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Reoffenders
Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the reoffending rate of those who have (a) served prison sentences, (b) served probation orders and (c) served community sentences for the last five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Maclean : The available information on reconviction rates for standard list offences is given in the table. Reconviction rates during the two-year period after prison discharge for discharges in the years 1984 to 1986 were published in the issues for 1987 to 1989 of "Prison Statistics England and Wales". The 1987 results in the table are based on an improved methodology and the results for earlier years are not consistent with them. Results for 1988 are not yet available.
Reconviction rates for the two-year period after commencement of probation orders and community service orders in 1988 were given in "Probation Statistics England and Wales 1992", chapter 13. Results for 1987 are given in the table.
Reconviction rates are not available for the previous three years. Copies of these publications are available in the Library of the House.
These results are shown :
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Persons reconvicted of a standard list<1> offence within two years of commencement of a probation order or community service order or within two years of discharge from a prison service establishment Percentages Year of commencement |All |Males |Females --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After commencement of probation order 1987 |52 |56 |37 After commencement of community sentence 1987 |54 |55 |41 After discharge from prison Year of discharge <2>1984 |54 |55 |34 <2>1985 |52 |53 |34 <2>1986 |50 |50 |34 1987 |57 |57 |40 <1> Standard list offence as defined in "Criminal Statistics" England and Wales 1990, Cm. 1935; covers all indictable offences and a few more serious summary offences. <2> Figures prior to 1987 are based on a different methodology including microfiche based matching which resulted in lower reconviction rates by some 5 or 6 percentage points.
Parole Board
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home reneepartment if he will give details of the contract of employment of the full-time member of the Parole Board.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The full-time members of the Parole Board have the same status as other members of the board. They are not officials of the Home Office. Their term of appointment is for an initial period of two or three years, renewable for two further periods of two years. They were appointed on a salary of £30,207 per annum plus a non-contributory pension.
Security Service Report
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the publication "MI5 : The Security Service" cost to produce ; and how many copies were printed.
Mr. Howard : A total of 14,100 copies of "M-13p -- Immigration (Somalia)
Mr. Dicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals from Somalia have been granted entry into Britain since 1990 ; and under what conditions such entry was granted.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information on the total number of nationals of Somalia given leave to enter the United Kingdom is given in the table.
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Nationals of Somalia given leave to enter the United
Kingdom
|Number of journeys
---------------------------------------------------------
1990 |4,330
1991 |3,650
1992 |5,500
1993<1> |2,140
<1> January to June.
An analysis of the data for 1990-92 by purpose of journey is given in table 3.1 of Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration : Statistics United Kingdom 1992"--Cm 2368--and in table 1 of the corresponding volumes for 1990 and 1991--Cm 1571 and 2063. Corresponding information for January to June 1993 is not readily available. Copies of the above publications are in the Library. These figures include persons who have applied for asylum at ports--and their dependants--and who have been granted asylum or exceptional leave. They exclude persons granted temporary admission.
Mr. Amanullah Khan
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the appropriate United Kingdom authorities were last informed by Interpol of an outstanding arrest warrant, issued in India, relating to Mr. Amanullah Khan, the chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, a Pakistan national, concerning alleged offences in India-occupied Kashmir ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The United Kingdom national central bureau of Interpol received notification in May 1990 that the arrest of Amanullah Khan was requested, with a view to extradition, by the Indian national central bureau of Interpol. This wanted notice remained in force until his arrest in Belgium on 18 October 1993.
Yugoslavia
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many individuals and their dependants have been admitted to enter the United Kingdom this year to date from the former Yugoslavia as urgent medical cases ; how many such people remain in the United Kingdom ; how many have left the United Kingdom ; what is their present country of residence ; and how many individuals and their dependants are awaiting permission to enter the United Kingdom for medical treatment ;
(2) how many (a) ex-detainees and (b) their dependants have, to date, been given permission to enter the United Kingdom following his announcements of October and November 1992 ; how many people deemed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to be vulnerable, and their dependants have, to date, been admitted to the United Kingdom following his decision to admit them ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : As at 4 November, a total of 357 particularly vulnerable individuals--including ex-detainees--and 569 dependants, have arrived under these arrangements. A further 49 individuals and 65 dependants are due to arrive on 5 November.
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These figures include 22 urgent medical cases, and 21 dependants, that have arrived this year. The available information suggests that all these 43 persons are still in the United Kingdom.The United Kingdom is prepared to consider any request from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross for persons from the former Yugoslavia to come here for medical treatment.
Mr. Dicks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals from the former Yugoslavia have been granted entry into Britain since the troubles began ; and under what conditions such entry was granted.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information on the total number of nationals of the former Yugoslavia given leave to enter the United Kingdom in the period 1 September 1991 to 30 June 1993 is given in the table.
Nationals of the former Yugoslavia given leave to enter the
United Kingdom
|Number ofjourneys
------------------------------------------------------------
1991 September-December |17,300
1992 |49,900
1993 January-June |18,500
An analysis by the purpose of journey for 1992 is given in table 3.1 of Home Office Command Paper "Control of Immigration : Statistics United Kingdom 1992" (Cm. 2368), a copy of which is in the Library. Corresponding information for September to December 1991 and for January to June 1993 is not readily available.
These figures include persons who have applied for asylum at ports--and their dependants--and who have been granted asylum or exceptional leave. They exclude persons granted temporary admission.
Road Deaths
Mr. Livingstone : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from what sources funding is available for the support of families of people killed in road accidents ; how much funding is available ; and how it is allocated.
Mr. Maclean : This is not a matter for which I have any Departmental responsibility. However, I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport that where a motorist is at fault, the victim of a road accident--or, in fatal cases, surviving relatives--may be compensated either by the motorist, his insurers, or in the case of untraced or uninsured drivers, by the Motor Insurers Bureau. I further understand that state support in the form of social security provision may be available if the relevant criteria are satisfied.
Wheel Clamping
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will make a statement on plans to regulate wheel clamping on private land.
Mr. Maclean : Presently, we have no such plans. In the light of the consultation exercise conducted earlier this year, we are still considering what action it might be appropriate for the Government to initiate.
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British Summer Time
Mr. Hain : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing the times of sunrise and sunset on 21 December and on the first day of each month in 1994 in (a) Newcastle, (b) Belfast, (c) Liverpool, (d) Wrexham, (e) Holyhead and (f) Aberystwyth under (i) the present arrangements of British summer time and Greenwich mean time and (ii) under British summer time plus one hour and Greenwich mean time plus one hour.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information requested is not immediately available, but is being obtained. I shall write to the hon. Member and arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library.
Dangerous Dogs
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many dogs have been seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 ;
(2) how many dogs have been put down under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to date.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information on the numbers of dogs which have been seized by the police and local authorities and those destroyed as a result of court proceedings under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is not collected centrally. Information on the number of prosecutions, convictions and cautions under the Act for 1992 is expected to be available in December and I shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as the information becomes available.
Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what breeds are now proscribed as dangerous dogs.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 currently applies to any dog of the types known as the pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Braziliero.
Criminal Records
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the implications for personal social services of the possible introduction of charging for police checks on individual criminal records.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The effect of the possible introduction of charging for vetting checks is raised in paragraphs 64 to 70 of the Home Office consultation paper entitled "Disclosure of criminal records for employment vetting purposes"--Cm 2319--laid before the House on 9 September. Question 6 of the paper specifically invites comments on charging. The paper is available to local authorities and local authority associations. The consultation period expires on 31 December when further consideration will be given to this matter in the light of comments made.
Miscarriages of Justice
Mr. Boateng : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to the recommendation of the Royal Commission on criminal
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justice that an independent review authority should be established to investigate alleged miscarriages of justice ; and what plans he has for implementing this recommendation in the next year.Mr. Maclean : I will write to the hon. Member.
Prison Visits
Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by prison establishment, year by year, the total number of individual prison visits to prisoners, and the total number of visits by hon. Members, for each year since 1989.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list by category of establishment the total number of prisons which, for the purposes of examination of clothing and baggage, do not have or use (a) X-ray machines or (b) metal detectors ;
(2) if he will list the total number of incidents in each year since 1989, where visitors to prisons have had weapons or other unsuitable metallic items (a) found on their person and (b) confiscated ;
(3) if he will place in the Library a copy of the procedures governing searches for visitors to prison establishments.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I will write to the hon. Member.
Chief Inspector of Fire Services
Sir Ivan Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is to be the next Chief Inspector of Fire Services.
Mr. Howard : Mr. Bryan Collins OBE, Her Majesty's Inspector of Fire Services, will become Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services in succession to Sir Reginald Doyle CBE, who retires on 31 December.
Young Offenders
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is this timetable for setting up secure training centres; and what is his estimate of the cost in this financial year and in 1994-95;
(2) what is his timetable for implementing the proposal to double the maximum sentence in young offender institutions ; and what is his estimate of the cost in this financial year and in 1994-95.
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 19 October 1993] : I will write to the hon. Member.
Criminal Justice Act 1993
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the amount of police time that would be required to deal adequately with the information disclosed to (a) the Metropolitan police and (b) other police forces in England and Wales as a result of implementation in full of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 ; what additional resources in each case have been provided by his Department (i) in cash terms and (ii) in terms of establishment in the current year ; and how much will be provided in 1994-95.
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Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 4 November 1993] : The new disclosure requirement has not been identified as a significant new burden at national level, although a working party is continuing to review the implications for the Metropolitan police.
No provision has been made for additional resources.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Terrorism
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to review his instructions to the broadcasting authorities concerning the broadcasting of direct speech by supporters of terrorism ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Brooke : I am undertaking a review of the notices first issued to the broadcasting authorities in October 1988 by the Home Secretary concerning the reporting of direct speech by members of terrorist organisations and their supporters. I will announce the results of this review as soon as is consistent with a thorough examination.
EMPLOYMENT
Fares To Work Scheme
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what plans he has to alter the criteria for the fares to work scheme for disabled people ;
(2) how many disabled people made a successful application to the fares to work scheme in 1992 and 1993 ; and how many applicants were unsuccessful ;
(3) how much his Department spent on the fares to work scheme for disabled people in 1992 and 1993 ; and how much he intends to spend in 1994.
Miss Widdecombe : After 31 March 1994 the fares to work scheme, which helps people with disabilities who are unable to use public transport and who, as a result of their disability, incur extra costs in travelling to and from work, will be replaced by help under the access to work scheme. The main criteria for help under access to work were given in my answer to the hon. Member for Clwyd, North-West (Mr. Richards), Official Report, 22 June 1993, column 102. The current requirement for those being helped with fares to work to be registered under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 will be removed. We are considering what transitional arrangements might be appropriate for existing beneficiaries.
The money spent on the fares to work scheme in 1992-93 and 1992-93 was £1,647,857 and £1,800,744 respectively. The numbers helped through the fares to work scheme in 1991-92 and 1992-93 were 1,495 and 1,789 respectively ; of these 655 and 433 were new beneficiaries. Statistics on unsuccessful applicants are not collected. Provision for assistance with fares to work in 1994-95 is not identifiable as it has been included in the overall access to work budget. Under access to work, in addition to help with fares, new forms of travel to work help, such as adapting vehicles, can be provided.
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Gas Installers
Mr. William O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received concerning the annual report of the Council for Registered Gas Installers ; and if he will make a statement.
Departmental Staff
Mrs. Clywd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many civil servants are currently employed at his Department's offices at Caxton House ; and how many were women (a) in 1990, and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : A total of 1,319 at 1 October 1993, of which 667 were women. The comparable figures for 1 October 1990 were 1,354 and 686 respectively. These figures comprise staff in all the Department's London headquarters offices.
Mrs. Clywd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many women are employed at each Civil Service grade in his Department as a whole ; and what percentage of each grade is constituted by women.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The numbers and percentages of women in each grade in the Employment Department Group at 1 October 1993 are set out in the following table :
Women in the employment department group at 1 October 1993 Grade |Number --------------------------------------------------- Administrative assistant |2,306 Administrative officer |24,267 Typist |716 Executive officer |11,586 Administrative trainee |4 Management trainee |35 Higher executive officer (D) |8 Higher executive officer |1,838 Senior executive officer |342 Grade 7 |185 Grade 6 |14 Grade 5 |22 Grade 4 |0 Grade 3 |1 Grade 2 |1 Grade 1 |0
Employment Service (Female Staff)
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many women are employed by the employment service ; and what is this figure as a percentage of the total work force of the employment service.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : 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 M. E. G. Fogden to Mrs. Ann Clwyd, dated 5 November 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 to him about the number of women employed by the Employment Service. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
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We currently employ a total of 49,405 people. Of these, 35,314 are women, which represents 71.5 per cent. of the total workforce. I hope this is helpful.As decided by the Administration 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 letter in the Library of the House.
Construction Workers
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table for each year since 1979 listing how many construction workers are unemployed, set out by trade or skill.
Miss Widdecombe : Information on the previous industry and occupation of people unemployed on the International Labour Organisation definition is available from the Labour Force Survey from 1984 onwards. People in a wide range of occupations are employed by the construction industry and information can be obtained for specific occupations via the Quantime LFS service available in the Library.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his policy on transferring the operations of under-performing TECs to the more successful TECs.
Miss Widdecombe : Training and enterprise councils have been in existence only three years and generally perform well. However, the performance of each TEC is kept constantly under review and the Department takes appropriate action to ensure any necessary improvements. An independent assessors committee, chaired by Sir Anthony Cleaver, has been set up to advise the Department on TEC performance.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list for each training and enterprise council in England for the two most recent years for which figures are available the amounts paid in error to (a) trainees and (b) training providers.
Miss Widdecombe : Recovery of identified overpayments, including those made to training and enterprise councils and trainees is vigorously pursued, but the information is not held in the form requested.
Community Action
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many of the originally announced 20,000 community action places have been taken up.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : 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 M.E.G. Fogden to Mr. Andrew Hunter, dated 5 November 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 to him about the number of Community Action places currently taken up. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
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It may be helpful if I explain a little about the background to Community Action and our plans for the provision of the announced places.Community Action is a programme to help long-term unemployed people back into work, by providing work experience on projects of benefit to local communities. In the Spring Budget the then Chancellor committed £113.5m, sufficient to provide 20,000 places and help 60, 000 people in a full year. Following extensive consultation and development of this new programme, to ensure quality and value for money, the first places became available at the end of July. Community Action opportunities will be delivered, in the main, by voluntary/charitable organisations and my people in the Employment Service Regional Offices are responsible for contracting with them. The contracting round is now well advanced with contracts already awarded for over half of the places. About 1,000 places have been taken up by long-term unemployed people so far and numbers are increasing steadily. The programme is planned to build to 20,000 filled places by the end of March.
As decided by the Administration 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 letter in the Library of the House.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will encourage TECs to include on their boards elected representatives from their local district or borough council.
Miss Widdecombe : Each training and enterprise council has up to five board members who are drawn from outside the private sector covering such interests as education, the public sector and voluntary organisations.
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the budget for each TEC in England in 1993-94.
Miss Widdecombe : The following tables show the programme budget agreed for each training and enterprise council in England for 1993-94 :
TEC budgets 1993-94
|£
-----------------------------------------------------------
Hampshire |35,630,129
Heart of England |11,885,173
Isle of Wight |4,334,721
Kent |39,354,811
Milton Keynes/North Bucks |10,124,085
Surrey |14,079,069
Sussex |26,947,238
Thames Valley Enterprise |27,447,439
|-------
South East Total |169,802,665
AZTEC |14,447,052
CENTEC |28,464,545
CILNTEC |26,796,372
LETEC |44,436,432
North London |21,830,902
North West London |13,378,939
SOLOTEC |21,923,607
South Thames |43,742,853
West London |19,470,586
|-------
London Total |234,491,288
Bedfordshire |13,396,288
Cambridgeshire |7,864,985
Essex |34,790,593
Greater Peterborough |11,059,274
Hertfordshire |26,155,368
Norfolk-Waveney |25,868,017
Suffolk |16,926,462
|-------
Avon |32,212,180
Devon-Cornwall |59,261,247
Dorset |18,656,520
Gloucestershire |15,213,499
Somerset |13,995,143
Wiltshire |15,900,438
|-------
South West Total |155,239,027
Birmingham |48,195,645
Central England |11,807,673
Coventry-Warwickshire |31,058,998
Dudley |12,919,763
HAWTEC |13,658,026
Sandwell |13,438,531
Shropshire |14,913,449
Staffordshire |36,957,718
Walsall |10,517,059
Wolverhampton |13,059,220
|-------
West Midlands Total |206,526,082
Greater Nottinghamshire |24,308,666
Leicester |27,047,479
Lincolnshire |26,886,790
North Derbyshire |11,962,736
North Nottinghamshire |17,580,410
Northants |14,450,582
South Derbyshire |19,203,242
|-------
East Midlands Total |141,439,905
Humberside |39,256,668
North Yorkshire |18,750,543
Wakefield |14,020,400
Sheffield |28,518,555
Rotherham |13,954,615
Barnsley/Doncaster |31,163,721
Leeds |25,028,682
Bradford |22,208,611
Calderdale/Kirklees |29,153,032
Yorkshire and Humberside Total |222,054,727
Bolton/Bury |15,765,677
Manchester |42,513,454
METROTEC |12,136,378
Oldham |9,724,649
Rochdale |10,223,115
South and East Cheshire |15,160,338
Stockport |11,860,770
North West (GM) Total |117,384,381
CEWTEC |24,750,760
Cumbria |18,823,066
ELTEC |20,350,366
LAWTEC |31,446,744
Merseyside |64,817,830
NORMID |16,318,557
QUALITEC |11,894,165
North West (W) Total |188,401,488
Durham |33,523,129
Northumberland |16,719,609
Teeside |38,187,466
Tyneside |49,473,678
Wearside |22,607,990
Northern Total |160,511,872
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Mr. Hunter : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the providers of Training for Work which have contracts with five or more TECs in England and Wales.
Miss Widdecombe : The information sought is not held centrally. Training and enterprise councils themselves decide which training providers to contract with.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the amount held in reserves by each of the training and enterprise councils in England ;
(2) if he will list those training and enterprise councils in England where internal audit arrangements are not currently in place.
Miss Widdecombe : I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
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