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approvals will again be available for information technology for community care--£12.2 million--mental illness--£11.4 million--and AIDS and HIV services--£3.1 million. The capital grant for secure accommodation for children will continue in 1995 96. The level of grant will be announced later.SCOTLAND
Farmer's Allowances
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total cost of (a) hill livestock compensatory allowance and (b) sheep annual premium for each year since 1985; and what the percentage change was in each case on the previous year.
Sir Hector Monro: The information is set out in the following table.
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Hill livestock compensatory allowances and sheep annual premium expenditure
1985-1993
|Percentage |Percentage
|HLCA |change on |SAP |change on
Year |£ million |previous year|£ million |previous year
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |37.9 |- |27.2 |-
1986 |42.9 |+13.2 |19.4 |-28.7
1987 |42.8 |-0.2 |23.9 |+23.2
1988 |43.5 |+1.6 |24.4 |+2.1
1989 |45.1 |+3.7 |28.5 |+16.8
1990 |48.1 |+6.7 |40.3 |+41.4
1991 |56.1 |+17.7 |65.3 |+62.0
1992 |57.0 |+1.6 |96.2 |+47.3
1993 |50.7 |-11.1 |99.1 |+3.0
Highland Area Supplement
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will produce figures for the value of the special highland area supplement for the years 1992 to date; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro: The value of the HLCA supplements paid in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise area are unchanged since 1992. For sheep the supplement is 64p on top of the rate paid to hardy breed sheep in the severely disadvantaged areas. For cows in the severely disadvantaged areas the supplement varies according to the grading of the farm. For grade A farms, the supplement is £3.05 per cow, for grade B, £11.59 per cow and for grade C, £15.86 per cow.
Less-favoured Areas
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the total subsidies to the less-favoured areas for each year since 1985, inclusive; and if he will indicate what the change was between successive years.
Sir Hector Monro: Agricultural livestock subsidies paid exclusively to the less-favoured areas are the hill livestock compensatory allowances and the sheep annual premium supplement. Expenditure for both is set out in the following table:
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|Percentage |Percentage
|change on |change on
|previous |SAP LFA |previous
|HLCA Exp |year |supplement|year
Year |£ million |£ million
------------------------------------------------------------------
1985 |37.9 |- |-
1986 |42.9 |+13.2 |- |-
1987 |42.8 |-0.2 |- |-
1988 |43.5 |+1.6 |- |-
1989 |45.1 |+3.7 |- |-
1990 |48.1 |+6.7 |- |-
1991 |56.1 |+17.7 |12.0 |-
1992 |57.0 |+1.6 |25.0 |+108.3
1993 |50.7 |-11.1 |19.2 |-23.2
Winter Feed Costs
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the value of winter feed costs for hill farmers for each year since 1990; and what was the increase or decrease on the previous years.
Sir Hector Monro: It is not possible to identify winter feed costs but the value of total feed costs for livestock farmers in the Scottish less-favoured areas is set out in the following table:
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|Change from
|Total Feed |previous year
|Cost |Total
|(£ per farm) |(£ per farm) |Percentage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990-91 |9,472 |-52 |- 1 per cent.
1991-92 |9,788 |+487 |+5 per cent.
1992-93 |10,883 |+1,106 |+11 per cent.
1993-94(forecast) |11,775 |+892 |+8 per cent.
Source:
Scottish farm accounts scheme.
The sample of farms in the Scottish farm accounts scheme varies slightly from year to year. The total cost figures relate to the sample employed in the year in question. The change figures reflect the change from the previous year for an identical sample of farms.
Cow Subsidies
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the current value of (a) hill cow subsidy and (b) suckler cow subsidy in (i) total and (ii) per head figures; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro: The current main rates of hill livestock compensatory allowances for cows in the severely disadvantaged areas is £47.50 and £23.75 in the disadvantaged areas. Expenditure on cows under the 1993 HLCA scheme was £30.2 million. The current suckler cow premium is £87.49 with a further £27.63 per cow payable to producers who qualify for an extensification premium. Expenditure under the 1993 suckler cow premium scheme was £43.5 million.
Health Authorities and Trusts
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of health authorities and trusts as at 30 September.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: On 30 September 1994 there were 15 health boards and 39 NHS trusts in Scotland.
Mr. Galbraith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give, for each health board and trust, the number of houses on their property which are privately owned.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Life Prisoners
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prisoners in Scottish prisons are serving discretionary life sentences; and how many are still in prison after serving more than 10 years.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: A total of 24 individuals are serving discretionary life sentences in Scottish prisons, seven of whom have spent more than 10 years in custody.
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Saughton Prison
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the membership of the preliminary review committee of Saughton prison in Edinburgh; and what overlap there is in the membership of that committee with those taking day to day responsibility for prisoners.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: No individual prison has a preliminary review committee. The preliminary review committee for life sentence prisoners is chaired by a senior Scottish Office official and its membership comprises a High Court judge, the chairman and a psychiatrist member of the Parole Board for Scotland and the deputy chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service. None of these is involved in day-to-day management of prisoners.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prisoners in Saughton prison, Edinburgh, were not told of their right to make written representations to the preliminary review committee.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The information is not available.
Prisoners
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prisoners in Scottish prisons have served more than 12 years of their current sentence.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The subject of the question relates to matters undertaken by the Scottish Prison Service. I have asked its chief executive, Mr. E. W. Frizzell, to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from E. W. Frizzell to Mr. Tony Worthington, dated 1 December 1994:
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question about the number of prisoners who have served more than 12 years of their current sentence.
There are currently 131 life sentence prisoners who have spent 12 years or more in custody. This information is not collected centrally in respect of determinate prisoners. However, with the introduction of the Scottish Prison Information Network (SPIN) next year, this type of information will be available.
Waiting Times
Mr. Robert Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list waiting times for patients of Aberdeen Royal Hospital NHS trust for each of the main medical specialities for the current year, for 1993 and 1992.
Mr. Lang: Information on waiting times for first out-patient appointments at trust level was not held centrally until 1994. The table shows the waiting times for patients treated as in-patients or day cases in selected specialties at the trust in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and the waiting times for first out-patient appointments in 1994. All 1994 figures are from 1 January to 30 September and are provisional.
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Waiting times
(Number of days)
for
first attendance Waiting times
at consultant (Number of days)
for patients
admitted from
in-patient or day
out-patient case waiting
clinic lists
|In-patients|Day cases
Specialty |Mean |Median |Mean |Median |Mean |Median
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1992
Cardiology |- |- |33 |27 |26 |21
Dermatology |- |- |21 |6 |<1>- |<1>-
ENT Surgery |- |- |83 |65 |63 |50
General Medicine |- |- |26 |15 |16 |10
General Surgery |- |- |60 |27 |46 |31
Gynaecology |- |- |42 |28 |26 |7
Medical
Paediatrics |- |- |20 |14 |20 |21
Nephrology |- |- |27 |14 |9 |9
Neurosurgery |- |- |36 |36 |41 |37
Ophthalmology |- |- |55 |44 |45 |34
Oral Surgery and
Oral Medicine |- |- |64 |41 |10 |8
Orthopaedic
Surgery |- |- |22 |14 |16 |13
Plastic Surgery |- |- |135 |56 |159 |79
Radiotherapy
(Consultative) |- |- |10 |6 |11 |5
Respiratory
Medicine |- |- |8 |5 |13 |9
Surgical
Paediatrics |- |- |45 |31 |42 |29
Thoracic Surgery |- |- |83 |27 |30 |11
Urology |- |- |47 |32 |23 |19
1993
Cardiology |- |- |32 |25 |35 |27
Dermatology |- |- |19 |11 |119 |119
ENT Surgery |- |77 |63 |60 |49
General Medicine |- |- |26 |14 |21 |13
General Surgery |- |- |51 |29 |55 |35
Gynaecology |- |- |43 |37 |20 |6
Medical
Paediatrics |27 |18 |26 |21
Nephrology |- |- |16 |8 |11 |7
Neurosurgery |- |- |39 |31 |32 |25
Ophthalmology |- |- |55 |46 |38 |35
Oral Surgery and
Oral Medicine |- |- |74 |45 |45 |26
Orthopaedic
Surgery |- |- |35 |22 |28 |9
Plastic Surgery |- |- |158 |68 |151 |78
Radiotherapy
(Consultative) |- |- |12 |7 |9 |8
Respiratory
Medicine |- |- |8 |5 |13 |9
Surgical
Paediatrics |- |- |31 |23 |28 |25
Thoracic Surgery |- |- |57 |29 |21 |11
Urology |- |- |48 |34 |31 |26
1994
Cardiology |51 |45 |34 |26 |39 |33
Dermatology |77 |77 |25 |15 |<1>- |<1>-
ENT Surgery |54 |49 |80 |66 |70 |57
General Medicine |55 |58 |25 |15 |19 |14
General Surgery |42 |37 |60 |28 |70 |43
Gynaecology |46 |44 |43 |35 |21 |7
Medical
Paediatrics |57 |56 |24 |13 |14 |10
Nephrology |24 |18 |16 |8 |6 |7
Neurosurgery |31 |31 |31 |28 |26 |16
Ophthalmology |58 |60 |47 |39 |34 |30
Oral Surgery and
Oral Medicine |124 |112 |72 |29 |87 |84
Orthopaedic
Surgery |91 |92 |38 |29 |27 |24
Plastic Surgery |125 |77 |175 |67 |213 |86
Radiotherapy
(Consultative) |20 |15 |10 |6 |4 |4
Respiratory
Medicine |16 |14 |6 |5 |10 |7
Surgical
Paediatrics |29 |24 |45 |38 |40 |36
Thoracic Surgery |34 |34 |61 |35 |6 |6
Urology |81 |71 |60 |51 |34 |28
<1> -No service.
Note:
Median-the number of days within which 50 per cent. of patients had waited for treatment.
Beef Exports
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has met European Commission officials to discuss amendments to Decision 94/474; and if he will make a statement.
Sir Hector Monro [holding answer 25 November 1994]: On 12 October the Scientific Veterinary Committee reviewed the six-year rule applying to the export of meat from young cattle and agreed that it should be removed. We are now pressing the Commission to bring forward a decision on this quickly.
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Medical Staff
Mr. Robert Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the medical staff complements in each of the main specialities, the numbers in post, the vacancies and the length of time that vacancies have been unfilled.
Mr. Lang: The only grade of hospital doctor for which a central establishment is set is senior registrar. The establishment for the main specialities for 1994 and the numbers of posts filled at 30 September 1993, the latest date for which the information is available, are as follows:
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Main specialties EstablishmenNumber in p -------------------------------------------------------- All specialties |473 |(455)|424 Accident and emergency |11 |(10) |7 Anaesthetics |55 |(50) |51 Clinical laboratory specialties |54 |(60) |59 Medical specialties |125 |(117)|108 Obstetrics and gynaecology |24 |(24) |23 Occupational health |2 |(2) |1 Psychiatric specialties |71 |(68) |61 Radiology |31 |(30) |28 Surgical specialties |99 |(93) |86 Other specialties |1 |(1) |0
The 1993 establishment of hospital medical posts is given in brackets.
The establishment of public health medicine which covers both the senior registrar and the registrar grades is 33 posts. At 30 September 1993, there were 34 doctors in the two grades.
No senior registrar posts were reported as having been vacant for six months or more in the year ended 30 September 1993. Information is not collected centrally on posts vacant for less than six months.
Late Payments
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) of the bills currently awaiting payment in his Department how many are over the advised payment date by (a) up to one month, (b) up to two months, (c) up to three months, (d) up to six months and (e) over six months, respectively;
(2) how many of the bills paid by his Department during the last month for which figures are available were paid within (a) up to one month, (b) up to two months, (c) up to three months, (d) up to six months and (e) over six months from receipt of invoice; and how many were over the date for payment by (i) up to one month, (ii) up
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to two months, (iii) up to three months, (iv) up to six months and (v) over six months.Mr. Lang: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Clydebank and Milngavie (Mr. Worthington) on 10 May 1994 at column 94 , which provides information about payment performance.
Special Advisers
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the special advisers employed by his Department in each of the last five years indicating when they (a) joined and (b) left his Department and the annual salary they received.
Mr. Lang: My Department has employed two full-time special advisers over the last five years, although only one, Mr. Gregor Mackay, is in post at present.
Of the previous special advisers to my Department, Mr. Graeme Carter was appointed on 7 August 1987 and re-appointed on 28 November 1990. He resigned on 31 December 1990. Mr Alan Young was first appointed on 22 December 1989 and was subsequently re-appointed twice--on 29 November 1989 and 8 May 1992. He resigned on 2 November 1994.
Column 841
Salaries for special advisers are negotiated individually in relation to their previous earnings, and are confidential. They are, however, normally paid on a special adviser's salary spine of 34 points, which starts at £19,503. Appointments are non-pensionable and the salary spine reflects this.HOME DEPARTMENT
Domestic Violence
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to institute a new strategy to combat domestic violence; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and the Lord Chancellor on this subject.
Mr. Maclean: In their reply to the 1993 Home Affairs Select Committee report on domestic violence, the Government made it clear that domestic violence must be tackled vigorously. Action is being taken to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice; that victims and their children receive the necessary practical and emotional support and that preventive strategies to help reduce violence and suffering are identified and promoted. The aim of the Government's public awareness campaign on domestic violence, which was launched on 24 October, is to send a clear message that domestic violence is a crime and no one should stand for it.
The Department for Education and the Lord Chancellor's Department are represented on the ministerial group on domestic violence.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of domestic violence were recorded in the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Maclean: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Mossley Hill (Mr. Alton) on 26 October, Official Report , columns 638 39 .
Late Payments
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) of the bills currently awaiting payment in his Department, how many are over the advised payment date by (a) up to one month, (b) up to two months, (c) up to three months, (d) up to six months and (e) over six months, respectively;
(2) how many of the bills paid by his Department during the last month for which figures are available were paid within (a) up to one month, (b) up to two months, (c) up to three months, (d) up to six months and (e) over six months from the receipt of invoice; and how many were over the date for payment by (i) up to one month, (ii) up to two months, (iii) up to three months, (iv) up to six months and (v) over six months.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: The information is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, Departments are required to provide details of their annual payment performance in their departmental reports. In its 1995 annual report, the Home Office expects to report payment performance in excess of 90 per cent. in accordance with agreed contractual conditions or, where no such contractual
Column 842
conditions existed, within 30 days of receipt of goods and services or the presentation of a valid invoice.Juvenile Offenders
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost of the research project carried out by the Policy Studies Institute into persistent juvenile offenders; what definition they used; what areas of the United Kingdom were covered by the study; what conclusions and recommendations were made; and what response his Department has made to the study.
Mr. Maclean: The scope and nature of the research, and the findings, are set out in the published report, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The research cost approximately £68,000. The report has helped to inform Government policy on juvenile crime.
Stop and Search Statistics
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were stopped and searched in each police authority in each quarter since 1990; for what reasons these searches were carried out; in how many cases an arrest was made; and if he will provide an ethnic breakdown of those stopped and searched.
Mr. Maclean: The readily available information is published in Home Office statistical bulletin "Operation of certain police powers under PACE, England and Wales 1993"--issue 15/94--table 1, a copy of which can be found in the Library. The bulletin references for earlier years are 14/91, 15/92, and 21/93.
Quarterly data in the form requested would be available only at disproportionate cost.
The available statistics on ethnic breakdown of those stopped and searched relate to the fiscal year 1993 94 and are given in the table. The data should be treated with caution. This is the first time that this information has been collected. Two forces could not provide the data and a further five forces had to provide an estimate.
Searches of persons under section 1 of the Police and Criminal
Evidence Act 1984 by ethnic group
Searches made:
|of ethnic minority
Police force area |of white persons |persons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |3,657 |282
Bedfordshire |1,381 |324
Cambridgeshire |2,480 |179
Cheshire |502 |5
Cleveland |2,240 |31
Cumbria |3,954 |30
Derbyshire |3,313 |149
Devon and Cornwall |947 |11
Dorset |1,640 |-
Durham |1,430 |14
<1>Essex |4,182 |136
Gloucestershire |<2>- |<2>-
Greater Manchester |38,376 |4,134
Hampshire |2,515 |53
Hertfordshire |3,807 |351
<1>Humberside |1,,063 |26
Kent |3,550 |103
<1>Lancashire |6,432 |462
Leicestershire |10,378 |1,414
Lincolnshire |2,280 |18
London, City of |1,611 |500
Merseyside |15,075 |662
Metropolitan Police District |132,565 |95,751
Norfolk |6,410 |53
Northamptonshire |2,840 |137
Northumbria |8,064 |70
North Yorkshire |2,253 |25
Nottinghamshire |1,817 |175
South Yorkshire |5,054 |404
Staffordshire |1,567 |106
Suffolk |2,016 |91
Surrey |12,544 |870
<1>Sussex |4,118 |213
Thames Valley |3,817 |615
Warwickshire |3,138 |219
West Mercia |7,500 |366
<1>West Midlands |4,098 |1,927
West Yorkshire |2,636 |386
Wiltshire |1,534 |71
Dyfed-Powys |7,720 |37
Gwent |2,087 |110
North Wales |8,792 |12
South Wales |<2>- |<2>-
<1> = estimated
<2> = not available
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if information relating to stop and search incidents where no arrest is made is stored on police computers.
Mr. Maclean: A written record must be made of all stop and searches by police officers whether or not an arrest is made. The method of retention of such records is a matter for the chief officer of the force concerned.
Special Advisers
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the special advisers employed by his Department in each of the last five years indicating when they (a) joined and (b) left his Department and the annual salary they received.
Mr. Howard: The information is as follows:
Year |Names
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1990 |Mr. M. Simmonds |23 October 1989-July 1990
|Mr. J. Taylor |19 February 1990-November
|1990
|Mr. A. Kerpel |1 December 1990-10 April
|1992
1991 |Mr. A. Kerpel |(see above)
|Mr. C. Grantham |18 February 1991-10 April
|1992
|Mr. A. Kerpel |(see above)
1992 |Mr. C. Grantham |(see above)
|Mrs. A. Keswick |11 April 1992-28 May 1993
|Mr. D. Ruffley |11 April 1992-28 May 1993
1993 |Mrs. A. Keswick |(see above)
|Mr. D. Ruffley |(see above)
|Mr. P. Rock |28 May 1993-to date
|Mr. D. Cameron |21 June 1993-31 August
|1994
1994 |Mr. P. Rock |(see above)
|Mr. D. Cameron |(see above)
|Miss R. Whetstone |5 September 1994-to date
I regret that, in the reply I gave on 20 July 1994, Official Report, columns 274-75, to an earlier question from the hon. Member, I said that only one special adviser joined the Department in 1990. Salaries for special advisers are negotiated individually in relation to their previous earnings, and are confidential. They are, however, normally paid on a special advisers' salary spine of 34 points, currently ranging from £19,503 to £67,609. Appointments are non-pensionable, and the salary spine reflects this.
Police Authorities (Funding)
Mr. Shersby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to announce the allocations of police grant for individual police authorities in 1995 96; and what are the implications of this for the overall funding of police authorities in that year.
Mr. Howard: I have today put a copy of my proposals for the allocation of police grant for 1995 96 in the Library.
Proposals are also being announced today by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment for police standard spending assessments and special grants in England and by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales for police standard spending assessments in Wales.
The table below shows by police force area the total effect of all these proposals for 1995 96.
|1995-96 Funding
Police Force Area |£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------
English Forces
Avon and Somerset |146.67
Bedfordshire |55.28
Cambridgeshire |62.24
Cheshire |93.49
Cleveland |70.17
Cu mbria |54.33
Derbyshire |87.71
Devon and Cornwall |145.14
Dorset |62.24
Durham |68.09
Essex |146.27
Gloucestershire |55.93
Hampshire |168.17
Hertfordshire |87.24
Humberside |92.27
Kent |157.89
Lancashire |157.62
Leicestershire |89.34
Lincolnshire |57.08
Norfolk |70.36
North Yorkshire |66.71
Northamptonshire |55.80
Nottinghamshire |109.51
Staffordshire |100.51
Suffolk |57.95
Surrey |85.06
Sussex |144.78
Thames Valley |192.72
Warwickshire |47.67
West Mercia |97.22
Wiltshire |58.67
English Shires Total |2,949.13
English Metropolitan Forces
Greater Manchester |324.38
Merseyside |214.73
Northumbria |177.97
South Yorkshire |146.22
West Midlands |326.90
West Yorkshire |249.30
English Metropolitan Total |1,439.50
Metropolitan Police |1,628.56
City of London |57.27
English Total |6,074.46
Welsh Forces
Dyfed-Powys |44.22
Gwent |47.40
North Wales |62.85
South Wales |146.24
Welsh Total |300.71
Total |6,375.17
(1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10,000.
Police Officers
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women from an ethnic minority background are police officers in England and Wales.
Mr. Maclean: As of 31 August 1994, the latest date for which this information is readily available, there were 1,590 men and 438 women from an ethnic minority background serving as police officers in England and Wales.
Metropolitan Police
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to contract out operational support services of the Metropolitan police; and what conditions are being placed on the contractors concerning their employees.
Mr. Maclean: Police forces do not contract out operational police duties. Support functions, however, may be suitable for contracting out. The Commissioner informs me that the Metropolitan police contracted out catering, cleaning, security guarding, building maintenance, vehicle repair and other support services to the value of more than £100 million in 1993 94.
The Metropolitan police has an extensive programme of market testing. Work valued at more than £110 million a year is being examined to see if greater value for money could be achieved if all or part of this work were undertaken by the private sector. In certain cases, contractors are required to meet special security conditions.
Remand
Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of people on remand
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(a) untried, (b) convicted unsentenced and (c) in total at the end of each month in 1994.Mr. Maclean: Information on remand data for 1994 will not be available until autumn 1995.
Remands data include estimates for a number of police forces where data are of a questionable quality. It is not appropriate, for this reason, to give a monthly breakdown of remand figures.
Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average cost of custody per inmate per month for those on remand in custody.
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 from Derek Lewis to Mr. Jack Straw, dated 1 December 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the average monthly cost of custody for prisoners on remand. In 1993 94 the average monthly cost per prisoner place was £1, 893. This excludes exceptional items--the costs of holding prisoners in police cells and compensation for abandonment of plans to relocate the Prison Service headquarters to Derby.
It is not possible to distinguish the cost of keeping different types of offenders in custody.
Truncheons
Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in full the results of tests made to assess the alternatives to the traditional truncheon for use by the police in London.
Mr. Maclean: A report of the scientific evaluation of the alternative batons which have been approved for the Metropolitan police has been sent to the Association of Chief Police Officers, and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Policing Costs
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the cost to police authorities in England of dealing with demands of (a) the Crown Prosecution Service, (b) the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and (c) traffic management schemes.
Mr. Maclean: There has been no central assessment of the overall cost to police authorities of dealing with any of these areas.
Prisoners (Police Cells)
Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoner nights have been spent in police cells in each month of 1994 to date.
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 from Derek Lewis to Mr. Jack Straw, dated1 December 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoner nights spent in police cells in each month of 1994 to date.
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The latest information, up to and including 27 November, is given below:
|Number
-------------------------------
January |16
February |4,439
March |12,178
April |9,178
May |4,795
June |2,100
July |1,890
August |4,512
September |4,255
October |4,418
November (to 27) |2,910
Total |51,252
Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost to his Department of keeping prisoners in police cells, broken down by police authority in 1994 to date.
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 from Derek Lewes to Mr. Jack Straw, dated 1 December 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the cost of keeping prisoners in police cells, broken down by police authority.
The following table gives police cell costs for each police authority for 1 January 1994 30 November 1994.
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