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Europol
Mr. David Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what international obligations or guidelines apply in the United Kingdom in respect of harmonising practices regarding the interception of communications, with particular reference to the work of Europol. [10217]
Mr. Howard: None. Such practices are a matter for national law.
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Ministerial Leave
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many days of leave he plans to take during the Christmas adjournment; [9793]
- (2) how many days leave he has taken in the Easter, Whitsun and summer adjournments; and how many days leave he took during the time in which Parliament was prorogued this year. [9792]
Mr. Howard: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster today.
Interception of Communications
Mr. David Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has evaluated into recent developments in the interception of communications; and what proposals he has to introduce legislation in this area. [10218]
Mr. Howard: The adequacy of legislation is kept under review in the light of developments in the interception field.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff, and at what grades, are
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deployed in undertaking the work required under the Interception of Communications Act 1985, separately identifying the work of (a) the commissioner and (b) the relevant division of his Department; and what other costs are involved in this work. [10216]
Mr. Howard: The commissioner appointed under the Interception of Communications Act 1985 is assisted by a secretary (higher executive officer grade). Within the intelligence and security liaison unit of the Home Office, one grade 7, one higher executive officer, two executive officers, one administrative officer and one typist are engaged on casework under the 1985 Act. Members of the senior civil service are also involved in the consideration of applications. Other costs fall to the agencies requesting interception; it is not the Government's practice to give details of such costs.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the safeguards adopted to deal with interception of communications procedures, including the clandestine listening to telephone calls, in the Commonwealth, the Council of Europe countries and the United States of America; and if he will place such assessment in the Library together with a listing of the principal procedures in each country and the source of that information. [10432]
Mr. Howard: I have made no such assessment. Procedures concerning interception in other countries are a matter for the Governments concerned.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what methods exist for establishing whether the police have been responsible for an unlawful interception of communications procedure. [10429]
Mr. Howard: A person who believes that his or her communications have been intercepted in the course of transmission by post or by means of a public telecommunications system may apply to the tribunal established under section 7 of the Interception of Communications Act 1985 for an investigation of whether a relevant warrant has been issued and, if so, whether there has been any contravention of the Act. The investigation of an allegation that interception has taken place without the authority of a warrant is, like the investigation of other allegations of criminal offences, a matter for the police.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employers have been prosecuted for employing illegal immigrants in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [9788]
Mr. Kirkhope: Prior to the introduction of section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, which comes into force on 27 January 1997, it has not been an offence for an employer to employ an illegal entrant.
Prisons (Sanitation)
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many prisons in England and Wales inmates do not currently have access to sanitation at all times; and if he will make a statement. [9770]
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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 Mr. Archy Kirkwood, dated 13 January 1997:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about prisons where inmates do not have access to sanitation at all times.
An extensive programme of work in recent years resulted in the ending of the practice of slopping out in April 1996. There are now no prisons in England and Wales where prisoners housed in normal accommodation do not have access to sanitation at all times.
Most of our establishments have retained a small amount of accommodation where integral sanitation would not be appropriate for example special cells or dirty protest cells. These do not form part of the certified normal accommodation of the establishment.
There are also exceptional occasions when essential maintenance work requires the temporary suspension of access to sanitation.
Hand Grenades and Balaclavas
Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to control the sale of imitation hand grenades and SAS-style balaclavas. [9844]
Police Scientific Development Branch
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much has been spent to date on the prior options review of the police scientific development branch; and from which budget these sums were paid; [10058]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the future costs of the prior options review of the police scientific development branch; and from which budget these sums will be paid. [10059]
Mr. Maclean: The costs of the prior options review of the police scientific development branch are estimated to be £64,000. This figure represents the costs of the review team and of consultancy advice obtained by PSDB. The sums were paid from the budget of the police policy directorate.
The review was completed in March 1996 and, as such, no future costs are anticipated. The findings of the review remain under consideration.
Mr. Ingram:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees include employees of the police scientific development branch as representatives of United Kingdom interests; and how many of these employees are leading the United Kingdom team on their committee; [10060]
Mr. Maclean:
Employees of the police scientific development branch sit on 84 United Kingdom committees, five European committees and eight committees with a wider international membership. PSDB
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staff take the lead for the United Kingdom on three of these European committees and six of the wider international committees.
Nine United Kingdom committees and one European committee are chaired by employees of PSDB.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 10 December, Official Report, column 148, if he will identify the substances covered by the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985 and the number of prosecutions that have taken place in each of the last five years providing a regional breakdown where available. [10224]
Mr. Sackville:
The Act covers the supply of any substance which is likely to be inhaled for the purpose of causing intoxication; no particular substances are specified. But the compounds and products commonly associated with volatile substance abuse are listed in annexes D and E of the 1995 report of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on volatile substance abuse, a copy of which is in the Library.
(2) how many (a) United Kingdom, (b) European and (c) international committees are chaired by employees of the police scientific development branch. [10061]
| Region | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | 1992 | 1991 | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 1 |
| East Midlands | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| North West | -- | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| West Midlands | -- | 4 | -- | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| East Anglia | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| South West | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 2 |
| South East | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | 2 |
| Wales | 1 | -- | 2 | -- | 3 | 6 |
| England and Wales | 3 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 28 |
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