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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information is set out in the table below:


         Number of        

         students         

         awarded:         

Year    |PGCE |BEd        

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

1990-91 |1,139|620        

1991-92 |1,412|538        

1992-93 |1,442|858        

There continues to be a health level of interest in teaching as a career. Through our controls over student places on courses of initial teacher training we seek to


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keep the number of trainee teachers broadly in balance with projected teacher requirements.

Sustainable Development

Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress he has made towards ensuring that plans for development in Scotland will include sustainable development considerations as a necessary feature for approval to be granted by local authorities.

Mr. Lang: Sustainable development is a key theme in our national planning policy guidelines. Planning authorities must take account of these in the preparation of development plans and in determining planning applications.

To date, we have published NPPGs on the planning system, business and industry, land for housing, land for mineral working, archaeology and planning and renewable energy. Drafts have been issued on waste, roadside facilities and A9 policy. Others currently in preparation cover retailing, planning and transport, sport and recreation and skiing.

Physical Education Teachers

Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the average annual cost of employing a physical education teacher.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Information about teaching costs is not held centrally by subject specialism. The average cost of employing a secondary school teacher is estimated to be £25,296. This figure is derived from the total teacher costs, including promoted staff and employer overheads, which are generally estimated to be about 16.5 per cent. of the total pay bill.

Tariff Rebate Subsidies Scheme

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the amount of public money paid out by his Department under the tariff rebate subsidies scheme between 1 January 1992 and 31 August 1993, in respect of the carriage southbound for Orkney or Shetland of empty containers.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 November 1994]: No such estimate has been made.

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what systems his Department has operated to monitor and scrutinise tariff rebate subsidy claims made by or on behalf of (a) P and O Scottish Ferries Ltd., (b) Shetland Line (1984) Ltd. and Orkney Line and (c) Orcargo Ltd.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 November 1994]: Since 1 February 1994 each of the shipping companies has had to submit claims for tariff rebate subsidy in a standard format. Each company is required to submit a subsidy claim which has been certified by its auditors as fairly stated and properly and reasonably made in accordance with the conditions of the scheme. To assist the reporting accountants in this task, a comprehensive guidance note covering the rules and regulations of the TRS scheme has been issued. In addition to statutory annual accounts the companies are also required to prepare an approved services account and audit certificate which details total income and expenditure, including subsidy, in relation to approved services. The Department also retains the right to carry


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out spot checks on each company's records to ensure adherence to the rules and regulations currently in force.

Prior to 1 February 1994, all companies within the scheme, with the exception of P and O Scottish Ferries Ltd., were required to submit to the Department copies of invoices relating to freight shipments. P and O was required to submit regular information on carryings but was not required to submit copies of individual invoices because of the large number of invoices processed by that company. In all cases the companies were required to submit annually an approved services account and audit certificate.

Shipping Subsidies

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he has on the time spent by the management consultants engaged by his Department to conduct studies to inform his shipping subsidies review in interviewing representatives of (a) P and O Scottish Ferries Ltd., (b) Streamline Shipping Co. Ltd. and (c) Orcargo Ltd. and (d) users of the bulk cargo shipping services to and from Orkney and Shetland.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 November 1994]: None. This was a matter for the consultants.

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to his Department of the consultant's inquiry into the shipping subsidy review in respect of the ferry services to northern and western isles.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 November 1994]: It was £137,500.

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland on how many occasions officials of his Department discussed the future of the shipping subsidy scheme with representatives of (a) P and O Scottish Ferries Ltd., (b) Streamline Shipping Co. Ltd. and (c) Orcargo Ltd. after receipt of the report on the shipping subsidies review and prior to his announcement of the proposed new subsidy arrangements on 28 October; and if he will make a statement.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 November 1994]: Discussions took place on a number of occasions with a P and O Scottish Ferries Ltd about the operation of possible new subsidy arrangements in relation to passengers and accompanied cars. Prior to the decision to announce the withdrawal of freight subsidies with effect from 1 May 1995, information was obtained from P and O Scottish Ferries, the Streamline Shipping Group and Orcargo Ltd.

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what notice was given by his Department inviting tenders to carry out the studies needed to inform his review of shipping subsidies in respect of the ferry services to Orkney, Shetland and the Western isles.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 November 1994] : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend on 26 May 1993, Official Report , column 587, to my hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, South (Mr. Robertson) where he indicated that the Scottish Office industry department would shortly be inviting tenders for the necessary studies. A number of suitable firms were subsequently invited to tender on 7 June 1993.


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Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his Department's planned expenditure on shipping subsidies on routes to and from Orkney and Shetland in (a) 1994 95 and (b) 1995 96.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 November 1994]: In relation to 1994 95 I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by my right hon. Friend on 23 March 1994, Official Report , Column 237 , to my hon. Friend the Member for Ayr (Mr Gallie). An announcement will be made in due course in relation to 1995 96 following the conclusion of the current public expenditure round.

Next Steps Agencies

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the salary and other emoluments of the civil servant who did the work of, or work comparable to that of, the chief executive of each next steps agency established by his Department before the agency was established.

Mr. Lang [holding answer 24 November 1994]: Eight agencies have been established by my Department. In seven of them, civil servants previously doing comparable work were paid on the same pay bands as current chief executives. In the remaining case, there was no one single individual doing the job that the chief executive now has.

Non-domestic Rates

Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total payment by his Department in respect of reduction of Scottish non- domestic rates in respect of each year since 1990 91; and from which budget the said payments were drawn.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 24 November 1994]: The total amounts spent each year on the Government's unified business rates policy are as follows:


          |£ million          

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

1990-91   |80                 

1991-92   |100                

1992-93   |100                

1993-94   |100                

1994-95   |60                 

                              

Total     |440                

Local authorities have been asked to contribute a total of £59 million towards the above sum by means of efficiency savings. The remainder of the sum was allocated by increasing the level of revenue support grant to offset the reduction in no-domestic rate income within the total of aggregate external finance payable to local authorities in the years in question. The Scottish Office contribution to this shift in the balance between RSG and NDR1 was funded from the Scottish block.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Terms of Protection Directive

Sir Thomas Arnold: To ask the President of the Board of Trade in what manner he proposes to implement the EC terms of protection directive; and if he will make a statement.


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Mr. Needham: It is intended to lay regulations implementing the EC directive on unfair terms in consumer contracts before Parliament before the end of the year.

Copier Contracts

Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will make a statement on deceptive copier contracts; (2) if he will enact the Office of Fair Trading recommendation in its report on unfair copier contract terms that a new proposal form should make clear all the information buyers need to evaluate quotations.

Mr. Ian Taylor: The Director General of Fair Trading published a report on photocopier selling practices in March of this year. He announced that he would undertake a further review early in 1995, and we will consider in the light of the recommendations of this review whether further action by Government is necessary.

In the meantime, the Director General is continuing to monitor business practices in the photocopier sector closely.

Dual-use Goods

Mr. Cousins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress has been made on the introduction of an EU-wide regulation covering export controls on certain dual-use goods and technologies.

Mr. Ian Taylor: In June 1994, member states agreed a text of a European regulation setting up a Community regime for the control of exports of dual-use goods. An associated inter-governmental decision in the form of a joint action under the common foreign and security policy provisions in the treaty on European Unity was also agreed. The decision covers a number of operational annexes listing controlled goods, destinations and guidelines to be taken into account by the authorities of all member states when considering export licence applications. The regulation and decision are due to apply on 1 January 1995.

In the period since June, member states have been finalising the contents of the annexes, and discussing practical aspects of the regulation with a view to ensuring uniform application throughout the Community.

The annexe to the decision listing controlled goods which will require a licence for export from the Community is lengthy and technical. The task of translating it into all Community languages is being undertaken primarily by the Commission's translation service in Brussels. A combination of last- minute changes to the contents of that annexe and difficulties in scheduling the translation has meant that the task is still unfinished. As a result, the formal adoption of the regulation and decision has been postponed from October. The Commission has assured member states that all is being done to complete the translation work by the end of November, so that adoption can take place in early December, with implementation on 1 January 1995 as planned. We shall therefore know shortly if that timetable can be kept or whether implementation will have to be put back a little further in 1995.


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European Funding

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total amount of money from (a) the European regional development fund and (b) the European social fund which has been paid in each financial year between 1988 89 and 1993 94 to (i) all agencies receiving those funds in the United Kingdom, (ii) all local authorities with the United Kingdom (iii) all urban development corporations within the United Kingdom and (iv) all training and enterprise councils with the United Kingdom.

Mr. Eggar: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Post Office

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many responses he has received to his consultation document on the Post Office; and how many were in favour of full or partial privatisation.

Mr. Eggar: Some 15,400 responses were received on the Green Paper, including some 2,000 received after the close of the consultation period. The majority took the form of standard form letters and postcards issued by organisations campaigning against the Government's proposals. About 60 responses in total were positively in favour of full or partial privatisation, although a wide variety of views were expressed and not all letters could easily be categorised.

Marketing Your Business

Mr. Wilson: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give the cost to his Department of producing the booklet "Marketing Your Business" in respect of (a) payments to consultants (b) printing costs and (c) other costs; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Ian Taylor: The business skills seminar workbook entitled "Marketing Your Business" was originally written on behalf of the Training Agency. The printing, publishing and sale of business skills seminar workbooks is licensed by Her Majesty's Stationery Office to Vector Business Development and involves no cost to my Department.

Overseas Investment

Ms Quin: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will provide figures for (a) the value of overseas investment, (b) the number of projects created and (c) the number of jobs created by standard planning region, in each year since 1985.

Mr. Eggar [holding answer 24 November 1994]: The table sets out the number of inward investment decisions notified to my Department's Invest in Britain Bureau and the number of total jobs these investments are expected to create and safeguard. These figures are based on information provided by companies at the time of the decision to invest and take no account of subsequent developments and are collected on a financial year basis. Figures for the value of this investment are not available since firms are not obliged to reveal this information.


Inward investment projects by year and region as notified to Invest                                                                 

in Britain Bureau 1985-1994                                                                                                         

                                                                                        |Total number of                            

Year                  |Region               |Number of projects   |Total new jobs       |jobs safeguarded                           

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

1985-86               |East Midlands        |23                   |1,114                |20                                         

                      |North East           |26                   |2,223                |2,263                                      

                      |Northern Ireland     |22                   |813                  |1,265                                      

                      |North West           |39                   |2,500                |1,800                                      

                      |Scotland             |52                   |4,905                |5,517                                      

                      |South East           |94                   |4,253                |5,692                                      

                      |South West           |19                   |2,077                |-                                          

                      |Wales                |47                   |2,862                |1,277                                      

                      |West Midlands        |83                   |6,369                |1,862                                      

                      |Yorkshire/Humberside |15                   |2,270                |2,995                                      

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |420                  |29,386               |22,771                                     

                                                                                                                                    

1986-87               |East Midlands        |10                   |382                  |-                                          

                      |North East           |38                   |2,553                |2,040                                      

                      |Northern Ireland     |21                   |799                  |2,629                                      

                      |North West           |24                   |1,172                |1,403                                      

                      |Scotland             |35                   |2,267                |341                                        

                      |South East           |66                   |2,359                |1,154                                      

                      |South West           |11                   |445                  |528                                        

                      |Wales                |64                   |3,807                |2,752                                      

                      |West Midlands        |67                   |5,278                |2,256                                      

                      |Yorkshire/Humberside |20                   |368                  |418                                        

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |356                  |19,430               |13,521                                     

                                                                                                                                    

1987-88               |East Anglia          |2                    |28                   |23                                         

                      |East Midlands        |12                   |489                  |418                                        

                      |North East           |22                   |3,514                |491                                        

                      |Northern Ireland     |16                   |1,050                |1,662                                      

                      |North West           |33                   |1,955                |6,235                                      

                      |Scotland             |56                   |5,514                |4,378                                      

                      |South East           |59                   |10,057               |6,502                                      

                      |South West           |11                   |908                  |250                                        

                      |Wales                |61                   |4,837                |2,137                                      

                      |West Midlands        |64                   |3,538                |7,161                                      

                      |Yorkshire/Humberside |27                   |1,948                |965                                        

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |363                  |33,838               |30,222                                     

                                                                                                                                    

1988-89               |East Anglia          |1                    |18                   |32                                         

                      |East Midlands        |22                   |1,422                |1,838                                      

                      |North East           |37                   |2,786                |503                                        

                      |Northern Ireland     |23                   |2,808                |1,449                                      

                      |North West           |40                   |2,079                |4,289                                      

                      |Scotland             |43                   |4,849                |726                                        

                      |South East           |34                   |2,504                |840                                        

                      |South West           |6                    |393                  |120                                        

                      |Wales                |45                   |4,995                |1,234                                      

                      |West Midlands        |74                   |3,898                |4,894                                      

                      |Yorks/Humberside     |23                   |1,810                |146                                        

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |348                  |27,562               |16.071                                     

                                                                                                                                    

1989-90               |East Anglia          |3                    |300                  |20                                         

                      |East Midlands        |14                   |6,305                |4,775                                      

                      |North East           |39                   |4,021                |1,386                                      

                      |Northern Ireland     |23                   |1,956                |9,459                                      

                      |North West           |60                   |3,076                |10,016                                     

                      |Scotland             |35                   |7,828                |569                                        

                      |South East           |15                   |780                  |550                                        

                      |South West           |6                    |1,498                |40                                         

                      |Wales                |66                   |3,978                |5,299                                      

                      |West Midlands        |95                   |7,237                |8,541                                      

                      |Yorkshire/Humberside |19                   |2,018                |1,340                                      

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |375                  |38,997               |41,995                                     

                                                                                                                                    

1990-91               |East Anglia          |6                    |445                  |743                                        

                      |East Midlands        |12                   |1,689                                                            

                      |North East           |40                   |2,164                |647                                        

                      |Northern Ireland     |20                   |923                  |1,820                                      

                      |North West           |67                   |2,279                |9,258                                      

                      |Scotland             |40                   |5,701                |928                                        

                      |South East           |17                   |805                  |24,422                                     

                      |South West           |3                    |580                  |-                                          

                      |Wales                |62                   |3,356                |5,065                                      

                      |West Midlands        |71                   |4,618                |7,514                                      

                      |Yorkshire/Humberside |26                   |1,260                |10,131                                     

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |364                  |23,820               |60,900                                     

                                                                                                                                    

1991-92               |UK-wide              |1                    |70                   |-                                          

                      |East Anglia          |11                   |591                  |4,210                                      

                      |East Midlands        |5                    |314                  |110                                        

                      |North East           |39                   |3,700                |2,466                                      

                      |Northern Ireland     |11                   |364                  |732                                        

                      |North West           |75                   |1,501                |8,481                                      

                      |Scotland             |38                   |3,884                |891                                        

                      |South East           |29                   |1,166                |2,227                                      

                      |South West           |9                    |2190                 |790                                        

                      |Wales                |71                   |5,195                |5,634                                      

                      |West Midlands        |46                   |1,872                |3,676                                      

                      |Yorkshire/Humberside |17                   |1,656                |1,806                                      

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |352                  |22,503               |31,023                                     

                                                                                                                                    

1992-93               |East Anglia          |8                    |363                  |10,632                                     

                      |East Midlands        |7                    |183                  |405                                        

                      |North East           |35                   |2,312                |3,210                                      

                      |Northern Ireland     |12                   |2,742                |1,357                                      

                      |North West           |27                   |992                  |2,783                                      

                      |Scotland             |61                   |4,497                |4,198                                      

                      |South East           |20                   |1,212                |6,128                                      

                      |South West           |7                    |285                  |995                                        

                      |Wales                |65                   |2,382                |4,489                                      

                      |West Midlands        |43                   |1,568                |2,669                                      

                      |Yorkshire/Humberside |44                   |1,286                |5,529                                      

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |329                  |17,822               |42,395                                     

                                                                                                                                    

1993-94               |East Anglia          |13                   |462                  |1,231                                      

                      |East Midlands        |22                   |3,218                |210                                        

                      |North East           |38                   |2,256                |3,981                                      

                      |Northern Ireland     |16                   |2,475                |601                                        

                      |North West           |30                   |2,112                |1,517                                      

                      |Scotland             |88                   |7,645                |4,654                                      

                      |South East           |19                   |896                  |5,950                                      

                      |South West           |12                   |1,172                |1,008                                      

                      |Wales                |64                   |3,913                |2,651                                      

                      |West Midlands        |84                   |3,370                |43,069                                     

                      |Yorkshire/Humberside |40                   |2,329                |3,998                                      

                                                                                                                                    

Total for year                              |426                  |29,848               |68,870                                     

Licensed Premises

Mr. Tyler: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to propose legislation to ensure that leases for licensed premises are consistent with the treaty of Rome; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Jonathan Evans: [holding answer 24 November 1944]: I assume that the hon. Member has in mind articles 85 and 86 of the treaty of Rome. These provisions are directly applicable in the United Kingdom and are enforceable by national courts. Legislation would therefore not be appropriate.


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Next Steps Agencies

Mr. Kaufamn: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the salary and other emoluments of the civil servant who did the work of, or work comparable to that of, the chief executive of each next steps agency established by his Department before the agency was established.

Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 24 November 1994]: The jobs are not the same and therefore comparisons are impossible.


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Mineworkers Pension Scheme

Mr. Hain: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of reports that licensed mine owners are defaulting on pension contributions in order to deprive their employees of protected pension status in transferring to the industry-wide mineworkers pension scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 24 November 1994]: Participating employers in the mineworkers' pension scheme are bound by the provisions of the scheme to pay over to British Coal all contributions by, or in respect of, their employees who are members of the MPS, for as long as they remain participating employers. It is for British Coal to collect such contributions and for the trustees of the MPS to establish whether a company has, for the purposes of the scheme, withdrawn as a participating employer.

Mr. Hain: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will monitor the procedure for licensed miners to transfer to the industry-wide mineworkers pension scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 24 November 1994]: My Department has written to all participating employers in the mineworkers' pension scheme individually about the establishment of the new industry- wide mineworkers' pension scheme. Mine licensees participating in the MPS will owe a statutory duty to allow their employees who are participants in the MPS when the IWS-MPS is established to join the new scheme. My Department will be sending "Deeds of Adherence" to participating employers in the MPS shortly for their signature in order that they may become participating employers in the IWS-MPS.

Electricity Consumption

Mrs. Ewing: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will calculate average figures for the level of consumption of electricity required for heating for (a) the United Kingdom, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales, (e) Northern Ireland and (f) the English regions.

Mr. Charles Wardle [holding answer 24 November 1994]: Information on domestic electricity consumption for the main end uses-- space heating, water heating, lights and appliances, and cooking--has been estimated by the Building Research Establishment for the housing stock of Great Britain, using the BRE housing model for energy statistics. The most recent estimates relate to 1991 and show the following distribution.


-

                       |Petajoules           

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

Space heating          |84.5                 

Water heating          |41.4                 

Lights and appliances  |190.8                

Cooking                |25.3                 

                                             

Total                  |342.0                

Estimates of electricity use for heating by  

region are not available.                    

Lobbying Companies

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the guidelines issued by his Department to regulate relationships with lobbying companies.


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Mr. Ian Taylor [holding answer 24 November 1994]: My Department has conditions of service for staff which incorporate the general principles of conduct that require civil servants not to misuse information which they acquire in the course of their duties, not to make use of their official position to further their private interests or those of others, and not to receive gifts, hospitality or benefits of any kind from a third party which might be seen to compromise their personal judgment or integrity.

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list and date those occasions over the last two years, when Ministers or officials in his Department have met lobbying companies, prior to a decision being made on the subject of the meeting with the lobbying company.

Mr. Heseltine [holding answer 24 November 1994]: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Identification Cards

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary for the Home Department (1) if he will list those European countries that currently have a system of compulsory identification cards; and which of these countries also have a written constitution;

(2) which European countries currently have a system of voluntary identification cards; and which of these countries also have a written constitution;

(3) which European countries do not have a system of voluntary or compulsory identification cards.

Mr. Maclean: Within the European Union, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg and Spain have compulsory identity cards. France, Italy and the Netherlands have voluntary schemes. Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom do not have identity card schemes. All except the United Kingdom have written constitutions.

Information about countries outside the European Union is not readily available.

Police (Best Practice)

Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures he is taking to ensure that all police forces operate best practice;

(2) what are the total estimated efficiency savings for the next five years from police operating best practice.

Mr. Maclean: The operation of good practice throughout the police service is encouraged by a variety of mechanisms which include regular publications, helpdesks and conferences. Other organisations, such as Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary, the Audit Commission and the Association of Chief Police Officers have a valuable role to play in this process.

The process itself is both continuous and varied. It is, therefore, not possible to identify what efficiency savings might result in the next five years.

Criminal Records

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has made a decision to award the


Column 443

contract for the back-record conversion of criminal records for input to the Phoenix system; if the successful contractor could carry out some of the work in a third-world country; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Maclean: I announced the award of the contract for Phoenix back record conversion on 8 July Official Report, Column 330-31. None of the work will be carried out overseas. The project is now underway and is expected to be finished in 18 months.

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce legislation which permits embassies to access criminal records held on the police national computer; when he expects to announce his policy with respect to the wider access to criminal records; and if he will summarise the drawbacks of the practice of enforced subject access.

Mr. Maclean: While legislation would not be necessary to permit embassies to access criminal records held on the police national computer, there are no plans to do so. I hope to announce the results of our review of access to criminal records for employment vetting purposes in spring 1995.

Enforced subject access is widely criticised as an abuse of a right conferred by the Data Protection Act 1984 on individuals for other purposes.

Cumbria and Lancashire Constabularies

Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is his intention to promote the amalgamation of the Cumbria and Lancashire constabularies.

Mr. Maclean: No.

Intelligence Service

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish the report into the National Criminal Intelligence Service by Her Majesty's inspector Geoffrey Dear.

Mr. Maclean: Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary's report on the national criminal intelligence service was sent to chief officers of police, heads of regional crime squads and members of the NCIS standing committee on 9 November. To give the report a wider circulation would risk placing in the public domain information which could be of use to the criminal world.

Wheelclamping

Mr. Waller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his current plans to bring forward proposals to control the off- street clamping of vehicles.

Mr. Maclean: Following the consultation process completed last year, the Government are considering what action it would be appropriate to take in respect of wheelclamping on private land. We will make an announcement as soon as possible.

Crewe Bridge

Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations have been held with the police authorities before proposed closures of the Crewe bridge area of Nantwich road in the Crewe and Nantwich constituency.


Column 444

Mr. Maclean: The Cheshire Constabulary has been involved in discussions concerning the closure of the Crewe bridge area of Nantwich road at various stages since the initial meeting held on 21 July 1993.

Haverigg Prison

Dr. John Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how long Her Majesty's prison Haverigg has been a prison establishment.

Mr. Michael Forsyth: 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 form Mr. Derek Lewis to Dr. John Cunningham, dated 25 November 1994:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the length of time Haverigg prison has been a Prison Service establishment.

The land on which Haverigg prison now stands was purchased in 1939 by the Air Ministry and was used as a wartime aerodrome. In 1966 it passed to the Prison Service who converted the site for use as a category C establishment.

The first governor was appointed on 3 July 1967 and the first inmates were received into the prison on Wednesday 22 November 1967.

Police, Cumbria

Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the new funding formula for Cumbria's police budget; and what will be the change in funding.

Mr. Maclean: The budget for Cumbria police is a matter for the Cumbria police authority.

We have listened very carefully to the many concerns which have been expressed about the version of the new funding formula for the police which was exemplified in September. We have substantially revised the formula.

Funding levels for police forces in 1995 96 will be issued shortly after the Budget statement.


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