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Mr. Howard : The Government are required to consult the following advisory non-departmental public bodies before legislation proposals :
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs
Animal Procedures Committee
Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council
Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England
Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales
Poisons Board
Police Advisory Board
Police Negotiating Board
In addition, the Government's response to advice supplied by the following bodies must be published :
Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England
Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the advisory bodies he has set up in his Department since the publication of "Public Bodies 1993".
Mr. Howard : The National Board for Crime Prevention.
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department that have a statutory basis.
Mr. Howard : The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the Animal Procedures Committee, the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council, the Local Review Committees, the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England, the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales, the Parole Board, the Poisons Board, the Police Advisory Board, the Police Negotiating Board.
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies which are required to publish their advice to Government.
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Mr. Howard : The information requested is as follows :
Parliamentary Boundary Commission for England
Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales
Mr. John Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of caravans intended for permanent occupation entering the United Kingdom ; and what steps he is taking to stop their entry.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The importation of caravans is not a matter for my Department.
People travelling to the United Kingdom within the common travel area which comprises the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland do not pass through immigration controls. Nationals of countries in the European Economic Area may enter the United Kingdom from outside the common travel area in accordance with Community law and are subject to a passport and identity card check.
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of Ernst and Young on the administration of firearms certification.
Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the report by Ernst and Young on the administration of the firearms licensing system.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Copies of the Ernst and Young report on the cost of the administration of the firearms licensing system will be made available and a copy placed in the Library when an announcement is made about the current reviews of firearms fees.
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Mr. Spellar : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement as to whether Mr. Joseph Cowlam had a firearms licence.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I understand that Mr. Cowlam did not hold a firearm certificate.
Mr. Lidington : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to see that police forces adopt the recommendations of Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary concerning the administration of firearms certification.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The administration of firearms licensing is a matter for individual chief officers of police. I understand, however, that the chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers crime committee sub-group on the administration of firearms licensing has written to chief constables commending the recommendations of the report of Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary to them. In addition, Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary will pay particular attention to this subject in its annual inspections of forces.
Mr. Morley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for cruelty to livestock were brought in each year since 1985 ; and how many in each case were brought by (a) the Government and (b) the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information held centrally by the Home Department does not identify the individual summoning body. The table shows the number of prosecutions under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 by type of proceedings from 1985 to 1992. The 1993 data will not be available until the autumn.
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Number of prosecutions under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 (as amended)<1> and Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968 by type of proceedings 1985-1992 England and Wales Type of Proceedings Offence/Year |Apprehensions |Summons by Police|Summons other |Total ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protection of Animals Act 1911<1> 1985 |53 |372 |564 |989 1986 |71 |316 |638 |1,025 1987 |59 |288 |684 |1,031 1988 |91 |278 |655 |1,024 1989 |117 |264 |669 |1,050 1990 |88 |300 |779 |1,167 1991 |82 |255 |865 |1,202 1992 |83 |276 |795 |1,154 Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968-Sections 1, 2 & 6 (relating to welfare of livestock) 1985 |- |- |3 |3 1986 |- |1 |10 |11 1987 |- |3 |8 |11 1988 |- |8 |12 |20 1989 |- |3 |12 |15 1990 |1 |2 |10 |13 1991 |- |1 |17 |18 1992 |- |2 |14 |16 <1>Cannot distinguish between offences involving livestock or other animals. Note:-The statistics of court proceedings are based on returns made by the police to the Home Office and although these include offences where there has been no police involvement, such as those prosecutions instigated by government departments, private organisations and individuals, the reporting of these types of offence is known to be incomplete. Where proceedings involve more than one offence, the table records the principal offence.
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Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were imprisoned in each year since 1990 for non-payment of the community charge in each district council area in Wales and for Wales as a whole.
Mr. Maclean : The information requested is not available. The available information on where prisoners
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originate is for the county of the sentencing court. The table shows the number of receptions recorded centrally for non- payment of community charge by county in Wales.Column 41
Receptions into Prison Service establishments sentenced by a Welsh Court for non-payment of community charge, 1990-1994 Number received for non-payment of community charge County of Welsh |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993<1> |1994<1><2> court sentencing ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clwyd |- |- |- |- |1 Dyfed |- |- |1 |- |- Gwent |- |- |- |1 |- Gwynedd |- |- |- |- |- Mid Glamorgan |- |2 |1 |- |1 South Glamorgan |- |- |- |- |- West Glamorgan |- |4 |1 |2 |3 Powys |- |- |- |- |- All Wales |- |6 |3 |3 |5 <1> Provisional figures. <2> January to May only.
Mr. Hutton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for compensation were made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board by police officers in each year since 1988 ; what was the average compensation in each year expressed in constant 1994 prices ; and what proportion of total claims in each year were made by police officers.
Mr. Maclean : I regret that the available records do not separately identify applications from, or payments made to, the police or other occupational groups.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the heads of agreement between the Home Secretary and Group 4 in respect of The Wolds prison ;
(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the heads of agreement between the Home Secretary and Premier Prison Services Ltd. in respect of Doncaster prison ;
(3) if he will place in the Library a copy of the heads of agreement between the Home Secretary and United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. in respect of Blakenhurst prison.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for these matters 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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the placing in the Library of a copy of the Heads of Agreement between the Home Secretary and Group 4, Premier Prison Services Limited, and United Kingdom Detention Services for Wolds, Doncaster and Blakenhurst prisons respectively.
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Copies of the Heads of Agreement for Wolds and Blakenhurst will be placed in the Library. No Heads of Agreement were signed in relation to Doncaster prison, because Premier Prison Services Limited did not require them.Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide tables showing (a) the standard spending assessment, (b) the figure his Department estimated as its contribution to spending at standard spending assessment level and (c) the actual figure paid out in respect of each police force in England and Wales for 1993-94 and for each of the previous three financial years.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The following table lists the standard spending assessment for each police force in England between 1990-91 and 1993-94. For Wales, provision for the police is included in the overall assessment made for Welsh county councils. Details of the initial estimate of grant and actual grant paid by the Home Office to all forces in England and Wales during the same period are also shown. The outturn figures for 1993-94 are provisional.
1990-91 £ thousands |SSA |Initial estimate|Actual specific |of |grant paid |specific grant ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon and Somerset |50,802 |49,157 |52,199 Bedfordshire |18,039 |16,836 |18,155 Cambridgeshire |19,824 |19,575 |21,606 Cheshire |30,911 |29,685 |31,809 Cleveland |24,640 |24,100 |26,296 Cumbria |19,129 |19,475 |20,380 Derbyshire |29,670 |30,038 |31,243 Devon and Cornwall |47,096 |50,267 |53,887 Dorset |20,801 |22,725 |25,002 Durham |22,753 |21,336 |22,932 Essex |49,255 |47,233 |53,399 Gloucestershire |19,262 |18,191 |20,520 Hampshire |54,289 |52,067 |56,688 Hertfordshire |29,917 |28,650 |29,959 Humberside |32,963 |33,610 |35,545 Kent |51,544 |49,767 |55,597 Lancashire |52,506 |52,802 |55,149 Leicestershire |29,124 |30,615 |31,250 Lincolnshire |19,576 |20,641 |21,214 Norfolk |22,538 |22,496 |24,539 Northamptonshire |18,550 |20,159 |20,443 North Yorkshire |22,886 |23,721 |24,172 Nottinghamshire |38,358 |35,589 |38,612 Staffordshire |36,207 |35,203 |37,879 Suffolk |19,626 |20,646 |21,934 Surrey |30,103 |27,313 |29,134 Sussex |50,825 |44,907 |47,425 Thames Valley |63,248 |62,976 |68,397 Warwickshire |16,415 |16,727 |18,402 West Mercia |32,946 |33,311 |35,041 Wiltshire |17,954 |19,033 |20,851 Greater Manchester |115,636 |112,319 |116,561 Merseyside |77,791 |79,681 |81,955 Northumbria |58,132 |49,076 |61,896 South Yorkshire |49,279 |47,157 |48,337 West Midlands |113,021 |109,358 |116,921 West Yorkshire |87,025 |91,679 |92,405 Metropolitan Police |613,875 |624,636 |622,941 City of London |17,983 |18,965 |18,908 Dyfed-Powys |- |15,555 |15,748 Gwent |- |16,150 |16,976 North Wales |- |21,837 |22,810 South Wales |- |50,376 |54,191
1991-92 £ thousands |SSA |Initial estimate|Actual specific |of |grant paid |specific grant ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon and Somerset |55,443 |57,543 |56,870 Bedfordshire |20,238 |19,198 |19,965 Cambridgeshire |21,691 |22,218 |24,029 Cheshire |33,986 |33,843 |34,150 Cleveland |27,037 |25,940 |28,487 Cumbria |21,151 |21,825 |22,991 Derbyshire |32,276 |34,993 |33,684 Devon and Cornwall |51,536 |58,579 |59,892 Dorset |22,879 |26,450 |26,523 Durham |24,751 |24,344 |24,780 Essex |54,851 |56,662 |58,925 Gloucestershire |20,953 |21,168 |22,752 Hampshire |59,904 |60,706 |63,735 Hertfordshire |32,973 |33,238 |32,063 Humberside |36,128 |38,749 |39,472 Kent |57,435 |59,156 |65,654 Lancashire |57,873 |58,383 |62,230 Leicestershire |32,636 |34,943 |34,270 Lincolnshire |21,547 |22,838 |24,090 Norfolk |25,345 |26,127 |27,591 Northamptonshire |20,539 |22,408 |23,204 North Yorkshire |25,345 |26,077 |26,356 Nottinghamshire |42,194 |41,071 |42,141 Staffordshire |39,638 |38,839 |41,903 Suffolk |21,673 |23,384 |24,515 Surrey |33,255 |30,409 |32,344 Sussex |56,093 |49,722 |54,151 Thames Valley |70,893 |70,881 |76,201 Warwickshire |18,451 |19,341 |20,319 West Mercia |36,415 |38,589 |39,387 Wiltshire |21,115 |21,423 |23,570 Greater Manchester |126,349 |124,535 |126,895 Merseyside |84,622 |89,383 |91,231 Northumbria |63,939 |65,099 |67,741 South Yorkshire |53,967 |53,406 |52,615 West Midlands |124,080 |120,723 |127,915 West Yorkshire |95,027 |102,676 |100,585 Metropolitan Police |676,931 |981,979 |696,595 City of London |20,639 |21,030 |20,818 Dyfed-Powys |- |16,732 |17,927 Gwent |- |17,756 |18,708 North Wales |- |25,486 |25,857 South Wales |- |57,446 |60,454
1992-93 £ thousands |SSA |Initial estimate|Actual specific |of |grant paid |specific grant ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon and Somerset |63,999 |63,097 |63,404 Bedfordshire |25,127 |21,946 |22,547 Cambridgeshire |26,516 |26,116 |25,513 Cheshire |39,805 |38,449 |37,213 Cleveland |31,139 |31,785 |30,499 Cumbria |24,609 |24,635 |25,246 Derbyshire |38,354 |37,766 |38,653 Devon and Cornwall |60,702 |65,137 |65,418 Dorset |26,993 |30,222 |28,378 Durham |28,796 |27,719 |27,145 Essex |64,662 |64,547 |64,175 Gloucestershire |24,546 |24,804 |24,514 Hampshire |71,551 |68,522 |69,071 Hertfordshire |38,803 |36,214 |34,947 Humberside |42,168 |42,966 |42,901 Kent |68,381 |67,204 |70,225 Lancashire |66,943 |66,662 |65,621 Leicestershire |38,416 |37,774 |37,120 Lincolnshire |25,002 |25,643 |26,043 Norfolk |29,978 |29,662 |30,133 Northamptonshire |24,671 |24,711 |25,815 North Yorkshire |29,398 |29,218 |29,806 Nottinghamshire |48,595 |46,673 |45,649 Staffordshire |45,921 |45,787 |44,748 Suffolk |25,562 |26,513 |25,873 Surrey |39,239 |35,216 |36,148 Sussex |60,754 |57,327 |58,708 Thames Valley |85,179 |82,676 |81,861 Warwickshire |21,520 |22,244 |21,669 West Mercia |42,562 |42,356 |42,162 Wiltshire |26,495 |25,205 |26,214 Greater Manchester |144,376 |140,895 |138,817 Merseyside |97,563 |99,575 |96,533 Northumbria |74,676 |74,818 |69,632 South Yorkshire |62,838 |58,428 |59,947 West Midlands |143,090 |141,330 |144,980 West Yorkshire |109,774 |111,696 |106,449 Metropolitan Police |729,511 |751,921 |756,059 City of London |23,187 |22,855 |22,565 Dyfed-Powys |- |18,826 |19,837 Gwent |- |20,294 |19,872 North Wales |- |27,268 |28,584 South Wales |- |64,783 |64,923
1993-94 £ thousands |SSA |Initial estimate|Actual specific |of |grant paid |specific grant ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon and Somerset |66,489 |66,123 |66,215 Bedfordshire |26,498 |23,289 |24,494 Cambridgeshire |27,457 |27,495 |29,817 Cheshire |41,353 |39,272 |40,800 Cleveland |32,350 |32,216 |32,255 Cumbria |25,566 |25,421 |25,755 Derbyshire |39,846 |39,457 |40,959 Devon and Cornwall |63,064 |70,144 |68,802 Dorset |28,043 |30,072 |30,871 Durham |29,917 |28,362 |28,519 Essex |67,767 |67,815 |68,820 Gloucestershire |25,501 |26,113 |27,045 Hampshire |75,453 |69,198 |72,382 Hertfordshire |40,290 |37,203 |37,582 Humberside |43,809 |45,222 |44,899 Kent |72,419 |72,994 |76,819 Lancashire |69,547 |68,609 |71,298 Leicestershire |39,910 |39,068 |38,182 Lincolnshire |25,975 |25,855 |27,574 Norfolk |31,144 |31,933 |32,064 Northamptonshire |25,630 |27,834 |28,306 North Yorkshire |30,541 |31,346 |32,201 Nottinghamshire |50,485 |48,725 |50,258 Staffordshire |47,707 |46,854 |46,413 Suffolk |26,557 |27,355 |27,078 Surrey |40,503 |38,027 |38,534 Sussex |64,004 |63,511 |62,281 Thames Valley |90,575 |90,407 |91,106 Warwickshire |22,443 |22,477 |24,225 West Mercia |44,218 |45,322 |45,200 Wiltshire |27,763 |26,926 |28,764 Greater Manchester |149,884 |155,736 |152,486 Merseyside |101,359 |100,931 |102,285 Northumbria |77,581 |79,340 |76,704 South Yorkshire |65,282 |64,488 |63,895 West Midlands |148,656 |152,480 |151,775 West Yorkshire |114,045 |116,843 |118,708 Metropolitan Police |761,712 |793,317 |791,091 City of London |26,570 |25,125 |26,054 Dyfed-Powys |- |20,980 |21,493 Gwent |- |20,330 |20,888 North Wales |- |29,479 |30,590 South Wales |- |68,177 |67,091
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who received the interest on the performance security provided by United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. to his Department under the terms of the contract to manage Blakenhurst prison.
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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about who received the interest on the performance security provided by United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. to his Depatment under the terms of the contract to manage Blakenhurst prison.
Under the terms of the contract to manage Blakenhurst prison the contractor is required to provide the Prison Service with performance security. This was provided by means of a Peformance Bond, and therefore the issue of any interest payments does not arise.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been witheld from United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. for loss, destruction or damage to Blakenhurst prison, listing the circumstances and amount of each separate penalty.
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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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the amount of money witheld from United Kingdom Detention Services Limited for loss, destruction or damage to Blakenhurst prison.
The only occasion on which money was witheld from UKDS is set out in my letter to you of 29 June ( Hansard Col. 627).
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims have been made against the public liability insurance policy held by United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. and his Department in connection with Blakenhurst prison ; what were the circumstances in each case ; what were the amounts claimed ; and how many claims have been successful.
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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of claims made against the public liability insurance policy held by United Kingdom Detention Services Limited and his department in connection with Blakenhurst prison ; the circumstances ; the amounts and the success of the claims. There have been no claims made against the public liability insurance policy held by United Kingdom Detention Services Limited.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contact (a) the Health and Safety Executive, (b) the environmental health office and (c) the fire service has had with Blakenhurst prison ; how many inspections of Blakenhurst prison have been made by each of these bodies ; and what were the findings in each case.
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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what contact (a) The Health and Safety Executive, (b) the Environmental Health Office and (c) the Fire Service has had with Blakenhurst Prison.
Representatives of the Health and Safety Executive have visited on three occasions. On 19 February 1993 they made seven recommendations, all of which have been actioned. They visited again on the 14 October 1993 when a further seven recommendations were made, including a complaint about cleanliness. Again, all have been actioned. The last visit was on 10 March this year when they expressed general satisfaction in a verbal report.
The local Environmental Health Officer has visited on two occasions. The report of 19 November 1993 contained twenty recommendations. On 22 April this year the Environmental Health Officer assessed progress and found that nineteen of the original recommendations had been actioned satisfactorily. One recommendation is still outstanding.
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Hereford and Worcester Fire Service have visited eleven times for exercises or familiarisation visits.The Fire Service do not carry out full surveys or inspections. These are carried out by the Fire Safety Section of the Prison Service and they have visited on three occasions since Blakenhurst Prison opened.
A full fire survey was carried out in June 1993 and Fire Safety Section's recommendations are being actioned.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have been made by his Department to the services provided by United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. under the contract to manage Blakenhurst prison.
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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the changes made by his Department to the services provided by United Kingdom Detention Service Limited (UKDS) under the contract to manage Blakenhurst Prison.
The only occasion on which changes were made to the services provided by UKDS under the contract to manage Blakenhurst prison is set out in my letter to you of 29 June (Hansard Col. 627).
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been paid by his Department for loss, destruction or damage to Blakenhurst prison, listing the circumstances and amount of each separate payment.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibilty 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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the amount of money paid by his Department for loss, destruction or damage to Blakenhurst prison ; the circumstances and the amount of each separate payment.
No money has been paid to United Kingdom Detention Services Limited for damage repair at Blakenhurst prison.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) staff and (b) people applying to become staff, at Blakenhurst prison, have been refused Home Office certification as fit to perform such duties ; and, of these, how many have later reapplied and received such certification.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 30 June 1994] : Responsibilty 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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of staff and people applying to become staff at Blakenhurst prison that have been refused Home Office certification ; and how many have later reapplied and become certificated.
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Twenty people who applied to work at Blakenhurst as prison custody officers (PCO) have been refused Home Office certification. Of these one has been reconsidered and subsequently received certification. Non-PCO do not require certification. All people who work at contracted out prisons are, however, subject to routine enquiries similar to those made for applicants for Prison Service employment.Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what notification or advice United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. gave the Home Office regarding the buildings, facilities and design at Blakenhurst prison ; and what action has been taken as a result.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 30 June 1994] : 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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what notification or advice United Kingdom Detention Services Limited (UKDS) gave the Home Office regarding the buildings, facilities and design at Blakenhurst prison ; and what action has been taken as a result.
UKDS had no involvement in the original buildings, facilities and design at Blakenhurst. Since Blakenhurt became operational, UKDS have recommended changes to the existing conditions at Blackenhurst on a number of occasions. These have included fitting electric gates on house blocks ; creating canteens in four house blocks ; modifying the sewage system ; installing television cameras in the walkways ; modifying the holding cells in reception ; providing power outlets and drainage in the industrial workshop ; altering one spur of a house block to create a Vulnerable Prisoner Unit ; changing the majority of spy-holes to polycarbonate ; and installing a new bolt system for cell doors.
All these requests, which have come through the Controller at the prison, have been actioned.
It is common for modifications to be required in new prisons, especially in the first year of operation. UKDS has paid for a number of the alterations and the remainder have been paid for by the Prison Service.
Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to respond to the Commission for Racial Equality's second review of the Race Relations Act 1976.
Mr. Howard : I have today written to the chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality setting out the Government's formal response. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts his Department has entered into with the computer company EDS-Scion or its predecessor EDS ; when the contracts were entered into ; what is their total value ; and what is the subject matter of each contract.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 1 July 1994] : The Home Office has let three contracts to the specified company amounting to a total value of £80,942.23.
Details of the contracts are given below :
Date Contract let and Subject matter of Contract
12 September 1991
Hardware Maintenance
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10 July 1992Software licences for London Fire and Civil Defence Authority 8 January 1993
Evaluation of Performance of Classifying Finger Printing Images for Police System Research and Development Group
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions money has been withheld from United Kingdom Detention Services Ltd. for giving an unsatisfactory performance or failing to provide the required service ; what were the circumstances on each occasion including dates and the nature of the failure ; and what were the amounts witheld on each occasion.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 30 June 1994] : 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 4 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of occasions money has been withheld from UKDS for giving an unsatisfactory performance or failing to provide the required service ; the circumstances and the amounts withheld. The only occasion on which money was withheld from UKDS is set out in my letter to you of 29 June (Hansard Col. 627).
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