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Offences of violent crime<1> recorded by the police Number |South-east London|Lewisham |(No. 3 Area) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1985 |5,792 |1,326 1986 |6,039 |1,444 1987 |6,776 |1,728 1988 |7,060 |1,689 1989 |8,058 |1,961 1990 |9,163 |2,224 1991 |10,980 |2,821 1992 |11,199 |2,646 <1>Includes violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.
Mr. Temple-Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are being investigated under the War Crimes Act 1991 ; what is the cost of these investigations to date ; what prosecutions have been brought ; how many prosecutions are likely to be brought ; and if he will consider abandoning these investigations and/or prosecutions in whole or in part.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Forty-four cases are currently under investigation by the Metropolitan police war crimes unit. The cost of investigations to date is estimated at £3.8 million. No prosecutions have yet been brought under the Act, and I cannot anticipate when, or if, sufficient evidence will be available for any prosecutions to be brought. However, the police and prosecution authorities cannot ignore evidence of war crimes which has been and may be uncovered.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate changes in the incidence of drink driving, over the limit drink driving and deaths associated with over the limit drink driving since 1979.
Mr. Maclean : The information available relates to the incidence of drink driving when a driver is over the prescribed alcohol limit. Estimates of fatal casualties involving illegal alcohol levels are published by the Department of Transport. The
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table give the number of positive or refused breath tests and revised estimates of the number of fatal casualties in accidents involving illegal alcohol levels :|Positive/Refused |Fatal casualties |Breath tests |Great Britain<1> |England and Wales|(Numbers) |(Thousands) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1979 |84.4 |1,640 1980 |89.2 |1,450 1981 |80.6 |1,420 1982 |88.6 |1,550 1983 |98.4 |1,110 1984 |87.6 |1,170 1985 |95.7 |1,040 1986 |97.8 |990 1987 |111.4 |900 1988 |111.7 |790 1989 |108.0 |810 1990 |102.4 |760 1991 |90.3 |660 1992 |87.1 |<2>610 <1>Department of Transport figures <2>Provisional
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against exclusion orders are outstanding.
Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the gains and losses of continuing the practice of returning to Greenwich mean time from autumn to spring ;
(2) on what issues he has received representations on the use of Greenwich mean time in winter.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The 1989 Green Paper "Summer Time--A Consultation Document" (Cm 722) considered possible losses and gains from returning to Greenwich mean time in winter, in particular as to : the incidence of road traffic accidents ; crime ; leisure pursuits ; energy consumption ; communications ; travel ; trade ; agriculture ; the construction industry ; and tourism. Representations we have received since the Green Paper have focused on that range of issues.
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Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many South African citizens have enetered the United Kingdom in each of the past five calendar years.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The number of admissions of South African citizens into the United Kingdom were 123,000 in 1988, 132,000 in 1989, 150,000 in 1990, 138,000 in 1991, and 156,000 in 1992.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if disqualifications from driving imposed by (a) courts in the United Kingdom and (b) in courts of other member states of the European Community are enforced in the Isle of Man.
Mr. Maclean : No. Disqualifications imposed by courts in the United Kingdom, or by courts in other member states of the European Community, are not recognised in the Isle of Man.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation that provides for disqualifications from driving, imposed by courts in the Isle of Man, being enforced in the United Kingdom ; if he will seek to extend such disqualifications to member states of the European Community ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : We have no plans at present to introduce such legislation.
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many juveniles were (a) cautioned and (b) prosecuted by the police in (i) London and (ii) Lewisham for each year since 1990 ; and how many of those prosecuted were committed by the courts ;
(2) how many juveniles convicted of a crime in (a) London and (b) Lewisham had committed an offence which was drug related, in each year since 1985.
Mr. Maclean : Information available centrally on juveniles aged 10 to under 17 years in the Metropolitan police district--including the City of London--and courts within the Lewisham area is given in the table.
It is only possible to distinguish centrally offenders who have committed drug offences as opposed to drug-related offences.
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Table A 1 Number of juveniles aged 10 to under 17 cautioned and prosecuted and committed for trial at magistrates' courts within the Metropolitan Police District<1> and the Lewisham area by type of offence 1990 Committed for trial Area/type of offence |Cautioned |Prosecuted (=100 per|Number |Per cent. |cent.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Metropolitan Police District<1> Indictable offences |8,583 |4,221 |327 |8 Summary non-motoring offences |3,234 |1,468 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |11,817 |5,689 |327 |6 Lewisham juvenile court Indictable offences |<2>- |112 |- |- Summary non-motoring offences |<2>- |35 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |<2>- |147 |- |- Greenwich juvenile court Indictable offences |<2>- |238 |- |- Summary non-motoring offences |<2>- |66 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |<2>- |304 |- |- Greenwich Petty Sessional Division Indictable offences |<2>- |21 |12 |57 Summary non-motoring offences |<2>- |2 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |<2>- |23 |12 |52 Woolwich Petty Sessional Division Indictable offences |<2>- |10 |5 |50 Summary non-motoring offences |<2>- |10 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |<2>- |20 |5 |25 <1> Includes the City of London. <2> Not applicable.
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Table A2 Number of juveniles aged 10 to under 17 cautioned and prosecuted and committed for trial at magistrates' courts within the Metropolitan Police District<1> and the Lewisham area by type of offence 1991 Area/type of offence Cautioned Prosecuted Committed for trial |(=100 per cent.)|Number |Per cent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Metropolitan Police District<1> Indictable offences |8,092 |4,050 |310 |8 Summary non-motoring offences |2,733 |1,310 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |10,825 |5,360 |310 |6 Lewisham juvenile court Indictable offences |<2>- |76 |4 |5 Summary non-motoring offences |<2>- |18 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |<2>- |94 |4 |4 Greenwich juvenile court Indictable offences |<2>- |210 |- |- Summary non-motoring offences |<2>- |57 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |<2>- |267 |- |- Greenwich Petty Sessional Division Indictable offences |<2>- |45 |14 |31 Summary non-motoring offences |<2>- |11 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |<2>- |56 |14 |25 Woolwich Petty Sessional Division Indictable offences |<2>- |11 |4 |36 Summary non-motoring offences |<2>- |3 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |<2>- |14 |4 |29 <1> Includes the City of London. <2> Not applicable.
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Table A3 Number of juveniles aged 10 to under 17 cautioned and prosecuted and committed for trial at magistrates' courts within the Metropolitan Police District<1> and the Lewisham area by type of offence 1992<2> Area/type of offence Cautioned Prosecuted Committed for trial |(=100 per cent.)|Number |Per cent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Metropolitan Police District<1> Indictable offences |8,644 |3,823 |269 |7 Summary non-motoring offences |3,065 |1,254 |1 |0 All offences (excluding summary motoring) |11,709 |5,077 |270 |5 Lewisham juvenile court Indictable offences |* |107 |3 |3 Summary non-motoring offences |* |24 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |* |131 |3 |2 Greenwich juvenile court Indictable offences |* |188 |1 |1 Summary non-motoring offences |* |102 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |* |290 |1 |0 Greenwich Petty Sessional Division Indictable offences |* |28 |4 |14 Summary non-motoring offences |* |6 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |* |34 |4 |12 Woolwich Petty Sessional Division Indictable offences |* |8 |2 |25 Summary non-motoring offences |* |3 |- |- All offences (excluding summary motoring) |* |11 |2 |18 <1> Includes the City of London. <2> Provisional. * Not applicable.
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Table B Number of juveniles aged 10 to under 17 years convicted of drug offences in the Metropolitan Police District<1> and Lewisham area 1985 to 1992<2> Year |Metropolitan Police|Lewisham Juvenile |Greenwich Juvenile |Greenwich Petty |Woolwich Petty |District<1> |Court |Court |Sessional Division |Sessional Division -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1985 |114 |8 |4 |- |- 1986 |116 |8 |3 |1 |1 1987 |67 |1 |3 |- |- 1988 |80 |1 |3 |- |- 1989 |108 |6 |6 |- |- 1990 |107 |1 |7 |1 |- 1991 |86 |3 |3 |- |- 1992<2> |67 |3 |3 |- |- <1> Including City of London. <2> Provisional.
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is responsible for the provision of dental care in each of Her Majesty's prisons ; and how this service is monitored.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from D. Lewis to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 18 October 1993 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to the Parliamentary Question on this subject which you tabled for written answer on Monday 18 October.
Dental surgeons are appointed to provide dental treatment at each establishment by the Prison Service. The surgeon undertakes work as part of the services he or she provides for the Family Health Services Authority (FHSA) as part of the NHS commitment. The dental surgeon remains subject to General Dental Services Regulations and the FHSA's powers to inspect and monitor performance. The head of health care at each establishment is responsible to the governor for the routine supervision of the service.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future of Risley as a training prison, with particular reference to the integrated regime.
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 to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated 18 October 1993 :
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The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the future of Risley as a training prison and in particular its integrated regime.You may be aware of the decision to accommodate 384 vulnerable prisoners in refurbished blocks at Wymott. This was announced by the then Home Secretary in Autumn 1992, in accordance with
recommendations made by the Chief Inspector of Prisons. The change was scheduled for November 1993, but is being implemented slightly earlier as a consequence of the recent riot. The transfer of vulnerable prisoners will create additional accommodation in prisons in the north west and midlands. A significant proportion of these prisoners will be drawn from Vulnerable Prisoner Units at Liverpool and Risley.
The integrated regime at Risley has been successful in allowing Vulnerable Prisoners to share daytime activities with selected prisoners from the main prison. Clearly, the future development of the integrated regime will depend on the number of vulnerable prisoners remaining at Risley. The Prison Service intends to provide a full regime for those prisoners transferred to Wymott based on a core programme for sex offenders to address their offending behaviour.
For the present Risley will continue in its present role as a training prison. The development of its future role as a local prison serving the courts is being discussed and plans are being considered for a multi- functional community prison along the lines envisaged in the Woolf Report. Such plans will aim to provide decent conditions and a regime of purposeful activity for all prisoners.
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances the immigration and nationality divisions of his Department disclose information to the Inland Revenue without the consent of the individual concerned.
Mr. Charles Wardle : When the Inland Revenue requests it in accordance with procedures agreed with the Inland Revenue.
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Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what purpose the special unit at HMP Hull created to house category A inmates was built ; when it opened and how many inmates it was designed to hold ; how many inmates it held at opening ; how many it has held to date ; how many it held 12 months ago and how many it holds at present.
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 to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Richard Burden, dated 18 October 1993 :
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the Special Unit at Hull Prison.
The Special Unit opened in 1988 to hold long-term adult male prisoners in category A and B who have a history of disruptive and aggressive behaviour.
The Unit is located on A Wing in Hull which can accommodate 20 prisoners under normal prison conditions. However, given the special role of the Unit, the number of prisoners held would not normally exceed ten.
On opening, the Unit held four prisoners. To date 47 prisoners have been located in the Unit, for varying lengths of time and some prisoners have left and returned for a further period. In October of last year, ten prisoners were held on the Unit and the Unit currently holds five prisoners.
Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring has taken place of the workings of the special unit for category A inmates at HMP Hull, what evaluation has been made of its success ; and what plans he has for the future of the unit.
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 to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Richard Burden, dated 18 October 1993 :
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the Special Unit at Hull Prison.
A report evaluating the Hull Unit was completed at the end of 1991. It was prepared by Professor Norman Jepson and the late Mr. Kenneth Elliott, formerly of Leeds University. The report covers the first 2 years of the Unit. A further assessment, to study whether the existence of this Unit and the other Special Units have had a beneficial effect on the management of long-term prisoners who present persistent control problems in the context of the long-term prison system as a whole, is currently being undertaken by Professor Keith Bottomley. His report is due at the end of the year and will subsequently be published. He will draw on all previous work which has been undertaken and will also have access to work carried out by the Unit's psychologist.
We will wish to consider Professor Bottomley's report before making an informed judgement on the long-term future of Hull and the other Special Units.
Mr. Colvin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he now intends to take following publication of the Sheehy report.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to make an announcement shortly.
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Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were (a) killed and (b) injured in bedsitter fires in each of the last five years.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The number of casualties in fires, attended by local authority fire brigades in the United Kingdom, which started in bedsitting rooms of dwellings in multiple occupation, is given in the table for the years 1987 to 1991.
Fire-related deaths and injuries from fires starting in bedsitting rooms of dwellings in multiple occupancy, attended by local authority fire brigades, United Kingdom. Year |Fire related deaths|Fire related |injuries -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1987 |40 |254 1988 |41 |261 1989 |37 |229 1990 |36 |305 1991 |28 |252 Source: Home Office Fire Statistics, based on reports from local authority fire brigades.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to implement EC fire regulations in respect of offices and businesses ;
(2) what discussions he has had with EC institutions with regard to EC fire regulations in respect of offices and businesses during the last year.
Mr. Charles Wardle : We are presently considering revised proposals for Fire Precautions (Places of Work) Regulations to implement the fire safety requirements of European Council directives 89/391/EEC and 89/654/EEC in the light of the recent efficiency scrutiny report on the implementation and enforcement of EC law in the United Kingdom. Those regulations, if implemented, will apply to most places of work with one or more employees.
The Home Office has had no discussions with EC institutions about those proposals or the fire safety provisions of other health and safety directives during the last year.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of his Export Control Organisation's time is taken up by (a) licence applications for sensitive destinations and (b) licensing for individual goods for non-sensitive destinations.
Mr. Needham : There are no figures setting out the proportion of time taken up by licensing in different areas and they could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, I would refer my hon. Friend to chapter 9 of the Export Control Organisation's annual report for 1992 in the House Library. This gives a breakdown of the work carried out by each of the licensing sections.
Within these sections the number of staff at grades AA-SEO is as follows :
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|Number ---------------------------------------------------- Sensitive Destinations Section (SDS) |11 COCOM Licensing Section (CLS) |6 Military and Atomic Licensing Section |13 Industrial Free World Licensing |5
These sections are managed by two G7 officers.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what information he has received from British Nuclear Fuels in regard to (a) the volume of radioactive waste that will be created from facility contamination and (b) the proposed disposal strategy for the decommissioning waste arising as a result of provisional commissioning of the thermal oxide reprocessing plant with uranium nitrate feedstock, in the event that consent for fuel commissioning of THORP is not subsequently granted.
Mr. Eggar : This is a matter for British Nuclear Fuels plc and Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, acting jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to assist the European Commission in its preparation of its reports on (a) re-evaluation of the requirements for reprocessing and (b) the preparation of an inventory of nuclear waste holdings in each member state of the European Community.
Mr. Eggar : My Department has received no such request for assistance from the European Commission.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the future arrangements for the provision of information services by the AEA library to hon. Members and the general public.
Mr. Eggar : This is a management matter for the Atomic Energy Authority.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking to implement his Department's interest in implementation of the British Nuclear Fuels-Nuclear Electric fixed price contracts.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 9 March 1993, Official Report, column 500.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on how his Department plans to meet its target to promote environmental awareness and best practice as set out in his departmental MINIS 93, part Four, environmental section, page 15.
Mr. McLoughlin : Plans for achieving my Department's environmental objectives are shown on pages 3 to 9 of the environmental section, part 4 of the departmental MINIS 93.
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The Department has published a number of practical guides on matters relevant to the environmental performance of business, including waste minimisation, alternatives to ozone-depleting substances and export opportunities, and more are planned. A more general booklet, "The environment--a business guide" endorsed by the Advisory Committee on Business and the Environment (ACBE) was launched on 13 October with the aim of helping smaller firms in particular to improve their environmental performance. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.The Department supports or participates in a wide range of seminars and exhibitions to raise awareness of environmental issues and continues to operate a telephone environmental inquiry
point--freephone 0800 585794--which provides a comprehensive information and signposting service to business. It is also supporting a number of local environmental self-help initiatives including five local business and environment clubs established under a programme recommended by ACBE.
Together with the Department of the Environment, my Department is also funding the development and administration in nagement and audit scheme which will encourage the adoption of best environmental management practice.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the role played by his Department in co-ordination of United Kingdom participation in negotiating in EC instruments relating to export controls and an export licensing policy compatible with single market obligations.
Mr. Needham : My Department is co-ordinating the United Kingdom's contribution to the continuing negotiations on the proposed EC regulation covering export controls on certain dual-use goods and technologies. Other Government Departments and agencies which have an interest in export control matters have also participated fully. The Government's aim in the negotiations is to enhance enforcement of export controls in the context of the single European market, to ensure that the United Kingdom's ability to apply export controls in line with national foreign and security policy is maintained, and to protect the interest of United Kingdom exporters. The House will be informed of the outcome of the negotiations.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to implement policies to put into effect obligations entered into on nuclear safeguards on United Kingdom facilities since 1979 ; and how he has ensured such policies have not put the United Kingdom at an unnecessary disadvantage in regard to competitor countries.
Mr. Eggar : Arrangements for the application of International Atomic Energy Agency and Euratom safeguards in the United Kingdom have been negotiated pursuant to the terms of INFCIRC/263 and the Euratom
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treaty. These site-specific inspection arrangements are confidential to the operator, HM Government and the international inspectorates.Judgments on what are considered to be appropriate inspection procedures for United Kingdom facilities take into account, as far as possible, accepted international practice at similar plants in other countries. In furtherance of this goal of maintaining common standards, the United Kingdom has played an important role in developing internationally accepted approaches for safeguarding major nuclear facilities, for example at centrifuge enrichment plants and large-scale reprocessing plants.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what response Her Majesty's Government have made to the Commission proposal for a Council decision approving the amendment by the Commission of Commission regulation (Euratom) No. 3227/76 of 19 October 1976 concerning the application of the provisions on Euratom safeguards, Com (93) 294 final of 24 June.
Mr. Eggar : I refer the hon. Member to my answers given to him on 31 March, Official Report, columns 210-11, and 21 May, Official Report, column 344, concerning the original Commission proposal to amend regulation (Euratom) 3227/76 of 19 October 1976. A revised version of the proposal detailed in Com(93) 294 final of 24 June, was approved by the Council with United Kingdom support. The text of the amendment was published in EC Official Journal No. L 191/75, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the reasons for the departure of Dr. Tom Thorpe from the energy technology support unit at Harwell.
Mr. Eggar : Mr. Tom Thorpe has not departed from the energy technology support unit but continues to work in the unit's strategic studies department, which he joined in June 1989.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to meet officials of the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : I have accepted an invitation to meet members of the association to discuss matters such as insurance related to terrorism, environment and employment.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will extend to all hon. Members whose constituencies are included in the Southend travel-to-work area, an invitation to meet him regarding assisted area status for south-east Essex.
Mr. Sainsbury : Decisions on the new assisted areas map were made after the careful consideration of each area's circumstances and are not subject to appeal. I received seven submissions from Southend during the review, all of which were given full consideration. I am not, therefore, meeting any delegations to discuss assisted area status.
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Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what joint consultation procedure exists between the police committee of the Atomic Energy Authority police, and that force's Police Federation, and the representative bodies of other ranks at which matters relating to police pay and conditions of service are discussed ; what is the membership of the joint body ; and on how many occasions it has met in the past five years.
Mr. Eggar : The information requested was provided in my answer to the hon. Member of 28 June 1993, Official Report, columns 369-70.
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the President of the Board of Trade who serves on the police committee of the Atomic Energy Authority police ; and how often it has met over the past five years.
Mr. Eggar : The police committee of the Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary (AEAC) is chaired by the AEA's managing director for corporate services and includes senior managers from AEA and British Nuclear Fuels sites and in particular those sites protected by the AEAC. The AEAC chief constable and deputy chief constable also attend meetings of the police committee. The committee has met twice a year during the past five years.
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