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Column 493
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 30 June 1993
HOME DEPARTMENT
Dangerous Dogs Acts
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the role of magistrates in enforcing the Dangerous Dogs Acts.
Mr. Charles Wardle : We continue to keep under review all aspects of the working of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Truth Drugs
Mr. Gunnell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration has been given to the use of the so-called truth drug in criminal investigations within the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : In the Government's view, it is unlikely that evidence obtained using "truth drugs" would be admissible in English or Welsh courts. There are no plans to use such drugs in criminal investigations.
Victim Support
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the outstanding grant applications in Bradford under the victim support scheme ; when a decision is to be taken on each application ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : I understand from the national office of Victim Support that the Bradford victim support scheme made an application to the local funding panel earlier this month for a third salary grant but that the panel has not yet considered it.
The Government greatly appreciate the excellent work done by local victim support schemes and provide substantial funding for this purpose. Home Office grant to Victim Support this year will amount to £8.4 million. This is 15 per cent. more than last year's grant to the organisation, which itself was 28 per cent. more than the previous year's.
The grant is paid to Victim Support's national office and is allocated to local schemes and branches by the Victim Support local funding panel. This is independent of both local schemes and the Home Office. The panel considers applications from local schemes in accordance with criteria agreed annually between the Home Office and Victim Support.
Sheehy Inquiry
Sir Ivan Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the report of the Sheehy inquiry will be made available.
Mr. Howard : The report of Sir Patrick Sheehy's inquiry into police responsibilities and rewards is being published
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today. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House. I and the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland are most grateful to Sir Patrick and his team for their work. Before reaching any conclusions on their recommendations, we shall want to have the views of the police and other interests. We have invited written comments on the report by the end of September, but we shall, of course, be glad to have earlier views on all or any parts of the report from all those with an interest in its contents.Environmental Policy
Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his Department's policy on the purchase and use of (a) recycled paper, (b) low-energy light bulbs, (c) tropical hardwoods, (d) peat and (e) cars with catalytic converters.
Mr. Howard : In line with our aim of securing best value for money at the least possible cost to the environment, the Department's policy on the purchase and use of the products listed is as summarised below.
(a) Recycled paper
The Department will continue to promote effective and economic use of paper, using recycled stationery where possible and encouraging the development of new and existing paper recycling schemes. (b) Low-energy light bulbs
The practice of replacing filament type light bulbs with low-energy bulbs where practicable, having been largely achieved in Prison Service establishments, is to be extended across the Department. (c) Tropical hardwoods
So far as practicable, the use of tropical hardwoods is to be avoided in building projects and in the procurement of office furniture, etc.
(d) Peat
The use of peat is to be avoided where acceptable alternatives are available.
Cars with catalytic converters
The purchase and use of vehicles with diesel engines is preferred as the fuel is lead-free and more economical. Where petrol-engined vehicles are in use, they should run on unleaded petrol and be fitted with catalytic converters. Vehicles are to be checked annually to ensure that all emissions comply with statutory requirements.
Correspondence
Sir John Hunt : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Ravensbourne may expect a reply to his letter of 8 March, acknowledged under the reference 06624/93, on the subject of police resources in Bromley ; and if he will explain the reason for the delay which has occurred in respect of this correspondence.
Mr. Charles Wardle : A reply was sent on Wednesday 23 June.
Animal Procedures Committee
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a chairman will be appointed to the Animal Procedures Committee.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to be in a position to make an announcement shortly.
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Racially Motivated Crimes
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to keep figures for murders in which race has been a factor.
Mr. Maclean : There are no plans to record information on murder in this way.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Ms Ruddock) on 23 March, Official Report, column 529, if the figure for racially motivated incidents in 1992 is now available.
Mr. Maclean : The only information currently available relates to the number of reported racial incidents which are shown in the following table. These 1992 figures were provided in the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard) on 26 April, columns 266 -67, except that the Kent figure for 1992 has now been corrected.
Reported racial incidents
Forces |1992
----------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |98
Bedfordshire |57
Cambridgeshire |110
Cheshire |29
City of London |0
Cleveland |73
Cumbria |13
Derbyshire |60
Devon and Cornwall |7
Dorset |10
Durham |40
Dyfed Powys |0
Essex |80
Gloucestershire |33
Greater Manchester |401
Gwent |31
Hampshire |139
Hertfordshire |106
Humberside |68
Kent |56
Lancashire |231
Leicestershire |338
Lincolnshire |5
Merseyside |134
Norfolk |30
North Wales |4
North Yorkshire |22
Northamptonshire |120
Northumbria |349
Nottinghamshire |222
South Wales |311
South Yorkshire |151
Staffordshire |95
Suffolk |55
Surrey |61
Sussex |98
Thames Valley |195
Warwickshire |35
West Mercia |19
West Midlands |379
West Yorkshire |218
Wiltshire |24
|-------
Provincial total |4,507
Metropolitan police |3,227
|-------
England and Wales total |7,734
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Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what consultation he is undertaking with regard to possible changes in the criminal injuries compensation scheme ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what representations he has received regarding the criminal injuries compensation scheme this year ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The Government announced last November their intention to replace the present criminal injuries compensation scheme with a tariff scheme in 1994. The aim is to offer a better, more straightforward service to claimants. Details of the new scheme will be set out in a White Paper later this year.
No formal consultation exercise is being undertaken, but as my hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) explained to the House on 18 March, column 508, we will listen carefully to what people have to say about our proposals. We have already received helpful comments from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and the national charity, Victim Support.
We receive a steady stream of correspondence from hon. Members and members of the public about various aspects of the current scheme.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Parliamentary Counsel's Office
Mr. Allen : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the cost of the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in each of the last five years.
Mr. David Davis : The cost of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in each of the last five years was :
|£
------------------------------
1988-89 |1,898,000
1989-90 |2,126,000
1990-91 |2,303,000
1991-92 |2,729,000
1992-93 |2,763,000
Citizens Charters
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the total amount of compensation the state paid out on all charters ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Waldegrave [pursuant to his answer, 10 May 1993, c. 307-8] : I would like to correct the figure for British Rail compensation given in my answer of 10 May, Official Report, columns 307-8. That figure-- £1 million--was based on information from British Rail which it has now revised. The final amount of compensation paid out in the first year of British Rail's passengers charter is £1.9 million. All other figures quoted in my original answer are correct.
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
UNHCR
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will raise with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees the question of a further tranche of funding for the programme for national persecutees by the German Government.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : We have requested details of this programme from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as the information is available.
Ethnic Conflicts
Mr. David Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which conference on security and co-operation in Europe mechanisms have been used to resolve the ethnic conflict in (a) Azerbaijan, (b) Bosnia-Herzegovina, (c) Croatia, (d) Georgia, (e) Moldavia, (f) Tajikistan and (g) Uzbekistan ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : The CSCE committee of senior officials (CSO) dispatched fact-finding missions to Azerbaijan in February and March 1992 to report on the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. In March 1992, the CSCE council provided for negotiations among the interested parties on a ceasefire and a settlement to the conflict, which have come to be known as the "Minsk Process". The CSCE recently secured agreement from all parties to a ceasefire monitoring mission. Negotiations continue in order to secure its deployment.
In 1991, the CSCE mandated the European Community to lead the search for a solution to the problems in former Yugoslavia. The CSO has also sent rapporteur missions to investigate human rights abuses.
The CSO has had a resident mission in Georgia since December 1992 to promote negotiations between conflicting parties in south Ossetia. A similar mission went to Moldova in April 1993 to assist in negotiations on the status of the Trans-Dniester area and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
In Tajikistan a CSCE representative has been appointed to liaise with the United Nations and to recommend future action by CSCE. No special measures have been taken in respect of Uzbekistan. The chairman-in-office visited it during a tour of the five central Asian states and the CSO is now acting on several recommendations designed to achieve closer integration of these countries in the activities of CSCE.
The CSCE should continue these and other efforts to prevent conflict by monitoring human rights and undertaking preventive diplomacy. The high commissioner on national minorities also plays an important role by identifying and seeking to defuse ethnic tensions which may develop into conflict.
Yugoslavia
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to appropriate authorities in Belgrade about the treatment of parliamentarians during and after the public demonstrations in Belgrade on 1 and 2 June ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Douglas Hogg : My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has urged President Milosevic to release Mr. and Mrs. Draskovic and meanwhile to ensure they are given proper medical treatment and access to visitors. Her Majesty's embassy in Belgrade continues to monitor the situation closely. We welcome the intervention with the President of the upper House of the Yugoslav Federal Parliament, Mr. Radulovic, by the hon. Gentleman and my right hon. Friend the Member for Arundel (Sir M. Marshall) on 21 June. We shall continue to keep up the pressure both bilaterally and through international organisations.
Nuclear Non-proliferation
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals his Department has for strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation safeguards regime operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are playing a full and active part in the consideration of recent proposals for the further strengthening of the international safeguards regime administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). We have agreed with European Community partners to provide the IAEA with information, on a voluntary basis, on imports and exports from the Community of certain nuclear materials and equipment not covered by existing agreements. This offer was referred to in the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy on 24 June to a question from the hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Bates), Official Report, column 266.
Israel
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received regarding the shooting of Munir Abu-Nijmeh and Ismail Abu-Nijmeh on the Jerusalem/Ramaldah road on 31 May.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : One member of the Abu Nijmah family was shot dead and another injured, reportedly by an Israeli citizen, following a traffic dispute involving two vehicles on a main road on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It is our understanding that the matter is under investigation by the Israeli police and that there may be criminal charges.
Mr. Sheik Riaz Ahmed
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, further to his letter to the hon. Member for Bradford, West, dated 5 March, concerning Mr. Sheik Riaz Ahmed, who was refused entry into France in December 1992, when he expects to receive a reply from the French authorities ; when he expects to write again to the hon. Member for Bradford, West ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The British embassy at Paris sent a formal note to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 17 March to seek a satisfactory explanation as to why Mr. Ahmed was refused entry to France and raising the question of compensation. I will write to the hon. Gentleman as soon as I have a report.
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Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received about the circumstances in which Mr. Graham Noble, of Brighton, was arrested and detained by Serbs in the Krajina ; what charges have been laid against him ; what access the British ambassador in Zagreb has been allowed to Mr. Noble ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Mr. Noble was detained near Otocac in Croatia on 6 June and is being held in Knin. The Serbs say they are investigating his activities ; we understand that no formal charges have so far been made against him. Her Majesty's ambassador in Zagreb has visited Knin but has not been allowed access to Mr. Noble. The ambassador continues to press for access ; Her Majesty's embassy in Belgrade has asked the authorities there to use their influence with the Krajina Serbs to assist in this. The International Committee of the Red Cross is in touch with Her Majesty's embassy in Zagreb about Mr. Noble. Its representative in Knin has reported that Mr. Noble is in good health and is being well treated.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to appropriate authorities about the cases of missing persons arising from the abduction of wounded patients from hospitals in Vukovar in 1991 ; what progress has been made in securing the names of those abducted ; what undertakings have been sought about the return of those abducted and about the return of the bodies of those who have died ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : On 17 to 19 December 1992 an international forensic team, working for the United Nations Commission of Experts, conducted a preliminary site exploration of a mass grave 6 km south-east of Vukovar. The team's findings were consistent with eye-witness testimony which alleges that the grave contains the bodies of patients and medical staff members of Vukovar hospital who disappeared during an evacuation of 20 November 1991. The commission plans to carry out a further investigation of the site but does not intend to attempt identification, exhumation and return of all the bodies. This is a matter for the Croatian authorities.
Sir Keith Speed : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the nationality and description of those vessels reported to the United Nations as attempting to breach the embargo on the former Yugoslavia in the Adriatic and on the Danube.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for East Lothian (Mr. Home Robertson) on 23 April 1993, Official Report, columns 244-45. We now know that the Condor I and Mys Khnistalnyy breached sanctions in early April. Five barges have also been intercepted : Vihac, Kumanovo, Orasac, Velebit and Kaimakalan. All these vessels have been reported to the United Nations Sanctions Committee for investigation. No vessels have been reported to the United Nations for breaching the blockade since April.
Burma
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Government of Burma concerning the imprisonment of opposition leaders ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Goodlad : With our European Community partners we have repeatedly urged the Burmese authorities, bliaterally and in the relevant international bodies, to release unconditionally all political detainees, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Kuwait
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Government of Kuwait concerning human rights ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Since the liberation of Kuwait, we have made repeated representations to the Kuwaitis about the need to respect human rights. There have been welcome improvements in Kuwait in this regard.
Western Sahara
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral answer of 16 June, Official Report, column 853, what meetings United Kingdom representatives have held with United Nations officials concerning the proposed referendum in the Western Sahara ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : British representatives are in contact regularly with United Nations officials in Western Sahara. The
Secretary-General has just been to Western Sahara and we await his report to the Security Council on his visit.
Turkey
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Government of Turkey concerning the treatment of Kurdish people ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given by the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Watford, (Mr. Garel-Jones), to the hon. Member for Halifax (Mrs. Mahon) on 28 April, Official Report, column 440.
We welcome the new Turkish Prime Minister's commitment to the free expression of different ethnic, cultural and linguistic characteristics.
We frequently make clear to the Turkish Government the importance we attach to combating terrorism within a legal framework and with full respect for human rights.
We regret the decision by the Kurdistan Workers Party to end the ceasefire and condemn the recent upsurge of violence in southeast Turkey, the attacks on hotels in Antalya and the actions against Turkish diplomatic and other premises in Western Europe.
El Salvador
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions are being taken by Her Majesty's Government's representative to monitor the ceasefire and preparations for elections in El Salvador ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : Her Majesty's ambassador in San Salvador is in close contact with ONUSAL, the
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United Nations observer mission which has been monitoring implemention of all aspects of the peace agreement signed on 16 January 1992. ONUSAL's mandate has now been enlarged to include supervision of preparations for the March 1994 elections.NATIONAL HERITAGE
Overseas Visitors
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is his estimate of the numbers and financial value of overseas visitors to the United Kingdom for 1990, 1991 and 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Sproat : Information on this topic is regularly published in Business Monitor MQ6 "Overseas Travel and Tourism," which is available in the Library of the House.
Football Safety
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 14 June, Official Report, column 460 , what is the relationship between local authorities, police authorities and the Football Licensing Authority in determining the safe capacity of standing terraces in the second and third divisions of the Football League.
Mr. Sproat : The vast majority of second and third division football grounds are designated under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975. It is the responsibility of the local authority to issue a safety certificate for such grounds, in consultation with the police and fire authorities. This sets out how many spectators may safely be admitted to each part of the ground. The terms and conditions of safety certificates are for local authorities to determine, although they are expected to take account of the advice contained in the Government's "Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds". The guide covers all aspects of sports ground safety, including the calculation of the safe capacity of terracing.
The Football Licensing Authority was established under the Football Spectators Act 1989. Under section 13 of the 1989 Act, the FLA is charged with keeping under review the discharge by local authorities of their safety certification functions under the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 in relation to sports grounds at which designated football matches are played. Specifically, the authority may, after due consultation, require a certifying authority to include in any safety certificate such terms and conditions as the FLA may specify in writing.
Following the review of the Government's all-seater policy last summer, football clubs in the second and third divisions of the Football League were permitted to retain some standing accommodation, provided it was safe. The FLA subsequently commissioned a report on safe terracing by the Football Stadia Advisory Design Council. This document, which was published at the end of March, augments the advice already available to clubs in the "Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds". The FLA will, if necessary, use its powers under the Football Spectators Act to ensure that retained terracing meets the necessary safety standard and that the permitted capacities are set at a safe level.
We are consulting the FLA about the extent to which clubs will be required to upgrade their terracing in line
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with the recommendations of the Football Stadia Advisory Design Council's report. My right hon. Friend expects to make an announcement shortly.NATIONAL FINANCE
Construction Industry
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met representatives of the Federation of Master Builders to discuss ways of assisting the construction industry.
Mr. Nelson : My right hon. and learned Friend intends to meet regularly representatives from all sectors of industry. He has no plans at present to meet the Federation of Master Builders.
Contribution Holidays
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the total amount of pension fund surplus represented by (a) employer/employee contribution holidays, (b) improved benefits and (c) taxable refunds to the employer in each year since 1986 ; and what proportion of surplus reduction is represented by each method.
Mr. Dorrell : Information is not available in the form requested. The tables below give information on large self-administered pension funds reporting to the Inland Revenue on proposed action to remove surpluses following the provisions in the Finance Act 1986, and on total refunds to employers from occupational pension schemes.
Large Self Administered Schemes, by method of reduction of
Surplus, 1987-88 to 1992-93<1>
£ million
Method of reduction |Amount of reduction|Proportion of
|surplus reduction
|Per cent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contributions holiday (employer) |7,932 |38
Contributions holiday (employee) |155 |1
Contributions reduction (employer) 3,169 15
Contributions reduction (employee) 566 3
Refund to employer<2> |1,174 |6
Increase in benefits |7,471 |36
New benefits |106 |1
|-------
Total |20,574
<1>The figures shown represent the total to be eliminated by each method. Some of the
planned reductions are timed to fall in years subsequent to 1992-93. Amounts are based on
the actuary's estimated reduction for each category.
<2>The figures for refunds to employers exclude amounts paid over by schemes reported to be
wound up in each year.
Refunds to the employer from
all occupational pension
schemes
Schemes reporting in refunds
|£ million
------------------------------
1987-88 |85
1988-89 |208
1989-90 |380
1990-91 |578
1991-92 |403
1992-93 |235
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Inland Revenue Special Office 2
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the former head of Inland Revenue special office 2 ; and on what date he was last performing his official duties.
Mr. Dorrell : The officer concerned was suspended from duty on 11 September 1992. Investigations were commenced by the Metropolitan and City police company fraud department and these investigations are continuing.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will identify the functions and purposes of Inland Revenue special office 2, together with its staff establishment and annual cost in 1992-93. nd non- compliance where large amounts of tax are at stake. Special office 2 is based in London.
For 1992-93, there were 15 staff and the cost of running the office was £685,000.
Value Added Tax
Ms Lynne : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the rules governing VAT charges when a Government agency bids successfully to provide a commercial service to a Government Department.
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