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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 6 July 1994
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Compensation (Non-payment)
Mr. Bates : To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions have been brought by the Crown Prosecution Service for non-payment of compensation awarded to victims as a result of court orders in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
The Attorney-General : Compensation orders made in criminal proceedings are registered in the relevant magistrates' court which then has the responsibility for enforcement through the various powers vested in it for that purpose. The Crown Prosecution Service does not play any part in the enforcement of such compensation orders.
Crown Prosecution Service
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Attorney-General if he will request the Director of Public Prosecutions to issue a revised map of England and Wales for the annual report of the Crown Prosecution Service so that both Anglesey and the Isle of Wight are depicted.
The Attorney-General : The Director of Public Prosecutions will ensure that Anglesey and the Isle of Wight are included with similar maps in future editions of the annual report.
Racially-motivated Crime
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Attorney-General what training is given to prosecutors regarding the racial motivation of crimes.
The Attorney-General : The Crown Prosecution Service runs a number of courses for legal staff which include sessions on various aspects of racial awareness including the racial motivation of crime. I have placed a more detailed description of such courses in the Library. The nature and substance of the racial awareness training provided by the CPS is currently being reviewed with a view to introducing further improvements where appropriate.
DEFENCE
Bicycles
Mr. Robathan : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities his Department provides for the parking of the bicycles of visitors to its offices in Westminster.
Mr. Hanley : Although no facilities are provided outside our buildings in the Whitehall area specifically for visitors' bicycles, facilities could usually be provided if they were requested.
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Rio Declaration
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the precise provisions of principle 24 of agenda 21 of the Rio declaration of June 1992 ; what is his policy in respect of implementing those provisions ; and what specific guidance is given to the armed forces in respect of those aspects of principle 24 which commit signatories to fighting only environmentally friendly wars.
Mr. Hanley : As with other Governments participating in the Rio summit, the United Kingdom supports the broad principles enshrined in the Rio declaration, including principle 24, which says that states should respect international law providing protection for the environment in time of armed conflict. It is my Department's policy that the armed forces should act at all times in accordance with United Kingdom national and international law. Training in the law of armed conflict is given to all members of the armed forces.
Access to Environmental Information
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for environmental information under the Access to Environmental Information Regulations 1992 have been received by his Department ; how many were answered within two months ; how many were refused ; and on what grounds in each case.
Mr. Hanley : My Department has received four requests for environmental information under the Access to Environmental Information Regulations 1992 ; all received an answer within the specified two months ; and none were refused.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Secure Accommodation
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the organisations which have made representations to him opposing the Government's plan to introduce secure accommodation for juveniles.
Mr. Maclean : In March 1993, the Home Office invited views and comments from interested organisations on the details of the proposals which were then being developed following the statement by the then Home Secretary my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) on 2 March, Official Report, columns 139-42. Subsequently, more than 60 sets of written comments were received ; and a range of meetings were held at both ministerial and official level. Although a substantial number of respondents were opposed to the introduction of a new secure training order, there was a very wide measure of agreement on the need for the courts to have a power to order the detention in secure accommodation of those juvenile offenders for whom it is clear that community penalties would be neither effective nor appropriate.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he intends to take to ensure that the quality of education provided in the secure accommodation units run by private contractors is of a sufficiently high standard.
Mr. Maclean : Contractors will be required under the terms of their contracts to provide education and training
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for trainees to an agreed standard based on the requirements set out in the operational specification for a secure training centre. The contract terms will be underpinned by minimum standards laid down in secure training centre rules. Copies of the operational specification and an administrative paper setting out proposed rules have been placed in the Library of the House.In addition, education standards in secure training centres will be subject to inspections arranged by Her Majesty's chief inspector of schools.
Buggery
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of non-consensual buggery of men were reported in the United Kingdom in (a) 1983 and (b) 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Information is readily available centrally only for England and Wales and Northern Ireland. The information for England and Wales given in table 1 is for those prosecuted. The 1993 data are not yet available. Information on cases reported during 1992 in Northern Ireland is given in table 2.
Table 1
Number of male prosecutions in England and Wales for non-consensual
buggery of men, by offence 1983 and 1992
England and Wales Number of males
Offence description |Year |Prosecutions
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buggery by a man with a male
person of the age of 16 or over
without consent<1> |1982 |19
|1992 |38
Attempt by a man to commit buggery
with a male person of the age of
16 or over without consent<1> |1982 |3
|1992 |2
Assault with intent to commit
buggery<2> |1982 |6
|1992 |6
Indecent assault on male person, 16
years or over<3> |1982 |148
|1992 |193
<1> Sexual Offences Act 1956, sec. 12, as amended by the Sexual Offences Act 1967, sec. 3(1).
<2> Sexual Offences Act 1956, sec. 16.
<3> Sexual Offences Act 1956, sec. 15.
Table 2
Number of cases reported in Northern Ireland for non-consensual
buggery of men by offence, 1992
Northern Ireland
Offence description |Number of
|cases
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buggery by a man with a male person of the age of
16 or over without consent |1
Attempt by a man to commit buggery with a male
person of the age of 16 or over without consent |-
Assault with intent to commit buggery |-
Indecent assault on male person, 16 years or over |-
Refugees
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals, displaced by violent conflicts are currently seeking refuge in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is not separately identifiable from the statistics.
Fire Officers (Injuries)
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fire officers were injured in the course of their duty in 1993 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Figures are not yet available for the number of fire officers injured in the line of duty in 1993. However, in England and Wales in 1992, three fire officers were killed and 861 were seriously injured in the line of duty. Serious injuries are defined as those which result in absence from duty for at least one month or two weeks or more of hospitalisation.
Channel Islands
Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what complaints his Department has received over the past five years relating to defects in the Channel Islands legal system or the failure of the Jersey legal system to deal promptly with crimes of fraud, violence and miscarriages of justice.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State to the right hon. and learned Member for Aberavon (Mr. Morris) on 23 June, Official Report, column 257.
May Report
Mr. Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Sir John May's final report on the Guildford and Woolwich case.
Mr. Maclean : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Burton (Sir I. Lawrence) on 30 June 1994, Official Report, column 653 .
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are expected to make successful claims under the criminal injuries compensation scheme in each of the next six years.
Mr. Maclean : It is not possible to forecast how many successful claims will be made in any particular year as claims are not necessarily settled in the year in which they are made. However, for the purpose of some recent judicial review proceedings, it was estimated that the number of awards made in the next six years will be of the following order :
|Number
------------------------
1994-95 |46,900
1995-96 |57,700
1996-97 |60,300
1997-98 |68,300
1998-99 |74,800
1999-2000 |76,400
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of those eligible to claim under the criminal injuries compensation scheme did so in (a) 1991-92, (b) 1992-93 and (c) 1993-94 ;
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(2) how many crimes were committed in 1991- 92, 1992-93 and 1993-94 which involved a victim eligible for compensation under the criminal injuries compensation scheme ;(3) to what extent he expects the proportion of people eligible to claim who actually do claim under the criminal injuries compensation scheme to change over the next six years.
Mr. Maclean : We have no information about numbers of people who might be eligible to claim compensation under the criminal injuries compensation scheme.
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assumptions have been used to estimate the likely future cost of the criminal injuries compensation scheme if his Department's proposals for reform were not implemented.
Mr. Maclean : Based on average trends over the 10 years to 1993-94, it was assumed, for this purpose, that numbers of applications received and cases resolved would continue to increase by 9 per cent. annually, and that the average award would continue to increase annually by 5 per cent. more than gross domestic product inflation. It was also assumed that the number of resolved cases attracting an award would remain between 62 per cent. and 65 per cent.
Market Testing
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) 1992-93 and (b) 1993-94 market tests have been discontinued.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Ten market tests in the 1992-93 Home Office market testing programme have been discontinued. No market tests in the 1993-94 programme have been discontinued.
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the total cost of external consultancy fees incurred by his Department in relation to market testing.
Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 29 June 1994] : From 1 April 1992 to 31 May 1994, expenditure by my Department including the Prison Service on external consultancies in respect of market testing is estimated to be approximately £930,000.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what interim proposals Ernst and Young has made as part of the expenditure review concerning (a) market testing, (b) unit costs and (c) the funding of voluntary organisations.
Mr. Charles Wardle : During the course of the review a number of topics were considered for more detailed work. These included exploring a method of achieving equivalent savings to market testing without going out to competition, the development of better use of unit cost information and examination of the effectiveness of Home Office scrutiny of proposals for grants to the voluntary sector.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) Prison Service functions have been contracted out and (b) in- house jobs have been lost as a result of the (i) 1992-93 and (ii) 1993-94 Prison Service market testing programmes.
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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 6 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many Prison Service functions have been contracted out and in-house jobs lost as a result of our 1992-93 and 1993-94 market testing programmes.
The 1992-93 programme led to contracts being let for court escort and custody services in the East Midlands and Humberside area, for the management of Blakenhurst prison and for prison education. These have resulted in a net reduction of 78 full time equivalent Prison Service posts in relation to the court escort service. Because Blakenhurst was a new prison and education was not previously provided by in-house Prison Service staff, neither of these resulted in a loss of posts. Also, as a result of the in-house team winning the competiton for warehousing and distribution, 82 full time equivalent Prison Service posts were lost.
From the 1993-94 programme the court escort and custody services in the Metropolitan Police District and the management of Doncaster prison have been contracted out. The net reduction in the number of Prison Service posts as a result of contracting out the court escort service is 250. Because Doncaster prison is a new prison, contracting out has not reduced the number of existing posts in the Prison Service.
Management Training Seminars
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff have attended management training seminars run by Padgett Thompson in the last 12 months.
Mr. Michael Howard : Three members of staff have attended seminars run by Padgett Thompson.
Research
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will publish research into (a) intensive community sentences and (b) reconviction rates ;
(2) when he will publish comparative European research into ethnicity and crime ;
(3) when he will publish his Department's research into the experiences of (a) refugees, (b) persons granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom and (c) Vietnamese refugees ;
(4) when he will publish research involving (a) criminal justice agencies' response to the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and (b) the Bail Act 1976 ;
(5) when he will publish the research and planning unit programme for 1993- 94 and 1994-95.
Mr. Howard : Neither my ministerial colleagues nor I have had an opportunity to consider reports on four of the studies listed : intensive community sentences ; reconviction rates ; Vietnamese refugees ; and the survey of criminal justice agencies' responses to the Criminal Justice Act 1991.
A report on the settlement of refugees, carried out in collaboration with Salford university, is currently being revised. This study included those granted exceptional leave to remain. A study of the Bail Act 1976 was published in 1992--"Offending while on bail", research and planning unit paper No. 65. A follow-up study based on five local
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initiatives is nearing completion, and the report will be revised to take into account the comments of the five local steering groups and others.On comparative European research into ethnicity and crime, the Dutch Ministry of Justice is this month publishing a book on an international comparative study on youth and crime, which includes a chapter by Home Office researchers on results in this country. The research and planning unit is preparing a fuller report on the British results, which will include a detailed assessment of the findings by ethnic group.
I expect reports on all the studies listed to be published later in the year, once they have been finalised and arrangements for their publication has been agreed.
The research and planning unit programme for 1993-94 has been published, and a copy has been placed in the Library. The programme for 1994-95 will be published when this has been finalised.
Prison Service (Drugs Survey)
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the results of the Prison Service intelligence evaluation unit's drugs survey.
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 6 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the results of the Prison Service Intelligence Evaluation Unit's Drugs' survey.
The Intelligence Evaluation Unit recently conducted a survey of nine establishments to gain better information on the extent of the drugs problem in the Prison Service. The results indicated that : most of the establishments surveyed regarded themselves as having a significant drugs problem
most experienced significant problems with drugs other than cannabis
drug abuse created problems and could lead to bullying and inter group rivalry
all establishments had found drugs following searches
most establishments had found visitors trying to smuggle in drugs All the problems existed despite a range of active measures being taken by the establishments concerned to try and limit the entry of drugs and prevent the problem of drug use.
The Prison Service is developing a central strategy to reduce to an absolute minimum the supply of drugs and the demands for drugs in prisons.
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill contains provisions to allow prisoners to be required, in certain circumstances, to undertake drug tests.
Ernst and Young
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the consultants Ernst and Young commenced work on the March 1994 expenditure review.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The review of Home Office expenditure involving Ernst and Young began on 8 April and is due to be completed later this month.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid by his Department and its agencies in consultancy fees to Ernst and Young during the last three financial years.
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Mr. Charles Wardle : During the last three financial years, the Home Office has paid £856,564 to Ernst and Young for consultancy work.
Prisoners (AIDS)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what regulations govern the notification of a prisoner in the event that he or she is placed in a cell with a prisoner with the AIDS virus ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 26 May 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 A. J. Butler to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 6 July 1994 :
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about what regulations govern the notification of a prisoner in the event that he or she is placed in a cell with a prisoner with the AIDS virus. The Prison Service policy on HIV is given in Circular Instruction 30/1991. It emphasises that strict medical confidentiality shall apply to all prisoners' medical information, including information about HIV status. This policy reflects the policy which is adopted in the general community. Consequentially no prisoner would be notified about the health status of any other prisoner.
HIV testing in prison is carried out at the request of prison inmates, or on the advice of a prison medical officer for diagnostic purposes and only with the inmate's informed consent. This practice also mirrors that applying in the community outside prison. As a result the number of prisoners known to have HIV infection in prison is a proportion of the total number of prisoners who may have HIV infection. To provide information about the health status of known HIV positive inmates would breach medical confidentiality, may provide prisoners with a false sense of security in relation to HIV infection, and be counter productive in that it may discourage those people concerned about HIV infection from coming forward for advice, medical care, counselling and support.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Personal Injury Cases
Mrs. Dunwoody : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the measures that he is currently taking to ensure that district judges have a full understanding of the complexities of personal injury claims.
Mr. John. M. Taylor : The Judicial Studies Board is responsible for the training of newly appointed deputy district judges and of experienced district judges. Training on personal injury cases is accorded great importance in both induction and refresher seminars. In addition, all judges who deal with such cases are issued with "Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases", which was produced by the Judicial Studies Board and published by Blackstone Press.
Public Bodies
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list those of his Department's advisory non- departmental public bodies which the Government are required to consult prior to
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legislation proposals ; and in respect of which bodies the Government must publish their response to advice supplied by them.Mr. John M. Taylor : The Government are required to consult the Council on Tribunals when considering rules affecting tribunals coming within the council's supervision but are not required to publish their response to that advice.
There are two rule committees, the Land Registration rule committee and the Magistrates' Courts rule committee, which the Government are required by statute to consult prior to legislation proposals. The Government do not respond specifically to the advice given and, if they did, the response is not required to be published.
Other rule committees are consulted and the committees consider, propose and advise the Government on legislative proposals. The Government do not respond specifically to the advice given and, if they did, the response is not required to be published.
Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which have a statutory basis.
Mr. John M. Taylor : The information requested is as follows : The Legal Aid Advisory Committee
The Legal Aid Advisory Committee (NI)
The Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct
The Advisory Council on Public Records
The Council on Tribunals
The Crown Court Rules Committee
The County Court Rules Committee
The Supreme Court Rules Committee
The Magistrates Courts Rules Committee
The Land Registration Rules Committee
The Family Proceedings Rules Committee
The Law Commission
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