings under the Road Traffic Act 1991, revises the fees payable for proceedings in the county court. This is the first increase since 1986. There will be no immediate increases in other court fees, but all fee rates are kept under regular review. The percentage increase in individual county court fees is set out in the table. It is estimated that the additional income arising from the fee increase will be approximately £55 million in a full year, bringing the civil courts considerably closer to their target for covering their costs.
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