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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 18 May 1994

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Magistrates Courts

Mr. Boateng : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many amalgamations of magistrates court committee areas he has determined to make ; how many committee areas (a) will be affected, and (b) will remain ; and if he will list the names of the committee areas that will be affected by each amalgamation.

Mr. John M. Taylor : The White Paper "A New Framework for Local Justice", published in February 1992, announced that the Government would like to see a progressive reduction in the number of separate management units, and that we judged that something between 50 and 60 would in due course provide a good balance between the local character of the service and operational needs. The Lord Chancellor has reached no final conclusions about any specific amalgamations.

Mr. Boateng : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list all the magistrates court committees that he has consulted about possible amalgamation ; and what plans he has to consult other magistrates court committees about amalgamation.

Mr. John M. Taylor : All magistrates courts committees were consulted during 1992 about criteria for magistrates court committee areas and were subsequently consulted on how those criteria could be met in their area. As a result of this, the Lord Chancellor published indicative conclusions as to possible amalgamations, but these do not constitute final decisions. Under the provisions contained in the Police and Magistrates Courts Bill, no order amalgamating or otherwise adjusting the boundaries of a magistrates court committee area could be made without consultation with the magistrates courts committee or committees concerned, except where they themselves had requested that such an order be made.

Mr. Boateng : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his oral answer of 18 January, Official Report, column 454, if he will list all the criteria by which he has decided to reduce the number of magistrates court committees.

Mr. John M. Taylor : Any decision to amalgamate or otherwise adjust the boundaries of a magistrates court committee or committees would be taken in the light of local circumstances and against criteria appropriate at that time.

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list by year for the last 10 years, and for the year to date, the number of magistrates courts that have been closed.

Mr. John M. Taylor : The provision of magistrates court-house accommodation is a matter for the courts


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committees for the area concerned in conjunction with the local paying authority. The Department has no central record of the number of magistrates court-houses that have been closed or are scheduled to be closed. A local authority that is aggrieved by a decision of a magistrates court committee to close a court-house has the right of appeal to the Lord Chancellor. Since 1993 the Lord Chancellor has dealt with six appeals and there is currently one appeal outstanding.

Justices' Clerks

Mr. Boateng : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 3 May, Official Report, column 403, if he will list all the other non-judicial functions of justices' clerks.

Mr. John M. Taylor : No definitive list of the non-judicial functions of justices' clerks is possible. Section 28(3) of the Justices of the Peace Act 1979 states what the functions of a justices' clerk include, and section 28(4) of the Act goes on to state that subsection (3)

" shall not be taken as defining or in any respect limiting the powers and duties belonging to a justices' clerk ".

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Meacher : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many parliamentary questions, in the period November 1992 to March 1993, were answered with the response that the information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost ; how many were referred on to an agency chief executive ; and, in each case, what percentage of the total number of questions asked this constituted.

Mr. John M. Taylor : During this period 16 questions tabled to me were not answered on the basis of disproportionate cost and nine were referred on to an agency chief executive. These figures represent 4.22 per cent. and 2.37 per cent. respectively of the total number of questions tabled to me.

Trial Waiting Times

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what is the current average waiting time for trial at (a) magistrates courts and (b) Crown courts for (i) defendants granted bail and (ii) those remanded in custody in (1) Doncaster, (2) Barnsley, (3) Rotherham and (4) Sheffield.

Mr. John M. Taylor : For the magistrates courts the average time from listing to completion for indictable and either way offences for the named metropolitan districts in 1993 were as follows :


          |Weeks      

----------------------

Doncaster |7.0        

Barnsley  |12.0       

Rotherham |7.4        

Sheffield |8.6        

However, the Barnsley figures are less reliable statistically than the others as only a small number of defendants was surveyed. Given the sample sizes, these figures cannot be broken down to show defendants granted bail and those remanded in custody without producing unrepresentative results.


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The average time from committal for trial to arraignment or start of trial for defendants dealt with at the Crown court centre in Doncaster during four months to the end of March 1994 was 17.6 weeks for those remanded on bail and 13.5 weeks for those remanded in custody. The corresponding times for the centre in Sheffield were 24 weeks and 17.5 weeks respectively. Barnsley and Rotherham do not have Crown court centres.

Child Witnesses

Mr. Cox : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the courts, adult and juvenile, in the London area which now have screens, television equipment and pre-recorded interview facilities or other equipment for the use of child witnesses in court cases in which they are involved ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. John M. Taylor : The following courts in the London area are fitted with live television link equipment and video playback equipment for use in the presentation of evidence by child witnesses. The use of screens by child witnesses is available at all courts upon the direction of the judge.

Central Criminal Court

Crown Court at Croydon (two sets)

Crown Court at Harrow

Crown Court at Kingston-upon-Thames

Crown Court at Southwark

Crown Court at Wood Green

Crown Court at Woolwich

Thames Magistrates' Court

HOME DEPARTMENT

Immigration

Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications from foreign nationals to enter or remain in the United Kingdom on the basis of a stable and committed homosexual partnership with a United Kingdom national have been received in each of the last five years.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not separately identified in the statistics.


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Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to allow foreign nationals to enter or remain in the United Kingdom on the basis of a stable and committed homosexual partnership with a United Kingdom national ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Charles Wardle : No. I refer the hon. Member to the remarks that I made in reply to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones) in the Adjournment debate on 4 May on the case of Mr. Bryan Ruppert, Official Report, columns 820-26.

Colin Ivor Dunning (Appeal)

Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will refer the case of Colin Ivor Dunning to the Court of Appeal under the provisions of section 17 of the Criminal Appeals Act 1968 ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Maclean : The representations submitted on Mr. Dunning's behalf in February 1994, together with earlier representations, are currently being considered. My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State will determine in the light of that consideration whether it would be right to refer Mr. Dunning's case to the Court of Appeal or to take any other action in the matter.

Vehicle Crime

Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list for each police authority in 1992 the number of known offenders found guilty of or cautioned for offences of (a) theft of a motor vehicle or (b) unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle ; and what proportion of the total number of known offenders in total and in each category were (i) juveniles and (ii) young adults ;

(2) if he will list for each police authority in 1992 the number of known offenders found guilty of or cautioned for offences of theft from a motor vehicle ; and what proportion of those offenders were (i) juveniles and (ii) young adults.

Mr. Maclean : The information is given in the tables.


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Table A                                                                                                                                           

Number and percentage of persons found guilty or cautioned for the indictable offence                                                             

of theft of a motor vehicle<1> by police force area and age group, 1992                                                                           

                     10-16                               17-20                               All ages                                             

Police force area   |Number           |Per cent.        |Number           |Per cent.        |Number           |Per cent.                          

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Avon and Somerset   |20               |23               |28               |32               |88               |100                                

Bedfordshire        |56               |49               |33               |29               |115              |100                                

Cambridgeshire      |28               |20               |51               |37               |139              |100                                

Cheshire            |30               |29               |40               |39               |102              |100                                

Cleveland           |36               |32               |36               |32               |112              |100                                

Cumbria             |9                |21               |16               |38               |42               |100                                

Derbyshire          |27               |29               |34               |37               |93               |100                                

Devon and Cornwall  |22               |15               |57               |39               |147              |100                                

Dorset              |7                |17               |20               |49               |41               |100                                

Durham              |21               |21               |38               |37               |102              |100                                

Essex               |80               |33               |84               |35               |241              |100                                

Gloucestershire     |12               |22               |25               |45               |55               |100                                

Greater Manchester  |118              |31               |96               |25               |380              |100                                

Hampshire           |48               |29               |41               |25               |163              |100                                

Hertfordshire       |32               |33               |33               |34               |96               |100                                

Humberside          |69               |44               |38               |24               |157              |100                                

Kent                |142              |40               |119              |34               |352              |100                                

Lancashire          |11               |14               |17               |22               |76               |100                                

Leicestershire      |34               |29               |45               |38               |119              |100                                

Lincolnshire        |9                |24               |14               |37               |38               |100                                

City of London      |-                |-                |1                |50               |2                |100                                

Merseyside          |17               |18               |32               |35               |92               |100                                

Metropolitan Police |75               |22               |82               |24               |335              |100                                

Norfolk             |17               |22               |21               |27               |79               |100                                

Northamptonshire    |11               |17               |23               |35               |66               |100                                

Northumbria         |35               |23               |49               |32               |151              |100                                

North Yorkshire     |13               |21               |20               |32               |63               |100                                

Nottinghamshire     |77               |39               |63               |32               |197              |100                                

South Yorkshire     |106              |42               |74               |29               |254              |100                                

Staffordshire       |6                |10               |17               |28               |61               |100                                

Suffolk             |29               |35               |30               |37               |82               |100                                

Surrey              |20               |30               |16               |24               |67               |100                                

Sussex              |23               |27               |19               |22               |85               |100                                

Thames Valley       |45               |24               |79               |41               |191              |100                                

Warwickshire        |26               |39               |18               |27               |67               |100                                

West Mercia         |5                |8                |23               |38               |61               |100                                

West Midlands       |104              |29               |114              |32               |353              |100                                

West Yorkshire      |80               |26               |94               |31               |307              |100                                

Wiltshire           |10               |22               |14               |31               |45               |100                                

Dyfed Powys         |2                |9                |7                |32               |22               |100                                

Gwent               |3                |6                |22               |47               |47               |100                                

North Wales         |13               |31               |5                |12               |42               |100                                

South Wales         |26               |24               |39               |36               |109              |100                                

England             |1,510            |29               |1,654            |32               |5,216            |100                                

Wales               |44               |20               |73               |33               |220              |100                                

England and Wales   |1,554            |29               |1,727            |32               |5,436            |100                                

<1> Theft Act 1968 Section 1.                                                                                                                     


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Table B                                                                                                                                           

Number and percentage of persons found guilty or cautioned for the summary offence                                                                

of stealing and unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle<1> by police force area and age group, 1992                                                

                     10-16                               17-20                               All ages                                             

Police force area   |Number           |Per cent.        |Number           |Per cent.        |Number           |Per cent.                          

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Avon and Somerset   |121              |33               |158              |43               |365              |100                                

Bedfordshire        |79               |33               |106              |44               |242              |100                                

Cambridgeshire      |45               |31               |62               |43               |143              |100                                

Cheshire            |222              |44               |190              |38               |506              |100                                

Cleveland           |201              |46               |167              |38               |439              |100                                

Cumbria             |90               |41               |90               |41               |222              |100                                

Derbyshire          |127              |39               |133              |40               |329              |100                                

Devon and Cornwall  |110              |29               |167              |45               |373              |100                                

Dorset              |54               |31               |69               |39               |176              |100                                

Durham              |60               |34               |80               |45               |176              |100                                

Essex               |152              |36               |159              |38               |419              |100                                

Gloucestershire     |74               |46               |54               |34               |160              |100                                

Greater Manchester  |917              |42               |791              |36               |2,191            |100                                

Hampshire           |255              |44               |198              |34               |577              |100                                

Hertfordshire       |80               |33               |117              |48               |246              |100                                

Humberside          |248              |53               |157              |33               |469              |100                                

Kent                |80               |31               |107              |41               |259              |100                                

Lancashire          |226              |38               |225              |38               |590              |100                                

Leicestershire      |137              |33               |198              |48               |411              |100                                

Lincolnshire        |57               |36               |59               |38               |157              |100                                

City of London      |3                |16               |9                |47               |19               |100                                

Merseyside          |281              |34               |352              |43               |816              |100                                

Metropolitan Police |941              |42               |737              |33               |2,243            |100                                

Norfolk             |87               |41               |90               |43               |210              |100                                

Northamptonshire    |38               |18               |114              |53               |217              |100                                

Northumbria         |264              |35               |302              |41               |745              |100                                

North Yorkshire     |73               |36               |86               |42               |203              |100                                

Nottinghamshire     |218              |43               |196              |39               |502              |100                                

South Yorkshire     |206              |36               |250              |43               |580              |100                                

Staffordshire       |167              |40               |162              |39               |418              |100                                

Suffolk             |57               |38               |51               |34               |152              |100                                

Surrey              |31               |22               |62               |45               |138              |100                                

Sussex              |116              |36               |138              |43               |322              |100                                

Thames Valley       |388              |45               |338              |39               |871              |100                                

Warwickshire        |38               |35               |46               |42               |110              |100                                

West Mercia         |132              |42               |127              |40               |316              |100                                

West Midlands       |592              |39               |621              |41               |1,525            |100                                

West Yorkshire      |512              |36               |617              |43               |1,420            |100                                

Wiltshire           |45               |38               |48               |41               |118              |100                                

Dyfed Powys         |19               |16               |58               |50               |117              |100                                

Gwent               |79               |47               |56               |34               |167              |100                                

North Wales         |74               |37               |78               |39               |200              |100                                

South Wales         |325              |39               |346              |42               |823              |100                                

England             |7,524            |39               |7,638            |39               |19,375           |100                                

Wales               |497              |38               |538              |41               |1,307            |100                                

England and Wales   |8,021            |39               |8,176            |40               |20,682           |100                                

<1> Theft Act 1968 Section 12(1) as amended by CJA 1988 Section 37: being carried knowing vehicle to have been taken or driven away; unauthorised 

taking of a motor vehicle.                                                                                                                        


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Table C                                                                                                                                           

Number and percentage of persons found guilty or cautioned for the indictable offence                                                             

of theft from a motor vehicle<1> by police force area and age group, 1992                                                                         

                     10-16                               17-20                               All ages                                             

Police force area   |Number           |Per cent.        |Number           |Per cent.        |Number           |Per cent.                          

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Avon and Somerset   |43               |17               |122              |48               |252              |100                                

Bedfordshire        |64               |37               |70               |40               |173              |100                                

Cambridgeshire      |59               |31               |88               |46               |192              |100                                

Cheshire            |72               |33               |102              |47               |219              |100                                

Cleveland           |128              |48               |96               |36               |267              |100                                

Cumbria             |26               |31               |39               |46               |84               |100                                

Derbyshire          |87               |25               |155              |45               |346              |100                                

Devon and Cornwall  |25               |18               |62               |44               |142              |100                                

Dorset              |40               |25               |62               |38               |163              |100                                

Durham              |69               |29               |105              |44               |241              |100                                

Essex               |169              |32               |238              |44               |535              |100                                

Gloucestershire     |61               |34               |75               |42               |178              |100                                

Greater Manchester  |390              |47               |273              |33               |824              |100                                

Hampshire           |152              |27               |261              |46               |570              |100                                

Hertfordshire       |63               |22               |155              |53               |290              |100                                

Humberside          |106              |32               |122              |36               |336              |100                                

Kent                |135              |27               |238              |48               |498              |100                                

Lancashire          |118              |33               |171              |48               |358              |100                                

Leicestershire      |139              |32               |187              |43               |432              |100                                

Lincolnshire        |32               |18               |100              |55               |182              |100                                

City of London      |-                |-                |3                |38               |8                |100                                

Merseyside          |151              |47               |101              |31               |323              |100                                

Metropolitan Police |498              |37               |453              |33               |1,359            |100                                

Norfolk             |55               |35               |69               |44               |157              |100                                

Northamptonshire    |11               |10               |70               |63               |111              |100                                

Northumbria         |143              |32               |174              |39               |449              |100                                

North Yorkshire     |62               |38               |58               |35               |165              |100                                

Nottinghamshire     |131              |30               |182              |42               |431              |100                                

South Yorkshire     |148              |30               |202              |40               |499              |100                                

Staffordshire       |58               |31               |99               |52               |190              |100                                

Suffolk             |64               |35               |80               |43               |184              |100                                

Surrey              |46               |27               |77               |46               |169              |100                                

Sussex              |54               |15               |192              |55               |351              |100                                

Thames Valley       |182              |35               |231              |45               |515              |100                                

Warwickshire        |36               |26               |72               |52               |139              |100                                

West Mercia         |55               |33               |67               |41               |165              |100                                

West Midlands       |476              |47               |361              |35               |1,023            |100                                

West Yorkshire      |320              |41               |282              |36               |776              |100                                

Wiltshire           |37               |23               |67               |42               |159              |100                                

Dyfed Powys         |68               |68               |23               |23               |100              |100                                

Gwent               |19               |17               |59               |51               |115              |100                                

North Wales         |43               |24               |89               |49               |181              |100                                

South Wales         |119              |40               |118              |39               |300              |100                                

England             |4,505            |33               |5,561            |41               |13,455           |100                                

Wales               |249              |36               |289              |42               |696              |100                                

England and Wales   |4,754            |34               |5,850            |41               |14,151           |100                                

<1> Theft Act 1968 Section 1.                                                                                                                     

Ethnic Minorities

Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the mechanism under which submissions are to be made for section 11 funding.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : The matter is under consideration. I will write to the hon. Member once the position is clearer.


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Police Complaints Authority

Mr. Clifton-Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances the Police Complaints Authority may withhold evidence in criminal proceedings.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The responsibilities of the Police Complaints Authority do not normally involve the supply


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of evidence. Where a police investigation discloses material which may be of relevance to criminal proceedings, either in the past or under consideration for the future, any such material would be made available to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police.

Justice and Home Affairs Council

Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the agenda which has been proposed for the forthcoming meeting in Greece of the Justice and Home Affairs Ministers of the member states of the European Union treaty on 20 and 21 June, meeting in accordance with the title U1 of the European Union treaty.

Mr. Charles Wardle : No draft agenda has yet been proposed.

Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the results of the meeting of the Interior Ministers of the member states of the European Union, meeting in accordance with Title U1 of the European Union treaty, in Thessalonika, Greece on 6 and 7 May.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The meeting in Thessalonika on 6 and 7 May was an informal meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council. As such, it did not reach any formal conclusions. Representatives of the member states continued a wide-ranging debate of the Commission's recent communication on immigration and asylum policy.

Drug Trafficking

Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has now been seized as a consequence of convictions involving section 1 of the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986.

Mr. Maclean : Information collected centrally is given in the table :


Amount (£) recovered<1> by the 

Secretary of State in          

Confiscation orders            

under the Drug Trafficking     

Offences Act 1986              

by financial year              

1987-88-1992-93                

England and Wales              

Year       |Amount             

           |recovered          

           |£                  

-------------------------------

1987-88 +                      

1988-89    |600,000            

1989-90<2> |1,375,200          

1990-91<2> |1,448,000          

1991-92    |5,384,500          

1992-93    |5,180,900          

<1> The information collected  

centrally is known to be       

incomplete as returns were not 

received from all petty        

sessional divisions.           

<2> There was some confusion   

with the recording of the Drug 

Trafficking Offences Act 1986  

and the Criminal Justice Act   

1988 during these two years.   

In consequence it is           

considered that data has been  

under-recorded for the Drug    

Trafficking offence Act 1986   

and over-recorded for the      

Criminal Justice Act 1988.     

Misuse of Drugs Act

Mr. Colin Shepherd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has now been paid over to constabularies as a consequence of the provisions of section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.


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Mr. Maclean : Information is not collected centrally on the type or monetary value of property ordered to be forfeited.

Trans-sexual Prisoners

Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make available gender reassignment treatment to Kelly Denise Richards, currently serving a sentence at HM Prison, Parkhurst ; 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 Mr. Alex Carlile, dated18 May 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about gender reassignment for Kelly Richards, a prisoner currently at Parkhurst prison.

Kelly Richards, who is also known as David Cross, has been seen by a consultant psychiatrist and a doctor from the Gender Identity clinic at Charing Cross hospital. No treatment has been recommended and arrangements are currently being made forMr. Cross to be seen by another consultant.

Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of his Department on male-to-female trans- sexuals serving sentences in male prisons ; 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 Mr. Alex Carlile, dated18 May 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the policy on male to female transsexuals serving sentences in male prisons.

The handling of transsexuals in prisons is dificult, both in administrative and medical terms.

Any transsexual is likely to have difficulties in adjusting to prison life, and it is more often than not necessary to segregate in a vulnerable prisoner unit or prison health care centre those whose transsexuality is obvious. We prefer to treat each case individually and the principal criteria is the most obvious physical characteristics of the person concerned and their ability to integrate with other inmates. A male to female transsexual who had undergone surgery and hormone treatment would therefore be more appropriately allocated to a femal establishment. Conversely, a transsexual who had not undergone any form of treatment would be unlikely to be accepted by fellow inmates in an establishment for the gender of their choice.

Nessun Quinliven and Pearse McAuley

Mr. Maginnis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps have been taken to initiate formal extradition proceedings in the Irish Republic against Nessun Quinliven and Pearse McAuley ; what discussions with the authorities in the Irish Republic have taken place ; and what has been the Irish Republic's response ;

(2) when he was first informed of the capture by the Irish Republic's authorities of Nessun Quinliven and Pearse McAuley ; and whether he was officially given details by the Irish Government.


Column 461

Mr. Maclean : The Metropolitan police was informed by the Irish authorities on 4 April and 9 April 1993 of the arrests in that country of Nessun Quinliven and of Pearse McAuley on those days. The Irish authorities were immediately informed of our interest in securing the return of the two men, in respect of whom arrest warrants had been issued here. But as I explained in my letter to the hon. Member of 4 August 1993, the domestic Irish proceedings against Quinliven and McAuley take precedence over requests for extradition. Nessun Quinliven was sentenced to four years' imprisonment on 7 October 1993, and Pearse McAuley to seven years on 18 November 1993, by the Dublin Special Criminal Court. These sentences of imprisonment will have to be served before they could be surrendered to the United Kingdom authorities.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Dependent Territories

Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his responsibilities for the environment of Pitcairn island and other dependent territories.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 February, Official Report, column 581, which outlines the FCO's responsibilities for the dependent territories.

The setting of domestic policies and priorities is a matter for the dependent territories' own Governments. Environmental protection is a high priority for them. We are consulting the dependent territories on their participation in environmental agreements which are most appropriate to their particular circumstances.

We take seriously the issue of environmental protection in the Pitcairn Islands. We are preparing a management plan to address conservation issues on Henderson Island. Any conservation measures will need to take into account the isolation and remoteness of the Pitcairn Islands and must be agreed by the islanders.

Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when copies of the final Act embodying the results of the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations and the agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation signed at Marrakesh on 15 April will be presented to Parliament.

Mr. Hurd : Copies of the final Act embodying the results of the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations and the agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation were presented to Parliament and published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office as Command Papers, miscellaneous series, on Monday 16 May.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

English Heritage

Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage on how many occasions, and in what circumstances, he has disregarded the advice of English Heritage on the listing of historic buildings.


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Mr. Brooke : The advice of English Heritage is never disregarded, but my decisions must finally be my own judgment of a building's special architectural or historic interest.

Since April 1992, I have added 5,550 buildings to the statutory lists. During that period, I have decided in 55 cases not to accept recommendations from English Heritage in favour of listing. In a very small number of cases, I have decided to list buildings against the advice of English Heritage.

Outdoor Education Centres

Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) what contribution the Sports Council has made to developing an accreditation scheme for outdoor activity centres ;

(2) what support his Department has provided to the Sports Council and the English tourist board in developing a code of practice for outdoor education centres.

Mr. Sproat : I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Mr. Jamieson) on Monday 16 May, Official Report, column 347.

Film Lighting

Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will commission a report on competition in the film lighting supply industry ; and what recent representations on this subject he has received.

Mr. Brooke : I have recently received a representation from my hon. Friend on this subject. The Director General of Fair Trading is responsible for reviewing competition in markets, and any concerns that my hon. Friend has should be referred to him.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD

Primates

Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to her answer of 29 April, Official Report, column 377, if she will list those establishments which have been approved as sources of primates under directive 92/65.

Mr. Soames : No establishment has yet completed the necessary approval procedures to be a source of primates under directive 92/65.

Animal Exports

Mr. Etherington : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will place in the Library a copy of the recent investigation undertaken by staff of her chief veterinary officer into alleged irregularities in the veterinary certification of the export of live farm animals.

Mr. Soames : The investigations into alleged irregularities in the veterinary export certification of farm animals are continuing. Some are being undertaken by local authorities assisted by investigation officers of the Department and prosecutions may follow. These matters are therefore sub judice and, as is normal practice, copies of the investigations will not be placed in the Library.


Column 463

SCOTLAND

Forestry Commission

Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 9 May, Official Report, column 48, on what date he will publish the document which will form the basis of consultation on the Government's preferred options for the future of the Forestry Commission.

Sir Hector Monro : I have nothing further to add to the answer that I gave the hon. Gentleman on 9 May, Official Report, column 48.

Waste Water Treatment Directive

Mr. Kynoch : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress he has made with the identification of sensitive areas and high natural dispersion areas in connection with the urban waste water treatment directive ; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Hector Monro : The Scottish waters identified as sensitive areas and high natural dispersion areas --HNDAs--in connection with the urban waste water treatment directive are set out in the table. The general requirement of the directive is that all discharges of urban waste water from a population equivalent of 2,000 or more to freshwaters or estuaries, or 10,000 or more to coastal waters, should receive secondary treatment.

In areas identified as sensitive, more stringent treatment will be required while in HNDAs, the directive permits less stringent treatment--but at least primary treatment. The adequacy of less stringent treatment to prevent adverse effects on the environment requires to be demonstrated by comprehensive studies and confirmed by subsequent monitoring.

A map showing the locations of these areas has been prepared and will be forwarded to the European Commission. It will be made available for public inspection at the offices of the river purification authorities and meanwhile has been placed in the Library of the House.

Sensitive Areas

River Almond (Cramond to Whitburn)

Forfar Loch/Dean Water

South Calder Water/Strathclyde Park Loch

High Natural Dispersion Areas (HNDAs)

Eyemouth Coast

Firth of Forth

Forth Estuary (E)

Firth of Tay (E)

Angus Coast (South)

Angus Coast (North)

Kincardine Coast

Peterhead Coast

Fraserburgh Coast

Banff Coast

Buckie Coast

Moray Firth (Lossiemouth/Burghead)

Cromarty Firth (E)

Wick Bay

Thurso Bay

The String, Kirkwall

Lerwick Harbour

The Minch (Stornoway)

Oban Bay

Campbeltown Loch


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