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Mr. Heathcoat-Amory : A number of United Kingdom MEPs have, without prompting from us, taken an active interest in Gibraltar's affairs and ensured that Gibraltarian concerns have been aired in the European Parliament.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Mr. Brian Charrington
34. Mr. Spellar : To ask the Attorney-General if he will make a statement regarding the case of Mr. Brian Charrington.
The Attorney-General : The case of Mr. Brian Charrington was at all stages conducted by HM Customs and Excise which is an independent prosecuting authority. The decision to withdraw the case was taken entirely by the Commissioners on the advice of prosecuting counsel. I refer the hon. Member to the detailed answers that I gave on 26 January at column 246 to the right hon. and learned Member for Aberavon (Mr. Morris) and on 7 February at column 13 to the hon. Member for Thurrock (Mr. Mackinlay).
Crown Prosecution Service
35. Ms Lynne : To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has to visit the Crown Prosecution Service offices in greater Manchester to discuss the work of that office.
The Solicitor-General : The Attorney-General has no plans at present to visit the North West area of the Crown Prosecution Service, of which Greater Manchester is a part. However, I visited the Crown Prosecution Service offices in Manchester on 29 and 30 June 1994.
Competitive Tendering
Mr. Peter Atkinson : To ask the Attorney-General what plans his Department has to place some of the legal work it currently performs out to competitive tendering ; and in what areas.
The Attorney-General : I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Brent, South (Mr. Boateng) on 8 July 1994, Official Report, column 337, I have no present plans for competitive tendering of legal work in the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office but this is one of the possibilities to be considered in the prior options studies. The legal services provided by the Treasury Solicitor's Department are subject to market testing by client departments. In such cases the Treasury Solicitor may participate in competitive tendering for work that was previously placed with him.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Mr. Charles McGhee
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what charges have been brought against Mr. Charles McGhee, prisoner 2170, Her Majesty's prison Parkhurst ; with what result ; and for what reasons he is still on the punishment wing.
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.
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Letter from Philippa Drew to Mr. Chris Mullin, dated 18 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 charges have been brought against Mr. Charles McGhee at Parkhurst prison, their results and for what reasons he is still on the punishment wing.
Mr. McGhee is a difficult prisoner who has been subject to forty reports, twelve of which are for assaults on staff. Given his behaviour, the governor at Parkhurst placed Mr. McGhee in the segregation unit, in the interests of continuing the smooth operation of the prison. The governor has discussed with Mr. McGhee the possibility of him being placed on normal location but Mr. McGhee is not prepared to improve his conduct.
Since his arrival at Parkhurst, Mr. McGhee has not had any charges placed against him.
Organised Crime, London
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of murders within the Greater London area that are related to organised crime or protection rackets in each of the last five years.
Mr. Maclean : No such estimates have been made.
EU Borders Centre
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will place in the Library reports received by the Department from the clearing house centre for information discussion and exchange on the crossing of borders and immigration.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Documents received by the Home Office from the centre for information, discussion and exchange on the crossing of borders and immigration will be made available for parliamentary scrutiny where they fall within the criteria for deposit in accordance with the Government's proposed scrutiny arrangements for title VI matters.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff work full time or part time for the centre for information, discussion and exchange on the crossing of borders and immigration.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The centre for information, discussion and exchange on the crossing of borders and immigration is an intergovernmental working group established under the third pillar of the treaty on European Union. It has no staff of its own but receives administrative support from the Council Secretariat.
Prison Documents (Foreign Languages)
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the official foreign language prison documents available to foreign prisoners being held in prisons in England and Wales.
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.
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Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 18 July 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the official foreign language documents that are available to foreign prisoners being held in prisons in England and Wales. The foreign language documents issued centrally by the Prison Service are :The Prisoners' Information Pack
The Foreign Prisoners' Resource Pack
The Race Relations Policy Statement
Custody, Care and Justice : The way ahead for the Prison Service in England and Wales
How to make a request or a complaint
Information on the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984.
Other foreign language documents may also have been produced locally by establishments or by other agencies, but details are not kept centrally.
Identity Cards
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Data Protection Registrar about identity cards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : There have been no discussions with the Data Protection Registrar on identity cards. The question of a national identity card scheme is kept under review. If a decision was made to introduce a scheme there would be a full consultation exercise.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with other Government Departments regarding the possible introduction of personal identifiers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Prime Minister to a Question from the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 15 July at column 778.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with private sector companies regarding the introduction of identity cards ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Some of the technical issues concerning identity cards have arisen in discussions which officials have had with private sector companies in the context of a wider study of smartcard applications in Government. If we decided to pursue the idea of an identity card scheme there would be a full consultation exercise.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has about the fraudulent use of identity cards in those EC countries where they are compulsory ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The Home Office holds no information about the fraudulent use of identity cards in European Union countries. Information is compiled by the Immigration Service about the detected incidences of fraudulent use of identity cards at the point of entry to the United Kingdom.
In 1993 there were 60 recorded instances of the attempted fraudulent use of an identity card of the six European Union countries which have a compulsory identity card scheme.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has about the costs of introducing an identity card scheme ; and if he will make a statement.
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Mr. Charles Wardle : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) on 16 May 1994 at column 338.
Police Women
Mr. Boyes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of posts in each rank of the police are held by women.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information requested is set out in the table :
As at 30 April 1994
Rank |Number of |Percentage of
|female officers|female officers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deputy chief constable |1 |2.0
Assistant chief constable |4 |3.5
Chief superintendent |11 |2.5
Superintendent |32 |2.5
Chief inspector |57 |2.7
Inspector |251 |3.7
Sergeant |1,090 |5.5
Constables |15,524 |16.0
| ------- | -------
Total |16,970 |13.3
Research Department
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the titles together with dates of completion of all reports compiled since 1991, and the titles and projected completion dates of those currently being compiled, by the Home Office research department.
Mr. Howard : It is the policy of the Department to publish the results of research undertaken by the research and planning unit. Projects undertaken in 1993-94 are all in the programme for that year, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library. The 1994-95 programme will be published shortly.
The precise form and publication of future reports are not settled in advance.
The next reports we expect to publish are :
Intensive Probation in England and Wales :
An evaluation Policing low-level disorder : Police use of Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.
Explaining Reconviction Rates.
Various British Crime reports.
Improving bail decisions.
Public interest case assessment schemes.
Case screening by the Crown Prosecution Service : How and why cases are terminated.
Theft of firearms.
A survey of satisfaction with Group 4's prisoner escort service. Practitioners' views of the 1991 Criminal Justice Act.
The settlement of refugees.
Study of Vietnamese refugees.
Neighbourhood Watch.
Probation Motor Projects.
Survey of Prison Staff.
Equal Opportunities and the Fire Service.
Miscarriages of Justice
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the independent review tribunal on miscarriages of justice to be introduced ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : Legislation will be necessary before the proposed criminal cases review authority can be
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established. I cannot at present say when this legislation will be introduced, but my hope is that this will be at the earliest practicable date.Lenient Sentences
Mr. Bates : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further steps are being taken to extend his powers to refer unduly lenient sentences to the Court of Appeal.
Mr. Maclean : After the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill has received Royal Assent, my right hon. and learned Friend intends to make an order extending the scope of the Attorney-General's power so as to include cases of serious fraud.
Immigration
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rights the spouse of a European economic area national exercising free movement rights in the United Kingdom may exercise before leaving the United Kingdom when he or she has been refused leave to remain in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The spouse of a European economic area national who is exercising rights of residence in the United Kingdom under the EC treaty is entitled to reside here with the EEA national. However, we do not accept that a spouse who is party to a marriage of convenience has any right to benefit from Community law on free movement and residence.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been put in place or are being put in place to give effect to the right of businesses based in another member state of the European Union under article 59 of the EC treaty to send a work force to complete a contract in the United Kingdom when the work force includes third country nationals who are employees of the business.
Mr. Charles Wardle : None, but we keep the situation under review in the light of judgments of the European Court of Justice.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 May, Official
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Report, column 253, in respect of the 29 entry clearance applications which have been made at British diplomatic posts abroad by persons who are not European economic area nationals and who have sought entry as family members of British citizens who have exercised treaty rights in another member state, what was the average processing time of these applications ; how many were granted ; and how many were refused.Mr. Charles Wardle : Of these 29 entry clearance applications, 22 were granted and seven refused.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, in respect of the European economic area, non-European economic area national family members of European economic area nationals who were refused entry clearance or leave to remain in the United Kingdom since March 1993, and the grounds on which the refusals were based.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information is available only in respect of after entry applications for residence documents of limited validity. Between March 1993 and the end of June 1994, 56 applications were refused from non-European economic area nationals for a residence document of limited validity as the family member of an EEA national. Information is not available about the individual grounds on which these refusals were based.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 May, Official Report, column 254, in respect of the 39 applications involving marriage between a non-European economic area national and a European economic area national in respect of which an interview has been carried out since March 1993 ; what was the nationality of the non-European economic area national ; and what was the outcome of the application after interview.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Of these 39 applications, 34 were granted and five refused, following the interview.
The nationalities of the 39 EEA nationals, and their non-EEA spouses, and the outcome of their applications, are as follows :
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EEA national Non-EEA national Outcome of
application
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Danish |1 |Croatian |1 |Granted |1
Dutch |1 |Malaysian |1 |Granted |1
French |4 |Algerian |1 |Granted |1
|Egyptian |1 |Granted |1
|Moroccan |1 |Granted |1
|Nigerian |1 |Granted |1
German |2 |Brazilian |1 |Granted |1
|Ghanaian |1 |Granted |1
Irish |22 |Algerian |2 |Granted |2
|Ghanaian |2 |Granted |2
|Iranian |1 |Refused |1
|Malaysian |1 |Granted |1
|Moroccan |5 |Granted |3
|Refused |2
|Nigerian |7 |Granted |6
|Refused |1
|Filipino |1 |Granted |1
|Turkish |2 |Granted |2
|Yugoslavian|1 |Granted |1
Italian |2 |Nigerian |2 |Granted |2
Portuguese |4 |Algerian |1 |Granted |1
|Egyptian |1 |Refused |1
|Malaysian |1 |Granted |1
|Moroccan |1 |Granted |1
Spanish |3 |Algerian |2 |Granted |2
|Polish |1 |Granted |1
|------- |------- |-------
Totals |39 |39 |Granted |34
|Refused |5
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Maclennan : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the number of applications for asylum in the United Kingdom since 1 January by (a) nationality and (b) immigration status at the time of application.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information covering the first six months of 1994 on applications for asylum by the location of the application and nationality is given in the table. Information on the immigration status of the applicant upon applying is not readily available.
Applications<1> received for asylum in the United Kingdom,
excluding dependants, by nationality and location where made,
1 Janaury to 30 June 1994
<2>Number of principal applicants
|<3>Total |Applied |Applied
|at port |in country
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe
Bulgaria |65 |5 |60
Romania |115 |20 |90
Turkey |1,035 |295 |740
Former USSR |265 |25 |240
Former Yugoslavia |715 |155 |560
Other |240 |75 |160
|------- |------- |-------
Total |2,430 |575 |1,855
Americas
Colombia |195 |125 |70
Other |295 |80 |215
|------- |------- |-------
Total |490 |205 |285
Africa
Angola |245 |70 |175
Ethiopia |360 |105 |255
Ghana |1,030 |195 |835
Kenya |755 |520 |235
Nigeria |1,750 |165 |1,585
Sierra Leone |660 |225 |435
Somalia |705 |325 |380
Sudan |155 |35 |120
Togo and Ivory Coast |375 |210 |165
Uganda |170 |45 |120
Zaire |365 |165 |200
Other |835 |220 |615
|------- |------- |-------
Total |7,400 |2,280 |5,120
Middle East
Iran |220 |55 |165
Iraq |225 |95 |130
Lebanon |105 |35 |70
Other |280 |115 |160
|------- |------- |-------
Total |825 |300 |525
Asia
China |145 |70 |75
India |890 |90 |795
Pakistan |800 |75 |725
Sri Lanka |1,250 |695 |555
Other |400 |145 |255
|------- |------- |-------
Total |3,480 |1,075 |2,410
Other, and nationality not
known |105 |105 |-
|------- |------- |-------
Grand total |14,730 |4,540 |10,190
<1>Figures rounded to the nearest 5 with * = 1 or 2.
<2>Provisional figures.
<3>Figures do not include overseas applications.
Police Complaints Authority
Sir Ivan Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what new appointments have been made to the Police Complaints Authority.
Mr. Howard : Ms Molly Meacher and Mr. Navnit Dholakia OBE have accepted my invitation to serve as members of the Police Complaints Authority and will take up their appointments on 15 August. Ms Meacher was previously adviser to the chairman of the Russian Federal Employment Service, and formerly director of Action Trust, now the Employment Policy Institute.
Mr. Dholakia will join the Police Complaints Authority after 18 years with the Commission for Racial Equality, where he has been responsible for administration of justice issues.
ENVIRONMENT
Access to Personal Files
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement concerning the costs of implementing the Access to Personal Files Act 1987.
Mr. Baldry : My Department has not collected information about the costs of implementing the Access to Personal Files Act 1987. Authorities are empowered to charge fees which should make the operation of the new requirements imposed by the Act self-financing.
Environmental Schemes
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the cost in 1994 in each county in England, and in total, of payments made under (a) the countryside stewardship scheme, (b) the hedgerow incentive scheme, (c) the countryside premium scheme and (d) the wildlife enhancement scheme.
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Mr. Atkins : The Countryside Commission, which operates the countryside stewardship, hedgerow incentive and countryside premium schemes on behalf of the Secretary of State, does not keep the requested information on a county basis, but records expenditure by its regional offices. English Nature, which has operated the wildlife enhancement scheme as a three-year pilot since 1 April 1992, similarly does not record expenditure on a county basis, but by pilot area.
Estimated grant expenditure for countryside stewardship for each of the commission's regional offices for the financial year 1994-95 is as follows :
|£
-----------------------------------------------
Northern |1,590,000
North West |1,105,000
Yorkshire and Humberside |1,385,000
Midlands |1,238,500
Eastern |1,448,500
South East |2,126,500
South West |2,456,500
|-------
Total |11,350,000
These figures include expenditure on the hedgerow incentive scheme, which is now fully integrated into the countryside stewardship scheme.
The estimated cost of payments under the countryside premium scheme for 1994-95 is £453,600. The scheme operates in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Suffolk. The commission does not have disaggregated data, and these could be provided only at disproportionate expense.
The estimated cost of payments for 1994-95 under the wildlife enhancement scheme are as follows :
|£
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Pevensey levels (Sussex) |152,500
Culm grasslands (Devon) |83,500
Coversand heaths and peatlands
(Yorkshire/Humberside) |152,500
Craven limestone grasslands |310,200
Dorset heaths (Dorset) |141,000
Thames basin and Wealden heaths (Berkshire,
Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex) |127,000
Magnesian limestone grassland (Tyne and Wear,
Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire) |56,000
Hereford and Worcester grasslands
(Hereford and Worcester) |35,500
Other<1> |41,800
|-------
Total |1,100,000
<1>Includes administrative and publicity costs and a small amount
of
money yet to be allocated.
Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the cost in 1993 in each county in England, and in total, of payments made under (a) the countryside stewardship scheme, (b) the hedgerow incentive scheme, (c) the countryside premium scheme and (d) the wildlife enhancement scheme.
Mr. Atkins : These payments are not recorded on a county basis. Grant expenditure for countryside stewardship and the hedgerow incentives schemes for each of the Countryside Commission's regional offices for the financial year 1993-94 was as follows :
Column 40
|Countryside|Hedgerow
|Stewardship|Incentive
|£ |£
-------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |960,000 |123,000
North West |805,000 |96,000
Yorkshire and Humberside |938,000 |89,000
Midlands |617,000 |171,000
Eastern |1,104,000 |95,000
South East |1,499,000 |55,000
South West |1,649,000 |142,000
|------- |-------
Total |7,572,000 |771,000
Expenditure on payments under the countryside premium scheme in the financial year 1993-94 in the seven counties in which the scheme operates was £599,861. The commission does not have disaggregated data, and these could be provided only at disproportionate expense. Payments for 1993 -94 under the wildlife enhancement scheme for each of English Nature's pilot areas were as follows :
|£
----------------------------------------------------------------
Pevensey levels (Sussex) |150,000
Culm grasslands (Devon) |81,100
Coversands heaths and peatlands (Yorkshire and
Humberside) |132,700
Craven limeston grasslands (Yorkshire) |164,600
Dorset heaths (Dorset) |0
Thames basin and Wealden heaths (Berkshire,
Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex) |0
Magnesian limestone grassland (Tyne and Wear,
Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire |0
Hereford and Worcester grasslands (Hereford and
Worcestershire) |0
Other<1> |16,600
|-------
Total |545,000
<1>Includes administrative and publicity costs.
Barn Conversions (Planning Policy)
Mrs. Helen Jackson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what recent changes there have been to the planning policy guidance with relation to barn conversion in green belt designated areas.
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