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Replica and Imitation Firearms
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were carried out in each year using (a) replica firearms which were capable of being modified to fire ammunition and (b) imitation firearms incapable of being so modified. [7045]
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 2 December 1996]: The available information relates to the number of offences where imitation firearms of all types were used. The figure includes replicas, but further details are not collected centrally.
Such figures are published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales". Copies of these publications are in the Library.
In England and Wales in 1995, 378 notifiable offences were recorded by the police in which imitation firearms were reported to have been used.
Mr. Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations led him to place controls on only those replica firearms which can be modified to fire ammunition. [7047]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 2 December 1996]: The Firearms Act 1982 applies licensing controls to imitation firearms which are so constructed or adapted as to be readily convertible into a functioning firearm. Other toy and imitation firearms pose no danger in themselves. The use of imitation firearms of any kind in furtherance of crime carries the same penalty as the use of a real firearm: life imprisonment.
Mr. Alex Carlisle:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Audit Commission report "Misspent Youth, Young People and Crime". [7507]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 9 December 1996]: The Government welcome the Audit Commission's recommendations on a strategy for early intervention to deal with children and young people at risk of offending. The Government will be proposing this approach in a Green Paper to be published shortly. The Government do not agree with the proposition that it is right to caution repeat offenders; they should be brought before the courts to face the consequences of their crimes.
Mr. Hutton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many 15 and 16-year-olds have been detained in young offenders institutions in each year since 1992. [7153]
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Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 3 December 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. John Hutton, dated 10 December 1996:
(48) Provisional figures.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought in each of the last five years for sales of butane gas to minors; and if he will provide a regional breakdown where available. [7751]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 6 December 1996]: Information collected centrally under the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985 does not identify the substance involved.
Mr. Michael:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (1) pursuant to his answer of 2 December, Official Report, columns 471-72, if he will set out the methodology which leads to the conclusion that around 120 of those convicted of class A offences in 1994 had two or more previous offences; [7918]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 6 December 1996]: The methodology involved creating a sample of third-time drug traffickers from the "Offenders Index", which contains criminal histories from 1963, and using a separate dataset on offenders dealt with for drug offences to establish which offences involved class A drugs where this was not known on the "Offenders Index". The offences included were those relating to the unlawful importation or exportation of a controlled drug, production or being concerned in production of a
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controlled drug, supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug and having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
The study did not provide estimates of the number of offenders convicted of a first or second offence, or a monthly breakdown. Of those convicted of a third or subsequent offence, 90 per cent. received a custodial sentence and the average sentence length was just over four years. The period of the study was October to December 1994.
Mrs. Maddock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sums were paid in fines as a result of convictions on the basis of evidence obtained from speed cameras in (a) Dorset and (b) England in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and
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what is his estimate of the level of fines which will be imposed in each of these areas in the current financial year. [7752]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 9 December 1996]: The information requested is not available.
The majority of offences of speeding detected by automatic cameras are dealt with by fixed penalty notice, the current charge being £40. The number of such offences for Dorset and England are contained in the table.
Information is not available to distinguish whether or not speeding offences dealt with by fines were detected by automatic cameras, but the average fine for all speeding offences in England and Wales is also shown, along with the number of camera detected offences dealt with by court proceedings.
No estimates are made of future fine levels likely to be imposed.
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The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking, how many 15 and 16 year olds have been detained in young offenders institutions in each year since 1992.
The available information is for the population of 15 and 16 year olds held after sentence of detention in a young offender institution on 30 June each year. This is published in successive volumes of "Prison statistics, England and Wales" (table 3.2 of the 1995 edition, Cm 3355), copies of which are available from the library.
Provisional information for 30 June 1996 is given in the attached table.
Sex and age Detention in a young offender institution
Males
Aged 15 129
Aged 16 306
Females
Aged 15 7
Aged 16 16
(2) pursuant to his answer of 2 December, Official Report, columns 471-72, if he will list the offences regarded as similar offences to class A drug trafficking offences. [7919]
| Camera detected offences dealt with by fixed penalty | Camera detected offences dealt with by court proceedingsAverage fine for speeding (all such offences) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset | England | Dorset | England | England and wales | |
| 1993 | 1,129 | 25,767 | (49)-- | 6,374 | 127 |
| 1994 | 5,046 | 95,510 | (49)-- | 20,573 | 113 |
| 1995 | 5,951 | 168,536 | 125 | 36,274 | 107 |
(49) Information not available for Dorset for 1993 and 1994. However, in those years respectively, 12 and 63 offences of all kinds detected by cameras were reported for summons.
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Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from police forces seeking additional resources for the provision of speed cameras. [7753]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 9 December 1996]: In the last two years, representations on this issue have been received from some five forces and/or their police authorities.
Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish a review into the merits of returning the sums paid in fines as a result of convictions on the basis of evidence from speed cameras to (a) the relevant police authority and (b) the relevant local authority. [7754]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 9 December 1996]: No. Fine income from the enforcement of speeding offences by cameras, like all other fine income from criminal offences, goes to the Consolidated Fund at the Treasury. It is not the Government's general policy to earmark that income to a particular area of expenditure.
HEALTH
Health Authority Funding
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health authorities no longer fund (i) obstructive sleep apnoea referrals and (ii) sex change assessments and operations. [7278]
Mr. Malone: Information about health authority purchasing decisions is not held centrally. Each case should be decided on its clinical merits.
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