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Mr. Charles Wardle : The way individual applications for special constables are dealt with and processed in each force is a matter for the chief constable concerned. No guidance on any of the points raised has been given to chief constables by the Home Office.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations from individuals and organisations he has received concerning the policy of the Yorkshire police in respect of giving reasons when a person is refused admission to the special constabulary.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No such representations have been received.
Child Deportees
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps his Department takes to ensure that when deporting children article 3 of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child is upheld ;
(2) how many children have been deported by his Department in the last year for which figures are available ;
(3) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that when deporting children article 16 of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child is upheld ;
(4) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that when deporting children article 24 of the UN convention on the rights of the child is upheld ;
(5) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that when deporting children article 6 of the UN convention on the rights of the child is adhered to ;
(6) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that when deporting children article 12 of the UN convention on the rights of the child is upheld.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No child under the age of 18 has been deported in the last year. In ratifying the United Nations convention on the rights of the child, the United Kingdom reserved the right to apply such immigration legislation as it deemed necessary from time to time.
In carrying out any deportation involving children, account is taken of the articles of the convention to which the hon. Member has drawn attention.
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Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what immunisations his Department arranged for Nkechi Nwokedi to receive before she was deported to Nigeria with her mother on 9 July ;
(2) what steps his Department takes to ensure that children deported with their parents receive the appropriate immunisations to protect their health in the country to which they are deported.
Mr. Charles Wardle : None. Nkechi Nwokedi was not deported. She accompanied her mother who was returned to Nigeria on 9 July as the subject of a deportation order. We understand that there is currently no requirement for people travelling to Nigeria to be immunised. However, Ms Nwokedi had been aware for some time of the intention to deport her and it would have been open to her to make arrangements for her child to be immunised, if she thought this desirable. More generally, arrangements are made for immunisation to be provided, as appropriate, for any deportee who requests it, and would be extended on request to a child accompanying a deportee.
International Sikh Youth Federation
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the material which he has supplied to the courts regarding the aims and methods of the United Kingdom branch of the International Sikh Youth Federation.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The Secretary of State has not supplied any such material to the courts.
Immigration Complaints Audit Committee
Sir Ivan Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce the membership of the immigration and nationality department complaints audit committee ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I announced in reply to a question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) on 31 March at column 226 that my right hon. and learned Friend the then Secretary of State intended to appoint a Complaints Audit Committee for the Immigration and Nationality Department--IND. My right hon. and learned Friend has appointed Miss Diana Rookledge as chairman and Mr. Blair Greaves and Mr. Karamjit Singh to be members of the committee. The committee will start work at the beginning of the new year.
Ethnic Monitoring
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce ethnic monitoring throughout the criminal justice system.
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 23 December 1993] : Ethnic monitoring of stop and search by the police was introduced nationally in April 1993. On present plans I anticipate that by 1995 the police will also be in position to monitor arrests and cautions. Our ultimate intention is to extend monitoring throughout the criminal justice system, but at present it would be premature to forecast when that goal will be achieved.
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Drugs Offences
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have taken place of drug dealers in Liverpool in each of the past three years.
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 6 December 1993] : The available information is of convictions and cautions for the two offences commonly associated with drug dealing, i.e. unlawful supply and possession with intent to supply unlawfully. Figures for the Merseyside police force area for the last three years for which data are available, are given in the table.
D
Table: persons found guilty or cautioned for offences of
unlawful supply of a controlled drug, or possession of
a controlled drug with intent to supply unlawfully
Merseyside police force area Number of persons
Year |Unlawful supply |Possession with
|intent to supply
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |137 |143
1991 |119 |178
1992 |120 |163
Some persons may have been convicted or cautioned for both offences, so columns cannot be added together to obtain totals.
Life Sentences
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted for murder each year since the abolition of the death sentence ; if he will present in tabular form the number of years' life sentence each of these individuals served before release, again classifying it by the year of conviction ; and if he will also detail the number who are still serving their sentence again classified by year of conviction.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of people convicted of murder in England and Wales in each year 1965 to 1992 are tabulated below. Data on time served before release are not available in the precise form requested, but table 8.4 of "Prison statistics England and Wales 1991", Cm 2157 shows data for all life sentence prisoners received by Prison Service establishments. A copy is available in the Library of the House.
Persons convicted of murder in England and Wales 1965-1992 Year |Numbers ------------------------ 1965 |57 1966 |72 1967 |63 1968 |74 1969 |75 1970 |97 1971 |97 1972 |79 1973 |90 1974 |112 1975 |107 1976 |104 1977 |115 1978 |105 1979 |136 1980 |169 1981 |126 1982 |184 1983 |132 1984 |156 1985 |173 1986 |179 1987 |166 1988 |231 1989 |189 1990 |180 1991 |201 1992 |182 Source: Criminal Statistics, England and Wales.
DEFENCE
Advertising
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spends annually on (a) television advertising, (b) radio advertising and (c) press advertising ; and what were the corresponding figures for 1985 and 1979.
Mr. Hanley : My Department's centrally controlled expenditure for advertising, broken down into media categories, for 1979-80, 1985-86 and 1992-93 and estimated expenditure for 1993-94 is as follows :
Advertising Financial year |Television |Radio |Press |Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1979-80 |2.280 |0.040 |5.750 |8.070 1985-86 |1.820 |0.020 |6.820 |8.660 1992-93 |2.521 |0.001 |6.178 |8.700 1993-94 |2.372 |Nil |6.408 |8.780 Note: All figures are expressed in £ million.
Housing
Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are his Department's plans regarding security arrangements for housing currently occupied by armed forces personnel.
Mr. Hanley : There are no plans to change the Department's security arrangements for housing currently occupied by armed forces personnel, the details of which I am not prepared to reveal. Security is one of many factors being considered by officials looking at the proposal that a housing trust take over the management of the married quarters estate.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money he will be spending in the next two years on upgrading the physical condition of married quarters ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : It is not our practice to reveal the future expenditure plans of Ministry of Defence budget holders at this level of detail.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has to ensure that the transfer of the administration of married quarters to a housing trust will not involve any change in the level of rents ; and if he will make a statement ;
(2) what plans he has to increase the rents of married quarters.
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Mr. Hanley : The rents paid by service personnel for married quarters are set on the basis of recommendations made by the armed forces pay review body. This will continue to be the case after the transfer of the married quarters estate to a housing trust. The proposed transfer will not therefore affect the method by which rents paid by individual service personnel are determined.
Tornado GR1
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors have been identified as possible reasons for improvement in the Tornado GR1 accident record.
Mr. Hanley : The statistical period involved is too short to draw any firm conclusions ; however, the factors which may have contributed to the reduction in the Tornado GR1 accident rate include a greater level of experience among current aircrew and the increased flying hours in support of current overseas operations.
Night Low Flying (Scotland)
Mr. McFall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the nature and purpose of the night low flying without lights which took place at several locations in west and north-west Scotland in the week commencing 18 October ; how many and what types of aircraft took part ; how many low flying sorties were flown by each type ; what proportion of these took place between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am British summer time ; at what level of command authority was given for this activity ; and what advance information was given to (a) hon. Members, (b) local media and (c) local aviation interests concerning the activity.
Mr. Hanley : It is necessary for the RAF and the Army Air Corps to practise the skills for flying a variety of operations, a number of which would involve flying under cover of darkness and without lights. A period of training to exercise such skills was held in west and north west Scotland between 16 and 28 October. The number of aircraft which took part, the total number of sorties flown and the number flown between 11 pm and 7 am were as follows :
|Total sorties |Sorties between 11
|pm and 7 am
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Chinook |5 |3
1 Puma |11 |2
5 Lynx |41 |6
3 Wessex |20 |0
1 Hercules |27 |4
2 Tornado |17 |0
The exercise was authorised at the appropriate level for such activity. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence wrote to forewarn hon. Members for constituencies principally affected and a brief outline of the exercise was disseminated to local media by HQ Scotland and HQ North West Brigade before it began. Civil aviators were notified of the activity by the aeronautical information service in the usual way.
NATO
Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will publish a summary of the United Kingdom's defence plans, together with details of those
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forces and capabilities that Her Majesty's Government will offer to make available to the alliance during the forthcoming year ; (2) when during 1993 NATO requested Her Majesty's Government to discuss revisions in the United Kingdom's defence plans, and the scale of military forces and capabilities which it makes available to the alliance ;(3) if all members of NATO's integrated military structure are obliged to provide annually to the alliance a detailed statement of their respective defence policies together with a disclosure of those military forces and capabilities which they intend to commit or make available to NATO during the forthcoming year ;
(4) if the United Kingdom will be submitting a statement of its defence policy together with details of its military forces and capabilities which it is prepared to place at the disposal of NATO during the forthcoming year, at the Ministerial Defence Planning Committee at its meeting on 8 December ;
(5) which other countries which are members of NATO's integrated military structure will be submitting a statement of their defence policies, accompanied by details of those military forces and capabilities which they are prepared to place at the disposal of the alliance during the forthcoming year, at the Ministerial Defence Planning Committee at its meeting on 8 December ;
(6) if NATO may oblige any member state of the alliance's integrated military structure to discuss any significant changes in its defence plans and/or the scale of the military forces and capabilities which it makes available to NATO which it seeks to make outside of the annual review cycle conducted each autumn by the Ministerial Defence Planning Committee.
Mr. Hanley : All NATO allies who participate in collective defence planning : Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are obliged to provide annually to the alliance a detailed statement of their defence policy and the military forces and capabilities they intend to commit to NATO. The commitment for the first year of the planning period is taken to be firm. For calendar year 1994 the United Kingdom submitted details to the alliance in July this year in its reply to the annual NATO defence planning questionnaire. An assessment of these plans will be submitted to NATO Defence Ministers at the autumn Ministerial Defence Planning Committee meeting on 8 December. These details are classified and will not be published. In exceptional circumstances the alliance may ask a nation to discuss significant changes in plans outside the annual review cycle. No such request was made of the United Kingdom during 1993.
Tendering
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to ensure that, when putting contracts out to tender, his Department includes the tender list companies which have acquired the BS5750 quality assurance standard.
Mr. Aitken : My Department maintains a list of companies interested in bidding for defence contracts, annotated to show which have achieved the BS5750 quality assurance standard. When seeking tenders for work which merits formal quality assurance procedures, we
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ensure that only qualified companies are invited to bid. The MOD Contracts Bulletin, which is published fortnightly, makes it clear that certification will normally be required. Since 1 September 1993 the Department has had a policy of "No Acceptable Certification--No Contract", and compliance with this policy is monitored.Defence Costs
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will publish the full terms of reference of the defence costs study known as "Front Line First" ; and what previous work will be used in the defence costs study.
Mr. Aitken : The defence costs study has been established to take a new and radical look at how the Ministry of Defence conducts its business, including procurement practice, headquarters and manpower costs and all aspects of support to the front line. The purpose will be to identify further areas where we can reduce costs, to ensure that the taxpayers' money we spend on defence is concentrated on the operational effectiveness of our front line force, and to enable our armed forces to discharge their military tasks and commitments properly, to the full and with formidable military capability. The study will build on all relevant previous work.
Ferranti International
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the management of GEC regarding the future of Ferranti International ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : The managements of both GEC and Ferranti International kept my Department informed about their discussions on the future of Ferranti. GEC's decision to make an offer for Ferranti, and its subsequent decision that the offer should lapse, were matters for its commercial judgment.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his United States of America counterpart regarding the future of Ferranti International ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : My right hon. and learned Friend has had no such discussions.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details of all the contracts he currently has with Ferranti International ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : It is not my Department's practice to provide details of all our contracts with a company. We have a large number of contracts with Ferranti International, covering a wide range of projects, on which, in the last financial year, we made payments of over £100 million.
Officials of my Department are discussing with the receivers of Ferranti International what can be done to minimise any disruption to the completion of our contracts.
Dr. David Clark : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the impact of the failure of GEC to take over Ferranti International on the defence industrial base ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Aitken : GEC's decision to let its conditional offer for Ferranti International lapse will in itself have no impact on the defence industrial base. The receivers of Ferranti International have said that they wish to restore trading to near-normality as soon as possible. Any long-term effects on the defence industrial base will depend on the outcome of the receivership.
RAF Support Command (Flying Training)
Mr. Bates : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has for the future structure of the RAF support command flying training organisation.
Mr. Hanley : As a result of the reduced training requirement for pilots and aircrew in the RAF a study has been conducted into the RAF's flying training organisation to ensure that the training is being provided in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible. The study embraced all seven flying training stations and has examined the scope for rationalisation of tasks. While work remains to be done on the scope for rationalising other types of flying training, the review has concluded that fast jet advanced flying training currently based at RAF Valley and RAF Chivenor, can be rationalised and it is proposed that the task should be centred at RAF Valley. This would mean that flying training would cease at RAF Chivenor on 1 October 1994 and that Chivenor would be placed on a care and maintenance basis from 1 October 1995.
This proposal is expected to save some £127.86 million in net present value terms over 10 years. Some 119 civilian and 779 service posts would be affected. Civilian employees would be offered the range of outplacement services available and redundancies would be kept to a minimum. Any people made redundant would be eligible for compensation under the relevant pension scheme.
This proposal will be the subject of consultation with the trade unions and other interested parties and I have placed a copy of the consultation document in the Library of the House.
Separately I have looked again at the provision of RAF search and rescue facilities in the region and have
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concluded that the Sea King SAR flight should continue to transfer to Chivenor next year. The move will take place by 1 July 1994 and the Wessex SAR flight currentlys whether he has incorporated the code of practice for information security management, published by the British Standards Institution, into relevant contracts with information technology suppliers.Mr. Redwood : The code of practice for information security management was developed by and established for use by commercial organisations and does not specifically address the requirements for the protection of official information. In procurement and all other aspects of IT development and operation, my Department follows the policy and guidance set down by the Government's own IT security authorities.
Tir Cymen Scheme
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the current operation of the Tir Cymen scheme in the three pilot areas in Wales.
Sir Wyn Roberts : Tir Cymen, the farm stewardship scheme developed and administered by the Countryside Council for Wales, was launched in July 1992 and operates in three pilot areas based on the local authority districts of Meirionnydd, Dinefwr and Swansea.
In the first year--from 1 October 1992 to 30 September 1993--a total of 201 Tir Cymen agreements were finalised, covering a total area of 24,897 hectares, which represents 13.75 per cent. of the eligible land area. Total payments to farmers for the first year amount to £1, 497,733, of which £961,817 is for management and £535,916 is for capital works. A breakdown of the figures for the three pilot areas is given in the table :
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Pilot area |Agreements |Area (HA) |Management payment|Capital payment |total payment
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meirionnydd |84 |18,500 |702,048 |206,867 |908,915
Dinefwr |89 |5,575 |224,525 |277,233 |501,758
Swansea |28 |822 |35,244 |51,816 |87,060
|------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |201 |24,897 |961,817 |535,916 |1,497,733
The response from farmers in these pilot areas has been most positive, with more than 800 inquiries being registered in the first year. A full report on the first year of operation will be published by the Countryside Council for Wales in the new year.
Press and Publicity
Mr. Grocott : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many press and publicity officers are currently employed in his Department ; and how many were employed in (a) 1985 and (b) 1979.
Mr. Redwood : The information is as follows :
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Date |Staff employed --------------------------------------------- 1993 |14 1985 |15 1979 |15
Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future of the hill livestock compensatory allowance scheme in Wales.
Mr. Redwood : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Mrs.
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Knight) by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 30 November 1993 at columns 490-91.Cattle Tagging
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on the subject of cattle tagging ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : A consultation letter setting out the details of the Government's proposals for implementing the EC directive on animal identification and registration was issued earlier this year. A number of responses have been received on issues raised in the consultation exercise, including cattle tagging, and these are being considered at the moment.
National Geological Survey
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on the future of the National Geological Survey department at Aberystwyth ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : Four. The proposed closure is an operational matter for the British Geological Survey and its parent council, the Natural Environment Research Council. I understand that the remaining mapping needs of Wales will in future be met by staff based at the survey's headquarters, near Nottingham.
Forest Enterprise
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what additional funding is envisaged for unitary authorities in Wales to assist them to enter into access agreements on Forest Enterprise estates being offered for sale ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Wyn Roberts : My right hon. Friend will take decisions on funding for unitary authorities at the appropriate time.
Sheep Quota
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received on the question of the operation of the siphon in the context of sheep quota where it applies to changes in existing partnerships ; and if he will make a statement.
Job Creation
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the percentage of new jobs created by (a) inward investment and (b) British-owned companies since 1991.
Mr. Redwood : Comprehensive information on all new jobs created by every employer in Wales is not held centrally. However, on the basis of offers of regional selective assistance made since 1 January 1991 and subsequently accepted, 41.67 per cent., or 10,348, jobs are promised in foreign-owned companies and 58.33 per cent. or 14,485 in other companies. The figures are based on information given by the relevant companies at the time of their applications and take no account of subsequent developments.
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British Steel
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to meet the chairman of British Steel plc to consider the state of the industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : I have no immediate plans to meet the Chairman of British Steel.
Unemployment
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list for each constituency and county in Wales the number of long-term unemployed.
Mr. Redwood : The unemployment data requested are available from the NOMIS database, which can be accessed on line by the staff of the Library of the House.
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those measures he has adopted to assist manufacturing industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood : My Department and the Welsh Development Agency operate a wide range of measures to assist manufacturing industry, a number of which are focused on the key areas of improving productivity and the quality of goods.
The main assistance to Welsh manufacturing comes from the Government's general economic policy, based on low inflation and low interest rates, and a strong competition policy.
Source Wales aims to help Welsh suppliers compete worldwide and, over the last two years, 52 companies have obtained initial contracts worth about £8 million through the programme.
Support for new product development and innovation is provided through the SMART competition for small companies and through the SPUR--support for projects under research--scheme. In the past two years, 51 SMART awards totalling £2.44 million have been made and, since the start of SPUR in 1991, 24 companies have been assisted with a total grant commitment of £2.16 million.
In addition, the regional innovation grants element of the regional enterprise grants scheme aims to improve the performance of small businesses, through the introduction of successful new products and processes. The value of offers under this scheme more than doubled to £1.734 million between 1991-92 and 1992-93, and the number of applications received in the first half of 1993-94 was 5 per cent. higher than in the same period of 1992-93.
Assistance is also provided through various best practice awareness programmes, including : Managing in the 1990s, in which some 2,500 organisations have registered an interest ; Inside United Kingdom Enterprise, which includes eight exemplar Welsh companies ; and Inside Welsh Industry, which involves 10 Welsh demonstration companies.
The programme of regional technology transfer has included such themes as world class manufacturing, materials management and maintenance in the 26 projects supported over the past three years, with grants totalling £185,000.
Audits intended to identify technology and expertise of interest to industry have been initiated in five Welsh colleges.
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