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Home Safety
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued in respect of home safety work undertaken by local authorities. [35]
Mr. Maclean: The Home Office does not issue guidance on home safety work undertaken by local authorities. On fire safety, however, the Home Office works closely with fire brigades and other publicly funded bodies to promote community fire safety, and produces for their use a range of publicity and information leaflets giving specific advice on fire safety in the home. Similar advice leaflets on home security and crime prevention are also produced by the Home Office and are circulated widely.
Fire Authorities
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the standard spending assessment for each fire authority in England and the actual spend for 1995-96. [893]
30 Oct 1996 : Column: 146
Mr. Sackville:
The fire standard spending assessments for 1995-96 are set out in the Local Government Finance Report (England) which was published on 30 January 1995. Particulars of actual spending in respect of each brigade for that year are not yet held centrally.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many retained fire fighters there are in each fire authority in England; and what was the number in 1992. [895]
Mr. Sackville:
Information on the position in each fire authority at 1 January 1996 has been placed in the Library. The equivalent figures for 1 January 1992 were published in the report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services for England and Wales for 1991, Cm 2008--appendix 4 on page 55.
Mr. Henderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total amount of liability incurred by all carriers under the Immigration (Carriers Liability) Act 1987: how much of that total liability has been paid; how much has been waived; and how much is outstanding. [883]
Mr. Kirkhope:
A total of £97.59 million has been incurred by carriers since the Act came into force. Of that sum, £59.17 million has been paid, £20.74 million waived, and £17.68 million is currently outstanding.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions are imposed by each member state of the EU on donations to political parties from foreign sources ineligible to vote in their elections. [896]
Mr. Sackville:
Information on the practice in other member states of the European Union with regard to donations of this kind is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. In the United Kingdom, there are no restrictions on political parties receiving such donations, but each of the major political parties has adopted a voluntary code of practice which prohibits acceptance of donations from foreign Governments or rulers.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances magic mushrooms are classed as illegal drugs. [990]
Mr. Sackville:
The magic mushroom--psilocybe semilanceata--is not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, but it contains the substance psilocin and its derivative psilocybin, both of which are class A controlled drugs. Under the 1971 Act, any preparation or other product containing psilocin or psilocybin is also a class A controlled drug.
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Persons have been held by the courts to be in possession of controlled drugs where they have in some way altered the natural state of the mushroom--for example, by drying--so as to constitute a preparation or other product.
Mr. George Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with United Kingdom Detention Services concerning the contracts with Her Majesty's prison, Blakenhurst. [256]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 28 October 1996]: 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 Mr. George Howarth, dated 30 October 1996.
Ms Ruddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what biological and physiological parameters are monitored by the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department, in order for the Department of the Environment to assess the cumulative impacts of discharges from offshore oil and gas installations on marine wildlife and habitats. [505]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson:
The Scottish Office marine laboratory in Aberdeen has a wide-ranging programme of environmental monitoring in the seas around Scotland. This includes monitoring of offshore oil and gas operations designed to establish the distribution and concentration of contaminants, mainly hydrocarbons, in sediments and water. The biological effects of operational discharges, including possible cumulative effects, are also under continuing study. The marine laboratory publishes all its findings in a series of reports. The annual review describes the full range of scientific activities of the laboratory and the recently published report on "Environmental Monitoring of the Seas around Scotland 1970-1993" contains data associated with offshore operations. I have placed copies of these documents in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Welsh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the minimum, maximum and average times taken to reach a decision on compulsory purchase orders during each of the past five years. [249]
Mr. Kynoch
[holding answer 28 October 1996]: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
30 Oct 1996 : Column: 148
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will implement a temporary guaranteed price system to restore confidence in the beef industry in Wales. [25]
Mr. Jonathan Evans:
The Government have committed £2.5 billion to various measures to support the beef industry. We have no plans to introduce a price guarantee which would do nothing to support the industry in the medium to longer term.
Mr. Martyn Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received relating to the reluctance of contractors to pick up bulls as casualty animals; and if he will make a statement. [467]
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he will take to alleviate problems arising from casualty stock via the over-30-months scheme; and if he will make a statement. [26]
Mr. Evans:
The Intervention Board executive agency has allocated additional slots at designated abattoirs for casualty animals.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how he proposes to remove the backlog in the cattle culling scheme; and if he will make a statement. [27]
Mr. Jonathan Evans:
The Government have provided an additional £16.6 million to enable the backlog to be cleared by Christmas. We are on target for a throughput of 55,000 animals a week under the scheme.
Mr. Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will restore the compensation rate in the cattle culling scheme of 1 ecu/83.3p/kg. [28]
Mr. Evans:
This is a matter for the EU Beef Management Committee.
Mr. Richards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all capital and current expenditure on each grant-maintained school in each year since incorporation. [213]
Mr. Jonathan Evans:
The information is set out in the following tables.
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the contract held by United kingdom Detention Services (UKDS) for the operation of Blakenhurst prison.
The Prison Service has one contract with UKDS for the operation of Blakenhurst prison. As part of the ongoing management of that contract, there has been and continues to be regular contact with UKDS in discussion and correspondence on a broad range of issues.
30 Oct 1996 : Column: 149
| 1994-95 | 1995-96 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | Current | Capital | Current | Capital | ||
| Bryn Elian | 1,732,891 | 206,362 | 1,877,757 | 1,081,488 | ||
| Derwen | 266,160 | 102,787 | 274,091 | 881,548 | ||
| Eirias | 2,388,784 | 373,047 | 2,613,405 | 819,437 | ||
| Emrys Ap Iwan | 2,600,799 | 414,467 | 3,032,015 | 289,606 | ||
| Maelor | 1,256,667 | 488,972 | 1,339,382 | 214,604 | ||
| Pen-y-Bryn | 407,051 | 77,024 | 455,242 | 152,397 | ||
| Brynmawr | 1,393,197 | 792,903 | 1,484,537 | 325,191 | ||
| Cwmcarn | 956,162 | 341,197 | 1,074,650 | 27,895 | ||
| St. Albans | 1,448,247 | 643,674 | 1,510,876 | 44,795 | ||
| Caergeiliog | 409,665 | 301,131 | 440,645 | 101,376 | ||
| Llanerfyl | 76,979 | 63,217 | 76,254 | 56,673 | ||
| Mary Imm. | 1,472,931 | 42,429 | 1,490,579 | 36,900 | ||
| St. Cyres | 3,192,764 | 458,758 | 2,975,336 | 635,539 | ||
| Stanwell | 2,474,180 | 2,119,709 | 2,511,062 | 598,389 | ||
| Bishop Vaughan | 2,416,363 | 683,754 | 2,716,334 | 515,345 | ||
| Our Lady and St. Michael's | 376,413 | 239,847 | 394,915 | 190,503 | ||
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