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Criminal Records
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to come forward with proposals to allow for wider access to criminal records; if these proposals will include proposals to stop enforced subject access under the Data Protection Act 1984; and if he will make a statement. [29701]
Mr. Maclean: The Government expect to publish a White Paper setting out our proposals for new arrangements for access to criminal record checks within the next few months.
Police National Computer
Mr. French: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to include drink-drive offences on the Phoenix database on the police national computer. [30668]
Mr. Maclean: The police will begin to record drink drive offences on Phoenix from 1 June. This will allow the police, for the first time, to have access to records of drink drive offences dealt with in forces other than their own. Such offences include driving or being in charge of a vehicle when under the influence of drink or drugs and failing to provide a specimen of breath when required to do so.
Fire Safety Legislation
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the interdepartmental review of fire safety legislation and enforcement and on the implementation of the general fire safety aspects of the EC framework and workplace directives. [30669]
Mr. Sackville: The review was established to examine what scope there might be for rationalising relevant legislation and enforcement arrangements whilst maintaining or improving standards of fire safety. It found that there were overlaps in present legislation and enforcement arrangements which could impose burdens on business and create uncertainty. Consultation on the report showed that while there was general agreement that
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existing legislation should be simplified and made more coherent, there was no consensus on what precisely should be done to effect those improvements.
In the light of the consultation exercise we have decided:
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Where an employer fails to comply with any duty in relation to fire safety, the fire authority may apply to the courts for an order requiring compliance or if the breach is a serious one, may issue an enforcement notice. If the breach is deliberate, reckless and is serious, the employer can be prosecuted.
The powers provided under section 5 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 will be applied to the Fire Precautions Act 1971 by means of a statutory instrument to be laid before Parliament by the end of 1996 and we shall identify other fire safety legislation where these powers could apply. The proposed new regulations to give effect to our Community obligations will also incorporate the principles underlying these powers.
We intend that rationalisation and simplification of the fire safety regime to reduce burdens on business while maintaining necessary safeguards, should be a continuing process. Subject to an analysis of the costs and benefits, we will be looking for further opportunities to rationalise both law and practice.
Copies of the consultation document, which includes the draft regulations, are being placed in the Library.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the actions taken by Her Majesty's Government to support efforts to initiate negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty as cited in paragraph 146 of the statement on the Defence estimates, column 3223; and if he will make a statement on the progress achieved to date in these negotiations. [29979]
Mr. David Davis:
We supported the mandate agreed at the conference on disarmament in Geneva in March 1995 for an ad hoc committee to work on a fissile material cut-off treaty banning the future production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. We regret that it has not yet proved possible to start work on this issue. We continue to urge all members of the CD to agree to the early establishment of an ad hoc committee to begin negotiations.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list, for each of his Department's agencies, what market testing has been carried out into the services they provide and what were the results. [30117]
Mr. Hanley:
There has been no market testing of the services provided by FCO agencies.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the British ambassador to the Council of Europe, on the proposals of the council of Europe Assembly, to up-date the computerisation of its services. [29997]
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Mr. David Davis:
None so far, but the Council of Europe secretariat is elaborating a package of proposals to go into the 1997 budget. These proposals will draw on the report by the hon. Member and will be discussed with representatives of Governments in Strasbourg. Costs and priorities will need to be borne in mind during any such discussions.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy in respect of each applicant for membership of the EU. [30003]
Mr. David Davis:
The Government welcome the prospect of EU enlargement and look forward to the applicant countries joining as soon as they are ready. We believe that each applicant should be treated on its merits. Applicants will have to meet the criteria for membership set out by the Copenhagen European Council in June 1993.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Minister for Overseas Development has had with the Government of Ecuador about the shooting of female goats on those parts of the Alcedo area of the Galapagos Islands where giant tortoises breed. [28908]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor:
There have been no discussions between the ODA and the Ecuadorean Government about shooting goats in the Galapagos Islands. The British ambassador in Quito recently visited the islands to see the problem caused by feral goats on Alcedo which threaten the survival of the population of giant tortoises. The ambassador has offered to donate £5,000 from the heads of mission gift scheme to the national park and to the Darwin Foundation for their programme to protect the tortoises. He is also examining the possibility of a contribution to the goat eradication programme from a FCO fund for small environmental projects.
We are issuing today for consultation draft regulations intended to give effect to our remaining obligations under the European Community framework and workplace directives. The draft regulations will be made under the European Communities Act 1972. The draft aims to avoid imposing unnecessary burdens and so, where appropriate, follows as closely as possible the language of the directives to ensure that the regulations go no further than strictly required. The duty imposed on all employers by the directives to conduct a risk assessment for their workplaces has generally been implemented by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992. Employers will be able to carry out the fire safety element of the risk assessment either as an integral part of an overall risk assessment, or may undertake it separately.
that fire safety should, in general, be treated separately in legislation and that its enforcement should rest principally with fire authorities;
that the outstanding fire safety elements of the European Community framework and workplace directives will be implemented by regulations to be made under the European Communities Act 1972; we believe that the minimum safety standards required by the directives broadly reflect the safety standards required by existing legal obligations on employers and therefore that the good employer has nothing to fear from the proposed regulations;
that monitoring, control and supervision of the fire safety aspects of the risk assessment and of the other actions that the regulations require employers to take will be the responsibility of fire authorities;
that section 9A of the Fire Precautions Act 1971 will be disapplied by the regulations to the extent its provisions overlap with the specific requirements of the regulations;
that the powers provided under section 5 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 will be applied to the enforcement of the Fire Precautions Act 1971, to improve further the fairness, transparency and consistency of the supervision and control of the Act's requirements;
to consult, by July, on widening the scope for fire authorities to exempt premises which do not constitute a high risk from the need to have a fire certificate;
to consult on a revised fire certification system based on risk assessment to target it more accurately at premises where there is a high risk of loss of fire from life;
to invite the Health and Safety Commission to review in parallel the operation of the Fire Certificates (Special Premises) Regulations 1976 (for which it has policy responsibility);
to commence consultation in June 1996 on the elimination of overlaps between the physical fire standards in national legislation and fire safety provisions in local acts and byelaws;
to review physical fire standards and codes of practice to ensure greater consistency and simplification for business. We shall commence consultation in the autumn;
to bring forward proposals by the summer to amend the building regulations to cover certain physical fire precautions currently covered by fire certification to provide a "one-stop shop" for developers;
to clarify the respective responsibilities of building control and fire authorities with the aim of streamlining current arrangements to help reduce costs for developers;
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