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Column 85
London Transport
Mr. Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff are expected to be working for London Transport following the reorganisation announced by the chairman of London Transport on 24 November 1994.
Mr. Norris: London Transport is currently drawing up detailed plans for implementation of the reorganisation announced by its chairman. The management of London Transport will wish to discuss plans for staff reductions with staff representatives and trades unions. London Transport will not be able to give a reliable estimate of future staff numbers until its plans have been completed.
Mr. Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with London Transport over its staff reorganisation.
Mr. Norris: London Transport's plans for reorganisation are among a number of matters which my right hon. Friend and I have recently discussed with the chairman of London Transport.
Mr. Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the likely impact of reorganisation of London Transport of its ability to carry out its statutory duties under the London regional Transport Act 1984 and its wider statutory duty to plan for London's transport needs.
Mr. Norris: It is primarily for the chairman and board of London Transport to ensure that it is organised in a way which enables it to carry out its statutory duties appropriately and effectively. I am satisfied that they have taken full account of their statutory obligations in drawing up their reorganisation plans.
Mr. Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff worked for London Transport on 24 November 1994.
Mr. Norris: London Transport employed 20,437 permanent staff--full- time equivalent--on 12 November 1994, the nearest date for which figures are available from its management accounts.
Electronic Mail
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to be able to receive and respond to communications via electronic mail.
Mr. Norris: Current projects and plans are likely to provide internal and external electronic mail facilities for my office and my headquarters staff during 1996, following relocation to a new HQ building in 1995.
Peakes Parkway
Mr. Michael Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding the funding for Humberside county council concerning phase 3 of the Peakes parkway.
Mr. Norris: The local transport capital settlement for 1995 96 which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 15 December, Official Report , columns 769-74 did not include funding for this scheme. Schemes are accepted for transport supplementary grant on condition that satisfactory progress is maintained and that costs do not rise excessively. In this case, the scheme was originally accepted for grant in 1993 94, when Humberside county council forecast that construction would start in September 1993. The latest forecast start
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date is December 1995. Meanwhile, the estimated cost of the scheme has already risen by over 10 per cent.In the circumstances, my right hon. Friend and I did not consider it right to maintain our commitment to fund this scheme. This does not prevent its being resubmitted for funding in a future settlement.
North Circular Road
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations his Department received regarding the Willoughby Lane gas works, offered as exchange open space in the north circular road widening project, and the 1988 public inquiry into the roads; and what response he has made.
Mr. Norris: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member. Letter from Lawrie Haynes to Mr Harry Cohen, dated 10 January 1995:
Steven Norris has asked me to write to you about your question in the House in which you asked about representations received by the Department regarding the former Willoughby Lane gas works, being given as exchange land for public open space required for an improvement of the North Circular Road.
No representations were received regarding the exchange land, during the statutory period for objecting to the formal proposals, after the public inquiry or before the orders were made and the exchange land certificate issued.
The Agency has been in correspondence for some considerable time with the local authority, the London Borough of Enfield, about the details of the exchange land and associated technical matters. More recently, it has also been in correspondence with Enfield Friends of the Earth about the condition of the land at the former gas works. The Agency has supplied all the information requested for which it is responsible.
Docklands Light Railway
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his oral answer of 19 December, Official Report , column 1385 , to the hon. Member for Erith and Crayford (Mr. Evennett) concerning the extension of the docklands light railway from Beckton to Thamesmead, if he will obtain estimates of the cost of a single line and double line tunnel respectively for that railway across the Thames on an alignment close to that proposed for the east London river crossing.
Mr. Norris: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 23 November 1994, Official Report , column 381 .
MV Derbyshire
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what future representation or information he has received concerning the sinking of the MV Derbyshire and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norris: My right hon. Friend is considering the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents' assessment of the sonar and video material provided by the International Transport Workers Federation, and whether further action needs to be taken.
Telephone Dialling Codes
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made as to the additional costs which will be incurred by his Department as a result of the changes in national telephone dialling
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codes next year; and how much this change will cost his Department in additional expenditure.Mr. Norris: An assessment covered changes to switch board arrangements and revised stationery. The additional costs will be about £3,000.
Children's Clothing (Reflective Material)
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if his Department will consider making recommendations to manufacturers to incorporate reflective materials on garments, bags and rucksacks designed for use by children.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 19 December 1994]: We encourage retailers and manufacturers to consider marketing more outer garments with build-in visibility. A number of companies manufacture, market or promote fluorescent and reflective products for use by children. In October we carried out a "Be Safe. Be Seen" initiative with support from 3M(UK).
Channel Tunnel
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the arrangements for joint safety meetings following the commission of the channel tunnel rail services.
Mr. Watts: Under the terms of the treaty of Canterbury the bi- national intergovernmental commission and safety authority are established for the lifetime of the concession agreement with the channel tunnel operators, Eurotunnel, and will continue to meet at regular intervals to consider safety and other matters.
Scottish Control Zone
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the Scottish control zone and the Prestwick control zone were abolished; what was the reason for their abolition; and what consultations took place in advance of their decision.
Mr. Norris [holding answer 16 December 1994]: I have been asked to reply.
The Civil Aviation Authority has the responsibility for airspace planning. They advise that the Prestwick control zone--formally the Prestwick special rules zone--was abolished on 3 March 1993. On 3 March 1994 the Scottish Zone and parts of the Scottish terminal control area were abolished.
Reviews are routinely carried out on the use made of controlled airspace to identify those portions that are under-utilised or no longer serve the purpose for which they were established. This is in accordance with ministerial direction to the CAA and the national air traffic services. Such a review showed that the number of passenger public transport aircraft using Prestwick airport had declined to the level where the provision of controlled airspace was no longer necessary. After the review, NATS consulted the Prestwick airport operator, British Aerospace Flying College- -the then principle user of Prestwick airport--the Ministry of Defence, and the National Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee, as well as its own Scottish air traffic control centre about the changes from late 1991 until early 1994.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Immigration
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the latest appraisal system supplied to immigration officers; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: A list has been placed in the Library of the standard main tasks and performance levels against which managers assess the performance of immigration officers at ports.
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether immigration officers have been given a quota for refusing foreign nationals entry to the United Kingdom.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: There are no refusal quotas for immigration officers. All passengers are dealt with on their merits and in accordance with the immigration rules laid down by Parliament.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all operational targets which apply to the immigration service.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Service standards are set for the immigration service relating to maximum passenger queuing times at ports of entry. These are set out in the service's published operating plan, a copy of which will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to reduce the tariff sentences he imposed on Abdul Qayyum Raja and Mohammed Riaz; what action he has taken in these matters following the judgment of the High Court on 16 December; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: The judgment effectively requires the Secretary of State to reconsider the cases of these two prisoners, and to set a fresh tariff for each. He will do so following receipt of any further representations which they may wish to make in the light of further disclosure which has been given to them. We are in correspondence with their legal representatives about these matters.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether immigration officers have been given a quota system for (a) interrogating or (b) refusing foreign nationals entry into the United Kingdom; whether their earnings are linked to such targets; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: There are no quotas of any kind for immigration officers. All passengers are dealt with on their merits and in accordance with the immigration rules laid down by Parliament.
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals have been made against payments offered under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board since 1 April 1994; and what has been the administrative cost of processing those appeals.
Mr. Maclean: The tariff scheme started on 1 April 1994. Applications lodged before then are being dealt with by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. Applications lodged subsequently are being handled by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
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CICB advises that at the end of December 1994 3,357 appeals had been lodged since 1 April 1994, all in respect of applications made before that date. Based on expenditure in 1993 94, the administrative cost of processing this number of appeals is likely to be about £2.5 million.Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offers of payment were made by the criminal injuries compensation scheme in November; and in which of the tariff bands these awards fell.
Mr. Maclean: Five hundred and ninety five offers of award were made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, under the tariff scheme. They fell into the following tariff bands:
|Number of awards
Band |offered
---------------------------------------------------
1 |135
2 |36
3 |158
4 |8
5 |59
6 |26
7 |87
8 |22
9 |8
10 |11
11 |6
12 |36
13 |1
16 |2
Additionally, offers of award were made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in respect of residual cases lodged before 1 April 1994 under the former arrangements. The CICB is however, unable to say how many such offers were made in November 1994.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice his Department is giving applicants to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority about the outcome of their applications in the event of a legal challenge to the establishment of the authority being successful.
Mr. Maclean: Applications under the scheme are considered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, not the Home or Scottish Offices. In a standard notice sent to all claimants offered a tariff award, CICA explains that, pending resolution of the legal challenge, the award is being made on a provisional, without prejudice basis, and that if the tariff scheme is withdrawn or altered as a result of the court proceedings the application would be reassessed.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of administering the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in 1993 94; and what proportion of that cost was devoted to dealing with appeals.
Mr. Maclean: The provisional outturn cost of administering the CICB in 1993 94 was £17.3 million, of which an estimated £3.4 million- -19.6 per cent.--was devoted to hearings administration.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many payments were made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in each month from April 1992 to April 1994.
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Mr. Maclean: The total number of awards made by the CICB in the period 1 April 1992 to 31 March 1994 was 77,273. The CICB is unable to provide a breakdown by month.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many payments were made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board between (a) 1 April 1993 and 1 April 1994 and (b) 1 April 1994 and 21 November 1994 in the bands: (i) £1,000 to £4,999, (ii) £5,000 to £9,999, (iii) £10,000 to £24,999 and (iv) above £25,000.
Mr. Maclean: The following information has been provided by the CICB:
a) payments made between 1 April 1993 and 31 March 1994
32,345 between £1,000 £4,999
3,398 between £5,000 £9,999
2,139 over £10,000.
b) payments made between 1 April 1994 and 31 October 1994 (figures not available after that date)
10,801 between £1,000 £4,999
1,306 between £5,000 £9,999
975 over £10,000
No further breakdown of payments exceeding £10,000 is readily available.
In addition the CICA made two payments in the period 1 April 1994 to 31 October 1994, one in the category £1,000 to £4,999, the other in the category £5,000 to £9,999.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to publish each month, the number of offers made by the criminal injuries compensation scheme.
Mr. Maclean: No. Information about the number of offers made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will be published each year in the authority's annual report. We see no need for more frequent publication.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of the Home Department what plans he has for uprating the level of compensation payable by the criminal injuries compensation scheme.
Mr. Maclean: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made during debate on the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill on 20 October 1994, Official Report , column 452.
Ethnic Minorities
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total level of section 11 expenditure in London in 1994 95; what level is planned for 1995 96; and how it will be allocated.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The table shows budget allocations of section 11 grant which have been notified to local authorities and other recipients in the Greater London area in relation to their expenditure in 1994 95.
Allocations for existing projects which will still be running in 1995 96 should be notified to grant recipients shortly. The methodology for calculating these allocations is currently the subject of consultation with local authority associations. Applications for grant for new projects starting in 1995 96 are under consideration.
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|Section 11
|allocation
|1994-95
-----------------------------------------------------------------
London Borough Councils
Barking and Dagenham |230,860
Barnet |748,243
Bexley |100,138
Brent |1,742,385
Camden |1,111,346
Croydon |949,775
Ealing |2,615,675
Enfield |1,058,164
Greenwich |1,329,673
Hackney |3,147,620
Hammersmith |713,289
Haringey |2,604,874
Harrow |556,992
Havering |39,169
Hillingdon |317,055
Hounslow |1,389,502
Islington |1,434,673
Kensington and Chelsea |899,845
Kingston |105,071
Lambeth |1,109,603
Lewisham |1,637,467
London Boroughs Grants Unit |123,071
Merton |490,246
Newham |2,181,976
Redbridge |918,005
Richmond |56,225
Southwark |1,955,157
Sutton |46,902
Tower Hamlets |6,826,782
Waltham Forest |1,585,015
Wandsworth |1,396,800
Westminster |1,498,548
Sub-total |40,920,146
Grant maintained schools
Burntwood (Wandsworth) |55,687
Chadwell Heath (Redbridge) |15,047
Claremont (Harrow) |13,629
Copeland (Brent) |33,860
Dormers Wells Junior School (Ealing) |41,425
Graveney (Wandsworth) |69,720
Greenford (Ealing) |39,461
Hendon (Barnet) |28,041
London Oratory (Hammersmith and Fulham) |38,025
Northolt (Ealing) |5,379
Raines Foundation (Tower Hamlets) |27,146
St. Lukes (Kingston) |1,671
St. Francis Xavier (Wandsworth) |9,576
St. Thomas the Apostle College (Southwark) |10,322
Salesian School (Wandsworth) |28,010
Stratford (Newham) |54,277
Wood End (Ealing) |6,815
Sub-total |478,091
Further Education Colleges
Barnet |59,505
Bexley |24,920
Croydon |77,665
Ealing |93,710
Enfield |111,567
Greenhill |162,085
Hackney |234,260
Hammersmith and West London |28,865
Hendon |128,419
Islington |67,102
Kensington and Chelsea |33,119
Kingsway |49,613
Leyton 6th Form |18,574
Newham |225,627
North East London |124,985
North West London |352,602
Southgate |49,649
Tower Hamlets |356,733
Uxbridge |51,481
Waltham Forest |35,591
Wandsworth |48,140
City of Westminster |44,189
Woolwich |24,583
Sub-total |2,402,984
Grand total |43,801,221
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what medical services are available to asylum seekers and others held in detention under immigration laws; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Detainees in immigration detention centres and Prison Service establishments have access on a daily basis to a doctor. There is also a nurse present daily at the Harmondsworth and Campsfield house detention centres. A detainee who requires further medical attention may be transferred to a prison or outside hospital.
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum have been received from citizens of republics of the former Yugoslavia for each of the years 1992, 1993 and 1994; how many have been agreed; how many refused; and how many are still awaiting a decision.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Information on the number of applications for asylum received from nationals of the former Yugoslavia, and decisions made, for the years 1992, 1993 and until the end of November 1994 is given in the table. As at 30 November 1994, an estimated 6,200 applications for asylum from former Yugoslavs were outstanding.
In addition to consideration of asylum applications, the Government have, under arrangements announced in November 1992 and June 1993, offered to receive 1,000 particularly vulnerable individuals from the former Yugoslavia and those close dependants, an estimated 4,000 people in all. As at 9 January 1995, 836 particularly vulnerable individuals and 1,134 dependants had arrived under these arrangements. Prior to this, 68 sick and wounded ex-detainees from Bosnia arrived in September 1992.
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Decisions<1> on applications<1> received for asylum from
nationals of
the former Yugoslavia in the United Kingdom, excluding
dependants, 1992 to end-November 1994
Number of principal applicants
|1992 |1993 |<7>1994
----------------------------------------------------------------
Asylum applications<2> |5,635 |1,830 |1,255
Decisions |130 |175 |1,655
Recognised as a refugee and
granted asylum |* |- |25
Not recognised as a refugee but
granted exceptional leave to
remain<4> |* |55 |1,180
Refused asylum and ELR - after
full consideration |- |10 |350
Refused under para. 180F<5> |65 |80 |70
Refused on safe third country
grounds<6> |60 |30 |25
<1> Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5, with`*' = 1
or 2.
<2> Figures exclude information on applications made overseas.
<3> Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in
the same year.
<4> Usually granted for a year in the first instance, subject
then to further review.
<5> For failure to provide evidence to support the asylum claim
within a reasonable period, including failure to respond to
invitation to interview to establish identity (para. 101 prior
to 26 July 1993).
<6> Refused on the grounds that the applicant had arrived from
a safe third country.
<7> Figures up to end-November 1994.
West Midlands Police
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 9 December, Official Report , column 379 , if he has asked for a report on the success of Operation Brink by the West Midlands police force.
Mr. Maclean: No. This is an operational matter that falls entirely within the responsibility of the chief constable.
Stefan Kiszko
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the outcome of the inquiry by the Lancashire police into the Stefan Kiszko case.
Mr. Maclean: A report was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which announced on 11 May 1994 that Mr. Richard Holland, a former detective superintendent with West Yorkshire Constabulary, and Mr. Ronald Outteridge, a retired Home Office forensic scientist, are to be prosecuted on charges of perverting the course of justice.
Blood Sports
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement as to the cost of policing blood sport events.
Mr. Maclean: The deployment of police officers to specific duties is a matter for the chief officer of police. Details of the costs of policing field sports are not held centrally.
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how may arrests have been made at blood sport events since the implementation of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
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Mr. Maclean: Information on the number of people arrested for specific offences is not collected centrally.
Information on cautioning and court proceedings data under sections 68 and 69--summary offences of aggravated trespass--of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 will not be available until autumn 1996.
Black People
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of black people in the United Kingdom were the victims of murder or homicide in the last year for which figures are available; and what information he has on the equivalent figure in the United States of America.
Mr. Maclean: The information requested is not available centrally for England and Wales.
Figures for Scotland are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and figures for Northern Ireland are a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Figures for the United States are, of course, a matter for the United States Government, but I understand that the proportion of black people in the United States of America who were victims of murder and non-negligent manslaughter in 1993 is 37 per 100,000 according to the United States Department of Justice. For comparison, the proportion of the total England and Wales population who were victims of currently recorded homicide during 1993 was 1.2 per 100, 000.
Hampshire Police
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total expenditure for Hampshire police authority in 1994 95.
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