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Column 677
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 31 January 1995]: The costs of exercising the functions relating to protected wrecks in United Kingdom waters for the last five years are as follows:
|£000
-------------------------
1990-91<2> |110
1991-92<3> |227
1992-93<4> |<5>307
1993-94 |271
1994-95 |255
<1> The majority of
expenditure is incurred
on a United Kingdom
basis.
<2> The Department of
Transport was
responsible for
underwater archaeology
until April 1991.
<3> The Department of
the Environment was
responsible for
underwater archaeology
until April 1992.
<4> The Department of
National Heritage has
been responsible for
underwater archaeology
since April 1992.
<5> This figure includes
costs associated with a
new, expanded contract
with the ADU.
The figures include the cost of marking wrecks on land and at sea and a contract with the archaeological diving unit based at St. Andrew's university to provide advice in relation to wrecks of historical, archaeological or artistic interest. They also include approximate figures to cover the varying costs of the advisory committee on historic wreck sites, and, from April 1991, diminishing grants to voluntary organisations carrying out projects connected with the Department's underwater archaeology objectives, and departmental staff costs.
Coaching (Cricket and Rugby)
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assistance his Department has given towards the development of coaching of (a) cricket and (b) rugby football in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 30 January 1995]: Total Sports Council funding for these sports, which includes support for the development of coaching, is as follows:
|1992-93|1993-94
|£ |£
-------------------------------------
Cricket |802,114|587,732
Rugby Union |118,320|219,196
Rugby League |322,110|197,654
A total figure is not available for 1991 92. The council also gives an annual grant to the National Coaching Foundation--£1.064 million in 1992 93, £1.494 million in 1993 94 and £1.420 million in 1994 95- -which contributes to the development of coaching in these and other sports. In addition, Sportsmatch has provided total awards to cricket, rugby league and rugby union projects which include coaching or training as follows:
|1992-93|1993-94|1994-95
|£ |£ |£
---------------------------------------------
Cricket |3,000 |248,192|199,000
Rugby League |40,000 |118,650|138,042
Rugby Union |12,000 |352,412|415,144
HOME DEPARTMENT
DNA Databases
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration his Department has given to providing additional funding to police authorities to enable them to establish full DNA databases; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside (Mr. Jones) on 16 December 1994, Official Report column 828 .
British Citizens (Extradition)
Mrs. Golding: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British citizens have been extradited to face criminal charges involving child sexual abuse for each year since 1989.
Mr. Maclean: Since 1989 three British citizens have been extradited for offences involving child abuse; one each year in 1990, 1992 and 1993.
Probation Service
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what advice will be given to the probation service on efficiency savings following the 1994 Budget statement and current probation caseload;
(2) what efficiency savings he expects will be made by the probation service in England and Wales during the financial year 1995 96.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The Government have already made clear to the probation service their expectation that improvements in efficiency across the full range of operational and support services will be vigorously pursued. It will be for individual probation committees to judge what specific steps should be taken in the light of local circumstances; but among the efficiencies to which the Government expect committees to give particular attention are the use of accommodation, information systems, inter-area collaboration and quality control.
Probation Service
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the estimated additional cost to the probation service of working with victims during 1995 96;
(2) what is the estimated additional cost to the probation service of enforcing national standards during 1995 96.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Grant support for the probation service in 1995 96 should be sufficient to enable it to carry out its responsibilities in relation to the enforcement of national standards and working with victims without additional provision.
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff employed by the probation service in England and Wales have a previous background which is either (a) military, (b) police or (c) industry for the latest date available.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: This information is not readily available.
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Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what adjustments were made to the probation service budget in England and Wales as a result of the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The provisional current grant baseline for 1995 96 published after the 1993 Budget statement was £309.1 million, net of retentions and balances. The grant settlement for that year will be £306.3 million plus a further £14.8 million to support probation service partnerships with the independent sector previously funded by the Home Office.
Community Sentencing
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will be publishing his Department's consultation paper on community sentencing.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: My right hon. and learned Friend hopes to do so before too long.
Electro-Shock Equipment
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions have taken place with Mr. Gerry Hall on the need to apply for a section 5 permit for the manufacture, possession or sale of repressive technologies, including electro-shock treatment.
Confiscation Orders
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic confiscation orders have been made under (a) the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 and (b) part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 in each year since 1992; and what were the amounts ordered to be confiscated and the amounts actually realised under each Act for each year.
Mr. Maclean: The information is given in the table.
Confiscation order data England and Wales
|Amount
|Number of |ordered to
|confiscation|be |<1>Amount
Act/Year |orders |confiscated |Year |realised
|£ |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Drug Trafficking Act
1986
1992 |1,002 |9,129,863 |<2>1992-93 |5,180,900
1993 |983 |9,678,100 |1993-94 |5,377,400
Part VI-Criminal Justice Act 1988
1992-93 |19 |1,354,000 |<2>1992-93 |481,600
1993-94 |13 |412,200 |1993-94 |265,600
Note:
Annual data is taken from the Criminal Statistics England and Wales, financial year data from the
Confiscation Order Financial return. The figures are therefore not directly comparable.
<1> The amounts overstate the amounts reaching the Consolidated Fund, as magistrates' courts
deduct from these figures any costs incurred in enforcing domestic confiscation orders. Receivers'
costs can vary from £1,000 to £5,000, depending on the complexity of the case.
<2> For 1992-93 the information collected centrally is known to be incomplete as returns were not
received from all petty sessional divisions.
Crime Prevention
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on crime prevention in the latest year for which figures are available; and what percentage this was of total spending on the criminal justice service.
Mr. Maclean: The information available is as follows. Home Office expenditure on crime prevention in 1993 94 was £13.1 million. That figure is separate from and additional to public expenditure on the police which was £6.2 billion in 1993 94, an increase of 87 per cent. in real terms since 1978 79. The prevention of crime is one of the key functions of the police. Public expenditure on the criminal justice system as a whole in 1993 94 is estimated to have been £9.5 billion.
Humberside Probation Committee
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to announce a date for the replacement of Humberside probation committee by the shadow probation boards.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: My right hon. and learned Friend will bring forward legislative proposals for the replacement of probation committees by boards when the parliamentary timetable permits.
Reconvictions
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 January, Official Report, column 138, what are the current reconviction rates for (a) adult males, (b) adult females, (c) young adult males, (d) young adult females, (e) juvenile males and (f) juvenile females commencing probation orders and community service orders and for persons discharged from custodial sentences.
Mr. Maclean: The information is as follows:
Percentage of offenders convicted<1> within a two-year
period
following commencement of an order in 1987-90 or
discharged in
1987-90 from a custodial sentence by sex and age at
commencement or discharge
|Males |Females|All
-----------------------------------------------------------
Aged under 17<2>-Juveniles
Community service order |78 |<3>61 |77
Custodial sentence |85 |58 |85
Aged 17 to 20-young adults
Probation order |70 |45 |66
Community service order |65 |45 |65
Custodial sentence |71 |56 |70
Aged 21 and over-adults
Probation order |50 |36 |46
Community service order |47 |42 |47
Custodial sentence |47 |36 |47
All ages
Probation order |58 |39 |54
Community service order |56 |44 |56
Custodial sentence |55 |40 |54
<1> Reconvicted of a serious offence as defined by the
standard list in appendices 4 and 5 of "Criminal
Statistics England and Wales 1993"
<2> Until the Criminal Justice Act was implemented on 1
October 1992 it was not possible to sentence an offender
aged under 17 to a probation order. Those aged under 17
who were sentenced to a community service order were all
aged 16.
<3> Based on a sample of only 23 offenders.
Comparisons between different types of sentence are
affected by differences in the age, sex, previous
convictions and other characteristics of offenders
receiving the sentences, as described in the forthcoming
Home Office Research Study, "Explaining reconviction rates:
a critical analysis".
Sponsor Interviews
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals for changes to procedures used for recording and progressing requests from entry clearance officers overseas and others for sponsors living in the United Kingdom to be interviewed have been canvassed; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The system of recording and progressing requests from entry clearance officers for interviews is reviewed from time to time. As a way of progressing applications, consideration is given, as necessary, to offering sponsors the opportunity for interview at a location outside their immediate area if capacity exists at another port.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many requests for sponsor interviews have been recorded by his Department in each of the last three years to date; and what is the current target time between the recording of a request for a
Column 682
sponsor interview and the official requesting the interview receiving a report on the outcome of such an interview;(2) in how many cases over the last three years his Department has recorded more than one request for a sponsor interview in the United Kingdom from an entry clearance officer overseas; in how many a sponsor has waited to be interviewed more than (a) six months; (b) nine months and (c) 12 months;
(3) how many requests for sponsor interviews have been recorded by his Department over the past year; if he will list the ports of entry to which those interview requests have been referred; in each port in how many cases (a) the interview has taken place, (b) an interview date has been offered, (c) no offer of an interview has yet been offered, (d) an interview report has been passed to his Department and (e) an interview report has yet to be despatched.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: This information is not available. Some 1,700 entry clearance interviews with sponsors were conducted between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1994. The waiting time for interview may vary according to the operational commitments at a particular port at a particular time but the objective is for interviews on deferred EC applications to be carried out within three months of receipt of the request from the entry clearance officer.
Column 681
Leeds-Bradford Airport
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Leeds-Bradford airport was designated as a port of entry; how many and what grades of immigration service officers are currently based at the airport; what was the establishment of immigration officer staff at the comparable period of each year since the airport became a port of entry; how many immigration clerical support staff have been employed at the airport each year since it became a port of entry; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Leeds-Bradford airport was designated as a port of entry on 1 March 1987. Records indicate that, since 1987, the immigration office at Leeds-Bradford airport has had the following staff in post:
1 March 1987:
1 Chief Immigration Officer
7 Immigration Officers
1 part-time Administrative Officer and
1 part-time typist.
1 January 1988:
1 Inspector
1 Chief Immigration Officer
7 Immigration Officers
1 part-time Administrative Officer and
1 part-time typist.
1 January 1989:
1 Inspector
2 Chief Immigration Officers,
8 Immigration Officers and
1 part-time typist.
1 January 1990 :
1 Inspector
2 Chief Immigration Officers
9 Immigration Officers
1 part-time Administrative Officer
1 part-time typist.
1 January 1991 :
1 Inspector
2 Chief Immigration Officers
8 Immigration Officers
1 part-time Administrative Officer and
1 part-time typist.
1 January 1992:
1 Inspector
2 Chief Immigration Officers
8 Immigration Officers
1 part-time Administrative Officer
1 part-time typist.
1 January 1993 :
1 Inspector
2 Chief Immigration Officers
9 Immigration Officers
1 part-time Administrative Officer and
1 part-time typist.
1 January 1994 :
1 Inspector
2 Chief Immigration Officers
10 full-time and 1 part-time Immigration Officers
1 part-time Administrative Officer and
Column 684
1 part-time typist.1 January 1995 :
1 Inspector
2 Chief Immigration Officers
10 full-time and 1 part-time Immigration Officers,
1 Executive Officer, 1 part-time Administrative Officer and 1 part-time typist.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of requests outstanding for sponsor interviews at Leeds-Bradford Airport; and over the last three years (a) what has been the average delay between the date a request for a sponsor interview being recorded in his Department and the interview being conducted by immigration officers based at Leeds-Bradford airport and (b) how many sponsor interviews have been conducted each week; and what representations has he received about delays in holding sponsor interviews by immigration office staff at Leeds-Bradford airport.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Local records indicate that there are currently 135 requests for sponsor interviews outstanding at Leeds-Bradford airport where the average delay in 1992 and 1993 in dealing with cases was 2.14 months in 1992 and 3.29 months in 1993. In 1994 the average delay in completed cases was 2.29 months. Some cases from 1994 have not yet been completed.
Records of interviews are not kept on a weekly basis but a total of 27 interviews took place in 1992, 20 in 1993 and 69 in 1994. The information requested about representations received in respect of delays in holding sponsor interviews at Leeds-Bradford airport is not held in the form requested and cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.
Boards of Visitors
Sir Ivan Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what are his proposals for reviewing the role of boards of visitors at prison establishments.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: I am currently setting up a review of the role of boards of visitors.
The Prisons Act 1952 provides for a board of visitors to be appointed to every prison and young offender institution. Members of boards are lay volunteers drawn from the local community. I value the work of boards and the participation of the local community, and I am keen to maintain this involvement of lay people in the prison system. My objective for the review is to strengthen the role of boards and help them undertake their duties more effectively. With this background the review is asked to make recommendations with particular respect to:
how this role should be redefined or clarified;
the interface between boards of visitors, HM Chief Inspector of Prison and the prison ombudsman;
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