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Mr. Stephen : To ask the Attorney-General when he expects to lay before Parliament and publish the annual report of the Serious Fraud Office for the year 1992-93.
The Attorney-General : The annual report for the SFO for 1992-93 was laid before Parliament at 11 am today and then published. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to guarantee the reduced fares scheme for children following bus privatisation and deregulation in Greater London.
Mr. Norris : Bus privatisation will have no effect on the availability of child fares in London because bus operators will continue to provide services for London Transport, at the fares set by London Transport.
After deregulation, fares--including those for children--will be a matter for individual operators. However, we intend to extend to London local authorities the power already available to authorities outside London to offer travel concessions for children under 16 years, and school children under 18 years.
Mrs. Lait : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce the way forward for the improvements to the A21 between Flimwell and Robertsbridge ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kenneth Carlisle : I am pleased to announce that the three programmed schemes in preparation along this stretch of A21 in East Sussex are being replaced by one comprehensive improvement between Flimwell and Robertsbridge. The improvement will include the Salehurst roundabout at Robertsbridge and the section of road between Flimwell and Hurst Green.
This announcement will be welcomed by the many local people and local authorities which made representations to me for a more strategic approach to the improvement of this length of the A21.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications he has received from rail operators to provide international services over British Rail tracks under the Railway Regulations 1992.
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Mr. Freeman : None. The channel tunnel is not yet open.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out the procedures for ascertaining that the weight of freight per rail wagon does not exceed British Rail restrictions, and conforms with the requirements of the Health and Safety Executive.
Mr. Freeman : Primary responsibility rests with British Rail. The Health and Safety Executive does not set or check weight limits for wagons. The design, construction and designated use of wagons prevent them from being loaded beyond their maximum capacity.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the maximum weight of a wagon for the carriage of freight on the railways.
Mr. Freeman : The maximum axle weight is 25.5tonnes. The largest freight wagons in normal use are mineral wagons and large oil tankers mounted on two bogies with two axles, which weigh 102 tonnes fully laden.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what funds he has given to the Energy Saving Trust.
Mr. Maclean : I have nothing to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith), on 19 February 1993, Official Report, column 382.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the objects of the Energy Saving Trust.
Mr. Maclean : The directors of the Energy Saving Trust have set out the objects of the trust in a mission statement. This declares that the trust will encourage the efficient use of all forms of energy in the United Kingdom, leading to an overall reduction in total energy consumption and its consequent environmental impact. The trust will seek to sponsor initiatives that also provide long term economic benefits to the nation.
The trust aims to promote a broad awareness and understanding of the benefits of energy efficiency and conservation and will also promote training in energy-saving practices and technology.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what notional additional environmental costs his Department assigns to (a) gas, (b) coal and (c) nuclear generation.
Mr. Maclean : The Department does not assign costs in the way that the hon. Gentleman suggests.
A report recently produced by the Economic and Social Research Council- sponsored centre for social and economic research on the global environment for the Department of Trade and Industry on the social costs of
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fuel cycles has produced some estimates of "externality adders". The numbers produced in this report should be seen as indicative rather than authoritative.Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has had from Professor David Pearce on the problems of assigning money values to environmental damage ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : I have sought no specific proposals. Professor Pearce is leading a team of researchers who have been commissioned by my Department to estimate the external, including environmental costs and benefits, of landfilling and of incinerating waste. I have referred to Professor Pearce's report of fuel cycle costs in reply to the previous question.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what study his Department has made of the reasons why people apply for grants to install insulation in their loft.
Mr. Maclean : We have made no study of the reasons why people apply for grants to install energy efficiency improvements. It is assumed that people do so in order to benefit from the increased energy efficiency which such improvements bring.
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what further information he has made available to local authorities about the standard Spending assessments for 1993-94.
Mr. Robin Squire : A publication "Standard Spending Assessment Handbook 1993-94" has been produced to provide details of the standard spending assessments (SSA) of each local authority. Copies have today been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. Copies are being sent to every local authority in England and to the local authority associations.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the occasions, in the last five months, when European directives on smoke, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and lead have been exceeded ; where this has taken place ; and if the information was released to the public.
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 10 May 1993] : The air quality standards in these directives are set on the basis of compliance with limit values over 12-month periods. The standards for nitrogen dioxide and lead were not breached in 1992. Data for smoke and sulphur dioxide for the period April 1992 to March 1993 are not yet available, but provisional figures indicate that these standards have also not been breached. The public can obtain information about air quality, based on measured concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, from daily bulletins on the Government's freephone 0800 556677, on CEEFAX page 404, on Teletext page 187 or from certain newspapers.
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Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what progress has been made on discussing Sports Council funding for the national children's play and recreation unit ; and what measures will be implemented to fund children's play after March 1993 pending the completion of these tasks.
Mr. Brooke [pursuant to his reply 28 January 1993, Official Report, column 853] : The Sports Council has now taken over the national play information centre and the play unit's work on playwork education and training along with seven of the unit's staff. An eighth officer will be employed on a consultancy basis. The Council's budget for play for 1993-94 is £300,000, which includes financial support for the four national centres for playwork education. In addition, the Sports Council's trust company has agreed to give a grant of £25,000 to the National Voluntary Council for Children's Play. I am delighted with these decisions which show the serious way in which the Sports Council is tackling its new responsibilities.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what lessons his Department has drawn from the 1990-91 Gulf war for emergency planning of local authority involvement ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Local authorities were involved in the planning for the reception of possible casualties arising from the 1990-91 Gulf conflict. The principal lesson learnt was the importance of involving local authorities in the making of such arrangements from as early a time as possible.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what criteria were used in deciding future allocations of Home Office emergency planning grant aid to local authorities ; and what consultations were undertaken with local authorities over the allocation ;
(2) what plans he has to issue new guidelines to local authorities on the use of civil defence and emergency planning grant aid following the changes in international relations since 1989 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Home Office wrote to the local authority associations and to individual local authorities in December 1992 to seek their views on a new method of distributing the total available civil defence grant to individual authorities.
We have proposed a system based on a formula reflecting the needs of the emergency planning process and, where appropriate, the number of districts in the county or metropolitan are concerned. Comments have been received on these proposals and the proposed allocations for 1994-95 onward will be announced shortly.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what consultations have been
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held since November 1989 regarding the length of the period of warning the civil defence system assumes for planning purposes before the outbreak of a major conflict in Europe ; and if he will make a statement ;(2) what assessment his Department has made since November 1989 of the threat to the United Kingdom from the use of chemical or biological weapons, in respect of civil defence issues.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The threat to the United Kingdom is kept under constant review. The process of integrated emergency management which is promoted by the Home Office calls for the development of plans based on the mitigation of effects and the continued delivery of service in an emergency, whatever the cause. Officials are considering the question of warning times within this context.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for the period from November 1989 (a) the dates of, (b) the subjects discussed at and (c) attendances at any meetings Ministers have had with the relevant Ministers responsible for civil defence and emergency planning in other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No such meetings have taken place. Regular contact with other NATO countries on these subjects is maintained at official level.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to recruit qualified or experienced emergency planners to his Department (a) to replace the local authorities' adviser and (b) to oversee the use of civil defence and emergency planning grant aid.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are no plans to replace the local authorities' adviser. Emphasis will be placed upon visits by Home Office officials to local authorities and regular meetings with the local authority associations.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect reorganisation of local government in (a) England and (b) Wales will have on arrangements for grant-aided local authority emergency planning.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The precise effect of local government reorganisation on local authority grant-aided emergency planning arrangements will have to be determined area by area.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had since April 1992 over improving the responses of the emergency services to peace-time emergencies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Part of the work of the civil emergencies adviser, Mr. David Brook, is to assist the emergency services in preparing their response to peace-time disasters. He is in regular contact with and has meetings with the emergency services, local authorities and others who have a role to play in preparing for and responding to disasters. In August 1992 the Home Office publication "Dealing with Disaster" was issued which contained guidance compiled by Mr. Brook aimed at assisting the provision of an effective response.
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Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements have been made for the disposal of obsolescent message switch equipment installed at (a) regional Government headquarters, (b) United Kingdom warning and monitoring organisation control centres and (c) local authority emergency centres ; and if he will make a statement regarding the overall cost of installing, maintaining and disposing of the message switch equipment at these locations.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The message switch equipment at the regional government headquarters and at the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation control centres was the subject of a combined rental and maintenance agreement with British Telecom. This agreement covered the repayment of capital cost, installation, maintenance and subsequent removal.
The total cost of the agreement over the 10-year period, during which the equipment was installed, amounted to just under £3.5 million in respect of equipment at regional government headquarters and £3.75 million in respect of equipment at the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation.
The message switch equipment, which was installed at local authority emergency centres, was purchased by the Home Office at a cost of £2.1 million including installation. Annual maintenance costs, in the final year, amounted to £1.5 million.
The total cost of the disposal of equipment installed at local authorities is estimated at £20,000. Where a local authority has indicated an interest in retaining a message switch network within its area, the Home Office has transferred ownership of the equipment to that authority with a proviso that it should not be resold.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding his Department is making available to (a) the BBC and (b) independent broadcasters in respect of his Department's proposals to rely on the broadcast media to issue national warnings of possible air attacks.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Precise costs will depend on the outcome of discussions which are now taking place with the BBC.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether local proposals to retain parts of the air-raid warning siren network for use in peacetime emergencies will be eligible for grant aid from his Department.
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals his Department has made for the future securing of a reserve fire-fighting capacity for use in time of war and national emergency ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Government continue to maintain a stockpile of emergency fire service appliances and equipment. Maintenance of the stockpile was contracted out to the private sector in 1991. The contract is for 10 years with a breakpoint after five.
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Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table based on the 1992 reported crime figures showing the total number of crimes reported in each police authority area in 1992, and also showing these figures as a rate per 1,000 population in those areas and as a rate per uniformed officer in those areas.
Mr. Jack : The information requested is given in the table :
Notifiable offences recorded by the police 1992 (1) England and Wales Police force area |Offences per 1,000 |Offences per police |population |officer ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avon and Somerset |122 |55 Bedfordshire |110 |51 Cambridgeshire |98 |51 Cheshire |79 |39 Cleveland |145 |53 Cumbria |87 |35 Derbyshire |89 |45 Devon and Cornwall |76 |38 Dorset |79 |38 Durham |104 |44 Essex |77 |38 Gloucestershire |113 |52 Greater Manchester |141 |51 Hampshire |89 |45 Hertfordshire |69 |34 Humberside |147 |61 Kent |102 |49 Lancashire |83 |35 Leicestershire |107 |52 Lincolnshire |81 |39 Merseyside |100 |30 MetropolitanPoliceDistrict(2) |124 |31 Norfolk |89 |46 Northamptonshire |101 |48 Northumbria |142 |56 North Yorkshire |73 |37 Nottinghamshire |157 |67 South Yorkshire |102 |43 Staffordshire |93 |44 Suffolk |68 |35 Surrey |71 |31 Sussex |83 |39 Thames Valley |99 |50 Warwickshire |92 |44 West Mercia |72 |37 West Midlands |123 |45 West Yorkshire |145 |58 Wiltshire |73 |32 Dyfed-Powys |56 |27 Gwent |89 |39 North Wales |73 |35 South Wales |125 |51 |--- |--- Total |106 |42 (1) Excluding criminal damage of value £20 and under. (2) Including City of London.
Sir John Wheeler : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what performance targets he has set for the United Kingdom Passport Agency in 1993-94.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : During 1993-94, I shall expect the Passport Agency to continue to provide a high standard of service to the public while seeking further efficiency savings in its operations. I have set the agency the following key targets :
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(i) to process properly completed straightforward applications within a maximum of 20 working days in the periods of peak demand between January and June, 15 working days in July and August, and 10 working days at other times,(ii) to process such applications within an overall average of nine working days for the year as a whole, and
(iii) to reduce unit costs by a further 3 per cent. in real terms in comparison with the outturn for 1992-93.
The chief executive will remain directly accountable to me for the performance of the Passport Agency. An advisory board, including two private sector members with experience of delivery services to the public, will continue to provide me with an independent assessment of the agency's performance.
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women of an ethnic minority background are serving as police officers in the Metropolitan police force as of 1 May.
Mr. Charles Wardle : There were 476 men and 147 women officers of an ethnic minority background.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to confer new duties or powers upon those fire and civil defence authorities other than the London FCDA.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Draft civil defence regulations were published last December and comments received are being considered. There are no plans to confer new duties or powers upon any of the fire and civil defence authorities.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the decision regarding the recommended minimum length of sentence to be served in the case of Hosni E. Farhat was made by the then Home Secretary ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jack : It is assumed that by "recommended minimum length of sentence", the hon. Member refers to the punitive element of a discretionary life sentence which must be served to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence. This period was previously known as the "tariff".
Following advice from the trial judge and the then Lord Chief Justice, the Secretary of State decided in 1985 that the first review of Mr. Farhat's case by the parole board should take place after 17 years in custody. From that, Mr. Farhat will have concluded that the punitive element of his sentence was at least 20 years.
Under the transitional provisions in schedule 12 to the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the Secretary of State issued a certificate to Mr. Farhat in August 1992 notifying him that the relevant part of his sentence--as the punitive element is now known--is 20 years.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the case of Hosni E. Farhat.
Mr. Jack : My right hon. and learned Friend and his predecessors have previously received a number of
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representations alleging that Mr. Farhat was wrongfully convicted. These were fully considered but they brought to light no grounds for intervening in the case. Further representations have recently been received from Mr. Farhat and these are now being considered.Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what review has been undertaken of the intelligence information relating to the case of Hosni E. Farhat.
Mr. Jack : I do not know what specific information the hon. Member has in mind, but in considering the latest representations about the safety of Mr. Farhat's conviction, my right hon. and learned Friend will take account of any relevant information which is available to him.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons convicted of attempted murder left prison in each of the last five years ; and what was the average length of detention in each year.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Andrew F. Bennett, dated 10 May 1993 :
PERSONS CONVICTED OF ATTEMPTED MURDERAND DISCHARGED WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS
The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of persons convicted of attempted murder who have been discharged from prison in each of the last five years. I am sorry to tell you that the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. This is because in prison statistics prior to February 1991 attempted murder was recorded within the "other homicide" offence classification and not recorded separately. As a result, it would involve checking a large number of cases with prison service establishments.
The readily available information relates to the length of sentence imposed and is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales", Supplementary tables volume2 (tables S2.7 of the issue for 1991, Cm 2134), copies of which are held in the Library. A copy of the relevant page from the 1991 publication is attached.
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the average recommended minimum length of sentence to be served in cases of attempted murder in each year since 1979.
Mr. Jack : On the assumption that the question relates to the punitive element--now known as the relevant part--of a discretionary life sentence imposed for attempted murder, the information is as follows :
Year |Number of cases |Actual or average |punitive element |(years) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1979 |1 |15 1980 |2 |7.5 1981 |4 |12.9 1982 |1 |6 1983 |1 |10 1984 |5 |9.7 1985 |1 |10 1986 |2 |9.5 1987 |4 |13 1988 |1 |7 1989 |2 |8 1990 |3 |7.3 1991 |3 |8 1992 |4 |7.5
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals are currently serving sentences for attempted murder in United Kingdom prisons ; and what is their average length of sentence.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Andrew F. Bennett, dated 10 May 1993 :
FOREIGN CITIZENS SERVING SENTENCES FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER The Home Secretary has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your Parliamentary Question about the number of foreign citizens currently serving sentences for attempted murder. The latest available provisional figures are for 28 February 1993. They show 23 foreign nationals serving sentences for attempted murder in prison service establishments in England and Wales. Of these 5 were serving life sentences. The lengths of sentence of those serving determinate sentences varied from 5 years up to 30 years ; their average sentence was about 12.4 years.
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