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Annualised Average Temperatures
Mr. Alan W. Williams:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annualised average temperature for mainland Britain for each of the years 1990 to 1995;
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and what recent estimates he has made of the historic average mean temperature since records began. [11238]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
This is a matter for the chief executive of the Meteorological Office. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from J. C. R. Hunt to Mr. Alan W. Williams, dated 31 January 1996:
Mr. David Martin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on military deployment to the former Yugoslavia. [13420]
Mr. Portillo:
The deployment of British armed forces to the NATO-led peace implementation force, IFOR, in Bosnia is now complete.
By carefully matching the manpower required to the tasks which have emerged, we have been able to deploy a smaller number of troops than the estimate of over 13,000 reported in my statement to the House of 12 December
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1995, Official Report, column 835. The actual figure is some 11,500. The United Kingdom's contribution remains, by a substantial margin, second only to that of the United States.
I shall keep the force level under review as planning develops for the reduction of IFOR numbers and the completion of its task. NATO is also reviewing the maritime and air forces required to support operations in the Adriatic theatre. Force levels can in any case be expected to fluctuate.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the order for the next batch of type 23 frigates. [12858]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
An announcement will be made as soon as the decision has been taken.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the total amounts of chemical weapons and precursor stocks, by location, held by his Department. [12861]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
No. The UK has not had an offensive chemical weapons capability since the 1950s. Items dating from the 1950s and before are discovered from time to time and taken to the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment for safe destruction. Small quantities of scheduled chemicals are held for purposes permitted by the chemical weapons convention; on security grounds, information about their quantity and location is safeguarded.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Mr. David Hart has a role in his Department's postings and personnel selections. [12862]
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners who attended hospital for confinement in each of the past 10 years (1) have (a) succeeded in escaping and (b) attempted to escape, (i) one hour before, (ii) two hours before, (iii) three hours before, (iv) four hours before and (v) five hours before their delivery and (2) have (a) succeeded in escaping and (b) attempted to escape (i) one hour after, (ii) two hours after, (iii) three hours after, (iv) four hours after and (v) five hours after their delivery. [8547]
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.
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Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Kevin McNamara, dated 31 January 1996:
Mr. George Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussions his Department has had with the Whittington Hospital NHS trust in respect of its concerns over the practice of handcuffing and chaining women prisoners; [9493]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 15 January 1996]: This matter was first raised with the Prison Service on 31 August 1995, when the chief executive of the Whittington hospital wrote to the governor of Holloway prison. There has been further correspondence since then.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish all correspondence between the Whittington hospital and HMP Holloway concerning the handcuffing of women prisoners during visits to the hospital; and if he will make a statement. [11642]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 24 January 1996]: The temporary Director General of the Prison Service has reviewed the policy on the application of physical restraints to prisoners attending hospital, particularly pregnant prisoners and my right hon. and learned Friend announced this policy to the House on 18 January, Official Report, columns 893-94.
Copies of correspondence between the Whittington hospital and Holloway prison about this subject will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Mullin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the death of Alton Manning on 8 December in Blakenhurst prison. [12094]
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. Chris Mullin, dated 31 January 1996:
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Mr. Chris Davies:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice has been issued to police forces by the Home Office recommending that the carrying out of police checks on voluntary school helpers be discontinued; and if he will make a statement. [12302]
Mr. Maclean:
No such advice has been issued. The relevant guidance on the criteria which justify carrying out a criminal record check on people working in schools, whether as paid employees or as volunteers, is currently set out in Home Office circular 47/93. This states that, in order for a person to be subject to a police check, the post for which he or she is applying
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Mr. George Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give in respect of each private prison (a) the contractor, (b) the date the contract commenced, (c) the length of the contract, (d) the original contract price and (e) the projected cost of the contract including start-up costs and all other costs incurred by the Prison Service. [12768]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 30 January 1996]: 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. George Howarth, dated 31 January 1996:
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I am replying to your Question to the Secretary of State for Defence about temperatures in mainland Britain as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Meteorological Office.
The annualised average temperatures for mainland Britain (i.e. United Kingdom excluding Northern Ireland) 1990-1995 are:
1990: 10.0oC
1991: 9.2oC
1992: 9.3oC
1993: 8.9oC
1994: 9.5oC
1995: 9.8oC
The last 4 decades 1956-1965, 1966-1975, 1976-1985, 1986-1995 show values of 8.9, 9.0, 8.9. 9.3 respectively.
The natural climate variability of the UK area is such that this apparent warming has little statistical significance. As a perspective a diagram illustrating annual values over the period back to 1659 is attached. The diagram does not refer to the whole UK as reliable data for Scotland is not available before 1851.
The attached reports give a full background should you wish to be more aware of the position and issues.
I hope you find the information helpful.
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about prisoners who have escaped or attempted to escape having attended hospital for confinement in the past 10 years.
Since 1988, when a data-base of escapes was first set up, the Prison Service has recorded no incidents of any woman escaping during the last stages of labour or during childbirth. One woman prisoner is recorded as having escaped more than five hours after the birth of her child. The child was abandoned at the hospital. There are no recorded incidents of attempted escape during or after confinement.
(2) when his Department learnt that the Whittington Hospital NHS trust had expressed concern at the practice of handcuffing and chaining pregnant women prisoners. [9494]
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the death of Mr. Alton Manning on 8 December 1995 in Blakenhurst prison.
All deaths in custody are investigated by the Coroner whose inquest is a full and public inquiry. The Coroner is currently conducting the investigation into Mr. Manning's death and a date for the inquest is yet to be fixed. I am unable at this stage to comment on the detailed circumstances of the case.
These criteria were first agreed with the Association of Chief Police Officers in 1986 and have not changed.
"should entail a substantial level of access to children which may also be unsupervised, and will be regular or sustained."
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the contracts at each of the contractually managed prisons.
The information about the projected cost of the contracts is not readily available in the form requested and I will write to you separately on this.
The other information you requested is set out in the attached table.
Contractor Contract started Length of contract Original contract price
Wolds Group 4 1 April 1992 5 years £29.87 million: estimate over 5 years when contract awarded
Blakenhurst UKDS 26 May 1993 5 years £57 million
Doncaster PPS 20 June 1994 5 years £66 million
Buckley Hall Group 4 14 December 1994 5 years £33 million
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