| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Invoices
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many orders and firms are represented by the 8 per cent. of invoices not paid by his Department within 30 days or in accordance with contractual agreements in 1994-95; and how many of these are related to firms with fewer than 500 employees. [939]
Mr. Howard [holding answer 22 November 1995]: The number of invoices not paid by my Department within 30 days or in accordance with contractual agreements in 1994-95 was approximately 46,400 out of a total of 580,000 valid invoices. Information on the number of individual purchase orders and firms to which these invoices related is not available except at disproportionate cost.
Illegal Immigration
Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the employers' organisations about taking action against employers for employing illegal immigrants. [1670]
Mr. Kirkhope: Ministers have met representatives of a number of employers' organisations to discuss this matter.
Visitors
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what would be the cost to public funds of recording the dates on which visitors to the United Kingdom leave the country. [1990]
Mr. Kirkhope: We estimate the costs of establishing and running an information technology system capable of providing such data would be £66 million over 10 years. There would also be considerable additional Immigration Service staffing and other costs.
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the number of people who entered the United Kingdom on a visitor's visa since 1990 and have overstayed. [1991]
Mr. Kirkhope: As the hon. Member was informed in the replies given to his questions on 29 March 1994 at column 612 and 15 April 1994 at column 312,
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 666
comprehensive information on which an estimate could be based of the number of visitors who remain in the United Kingdom after the expiry of their leave is not available.
Prison Population
Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of prisoners currently being held in (a) Prison Service prisons and (b) privately run prisons. [1687]
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 Ms Janet Anderson, dated 28 November 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of prisoners currently being held in Prison Service prisons and privately run prisons.
On 23 November 1995, 52,411 prisoners were being held in Prison Service prisons. Of these, 2,103 prisoners were being held in contractually managed establishments.
Prison Places
Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional prison places he expects will be available for use by the end of 1995-96. [1693]
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 Ms Janet Anderson, dated 28 November 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of additional prison places expected to be available by the end of 1995-96.
The Certified Normal Accommodation available for uses in prisons in England and Wales on 23 November 1995 was 51,328. Some 1,600 additional places are currently expected to be available by the end of March 1996.
Drug Trafficking
Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average sentence handed down for trafficking in class B drugs to (a) men and (b) women. [1690]
Mr. Maclean: The information is given in the table.
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 665
| Average sentence lengths (months) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of offence | Sex | Magistrates' courts | Crown court |
| Production or being concerned in the production of a controlled class B drug(35) | M F | -- -- | 57.0 -- |
| Supplying or offering to supply a controlled class B drug | M F | 3.6 3.0 | 16.1 11.9 |
| Having possession of a controlled class B drug with intent to supply | M F | 3.5 1.5 | 14.7 10.3 |
| Offences in relation to the unlawful importation of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971(36) | M F | 3.1 -- | 51.2 55.8 |
| Offences in relation to the unlawful exportation of a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971(36) | M F | -- -- | 49.2 26.4 |
(35) Excludes production of cannabis (growth of plant).
(36) Class of drug not separately specified.
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 667
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 667
Ministerial Proposals
Ms Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sectors of his Department have been involved in the drawing up and implementation of his proposals published on 12 October. [1902]
Mr. Howard: I draw as necessary on all the relevant parts of my Department.
Fines
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the court procedures used in (a) Scotland and (b) England for the recovery of fines as a civil debt. [1978]
Mr. Maclean: A fine imposed by a court is not a civil debt. In England and Wales, magistrates' courts have a wide range of powers to enforce payment of fines and other financial penalties. The Lord Chancellor has established a working group to identify ways of improving the effectiveness of these powers. Court procedures relating to fine enforcement in Scotland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Television Licence Fines
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total annual cost in England and Wales of imprisoning (a) men, (b) women and (c) men and women for the non-payment of a television licence fine. [1925]
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 Ms Liz Lynne, dated 28 November 1995.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the discrepancies of imprisonment rates for television licence fine defaulters in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland. [1979]
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what is the total annual cost in England and Wales of imprisoning (a) men, (b) women, and (c) men and women for non-payment of a television licence fine.
Information on the cost of prisoners according to their type of offence is not collected centrally. On the basis of the number normally in custody--under 10--we estimate the costs of imprisoning these defaulters to be up to £200,000 a year, approximately 67% for men and 33% for women.
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 668
Mr. Maclean: Imprisonment cannot be imposed for television licence evasion. It may be imposed by the courts only where an offender has failed to pay a fine imposed upon conviction for failing to have a television licence. A total of 763 people in England and Wales were imprisoned in 1994 for non payment of a fine imposed for television licence evasion. Information is not held centrally on the proportionate use of imprisonment for fine defaulters, where the fine was imposed for television licence evasion, as between England and Wales. Court procedures relating to fine enforcement in Scotland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Energy Efficiency
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made towards cutting energy consumption in Government buildings for which he has responsibility in each year since 1990. [1445]
Mr. Howard: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Construction, Planning and Energy Efficiency to my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey, East (Mr. Ainsworth) on 17 May 1995, Official Report, columns 260-62.
Final figures for 1994-95 are not yet available, but are likely to be broadly in line with those for 1992-93 and 1993-94.
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all those in his Department who have authority to issue public interest immunity certificates; how many such certificates have been issued in each of the last five years; and what were the main reasons for them. [1430]
Mr. Howard: A claim for public interest immunity is normally made by the appropriate Minister. Within the Home Office central records of public interest immunity certificates used in legal proceedings have only been kept since 1992. The available figures are:
| Year | Number of PII certificates |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 4 |
| 1993 | 5 |
| 1994 | 7 |
| 1995 | 12 |
The certificates have been issued to protect information relating to the Security Service and information relating to the security and operation of prisons.
28 Nov 1995 : Column: 669
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |