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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 30 March 1993
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Jury Service (Teachers)
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many applications have been received from primary school teachers undertaking standard assessment tasks to be exempt from jury service ; and how many have been granted in each of the last two years.
Mr. John M. Taylor : No statistics are collected on the number of applications for excusal from jury service made, the number of applications granted or the reasons for such applications. However, applications for deferral of jury service or excusal from jury service received from teachers summoned to serve during term time, and particularly during examination periods, are treated sympathetically.
EMPLOYMENT
Disability
Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether people with disabilities will continue to have priority on her Department's main employment and training programmes.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The inclusion of people with disabilities in the Department's aim group has meant, in effect, that they have had priority for a place on a suitable programme. At the same time as we introduce training for work, we are strengthening the priority that people with disabilities will have on these programmes. The effect will be that people with disabilities will have priority for a place not just on one suitable programme but on each one for which they are suitable. This represents a significant enhancement of the priority given at the moment to people with disabilities.
The programmes for which people with disabilities will have priority for a place from 1 April are : training for work, jobclub, job interview guarantee, work trial and business start-up. In addition, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer made clear in his Budget statement, people with disabilities will be given priority on learning for work and community action.
Restart
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many persons have taken part in the restart scheme since its inception ; of those how many went on to full time employment ; and what has been the total cost of operating the scheme since it began.
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Mr. McLoughlin : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Mr. M. Fogden to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 30 March 1993 :
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question about Restart Courses. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
Since they were introduced in July 1986 to December 1992, 513,736 people attended Restart Courses at a cost of around o49 million. We do not however collect regular information on the numbers of people who subsequently start jobs. However, a recent national survey showed that 9.4 per cent. of the respondents were either in a job or waiting to start one. Many more had, of course, gone on to join another programme such as Jobclub or training.
Restart Courses are not simply about applying for jobs. Research has shown that many people suffer a loss of confidence and motivation after a long spell of unemployment. The Restart Course, which normally lasts one week, aims to help such people set new and realistic goals for themselves, to feel confident about achieving them and to develop an action plan. This will help them apply for jobs or other employment or training opportunities to help them back to work. Indeed so far this year 90 per cent. of the people who completed courses went on to apply for an employment or other opportunity. Therefore a Restart Course should be seen as a stepping stone, often a very necessary one towards more help.
I hope this is helpful.
As decided by the Administrative Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report . I will also place a copy of this reply in the Library of the House.
Graduate Unemployment
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information she has on the number of persons with university degrees who have been unemployed for (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) more than one year.
Mr. McLoughlin : The latest estimates (not seasonally adjusted) from the Labour Force Survey for Great Britain relate to autumn 1992, and show that of those people with a degree or equivalent qualification who were unemployed on the ILO definition, 91,000 had been unemployed less than six months, 28,000 from six to 12 months and 48,000 unemployed for over one year.
Dismissals (Written Reasons)
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether she will take steps to ensure that employees can receive written statements of reasons for dismissal after six months of employment.
Mr. McLoughlin : No. The two-year qualifying period, in line with that for making a complaint of unfair dismissal, strikes the right balance between the interests of employers and employees.
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Terms and Conditions of Employment
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to ensure that the written statement of terms and conditions received by employees working over eight hours a week includes details about redundancy selection procedures.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I have no such plans.
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what evidence her Department has that employers are unilaterally changing their employees' terms and conditions.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : We have received a number of letters to this effect, but employers cannot with impunity breach their contracts of employment with their employees.
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to publicise the new right to a written statement of terms and conditions.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : When the relevant provisions of the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Bill come into force, the Department will issue a revised booklet, free of charge, explaining the right to receive a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment.
Unfair Dismissal
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to amend the qualifying period for employees claiming unfair dismissal for (a) full-time workers and (b) part-time workers.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Bill, currently before Parliament, will enable all employees to complain of unfair dismissal, regardless of their length of service or hours of work, if they are dismissed on maternity-related grounds, or for taking certain types of action on health and safety grounds, or for seeking to enforce a statutory employment protection right.
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to amend the law to ensure that employees are protected from unfair dismissal when seeking to enforce a statutory right.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : A Government amendment to the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Bill, introducing a new clause which will make it automatically unfair for an employer to dismiss an employee, regardless of length of service or hours of work, if the reason or the principal reason for the dismissal was that the employee had sought in good faith to enforce a statutory employment protection right, was approved in Committee in another place on 25 March 1993.
Kilburn Skills
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations she has received from Chief Superintendent David Jarvis of Kilburn and Harlesden police, North London, on the level of funding to Kilburn Skills, a training centre in the London borough of Brent ; and if she will make a statement.
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Mr. McLoughlin : We have received no representations from Chief Superintendent David Jarvis of Kilburn and Harlesden police, on the funding of Kilburn Skills training centre which receives funding from both Brent council and North West London training and enterprise council. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is therefore not in a position to make a statement.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will place in the Library a copy of the final version of the 1993-94 TEC operating agreement ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have arranged for a copy of the 1993-94 TEC operating agreement to be placed in the Library. Negotiations between the Department and the large majority of TECs on the 1993-94 contracting arrangements have been completed. We expect the remaining contracts to be signed shortly.
Industrial Tribunals
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many current applications to industrial tribunals are experiencing a period of delay due to employer's insolvency (a) in the northern region and (b) in the United Kingdom as a whole.
Mr. McLoughlin : This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average period of delay experienced by applicants to industrial tribunals in gaining a judgment where the employer concerned is declared insolvent.
Mr. McLoughlin : Information on the time taken between lodging a complaint and the promulgation of the tribunal decision is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The promulgation of a decision after the hearing would not normally be delayed because of an employer's financial position, and the majority of decisions are promulgated within three to four weeks of the hearing.
Multinational Enterprises
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress is being made in the EC draft directive on information and consultation in multinational enterprises ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : An explanatory memorandum dated 24 March, which describes progress on the proposal to date, has been submitted by this Department to the House of Commons Select Committee on European Legislation. The proposal is likely to be discussed a number of times under the Danish presidency.
Part-time Workers
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to increase the employment rights of part-time workers.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Bill, currently before Parliament, will further increase the already substantial range of statutory employment protection rights, including for part-timers.
The Bill will give all employees, regardless of their hours of work or length of service, the following new rights :
a right for pregnant women to take at least 14 weeks statutory maternity leave ;
comprehensive protection against being unfairly dismissed on maternity- related grounds ;
protection against being unfairly dismissed or otherwise victimised for taking certain specified types of action on health and safety grounds ; and
protection against being unfairly dismissed for having sought in good faith to enforce any statutory employment protection right.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Agricultural Training Board (Secretary)
Mr. Conway : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 5 March, Official Report, column 314, what post inspection by his Department took place of the Agricultural Training Board area office secretary based in Builth Wells whose grade changed in November 1988.
Mr. Curry : No formal inspection of Agricultural Training Board secretarial posts at Builth Wells was undertaken by MAFF in 1988. Furthermore, we have no record of any grading change affecting a secretarial post at Builth Wells in November 1988.
Market Testing
Mr. Batiste : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food which professional services within his Department have been subjected to market testing within the last 12 months and with what result ; and which will be subjected to market testing within the next 12 months.
Mr. Curry : In the past 12 months, within the definition of professional and specialist services given on page 13 of the "Competing for Quality" White Paper, the following professional services have been subjected to market testing : the purchase of books and journals for MAFF libraries ; pesticide evaluations ; staff training contracts ; general recruitment contracts. In all cases, the result has been the award of contracts to the private sector. Over the next 12 months, the following professional services will be, or are currently being, market tested : IT systems, services and development ; investigation services ; staff training services ; research and development ; work carried out on MAFF's behalf by the laboratory of the Government chemist, the food science laboratory, Norwich and the central science laboratory ; central services supplied to MAFF's agencies by MAFF.
Integrated Administration and Control
Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ask the European Commission to delay the implementation of the integrated administration and control system beyond 15 May.
Mr. Curry : The 15 May deadline for the lodging of area aid application forms is laid down in Community
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legislation. The European Commission insists that there can be no later date in order that detailed checks, including on -farm inspections, can be carried out while crops are still in the ground and before the end of the set-aside period, or in the case of forage areas during the period when the land is normally grazed. There is therefore no prospect of amending legislation to extend the deadline this year.Badgers
Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the number of badger setts, by country, closed or otherwise, seriously interfered with by or under licence from his Department's officials between 18 January and 15 March.
Mr. Soames : I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested. A copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Common Agricultural Policy
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will issue to farmers the documentation needed for them to submit area claims under the CAP reform arrangements.
Mr. Gummer : As indicated in my hon. Friend the Minister of State's reply of 29 March to the hon. Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Clifton-Brown), at column 47, the documents for the integrated administrative control system will be sent to farmers in England and Wales on 2 April 1993. We held a press conference this morning and met representatives of the industry this afternoon to explain in full the IACS requirements. We shall continue to do what we can to ensure that farmers and their representatives are clear what they have to do to complete their application forms accurately and on time.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Teachers (Jury Service)
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to amend the current jury regulations to automatically exempt primary school teachers undertaking standard assessment tasks from jury service.
Mr. Jack : I have no such plans. It is, however, open to anyone summoned for jury service to apply for excusal or deferral if they have good reason for doing so.
Police Training
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department has taken to ensure that specific instruction concerning racial incidents is included in police training courses.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The issue of racial attacks is specifically addressed at the specialist support unit for community and race relations training, which has been funded by the Home Office since 1989 and which provides training for force trainers and training managers.
Trainers who have studied at the unit are used to provide training in community and race relations matters, within forces, as part of probationer training at district
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training centres, and as part of more advanced training at the central planning and training unit and the police staff college. The second report of the interdepartmental racial attacks group noted that several forces used outside help, particularly racial equality councils, to contribute to such training, and that the majority of forces have reviewed or initiated race relations policies in relation to racial incidents.Prison Education Staff
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the implications of the recent court ruling that the acquired rights directive does apply to prison education staff from 1 April ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The implications of the judgment of Mr. Justice Ogden of 24 March in the case of Kenny and Woodroffe v. South Manchester college are being considered. South Manchester college, which was the defendant to the proceedings, has been granted leave to appeal.
United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is intended for all existing staff employed by the United Kingdom immigrants advisory service to be retained by the successor body ; and what is the position over the existing UKIAS offices.
Mr. Charles Wardle : As I announced on 16 March, in columns 170-171, my right hon. and learned Friend has accepted the proposals for a successor body to UKIAS set out in the Malins report, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House. As indicated in the report, the plans for transferring staff to the successor body will be in line with the provisions of Council directive 77/187 (the acquired rights directive). The planning group envisages that a nationwide service will continue, with offices in the exsisting areas covered by UKIAS.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in hand for the successor body to the United Kingdom immigrants advisory service to advertise and appoint a director and other senior staff.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Members of the planning group established by my right hon. and learned Friend are now taking steps to establish the successor body to the UKIAS, as announced on 16 March at cols. 170-171. The recruitment of a director will be the first priority of the new immigration appeals advisory service.
Police Discipline Procedures
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will issue his consultation document reviewing police discipline procedures.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I am today issuing a paper which examines police discipline procedures in the light of the considerable changes which have been, and are being, made to personnel management in the police service. I believe that the existing procedures, which date from world war 1, fail to meet the requirement of the public for
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a swift response to minor failures in what is expected of police officers. The present procedures are also, in many respects, unfair to individual officers and yet, where there have been serious breaches of conduct, can prevent proper action from being taken quickly and sensibly.I have invited comments on the paper by 14 May and shall welcome views from everyone with an interest in these issues. I hope that interested parties, particularly the police staff associations and the Police Complaints Authority, will respond quickly so that there may be early and constructive discussion on the way forward. Copies of the paper are available to hon. Members in the Library and, as usual, in the Vote Office.
Immigration
Mr. Ronnie Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list changes to the rules for visitors to the United Kingdom from India since 1989 ;
(2) what further changes he is considering to the rules for visitors to the United Kingdom from India.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No changes in the immigration rules relating specifically to visitors from India have been made since 1989, and my right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to make any.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to his answer of 22 March, Official Report, column 448, how many of the 36 nationals of former Yugoslavia whose applications to extend their visits to the United Kingdom during 1992 were refused have been removed from the United Kingdom ; to which countries they were sent ; and how many have lodged appeals against refusal to extend their visits ;
(2) pursuant to his answer of 22 March, Official Report, column 448, how many of the 134 nationals of former Yugoslavia whose applications for extension of stay in the United Kingdom in 1992 were refused ; how many were (a) students, (b) au pairs and (c) spouses ; how many in each category have been removed from the United Kingdom ; to which countries they were sent ; and how many have lodged appeals against refusal to extend their stay.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 26 March 1993] : Information in respect of the refusals referred to is given in the table.
Refusals<1> of
applications for
extension of stay by
nationals of the former
Yugoslavia, by certain
categories: 1992
|Number
------------------------
Student |34
Au pair |13
Spouse<2> |20
<1> Excluding
dependants.
<2> For probationary
year.
Information about appeals against refusals of applications for extensions, and about removals after refusal is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
However, no national of the former Yugoslavia removed from the United Kingdom is being removed to a war zone.
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Pornography
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to amend the obscenity laws so as to include a definition of pornography.
Mr. Jack : No. The term "pornography" has no legal significance, but the Obscene Publications Act 1959 already allows the courts to determine matters related to obscenity and pornography. Like our predecessors, the Government believe that any change in the definition of obscenity would be a matter of conscience for individual Members of Parliament and not a subject for Government legislation. However, as our record shows, the Government are prepared to offer their assistance and support to individual Members who have proposals for reform, provided that these appear to us to be workable, an improvement on the existing law and likely to command sufficient support in the House.
As I said in my reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Dr. Spink) on 5 February at column 350, we are currently considering what improvements can be made in the enforcement of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964, and other legislation relating to obscenity.
Wolds and Lindholme Prisons
Mr. Clapham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total cost per week of keeping a man in (a) HM prison Wolds and (b) HM prison Lindholme.
Mr. Jack : The average weekly cost of keeping a person in Wolds remand prison from April 1992, when the prison opened, until December 1992 was o626. Available figures for Lindholme prison, a category C training prison with dormitory accommodation, for the year ending March 1992, show that the average net operating cost per inmate per week was o336. 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.
Offensive Weapons
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives he proposes to reduce the carrying and use of knives and guns in the Greater Manchester area.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend has no power to intervene in operational matters. I understand from the chief constable of the Greater Manchester police that he has set up a new unit specifically to deal with major armed crime. The force held an amnesty for offensive weapons last year.
Strip Searching
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what security risks necessitate the use of strip searching in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : A person detained in police custody may be required to undergo a strip search only if
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the custody officer considers it to be necessary to remove an article which, under the terms of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, he would not be allowed to keep. This includes any item which the person might use to cause physical injury to himself or anyone else, to damage property, to interfere with evidence or to assist him to escape.Prison officers in England and Wales may strip-search prisoners as a routine security measure for the purpose of detecting concealed weapons, drugs, explosives and other unauthorised items.
Officers of HM Customs and Excise have powers to strip-search a person in a prescribed area if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that he is carrying an article with respect to the importation or exportation of which any prohibition or restriction is in force. Suspected possession of weapons or explosives is covered by this category.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the rights of citizens to refuse to submit to official strip searching in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : A person in police detention has no right to refuse to submit to a strip search if one is authorised by the custody officer. Where consent is withheld, such searches may be conducted by the use of reasonable force.
Strip searching in prisons is considered to be an important feature of routine security checks, and is not subject to the consent of prisoners.
A person who is required to submit to a search by an officer of HM Customs and Excise under section 164 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 may appeal to a magistrate, or to the superior of the officer concerned.
A person who is not exempt from control under the Immigration Act 1971 and who is seeking admission to the United Kingdom has no right to refuse to submit to a search of their baggage or person for documents by an immigration officer exercising powers under the Act. The power to search the person for documents is used sparingly and only where the circumstances justify it.
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