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MV Derbyshire
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what is the date of the forthcoming expedition to the wreck of the MV Derbyshire; and how long he expects the expedition to last; [39466]
- (2) if he will give the Derbyshire Families Association access to the complete raw data that will be brought back from his Department's expedition to the wreck of the MV Derbyshire; [39464]
(3) when he expects to publish the findings of the expedition to the wreck of the MV Derbyshire. [39465]
Mr. Norris: The phase 1 expedition to the wreck of the Derbyshire departed on 22 July and is expected to return on 29 July.
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The data recovered will be first fully considered by the technical assessors, who will be consulting widely on their findings and intentions. The raw data will later be available to all interested parties, including the Derbyshire Families Association.
A full report of the assessors findings will be published after the completion of phase 2.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to ensure that seat belts fitted to coaches are fitted to the correct specifications; and what action he is taking to ensure that his Department monitors the correct fitting of seat belts. [39489]
Mr. Norris:
The safety of equipment and its fitting must ultimately remain the responsibility of the installer. We intend to issue guidelines in support of the legislation and are exploring options for checking installations at the annual test. We are also considering other safeguards, but they can be of only a limited nature.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to introduce the compulsory fitting of inertia lap straps aboard buses and coaches carrying school children. [39488]
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to implement the recent recommendations by the Consumers Association for an independent accident investigation body; and if he will make a statement. [39395]
Mr. Norris:
We have rigorous independent mechanisms for investigating accidents, specifically for each transport mode. Transport is a diverse and international business and it makes sense to have separate bodies while ensuring a regular communication between them. I do not believe that an overarching safety investigation authority would add value.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to introduce further United Kingdom legislation on drivers' hours following his Department's consultation exercise in 1993. [39398]
Mr. Norris:
The consultation in 1993 was part of a wider exercise to identify unnecessary or overly burdensome regulations. I announced on 5 September 1995 that I was not convinced that the domestic drivers'
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hours rules imposed a significant burden on industry and that I had concluded after careful consideration that any relaxation of the rules would not be in the best interests of road safety, which is my chief priority.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the runway capacity in the south-east--RUCATSE--recommendation that a new runway in the south-east of England is equivalent to five years' traffic growth. [39512]
Mr. Norris:
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 20 June 1996, Official Report, column 534.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the cost of traffic congestion to British industry in each of the last 10 years. [39490]
Mr. Norris:
The Department has not made estimates of the total cost of traffic congestion to British industry. At a national level, such costs are very difficult to identify. Others have made estimates of the cost of congestion in this country on the basis of work carried out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development some six years ago. However, the method used contains a number of gross simplifications and the results are consequently unreliable.
Our own assessments have focused on the appraisal of individual transport projects. They start from the baseline of current conditions and estimate the reduction in costs in the area concerned that can be achieved by implementing the project. These estimates are based on an extensive body of research findings.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many fishing vessels of under 7m in length are registered in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) each other European Union country; and if he will make a statement [39163]
Mr. Norris:
I have asked the chief executive of Marine Safety Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mrs. Margaret Ewing, dated 25 July 1996:
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The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your Question about the number of fishing vessels under seven metres in length registered in (a) the United Kingdom and, (b) each other European Union country.
The number of fishing vessels under seven metres in length registered in the United Kingdom is 3074. I regret that this Agency does not hold information on similar sized vessels registered in other European Union countries.
Racially Motivated Crimes (London)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racially motivated crimes in the Greater London area were reported in the first six months of 1996. [37787]
Mr. Maclean: The available information has been supplied by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. There were 2,741 racial incidents reported to the Metropolitan police service in the first six months of 1996. This figure represents all racial incidents reported including those that do not have a crime element associated with them.
Money Laundering
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of incidents of money laundering referred to the National Criminal Intelligence Service for each year since its inception indicating the sources of information and the number of referrals about and from (a) accountants and (b) lawyers. [37824]
Mr. Maclean: All disclosures of suspicious financial transactions made under the money laundering legislation are passed to the financial intelligence and money laundering section of the National Criminal Intelligence Service--NCIS. The total number of disclosures made for each year since the inception of NCIS in April 1992 are as follows:
| Year | Disclosures |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 11,281 |
| 1993 | 12,750 |
| 1994 | 15,007 |
| 1995 | 13,710 |
| 1996 (to date) | 7,416 |
| Year | Solicitors | Accountants |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 4 | 1 |
| 1993 | 4 | 2 |
| 1994 | 86 | 6 |
| 1995 | 213 | 44 |
| 1996 (to date) | 168 | 34 |
Other sources of disclosures cannot be retrieved easily for each of the years in question. However, in 1995 the sources of disclosures were:
| Origin of disclosure | Percentage of total |
|---|---|
| Banks and building societies | 80 |
| Insurance companies | 5 |
| Bureau de change | 4 |
| Solicitors and accountants | 2 |
| Independent financial advisers | 1 |
| Credit/debit companies | 0.5 |
| Industry regulators | 0.1 |
| Other sources accounting for less than 1 per cent. each (e.g. car/boat salesman) | 7 |
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Criminal Offences (Staffordshire)
Mr. Brian David Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people were (a) cautioned and (b) convicted in court of committing a criminal offence in Staffordshire in the latest year for which figures are available (i) in total and (ii) broken down to show those aged under (1) 16, (2) 21 and (3) 25 years; [37887]
- (2) how many people convicted of criminal offences in Staffordshire for the latest year for which figures are available were (a) registered unemployed and (b) without employment. [37888]
Mr. Maclean: Information for 1994, the latest available, on the number of persons cautioned and convicted by age group in the Staffordshire area is given in the table.
| Age/disposal | Indictable offences | Summary non-motoring offences | All offences excluding summary motoring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 10 and under 16 | |||
| Cautioned | 1,685 | 453 | 2,138 |
| Convicted | 365 | 103 | 468 |
| Total | 2,050 | 556 | 2,606 |
| Aged 16 and under 21 | |||
| Cautioned | 860 | 372 | 1,232 |
| Convicted | 1,872 | 944 | 2,816 |
| Total | 2,732 | 1,316 | 4,048 |
| Aged 21 and under 25 | |||
| Cautioned | 359 | 147 | 506 |
| Convicted | 1,290 | 1,283 | 2,573 |
| Total | 1,649 | 1,430 | 3,079 |
| All ages | |||
| Cautioned | 4,010 | 1,398 | 5,408 |
| Convicted | 6,110 | 8,720 | 14,830 |
| Total | 10,120 | 10,118 | 20,238 |
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