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Subway Security (Belfast)
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if the subway between Cairnshill close and Newton heights, Belfast, is regularly patrolled by the security forces. [10802]
Sir John Wheeler: The subway between Cairnshill close and Newton heights has consistently been the subject of police attention by both uniform and plain clothes patrols.
The area continues to receive police attention.
DEFENCE
Radioactivity (Greenham Common)
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the findings of the study, "An Assessment of Radioactive Levels around the Former Air Base at Greenham Common, Berkshire, NRPB-M752, published on 19 December 1996; what was the cost to his Department of this study; and what follow-up studies are planned. [10893]
Mr. Soames: We are pleased to note the conclusions of this independent study by the NRPB which my Department has funded at a cost in the region of £50,000. The study has provided definitive reassurance that, on the basis of the measurement data, the doses received from artificial radionuclides by people living in the area around Newbury and Greenham Common are no different to those received in similar areas elsewhere in the country. The findings of the study are entirely consistent with my Department's assurances that there is no basis to the allegations made last year about a nuclear weapon accident at the base. There are no plans to commission any further such studies.
Sandhurst
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement regarding the outsourcing of the operation of Sandhurst. [10875]
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Mr. Soames: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Army Individual Training Organisation. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from C. L. Elliott to Mr. John Spellar, dated 15 January 1997:
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Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many individuals have left the Royal Marines in each of the last five years. [10868]
Mr. Soames:
This is a matter for the chief executive of the Naval Manning Agency. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.
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I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence concerning the outsourcing of the operation at Sandhurst as this matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Army Individual Training Organisation (AITO).
A feasibility study was undertaken at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) to identify the scope for involving the Private Sector in delivering activities undertaken there. The study reported at the end of April 1996 and concluded that a range of activities could usefully be exposed to competitive tendering. There were:
Domestic Services/Management
Equipment Support/Management
Estate Services/Management
Personnel Services/Management
Sports Facilities/Management
Stores Services/Management
Transport and Distribution/Management.
The total annual net cash value of these services is £7.9M (which includes current contracts valued at £3.03M) with some 227 civilians and 92 military personnel affected.
The study concluded that best value for money would be achieved by market testing the services within the scope of the competition; as such an in-house bid team has been formed to mount a bid for the services.
A detailed Statement of User Requirement is currently being developed and the aim is to issue an invitation to tender in March 1997 and to award a Service Level Agreement (to a successful in-house bid) or a contract to a winning contractor, in March 1998.
You may also be aware of activities concerned with the running of the Joint Services Command and Staff College which is also located at Sandhurst. The College is not part of the AITO and I cannot therefore comment on this.
| Year | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officers | 50 | 32 | 29 | 44 | 51 |
| Other ranks | 621 | 420 | 358 | 262 | 557 |
| Total | 671 | 452 | 387 | 306 | 608 |
I hope this is helpful
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Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to complete the sale of DERA's support services division; and if he will make a statement.[11471]
Mr. Soames: Following competition, we have assessed the bid put forward by the venture capital group, Apax Partners and Co., who propose working with the existing DSSD management team, as offering the best value for money. Consequently, Apax have been granted a period of exclusivity to allow them to carry out the due diligence process and to conclude a contract with DERA on the basis of their offer. Subject to the satisfactory completion of both of these processes, it is intended that a sale should be completed by mid-February.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Mr. Straw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the appointments of members to the Criminal Cases Review Commission are full time and which are part time; what is the period of appointment in each case; if each appointment is renewable; and how many of the appointments are of women. [10882]
Mr. Kirkhope: The information requested is as follows:
| Name | Full-time or part-time | Period of appointment (years) |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Frederick Crawford | Part-time | 5 |
| Miss Fiona King | Part-time | 5 |
| Mr. Laurence Elks | Part-time | 5 |
| Mr. David Kyle | Full-time | 3 |
| Mr. John Leckey | Part-time | 5 |
| Miss Jill Gort | Part-time | 3 |
| Mr. Baden Skitt | Full-time | 5 |
| Dr. James MacKeith | Part-time | 3 |
| Mr. Karamjit Singh | Full-time | 5 |
| Professor Leonard Leigh | Full-time | 3 |
| Mr. Edward Weiss | Part-time | 3 |
| Mr. Anthony Foster | Part-time | 5 |
| Mr. Barry Capon | Part-time | 3 |
Under the terms of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 members of the commission are eligible for re-appointment on expiry of their term of appointment, subject to the proviso that no one may hold office as a member for a continuous period of more than 10 years. As the table shows, two of those appointed as members of the commission are women.
Police Expenditure
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the spending limit for police authorities (a) nationally and (b) in the west midlands in each year since 1992 (i) in cash terms and (ii) as a percentage change over the previous year. [9746]
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Mr. Maclean: The available information is as follows:
| West Midlands | Percentage change | England and Wales(11) | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ million | £ million | |||
| 1992-93 | 286.2 | -- | (12)-- | -- |
| 1993-94 | 302.7 | 5.8 | (12)-- | -- |
| 1994-95 | 314.9 | 4.0 | (12)-- | -- |
| 1995-96 | 329.3 | 4.6 | 6,366.5 | -- |
| 1996-97 | 344.2 | 4.5 | 6,612.8 | 3.9 |
| 1997-98 | 357.2 | 3.8 | 6,859.3 | 3.7 |
(11) Excludes City of London: no separately identifiable figures are available for the police service.
(12) Figures are not available as shire police services were funded from county council budgets.
Mr. Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds were made available from central Government for spending by police authorities (a) nationally and (b) in the west midlands for each year since 1992 (i) in cash terms and (ii) as a percentage change over the previous year. [9747]
Mr. Maclean: The available information is as follows:
| West Midlands | Percentage change | England and Wales(13) | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ million | £ million | |||
| 1992-93 | (14)-- | -- | (15)-- | -- |
| 1993-94 | 272.0 | -- | (15)-- | -- |
| 1994-95 | 282.4 | 3.8 | (15)-- | -- |
| 1995-96 | 295.9 | 4.8 | 5,589.4 | -- |
| 1996-97 | 310.0 | 4.8 | 5,801.9 | 3.8 |
| 1997-98 | 317.4 | 2.4 | 5,930.0 | 2.2 |
(13) Excludes City of London: no separately identifiable figures are available for the police service.
(14) Full information is not available.
(15) Figures are not available as shire police services were funded from county council budgets.
Mr. Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from police authorities (a) nationally and (b) in the west midlands regarding their spending allowances for the coming year. [9748]
Mr. Maclean: To date 14 individual police authorities, plus the police authorities of Wales, have made representations about the level of proposed spending limits for 1997-98. In relation to the west midlands we have received representations from the chairman of the Police Authority, from the chief constable, the chairman of the West Midlands joint committee and the hon. Member for Coventry, North (Mr. Ainsworth).
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list for (a) each individual police authority, (b) each class of police authority and (c) all police authorities the increase in pounds in (i) the
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aggregate of each police authority's capped expenditure limit or in the case of the Metropolitan police the estimated budget requirement and police rule 2 and rule 3 grants in 1997-98 over 1996-97 and (ii) total external support including all police grants in 1997-98 over 1996-97 and the difference between (i) and (ii) in pounds and as a percentage of 1996-97 cash precepts; [10308]
- (2) if he will list for (a) each individual police authority, (b) each class of police authority and (c) all police authorities the increase in pounds in (i) the
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- aggregate of each police authority's capped expenditure limit or, in the case of the Metropolitan police, the estimated budget requirement and police rule 3 grant in 1997-98 over 1996-97 and (ii) total external support including all police grants other than police rule 2 grant in 1997-98 over 1996-97 and the difference between (i) and (ii) in pounds and as a percentage of 1996-97 cash precepts. [10309]
Mr. Maclean [holding answer 13 January 1997]: The information requested is set out in the table.
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| Increase in capped expenditure limit and rule 2 and 3 grants over 1996-97 | Increase in total external support(16) including all grants over 1996-97 | Increase in capped expenditure limit including rule 3 grant over 1996-97 | Increase in total external support except rule 2 grant over 1996-97 | Difference between columns (1) and (2) and between columns (3) and (4) | Difference between columns (1) and (2) and between columns (3) and (4) as a percentage of 1996-97 cash precept | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (£ million) | (£ million) | (£ million) | (£ million) | (£ million) | (Per cent.) | |
| Police authorities: | (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) |
| Avon and Somerset | 6.0 | 2.7 | 4.9 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 15.0 |
| Bedfordshire | 2.2 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 14.0 |
| Cambridgeshire | 2.6 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 14.7 |
| Cheshire | 3.9 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 14.6 |
| Cleveland | 2.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 18.5 |
| Cumbria | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 14.5 |
| Derbyshire | 3.8 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 14.5 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 6.1 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 9.8 |
| Dorset | 2.7 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 11.1 |
| Durham | 2.7 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 17.7 |
| Essex | 6.0 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 13.1 |
| Gloucestershire | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 14.7 |
| Hampshire | 6.9 | 3.0 | 5.6 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 13.9 |
| Hertfordshire | 3.6 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 13.4 |
| Humberside | 3.9 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 16.2 |
| Kent | 6.4 | 3.0 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 13.4 |
| Lancashire | 6.3 | 3.0 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 16.8 |
| Leicestershire | 3.7 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 15.7 |
| Lincolnshire | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
| Norfolk | 3.0 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 14.3 |
| Northamptonshire | 2.4 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 11.4 |
| North Yorkshire | 2.8 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 11.0 |
| Nottinghamshire | 4.4 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 8.2 |
| Staffordshire | 4.3 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 14.6 |
| Suffolk | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 14.2 |
| Surrey | 3.4 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 3.7 |
| Sussex | 5.9 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 13.1 |
| Thames Valley | 8.1 | 3.3 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 4.8 | 13.3 |
| Warwickshire | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 13.9 |
| West Mercia | 4.1 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 14.5 |
| Wiltshire | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 13.8 |
| Total English shire authorities | 122 | 59 | 99 | 36 | 63 | 13.1 |
| Greater Manchester | 12.8 | 6.5 | 10.9 | 4.6 | 6.4 | 18.6 |
| Merseyside | 8.3 | 4.3 | 7.2 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 16.9 |
| Northumbria | 7.1 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 3 | 16.0 |
| South Yorkshire | 5.9 | 3.0 | 4.9 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 17.4 |
| West Midlands | 13.0 | 7.3 | 11.0 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 16.4 |
| West Yorkshire | 9.9 | 4.9 | 8.0 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 16.9 |
| Total metropolitan authorities | 57 | 30 | 48 | 22 | 26 | 17.1 |
| Metropolitan police(17) | 55.4 | 29.5 | 48.7 | 22.8 | 25.9 | (18)16.7 |
| City of London police(19) | ||||||
| Dyfed Powys | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 5.1 |
| Gwent | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 6.1 |
| North Wales | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 5.6 |
| South Wales | 5.7 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 6.5 |
| Total Welsh authorities | 13 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 6.0 |
| Total (all authorities) | 247 | 129 | 207 | 89 | 118 | 14.0 |
(16) Includes principal police grant, additional rules 1, 2 and 3, police damping grant, revenue support grant and income from national non-domestic rates.
(17) Total external support includes provision for services other than police functions.
(18) Includes other service block element of 1996-97 cash precept.
(19) No separately identifiable figures exist for the City of London police.
All figures have been rounded from the original calculations. Figures for total external support were provided by the Department of the Environment.
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