| Previous Section | Home Page |
Retail Crime
21. Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been donated by Whitbread to his retail crime document and initiative.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Current Home Office initiatives on business crime do not include a retail crime document. My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has however provided a forward to the shopfront security report published by the British Retail Consortium. I understand that Whitebread plc made a contribution to the cost of that document but the details are a matter for the company and the BRC.
Right to Silence
22. Mr. Heald : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about his proposals for abolishing the right to silence.
Mr. Maclean : I refer to my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave earlier today to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Bates)
Recorded Crimes
23. Mr. Burden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest figures for recorded crimes.
Mr. Maclean : The latest available figures for recorded crime were published on 3 November 1993 in a home office statistical bulletin issue 31/1993, a copy of which is in the Library.
Prison Population
24. Mr. Alan Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received encouraging him to reduce the prison population.
Mr. Maclean : I have received a number of such representations.
Identity Cards
25. Mr. Brazier : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration is being given to the introduction of identity cards as a means of curbing illegal immigration.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The question of a national identity card scheme is kept under review. It is a matter of balancing potential benefits against costs.
Column 445
Home Dependent Territories
27. Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to visit Jersey to discuss matters within his responsibility for home dependent territories.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : My right hon. and learned Friend has no immediate plans to visit Jersey, or otherwise for discussions with the Jersey authorities, although he hopes in due course to be able to visit the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, in the same way as have a number of previous Home Secretaries.
Police Administration
28. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding administrative burdens on the police ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : In the light of Government concern and representations from the police and members of the public at the excessive paperwork faced by the police, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) commissioned a study by consultants to identify ways of reducing the burden. My right hon. and learned Friend the present Home Secretary announced the Government's acceptance of all 16 of the report's recommendations on 6 October 1993. The police are keen to see these recommendations implemented and are making a valuable contribution to taking forward this work in conjunction with the other criminal justice agencies.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had to reduce administrative burdens on the police ; and what legislative proposals he has on the subject.
Mr. Charles Wardle : In the light of Government concern and representations from the police and members of the public at the excessive paperwork faced by the police, in June 1993 the then Home Secretary commissioned a study by consultants to identify ways of reducing the burden. My right hon. and learned Friend announced the Government's acceptance of all 16 of the report's recommendations on 6 October 1993. Work is under way on their implementation. I have no plans to introduce any legislation on the subject.
Racial Incidents
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prosecutions there were in (a) 1992 and (b) 1993 for incitement to racial hatred under sections 17 to 23 of the Public Order Act 1986 ; and how many of these prosecutions were successful ;
(2) what penalties have been imposed upon conviction for people successfully prosecuted for incitement to racial hatred under sections 17 to 23 of the Public Order Act 1986 for each year since 1987.
Mr. Maclean : I will write to the hon. Member.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will report on proceedings taken under section 57 of the Race Relations Act 1976 ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 446
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I will write to the hon. Member.
Police Manpower
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the pay of the average police officer ; how many police officers are curently in post ; what were the comparable figures for 10 and 15 years ago in real terms in each case ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information is given in the table. It should be noted that the data exclude officers on central service.
|1978-79|1983-84|1993-94
|£ |£ |£
----------------------------------------------------------------
Average pay costs of police
officer |5,881 |13,387 |30,142
Average real terms pay costs of
police officer<1> |16,870 |22,621 |30,142
Number of officers<2> |111,792|120,595|127,294
<1> Average pay costs brought up to 1993-94 prices.
<2> As at 31 March 1979, 31 March 1984 and 31 October 1993 (
which is the latest date for which figures are available).
Gambian Visitors
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the guidelines relating to persons from the Gambia wishing admittance to the United Kingdom for purposes of holiday.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Instructions are not issued on the basis of nationality.
Consultancy Contracts
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the value of consultancy contracts awarded by his Department each year since 1979, both in current prices and at constant 1994 prices.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Sentence Discounts
Sir Ivan Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what decision he has reached on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice about sentence discounts.
Mr. Howard : I have decided to accept the Royal Commission's recommendation that the courts' existing practice of giving credit for early guilty pleas in the form of discounts on sentence should be more clearly articulated, by putting it on to a statutory basis. I therefore intend to table an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill, requiring those passing sentence to take account of the timing and other circumstances of a plea of guilty, and, where a discount is given, to indicate the fact. In so doing I have taken into account that early pleas of guilty not only save valuable court time, but also spare the victims of crime the anxiety which many feel at the prospect of describing their ordeal in evidence.
Column 447
Christmas Parole
Mr. Hawksley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners were given Christmas parole ; (2) how many prisoners given Christmas parole failed to return at the arranged time.
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 Derek Lewis to Mr. Warren Hawksley, dated February 1994 :
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the number of prisoners who were given Christmas parole, and how many of them failed to return at the arranged time.
Christmas parole has been taken to be any form of home leave or temporary release granted specifically to cover the period including Christmas Day and Boxing Day, 1993. The figures are as follows :
Release |Failed to granted |return on time --------------------------------------------- 1,395 |39
Parents and Guardians (Recognisance)
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in 1992 the courts used their powers under section 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 to order a parent or guardian to enter into a recognisance.
Mr. Maclean : The power in section 58 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 came into effect on 1 October 1992. It was used on 95 occasions during 1992.
Bewsey Street Hostel, Cheshire
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were remanded in Bewsey street hostel ; and how many are (a) black males and (b) black females, at the latest date available.
Mr. Maclean : In the three months to 30 November 1993, 72 residents were admitted to the hostel. I understand from inquiries of the hostel that, in this period, one black male and no black females were resident there.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the occupancy rate of the Bewsey street hostel for each of the last 10 quarters.
Mr. Maclean : Occupancy figures for the period April 1991 to March 1992 are not readily available on a quarterly basis. The occupancy figures for the most recent six quarters, and for December 1993, are as follows :
|Per cent.
------------------------------------------
April-June 1992 |56
July-September 1992 |62
October-December 1992 |72
January-March 1993 |75
April-June 1993 |76
July-September 1993 |85
December 1993 |85
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what advice will be given to the magistrates courts regarding any future bail hostel remands following the closure of Bewsey street hostel ;
(2) what provision will be made to enable courts in Cheshire to make probation orders with conditions of residence.
Mr. Maclean : It will be for the Cheshire probation service to bring to the attention of the courts which it serves the facilities offered by other approved hostels.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was (a) the average cost of a weekly place in the Bewsey street hostel, (b) the average length of stay and (c) the average cost of a prison remand place in the Cheshire area.
Mr. Maclean : (a) The current weekly cost is £221.
(b) This information is not readily available in the form requested.
(c) In 1992-93, the average weekly net operating cost per prisoner at Her Majesty's prison Risley, in Warrington, was £304. Costs for remand prisoners are not kept separately.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will be consulted about the proposed closure of the Bewsey street hostel in Cheshire.
Mr. Maclean : The Cheshire probation service was notified on 1 December of our closure proposals and given the opportunity to comment.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many residents of Bewsey street hostel were, on the latest date available, (a) under 17, (b) between 17 and 21 and (c) 21 years and over.
Mr. Maclean : There were 19 residents at the hostel on 30 November 1993. The breakdown requested is (a) 0 ; (b) 7 ; (c) 12.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were either re-arrested and charged or breached for failure to comply with requirements at the Bewsey street hostel for the latest period for which statistics are available.
Mr. Maclean : In the three months to 30 November 1993, one resident was re-arrested and charged, and seven residents were breached for failure to comply with requirements.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has of the numbers of people who might be remanded into custody per annum as a result of the closure of Bewsey street hostel in Cheshire.
Mr. Maclean : It is for the courts to decide who should be remanded in custody. There are approved hostel facilities available to them in Cheshire and neighbouring probation areas.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are likely to be made redundant in the event of the closure of the Bewsey street hostel ; and what would be the financial costs.
Mr. Maclean : It will be for the Cheshire probation committee, as employer, to decide how to manage the
Column 449
consequences of closure, in terms of redeployment or redundancies ; we have not yet received a full account of its conclusions.Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the annual saving as a result of the closure of the Bewsey street hostel in Cheshire.
Mr. Maclean : We expect the saving to be in the order of £100,000 in 1994-95 and £200,000 in 1995-96.
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what capital and revenue expenditure will be available for hostel provision in the Cheshire probation area for 1994-95 and 1995-96.
Mr. Maclean : Revenue grant for 1994-95 and 1995-96 will be about £400,000 a year. The level of capital grant will depend on the scrutiny of spending proposals submitted by all probation areas.
Police Recruits
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had suggesting that the published numbers of established police officers should not include recruits undergoing basic training ; and if he will give the total number of recruits undergoing training for the most recent date.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No such representations have been received. On 31 December 1992 there were 10,692 police constables in England and Wales who were going through their two-year probationary period. About one third of these were still undergoing their foundation training.
Figures for 31 December 1993 are not yet available.
Animal Experimentation
Mr. Meale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if any designated breeders of dogs registered under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to supply animals to laboratories have bred greyhounds since 1991 ;
(2) if any exemptions to allow non-purpose-bred greyhounds to be used in research in 1992 were granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Purpose-bred greyhounds were available from a designated breeder for about 12 months from July 1991. Breeding ceased in June 1992.
No exemptions to allow the use of non-purpose-bred greyhounds were granted in 1992. This would not have precluded the use of such animals under pre- existing authorities.
Blakenhurst Prison
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the key problems which have compromised security at Her Majesty's prison Blakenhurst ; and what action has been taken to minimise these faults.
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.
Column 450
Letter from Mr. A. J. Pearson to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated February 1994 :The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about key problems that have compromised security at HMP Blakenhurst. An article about Blakenhurst in the "Birmingham Post" of 17 June 1993 was accompanied by photographs, one of which showed a hand holding a bunch of prison keys. The management contractor at Blakenhurst, United Kingdom Detention Services, took the view that the photograph could enable an expert locksmith to copy the keys. They agreed to change the locks believed to have been at risk at no cost to the Prison Service.
United Kingdom Detention Services have used this experience to reinforce to all staff the importance of constant vigilance in keeping keys out of sight of people not authorised to see or use them.
Special Parish Constables
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress made in developing the experiment of special parish constables, giving numbers appointed, their terms and conditions and geographical areas covered.
Mr. Charles Wardle : There are 20 schemes involving parish special constables already in operation around the country with more in development. The number of special constables involved varies from scheme to scheme. In most schemes existing special constables have volunteered to be redeployed for the purpose, although some forces have started a recruitment programme to persuade volunteers to train specifically for such work.
Parish special constables are appointed under the same terms and conditions as other special constables and as such are under the operational control of their chief constable. However, the local parish council, or councils, is consulted about some of the duties that the parish special constable might perform, and about particular local concerns.
The size of the geographical area covered by parish special constables will vary from community to community. In general we have recommended that the schemes stay closely linked to parish boundaries. However, this is a matter for chief constables to decide after consultation with the communities involved.
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had about the value of special parish constables from (a) the Police Federation, (b) chairmen and members of police authorities, (c) hon. Members and (d) members of the public in the areas currently affected by the experiment.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No such representations have been received.
Remand
Ms Short : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for the latest year available, how many people were remanded in the west midlands area ; and how many were (a) black males and (b) black females.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Reliable information on the total numbers of defendants remanded in the west midlands is not available centrally. Neither is any regular information collected regularly on the ethnic origin of those proceeded against in court. Some information on the ethnic origin of
Column 451
those remanded in custody in the west midlands was given in my reply to the hon. Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth) on 25 January, Official Report, column 155.Prison Education
Sir Ivan Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sum of money has been allocated to education in prisons over each of the past five years.
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 Derek Lewis to Sir Ivan Lawrence, dated February 1994 :
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the sum of money allocated to education in prisons over the past five years.
The total expenditure on education services in prisons in England and Wales in the past five years was as follows :
Year |£ million ------------------------------ 1988-89 |19.5 1989-90 |22.9 1990-91 |25.5 1991-92 |29.5 1992-93 |31.5
Moorlands Prison
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide details of the cell of the month bonus scheme at Her Majesty's prison Moorlands.
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 Derek Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated February 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about Moorland prison and young offender institution.
An incentive scheme to raise standards of cleanliness in cells has been introduced at Moorland prison. A weekly bonus of £2 is paid to the prisoner(s) whose cell is judged to be the cleanest. This practice is consistent with the rules governing the prisoners' earnings scheme. It is an example of a system of rewards to maintain standards within a prison. The governor will keep the scheme under review in order to evaluate its effectiveness.
Youth Custody
Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each year since 1989 the total number of young people serving youth custody sentences who have been reclassified from young offender to adult status before reaching 21 years of age.
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.
Column 452
Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. Bill Etherington, dated February 1994 :AVERAGE AGE AND AVERAGE SENTENCE LENGTH
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking if he will list for each year since 1989, (a) the average age and (b) the average length of sentence of the total number of young people serving youth custody sentences, who have been reclassified from young offender to adult status prior to reaching 21 years of age. The readily available information is for prisoners held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales on 30 June 1993. On that date the average age of all young offenders who had previously been reclassified to adult status prior to reaching 21 years of age is provisionally estimated as 20.3 years. The average sentence length (excluding those sentenced to life imprisonment and those for whom a sentence length was not recorded) was nearly five years.
Mr. Etherington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each year since 1989, (a) the average age and (b) the average length of sentence of the total number of young people serving youth custody sentences.
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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. Bill Etherington, dated 10 February 1994 :
Average Age and average sentence length of young offenders The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking if he will list for each year since 1989, (a) the average age and (b) the average length of sentence of the total number of young people serving youth custody sentences.
The information requested is given in the attached table. Information on the average length of sentence of young offenders received into Prison Service establishments is published annually in Chapter 3 of "Prison statistics, England and Wales".
| Next Section
| Home Page |