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Imprisonment Terms

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals committed offences which have carried a term of imprisonment of (a) up to six months, (b) between six months and 12 months, (c) between 12 months and 18 months, (d) between 18 months and 24 months and (e) between 24 months and 29 months in the last year for which figures are available; and for (a) to (e) if he will list the relevant rehabilitation period for each category. [7549]

Mr. Maclean: Court proceedings data as requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The rehabilitation periods applicable to a conviction are subject to provisions as set out in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

10 Dec 1996 : Column: 141

Firearms

Miss Emma Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make compensation available to commercial establishments suffering loss of income as a result of new firearms legislation; and if he will make a statement. [7761]

Miss Widdecombe: We do not propose to make payments in relation to business losses. There is a clear distinction between compensation for property made unlawful as a result of Government legislation, where Government are obliged to compensate owners of that property, and compensation of business losses which result from Government legislation where there is no precedent for compensation being paid.

Miss Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what compensation Her Majesty's Government will pay for accessories for firearms newly banned by regulation; and if he will make a statement. [7803]

Miss Widdecombe: Payments will be made in respect of ancillary equipment which is designed or adapted for use in connection with the firearms which the Bill seeks to ban, and which has no practicable use in connection with any non-prohibited weapons. Payments will be made only where the claimant lawfully held, or was contracted to acquire, the equipment on 16 October.

Payments will be at market value immediately prior to 16 October. We shall be assessing how to set market value in discussion with the British Shooting Sports Council.

Miss Nicholson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make additional funding available to the police in 1997 to curb ownership of illegally held firearms; and if he will make a statement. [7783]

Miss Widdecombe: Although my right hon. and learned Friend has made no specific provision for this purpose, the spending power of police authorities will increase by 3.7 per cent. or £247 million in 1997-98. Tackling illegally-held firearms remains a high priority of the Government and the police.

European Year Against Racism

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources he will be making available to support initiatives relating to the declaration of 1997 as the European Year Against Racism. [7799]

Mr. Kirkhope: The Home Office, in co-operation with the Commission for Racial Equality, is committing resources to co-ordination and administration of the European Year Against Racism within the United Kingdom. In common with other Government Departments, it will be involved in a number of initiatives relating to the European year in its own areas of responsibility. Details will be announced at the appropriate time. The success of this initiative will depend on the continuing commitment of organisations across the country to play a full part in action to improve race relations and equality of opportunity.

10 Dec 1996 : Column: 142

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for asylum have been refused on safe third country grounds since (a) 1 January and (b) 1 September. [7810]

Mr. Kirkhope: A total of 1,390 principal applicants were refused asylum on safe third country grounds between 1 January and 30 November 1996; of these 530 were refused in the months of September, October and November.

Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many asylum seekers, having been refused asylum on safe third country grounds, have been removed or have made a voluntary departure from the United Kingdom in each month since 1 January; [7809]

(2) how many asylum seekers, having been refused asylum on safe third country grounds, were removed or made a voluntary departure from the United Kingdom in (a) 1994 and (b) 1995. [7813]

Mr. Kirkhope: The information requested is given in the table. The information for 1996 is provisional. Number of removals and voluntary departures of those refused asylum on safe third country grounds, 1994-95, January to October 1996

Year	Number of removals/voluntary departures (safe third country cases)
1994	403
1995	419
1996(47)
January	34
February	33
March	21
April	33
May	31
June	25
July	28
August	30
September	58
October	66
1996, Year to date	359

(47) Provisional figures.

Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against a refusal of asylum are currently being processed by his Department; and how many appeals against a refusal of asylum, having been processed by his Department and dispatched to the immigration appellate authority, are awaiting determination by the immigration appellate authority. [7811]

Mr. Kirkhope: As at 31 October, there were 1,230 asylum appeals awaiting validation and preparation by the Asylum Directorate and 19,600 appeals awaiting a hearing by the Immigration Appellate Authority.

Racial Discrimination

Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the 1996 report on racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. [7778]

10 Dec 1996 : Column: 143

Mr. Maclean: The booklet, "Race and Criminal Justice System" was published by my right hon. and learned Friend in March this year. We intend to publish next year information on the results of the extension of ethnic monitoring of police activity.

Released Prisoners (Accommodation)

Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place to monitor the type of accommodation to which prisoners are released; and what plans he has to publish national statistics on the proportion of prisoners released to (i) temporary accommodation, (ii) permanent accommodation and (iii) no fixed abode. [6653]

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. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 10 December 1996:

The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General, to reply to your recent Question about what procedures are in place to monitor the type of accommodation to which prisoners are released and what plans there are to publish national statistics on the proportion of prisoners released to different types of accommodation.

These statistics are not collected centrally, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. There are therefore no plans to publish such information.
Research has highlighted three key factors in helping ex-prisoners retain their homes: the quality of family relationships, the availability of housing benefit, and their financial status, which is linked to employment, training and educational opportunities. A range of support is therefore provided to prisoners to assist them in obtaining suitable accommodation on release. This includes:
provision of housing and employment advice through officers specially trained by the NACRO Prison Link Unit;
advice on benefit entitlements;
assistance in maintaining family ties, for example through visits, correspondence and access to cardphones;
maximising opportunities for employment, training and education;
release on temporary licence for suitable prisoners for work, training and education, and to assist with resettlement towards the end of their sentences.
inmate development and pre-release training, which aims to teach prisoners skills to cope with major resettlement problems;
sentence planning, which assists the prisoner in planning for release;
provision of a Directory of Help Agencies, which provides information on agencies providing assistance to ex-offenders locally.
Further assistance is available from the Probation Service to ex-prisoners on statutory supervision following release.

Detention Costs

Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total amount of detention costs reclaimed from carrying companies in (a) 1995 and (b) 1996 to date. [7787]

10 Dec 1996 : Column: 144

Mr. Kirkhope: In the financial year 1995-96, the Home Office recovered some £372,000 in detention costs from carrying companies. In the current financial year to 30 November, the amount so far received is £417,000.

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