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Mrs. Quereshi Bibi
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 January 1995, Official Report , column 302, if the sponsor of Mrs. Quereshi Bibi, BV100/25109 was invited to interview at Leeds/Bradford airport on 5 February; and if he will make a statement. [30707]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The sponsor of Mrs. Quereshi Bibi. BV100/25109, was interviewed as arranged at Leeds/Bradford airport on 5 February.
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Police Review
Sir Michael Shersby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the final report of the review of police core and ancillary tasks. [31089]
Mr. Howard: The final report will be published tomorrow and a copy placed in the Library.
Community and Race Relations
Mr. Bernie Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 June 1995, Official Report , column 523, how many staff at the police staff college have received training in race and community relations from the Home Office specialist support unit; when they received this training; and how many were (a) civilians and (b) police officers. [30727]
Mr. Maclean: There are currently two members of staff who have received training in community and race relations from the specialist support unit; one police officer and one civilian. The training was undertaken in 1989 and 1993 respectively.
Mr. Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 June 1995, Official Report , column 524, how many of the 15 directors of studies at CPTU and line managers at central planning and training unit at Bramshill have been deemed capable of delivering and assessing the delivery of race and community relations training by the Home Office specialist support unit. [30730]
Mr. Maclean: Information is not held in this form. For trainers attending courses provided by the specialist support unit, an assessment is made on an individual basis of the student's competencies during the course, and a written assessment is provided to the student and to the organisation which has requested the student's training.
Mr. Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 June 1995, Official Report, column 524, if the figure of Home Office funding of the support unit for race and community relations training for 1993 94 includes the sum of £60,000 for the salaries of police liaison officers. [30728]
Mr. Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many West Yorkshire police trainers have undergone training at the Home Office specialist support unit; how many are still delivering race and community relations to front line officers; and what research has been conducted into the effectiveness of such training. [30725]
Mr. Maclean: Eleven officers have undergone training in community and race relations at the specialist support unit. Six of those officers are still delivering training in the West Yorkshire police force, including community and race relations training. No specific evaluation of the effectiveness of training has been carried out, but the force relies on the validation of materials produced by the specialist support unit.
Mr. Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 June 1995, Official Report , columns 523 24 , who is the Minister with
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responsibility for ensuring that the provision of police training in race and community relations is effective; and if he will make a statement. [30731]Mr. Maclean: I have responsibility for police policy matters. It is for the police service itself to ensure that it delivers effective training programmes.
Mr. Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training in community and race relations is currently received by front-line operational police officers (a) nationally and (b) in West Yorkshire. [30724]
Mr. Maclean: All new recruits to the police service receive community and race relations training at police training centres as part of their probationer course. Management training courses for inspectors and sergeants include material on community and race relations. In addition, various training is provided by individual police forces.
West Yorkshire police provide race awareness training for all officers; staff at chief inspector and superintendent level have received knowledge based training provided by specialist support unit staff, and a programme of knowledge and skill based training for other ranks is being prepared.
Mr. Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 June 1995, Official Report , column 523 , which of the recommendations of Lord Scarman he has taken into account in relation to the employment of civilian staff in race and community relations training. [30721]
Mr. Maclean: The Government recognise the need to provide training in community and race relations issues for officers at all levels and the value of using civilian staff and contributors from the ethnic minority communities in such training. It is for police service managers to determine the content and structure of training courses, with assistance where appropriate from the specialist support unit.
Mr. Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations underlie the change in the level of funding for the Home Office specialist support unit for community and race relations training for the police; and what assessment he has made of the effect on the level of risks of disturbances. [30726]
Mr. Maclean: Considerations include the level of service required by the police service from the unit; the level of training which the police service itself can deliver; and competing demands on expenditure. There continues to be regular contact between the Home Office and the police about the possibility of disturbances.
Mr. Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 16 May 1995, Official Report , column 193 , if he will explain the discrepancy between this figure and the figures given in his answer of 14 June 1995, Official Report , column 524 ; and if he will make a statement. [30729]
Mr. Maclean: The figures given on 14 June are for the years 1993 94 and 1994 95, as requested. The hon. Member's previous question asked about the reduction in budget for 1995 96. The budget for 1995 96 is £504,000--a reduction of £39,000 on 1994 95.
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Asylum Seekers
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Algerian asylum seekers are currently detained in Rochester prison; and how many days each of them has been held in detention. [30378]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The information requested is shown in the table.
Number of Algerian nationals detained<1> at Her Majesty's
Prison
Rochester, who had sought asylum, by length of detention
on 20 June 1995
Length of detention |Number of detainees
at Rochester (days)
------------------------------------------------------------
1 to 10 |5
11 to 20 |2
21 to 30 |7
31 to 40 |2
41 to 60 |4
61 to 80 |2
81 to 100 |2
101 to 150 |3
150 and over |4
Total |31
<1> Persons detained solely under the powers contained in
schedules 2 or 3 of the Immigration Act 1971. In some cases
the asylum application will have been lodged subsequent to
the applicant being detained. The figures include both
detained asylum applicants who applied at ports, and those
detained in after-entry enforcement work. These figures
include people awaiting the setting of directions for
removal following refusal of the application, as well as
those whose applications where under consideration or
subject to appeal.
Dr. Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have requested asylum on arriving on the Eurostar train at Waterloo station since 1 January. [29627]
Mr. Baker: During the period 1 January 19 June 1995, 173 applications for asylum were received from people arriving at Waterloo on the Eurostar train.
Street Watch Schemes
Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many street watch schemes are in operation in England and Wales. [30009]
Mr. Maclean: A total of 41 street watch schemes had been notified to the Home Office as at 21 June.
Women Prisoners (Births)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were sentenced to a term of imprisonment within (a) a week and (b) a month of giving birth for each year since 1990. [30377]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: This information is not collected centrally.
Prison Drugs Testing
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the cost of each mandatory drug test in gaols; [29955]
(2) what proportion of mandatory drug tests in England and Wales have proved positive; [29956]
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(3) which was the main drug detected in cases where mandatory drug testing has proved positive; [29957](4) what disciplinary action has been taken in cases where mandatory drug testing in prison has proved positive. [29958]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State on 18 May to the hon. Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter), Official Report , columns 370 72.
Prison Security
Mr. Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the findings of General Sir John Learmont's inquiry into prison security. [29983]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: My right hon. and learned Friend will publish the report after he has received and considered it.
Prison Food Expenses
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the daily food expenses allowed per person inmate in prisons in England and Wales. [29543]
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. Tom Cox, dated 26 June 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the daily food expenses allowed per prison inmate in England and Wales.
Daily food allowances are allocated in three bands according to population sizes as follows:
Population |Food allowance ------------------------------------------------------------------ Up to 200 |£1.405 per inmate day 201-500 |£1.385 per inmate day 501 and above |£1.37 per inmate day
Prison Language Services
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the foreign language prison information packs which are available for prisons in England and Wales; how such information packs are obtained; and if prisons requiring such information packs are required to pay for them; [29539]
(2) if a list is kept in prisons of prison officers who are able to speak a foreign language and if he will make a statement; [59541] (3) what funding has been made available to the foreign national liaison committee in prisons in England and Wales; [29538] (4) what system exists in prisons in England and Wales to help foreign nationals who are held in custody on possible immigration offences and who do not wish to make contact with their high commission or embassy. [59542]
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Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for these matters 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. Tom Cox, dated 26 June 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions concerning foreign national prisoners' issues in the Prison Service. Two foreign language information packs are issued centrally by the Prison Service. These are the Foreign Prisoners' Resource Pack, which is available in 11 languages and the Prisoners' Information Pack, which is available in 14 languages. These are provided to prisons on request. Other foreign language information packs have been produced locally by some establishments and by other agencies, but details are not kept centrally.
Some Prison Service establishments have produced local lists of staff who are able to speak other languages. However, these details are not held centrally and no single comprehensive list exists. The setting up of any committee to consider issues solely relating to foreign nationals, is a matter for individual establishments, as is any funding.
To assist those held in custody on possible immigration offences, six Immigration Service advisory leaflets are provided for issue on reception to both foreign and Commonwealth nationals held under the Immigration Act 1971.
These leaflets include information about help agencies and are available in a minimum of four languages, although one is available in 11 languages. Further assistance is available from designated prison and probation staff.
Crown Immunity
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all areas within (a) his Department, (b) agencies under his Department's control and (c) organisations for which he has ministerial responsibility to which Crown immunity applies; what consideration he has given to removing this; and if he will make a statement. [28656]
Mr. Howard: The reference to Crown immunity in the question is taken to refer to legislation which does not bind the Crown. Certain legislation is expressly applied to the Crown. In most legislation, however, particularly older legislation, there is no such express provision. In those circumstances whether legislation applies to the crown will depend upon the implications to be drawn from the terms and context of the legislation.
Immigration Detainees
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost in 1994 95 to his Department of detaining persons under Immigration Act powers in (a) Immigration Service detention centres, (b) Prison Service establishments and (c) police cells. [26291]
Mr. Nicholas Baker [holding answer 25 May 1995]: The total cost of detaining persons under Immigration Act powers in Immigration Service detention centres in 1994 95 was £11.35 million. Both custodial and in-country escorting costs are included in this figure. The cost of detaining persons under the Act in Prison Service establishments cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost since accounting systems do not distinguish between Immigration Act detainees and those on remand or serving a prison sentence. In the year 1994
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95 the police charged the Immigration Service £993,000 for the use of police cells and for escort duties.In appropriate cases, the immigration department recovers costs from carriers under schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971.
Child Abduction
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that the removal of travel controls and documentation for EU nationals travelling between EU countries does not lead to an increased risk of child abduction from the United Kingdom. [30386]
Mr. Nicholas Baker [holding answer 22 June 1995]: Operational responsibility at ports and airports for identifying children who may have been abducted is a matter for the police. The Immigration Service gives every assistance, where embarkation controls make this practicable, to draw to the attention of the police departing children who may be in this category. As the under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Mr. Wardle), announced on 15 December 1993, Official Report , column 655 , in response to a question from my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Burton (Sir. I Lawrence), embarkation controls are not routinely carried out on purely intra-EU traffic except where there is reason to believe that someone of interest to the police in connection with serious crime is likely to leave the country by a particular route. Where a child is successfully abducted to a country which is a signatory to the Hague convention, an extradition warrant may be issued. If the country is not a signatory to the convention, the existing channels of communication and co-operation between the relevant police forces are used to seek the return of the abducted child.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Public Spending
6. Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage who in his Department is responsible for the Government's fundamental review of public spending; and if he will make a statement. [28747]
Mr. Dorrell: I am responsible for the review, which has involved a thorough examination of how the Department employs its programme expenditure.
National Lottery
12. Mr. David Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many millionaires the national lottery has created to date. [28754]
Mr. Dorrell: I understand that there have been 69 prizes of over £1 million, but some of these have been shared.
18. Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received about using lottery money to aid arts students. [28761]
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Mr. Dorrell: In addition to my hon. Friend's correspondence on this subject, my Department has received one other representation, from one of his constituents.
19. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what amount was raised in the most recent week for which figures are available from the national lottery and from scratch cards. [28762]
Mr. Dorrell: Income from the national lottery into the national lottery distribution fund for the week to Tuesday 20 June totalled £28.8 million. I understand that approximately 60 per cent. of ticket revenue comes from the on-line lottery game and 40 per cent. from scratch cards.
20. Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he last met the chairmen of the national lottery distributing bodies to discuss procedure; and if he will make a statement. [28764]
Mr. Dorrell: I meet the chairman of the national lottery distributing bodies frequently to discuss a wide range of lottery-related issues. Last week I met the chairman of the London-based distributors in my capacity as chairman of the Millennium Commission.
21. Mr. Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the sports bodies in West Yorkshire to which grants from the national lottery have been awarded, indicating the amounts given. [28765]
Mr. Sproat: The Sports Council has made seven awards to sports bodies in West Yorkshire:
|£
------------------------------------------------------------
Slazenger Sports and Social Club, Wakefield |100,000
Yarnbury Rugby Club, Leeds |35,000
Cumberworth Cricket Club, Kirklees |31,380
Todmorden Cricket Club, Calderdale |26,396
Roundhay Lawn Tennis Club, Leeds |13,169
Hillside Tennis Club, Kirklees |9,100
Keighley RUFC, Bradford |8,165
Total |223,210
I understand that a further 23 applications from sports bodies in West Yorkshire are under consideration.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the way in which lottery funds have been spent to date; and if he will show the total amount spent and a list of the grants made to date to projects which indisputably benefit socio- economic groups who have contributed most of the money. [26865]
Mr. Dorrell: To date, 486 projects have been awarded national lottery funds of £95 million. I have today placed a full list of the projects that have received awards in the Libraries of both Houses. People in all socio-economic groups are enjoying playing the national lottery and will benefit from these lottery-supported projects.
Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many grants have been made from national lottery income to local authorities in respect of projects which would otherwise be met from normal local authority income; and if he will list each of these cases. [30025]
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Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 22 June 1995]: It is the Government's policy that national lottery funding should be additional to other forms of public expenditure. The 11 distributing bodies will take this into account when making individual funding decisions.
Tourism
16. Mr. Barry Field: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what studies the tourism industry has made of the effect the daylight saving campaign would have on United Kingdom tourism. [28759]
Mr. Sproat: The Daylight Extra Group produced a survey in 1994 which estimated that additional earnings of £1 billion would be generated for UK tourism by a move to single/double summer time.
22. Sir David Knox: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on tourism in the
midlands. [28766]
Mr. Dorrell: Tourism makes a substantial contribution to the economy in the midlands, providing 240,000 jobs and generating revenue of at least £900 million.
The midlands will benefit, as will other regions, from Government initiatives to assist the tourism industry to become more competitive. These were announced in the document "Tourism: Competing with the Best", published by my Department earlier this year.
Island Games, Gibraltar
23. Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's involvement in the island games to be held in Gibraltar in July. [28767]
Mr. Sproat: The Governor of Gibraltar, Field Marshall Sir John Chappell GCB CBE, will represent Her Majesty's Government at the opening of the island games.
Music Industry
24. Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what his Department is doing to promote the British music industry. [28768]
Mr. Dorrell: My Department supports the development and the wider availability and appreciation of music in this country through the Arts Council of England and the regional arts boards. The council will spend more than £42 million on music in 1995 96, as well as the funding disbursed by regional arts boards at a more local level. My Department is also the major sponsor of National Music Day. In addition, the Department of Trade and Industry has undertaken a range of measures in support of the commercial music industry in this country.
Channel 4
25. Sir Michael Neubert: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he next expects to meet the chairman of the Independent Television Commission to discuss matters concerning Channel 4. [28769]
Mr. Dorrell: I have no plans to meet the chairman of the Independent Television Commission to discuss Channel 4.
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Regional Theatre
26. Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what plans he has to meet the Theatre Managers Association to discuss the implications of the Arts Council's consultation paper on regional theatre. [28770]
Mr. Dorrell: I have no such plans.
27. Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when he expects to respond to the National Heritage Committee's third report of session 1994 95, HC 276, on relations between rugby union and rugby league. [28771]
Mr. Sproat: My Department responded to the National Heritage Select Committee's report on 31 May and a copy of the response was placed in the Library on 22 June.
Angling
Mr. Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what representations he has received within the last six months with regard to angling. [28753]
Mr. Sproat: I have received a small number of representations on angling.
Charter Week
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what are the main events that he is proposing for Charter Week; what is the total cost to public funds; and how many (a) civil servants and (b) other public officials will be playing a part. [30684]
Mr. Dorrell: My Department is not proposing to hold any specific events itself for Charter Week, but it firmly supports the initiative and the progress made by our sponsored bodies in terms of public service and accountability. The Imperial War Museum, which won the award in 1994, will be hosting a display on the charter mark and its function. No additional cost or staff resources will be required.
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