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Office Space
Mrs. Bridget Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the square footage and cost of office apace rented by his Department and its agencies and the number of his Department's or agencies' buildings partly or fully unoccupied together with the square footage of that unoccupied office space and its estimated rental value where available in each of the past five financial years. [27721]
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Mr. Burt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the tables:
| Rent passed to property holdings (PH) division of the Department of Environment | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Square footage | £000 |
| 1991-92 | 16,290,696 | 138,521 |
| 1992-93 | 18,083,520 | 177,214 |
| 1993-94 | 16,049,124 | 191,709 |
| 1994-95 | 18,029,700 | 201,125 |
| 1995-96 | 18,341,856 | 206,402 |
Property Holdings division of the Department of the Environment was responsible for the cost of vacant Common User (Office) Estate up to and including 31 March 1996.
| Year | Vacant or under-utilised properties | Cost £000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | ||
| 1993-94 | Minimal | Minimal |
| 1994-95 (first ¾) | ||
| 1994-95 (last ¼) | 95,046 ft(6) | 420 |
| 1995-96 | 95,046 ft(6) | 1,682 |
Information for each executive agency could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
In response to the information required regarding properties on the Common User (Office) Estate, I refer the hon. Member to the recent reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment on 31 January, Official Report, columns 648-50.
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION
UN Conference on Human Settlements
Miss Lestor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who will be representing the Government at the UN conference on human settlements in Istanbul in June; and what new proposals the Government will make to help to ensure that city dwellers in the world's poorest countries have access to adequate housing and clean water. [29275]
Mr. Hanley: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment will be leading the UK delegation to the UN conference on human settlements--Habitat II--which is to be held in Istanbul over the period 3 to 14 June 1996. He will be accompanied by a broad-based team, which will include representatives from both the aid and diplomatic wings of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in addition to senior members of his own Department.
The sectors in which ODA assistance can best help to contribute to sustainable development vary from country to country, depending on needs, what others are doing to tackle these needs, and our capacity to contribute.
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On this basis, we are currently planning new projects in urban housing and/or water and sanitation for direct ODA funding in a number of cities in India, China and Nepal. We are also investigating possibilities for assistance in Ghana and Kenya, particularly in urban water supply. In addition, we are planning to extend our current assistance in urban areas in Pakistan and in South Africa. We will also continue to provide support to non-governmental organisations through our joint funding scheme for assistance in these sectors.
{**con**}{**/con**}
Mr. John Battle (Leeds West):
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much money Her Majesty's Government has contributed in support of the Angolan Community Rehabilitation and National Reconciliation Programme since its annoucement in September 1995. [29319]
Mr. Hanley:
Since June 1993 the UK has committed almost £50 million bilaterally and through the European Commission to Angola. More than £13 million of this has been targeted on priority areas within the Community rehabilitation and national reconciliation programme announced in September 1995. Our ability to do more will depend on the Angolan Government efforts to expedite the peace process and to improve economic management.
Lady Olga Maitland:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the release procedures from gaol when the release date falls on a weekend or a bank holiday. [28718]
Miss Widdecombe:
There are no plans at present to amend the current legislation.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the members representing boards of visitors on the National Advisory Council, indicating the boards on which each serves. [28972]
Miss Widdecombe:
Members of boards of visitors who serve on the National Advisory Council, including the boards they represent, are as follows:
Mr. David Emanuel Abelson OBE JP: Her Majesty's Prison Latchmere House
Mrs. Sarah (Sally) Black MBE: HMP Ackington
Mrs. Barbara Mary Vyvyan Blackburn JP: HMP Risley
Mr. Hugh John Boulter: HMP Reading
Mrs. Ruth Draycott JP: HMP The Verne
Mr. Norman William Simpson: HMP Wayland
Mrs. Anthea Rosemary Taylor JP: Her Majesty's young offenders institution/remand centre Brinsford and HMP Stafford
The Chairman of the National Advisory Council is Mrs. Ruth Draycott JP.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inquiries his Department has
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received from housing authorities seeking to establish whether a claimant for homelessness is also seeking political asylum. [28968]
Miss Widdecombe: Since the beginning of February this year, when a central point of contact was set up within the immigration and nationality directorate, 577 inquiries have been received from housing authorities seeking to establish whether a person seeking assistance under part III of the Housing Act 1985, England and Wales, part II of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 or part II of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1988, has applied for asylum.
Prisoners (Private Property)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's policy in respect of the restrictions on prison inmates' private property. [28971]
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 A. J. Butler to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 15 May 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the restrictions on prisoners' private property.
Each prison decides on the type of property a prisoner is allowed to retain in line with Prison Standing Orders. Each prison may therefore allow different articles. Security, as well as health and safety aspects are considered before permitting each article.
As a result of Sir John Woodcock's report, volumetric control of prisoners' property is currently being introduced across the prison estate. Under this system, each prisoner may hold up to two boxes of property, plus one outsize item; legal papers; bedding; and an additional set of clothing.
Firearms
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to deal with those firearms recovered by the police during the amnesty in June; what disposal procedure was adopted during the 1988 amnesty; and if he will make a statement. [28255]
Mr. Maclean: Where a surrendered firearm is selected as being of significant scientific or historical value it will be allocated to suitably authorised, publicly funded museums or other public bodies. The remainder, probably the vast majority, will be destroyed in line with the usual practice of local police forces. Similar procedures were operated in 1988.
Mr. Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures, other than the national firearms amnesty, exist for members of the public to dispose legally of firearms that have been owned, or discovered, without a licence; how long these procedures have been in place; in what ways these have been publicised by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [28256]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 13 May 1996]: Whether to prosecute offences of unlawful possession of firearms is a matter for the prosecuting authorities on a case-by-case basis, but Home Office guidance to the police is that no obstacle should be placed in the way of individuals who wish to hand in unlicensed or unwanted
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guns, even when an amnesty is not running. Our current guidance, publicly available from Her Majesty's Stationery Office since 1989 in "Firearms Law: Guidance to the Police", underlines this advice.
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