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Mr. Baker: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State or the Home Department to what extent the number of asylum seekers detained under Immigration Act powers has changed in the past 12 months. [35751]
Mr. Baker: Comparable information for the last 12 months is not available. However, the available information is that, as at 3 July 1995, 690 people who had sought asylum at some stage were detained, compared with 616 people as at 31 May 1994.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 June, Official Report , column 405 , what progress was made at the Justice and Home Affairs Council held on 20 to 21 June on the draft resolution on minimum guarntees for asylum procedures. [35759]
Mr. Baker: The resolution on minimum guarantees for asylum procedures was adopted at the Justice and Home Affairs Council held on 20 to 21 June.
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C3 Division
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about delays in the processing of cases with C3 division. [35724]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Representations about the handling of cases including the time taken to examine them are made from time to time, usually by petitioners or their representatives in relation to a particular case.
Detainees
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average weekly cost of holding an Immigration Act detainee in the temporary immigration detention centre at Gatwick airport. [35756]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The average weekly cost is approximately £580 per detainee.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 5 July, Official Report, column 284, how much of the total cost of detaining persons under Immigration Act powers his Department expects to reclaim from carriers in the current financial year. [35754]
Mr. Baker: It is forecast that £1.3 million will be reclaimed from carriers in the current financial year in respect of the cost of detaining and escorting people under Immigration Act powers.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 5 July, Official Report, column 284, what his Department expects the notional cost of holding Immigration Act detainees in (a) Prison Service accommodation and (b) police cells to be in the current financial year. [35753]
Mr. Baker: The notional cost of detaining people in Prison Service accommodation is £411 per week, excluding departmental overheads. The estimated notional cost of using Prison Service accommodation for the financial year 1995 96 is approximately £9 million.
It is not possible to forecast accurately the extent to which it will be necessary to use police cells for detention under Immigration Act powers during the current financial year. The intention remains to keep the use of police cells to a minimum and the increase in the number of places available with the immigration service detention estate will have an important part to play in this.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Coventry, North East (Mr. Ainsworth), of 5 July, Official Report, column 284, which companies have provided short-term accommodation for Immigration Act detainees; where this accommodation is situated; how much each company is paid per detainee place per 24-hour stay; and how many detainee nights were spent in this accommodation in each of the past five years. [34537]
Mr. Baker: Private companies which provided short-term accommodation for Immigration Act detainees in the financial year 1994 95, together with their locations, are Maritime and Aviation Security, Newhaven and Harwich; Port of Felixstowe, Hoverspeed, Dover; and
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Stena Sealink, Newhaven. It is not possible to discover, except at disproportionate cost, how many detainee nights were spent in this accommodation in any of the past five years.Information about the cost of detention by private companies is commercially sensitive.
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the expected total cost to his Department of building the planned new detention centres, for persons held under Immigration Act powers, at (a) Gatwick airport, (b) Manchester airport, (c) Stansted airport and (d) Heathrow airport. [35755]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The cost of building the new detention centres at Gatwick and Manchester airports has been borne by the private sector. It is anticipated that the further planned accommodation will be provided in the same way. There will therefore be no capital cost to the Department, which will instead pay rental charges. These are commercially sensitive.
Mr. Colin Ivor Dunning
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he instructed the Metropolitan police to undertake inquiries requested by solicitors acting for Colin Ivor Dunning. [35722]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Officials in my Department wrote to the Metropolitan police on 16 December 1994. Further information received from Mr. Dunning's solicitors was passed on to the police by facsimile transmission on 16 May 1995.
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to give a decision on the case of Mr. Colin Ivor Dunning. [35726]
Mr. Baker: The police report into Mr. Dunning's case was received in the Department last month. Further information was provided by Mr. Dunning's solicitors on 17 July. A decision about the case will be reached as soon as possible.
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he received an application for the case of Mr. Colin Ivor Dunning to be referred to the Court of Appeal under the provisions of section 17 of the Criminal Appeals Act 1968. [35721]
Mr. Baker: Representations were received from Mr. Dunning's solicitors on 3 February 1994.
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the questions put in the letter dated 26th May, from solicitors acting for Mr. Colin Ivor Dunning. [35723]
Mr. Baker: A reply will be sent very soon.
Female Employees
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) the number of (i) male and (ii) female employees, (b) the number of officials employed at each of the principal grades and the numbers and percentages of women employed at these grades and
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(c) the number of staff employed at administration grades and the number and percentage of these staff that are women, in his Department and each of its executive agencies for each year since 1985. [35664]Mr. Howard: The information is not available in the form requested but details by grade and gender for the Department as a whole, including executive agencies, can be found in table 5 of "Civil Service Statistics" for each year from 1985 to 1994--copies are available in the Library. Details for 1995 will be published later this year.
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department has taken to encourage the promotion of women into senior positions within his Department and its executive agencies. [35675]
Mr. Howard: The Home Office is committed to the implementation of the Office of Public Service and Science programme for action to achieve equality of opportunity for women in the civil service. In line with the programme, the Department monitors regularly the number of women in each grade, their annual report markings and their performance on promotion boards. Career breaks, flexible working arrangements and subsidised child care are available to assist women who want to combine work with domestic responsibilities. The Home Office is also a founder member of Opportunity 2000, which aims to increase opportunities for women and promote the achievement of a balanced work force.
Criminal Justice Act 1993
Mr. Darling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects part I of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 to come into force; and if he will make a statement. [35679]
Mr. Maclean: We are considering the practicabilities of bringing into force the provisions of part I of the Criminal Justice Act 1993.
Court Buildings (Security)
Mr. Boateng: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect on the security of court buildings will result from the Home Office scrutiny of police duties; and if he will make a statement [35737]
Mr. Maclean: The recommendations of the recent efficiency scrutiny, which examiend the administrative burdens on the police in the context of their role in the criminal justice system, are still under consideration.
Mr. Boateng: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the decision was taken, and by whom, to end the police presence at Liverpool combined court centre; when that decision was implemented; how many complaints have been made about that decision; and what security incidents have taken place since that decision was implemented. [35742]
Mr. Maclean: Decisions regarding the level of policing in public places, for example the Crown court, are operational matters for the chief officer of the force concerned.
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Young Offenders
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of (a) 16-year-olds, (b) 15-year-olds and (c) 14-year- olds held in adult prisons for more than 24 hours after being convicted of a section 53 offence under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 in each of the last five years. [36246]
Miss Widdecombe: 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. Alun Michael, dated 19 July 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking what was the number of (a) 16 year olds, (b) 15 year olds and (c) 14 year olds held in adult prisons for more than 24 hours after being convicted of a section 53 offence under the Children and Young Persons Act in each of the last five years.
The information requested is not available.
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional secure places he intends to provide (a) under the undertaking of February 1991, for 15 and 16-year-olds on remand; (b) for 15 and 16-year-olds on remand in addition to (a), (c) for 15 and 16-year-olds sent to secure accommodation by a court following conviction, (d) for 10 to 14-year-olds on remand, (e) for 10 to 14-year-olds following conviction other than those sentenced to a secure training order and (f) for 12 to 14- year-olds made subject to a secure training order; and what timetable he has set for the provision of the secure places listed above. [36235]
Mr. Maclean: Local authority secure places are not designated for specific purposes. Places are made available, as appropriate, from within overall provision for:
children and young people placed under section 25 of the Children Act 1989.
juveniles sentenced under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933; and
remanded juveniles other than those 15 and 16-year-old boys remanded to a Prison Service establishment.
A building programme of 170 new secure local authority places is in hand. We expect a majority of these places to be finished in 1996. We are committed to ending the remand of 15 and 16-year-old boys to Prison Service establishments as soon as there are sufficient secure local authority places to accommodate them.
Five planned secure training centres will provide 200 places for 12 to 14- year-olds subject to a secure training order. Opening dates of the centres will depend on the terms of the contracts. A tendering process is in progress for the first two centres.
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the longest time spent in an adult prison on remand in England and Wales by (a) a 14-year-old, (b) a 15-year-old, and (c) a 16-year-old in the current year and in each of the last five years. [36255]
Miss Widdecombe: I will write to the hon. Member.
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British Board of Film Censors
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the normal tenure for senior officials at the British Board of Film Censors; what proposals he has for changing this period; and if he will make a statement. [36182]
Mr. Maclean: The British Board of Film Classification is an independent organisation and my right hon. and learned Friend has no responsibility for its internal affairs.
Reconviction Rates
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the reconviction rates of juveniles, young adults and adults for (a) 1993 and (b) 1994. [36252]
Mr. Maclean: Reconviction rates for 1993 and 1994 are not yet available. Information for 1991 and earlier years is given in chapter 10 of "Prison Statistics England and Wales 1993" and in chapter 11 of "Probation Statistics England and Wales 1993", copies of which are available in the Library.
Prisoners (Disciplinary Offences)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been placed on report for disciplinary offences from 1 September 1994 to 30 June 1995 at (a) the Wolds, (b) Blakenhurst, (c) Doncaster and (d) Buckley Hall prisons. [36157]
Miss Widdecombe: 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. Doug Hoyle, dated 19 July 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners placed on report for disciplinary offences from 1 September 1994 to 30 June 1995 at the Wolds, Blakenhurst, Doncaster and Buckley Hall prisons.
The available information is for the number of adjudication charges heard during this period and is shown in the attached table.
Adjudication charges heard 1
September 1994 to 30 June
1995<1>
|Number
------------------------------
The Wolds |682
Blakenhurst |1,655
Doncaster |3,036
Buckley Hall<2> |169
<1> Provisional
<2> Opened December 1994.
Church of Scientology
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will institute an investigation into the effects on young people in the United Kingdom of the Church of Scientology; and if he will make a statement. [35868]
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The Government have no plans for an inquiry.
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Video Classifications
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations have taken place with the video industry about retrospective review of video classifications; how the review will take place; when he expects to bring forward an order setting out statutory arrangements for the review before the House; and if he will make a statement. [36097]
Mr. Maclean: We have had extensive consultations with the video industry about the proposed arrangements for reviewing previously classified videos. My right hon. and learned Friend hopes shortly to make an order under section 90 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 setting out the practical arrangements.
Former Prison Service Staff
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by company the number of ex-Prison Service personnel who now work for private prison and escort contractors, the dates on which they joined, and their present duties with those
companies. [36200]
Miss Widdecombe: 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. Doug Hoyle, dated 19 July 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of former Prison Service personnel who now work for companies running contractually managed prisons and court escort services, the dates on which they joined and their present duties with those companies.
Much of the information requested is unavailable centrally, as it is for the contractors to recruit, train and employ their own staff.
Under the terms of the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the directors of contractually managed prisons have to be approved by the Home Secretary. The Directors of Blankenhurst, Buckley Hall, Doncaster and Wolds prisons were all previously employed by the Prison Service.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to the Prison Service of training staff who have left the Prison Service to join private prison and escort contractors. [36201]
Miss Widdecombe: 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. Doug Hoyle, dated 19 July 1995: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the cost to the Prison Service of training staff who have left the Prison Service join private prisons and escort contractors. The information requested is not available as we do not, in general, record details of the jobs subsequently taken by staff who have resigned or retired from the prison Service. Staff below grade 3 level are only required to seek approval for outside employment in certain specified circumstances, for a period of two years after leaving Crown employment.
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Crime Statistics
Sir Ralph Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the change in reported crimes of vandalism and theft between 1979 and 1994. [36307]
Mr. Maclean: The available information is in terms of notifiable offences of criminal damage and theft recorded by the police in England and Wales and is contained in the following table:
Number of Year Change offences |1979<1> |1994 |Number |Percentage -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Criminal damage |320,469 |928,127 |+607,658 |+190 Theft and handling stolen goods |1,416,143 |2,559,023 |+1,142,880|+81 <1>Figures for 1979 are not strictly comparable with those for later years because of changes to improve the consistency of recording multiple, continuous and repeated offences.
Change
offences 1979 1994 Number Percentage
Criminal damage 320,469 928,127 +607,658 +190
Theft and handling
stolen goods 1,416,143 2,559,023 +1,142,880 +81
Figures for 1979 are not strictly comparable with those for later years because of changes to improve the consistency of recording multiple, continuous and repeated offences.
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of offences recorded in England and Wales in 1993 and 1994 in total and for (a) violence against the person, (b) sexual offences, (c) robbery, (d) burglary, (e) fraud and forgery, (f) criminal damage, (g) theft from the person, (h) theft from a shop, (i) theft of motor vehicle, (j) theft from motor vehicle, (k) theft of a pedal cycle, (l) handling and (m) other theft. [36250]
Mr. Maclean: The information requested is available in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 5/95 "Notifiable Offences, England and Wales 1994", copies of which are available in the Library.
Blue Police Boxes
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the locations of the remaining in-situ blue police boxes. [35954]
Mr. Maclean: This information is not held centrally.
Super Maximum Security Prison
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with private prison contractors or consultants regarding a future super maximum security prison; and if he will make a statement. [36195]
Miss Widdecombe: No such discussions have taken place.
Police Cautions
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many local authority areas help and advice is provided to young people (a) under 18 and (b) over 18 years who are cautioned; and if he will provide comparable information for each of the last three years. [36267]
Mr. Maclean: The information requested is not available.
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Firearms
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions there are on private individuals in possession of a valid firearms licence bringing guns bought abroad into the United Kingdom. [36128]
Mr. Maclean: Prior authorisation for the purchase of the firearm in question, noted on the firearm certificate by the local chief officer of police, is required. Where the firearm is purchased in another EC state, a transfer licence is required. If the firearm is imported from outside the EC, it is necessary to satisfy the import licensing controls administered by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Homicide
Dame Jill Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government intend to respond to the report of the Home Affairs Select Committee on the year and a day rule in homicide. [36344]
Mr. Howard: We have today published our response to the report of the Home Affairs Select Committee. Copies of the response are available in the Vote Office.
We agree with the Committee that the year and a day rule should be abolished. This will entail difficult decisions for prosecutors in some cases, and we have decided that the consent of the Attorney-General should be required for a homicide prosecution where either the defendant has previously been convicted of another offence for the injury which resulted in death, or there has been an interval of three years or more between the injury and death.
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