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Column 225
Sentencing
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will require judges to discuss sentences with juries prior to passing sentence.
Metropolitan Police
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the sums assigned within the budget of the Metropolitan police for (a) additional costs of police officers attending magistrates-courts, if separately identified, (b) costs relating to the attendance of police as Crown prosecution witnesses; and if he will give the nature of reserves held to ensure that no case is abandoned or withdrawn due to financial constraints.
Mr. Maclean: I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that funds to cover the additional costs of police officers attending magistrates courts during the course of their duty or as Crown prosecution witnesses are not identified separately within the force's budget. The actual costs of officers attending court as Crown prosecution witnesses are not collated. From April 1995, the Metropolitan police will have available a financial reserve and it would be possible to consider the use of funds from the reserve in cases where actual expenditure exceeds the sum allocated in the force's budget estimates.
Immigration
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by European Union member state (a) the number of applications for citizenship of that member state which are currently being processed and (b) the number of applications for political asylum.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The number of applications for British citizenship which were outstanding at the end of January 1995 in the United Kingdom was 42,327. Corresponding information on citizenship applications in other EU member states is not available. Information on persons who applied for asylum was given in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Davyhulme (Mr. Churchill), on 3 February 1995, Official Report, column 899.
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the numbers of legal immigrants accepted by each European Union member state in each of the last three years.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The information available relates to gross inward migration, including temporary migration, of non-EEA nationals into European Union countries in 1992, and is given in the table. Corresponding data for 1993 94 are not yet available.
|Gross inward
|migration of
|non-EEA nationals
Country |in 1992<1>
------------------------------------------------------
Belgium |27,000
Denmark |15,000
France |85,800
Germany |1,080,000
Greece |10,400
Ireland |4,600
Italy |n/a
Luxembourg |2,740
Netherlands |58,700
Portugal |12,100
Spain |18,500
United Kingdom |50,800<2>
Austria<3> |n/a
Finland<3> |9,240
Sweden<3> |31,000
n/a Not available.
<1> Source: Burostat (except for the United Kingdom
figure) based on annual returns from member
countries. Definitions will vary between countries
but are likely to include temporary migration, mainly
for six months or longer.
<2> Figure relates to non-EEA nationals accepted for
settlement, that is, allowed to stay indefinitely, in
1992. The corresponding figure for 1993 was 54,200.
<3> Joined the European Union on 1 January 1995.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facilities are available for people with hearing impediments seeking entry into the United Kingdom, with special reference to those seeking political refugee status at ports of entry; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: There are no special facilities at immigration controls at ports for interviewing people with hearing impediments. The interviewing officer is required to confirm and record in writing that an applicant for asylum understands what is being communicated and that he or she is understood. If necessary, information will be obtained in writing using translator assistance as necessary.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legal objections have been reported to him advising that for the police to withdraw passports from known troublemakers wishing to travel overseas would be illegal; in what way the powers differ from the powers of Immigration Service officers to retain passports from people wishing to enter the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean: The police have no power to remove a passport from someone unless passport facilities have been withdrawn from him by my right hon. and learned Friend under the royal prerogative or a court has required surrender of the passport. The Immigration Service has power to retain the passport of someone seeking entry until the person concerned is given leave to enter the United Kingdom or is about to depart or be removed following refusal of leave.
India (Torture)
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture regarding evidence of torture in India to male Sikh asylum seekers.
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Mr. Nicholas Baker: There have been no recent discussions with the foundation on this subject.
Police
Mr. Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) the current number of police officers per 1,000 of the population and (b) the current amount spent per annum on the police per person, in rank order for each (i) police authority and (ii) county police authority in England including average figures.
Mr. Maclean: The latest available information for police to population ratios can be found in the appendix to the annual report of Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary for 1993. Details of police expenditure per head of population are set out in the table:
Police expenditure per head of population
|Estimated |Average
|expenditure |expenditure per
|1994-95 |Population |head
|£000 |1993<1> |£000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City of London |56,186 |4,000 |14,047
Metropolitan |1,638,659 |7,420,000 |221
Merseyside |222,217 |1,441,000 |154
Greater Manchester |330,361 |2,579,000 |128
Cleveland |71,037 |559,000 |127
West Midlands |323,607 |2,634,000 |123
Northumbria |176,002 |1,445,000 |122
West Yorkshire |240,140 |2,102,000 |114
Wiltshire |66,362 |583,000 |114
Cumbria |55,697 |490,000 |114
Surrey |86,912 |770,000 |113
South Yorkshire |145,647 |1,306,000 |112
Nottinghamshire |112,458 |1,028,000 |109
Humberside |95,452 |884,000 |108
Lancashire |151,890 |1,421,000 |107
Kent |160,948 |1,540,000 |105
Gloucestershire |56,084 |544,000 |103
Durham |62,578 |608,000 |103
Warwickshire |50,510 |494,000 |102
Avon and Somerset |147,302 |1,447,000 |102
Lincolnshire |60,485 |601,000 |101
Thames Valley |198,813 |2,001,000 |99
Essex |147,572 |1,489,000 |99
Northamptonshire |58,624 |592,000 |99
Dorset |65,161 |667,000 |98
Bedfordshire |52,463 |539,000 |97
Staffordshire |101,365 |1,054,000 |96
Devon and Cornwall |143,917 |1,526,000 |94
Hertfordshire |79,097 |849,000 |93
Derbyshire |87,227 |951,000 |92
North Yorkshire |66,156 |722,000 |92
Sussex |130,749 |1,440,000 |91
Hampshire |155,219 |1,718,000 |90
Cambridgeshire |61,216 |683,000 |90
Suffolk |57,426 |646,000 |89
West Mercia |98,399 |1,109,000 |89
Leicestershire |80,672 |910,000 |89
Cheshire |85,533 |972,000 |88
Norfolk |66,561 |765,000 |87
<1> Population figures are provided by the OPCS. 1993 is the latest available
estimate.
Ethnic Minorities
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to announce his decision on section 11 funding bids for 1995 96; what the total funding bid was in each case; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: It remains our hope that it will be possible to announce the outcome of the bidding round by the end of February. The following table shows the amount of grant sought by each applicant in relation to the 1995 96 financial year.
Amount of grant sought 1995-96
|Grant sought in
|1995-96
Applicant |(£)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local authorities etc
Avon |584,488
Barking and Dagenham |265,750
Barnet |221,000
Bedfordshire |93,200
Berkshire |19,500
Bexley |49,261
Birmingham |487,636
Bolton |217,411
Bradford |3,723,014
Brent |775,500
Bromley |37,800
Buckinghamshire |1,138,021
Burnley |50,603
Bury |35,940
Calderdale |74,250
Cambridgeshire |185,000
Camden |1,506,763
Cardiff |24,093
Cleveland |180,056
Clwyd |139,968
Coventry |165,355
Crewe and Nantwich |35,627
Croydon |427,174
Derbyshire |347,176
Devon |83,000
Doncaster |54,654
Dorset |45,700
Dudley |811,318
Ealing |1,242,773
East Sussex |88,480
Enfield |561,647
Essex |113,716
Gateshead |27,000
Gloucester |49,160
Gloucestershire |83,608
Greenwich |1,043,000
Gwent |184,000
Hackney |531,692
Hammersmith and Fulham |488,876
Hampshire |66,750
Haringey |357,258
Harrow |26,989
Havering |35,484
Hereford and Worcester |175,500
Hertfordshire |29,000
Hillingdon |205,650
Hounslow |653,700
Humberside |127,480
Hyndburn |30,500
Islington |1,590,701
Kensington and Chelsea |175,370
Kent |172,600
Kingston |53,604
Kirklees |2,207,312
Lambeth |1,649,969
Lancashire |1,214,630
Leeds |880,686
Leicester |148,420
Leicestershire |234,083
Lewisham |1,527,759
Lincolnshire |18,437
Liverpool |163,855
London Boroughs Grants Committee |22,210
Luton |136,004
Manchester |240.970
Merton |147,570
Middlesbrough |74,829
Milton Keynes |52,725
Newcastle |19,670
Newham |624,605
Norfolk |217,051
North Tyneside |33,513
Northamptonshire |293,846
Nottingham |80,000
Nottinghamshire |729,500
Oldham |207,500
Oxford |14,856
Oxfordshire |174,000
Peterborough |18,488
Portsmouth |93,830
Preston |23,902
Reading |25,704
Redbridge |323,000
Redditch |13,536
Richmond |25,200
Rochdale |97,000
Rotherham |393,384
Salford |99,110
Sandwell |494,395
Scunthorpe |19,750
Sefton |24,165
Sheffield |763,500
Shropshire |124,884
Somerset |34,273
South Glamorgan |91,943
South Tyneside |168,000
South Yorkshire FCDA |12,194
Southampton |47,110
Southwark |939,453
St. Albans |27,770
St. Helens |20,064
Staffordshire |320,000
Suffolk |40,100
Sunderland |52,920
Surrey |47,985
Sutton |126,343
Tameside |160,481
Tower Hamlets |1,198,519
Trafford |61,959
Wakefield |265,000
Walsall |1,462,469
Waltham Forest |290,749
Wandsworth |220,536
Warwickshire |863,500
West Glamorgan |237,244
West Midlands FCDA |53,250
West Sussex |15,165
West Yorkshire FCDA |50,586
Westminster |270,821
Wigan |80,000
Wiltshire |67,600
Wirral |54,300
Woking |35,513
Wolverhampton |1,323,600
Grant-maintained schools and City Technology Colleges
Alperton Common School |46,626
Anglo European School |10,877
Ash Green GM School |8,527
Avon Valley School |10,000
Beechen Cliff GM School |20,000
Beechview Middle GM School |13,675
Billericay School |7,000
Bishop Challoner RC GM School |5,240
Blessed Edward Oldcorne RC GM School |3,599
Brentside High School |33,000
Broomhill Infant GM School |4,000
Brushwood Middle GM School |4,625
Castle Hall School |8,280
Castlefield GM School |97,527
Chadwell Heath GM School |20,979
Claremont School GM |40,924
Copland Community College |15,000
Deacon's School |27,302
Desborough School |23,000
Dixons City Technology College |4,000
Djanogly City Technology College |26,535
Dormers Wells Infants GM School |70,807
Dormers Wells Junior GM School |29,423
Drayton Manor School |25,000
Dunraven GMS |37,600
Durand Primary GM School |45,504
Francis Bacon School |13,000
Gordon's GM School |1,710
Graveney GM School |49,489
Greenford High GM School |74,460
Greenwood Dale School |23,568
Hall Green GM School |11,322
Hamilton Combined GM School |42,469
Hendon GM School |43,758
Hollingwood 1st School |1,200
Holly Hall GM School |29,250
Holy Cross Convent GM School |9,250
Holy Trinity School |12,000
Holywell School |2,973
Hopwood Hall College |9,625
John Kelly Girls's Technical College |11,366
Kelsey Park GM School |82,754
Kingsbury High School |42,000
London Oratory GM School |35,930
Merrill Community School |39,922
Montagu School |7,950
Myton GM School |18,413
Northampton Boys GM School |12,637
Northolt High School |20,000
Norte Dame GM School |9,000
Oldfield GM School |4,785
Prospect School |13,300
Queens Park GM School |79,500
Radcliffe School |23,000
Raines Foundation GM School |32,660
Reading Girls School |14,750
Reay Primary GM School |24,166
Richard Challoner GM School |8,500
Scared Heart RC School |5,718
Small Heath School |63,000
St. Andrews RC GM School |26,367
St. Bartholomew's School |2,500
St. Benedict's Catholic High School |4,000
St. Bernadette RC GM School |11,000
St. Marks West Essex GM School |5,000
St. Martin in Field GM School |12,271
St. Thomas the Apostle GM School |5,707
Stantonbury Campus |12,048
Stopsley High School |5,000
Stratford GM School |34,426
Surrey Square GM School |16,340
The Gilberd School |14,752
Weavers GM School |24,000
Wood End Junior GM School |7,336
Woodnewton Junior School |4,750
Wrenn GM School |32,900
Colleges of Further Education
Amersham and Wycombe College |20,000
Arnold and Carlton College |22,600
Barnet College |19,942
Bexley College |9,675
Bilborough College |51,058
Birmingham Fe Consortium |1,733,926
Bolton College |72,700
Calderdale College |49,500
Cambridge Regional College |15,000
Charles Keene College |333,000
City College Manchester |40,189
City of Westminster College |72,000
City and Islington College |88,000
Clarendon College |90,712
Coventry Technical College |70,000
Crawley College |4,113
Croydon College |36,352
Dewsbury College |4,268
Doncaster College |13,611
Dudley College of Technology |138,000
Ealing Tertiary College |213,000
East Berkshire College |17,616
Enfield Fe College |45,515
Gateshead College |36,000
Gateway 6th Form College |38,250
Gloscat |30,451
Greenhill College |293,063
Hackney Community College |57,750
Hendon College |105,000
Henley College |34,400
Huddersfield Technical College |57,000
Huntingdonshire Regional College |21,000
Joseph Chamberlain Coll |48,000
Keighley College |16,894
Kensington and Chelsea College |56,835
Kingsway College |86,000
Language and Literacy Unit Southwark |119,535
Leyton 6th Form College |43,352
Manchester College of Arts and Technology |79,070
North East London College |185,310
Newcastle College |37,236
Newham Fe College |447,000
Newham Sixth Form College |101,790
North Herts College |67,650
Northampton College |17,336
Oaklands College |96,000
Oldham College |55,123
Park Lane College |68,198
Peoples College of Tertiary Education |12,016
Rotherham College |13,650
Runshaw College |13,440
Sheffield College |272,150
South Nottingham College |21,000
Southgate College |72,900
Southwark College |22,000
St. Francis Xavier College |24,955
Stoke on Trent 6th Form College |12,000
Stourbridge College |21,000
Swindon College |11,100
Tameside College of Technology |32,000
Thomas Danby College |113,500
Tile Hill College |47,500
Tower Hamlets College |181,000
Tresham Institute |50,000
Uxbridge College |48,500
Wakefield College |111,255
Walsall College of Arts and Technology |67,000
Wandsworth Adult College |42,000
West Hertsfordshire College |75,184
Woolwich College |21,737
Probation Service
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the impact of the 1994 probation budget reductions on staffing levels with each grade of staff; and what assessment he has made of the likely redundancies within each grade of staff in the Greater Manchester probation service; (2) what assessment he has made of the impact of the 1994 probation budget reductions on (a) liaison with victim support, (b) work with victims, (c) staff terms and conditions of service, (d) the implementation of national standards for the supervision of offenders, (e) probation centre provision and (f) hostel provision in respect of the Greater Manchester Probation Service;
(3) what was the effect of the November 1993 budget statement on the budget of the Greater Manchester probation service; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the November 1994 budget statement on the work of the Greater Manchester probation service.
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the effect of the November 1993 budget statement on the budget of the South Yorkshire probation service; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the November 1994 budget statement on the work of the Greater Manchester probation service.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave yesterday to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe, (Mr. Morris), Official Report , column 156 .
Mr. Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the impact of the November 1993 statement on the budget of the South Yorkshire probation service.
Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made as to the effect of the November 1993 statement on the budget of the South Yorkshire probation service.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Wentworth (Mr. Hardy) yesterday, Official Report , column 154 .
Mr. Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed and at what grade, by the South Yorkshire probation service on (a) 30 June 1992, (b) 30 June 1993 and (c) 30 June 1994.
Column 233
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Information is given in the table.
Staff employed by the South Yorkshire probation service, in post at
30 June, whole-time equivalent<1>, by grade and type.
|Number of
|staff, whole
|time
|equivalent
|30 June 1992|30 June 1993|30 June 1994
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Probation Officers
Chief |1 |1 |1
Deputy Chief |2 |2 |2
Assistant Chief |6 |7 |7
Senior |37 |40 |42
Main grade |176 |178 |180
Total probation officers |222 |228 |232
Non-probation grade staff
Probation Services'
Officers<2> |81 |78 |78
Clerical/Secretarial |109 |120 |114
Administrative |34 |37 |40
Other non-probation
grade staff,
excluding hostel
staff<3> |42 |40 |31
Hostel staff |64 |62 |46
Total non-probation grade staff |330 |336 |308
Total probation staff |553 |565 |541
<1> Whole-time staff plus whole-time equivalent of part time staff. Figures rounded
to the nearest whole number. Components and totals are rounded independently and so
components may not add precisely to totals.
<2> Formerly ancillaries.
<3> Figures include sessional supervisors on community service schemes, staff
employed in student training units and on miscellaneous functions.
Mr. Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many offenders were supervised by South Yorkshire probation service on 30 June 1994;
(2) how many court reports were completed by South Yorkshire probation service during (a) 1992 and (b) 1993.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Wentworth (Mr. Hardy) and others yesterday, Official Report column 154 .
Mr. Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the impact of the November 1994 budget statement on the South Yorkshire probation service.
Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the impact of the November 1994 Budget statement on the South Yorkshire probation service.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Wentworth (Mr. Hardy), 20 February, Official Report, column 19 20.
Drug Prevention Initiative
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what criteria were used in determining successful bids from the south- east and
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south-west regions for projects under the drug prevention initiative;(2) which local authorities in the south-east and south-west regions made bids under the drug prevention initiative; what was the amount sought in each case; and which were the successful bids; (3) what assessment he made of the extent of the drugs problem in each of the local authorities in the south-east and south-west regions which sought to participate in the drug prevention initiative.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: From 1 April, there will be one Home Office drugs prevention team in the south-east region, covering the counties of East and West Sussex, and one team in the south-west region, covering the counties of Avon and Somerset. These areas represent extended coverage for the present teams in Brighton and Hove and Bristol. It was not possible to provide teams in additional areas in these regions, as was explained to Southampton city council when it inquired in December about inclusion in the drugs prevention initiative.
England v. Ireland Football Match
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people were issued with tickets for the England v . Ireland football match in Dublin by the England Travel Club; what was the total number of tickets issued to the Football Association; how many tickets were returned to the Football Association of Ireland; and what discussions took place between the Football Associations and the British and Irish police about the allocation of returned tickets;
(2) what reports he has received about the transfer of police intelligence about known troublemakers travelling to Dublin for the England v . Ireland football match; to whom in Ireland such information was made available; on what dates information was issued; and what steps he has taken to ensure that there was full and proper assessment made of intelligence by responsible bodies in the United Kingdom;
(3) if he will call for reports from the police on varying use of powers to stop people travelling to attend the England v. Ireland football match in Dublin (a) at Holyhead and (b) elsewhere; (4) how many British police travelled with persons travelling to Dublin (a) the day before and (b) on the day of the England v. Ireland football match in Dublin.
(5) if the advice of the British police was sought by the FAI and or the Irish police over the kick-off time of the England v. Ireland football match in Dublin, the seating and segregation arrangements of English and Irish fans and the reallocation of tickets not taken up by the England Travel Club.
Mr. Maclean: I have asked for reports from the police on the assistance given to the Irish authorities and other action taken in relation to this match. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the House on 16 February, Official Report, column 1125, the Football Associations of England and Ireland are conducting a joint inquiry into the events in Dublin and this will also look into some of the matters which the hon. Member has raised. I do not think it would be helpful for me to comment in advance of the results of the joint inquiry.
Column 235
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations underlay the decision of the police not to use, to stop known troublemakers travelling to attend the England v. Ireland football match in Dublin, the powers used during strikes to stop persons joining pickets; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean: The police may limit numbers in any particular place in order to prevent breaches of the peace and it was under this common law power that the police stopped and turned back pickets during the miners' dispute. This power is not available to the police in situations where breach of the peace is likely to occur outside this jurisdiction nor have they any other such power to stop known troublemakers travelling abroad.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what policy initiatives he is taking as a result of public disorder at the England v. Ireland football match, involving British citizens before and after the match in Dublin and by persons wishing to travel to the match who were prevented from taking ferries to Ireland at Holyhead; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean: Over the last few years, we have introduced a range of measures to counter the threat posed by football hooliganism both inside and outside the ground. I will consider--in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for National Heritage--what further measures may be necessary in the light of the events which took place in Dublin, of reports from the police and of the joint inquiry being undertaken by the Football Associations of England and of Ireland.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what policy action he is taking, jointly with ministerial colleagues from appropriate Departments, to address the threat posed to public order within the United Kingdom and overseas by fascist groups based in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard: I ensure that the police have the resources and powers that they need effectively to discharge their responsibility to assess and counter threats to public order from any quarter. The police pass information about threats to public order overseas to their counterparts in the countries concerned.
Facist and Paramilitary Groups
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what inquiries he is making, jointly with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office, and the British and Irish police, to ascertain what links exist between Combat 18, the British National party, and other British-based fascist groups, and Unionist paramilitary groups including the UDA and the UFF.
Mr. Howard: Responsibility for gathering information about extremist organisations and their members, and for the investigation of specific criminal offences, rests with the police. They exchange relevant information with their counterparts in the Irish Republic as necessary.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will convene, jointly with Foreign Office Ministers, meetings with European Union ambassadors, and the American ambassador, to discuss the links between British-based fascist groups and fascist groups in Europe and America.
Mr. Howard: My ministerial colleagues, my officials and I have regular meetings with our counterparts from
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the other member states of the European Union on police co-operation matters, including illegal activity by extremist groups and possible international links between them. The Justice and Home Affairs Council on 30 November and 1 December 1994 approved a report on work within the third pillar to combat racism and xenophobia. The police exchange relevant operational information with their counterparts in other member states and in the United States of America and the security service has also confirmed publicly that it continues to monitor the possibility of contact between extreme right-wing nationalist and racist groups in this country and overseas.Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange to meet the American ambassador to discuss what action can be taken to close down post office box numbers, held by the Dixie Press in North Carolina, used by Combat 18 in the United Kingdom to disseminate information covertly to the United Kingdom.
Mr. Howard: Until the Metropolitan police have completed their investigation of the publication and distribution of written material by Combat 18, it would not be sensible to decide whether separate action or inquiries might be warranted.
Passports
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports have been reported (a) missing and (b) stolen in each year since 1979.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey) on 25 October 1994, Official Report, column 513.
Victim Support
Mr. Mans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds his Departments has provided for Victim Support since such funding began: what other help is being provided for victims of crime; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard: Home Office funding of Victim Support has grown at a rate unprecedented for a voluntary organisation. Grant in the coming financial year will amount to nearly £11 million, an increase at 8 per cent. over the current year's figure. The record of Home Office funding of Victim Support is as follows:
|Year on year|Percentage
Year |Grant(£) |increase |increase
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |5,000 |n/a |n/a
1980-81 |10,000 |5,000 |100
1981-82 |18,000 |8,000 |80
1982-83 |16,000 |-2,000 |-11
1983-84 |38,000 |22,000 |138
1984-85 |62,000 |24,000 |63
1985-86 |126,000 |64,000 |103
1986-87 |286,000 |160,000 |127
1987-88 |1,763,000 |1,477,000 |516
1988-89 |2,740,000 |977,000 |55
1989-90 |3,910,000 |1,170,000 |43
1990-91 |4,735,000 |825,000 |21
1991-92 |5,670,000 |935,000 |20
1992-93 |7,260,000 |1,590,000 |28
1993-94 |8,375,000 |1,115,000 |15
1994-95 |10,016,000 |1,641,000 |20
1995-96 |10,817,000 |801,000 |8
The additional funding given in 1994 95 and 1995 96 will enable Victim Support to complete the programme of establishing witness support services in all 78 Crown court centres by the end of 1995, and to develop further the work of its 365 local schemes and branches which provide emotional support and practical help to over 1 million victims of crime a year throughout England and Wales.
We published the victims charter five years ago today, the first charter to be published. Most of the 50 standards in the charter have been, or are well on the way to being met. This has done a great deal to improve the way victims are treated by the criminal justice system, and we will build on this by publishing later this year a statement of service standards for victims of crime. This will be a charter-style document telling victims more clearly what they can expect of the criminal justice system and what they can do if they do not get it.
The Government have taken a range of other measures to help victims of crime. These include giving them better information about progress in their case, and ensuring that their views are taken more into account at all stages of the criminal justice process. A good example of this was the establishment in December of a victims' helpline so that any victim concerned about an inmate's possible temporary release can tell the prison authorities. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 contained a number of measures designed to help victims and witnesses, including the abolition of committal proceedings and the creation of a new offence of witness intimidation. These, and many other measures, are firm evidence of the Government's concern for victims of crime and their continuing desire to improve services for them.
Probation Officers
Mr. Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the arrangements governing the recruitment and qualifying training of probation officers.
Mr. Howard: I am today publishing a consultation document setting out proposals for wide-ranging changes to the present arrangements. Copies of the document and of the report of the departmental scrutiny carried out last year of which my proposals take account are being sent to a wide range of interested bodies and are being placed in the Library.
I propose to sweep away the barriers to the recruitment as probation officers of people who have relevant skills and experience to offer but who lack the social work diploma qualification which is at present required by law. Under the proposals set out in the consultation document, probation committees will be able to recruit from a much wider range of sources; and the initial training prospective probation officers undertake to equip them with competence to practise will be made more flexible to take account of mature candidates' previous work. On this
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basis, I am proposing to terminate the present scheme under which the Home Office sponsors students on selected social work courses after students joining this autumn have qualified; and to fund area probation services on the basis that they will meet their own training requirements. This change will be arranged so that it is not to the detriment of those committed to existing courses.The scrutiny report highlights strengths as well as weaknesses in the present arrangements; and I am determined that standards of training and recruitment should not be compromised. On the contrary, I believe that there is scope for more rigorous assessment of individuals' training needs and competence to practise to be introduced. The social work dimension of probation officers' responsibilities will not be ignored in these arrangements and it is not my intention to discourage applications from suitable candidates with social work qualifications. But the work of probation officers and social workers is different, so there is no good reason for a common training qualification. Now that core competences for probation officers have been published, and are to be used as the basis for performance appraisal, training arrangements should be specifically geared towards those competences. My proposals envisage greater ownership of training and the maintenance of standards by the probation service itself. I shall over the next three months welcome comments on these proposals, which are intended to ensure that the probation service has a firm long- term foundation for the provision of high quality services to the courts and to the community.
Special Advisers
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the severance payments made to special advisers in each of the last five years indicating (a) the amount and (b) the date.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 1 February 1995]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State for the Treasury on 6 February, Official Report , column 69 .
SCOTLAND
Community Hospital, Forfar
17. Mr. Bill Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the new community hospital in Forfar; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: My noble and learned Friend the Minister of State has recently received correspondence about the proposed new community hospital in Forfar from the hon. Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker) and from GPs in Forfar and others.
Community Care
22. Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet Greater Glasgow health board and Lanarkshire health board to discuss the effect of the Government's community care policies in their area.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no immediate plans to meet with either health board to discuss community care policies.
The Greater Glasgow health board is consulting until 28 February on its joint community care plan. Lanarkshire health board is consulting until 24 March on the joint community care plan for its area.
Job Losses
23. Mr. Dunnachie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will meet the Scottish Trades Union Congress to discuss the loss of highly skilled jobs in Scotland.
Mr. Kynoch: My right hon. Friend meets representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress from time to time to discuss a range of matters concerning the Scottish economy.
Development Corporations
24. Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he will next meet the development corporation chairmen to discuss wind-up.
Mr. Kynoch: I will meet the board of Glenrothes development corporation on 10 March, and expect to meet the boards of the four other corporations later.
Maternity Hospital, Rutherglen
25. Mr. McAvoy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the cost of building a maternity hospital to deal with the births currently being dealt with at Rutherglen maternity hospital.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: It would be inappropriate to anticipate a possible outcome of the Greater Glasgow health board public consultation on maternity provision, the results of which will not be known until after 30 April. There are many aspects to be taken into account in any reprovision costings, including location, size and design considerations.
Carstairs State Hospital
26. Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has received a report from the Carstairs state hospital management committee into the recent breakdown in security at the hospital; and if he will make a statement.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Yes. Consideration of the findings and recommendations are of course subject to the conclusion of the related police inquiry, which is continuing.
Local Enterprise Companies
27. Mr. Norman Hogg: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet the chairman of Scottish Enterprise to discuss the future boundaries of local enterprise companies; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Kynoch: My right hon. Friend meets the chairman of Scottish Enterprise regularly. He has asked Scottish Enterprise to consult interested parties about the possible implications of local government reorganisation for the
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boundaries of local enterprise companies, and will consider its findings before taking any decision.Water
28. Mrs Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next plans to meet the chairmen of new water authorities to discuss charges for consumers.
36. Mr. Canavan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will arrange to meet the chairmen of the new water authorities to discuss the future of water supply in Scotland.
Mr. Kynoch: I refer the hon. Members to the answer my right hon. Friend gave today in an oral answer to the hon. Member for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh).
National Health Service Trusts
29. Dr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has to make national health service trusts more accountable to the communities they serve.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: NHS trusts are accountable, through the NHS executive, to me and to Parliament. Their directors are required, as a condition of appointment, to subscribe to codes of conduct and accountability; and through the establishment of the Health Appointments Advisory Committee my right hon. Friend has made the process of appointment of non-executives more open. Trusts are required to publish an annual business plan, and an annual report and audited accounts which are presented to a public meeting. I will shortly be issuing a code of practice on openness, setting out the public's right to information, which has recently been the subject of wide consultation with interested parties.
Gross Domestic Product
30. Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of United Kingdom gross domestic product is currently contributed by Scotland.
Mr. Kynoch: In 1993, the Scottish share of United Kingdom--less continental shelf--gross domestic product was 8.7 per cent.
Economic Regeneration
31. Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for regenerating the Scottish economy with particular reference to alleviating unemployment.
Mr. Kynoch: The Government's economic policies provide the right framework for the regeneration of the Scottish economy exemplified by a record level of manufacturing productivity, record levels of exports, record levels of inward investment, a larger number of employees in employment, increasing business confidence and a steadily reducing unemployment level.
Farming
32. Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures he has taken to ensure that Scottish farming interests are taken into account when discussing the future of the common agricultural policy.
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