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Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action is being taken to refund all those wrongly charged for entry clearance where it has been established by EC law that this should have been done free of charge.
Mr. Baldry: I refer the hon. Member to my reply on 17 October 1994, Official Report, column 48 .
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations he has received from the Chief Constable of the South Wales police in relation to the procedure for guarding of prisoners at Cardiff magistrates court by (a) police officers and (b) private security officers; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Mans: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the Lord Chancellor's advisory committee on legal education and conduct intends to publish its third annual report.
Mr. John M. Taylor: The Lord Chancellor's advisory committee on legal education and conduct has today published its third annual report, and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Raynsford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish figures for the performance of the London ambulance service in each month from July 1992 to September 1994, showing the percentage of calls responded to within 14 minutes and the target specified in the patients charter.
Mr. Sackville: The percentage of 999 calls which received a response within 14 minutes of the call being answered is shown in the table:
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Month |Per cent. Response |within 14 minutes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1992 July } August } September } |No reliable figures available October } November } December |59 1993 January |64 February |65 March |63 April |68 May |67 June |60 July |62 August |65 September |64 October |58 November |57 December |57 1994 January |65 February |63 March |63 April |65 May |66 June |62 July |62 August |66 September |68 Source: London Ambulance Service quarterly and monthly reports to South Thames regional health authority. (The quarterly reports are also circulated to all London Members of Parliament.) The patients charter target response time for emergency calls in urban areas is 95 per cent. responded to within 14 minutes.
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in each standard age group died from asthma attacks in each of the past five years for which figures are available.
Mr. Sackville: The information requested is available in the Library --in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys series DH2 under *ICD 493.
*International Classification of Diseases.
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the mortality rates for asthma for each year since 1972 among (a) the whole population and (b) under 14-year-olds.
Mr. Sackville: The readily available information is shown in the table.
Death rates from asthma (ICD 493), England and Wales, 1972 1992
Deaths per 100,000 population |All ages|under 15 ------------------------------------ 1972 |2.57 |0.44 1973 |2.44 |0.46 1974 |2.20 |0.36 1975 |2.39 |0.32 1976 |2.11 |0.35 1977 |2.19 |0.48 1978 |2.32 |0.40 1979 |2.98 |0.35 1980 |2.98 |0.39 1981 |3.23 |0.48 1982 |3.18 |0.44 1983 |3.31 |0.43 1984 |3.54 |0.40 1985 |3.94 |0.34 1986 |3.97 |0.27 1987 |3.77 |0.41 1988 |3.97 |0.40 1989 |3.86 |0.26 1990 |3.65 |0.39 1991 |3.69 |0.33 1992 |3.49 |0.20
*International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.
Ms. Estelle Morris: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many responses he has received following his consultative document on the future of the Post Office; and if he will publish the results of the consultation.
Mr. Eggar: At the end of the consultation period we had received some 13,400 responses to the Green Paper, "The Future of Postal Services". We will make public the results of the consultation at the appropriate point.
Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to make an announcement on the future of the nuclear industry following the nuclear review.
Mr. Eggar: The public consultation period for the review ended on 30 September. Many complex issues have to be considered and an announcement will be made once that consideration is completed.
Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many companies have made a bid for British Coal's coal interests; how many have bid for each regional package; and if he will name these companies.
Mr. Eggar: There were 18 bidders for the five regional coal companies and the care and maintenance collieries. Details of the bids and bidders are commercially confidential but we have announced the names of the preferred bidders.
Mr. Tipping: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to announce the preferred buyers for each of British Coal's regional packages; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar: The preferred bidders for the five regional coal companies and certain of the care and maintenance
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collieries were announced on Wednesday 14 October. They are: RJB Mining plc for Central North, Central South and North East Regional Coal Companies and Thorne and Ellington Care and Maintenance Collieries;Celtic Energy Limited for South Wales;
Mining (Scotland) Limited for Scotland;
Coal Investments plc for Annesley Bentinck Colliery; and Tower Employee Buyout Team for Tower Colliery
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been undertaken for the illegal docking of dogs' tails; and how many were successful.
Mr. Maclean: Prosecutions for the illegal docking of dogs' tails will be recorded either under Statutory Instrument 1991 No. 1412, The Veterinary Surgeons 1966 (Schedule 3 amendment) Order 1991, or the Protection of Animals Act 1911.
Information held centrally shows no record of prosecutions under the above- mentioned statutory instrument.
However, it should be noted that 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 and private organisations --in this case possibly the RSPCA--and individuals, the reporting of these types of offence is known to be incomplete.
The court proceedings data regarding offences committed under the Protection of Animals Act 1911 does not identify the type of cruelty or species involved.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legislation currently governs the welfare of animals at animal sanctuaries.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The welfare of animals in sanctuaries is governed by the general animal welfare provisions of the Protection of Animals Act 1911.
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many crimes were recorded by each police force in England and Wales within each category of crime in the year ended June; (2) how many incidents of theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and of theft from a motor vehicle were recorded by each police force in England and Wales in the year ended June; (3) how many of the burglaries recorded by each police force in England and Wales in the year ended June were in a dwelling; and how many were in another building.
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Mr Maclean: The information requested is contained in the following tables:
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Notifiable offences recorded by the police by police force area and offence group-12 months to June 1994 Number of offences England and Wales |Violence against |Theft and handling|Fraud and Police force area |All offences |the person |Sexual offences |Robbery |Burglary |stolen goods |forgery |Criminal damage |Other --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon and Somerset |169,690 |6,314 |1,143 |1,923 |37,635 |95,174 |4,590 |22,039 |872 Bedfordshire |55,611 |1,888 |413 |558 |14,386 |28,780 |2,083 |7,185 |318 Cambridgeshire |61,312 |3,046 |432 |275 |13,610 |34,502 |1,600 |7,395 |452 Cheshire |77,427 |3,122 |554 |314 |20,506 |36,461 |2,776 |12,408 |1,286 Cleveland |79,385 |2,250 |250 |414 |18,432 |41,593 |1,377 |14,747 |322 Cumbria |42,521 |1,985 |239 |84 |9,901 |20,938 |1,157 |7,837 |380 Derbyshire |87,924 |3,948 |456 |422 |25,299 |39,319 |1,711 |16,020 |749 Devon and Cornwall |114,124 |4,328 |1,006 |417 |32,053 |57,148 |3,687 |14,129 |1,356 Dorset |53,153 |1,829 |404 |146 |8,900 |30,474 |3,397 |7,111 |892 Durham |66,032 |2,557 |494 |149 |12,984 |34,514 |2,619 |12,021 |694 Essex |108,779 |4,443 |636 |402 |25,999 |56,052 |2,828 |17,530 |889 Gloucestershire |63,117 |2,044 |872 |313 |17,277 |32,988 |2,730 |6,358 |535 Greater Manchester |345,138 |9,939 |1,277 |5,667 |91,621 |161,946 |9,415 |62,808 |2,465 Hampshire |142,470 |5,559 |1,343 |552 |30,882 |75,461 |4,544 |22,670 |1,459 Hertfordshire |54,268 |1,939 |308 |238 |12,592 |28,118 |1,428 |9,276 |369 Humberside |139,006 |4,944 |733 |559 |46,029 |63,617 |2,965 |19,674 |485 Kent |157,083 |6,733 |1,038 |613 |28,626 |87,235 |3,986 |27,116 |1,736 Lancashire |128,434 |3,190 |464 |502 |27,218 |65,709 |3,347 |26,969 |1,035 Leicestershire |98,949 |4,053 |567 |950 |25,327 |49,670 |3,455 |14,420 |507 Lincolnshire |49,951 |2,274 |348 |150 |12,294 |23,934 |1,228 |9,056 |667 City of London |5,069 |170 |19 |40 |670 |3,436 |446 |209 |79 Merseyside |138,663 |7,434 |778 |2,269 |32,797 |65,635 |4,380 |23,681 |1,689 Metropolitan Police District |883,741 |44,257 |7,181 |25,152 |162,337 |427,698 |33,206 |175,450 |8,460 Norfolk |59,754 |2,155 |390 |181 |15,979 |30,941 |1,611 |7,932 |565 Northamptonshire |58,892 |2,389 |341 |333 |17,183 |27,895 |1,729 |8,582 |440 Northumbria |210,444 |6,446 |721 |1,260 |60,999 |85,444 |2,932 |51,626 |1,016 North Yorkshire |59,723 |2,137 |270 |168 |16,451 |30,385 |1,203 |8,593 |516 Nottinghamshire |156,362 |7,584 |1,147 |1,166 |38,314 |75,010 |4,152 |28,193 |796 South Yorkshire |156,541 |4,856 |654 |996 |52,644 |69,756 |2,558 |23,880 |1,197 Staffordshire |96,005 |5,952 |573 |414 |28,953 |42,286 |2,242 |15,157 |428 Suffolk |41,574 |2,104 |386 |113 |8,400 |21,494 |1,695 |6,659 |723 Surrey |49,478 |2,514 |419 |165 |11,271 |25,695 |2,142 |6,758 |514 Sussex |106,262 |3,270 |742 |529 |24,231 |54,280 |2,984 |18,971 |1,255 Thames Valley |191,748 |5,118 |839 |975 |39,273 |106,526 |6,950 |30,491 |1,576 Warwickshire |43,970 |1,506 |319 |133 |11,826 |22,349 |1,208 |6,303 |326 West Mercia |82,848 |3,478 |455 |274 |16,985 |45,413 |1,527 |14,158 |558 West Midlands |323,267 |11,022 |1,444 |6,375 |95,272 |146,175 |8,775 |52,297 |1,907 West Yorkshire |297,108 |9,419 |1,602 |2,918 |90,993 |138,426 |5,870 |45,333 |2,547 Wiltshire |39,159 |2,657 |384 |149 |8,641 |19,500 |1,214 |6,123 |491 Dyfed-Powys |22,817 |2,115 |270 |41 |3,924 |10,491 |704 |4,831 |441 Gwent |40,873 |2,507 |299 |99 |7,227 |21,716 |1,192 |7,258 |575 North Wales |44,687 |2,887 |576 |115 |10,567 |21,293 |1,049 |7,750 |450 South Wales |162,020 |5,990 |556 |467 |37,998 |77,405 |4,045 |34,333 |1,226 |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- England and Wales |5,365,379 |214,352 |33,342 |58,980 |1,304,506 |2,632,882 |154,737 |921,337 |45,243
Notifiable offences of vehicle crime recorded by the police by police force area-12 months to June 1994 Number of offences England and Wales Police force area |Theft of a vehicle |Theft from a vehicle -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon and Somerset |23,144 |35,207 Bedfordshire |8,147 |10,911 Cambridgeshire |6,276 |10,274 Cheshire |8,320 |12,209 Cleveland |12,412 |9,883 Cumbria |2,887 |7,949 Derbyshire |8,855 |15,247 Devon and Cornwall |7,507 |22,049 Dorset |3,500 |9,636 Durham |8,720 |9,448 Essex |9,268 |18,628 Gloucestershire |4,948 |14,167 Greater Manchester |52,217 |50,999 Hampshire |9,341 |27,827 Hertfordshire |5,462 |12,411 Humberside |15,477 |19,979 Kent |17,107 |26,125 Lancashire |12,115 |21,820 Leicestershire |11,205 |17,467 Lincolnshire |3,303 |6,075 City of London |120 |533 Merseyside |15,260 |17,007 Metropolitan Police District |72,526 |138,747 Norfolk |3,932 |11,559 Northamptonshire |7,818 |9,842 Northumbria |26,857 |24,453 North Yorkshire |5,042 |9,793 Nottinghamshire |16,032 |19,822 South Yorkshire |21,764 |23,847 Staffordshire |10,227 |16,048 Suffolk |2,164 |5,625 Surrey |3,867 |9,430 Sussex |7,015 |18,831 Thames Valley |21,083 |40,701 Warwickshire |5,120 |8,615 West Mercia |8,641 |14,386 West Midlands |40,147 |52,781 West Yorkshire |37,394 |47,087 Wiltshire |2,491 |6,303 Dyfed-Powys |1,321 |2,593 Gwent |3,811 |6,740 North Wales |2,826 |7,792 South Wales |24,628 |26,995 |---- |---- England & Wales |570,297 |877,841
Notifiable offences of burglary recorded by the police by police force area - 12 months to June 1994 Number of Offences England and Wales |Burglary in a |building Police force area |Burglary in a |other than a |dwelling |dwelling ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avon and Somerset |19,430 |18,205 Bedfordshire |6,874 |7,512 Cambridgeshire |5,903 |7,707 Cheshire |9,820 |10,686 Cleveland |11,892 |6,540 Cumbria |4,164 |5,737 Derbyshire |10,379 |14,920 Devon and Cornwall |15,855 |16,198 Dorset |5,206 |3,694 Durham |7,784 |5,200 Essex |8,678 |17,321 Gloucestershire |8,384 |8,893 Greater Manchester |56,223 |35,398 Hamsphire |13,756 |17,126 Hertfordshire |4,657 |7,935 Humberside |20,848 |25,181 Kent |17,900 |10,726 Lancashire |17,771 |9,447 Leicestershire |14,615 |10,712 Lincolnshire |6,795 |5,499 City of London |35 |635 Merseyside |20,607 |12,190 Metropolitan Police District |103,966 |58,371 Norfolk |6,014 |9,965 Northamptonshire |7,577 |9,606 Northumbria |31,095 |29,904 North Yorkshire |7,140 |9,311 Nottinghamshire |23,449 |14,865 South Yorkshire |25,890 |26,754 Staffordshire |13,793 |15,160 Suffolk |3,398 |5,002 Surrey |5,005 |6,266 Sussex |12,140 |12,091 Thames Valley |20,784 |18,489 Warwickshire |4,643 |7,183 West Mercia |8,382 |8,603 West Midlands |50,701 |44,571 West Yorkshire |56,912 |34,081 Wiltshire |4,238 |4,403 Dyfed-Powys |1,385 |2,539 Gwent |3,414 |3,813 North Wales |3,455 |7,112 South Wales |14,980 |23,018 |---- |---- England & Wales |695,937 |608,569
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were recorded in each borough by the Metropolitan police within each category of crime in the year ended June.
Mr. Maclean: The information requested has been supplied by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and is contained in the following table:
Notifiable Offences Recorded by Offence Group and Local Authority Borough or District Metropolitan Police District: July 1993 to June 1994 |Violence against |Burglary and going|Theft and handling |Other notifiable |Total notifiable Borough/District |the person |Sexual Offences |Robbery |equipped |stolen goods |Fraud and Forgery |Criminal Damage |offences |offences -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barking |716 |153 |213 |3,419 |6,685 |508 |3,488 |80 |15,262 Barnet |867 |194 |347 |5,066 |11,486 |861 |5,762 |143 |24,726 Bexley |733 |183 |176 |2,847 |8,723 |598 |4,380 |79 |17,719 Brent |1,701 |227 |1,835 |5,681 |11,407 |1,062 |5,959 |193 |28,065 Bromley |1,252 |144 |288 |5,428 |13,528 |896 |6,545 |111 |28,192 Camden |1,565 |202 |1,189 |7,261 |21,692 |1,429 |5,707 |284 |39,329 Croydon |2,022 |304 |530 |5,980 |16,156 |1,243 |7,090 |187 |33,512 Ealing |1,285 |229 |775 |4,280 |13,544 |1,215 |7,113 |180 |28,621 Enfield |1,201 |192 |337 |3,870 |9,680 |794 |4,937 |121 |21,132 Greenwich |1,626 |315 |436 |6,191 |14,139 |934 |7,992 |243 |31,876 Hackney |1,519 |280 |2,282 |7,028 |12,291 |1,091 |5,030 |317 |29,838 Hammersmith |1,172 |151 |846 |3,937 |12,674 |755 |4,725 |149 |24,409 Haringey |1,352 |162 |1,232 | 4,598 |10,966 |887 |4,996 | 157 |24,350 Harrow |727 |106 |282 |3,398 |6,680 |590 |3,859 |84 |15,726 Havering |564 |162 |115 |3,529 |9,682 |602 |3,712 |67 |18,433 Hillingdon <*> |958 |300 |155 |3,526 |10,624 |754 |6,021 |87 |22,425 Hounslow <*> |1,388 |225 |342 |4,118 |10,848 |920 |5,555 |329 |23,725 Islington |1,872 |157 |1,090 |4,773 |13,100 |770 |5,408 |325 |27,495 Kensington and Chelsea |1,032 |161 |907 |4,308 |17,823 |1,021 |3,993 |172 |29,417 Kingston |735 |100 |157 |3,256 |8,358 |595 |3,067 |258 |16,526 Lambeth |3,093 |391 |2,824 |8,029 |17,137 |1,519 |7,818 |484 |41,295 Lewisham |1,843 |283 |1,117 |8,000 |12,811 |913 |5,638 |231 |30,836 Merton |844 |129 |214 |2,941 |8,180 |974 |3,854 |72 |17,208 Newham |1,752 |664 |949 |6,580 |12,815 |1,126 |5,446 |201 |29,533 Redbridge |923 |154 |263 |3,950 |10,178 |1,077 |3,871 |92 |20,508 Richmond |625 |83 |191 |2,785 |7,283 |389 |2,748 |154 |14,258 Southwark |2,478 |418 |1,916 |7,155 |17,780 |1,327 |8,251 |384 |39,709 Sutton |920 |136 |124 |3,665 |7,512 |468 |3,268 |91 |16,184 Tower Hamlets |1,431 |196 |543 |4,947 |12,021 |788 |5,080 |268 |25,274 Wandsworth |1,567 |248 |1,099 |6,154 |15,616 |1,340 |6,445 |731 |33,200 Waltham Forest |1,071 |118 |736 |4,017 |10,414 |860 |4,227 |86 |21,529 Westminster |1,983 |275 |1,846 |7,786 |37,838 |2,986 |5,841 |417 |58,972 Broxbourne (part) |297 |14 |30 |576 |2,369 |109 |1,053 |8 |4,456 Elmbridge (part) |103 |6 |7 |415 |786 |63 |320 |7 |1,707 Epping Forest (part) |303 |28 |37 |734 |2,890 |172 |1,203 |35 |5,402 Epsom and Ewell |314 |65 | 51 | 1,097 |2,639 |21363 |1,363 |30 |5,772 Hertsmere |196 |40 |38 |680 |2,771 |176 |1,351 |26 |5,278 Reigate and Banstead (part) |119 |11 |14 |472 |1,278 |120 |629 |14 |2,657 Spelthorne |393 |66 |48 |1,494 |3,998 |248 |1,935 |75 |8,257 Welwyn Hatfield (part) |2 |2 |- |13 |31 |7 |11 |4 |70 Heathrow Airport |26 |4 |- |39 |2,740 |305 |183 |342 |3,540 Thames |- |- |- |- |116 |0 |44 |0 |160 Central Cheque Squad |- |- |- |- |50 |804 |16 |5 |875 |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- |---- MPD Total |44,570 |7,278 |25,581 |164,023 |429,339 |33,509 |175,934 |7,224 |887,458 <*> These figures exclude offences reported in those part of the borough which fall within the boundary of Heathrow Airport
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Prisons (Drugs)Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 6 July, Official Report , column 203 , what action his Department will be taking to reduce (a) the demand for drugs and (b) the supply of drugs in prison.
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 20 July 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 19 October : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question on the action the Prison Service will be taking to reduce the demand for drugs and the supply of drugs in prisons.
Reducing levels of violence and drug misuse in prisons is one of the Prison Service's seven strategic priorities for 1994 1997. To achieve this we are adopting an integrated strategy which aims to reduce both the supply of and demand for drugs within prisons. Attempts to reduce the demand for drugs in prisons will centre around programmes for prisoners who misuse drugs. These programmes are available throughout the Prison Service, and are provided by healthcare staff, other Prison Service staff and outside agencies. They include detoxification, counselling, courses for groups of prisoners, access to Narcotics Anonymous, drug awareness training and a small number of more intensive treatment programmes. It is intended to expand the number of intensive programmes.
The Prison Service is also sending a clear message that it is not prepared to tolerate the illicit use of drugs in prisons by measures to reduce their supply. Such measures include effective perimeter
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security; more effective searches of prisoners and accommodation; use of sniffer dogs and intelligence gathering on the supply of drugs. The provisions of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill 1994 will allow these measures to be supplemented by the use of drug testing.Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the total sum of money paid out to victims of the Brighton bombing under the criminal injury compensation scheme; and how many individuals received payments;
(2) what estimate he has made of the sum which would have been paid to victims of the Brighton bombing under the proposed tariff scheme for criminal injuries compensation.
Mr. Maclean: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board advises that 34 claims were made in respect of the Brighton bombing in 1984. Further, more detailed, information about those claims--for example how many resulted in a monetary award and the size of any such awards--is not readily available. No estimate can therefore be made of the sums which might have been payable under the tariff scheme in comparable circumstances.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with Sir
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John Woodcock's report into the incident at Whitemoor prison; and when he expects to publish the results.Mr. Howard: I will publish Sir John Woodcock's report as soon as possible.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been deployed at Whitemoor prison from 9 September to the latest date; and from which forces they came.
Mr. Maclean: Since 9 September, between 36 and 76 police officers from Cambridgeshire constabulary and the Metropolitan police have been deployed at Whitemoor prison.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions were undertaken and (b) convictions gained in respect of (a) appendix 1, (b) appendix 2 and (c) appendix 3 of CITES in each year since 1990.
Mr. Maclean: Information held centrally by the Department shows two prosecutions and two convictions in 1990 under sections 3(1) and 3(8) of the Statutory Instrument,"Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations". Information for 1991 to 1993--which is provisional--shows a nil return.
However, it should be noted that 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--in this case probably Custom and Excise--and private organisations and individuals, the reporting of these types of offence is known to be incomplete.
Proceedings instigated with reference to the Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species but dealt with under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and any other statute pertaining to endangered species cannot be separately identified.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the source of funds for each as (a) funds within the civil defence vote of his Department, (b) funds from other Departments, or non-civil defence funds from his Department and (c) other funds not derived from central Government.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Funds for civil defence are voted by Parliament in the annual Appropriation Act. In the same way, Parliament votes funds to other Departments and to the Home Office for non-civil defence purposes.
Information on other funds not derived from central Government that may be used for civil defence purposes is not available centrally.
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many instances there were in (a) 1993 and (b) 1994 where the decision of a chief immigration officer to detain an asylum seeker was overturned by (i) the first seven-day review, (ii) the second seven-day review, (iii) the third seven-day review, (iv) the first monthly review, (v) the second monthly
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review, (vi) the third monthly review, (vii) the fourth monthly review and (viii) the sixth monthly review;(2) how many instances there were (a) in 1993 and (b) in 1994 where a decision of a chief immigration officer to detain an asylum seeker was overturned by an immigration service inspector within 24 hours of that decision.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to allow applicants for asylum to contest the initial decision of a chief immigration officer to detail them before an independent appellate authority before their full application for asylum is heard.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: As it stands the law provides, for any detainee who has an appeal outstanding or who has been detailed for more than seven days for further examination having sought entry to the United Kingdom, an opportunity to apply to the independent appellate authorities for bail. The Government have no plans to change these provisions, which apply to asylum seeks as to others.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many birds of prey were stolen in each region in each month since September 1993.
Mr. Maclean: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources were allocated, by region, to police wildlife liaison officers in each year since 1987; and if he will make a statement on Government support for their role.
Mr. Maclean: This information is not collected centrally. The deployment of police officers and other resources to wildlife liaison work is a matter for chief officers.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what common position with any other member of the European Union regarding the forthcoming executive committee meeting of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees he has agreed, in accordance with the agenda of the Germany Presidency of the European Union item 2(d).
Mr. Nicholas Baker: None, but at the meeting of the UNHCR executive committee from 3 to 7 October the German presidency made a statement on behalf of the European Union which had been agreed with the member states. I am placing a copy in the Library.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in respect of which states his Department has encountered difficulties in obtaining, for aliens to be deported, travel documents from foreign missions of their states.
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Mr. Nicholas Baker: Difficulty in obtaining a travel document for a deportee is experienced in only a small proportion of cases, and I do not think it would be helpful to associate it with specific countries. Where delays do occur they are generally due to the embassy's or high commission's need to verify the identity and nationality of the person concerned.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often his officials attend meetings of the centre for information and exchange on asylum referred to in the agenda of the German Presidency of the European Union regarding title VI of the European Union treaty.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The Home Office is represented at all CIREA meetings. There have been two so far this year, and a further two are planned.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has had with respect to the possibilities of trust status for the Cardiff University dental hospital; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: The Welsh Office has received two representations in respect of the South Glamorgan dental hospital's application for NHS trust status. Public consultation commenced on 5 September and ends on 4 December.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the comparison techniques used in the determining of the bids for the provision of open heart operations at Morriston hospital cardiac surgery and cardiology service for West Wales.
Mr. Redwood: The tenders were assessed by an evaluation team against a set of non-financial criteria produced by the project board advised by independent experts. A separate financial evaluation was performed by independent management consultants.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairmen of Welsh health purchasing authorities in relation to the need for integrated TB control programmes; and what arrangements he has made to ensure programmes achieve high immunisation uptakes and screening rates in areas of substantial immigration from high TB prevalence areas of the world.
Mr. Redwood: I have seen no need to consult with chairmen of Welsh health purchasing authorities on this matter. All health authorities in Wales are issued with regular guidance on vaccination and immunisation programmes, including TB. Current advice recommends that the BCG vaccine is offered to all school children between the ages of 10 and 13; to new immigrants from countries with a high prevalence of the disease and to their newly born children; and to certain other high-risk
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groups. Health authorities have been reminded recently to ensure that their arrangements to protect against TB are adequate. The Government have set up a task force to consider what improvements to the TB control strategy are necessary, including the need for screening of immigrants and refugees.Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he has had with the chairman of the Countryside Council for Wales and with the National Museum of Wales in relation to the proposed Welsh national botanical garden; if he will give the (a) capital cost and (b) annual maintenance cost of the project; what representations he has had in relation to responsibility for its administration; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Redwood: Consultants have been commissioned to consider whether there is a need for a national botanic garden for Wales and if so, to consider the costs and possible locations. They have consulted the Countryside Council for Wales and the National Museum of Wales. Details of costs will not be known until the consultants' report is received towards the end of the year. A number of representations have been received suggesting a variety of locations around Wales.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on how many occasions in the past 12 months the filing and recall system of his Department has failed; what proposals he has for improvements in the computerised filing system; and what proposals he has for market testing the registry department.
Mr. Redwood: My Department is developing a new computerised filing system which so far covers only a small part of our operation. During this process, we are maintaining a manual back-up system which should prevent teething troubles from causing the Department's file recording system to fail.
The records management service in Cardiff--formerly the registry department --has recently been market tested and the contract has been awarded to the in house bid team.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give the waiting list figures and average waiting times for infertility treatment in each Welsh health authority area.
Mr. Redwood: This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what date he received the draft corporate plan of the Welsh Development Agency; what consultations he has carried out in respect of it; when he expects to receive the final version of the corporate plan; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what consultations he has held with the chairman of the Welsh Development Agency concerning the arrangements for publication of the agency's corporate plan.
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Mr. Redwood: I expect to receive the agency's corporate plan soon. My officials have been in discussion with the agency on possible options and priorities.
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