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Adoption
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce legislation based on Her Majesty's Government's consultation document on adoption published in March of this year; and if he will make a statement. [28244]
Mr. Bowis: We hope to introduce new legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.
9 May 1996 : Column: 246
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) confirmed and (b) suspected cases of the new strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease there have been to date. [28521]
Mr. Horam: One further case of the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease has been confirmed since the announcement on 20 March that 10 cases had been identified.
Surplus Property
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 23 April, Official Report, column 106, (1) if he will provide a list of (a) properties sold in each of the last three years and (b) properties that are currently for sale indicating their location, former use and market value; [27287]
- (2) if he will provide a list of properties that have definitely been identified as being for sale, indicating their location and market value. [27288]
Mr. Horam [holding answer 30 April 1996]: Information on properties sold in the last three years is not available centrally.
A list of non-trust national health service properties which are currently for sale will be placed in the Library.
It would be inappropriate to quote market values for individual properties as this could prejudice negotiations with prospective purchasers.
Firearms Amnesty
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what happened to the weapons collected under the 1989 firearms amnesty; and how many were destroyed. [28115]
Mr. Maclean: Of the 47,902 firearms surrendered to police forces during the September 1988 amnesty, approximately 3,000 were allocated to suitably authorised, publicly funded museums and other public bodies with a legitimate interest in the historical or scientific development of weapons. The remainder were destroyed.
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many weapons were collected under the 1989 firearms amnesty; and how many were self-loading rifles. [28114]
Mr. Maclean: The last firearms amnesty was held in September 1988. A total of 47,902 firearms were surrendered to police forces in Great Britain. Of these, a total of 342 were self-loading rifles.
Prevention of Terrorism Act (Arrests)
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests there have been under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Temporary Provisions) 1989
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in each year; how many of those arrested have been charged; and how many have been convicted of an offence. [28113]
| Year | Detained | Charged | Excluded, deported or removed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989(16) | 181 | 21 | 12 |
| 1990 | 193 | 28 | 16 |
| 1991 | 153 | 7 | 11 |
| 1992 | 160 | 38 | 1 |
| 1993 | 152 | 32 | 4 |
| 1994 | 61 | 9 | 4 |
| 1995 | 34 | 13 | 0 |
The table also shows figures for those who may not have been charged with an offence but were excluded, deported, or removed.
| Year | Detained | Charged |
|---|---|---|
| 1989(16) | 1,583 | 360 |
| 1990 | 1,549 | 370 |
| 1991 | 1,680 | 386 |
| 1992 | 1,795 | 460 |
| 1993 | 1,641 | 382 |
| 1994 | 1,503 | 367 |
| 1995 | 443 | 108 |
Figures on convictions in Northern Ireland are not readily available and would be collected in the time available only at disproportionate cost.
1 The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 came into effect on 22 March 1989. These figures may include some people who were detained and/or convicted under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984 from 1 January 1989 to 22 March.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current average time a prisoner spends on remand; and what was the figure in 1979. [28108]
Miss Ann 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 A. J. Butler to Mr. Ian Pearson, dated 9 May 1996:
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(16) Provisional figures.
(17) Time spent in custody before conviction.
(18) Time spent in custody after conviction before sentence.
(19) Estimated from number of receptions and average population in 1995.
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the current average time a prisoner spends on remand; and what was the figure in 1979.
Information for 1995 is given in the attached table. Information for 1979 is published in table 2.1 of the 1989 edition of 'Prison statistics, England and Wales', a copy of which is in the Library.
Estimated average time spent in custody for untried and convicted unsentenced prisoners, in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales in 1995 ( 1 ) by sex.
Type of custody Estimated average number of days in custody(19)
Male Female
Untried(17) 56 43
Convicted Unsentenced(18) 34 30
Notifiable Offences
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many notifiable offences were recorded by the police: how many persons were (a) cautioned by the police and (b) found guilty at (i) magistrates courts, (ii) Crown courts, (iii) both courts and (c) found guilty or cautioned in (1) 1980 and (2) 1995 in the Metropolitan police area. [28022]
Mr. Maclean: Information for 1980, 1994 and 1995 is given in the table below.
| 1980 | 1994 | 1995(20) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notifiable offences recorded | 584,137 | 849,976 | 840,478 |
| Indictable offences | |||
| Cautions | 8,464 | 37,167 | -- |
| Convictions--magistrates' courts | 68,659 | 39,603 | -- |
| Crown court | 15,140 | 13,156 | -- |
| All courts | 83,799 | 52,759 | -- |
| Total cautioned and convicted | 92,263 | 89,926 | -- |
(20) 1995 cautioning and convictions data will not be available until the autumn 1996.
Rifle and Pistol Clubs
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many approved rifle and pistol clubs there were in the United Kingdom during (a) 1980, (b) 1985, (c) 1992, (d) 1993, (e) 1994 and (f) 1995. [28264]
Mr. Maclean: There are currently 2,160 approved clubs in the United Kingdom. Information about the number of clubs in previous years is available only at disproportionate cost.
Pursuant to my reply of 21 March to the hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr Corbyn), column 295, I should like to correct the figure quoted at that time for approved rifle and pistol clubs in England and Wales which is now known to be incorrect. The correct figure is 1,871.
9 May 1996 : Column: 249
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been in each of the past 15 years related to abusive and threatening telephone calls; and if he will make a statement. [27565]
Mr. Maclean:
It is not possible, from the information held centrally to identify offences relating to "the sending, by means of public telecommunicating system, a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character" from other summary offences pertaining to the appropriate Acts.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to establish police and fire service funds to meet future pension liabilities for new entrants to which both employers and employees would pay contributions; and if he will make a statement. [28247]
Mr. Maclean :
The Government have no plans to make the police and fire service pension schemes funded ones. Like most other public service pension schemes, they are financed on a "pay-as-you-go" basis.
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