| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Prison Service standing order 5A 37 states that visits to inmates by journalists or authors in their professionnal capacity should in general not be allowed. My right hon. and learned Friend has no intention of changing these arrangements.
Uniformed Police, London
24. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for increasing the numbers of uniformed police officers in London.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Extra resources made available for the civilianisation of non-operational posts currently filled by police officers will enable 400 officers to be released for operational duties in 1994-95. In addition my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary has approved the Commissioner's plan to restructure the Metropolitan police and this is expected to release more resources for operational tasks.
Column 640
Neighbourhood Watch
25. Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next expects to meet representatives of neighbourhood watch schemes in rural areas.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary and I, with other ministerial colleagues in the Home Office, regularly meet members of neighbourhood watch schemes during our frequent visits to rural areas. In addition, my right hon. and learned Friend will be attending the first national rural crime prevention conference on 13 June and the national neighbourhood watch conference planned for 5 November, both of which will provide an opportunity for him to meet and consider the views of neighbourhood watch members from all parts of the country.
Prison Disciplinary Regime
26. Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to improve the disciplinary regime in prisons ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Sanctions against misbehaviour by prisoners have recently been reviewed. My right hon. and learned Friend has increased the maximum periods of cellular confinement that may be awarded by governors for breaches of prison rule 47. He is also tightening the arrangements under which prisoners may have additional days punishment cancelled automatically as a reward for subsequent good behaviour.
Judicious use of incentives to good behaviour also plays an important part in maintaining discipline. Work is in hand to see how the application of incentives can be improved.
Secure Training Orders
27. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what importance he attaches to the maximum secure training order lasting two years ; and what assessment he has made of the effect of reducing this maximum to 12 months or 24 months in exceptional circumstances.
Mr. Maclean : We believe that a two-year maximum is necessary so that courts can sentence appropriately youngsters whose persistent offending is most serious and whose need for custodial training is greatest. Twelve months would allow the courts insufficient flexibility to reflect in their sentencing the gravity of the offending. Criteria designed to identify the exceptional circumstances in which a 24-month sentence would be appropriate would, we believe, introduce unnecessary complications, fetter sentencers' discretion and increase the likelihood of appeals.
Chief Constables
28. Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement concerning his policies as they affect the appointment of chief constables.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend's responsibilities under section 4(2) and other
Column 641
sections of the Police Act 1964 are exercised with a view to promoting the efficiency of the police. An important consideration in deciding upon an officer's suitability for appointment as chief constable is his or her breadth of experience as a senior manager, including service in another force. Guidance to police authorities on this aspect of eligibility for appointment as a chief constable is contained in Home Office circular 76 of 1976, a copy of which may be obtained from the Library.Police Radio Communications
29. Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress police forces have made with secure radio communications.
Mr. Charles Wardle : A speech privacy facility--the GEC-Marconi MASC --has been approved by the Association of Chief Police Officers and by the Home Office and 25 police forces have now purchased MASC equipment. Secure radios with a high level of encryption are also available for specialised operations.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Gerrard : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effects of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 on refusal rates for asylum seekers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Implementation of the Act is being carefully monitored. The proportion of outright refusals of asylum applications has increased significantly since last July when the Act came into force. This is attributable not to the Act itself but to the accompanying change limiting the use of exceptional leave to cases where there are genuine humanitarian reasons for not enforcing removal.
Immigration (Carriers' Liability)
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total amount of fines which have been levied against carriers under section 1 of the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987 in each year since its commencement ; how much has been waived in each year since the commencement of the Act ; and how much is now outstanding.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information is as follows :
£ million
Year |Total charges|Total charges
|levied |waived
--------------------------------------------------------
1987 |3.92 |0.15
1988 |4.40 |0.12
1989 |7.86 |0.34
1990 |9.63 |0.71
<1>1991 |12.89 |1.52
1992 |12.72 |1.60
1993 |11.04 |3.31
<1>The charge to the carrier for each improperly
documented passenger was increased from £1,000 to £2,
000 on 1 August 1991.
The total amount now outstanding is £20.76 million.
Column 642
Fine Defaulters
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fine defaulters held in gaols in England and Wales were received into custody for (a) non-payment of television licence, (b) non- payment of poll or community tax, (c) non-payment of fine in respect of soliciting or loitering and (d) other reasons at the latest date available.
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 Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 21 April 1994 :
Fine Defaulters
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many fine defaulters held in jails in England and Wales were received into custody for (a) non-payment of television licence, (b) non-payment of poll or community tax, (c) non-payment of fine in respect of soliciting or loitering and (d) other reasons at the latest date available.
The available information which is provisional for receptions of fine defaulters into Prison Service establishments in 1993 is given in the attached table. The available information for non-payment of the community charge, which is classed as a non-criminal offence and not a fine default, is for 1992 : it shows that 504 persons (a provisional total) were received into a Prison Service establishment for the offence.
I regret to inform you that we are unable to provide information relating to loitering as it is not a separately coded offence.
- Receptions of fine defaulters into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales, 1993<1> Offence |Number --------------------------------------------- Using a TV without a licence |845 Soliciting |7 Other |21,731 All receptions |22,583 <1> Provisional figures.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were gaoled in England and Wales for fine default in each year since 1982.
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 Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 21 April 1994 :
Fine Defaulters
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many people were jailed in England and Wales for fine default in each year since 1982.
Information on receptions of fine defaulters into Prison Service establishments for the period 1981 to 1991 is published in table 7.1 of "Prison Statistics England and Wales 1991", Cm. 2157, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons library. Provisional information for 1992 and 1993 gives the number of receptions of fine defaulters as 19,826 and 22,583 respectively.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for the latest date available, how many fine defaulters in gaols in England and Wales were (a) male and (b) female.
Column 643
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 Dick Lewis to Dr. Lynne Jones dated 21 April 1994 : Fine Defaulters
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking, for the latest date available, how many fine defaulters in jails in England and Wales were (a) male and (b) female. On 28 February 1994 there were 481 fine defaulters--455 males and 26 females--in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average daily population of fine defaulters in gaols in England and Wales for the latest year available.
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 Dick Lewis to Dr. Lynne Jones dated 21 April 1994 : Fine Defaulters
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the average daily population of fine defaulters in jails in England and Wales for the latest year available.
The latest information is for 1993. The average population of fine defaulters in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales was 492 persons in 1993.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fine defaulters in gaols in England and Wales were serving (a) seven days or less, (b) eight to 14 days, (c) 15 to 21 days, (d) 22 to 28 days and (e) over 28 days at the latest date available.
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 Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 21 April 1994 :
Fine Defaulters
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many fine defaulters in jails in England and Wales were serving (a) seven days or less, (b) eight to 14 days, (c) 15 to 21 days, (d) 22 to 28 days and (e) over 28 days at the latest date available.
A breakdown of the population of fine defaulters on 30 September 1993 by the sentence lengths requested is given in the attached table.
Population of fine defaulters in Prison Service
establishments in
England and Wales by period imposed in default, 30
September 1993<1>
Period imposed in |Number of
default
|persons
------------------------------------------------------
0 to 7 days |88
8 to 14 days |130
15 to 21 days |57
22 to 28 days |113
Over 28 days |237
|---
All persons |625
<1>Provisional figures.
Special Constabulary
Mr. Allason : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what categories of employment are excluded from membership of the special constabulary.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The guidelines on categories of employment are currently under review. I will write to my hon. Friend.
Parish Constables
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many permanent establishment parish constables have been appointed as a direct result of his initiative on parish constables.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Parish constables are being recruited as special constables or as parish wardens. They are volunteers and are not included as part of permanent police establishments.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the practical successes that have come from his initiative for parish constables.
Mr. Charles Wardle : It would be premature to seek to judge the success of the schemes at this stage, although we are pleased with the response to the initiative so far. Officials from the Home Office research and planning unit are collecting information about the progress of schemes, and are closely monitoring the progress of four selected pilots, with a view to publishing a report evaluating the schemes towards the end of the year.
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sources of funding are available to fund the provision of parish constables.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Parish special constable schemes are funded in the same way any other policing activities, although a limited amount of capital grant--some £21,000--has been provided by the Home Office for the supply of essential communications equipment. In some schemes, the local community has sponsored such communications equipment. A number of communities have provided office space free of charge for the use of their parish special constable.
The sources of funding for parish warden schemes vary. Three schemes are funded by their local police, with communications equipment provided by local sponsors. Three schemes have been funded through the county council. Five neighbourhood watch wardens, a variation on the recommended warden model, are funded by the parish council of Glenfield, in Leicestershire.
Squatting
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding squatting ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : The Home Office issued a consultation paper on this subject in 1991, to which we received 216 responses. My hon. Friend the Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) gave a general account of these on 17 June 1992 in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Raynsford), at column 522.
Column 645
Since then, we have received a number of further representations from hon. Members and others. The Government's proposals for changing the criminal law as it relates to squatting are contained in part V of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill now before Parliament.Refugees
Mr. Parry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many political refugees from Turkey there were in Britain at the latest date ; and how many there have been in each of the last four years.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The available information is that, in the period 1 January 1979 to 31 March 1994, around 2,600 Turkish nationals, including associated dependants, were recognised as refugees and granted asylum in the United Kingdom. Information on the number of these cases who have since died, left the country, obtained British citizenship or otherwise ceased to hold refugee status here, and information before 1979, is not available.
Information on the number granted asylum in each of the years 1990 to 1993 is given in the table.
Turkish nationals<1> recognised as refugees and granted asylum, including associated dependants<2>, 1990 to 1993 Year |Number --------------------- 1990 |580 1991 |160 1992 |800 1993 |520 <1> Estimated figures, rounded to the nearest 10. <2> Includes dependants who applied with the principal applicant or who arrived subsequently before the grant of asylum to the principal. Figures exclude dependants who arrived after the principal grant.
Electoral Registration
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records and research findings are held within his Department of the number of homeless people who are registered on electoral registers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : None. Homeless people are not identified in the electoral register and no research has been undertaken on behalf of the Home Office into the number registered.
Blakenhurst Prison
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the amount of money to be withheld from United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. under the tems of the management contract to manage Blakenhurst prison, in the light of the incident on 24 February, to have been settled ; and if he will make a statement.
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 Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 21 April 1994 :
Column 646
HM Prison BlakenhurstThe Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about Blakenhurst prison.
The matter has now been settled ; the intended financial remedy has been taken.
Electronic Mail
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is Her Majesty's Government's policy towards the use of private encryption technology by individuals or companies to protect data sent by electronic mail.
Mr. McLoughlin : I have been asked to reply.
It is a matter for the individual, or company, to take measures, which may include private encryption technology, which they consider necessary to safeguard their electronic mail communication.
WALES
Computer Systems
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what computer systems his Department has brought in, for what function and at what cost for each of the last five years ; and in each case whether the computer system is still in use.
Mr. Redwood : Full details could be provided only at
disproportionate cost. However, information relating to certain larger systems acquired during the past five years, all of which are still in use, is detailed in the table :
System type and |Cost
function
|£
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Systems purchased to support administrative functions
PC Network
Statistical Systems |193,600
(installation period 1989-94)
PC Network
Support for Ministerial Offices |112,400
(installation period 1989-94)
PC Network
Office Automation, Grant applications, Financial |79,000
Monitoring
(installation period 1990-94)
PC Network
Office Automation, Typing Services, Records |274,000
Management, Press and Publicity
(installation period 1990-94)
PC Network
Housing Subsidy and Grants |48,000
(installation period 1992-93)
Systems purchased as a result of legislative or administrative
Changes
Mini Computer
To assist the administration of Agricultural support in |874,680
Wales
(installation May 1993. Life span estimated to be
seven years)
Mini Computer
Personal Systems |62,180
(installation May 1990. Life span estimated to be
seven years)
Column 647
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many parliamentary questions to his Department have not been answered because of disproportionate costs or because the information requested was not held centrally over the last five years ; how many could be answered now due to computerisation and/or more effective operational systems ; and if he will list each such question along with the name and constituency of the hon. Member who tabled it.
Mr. Redwood : The number of parliamentary questions that have not been answered because of disproportionate costs or because the information requested was not held centrally over the past five years such as can easily be provided by POLIS is 523. Information concerning how many could be answered now due to computerisation and/or more effective operational systems with the name and constituency of the hon. Member who tabled it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Wales Cancer Registry
Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to publish the statistics of the Wales Cancer Registry for the years 1988 to 1993.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : Cancer registration data from the Wales Cancer Registry for 1988 have been published in "Health and Personal Social Services Statistics for Wales, No. 19, 1992", available in the Library of the House. Data for 1989 will be published in the next edition at the end of April. More detailed information relating to the period 1984-89 will be made available in a report from the Wales Cancer Registry, "Cancer Registration in Wales, 1984-89", due to be published during the summer of 1994.
Cancer registration is complex, relying in the main on data submitted by hospitals, regional cancer registries in England and the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. New information on patients may be received some time after the actual incidence of cancer. Extensive validation is required in order, for example, to eliminate duplicates. The policy of the Wales Cancer Registry is to make available and publish data for a particular year when it is believed that future revisions will be small.
Toxic Waste
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information is made available to his Department on the ways in which the content of toxic waste imported into Wales can be verified against consignment notes.
Mr. Gwilym Jones : It is the responsibility of the competent authority--district council--to ensure that the waste matches the description of the consignment note in accordance with advice given in Welsh Office circular 25/89.
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what information his Department holds on the companies of origin of the toxic and hazardous waste imported into Wales.
Column 648
Ombudsman
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many complaints concerning his Department's work have been brought to his attention in each year since 1979 by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration ; what steps he or his predecessors have taken to deal with complaints forwarded to him ; and if he will make a statement on his Department's relationship with the ombudsman.
Mr. Redwood : Complaints concerning the Welsh Office are noted, where applicable, in the reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration which have been published every year since 1967. Copies of these reports are held in the Library of the House. My Department takes all necessary steps in dealing with complaints.
Glanders
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the number of cases of glanders and farcy in each year since 1985.
Private Security Firms
Mr. George : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many private security firms have been employed by his Department for each of the last 10 years ; what has been the annual value of the contracts ; and if he will estimate how many guards have been employed for each of those years.
Mr. Redwood : During the past 10 years my Department has regularly employed two private security firms under contracts valued as follows :
Year |£000s -------------------- 1984-85 |73 1985-86 |85 1986-87 |88 1987-88 |89 1988-89 |92 1989-90 |99 1990-91 |105 1991-92 |115 1992-93 |119 1993-94 |133
I estimate that 10 guards were needed in each of the years from 1984-85 to 1990-91 and 9 from 1991-92 to 1993-94.
During the 1991-92 financial year, Cadw Welsh Historic Monuments, an executive agency within my Department made use of a private security firm for a special event at a cost of £9,000. The number of security employees involved is not known.
Contaminated Land
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the level of contaminated land on areas controlled by Railtrack in Wales ; what discussions he has had with the chairman of Railtrack over the clean-up of contaminated land associated with railway operations in Wales ; and what resources he has committed to the clean-up of contaminated land in Wales.
| Next Section
| Home Page |