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Mr. Peter Lloyd : The average weekly cost of keeping a person in Wolds remand prison from April 1992, when the prison opened, until December 1992 was £626. This compares with an average net operating cost for 1991-92 for all prisons run by the Prison Service of £442 per prisoner per week. This comparison is misleading, since unit costs are higher in the period during which a prison opens and is filling with prisoners, as Wolds was doing in 1992. Wolds is now more than 95 per cent. full.
Seat Belts (Regulations Enforcement)
Ms. Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been issued to police forces concerning enforcement of the Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) Regulations 1983.
Mr. Charles Wardle : None. The enforcement of road traffic law, which would include the Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) Regulations 1982, is a matter for individual chief officers of police.
Anthony Charles Jeffs
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will intervene in the planned release of Anthony Charles Jeffs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. I took the decision in accordance with normal policy and practice for the release of mandatory life sentence prisoners.
Police (Audit Commission Reports)
Mr. Sweeney : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the changes effected by police forces in England and Wales to
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the recommendations made in each of the Audit Commission police papers published since 1988 ; and if he will give details of the main changes implemented by the police service.Mr. Charles Wardle : The 11 reports which have been published so far are addressed primarily to police authorities and police forces and offer thematic guidance for auditors who review the work of the authorities.
Many of the changes recommended in the reports have been introduced by forces. They are also actively promoted in forces by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and progress in implementation is reflected in published inspectorate reports.
Main changes include :
(a) Increased use of civilians which has released officers for operation duties ;
(b) The implementation of a standing offers scheme for the purchasing of police vehicles which has identified substantial savings ;
(c) Improvements to police communications rooms through : further civilianisation, more flexible shifts, better technology and increased centralisation ;
(d) Introduction of enhanced performance measures including activity sampling ;
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(e) Improved management structures--more than three quarters of all forces have undergone, or are in the process of carrying out reviews of their management structures, including shift systems.Police (Education)
Mr. Sweeney : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list for each police force in England and Wales in 1981 and 1991 (a) the number of graduates recruited and (b) the percentage of officers who are graduates ;
(2) what was (a) the number and (b) the percentage of police officers in each police force in England and Wales in 1981 and 1991 who had (a) no GCE or GCSE grade A-C passes, (b) four or fewer GCE or GCSE grade A-C passes, (c) more than four GCE or GCSE grade A-C passes but no A level passes, (d) one A level, (e) two or more A level passes and (f) a degree.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Much of the information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The information which is available is given in the table. The total number of graduate recruits who began initial training in 1981 was 468. The number of graduate appointments in 1991 was 441, a breakdown of which is shown in the table.
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Number of Graduates in Police Forces in England and Wales in 1981 and 1991
Force |1981 graduates|1981 strength |Percentage |1991 graduates|1991 strength |Percentage |1991 graduate
|appointments
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |89 |3,066 |2.9 |225 |3,072 |7.3 |13
Bedfordshire |10 |995 |1.0 |42 |1,090 |3.9 |3
Cambridgeshire |30 |1,135 |2.6 |75 |1,239 |6.1 |4
Cheshire |37 |1,875 |2.0 |117 |1,867 |6.3 |1
City of London |11 |878 |1.3 |54 |809 |6.7 |7
Cleveland |29 |1,497 |1.9 |81 |1,477 |5.5 |3
Cumbria |32 |1,135 |2.8 |66 |1,183 |5.6 |6
Derbyshire |35 |1,805 |1.9 |109 |1,706 |6.4 |0
Devon and Cornwall |58 |2,736 |2.1 |181 |2,876 |6.3 |15
Dorset |11 |1,191 |0.9 |47 |1,280 |3.7 |4
Durham |24 |1,387 |1.7 |100 |1,378 |7.3 |5
Dyfed Powys |15 |943 |1.6 |45 |944 |4.8 |5
Essex |37 |2,653 |1.4 |115 |2,878 |4.0 |4
Gloucestershire |19 |1,144 |1.7 |62 |1,178 |5.3 |4
Greater Manchester |159 |7,010 |2.3 |535 |6,975 |7.7 |21
Gwent |15 |982 |1.5 |54 |995 |5.4 |1
Hampshire |46 |3,093 |1.5 |198 |3,177 |6.2 |18
Hertfordshire |46 |1,590 |2.9 |102 |1,679 |6.1 |6
Humberside |34 |1,985 |1.7 |112 |2,016 |5.6 |6
Kent |45 |2,919 |1.5 |119 |3,039 |3.9 |8
Lancashire |73 |3,213 |2.3 |239 |3,205 |7.5 |20
Leicestershire |39 |1,749 |2.2 |97 |1,808 |5.4 |8
Lincolnshire |16 |1,199 |1.3 |57 |1,198 |4.8 |5
Merseyside |107 |4,748 |2.3 |323 |4,605 |7.0 |23
Metropolitan |684 |25,103 |2.7 |1,592 |28,126 |5.7 |91
Norfolk |14 |1,278 |1.1 |51 |1,419 |3.6 |5
Northamptonshire |17 |1,019 |1.7 |84 |1,156 |7.3 |3
Northumbria |93 |3,378 |2.8 |268 |3,460 |7.7 |0
North Wales |17 |1,309 |1.3 |89 |1,343 |6.6 |4
North Yorkshire |27 |1,370 |2.0 |79 |1,382 |5.7 |14
Nottinghamshire |50 |2,295 |2.2 |180 |2,334 |7.7 |14
South Wales |59 |3,132 |1.9 |228 |3,142 |7.3 |12
South Yorkshire |61 |2,922 |2.1 |158 |2,989 |5.3 |3
Staffordshire |25 |2,122 |1.2 |89 |2,185 |4.1 |2
Suffolk |13 |1,126 |1.2 |45 |1,203 |3.7 |5
Surrey |36 |1,620 |2.2 |97 |1,681 |5.8 |8
Sussex |76 |2,869 |2.6 |192 |2,969 |6.5 |15
Thames Valley |63 |3,131 |2.0 |216 |3,722 |5.8 |17
Warwickshire |23 |943 |2.4 |74 |1,005 |7.4 |2
West Mercia |18 |1,959 |0.9 |114 |2,028 |5.6 |7
West Midlands |180 |6,792 |2.7 |479 |6,893 |6.9 |42
West Yorkshire |127 |5,210 |2.4 |342 |5,143 |6.6 |2
Wiltshire |13 |1,071 |1.2 |52 |1,212 |4.3 |5
|--- |---- |-- |--- |---- |-- |--
Totals |2,613 |119,577 |2.2 |7,584 |125,066 |6.1 |441
Police National Computer
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which companies are being considered to assist in the project to convert criminal records on to the police national computer ; and what is their country of ownership ;
(2) what stage has been reached in the project to load United Kingdom criminal records on to the police national computer ; and when the project is likely to be completed ;
(3) what steps are being taken to seek bids for British companies to put criminal records on to the police national computer ; (4) who are the consultants advising on the project to load United Kingdom criminal records on to the police national computer.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Work is in hand to assess the likely costs and practicality of converting the information contained in the criminal records held on microfiche at the national identification bureau into electronic form for inclusion on the police national computer. Hoskyns Group plc supported by Expert Systems Ltd., is assisting the Home Office in this work. When it has been completed my right hon. and learned Friend will consider how and where the back record conversion process can best be undertaken.
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Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sets of microfiche hold the records on the police national computer.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The police national computer database includes an index of the names of all those for whom there is a record at the national identification bureau. These records, which relate to some 5.25 million individuals, are held on microfiche. There is at least one microfiche for each individual.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many names are held on the police national computer records.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The names database on the police national computer holds 5,292,439 records (excluding aliases). The PNC also holds records of 42,480,704 vehicles, including the name of the registered keeper.
Police (Sick Leave)
Mr. Sweeney : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days per officer for each police force in England and Wales were lost due to (a) assault-related sick leave and (b) sick leave not due to assaults, in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested for 1990 and 1991 is shown as follows. The figures for 1992 are not yet available.
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|Days lost due to|Days sick |Days lost due to|Days sick
|assault-related |non-assault |assault-related |non-assault
|sickness |sickness
Force |1990 |1990 |1991 |1991
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |1,402 |29,714 |840 |30,357
Bedfordshire |582 |13,206 |831 |12,719
Cambridgeshire |213 |14,518 |589 |12,518
Cheshire |1,109 |19,027 |921 |22,041
City of London |37 |9,986 |6 |8,899
Cleveland |731 |28,232 |610 |23,384
Cumbria |169 |13,256 |358 |12,125
Derbyshire |648 |18,675 |1,135 |23,358
Devon and Cornwall |865 |26,337 |986 |28,131
Dorset |406 |9,259 |325 |13,749
Durham |1,191 |14,685 |1,129 |15,825
Dyfed Powys |622 |9,703 |223 |10,801
Essex |629 |35,889 |454 |32,540
Gloucestershire |259 |11,531 |338 |13,148
Greater Manchester |3,708 |95,986 |3,618 |86,936
Gwent |330 |10,607 |126 |13,627
Hampshire |2,170 |30,986 |930 |43,295
Hertfordshire |650 |21,668 |640 |22,647
Humberside |895 |26,164 |856 |20,096
Kent |542 |28,917 |190 |20,324
Lancashire |1,371 |51,136 |2,422 |47,516
Leicestershire |644 |23,580 |678 |24,466
Lincolnshire |670 |15,691 |758 |17,206
Merseyside |4,086 |75,330 |4,264 |87,094
Norfolk |381 |17,307 |157 |15,314
North Wales |623 |17,695 |810 |22,055
North Yorkshire |274 |16,047 |419 |18,948
Northamptonshire |132 |14,188 |65 |15,276
Northumbria |4,296 |32,013 |3,993 |30,281
Nottinghamshire |1,302 |2,6934 |1,081 |26,879
South Wales |2,422 |40,948 |2,874 |46,868
South Yorkshire |1,297 |35,065 |600 |36,728
Staffordshire |1,120 |31,696 |1,096 |34,892
Suffolk |443 |8,888 |333 |8,649
Surrey |811 |14,608 |641 |18,644
Sussex |1,026 |29,138 |1,708 |38,921
Thames Valley |1,144 |25,848 |761 |35,728
Warwickshire |438 |11,919 |275 |13,874
West Mercia |487 |24,449 |405 |25,873
West Midlands |- |48,785 |1,279 |64,594
West Yorkshire |2,455 |55,160 |2,880 |61,815
Wiltshire |456 |9,829 |400 |9,293
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Sub total |43,036 |1,094,600 |43,004 |1,167,454
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Metropolitan Police |7,598 |353,091 |10,564 |310,343
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |50,634 |1,447,691 |53,568 |1,477,797
Crime Statistics
Mr. Sweeney : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to introduce a common methodology for the reporting of manpower requirements, crime statistics and clear up rates by police force in England and Wales.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Each of these matters is dealt with by a methodology which is common to all police forces.
Mr. Allan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the percentage change in levels of recorded crime since 1979 ; and what has been the percentage change in the total establishment of the police since 1979.
Mr. Jack : The number of notifiable offences recorded by the police in England and Wales rose by 108 per cent. between 1979 and 1991. Over the same period, the
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authorised police establishment rose by 7 per cent. whereas the actual police strength, including civilians, rose by 17 per cent. to a total of 172,014.Police Numbers
Mr. Sweeney : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each police force area in England and Wales in 1971, 1981 and 1991 (a) the resident population, (b) the police officer establishment, (c) total police expenditure, (d) the police officer- population ratio and (e) expenditure per resident expressed both in current and at 1971 prices.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The requested information for 1981 and 1991 is set out in the following tables.
The local government rearrangements of 1974 mean that it is not practicable to provide comparable information for 1971. Expenditure per resident is, therefore, expressed in current and 1981 prices.
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1981
Police force (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Resident Authorised Total police Population per Expenditure per
population<1> establishment<2> expenditure<3> police officer<1> resident
|'000s |(£) |1981 prices
|(£)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |1,344 |3,020 |48,099,044 |445 |35.79
Bedfordshire |503 |975 |16,909,020 |516 |33.62
Cambridgeshire |584 |1,140 |18,088,165 |512 |30.97
Cheshire |929 |1,845 |29,723,727 |504 |32.00
Cleveland |567 |1,474 |23,187,854 |385 |40.90
Cumbria |468 |1,128 |17,013,559 |415 |36.35
Derbyshire |900 |1,767 |29,428,613 |509 |32.70
Devon and Cornwall |1,378 |2,734 |46,538,966 |504 |33.77
Dorset |595 |1,176 |19,323,275 |506 |32.48
Durham |603 |1,355 |20,869,896 |445 |34.61
Essex |1,389 |2,633 |41,825,130 |528 |30.11
Gloucestershire |500 |1,131 |16,266,919 |442 |32.53
Greater Manchester |2,635 |6,941 |111,677,941 |380 |42.38
Hampshire |1,584 |3,084 |48,798,089 |514 |30.81
Hertfordshire |812 |1,568 |25,497,169 |518 |31.40
Humberside |850 |1,972 |32,384,102 |431 |38.10
Kent |1,463 |2,871 |48,829,581 |510 |33.38
Lancashire |1,366 |3,158 |50,924,265 |433 |37.28
Leicestershire |839 |1,727 |27,538,409 |486 |32.82
Lincolnshire |538 |1,182 |19,972,458 |455 |37.12
Merseyside |1,518 |4,607 |78,120,172 |330 |51.46
Norfolk |693 |1,265 |19,903,862 |548 |28.72
Northamptonshire |526 |1,006 |15,990,957 |523 |30.40
Northumbria |1,443 |3,355 |53,591,955 |430 |37.14
North Yorkshire |663 |1,368 |22,684,511 |485 |34.21
Nottinghamshire |974 |2,259 |35,952,785 |431 |36.91
South Yorkshire |1,302 |2,872 |44,972,800 |453 |34.54
Staffordshire |1,004 |2,099 |32,304,078 |478 |32.18
Suffolk |603 |1,124 |19,478,036 |536 |32.30
Surrey |726 |1,602 |25,581,395 |453 |35.24
Sussex |1,306 |2,823 |43,746,202 |463 |33.50
Thames Valley |1,779 |3,107 |50,747,135 |573 |28.53
Warwickshire |470 |920 |14,956,560 |511 |31.82
West Mercia |993 |1,921 |31,057,520 |517 |31.28
West Midlands |2,686 |6,684 |102,556,453 |402 |38.18
West Yorkshire |2,066 |5,154 |77,772,868 |401 |37.64
Wiltshire |522 |1,035 |16,342,216 |504 |31.31
Dyfed-Powys |433 |934 |13,709,012 |464 |31.66
Gwent |435 |975 |15,013,752 |446 |34.51
North Wales |613 |1,313 |20,060,165 |467 |32.72
South Wales |1,295 |3,105 |49,634,021 |417 |38.33
City of London |5 |1,022 |17,738,644 |5 |3,547.73
Metropolitan |7,323 |26,577 |552,223,788 |276 |75.41
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |49,222 |120,008 |2,047,035,069 |410
<1> Details obtained from HMCIC annual report 1981.
<2> Authorised establishment at 31 December 1981.
<3> Expenditure in financial year 1981-82.
<4> Current is taken to mean 1991-92 prices.
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1991
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Police force Resident Authorised Total police Population per Expenditure per
population<1> establishment<2> expenditure<3> police officer<1> resident
|(thousands) |(£) |1981 prices |Current prices<4>
|(£) |(£)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |1,416 |3,085 |111,509,219 |459 |44.12 |78.75
Bedfordshire |535 |1,117 |39,147,522 |479 |40.99 |73.17
Cambridgeshire |664 |1,231 |47,115,875 |539 |39.75 |70.96
Cheshire |959 |1,900 |66,959,764 |505 |39.12 |69.82
Cleveland |552 |1,502 |54,802,204 |368 |55.62 |99.28
Cumbria |492 |1,183 |45,080,152 |416 |51.33 |91.63
Derbyshire |933 |1,825 |66,048,347 |511 |39.66 |70.79
Devon and Cornwall |1,497 |2,880 |117,436,426 |520 |43.95 |78.45
Dorset |658 |1,287 |52,005,892 |511 |44.28 |79.04
Durham |599 |1,389 |48,588,804 |431 |45.44 |81.12
Essex |1,465 |2,892 |115,540,004 |507 |44.18 |78.87
Gloucestershire |531 |1,183 |44,611,445 |449 |47.07 |84.01
Greater Manchester |2,590 |7,057 |248,807,274 |367 |53.82 |96.06
Hampshire |1,676 |3,202 |124,970,146 |523 |41.77 |74.56
Hertfordshire |842 |1,680 |62,868,458 |501 |41.83 |74.67
Humberside |859 |2,025 |77,395,755 |424 |50.48 |90.10
Kent |1,525 |3,054 |128,733,936 |499 |47.29 |84.42
Lancashire |1,395 |3,225 |122,019,273 |433 |49.00 |87.47
Leicestershire |897 |1,827 |67,195,772 |491 |41.97 |74.91
Lincolnshire |591 |1,206 |47,235,365 |490 |44.78 |79.92
Merseyside |1,443 |4,706 |178,883,939 |307 |69.45 |123.97
Norfolk |750 |1,421 |54,100,423 |528 |40.41 |72.13
Northamptonshire |580 |1,167 |45,498,974 |497 |43.95 |78.45
Northumbria |1,432 |3,586 |132,826,369 |399 |51.96 |92.76
North Yorkshire |726 |1,414 |51,679,282 |513 |39.88 |71.18
Nottinghamshire |1,017 |2,344 |82,628,633 |434 |45.52 |81.25
South Yorkshire |1,296 |3,016 |103,166,171 |430 |44.60 |79.60
Staffordshire |1,041 |2,211 |82,162,596 |471 |44.22 |78.93
Suffolk |643 |1,216 |48,068,954 |529 |41.88 |74.76
Surrey |747 |1,670 |63,420,572 |447 |47.56 |84.90
Sussex |1,417 |2,982 |106,177,607 |475 |41.98 |74.93
Thames Valley |1,983 |3,725 |149,413,760 |532 |42.21 |75.35
Warwickshire |483 |1,016 |39,841,685 |475 |46.21 |82.49
West Mercia |1,081 |2,024 |77,230,104 |534 |40.02 |71.44
West Midlands |2,615 |6,958 |250,815,603 |376 |53.73 |95.91
West Yorkshire |2,070 |5,295 |197,225,852 |391 |53.38 |95.28
Wiltshire |561 |1,114 |46,214,702 |504 |46.15 |82.38
Dyfed-Powys |471 |944 |35,149,805 |499 |41.81 |74.63
Gwent |447 |1,009 |36,682,297 |443 |45.97 |82.06
North Wales |653 |1,352 |50,700,394 |483 |43.50 |77.64
South Wales |1,309 |3,168 |118,537,290 |413 |50.73 |90.56
City of London |5 |798 |40,820,059 |5 |5,717.05 |10,205.01
Metropolitan |7,260 |28,439 |1,339,605,000 |255 |103.37 |184.52
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |50,718 |126,325 |5,018,921,704 |401
<1> Details obtained from HMCIC annual report 1991.
<2> Authorised establishment at 31 December 1991.
<3> Expenditure in financial year 1991-92.
<4> Current is taken to mean 1991-92 prices.
Police (Flexible Shifts)
Mr. Sweeney : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the police forces in England and Wales which are introducing a flexible shift system.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Many forces are examining the possibility of introducing alternative shift systems following the introduction of the appropriate amendments to the Police Regulations 1987. The following forces are currently holding experiments with alternative shift systems :
Avon and Somerset
Bedfordshire
Cambridgeshire
Cleveland
Derbyshire
Devon and Cornwall
Dorset
Durham
Greater Manchester
Hertfordshire
Kent
Merseyside
Northamptonshire
Northumbria
Nottinghamshire
South Wales
Sussex
Thames Valley
West Mercia
West Midlands
Wiltshire
Safer Cities Projects
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reinstate the previous level of the safer cities budget for Birmingham to help fund projects for youth and community resources in areas with high juvenile crime rates.
Mr. Jack : No. As part of our crime prevention strategy, the grants budget of the Birmingham safer cities project, together with those of the other 15 longer established projects, has been set at £100,000 in 1993 -94 enabling funds to be released for work to be started on a new phase of safer cities projects elsewhere.
Having seen the value demonstrated by Safer Cities, we hope that local communities and interests will be willing to take over the projects and continue their work after Home Office funding for the 16 projects ends in March 1994. Some additional funding from a central budget of £500,000 will be available to Birmingham and the other 15 projects to assist work aimed at leaving in place satisfactory continuing arrangements for the maintenance and development of local multi-agency crime prevention work.
Through the safer cities project, the Home Office has supported a wide range of work in Birmingham focusing on juveniles including schemes providing football coaching and other sporting activities, tackling bullying, promoting junior crime prevention panels and tackling graffiti. These illustrate what can be done often with modest funding. In addition, the Home Office provides funding for three projects in Birmingham organised by the probation service in partnership with the voluntary sector to provide programmes of supervision for young offenders.
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Youth Crime
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he intends to take to deal with car crimes committed by young people and other youth crime in Birmingham and the west midlands.
Mr. Jack : The Government have encouraged the police and other agencies in the development of effective crime prevention programmes aimed at tackling youth crime and has funded a number of initiatives. The Home Office safer cities projects set up in Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton in 1989 have all funded schemes aimed at diverting the young away from car crime and other types of crime. We have also established local drugs prevention teams in Birmingham and Wolverhampton with the aim of tackling the spread of misuse, particularly among the young. In addition the probation supervision grant scheme provides funding for nine projects in the West Midlands probation area which, in the main, provide programmes of supervision for young offenders. Three are based in Birmingham, one of which specifically tackles car crime.
The Department of Education announced last month that Coventry and Dudley are to receive £147,000, Solihull £99,000 and Wolverhampton £73,500 under its grants for education support and training (GEST) programme for youth crime prevention schemes in 1993-94. The Department of the Environment's city challenge programme in Wolverhampton is providing funding for activities for young people including a vehicle project to divert juveniles from car crime. In addition Birmingham propose to tackle youth crime, amongst other things, under the city challenge programme once their action plan has received approval.
As part of its programme of action on youth crime for 1993, Crime Concern is planning a series of regional seminars, including two in the midlands, on best practice in diverting young people from crime. The Government are also considering what means might be needed to reduce offending by the small group of persistent juvenile offenders.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Badgers
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications for licences were received in the last year for terrier men to send dogs into badger setts ; how many were granted ; and to whom.
Mr. Soames : The Ministry received seven applications in the last year for licences to permit terrier men to enter dogs into badger setts for the purpose of fox control. No licences were issued.
Common Agricultural Policy
Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the estimated cost of introducing CAP reform to (a) the activities of his Department and (b) the British farming industry.
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Mr. Curry : The total estimated cost to the Ministry for the introduction of the CAP reform measures is £25 million in 1993-94, falling to £20 million in subsequent years. This represents a small proportion of total programme costs.
There will be higher costs to the British farming industry in the first year, when the Community anti-fraud rules require the submission of a good deal of basic information relating to the farm, but we hope to reduce the costs to farmers in subsequent years.
Sea Fish (Conservation) Bill
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the latest estimate of the costs of enforcing the Sea Fish (Conservation) Bill.
Mr. Curry : The Government have made provision for the cost of enforcing days at sea and extending licensing to vessels of 10 m overall length and below. The estimated cost of these operations is £1.5 million a year for the United Kingdom as a whole.
Fishing Fleet
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to announce the allocation of fishing days to individual boats under the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1992 ; and whether the allocation in 1993 will be retrospective from 1 January.
Mr. Curry : The Government will shortly be laying before Parliament an order which will set out principles governing the allocation of days at sea. This order will clear the way for the issue of provisional allocations to fishermen, and subsequently for the attachment of days at sea conditions to licences. Such conditions will not be retrospective.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to issue 1993 licences to the British fishing fleet.
Mr. Curry : The 1993 fishing licences have been, or are currently being, issued for vessels which require licences.
Agriculture Returns
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 21 January, Official Report, columns 393-94, what is the reason for the replacement of acres by hectares as the only acceptable measurement on most returns.
Mr. Curry : Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to units of measurement No. 80/181 EC as amended by Council Directive No. 89/617 EC requires the phasing out of acres by the end of 1994 for these returns.
Labour Statistics
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the current number of full-time equivalent jobs, including family labour, on every 100 acres on farms of (a) under 100 acres, (b) from 100 to 200 acres, (c) from 200 to 300 acres, (d) from 300 to 500 acres, (e) from 500 to 1,000 acres, (f) from 1,000 to 2,000 acres and (g) over 2,000 acres.
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Mr. Curry : The number of full-time equivalent jobs, including family labour, on every 100 acres on farms in England for the categories requested is shown in the table.
Number of full-time equivalent jobs<1> per 100 acres of total area on agricultural holdings<2> Total area of |Number holding (acres) ------------------------------------------------ Under 100 |3.7 100 - <200 |1.4 200 - <300 |1.0 300 - <500 |0.9 500 - <1,000 |0.7 1,000 - <2,000 |0.6 2,000 and over |0.4 All holdings |1.3 <1> Includes all workers on the holding ie farmers, partners, directors, spouses, managers, regular family and hired workers, seasonal and casual workers with the exception of persons engaged as trainees under an official scheme and not paid AWB rates or more. <2> Minor holdings are excluded. Source: June 1992 Census of Agriculture and Horticulture.
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the current total labour force employed in agriculture and the equivalent figures for 1991, 1990, 1985, 1980, 1975 and 1965.
Mr. Curry : The total agricultural labour force on holdings in England as at June for each of the years requested is shown in the table :
Total agricultural labour force on
holdings in England as at June
each year
Year |Total labour
|force<1>
|(thousands)
---------------------------------------
<2><3>1965 |421.4
<4>1975 |503.0
1980 |523.8
1985 |495.3
1990 |455.9
1991 |445.0
1992 |440.2
<1>Includes all workers on the holding
i.e. farmers, partners, directors,
spouses, managers, regular family and
hired workers, seasonal and casual
workers with the exception of persons
engaged as trainees under an official
scheme and not paid AWB rates or more.
<2>Data for 1965 exclude occupiers or
principal partners and their wives.
<3>Workers on holdings of less than 1
acre are excluded.
<4>Data for 1975 exclude spouses (
doing farm work) of farmers, partners
and directors on main holdings.
Set-aside
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list his estimate of the amount of set-aside in the current growing season in each county of England and Wales.
Mr. Curry : The table gives the latest available figures for the amount of land currently set-aside under the five year set-aside scheme in each county in England. Information on land set-aside under the new arable area payments scheme will not be available until growers have to declare the area later this year. Figures for Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
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County |Area (hectares)
-------------------------------------------------------
Avon |1,390
Bedfordshire |1,774
Berkshire |2,503
Buckinghamshire |5,392
Cambridgeshire |3,855
Cheshire |907
Cleveland |24
Cornwall |1,421
Cumbria |393
Derbyshire |847
Devon |1,595
Dorset |1,565
Durham |970
East Sussex |2,672
Essex |4,067
Gloucestershire |5,552
Greater London |261
Greater Manchester |126
Hampshire |2,750
Hereford and Worcester |1,804
Hertfordshire |2,135
Humberside |1,564
Isle of Wight |57
Kent |4,546
Lancashire |243
Leicestershire |1,517
Lincolnshire |3,354
Merseyside |259
North Yorkshire |2,505
Norfolk |3,126
Northamptonshire |3,986
Northumberland |663
Nottinghamshire |777
Oxfordshire |5,758
South Yorkshire |418
Shropshire |591
Somerset |1,821
Staffordshire |1,177
Suffolk |3,625
Surrey |1,665
Tyne and Wear |414
West Yorkshire |317
Warwickshire |1,751
West Midlands |132
West Sussex |2,449
Wiltshire |3,850
|-----
Total |88,565
European Court
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions matters under his jurisdiction have been referred to the European Court ; and if he will give details in each case.
Mr. Curry : All European Court of Justice cases since July 1985 involving the United Kingdom are listed in the White Papers on Developments in the European Community published bi-annually. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
Fishing Days (Allocation)
Mr. Morley : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he is giving to producer organisations on the management of their quota pending the introduction of days at sea restrictions.
Mr. Curry : The management of quotas allocated to producer organisations (POs) is, in general, a matter for them, operating within a framework of rules which
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Fisheries Departments lay down in the interests of the United Kingdom fleet as a whole. Days at sea will not have retrospective effect from the date of their introduction. Management of days at sea will be entirely up to the individual fishermen, since the allocations are to individual vessels not to POs.
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