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Drugs (Prisons)
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when those recommendations outlined in the recently published Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs report, "Drug Misusers and the Prison System-An Integrated Approach" which are to be implemented will come into effect; [37051]
- (2) if he will list the reasons why those recommendations outlined in the recently published Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs report, "Drug Misusers and the Prison System-An Integrated Approach" which are not to be implemented, have been rejected; [37052]
(3) which of the recommendations outlined in the recently published Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs report, "Drug Misusers and the Prison System-An Integrated Approach" are to be implemented. [37050]
Miss Widdecombe: This report, which we welcome, was published on 13 June. Its 51 recommendations are still being studied. We hope to be able to respond to them by the autumn.
Gambling
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the draft deregulation orders concerning gambling will be laid before the House. [37060]
Mr. Kirkhope: I hope shortly to lay a draft deregulation order extending betting permits and licences from one to three years.
We are considering the responses to the consultation paper on casinos and bingo clubs which we issued on 27 February. Subject to the outcome, we aim to bring forward a draft deregulation order to implement some of the proposals when the House returns.
16 Jul 1996 : Column: 445
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serious assaults on staff have occurred in Her Majesty's prison Buckley Hall since 1 June; and what is the total number of assaults on staff that have occurred at the prison since 14 December 1994. [37000]
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 Richard Tilt to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 16 July 1996:
Miss Widdecombe:
Boards of visitors' annual reports to the Home Secretary are not public documents. However, boards are permitted, if they wish, to publish their annual reports one month after presenting the report to Ministers. The board of visitors at Her Majesty's prison Buckley Hall decided at its June monthly meeting to publish its 1995 report and a copy will therefore be placed in the Library.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which trade union is recognised by Group 4 at Her Majesty's prison Buckley Hall; and what issues the company is prepared to consult and negotiate with the trade union. [37113]
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 Richard Tilt to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 16 July 1996:
16 Jul 1996 : Column: 446
Buckley Hall who have been imprisoned for (i) rape, (ii) murder, (iii) armed robbery, (iv) manslaughter and (v) arson. [37057]
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 Richard Tilt to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 16 July 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about prisoners serving sentences for rape, murder, armed robbery, manslaughter and arson at Buckley Hall Prison.
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 Richard Tilt to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 16 July 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking for pay scales currently used at Buckley Hall prison.
Mr. Hawksley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 April, Official Report, column 107, if he has received the result of the consideration by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on whether gamma hydroxy butyrate should be added to the list of banned drugs. [37124]
Mr. Sackville:
This matter is due to be considered by the advisory council at its next meeting, in November.
Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminal records have been transferred from the manual collection on to computer; what is the estimated cost of the transfer; and if he will make a statement. [37152]
Mr. Maclean:
About 286,000 records have been entered on to the Phoenix database on the police national computer. Other records which have been keyed await final processing or quality assurance.
The cost of the main keying contract is £8.6 million, excluding value added tax, which is reclaimable. This is in addition to the cost of work undertaken by the national identification service staff and the police service.
16 Jul 1996 : Column: 447
Mr. Parry:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on Dr. Bayo Omoyiole who is awaiting his appeal for asylum; and if he will make a statement; [37157]
Mr. Kirkhope:
I have written to the hon. Member.
Mr. Fatchett:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance his Department provides to those who have been the victims of terrorist incidents; and if he will make a statement. [37056]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 15 July 1996]: The criminal injuries compensation scheme enables compensation to be paid to those injured or killed by terrorist incidents in England, Wales and Scotland. The scheme is funded by my Department with a contribution from the Scottish Office. In such incidents, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority takes steps to ensure through those directly involved with the victims--usually the police, but often Victim Support, which my Department also funds--that potential applicants for compensation are made aware of the scheme and how to apply.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with and with how many (a) small firms and (b) small firms organisations about the compliance costs of the Asylum and Immigration Bill; if a small business litmus test was completed on the bill; and what conclusions his Department came to regarding the compliance costs to small firms of the Bill. [36658]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 15 July 1996]: We invited views on the estimates set out in the compliance cost assessment published last November from organisations representing small and large firms. Of the nine organisations representing small firms to which CCA was sent none raised concerns about the likely compliance costs or about the estimates provided in the CCA.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if a copy of the board of visitors' annual report on Her Majesty's prison Buckley Hall for the year ending 31 December 1995 will be placed in the Library. [36780]
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question on the level of assaults at Buckley Hall prison.
Since the 1 June 1996 there have been two serious assaults on staff. There have been a total of 30 assaults on staff since 14 December 1994.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is (a) the current number and (b) the percentage of the current prison population at HMP
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking which trade union is recognised by Group 4 at Buckley Hall prison and what issues the company is prepared to consult and negotiate with the trade union.
Group 4 has a single union agreement with Apex, a division of the GMB. To quote from the agreement between the union and the company, the general introduction, section D article 1 reads "The company and the union share a common commitment to work jointly together for the prosperity of both the company and its employees, and agree jointly to work towards the adoption of policies on all issues affecting the employment of works which are equitable, safe and fair". Negotiable issues generally encompass pay and conditions of service.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the full pay scales for staff employed at Her Majesty's prison Buckley Hall, showing the number of employees currently employed at each grade. [37112]
On 10 July 1996 there were 340 prisoners at Buckley Hall, of these three have been convicted of rape, none were serving sentences for murder, 14 were serving sentences for robbery with possession of a firearm, five were sentenced on a charge of manslaughter and 11 for arson.
Convictions for rape accounted for 0.8 per cent. Those for robbery with possession of a firearm were 4.1 per cent, sentences of manslaughter were 1.5 per cent and arson was 3.2 per cent.
Since Buckley Hall is a privately managed prison this information is commercially confidential.
(2) what is the date of the appeal of Dr. Bayo Omoyiole against the decision of the Home Secretary to refuse his claim for asylum; and if he will make a statement. [37156]
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