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Mr. Howard: The following organisations have provided private security services to my Department over the past five years. Those marked are currently employed.
Airline Security Consultants Ltd.
Armaguard Ltd.*
Aviation Defence International
Aviation Security Consultants*
Burns International Security Services Ltd.*
Care Security Systems Ltd.*
Chubb Wardens Ltd.
Chubb Alarms Ltd.*
Defence Security Services
Defenco Security Services*
Felixstowe Security Co
Group 4 Court Service Ltd.*
Group 4 Remand Services Ltd.
Group 4 Prison Services Ltd.*
Group 4 Securitas (Security Express)*
Group 4 Total Security Ltd.*
Grundig International Ltd.
Harlow Security Systems Ltd.
Lisburn Security Services*
Maritime Aviation Security Services*
North Essex Security Services Ltd.
Potton Leisure Ltd.
Premier Prison Services Ltd.*
Reliance Security Service Ltd.*
Rentokil Security Services Ltd.
Scrottons Aviation Security*
SDA (1979) Ltd.
Securicor Custodial Services Ltd.*
Securicor Ltd.*
Securicor Management Group
Securicor Security Services Ltd.*
Securiguard Services Ltd.*
Securite Service Ltd.
Security Express Guards Ltd.
Security Ulster Ltd.*
Security Wales Ltd.*
Sigma Security Ltd.*
Shorrock Security Guards Ltd.*
Sterling Granada
UK Detention Services Ltd.*
Information about the voluntary regulatory bodies to which these organisations belong, and whether the membership of such bodies has been maintained for the duration of the contract period, is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information about the number of staff employed on each contract and their role is also not readily available; in some cases the number varies from day to day for operational reasons.
Kent Police Costs
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the expenditure on the police in Kent in 1979; and what it is at present and on a cash basis and as a percentage change in real terms since 1979. [41876]
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Mr. Maclean: Total expenditure on the Kent county constabulary has increased from £27.05 million in 1978 79 to an estimated £164.93 million for 1995 96. This is a real terms increase of 103 per cent.
Mr. Abdul Onibiyo
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he gave to the safety of Abdul Onibiyo before ordering his removal to Nigeria; and if he will make a
statement. [42003]
Mr. Kirkhope: Mr. Onibiyo's asylum application was fully considered and rejected. This decision was subject to review by the independent appellate authority, which dismissed his appeal. Mr. Onibiyo's further application for leave to appeal to the tribunal was not granted and he was therefore returned to Nigeria under normal immigration procedures.
Employment Vetting
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to introduce effective penalties against those who fail to follow proper procedures in respect of (a) vetting of staff, (b) vetting of employers and (c) provision of appropriate training to those so employed. [41925]
Mr. Maclean: The Government have been engaged in a review of all aspects of the employment vetting process and will be publishing a White Paper within the next few months setting out its proposals for new vetting arrangements.
Stage Hypnosis
Mr. Tim Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the review established to examine the evidence of the possible risk of harm to people taking part in stage hypnosis will report its findings. [42216]
Mr. Kirkhope: The expert panel appointed to consider this matter submitted its report on 11 October 1995. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library. The report concludes that there is no evidence of serious risk to the public from stage hypnosis. The report recommends that it may none the less be desirable to revise the scope of present licensing arrangements and the terms of associated guidelines. A public consultation paper will accordingly be issued shortly to interested parties.
Electronic Monitoring
Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken in respect of representations from the Magistrates Association about the trials of electronic monitoring currently in progress in Manchester, Reading and Norfolk: and if he will make a statement. [42217]
Mr. Howard: I have agreed to extend the area covered by the trials from the city of Manchester to the whole of Greater Manchester, and from Reading to the whole of Berkshire, and a statutory instrument has been made to give effect to this from Monday 6 November. As a separate issue, I am considering whether to extend the number of courts involved in the trial.
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I have also agreed to fund a Magistrates Association seminar on sentencing in relation to electronic monitoring and this will be held on 8 and 9 November.Former Yugoslavia
Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are being made for the reception and support of those additional people whom he announced on 6 August the Government had accepted under the temporary protection programme for people from the former Yugoslavia. [42218]
Mr. Kirkhope: On 28 July this year the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees wrote to a number of Governments asking for further 5,000 temporary protection places for citizens of the former Yugoslavia. In view of the pressing humanitarian need, my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary announced on 6 August that the United Kingdom would accept 500 people, principals and dependants, under the programme. This was an addition to the 1,000 vulnerable people and their dependants accepted under the previous programme announced in November 1992. The United Kingdom was one of the first countries in the world to respond to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' request.
The UNHCR will continue to be responsible for identifying those who are most in need of temporary protection. The first group arrived on 5 October and arrangements are in hand to bring in a further group shortly. The Home Office is continuing to liaise with UNHCR about the timing of further arrivals.
The Home Office is funding the Refugee Council and other voluntary agencies to support these new arrivals, by running reception centres to accommodate them on arrival, arranging more permanent housing and providing support in the community. Two centres have been opened and two more will open in November. On leaving the reception centres the evacuees will be housed, as were those on the current programme, in "clusters" which enable them to support each other but do not place an undue burden on local services. Programmes are being established to involve volunteers in the work of reception centres and in providing community help such as sports, social and cultural events. A request was also received from the International Organisation for Migration for the United Kingdom and other countries to accept for treatment sick and wounded people from the former Yugoslavia. The United Kingdom has agreed to accept a further 20 medical evacuees. Three patients have so far arrived under this programme.
In addition to the temporary protection programme, the Home Office continues to examine carefully asylum applications made in the United Kingdom by people from the former Yugoslavia. Up to the end of June more than 12,000 people had applied for asylum. The Government's policy remains that those refused asylum will not be expected to return to a war zone, but will be granted leave to remain exceptionally until it is safe for them to return.
Police Personnel Services
Mr. Booth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his proposals for bringing competition to bear on police personnel services. [42219]
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Mr. Maclean: It is the Government's intention that compulsory competitive tendering should be introduced to police white collar support services as part of a rolling programme. Detailed consultation proposals for police personnel services were issued on 24 February 1995. The Government have now considered the responses received from the police service, local authority associations and other interested bodies.
The Government have decided that police authorities will be subject to the same CCT regime for personnel services as other authorities defined under the Local Government Act 1988, except for a number of specific exemptions. The exemptions centre on the provision of operational and specialist training, together with the personnel work associated with police complaints and discipline, unsatisfactory performance proceedings against police officers, and discharging probationary constables. The exemptions will protect operational policing, security, and management functions special to the police service.
Prisoner Costs
Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total cost per prisoner in each prison within the United Kingdom. [41971]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. John Heppell, dated 7 November 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the cost per prisoner in each prison within the United Kingdom.
The attached table shows the net average operating cost per prisoner per year for each of the prisons in England and Wales for the year 1993 94, the latest year for which information has been published.
Information on prisons in Scotland is a matter for the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service and on prisons in Northern Ireland for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Prison Service.
Net operating cost for prisoner per year
|Net operating cost
|per prisoner per
Establishment |year
|£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local prisons and remand centres
Bedford<1> |27,419
Belmarsh |29,310
Birmingham |20,077
Brinsford |20,273
Bristol |24,824
Brixton<1> |33,764
Bullingdon/Oxford |19,896
Canterbury |29,500
Cardiff |20,925
Chelmsford |23,692
Dorchester |21,390
Durham |27,006
Elmley |17,110
Exeter |22,572
Gloucester |25,893
Haslar |15,603
Highdown |23,732
Holme House |19,292
Hull |25,065
Lancaster Farms<1> |24,000
Leeds |16,864
Leicester<1> |23,780
Lewes |24,024
Lincoln |16,890
Liverpool |16,331
Manchester<1> |43,087
Moorland<1> |17,298
Norwich |26,969
Pentonville |23,124
Preston |20,583
Rochester |35,000
Shrewsbury |20,000
Swansea |21,790
Wandsworth |25,461
Winchester |28,177
Woodhill<1> |26,514
Wormwood Scrubs |25,560
Contracted out prisons
Blakenhurst |21,727
Wolds |18,069
Dispersal prisons
Frankland |38,905
Full Sutton |34,122
Long Lartin |36,982
Parkhurst<1> |55,066
Wakefield |25,270
Whitemoor<1> |32,099
Category B training prisons
Albany |25,574
Blundeston |20,000
Dartmoor |21,002
Garth |17,717
Gartree |29,249
Grendon/Springhill |21,237
Kingston-Portsmouth |30,189
Maidstone |19,415
Nottingham |25,121
Swaleside |16,298
Category C Training Prisons
Acklington |14,050
Aldington |21,429
Ashwell |13,695
Blantyre House |20,213
Brockhill |22,388
Camp Hill |21,127
Channings Wood |14,071
Coldingley |25,455
Downview |20,357
Erlestoke |23,500
Everthorpe |22,273
Featherstone |14,638
Haverigg |18,563
Highpoint |16,410
Kirklevington Grange |29,508
Lancaster |14,800
Latchmere House |16,279
Lindholme<1> |18,851
Littlehey<1> |14,857
The Mount |13,816
Ranby |18,269
Risley<1> |19,850
Send |20,370
Shepton Mallet |20,000
Stafford<1> |17,631
Stocken |15,385
Thorpe Arch |20,245
Usk/Prescoed |22,330
The Verne |14,695
Wayland |14,201
Wellingborough<1> |18,557
Whatton |16,588
Wymott |24,051
Adult Male Open Prisons
Ford |13,064
Hewell Grange |16,250
Kirkham |11,504
Leyhill<1> |14,925
Morton Hall |12,651
North Sea Camp |15,385
Rudgate |14,015
Standford Hill<1> |17,532
Sudbury/Foston |13,948
Young Offender Closed Establishments
Aylesbury |28,070
Castington |19,291
Deerbolt |19,242
Dover |27,320
Glen Parva |16,780
Hollesley Bay<1> |31,186
Huntercombe/Finnamore Wood |23,176
Northallerton |25,490
Onley |15,914
Portland |21,557
Stoke Heath |21,377
Swinfen Hall |24,260
Werrington House |21,154
Wetherby |27,132
Young Offender Open Establishments
Guys Marsh |28,750
Hatfield and Gringley |23,377
Thorn Cross |21,965
Young Offender Remand Estabishments
Feltham |20,267
Hindley |23,051
Low Newton |19,433
Reading |31,788
Female Establishments
Askham Grange |20,588
Bullwood Hall |32,407
Cookham Wood |22,727
Drake Hall |18,717
East Sutton Park |21,333
Holloway |31,435
New Hall |32,667
Pucklechurch |39,344
Styal |29,534
Vehicle Crime
Mr. Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each year since 1990 the numbers of (a) thefts from vehicles and (b) thefts of vehicles, together with the numbers of vehicles involved (i) by make of vehicle and (ii) by year of manufacture. [41862]
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Mr. Maclean: The requested information on the number of thefts from and of a motor vehicle is published in table 2.18 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" Cm 3010, a copy of which is in the Library. Information is not collected centrally on the make and year of manufacture of vehicles.
Mr. Robert Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was (a) the number of vehicles stolen, (b) the number of vehicles recovered and (c) the recovery rate for 1994 (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) by constabulary area. [41458]
Mr. Maclean: The latest published information relates to England and Wales and is contained in table 2.14 of "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1994", Cm 3010. A copy of this publication is in the Library. Information on Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the Secretary of State for each Department.
Prisons (Efficiency Savings)
Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the target efficiency savings from the year 1992 93 to 1995 96 in each of Her Majesty's prisons within the United Kingdom; and what ere the actual savings in spending from 1992 93 to 1994 95. [41970]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. John Heppell, dated 7 November 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the target efficiency savings from the year 1992 93 to 1995 96 in each of Her Majesty's prisons within the United Kingdom; and the actual savings in spending from 1992 93 to 1994 95.
For England and Wales as a whole current expenditure costs per prisoner place reduced in real terms by 2.1 percent between 1992 93 and 1994 95, equivalent to £27 million. Details relating to individual prisons are not readily available.
Access to Criminal Records
Sir Andrew Bowden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the Government White Paper on new arrangements for access to criminal records. [41695]
Mr. Maclean: I expect to publish the White Paper within the next few months.
Immigration
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in the exercise of discretion in allowing a person who has resided in the United Kingdom for more than 10 years with leave to remain indefinitely, it is his practice to take into account residence in (a) Ireland and (b) other parts of the common travel area. [41467]
Mr. Kirkhope: Under the long residence concession, a person who has 10 years or more continuous lawful residence in the United Kingdom, or 14 years continuous residence regardless of legality, may qualify for the grant of indefinite leave to remain in the absence of any strong
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countervailing factors. For the purposes of the concession, residence in the Republic of Ireland is not considered to be residence in the United Kingdom and is therefore not taken into account. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are, for the purposes of the concession, considered to be part of the United Kingdom. Residence in the islands is therefore taken into account.Police National Computer
Mr. Mike O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of information available to the police between January 1991 and 22 May 1995 has been placed on to the Phoenix system of the police national computer; which company has the contract for preparing the information to be placed on Phoenix; what percentage of files which have been attempted to be loaded have been rejected by the system in each week of September 1995; what was the expected number of files to be placed on the system for each week in September; what was the actual number which were loaded; and to what extent these results breached the contract. [41360]
Mr. Maclean: The Phoenix database holds specified categories of data. It is not possible to assess what proportion this forms of all information available to the police between January 1991 and 22 May 1995. Since Phoenix went live on 22 May 1995 the police have input information directly for new offenders. Conversion of existing records by keying data from scanned images of the microfiche records held by the national identification service, and the provision of specially written software for quality assurance and problem resolution is undertaken by PCL Group Ltd.
The percentage of records which have been loaded and rejected by the system in each week of September 1995 is shown in the table, together with the actual number of records loaded in each week. The expected average number of records to be placed on the system for each week over the life of the contract is 46,000. Discussions between the Home Office and PCL Group on technical and contractual matters are commercially confidential.
Records exported to Phoenix in September 1995 Week |Total accepted |Percentage rejected -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 |7,178 |28.23 2 |3,087 |30.14 3 |3,866 |27.84 4 |765 |23.5
Mr. O' Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been received from (a) police officers and (b) others about the quality of information on Phoenix. [41362]
Mr. Maclean: We have received no complaints about the quality of the information currently held on Phoenix from the police service or others.
Mr. O' Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Phoenix system on the police national computer went live; and when was it nationally announced to go live. [41358]
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Mr. Maclean: The Phoenix system went live on 22 May 1995. The police service was informed of this date on 24 March 1995.
Mr. O' Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many days in September 1995 the police national computer office attendant did not receive tapes from the company designated to provide information to go on to Phoenix. [41361]
Mr. Maclean: Tapes were not sent to Hendon data centre on nine of the 21 working days in September.
Mr. O' Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of (a) pre-1981 information and (b) post-1981 information is on Phoenix for direct access by the police. [41359]
Mr. Maclean: All criminal record data held on the police national computer was transferred to the Phoenix database on 22 May 1995. This comprised 2.8 million records originating before 1981 which consisted of name and criminal record office number and 2.3 million records originating after 1981 which also included details of convictions. Back record conversion is in progress which will add information currently held only on microfiche to selected earlier records. It is not possible to state precisely what percentage of all criminal record information held centrally or locally by the police service this represents.
Police Numbers
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the numbers of police posts requested and granted under the annual application procedure in each police authority region in 1995; and if he will make a statement; [41452] (2) if he will list the numbers of officers requested by each chief constable in each police authority region for the year 1995 96 under the annual application procedure; and if he will make a statement. [41451]
Mr. Maclean: No applications were submitted for 1995 96. The centralised system of determining police numbers by setting an establishment of officers for each police force was abolished from 1 April 1995.
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