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Written Answers to Questions
Friday 25 March 1994
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Ministerial Receptions
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the cost of receptions held by Ministers in his Department in 1993-94.
Mr. Waldegrave : The cost of receptions held by the Parliamentary Secretary and myself in 1993-94 has been approximately £5,400. Four receptions were held : service for the citizen conference reception (£3,229) ; two receptions for the media--summer (£742) and Christmas (£1,122) ; and a Christmas reception for staff (£300).
Furniture
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the cost of new furniture for his private office during the year 1993-94.
Mr. Waldegrave : The cost of new furniture for my private office and that of the Parliamentary Secretary in 1993-94 was £1,558.
Alcohol Consumption
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many bottles of (a) whisky and gin and (b) sherry and port were consumed by his private offices in 1993-94.
Mr. Waldegrave : My guests and I have consumed less than two bottles of whisky and less than half a bottle of gin in 1993-94. No sherry or port has been consumed.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Malaysian Airlines
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the dates on which Ministers or officials from his Department, including his Department's agencies, have used the Malaysian airline MAS for each year since 1985, including this year to date, on official business ; and what was the cost to his Department of each flight.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The Lord Chancellor, accompanied by his private secretary, used Malaysian Airlines on official business between 30 March and 8 April 1993. The total cost to the Department for the flights was £8,510.
In July 1990 the keeper of the Public Record Office travelled on Malaysian Airlines to attend the International Council on Archives. This flight was paid for by the event organisers.
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EDUCATION
GEST Programme
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will list the specific courses, the numbers following them, and the numbers successfully completing them, funded in the 1993-94 grant for education support and training programme for teachers of people with (a) hearing impairment, (b) visual impairment, (c) severe learning difficulties, (d) dyslexia, (e) other language and communication difficulties, (f) emotional and behavioural difficulties, (g) moderate learning difficulties, (h) autism, (i) physical disabilities and (j) other learning difficulties and special educational needs.
Mr. Forth : This information is not currently held centrally. The Department does, however, monitor the provision of training and is currently conducting a survey of local education authorities' use of grant 12 of the GEST programme.
Henrietta Barnett School
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what capital payments have been made to Henrietta Barnett voluntary-aided school in the past 10 years in respect of building works and refurbishment.
Mr. Forth : The Department's records show that, since January 1984, the sum of £303,000 has been paid in capital grant to the Henrietta Barnett school. A further sum of £2,771,000 has been paid in repair grant.
Pupils with Problems
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education on what date the first draft circulars on pupils with problems were distributed ; to which categories of people they were automatically distributed ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : Distribution of the draft circulars began on 4 January 1994. They were sent automatically to all local education authorities, self -governing (grant-maintained) schools representative bodies, teacher unions, the main subject representative bodies, some acknowledged experts in the field and all individuals who had expressed an interest or had been involved in discussions with the Department beforehand. Some 16,000 further copies of the package have been sent free, on demand. The consultation period, which lasted 10 weeks, ended on 11 March.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps have been taken to distribute the code of practice on pupils with problems to all schools ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : Subject to its approval by Parliament, the code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs will be distributed to all maintained schools.
Liverpool City of Learning Campaign
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what encouragement and practical support he is giving to the Liverpool city of learning campaign ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Boswell : My right hon. Friend warmly applauds the initiative of the higher and further education institutions in Liverpool, and the many partners with whom they are working, to ensure that continuing education plays a vital part in the social, cultural and economic development of the city. This is a local initiative, to which local support is the key. No financial or other support has been sought from the Department ; and I understand that Professor Peter Toyne, who is leading the initiative, has explicitly said that he does not seek such support.
Teachers' Pay
Mr. Tracey : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement about teachers' pay in 1994-95.
Mr. Patten : On 3 February the Prime Minister announced that the Government proposed to implement, with modifications, the recommendations of the School Teachers' Review Body for teachers' pay in England and Wales for 1994-95. After careful consideration of the representations I have received from the local authorities, the teachers' associations and others, I am today laying before Parliament a pay and conditions order bringing into force the increases of 2.9 per cent. which will apply from
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1 April. Copies of this order are being sent to all maintained schools, to all local education authorities and to the teachers' and employers' associations.Drafts of the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 1994, which will set out the details of the changes to the pay structure which I propose should apply from 1 September, will shortly be sent to the relevant teachers' and employers' associations and to representatives of the governors of voluntary schools and grant-maintained schools. I shall be inviting their comments on the detail of the draft document and on the Department's associated circular of guidance.
Mathematics and Science Undergraduates
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a table giving for every year since 1979 the total number of undergraduates in (a) mathematics, (b) physics, (c) chemistry, (d) all science subjects and (e) all subjects.
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish a table giving for every year since 1979, and for every London borough, the total number of undergraduates in (a) mathematics, (b) physics, (c) chemistry, (d) all science subjects and (e) all subjects.
Mr. Boswell : Information for England is shown in the table :
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Full-time and part-time undergraduates Thousands Academic year |Mathematics |Physics |Chemistry |All science |All subjects -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1979-80 |18.9 |7.5 |12.3 |208.8 |502.0 1980-81 |21.0 |7.8 |11.5 |223.0 |518.0 1981-82 |23.3 |8.2 |11.4 |236.9 |541.6 1982-83 |24.7 |8.2 |11.3 |241.7 |556.0 1983-84 |26.3 |8.3 |11.5 |245.0 |568.8 1984-85<1> |28.3 |7.9 |11.1 |246.8 |572.6 1985-86 |29.6 |7.7 |11.3 |248.0 |588.3 1986-87 |31.7 |7.5 |11.6 |253.0 |611.6 1987-88<1> |33.5 |7.3 |11.8 |256.0 |619.0 1988-89<1> |37.8 |7.1 |11.7 |264.9 |640.4 1989-90 |41.2 |7.4 |12.4 |282.0 |681.6 1990-91 |45.8 |7.4 |13.1 |305.2 |731.1 1991-92 |50.9 |7.9 |13.7 |338.8 |807.7 1992-93 |55.4 |7.9 |13.9 |374.6 |892.6 <1> The subject definitions changed between 1984 and 1985 for USR and between 1987 and 1988 for FESR. Series between these dates are not fully comparable. Sources: USR and FESR surveys.
To produce the information for each London borough can be done only at disproportionate cost.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Pergau Dam
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what considerations underlay the decision to pay the assistance under aid and trade provision for the Pergau dam to the Tenaga power company and not to the Malaysian Government.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Malaysian Government requested that the soft loan should be made direct to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). The Malaysian Government took the view that TNB was still a public body and therefore entitled to benefit from preferential loans. Her Majesty's Government considered that, in
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principle, the Malaysian Government would recoup theconcessionality of the loan through an enhanced share price when TNB was privatised, and therefore agreed to its request for the soft loan to be made direct with TNB. There was no commitment by the Malaysian Government to float TNB shares at any particular level and none was requested by Her Majesty's Government.
Mr. Hain : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contracts for the Pergau dam project in Malaysia were awarded to Kris Heavy Engineering and Construction ; what work was covered by sub-contracts ; and if he will list (a) the dates on which the contracts were awarded and (b) their individual value.
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Yugoslavia
Mr. Stephen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the supply of information technology to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to help reunite child refugees in the former Yugoslavia with their families.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I welcome UNHCR's efforts to help reunite child refugees in the former Yugoslavia with their families. We give UNHCR substantial financial and practical support for its relief programme in the former Yugoslavia.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the medical situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the availability of gas and oil for essential heating purposes, and the availability of medical precursors to health authorities.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd [holding answer 21 March 1994] : We receive frequent reports from all United Nations agencies and ODA staff who are working on the ground throughout the former Yugoslavia. We are doing what we can to ensure that all victims of this conflict are given access to essential humanitarian supplies, including heating and medical assistance. To date we have committed some £171 million towards the humanitarian relief effort for the former Yugoslavia, including Serbia
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and Montenegro. The bulk of our direct bilateral assistance, totalling some £92 million to date, is focused on central Bosnia where the needs are greatest.Sanctions applied under United Nations Security Council resolutions Nos. 757, 787 and 820 specifically exclude humanitarian supplies, subject to notification procedures in the United Nations Sanctions Committee. We have worked hard in this committee to ensure that all genuine humanitarian shipments are expedited, including the monitored delivery of heating oil by UNHCR to humanitarian institutions in the former republic of Yugoslavia.
EMPLOYMENT
Earnings
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish tables showing the average hourly rate, excluding overtime, for part-time employees who are (a) male, (b) female, and (c) male and female for each year since 1980 in (i) Durham, (ii) Cleveland, (iii) Tyne and Wear, (iv) Cumbria, and (v) Northumberland.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information available from the New Earnings Survey for part-time female employees and part-time adult employees in the counties of Durham, Cleveland, Tyne and Wear, Cumbria, and Northumberland is shown in the following table. There were too few part- time male employees in the New Earnings Survey samples for reliable figures to be produced for them.
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Table 3: Deaths
from definite and
probable cases of
CJD
and incidence of
GSS
(Prospective
study: England
and Wales)
Year Number of c
|CJD|GSS
------------------
1980 |23 |1
1981 |22 |-
1982 |24 |-
1983 |21 |-
1984 |32 |-
|-- |--
Total |122|1
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Average gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of part-time adult employees whose pay was unaffected
by absence: in April of each year
Year |Durham |Cleveland |Tyne and Wear |Cumbria |Northumberland
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
1981 |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
1982 |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
1983 |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>- |<1>-
1984 |2.32 |<1>- |2.28 |2.33 |<1>-
1985 |2.41 |<1>- |2.51 |2.44 |<1>-
1986 |2.68 |2.64 |2.61 |2.70 |2.42
1987 |2.75 |2.90 |2.88 |3.03 |2.57
1988 |2.84 |3.07 |3.20 |3.07 |2.68
1989 |3.19 |3.39 |3.35 |3.30 |3.21
1990 |3.61 |3.74 |3.59 |3.73 |3.45
1991 |3.97 |4.09 |3.89 |4.20 |<1>-
1992 |<1>- |4.87 |4.45 |4.20 |<1>-
1993 |4.34 |4.96 |4.60 |4.32 |<1>-
<1>- denotes information is unavailable due to (i) an unacceptably high standard error, or (ii) no
information available for that category.
Source: New Earnings Survey.
Mr. Prescott : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish tables showing the average weekly and hourly earnings, exclusive of overtime, for each year since 1980, of full-time employees in the categories (a) male manual employees, (b) male non-manual employees, (c) female manual employees, (d) female non-manual employees, (e) male and female manual employees and (f) male and female non-manual employees in each of (i) Durham, (ii) Cleveland, (iii) Tyne and Wear, (iv) Cumbria, and (v) Northumberland.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : Tables 108, 109, 111 and 112 of part E of the New Earnings Survey report contain average weekly earnings, the weekly overtime component, and hourly earnings excluding overtime, for manual and non-manual male and female employees in each county. Copies of the reports for each year since 1980 can be found in the Library.
The corresponding information for manual and non-manual adults is provided in the following tables :
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Average gross weekly earnings (excluding overtime) of full-time manual employees whose pay was
unaffected by absence: in April of year
Year |Durham |Cleveland |Tyne and Wear |Cumbria |Northumberland
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |95.7 |98.0 |90.6 |88.6 |91.6
1981 |106.1 |110.5 |101.0 |102.8 |104.8
1982 |110.0 |119.6 |112.2 |110.3 |109.5
1983 |116.6 |127.0 |117.9 |119.0 |121.5
1984 |121.7 |134.8 |124.5 |127.8 |125.1
1985 |131.8 |142.2 |131.1 |135.5 |127.5
1986 |139.6 |149.5 |140.3 |143.8 |133.4
1987 |147.0 |164.7 |145.1 |163.1 |140.8
1988 |156.2 |177.6 |155.9 |166.9 |155.8
1989 |162.4 |191.8 |165.5 |180.0 |159.6
1990 |180.0 |200.6 |179.4 |202.7 |174.2
1991 |192.7 |219.7 |197.3 |219.2 |191.2
1992 |203.8 |230.9 |217.4 |225.7 |207.2
1993 |209.1 |244.9 |223.6 |230.5 |215.2
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Average gross weekly earnings (excluding overtime) of full-time non-manual employees whose pay was
unaffected by absence: in April of year
Year |Durham |Cleveland |Tyne and Wear |Cumbria |Northumberland
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |110.1 |115.5 |102.2 |106.2 |99.4
1981 |129.1 |127.3 |120.7 |123.1 |113.8
1982 |133.5 |141.2 |127.5 |131.4 |124.6
1983 |145.1 |151.5 |139.9 |146.1 |136.4
1984 |150.6 |159.1 |150.7 |157.2 |151.6
1985 |163.8 |171.5 |159.0 |162.4 |160.3
1986 |179.6 |185.4 |173.8 |173.8 |172.6
1987 |189.0 |193.5 |184.5 |188.3 |182.1
1988 |209.4 |212.2 |200.7 |209.3 |202.8
1989 |226.4 |235.8 |221.4 |225.2 |229.4
1990 |251.4 |251.6 |246.3 |251.7 |237.3
1991 |267.0 |268.0 |267.8 |276.9 |270.4
1992 |301.4 |299.2 |289.9 |297.2 |302.4
1993 |314.8 |300.9 |296.3 |315.7 |299.6
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Average gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of full-time manual employees whose pay was
unaffected by absence: in April of year
Year |Durham |Cleveland |Tyne and Wear |Cumbria |Northumberland
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |2.42 |2.47 |2.30 |2.23 |2.32
1981 |2.69 |2.79 |2.55 |2.55 |2.64
1982 |2.81 |3.04 |2.86 |2.80 |2.77
1983 |3.01 |3.28 |3.02 |3.03 |3.09
1984 |3.14 |3.52 |3.21 |3.29 |3.22
1985 |3.42 |3.69 |3.37 |3.48 |3.28
1986 |3.61 |3.89 |3.59 |3.65 |3.42
1987 |3.78 |4.27 |3.82 |4.18 |3.65
1988 |4.08 |4.60 |4.01 |4.26 |3.96
1989 |4.22 |4.97 |4.29 |4.62 |4.12
1990 |4.64 |5.16 |4.65 |5.19 |4.35
1991 |4.97 |5.61 |5.10 |5.68 |4.82
1992 |5.33 |6.00 |5.57 |5.81 |5.35
1993 |5.46 |6.33 |5.78 |5.96 |5.56
Source: New Earnings Survey.
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Average gross hourly earnings (excluding overtime) of full-time non-manual employees whose pay was
unaffected by absence: in April of year
Year |Durham |Cleveland |Tyne and Wear |Cumbria |Northumberland
|£ |£ |£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |2.86 |3.14 |2.71 |2.85 |2.70
1981 |3.31 |3.42 |3.18 |3.32 |3.11
1982 |3.49 |3.73 |3.31 |3.54 |3.38
1983 |3.93 |4.19 |3.65 |3.97 |3.69
1984 |3.99 |4.37 |3.88 |4.23 |4.07
1985 |4.39 |4.68 |4.15 |4.35 |4.33
1986 |4.88 |5.05 |4.54 |4.75 |4.70
1987 |5.02 |5.35 |4.72 |5.12 |5.03
1988 |5.23 |5.89 |5.12 |5.68 |5.48
1989 |5.57 |6.37 |5.88 |5.98 |6.32
1990 |6.33 |6.51 |6.46 |6.73 |6.44
1991 |6.74 |7.05 |7.01 |7.35 |7.47
1992 |7.62 |7.95 |7.56 |7.75 |8.07
1993 |8.37 |7.86 |7.81 |8.46 |8.08
Source: New Earnings Survey.
Workstart
Mr. Robathan : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to extend the workstart pilot scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. David Hunt : We have decided to extend the workstart pilots for a further six months.
There are four pilots, two run by the Employment Service in south London and east Kent, and two by training and enterprise councils in Tyneside and in Devon and Cornwall. Each offers a financial incentive to employers who recruit eligible unemployed people. All of those helped by the scheme have been unemployed for a very long time--over two years in the east Kent and Tyneside pilots, and over four years in south London and in Devon and Cornwall.
The pilots began last summer, each with funding to place up to 250 people into employment by the end of March 1994. The rate of take up was initially slow, but it has improved significantly as the pilots have worked to match individual long-term unemployed people to specific vacancies put forward by employers.
To date, more than 400 people have been placed in jobs supported by the scheme--more than half of them in the last two months. I believe this is a significant achievement. A great many people who have found jobs through workstart might otherwise have remained unemployed for a further long period of time.
Each pilot will continue until the end of September to work towards the one thousand opportunities originally planned. There are, however, evident difficulties despite all the efforts of the TEC in matching very long-term unemployed people to vacancies in a rural area as large as Devon and Cornwall, and we are therefore making some changes to this pilot. I have asked the Employment Service to operate the scheme in Devon and Cornwall for the next six months, with eligibility extended to those who have been unemployed for two years or more, to see whether its wider network of local offices and the enlargement of the eligible group can improve performance. There are still lessons to be learnt from the extended operation of the pilots, and evaluation will continue.
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PRIME MINISTER
Public Appointments
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Prime Minister what percentage of public appointments made by his Department in 1993 were of (a) Asians and (b) black people ; and if he will list their names.
The Prime Minister : Sixty-nine appointments were made to bodies under Cabinet Office auspices. One was Asian (1.4 per cent.). None was black. Information on the ethnic origin of individuals is provided on a confidential basis. Names cannot therefore be given.
D-day Celebrations
Mr. Mandelson : To ask the Prime Minister what public relations advisers have been retained formally or informally by the Government to assist in the promotion of the D-day celebrations.
The Prime Minister : Lowe Bell Communications has been appointed by the Department of National Heritage to help organise its programme of civilian events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-day landings.
European Union (Voting)
Mr. Jim Marshall : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 22 March, to the hon. Member for Durham, North (Mr. Radice), Official Report, column 134, which two European Union member states are being particularly difficult in opposing the United Kingdom's position on qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers after enlargement of the Union.
The Prime Minister : Belgium and the Netherlands have been particularly insistent that the United Kingdom must give way on the issue of qualified majority voting.
Nursery Education
Dame Peggy Fenner : To ask the Prime Minister what his aims are for nursery education in the United Kingdom and the role he sees for the various organisations and agencies concerned.
The Prime Minister : More than 90 per cent. of three and four-year- olds already receive nursery education or other pre-school provision in the public or private sector.
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The Government's policy is to promote diversity, choice, quality and cost-effectiveness. Our long-term ambition is availability for all those who want it, and we are exploring possible ways of extending opportunities for the under-fives as resources allow. I regret that in my oral answer to the right hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Ashdown) in the House on Tuesday 22 March, Official Report, column 132, I inadvertently referred to universal nursery education provided in Westminster, when I had instead intended to refer to Wandsworth and its policy of offering nursery class places to all pupils during the year before they reach compulsory school age. This contrasts with the Isle of Wight which provides a negligible number of maintained nursery school and class places.HOME DEPARTMENT
Young Offender Units
Mr. Gunnell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many private companies have expressed an interest in receiving from his Department the specifications on the design of, and the regime in, the proposed five secure training units for young offenders.
Mr. Maclean : A total of 25 United Kingdom registered companies have expressed an interest in tendering for the financing, designing, building/refurbishing, operating and maintaining of five secure training centres.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were seeking asylum in Britain at the latest available date ; what were the comparable figures for (a) March 1992 and (b) March 1993 ; and how many current asylum seekers are (i) at liberty, (ii) in detention centres, (iii) in police cells and (iv) in prison.
Mr. Charles Wardle : At 28 February 1994--the latest date for which the information is available--an estimated 47,100 applications for asylum in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, were outstanding. The corresponding estimates for 28 February 1992 and 28 February 1993 were 60,400 and 43,700 respectively.
On 21 March 1994 a total of 645 people who had sought asylum were detained. This figure includes people awaiting the setting of directions for removal following refusal of the application, as well as those whose application was under consideration or subject to appeal. Of this figure, 363 were in detention centres, 35 in police cells and 247 in prison.
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers held at Campsfield house immigration detention centre have been transferred to Prison Service accommodation and for what reasons since 1 March ; to which Prison Service establishments they were transferred ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Ten people who had sought asylum have been transferred from the immigration detention centre, Campsfield house to Prison Service accommodation since 1 March because of their disruptive behaviour.
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Four were transferred to Birmingham prison, three to Blakenhurst, two to Bullingdon and one to Holloway.Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are currently held in detention ; and how many of them were in (a) Campsfield house immigration detention centre, (b) Harmondsworth immigration detention centre, (c) other immigration service accommodation, (d) Haslar Home Office holding centre, (e) Dover young offenders centre and (f) other Prison Service accommodation.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The available information shows that on 17 March 1994 a total of 654 people who had sought asylum at some stage, including those who are awaiting removal or the determination of an appeal, were held in detention. The numbers held in the establishments listed in the question were as follows :
<
|Number
------------------------------------------------------------
( a)Campsfield house detention centre |174
( b)Harmondsworth detention centre |88
( c)Other immigration service accommodation |31
( d)Haslar holding centre |91
( e)Dover young offenders institution |23
( f)Other Prison Service accommodation |211
|_______
Total |618
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost of keeping asylum seekers in custody per head for each of the past three years ; and what has been the total cost in each of those years.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The available information does not identify separately those detention costs which relate to people who have sought asylum.
Fire Service
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had from the Fire Service concerning his proposals on fire safety requests ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The review of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 was referred to in terms of reference of the current
inter-departmental scrutiny on fire safety enforcement. Publication of the report of the review was intended to inform public debate on the options available and facilitate responses to the enforcement scrutiny. Interested parties have been sent copies of the report and I understand that a number of representations have been made by the Fire Service to the scrutiny team.
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future responsibility of the Fire Service for all aspects of fire safety in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The fire safety enforcement scrutiny which began on 17 January is reviewing the operation and effectiveness of all fire safety legislation for which the Home Office, Department of the Environment and Health and Safety Executive have policy responsibility. The scrutiny is also examining the organisational arrangements of all bodies and agencies responsible for enforcing such legislation. Any decision about the need for changes to the legislation and those responsible for enforcing it must await the outcome of that scrutiny.
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Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Fire Service spent on information technology and communications in 1992-93 and 1993-94, by authority ; and what are the spending plans for 1994-95.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Expenditure on information technology and communications is a matter for individual authorities and detailed information is not held centrally.
Mr. Ian Smalley
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has made to the United States Justice Department regarding the extradition of Mr. Ian Smalley from the United States.
Mr. Maclean : None. The offences for which Mr. Smalley is wanted in the United Kingdom are not covered by the US-UK extradition treaty of 1972.
Police Service
Ms Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the police service spent on information technology and communications in 1992-93 and 1993-94, by constabulary ; and what are the spending plans for 1994-95.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Details of capital expenditure on information technology and communications in 1992-93 are set out in the table. Figures for 1993-94 are not yet available. Spending plans are not held centrally.
Capital expenditure on information technology
and communications in 1992-93
£ million
|Information |Communications|Total
|technology
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |328,000 |2,410,000 |2,738,000
Bedfordshire |0 |0 |0
Cambridgeshire |205,000 |57,000 |262,000
Cheshire |179,000 |705,000 |884,000
City of London |6,000 |0 |6,000
Cleveland |505,000 |313,000 |818,000
Cumbria |64,000 |0 |64,000
Derbyshire |1,067,000 |130,000 |1,197,000
Devon and Cornwall |50,000 |1,504,000 |1,554,000
Dorset |368,000 |53,000 |421,000
Durham |277,000 |47,000 |324,000
Dyfed-Powys |10,000 |183,000 |193,000
Essex |56,000 |0 |56,000
Gloucestershire |278,000 |157,000 |435,000
Greater Manchester |3,055,000 |1,696,000 |4,751,000
Gwent |75,000 |155,000 |230,000
Hampshire |2,040,000 |0 |2,040,000
Hertfordshire |784,000 |269,000 |1,053,000
Humberside |269,000 |575,000 |844,000
Kent |1,186,000 |2,238,000 |3,424,000
Lancashire |302,000 |17,000 |319,000
Leicestershire |587,000 |490,000 |1,077,000
Lincolnshire |172,000 |204,000 |376,000
Merseyside |53,000 |134,000 |187,000
Norfolk |0 |59,000 |59,000
Northamptonshire |285,000 |44,000 |329,000
Northumbria |498,000 |1,810,000 |2,308,000
North Wales |52,000 |29,000 |81,000
North Yorkshire |1,000 |638,000 |639,000
Nottinghamshire |837,000 |502,000 |1,339,000
South Wales |1,125,000 |266,000 |1,391,000
South Yorkshire |1,295,000 |1,228,000 |2,523,000
Staffordshire |790,000 |333,000 |1,123,000
Suffolk |661,000 |141,000 |802,000
Surrey |969,000 |398,000 |1,367,000
Sussex |171,000 |2,170,000 |2,341,000
Thames Valley |730,000 |208,000 |938,000
Warwickshire |649,000 |111,000 |760,000
West Mercia |198,000 |411,000 |609,000
West Midlands |1,101,000 |357,000 |1,458,000
West Yorkshire |2,940,000 |326,000 |3,266,000
Wiltshire |0 |0 |0
|------- |------- |-------
Totals |24,218,000 |20,368,000 |44,586,000
C3 Division
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases he referred to the Court of Appeal following an investigation by C3 division at his Department in each of the last 12 months.
Mr. Maclean : The information requested is given in the following table :
Number of cases
referred under
section 17(1)(a) of
the Criminal Appeal
Act 1968 in respect
of conviction
Month
----------------------
|1993
March |Nil
April |Nil
May |Nil
June |Nil
July |<1>1
August |Nil
September |Nil
October |1
November |1
December |Nil
|1994
January |Nil
February |Nil
<1> 2 defendants.
Miscarriages of Justice
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of alleged miscarriages of justice cases which were held by C3 division at his Department in 1993 or for the latest date available.
Mr. Maclean : At the beginning of 1993, 207 representations were under consideration ; 663 new representations were received during the year, and 650 representations were concluded ; 173
representations were under consideration at the end of the year.
Ms Corston : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average time taken to investigate an alleged miscarriage of justice by his Department during 1993 or for the latest year available ; and how many cases which are currently being examined by the C3 division of his Department, at the latest date available, have been outstanding for more than 12 months.
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