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Dentists (Assault)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dentists have been (a) charged and (b) found guilty of assault as a result of extensive and wholly unnecessary treatment since 1979. [12400]
Mr. Maclean: The information is not available centrally.
Drugs
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those drugs which are illegal for recreational use but can be prescribed lawfully by a qualified medical practitioner. [12384]
Mr. Sackville: All substances which are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 may be prescribed by a doctor except those listed in schedule 1 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985, as amended.
Child Sex Offenders
Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to answer the written question tabled by the hon. Member for Bolton, North-East on Wednesday, 18 December--10755--concerning the registration of convicted child sex offenders under the Sex Offences Bill. [12300]
Mr. Maclean: I answered this question on 21 January, Official Report, column 511.
Television Licences (Fine Defaulters)
Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many television licence fine defaulters were imprisoned in 1996. [10567]
Mr. Maclean: Three hundred and seventeen television licence fee fine defaulters were imprisoned during the first 11 months of 1996.
Licensing Hours
Mr. Couchman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend licensing hours at weekends; and if he will make a statement. [12849]
Mr. Kirkhope: We have been giving very careful consideration to the result of the public consultation about extending the normal permitted closing times on Friday and Saturday nights, from 11 pm to midnight.
We received a very large number of responses to the consultation exercise--some 700 responses in all. The views expressed by respondents varied considerably, and there were significant amounts of support for, and opposition to, the Government's proposals.
The responses to this consultation exercise have also brought into sharper focus some concerns about overlapping aspects of the licensing system, as between licensing justices and local authorities, and their current effectiveness for an industry in which internal boundaries between different types of premises are increasingly blurred.
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Individual aspects of the licensing system are often presented as being self-contained, and proposals for change are commonly put forward on the basis that they can be tackled separately, but the licensing regime is a complex one, and invariably there are implications for other parts of the system.
We have therefore concluded that it would be right to take forward the consideration of extending normal licensing hours in the broader context of the particular issues which I have set out. I expect this consideration to be concluded during the spring.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) in what circumstances the strip searching of prisoners is video recorded in Her Majesty's prisons; [10912]
(3) how many prisoners have been video recorded while being strip searched; and how many prisoners have refused to be video recorded while being strip searched; [10914]
(4) how many prisoners have been fined for refusing to be strip searched before a video camera; and how many have had their fines returned. [10915]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answers 17 January 1997]: Responsibility for these matters 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. Kevin McNamara, dated 23 January 1997:
Mr. Ian Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the evidence that underlies the statement made at paragraph 24 of "The Government Response to The Public Inquiry into the Shootings at Dunblane Primary School"
23 Jan 1997 : Column: 737
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 21 January 1997]: On the basis of advice from the Forensic Science Service, we accept that disabling handguns is possible but that in some cases it is not practical. Lord Cullen himself took this view--paragraph 9.106. Copies of two letters from the Forensic Science Service are in the Library. The Government have made their position clear during the passage of the Firearms (Amendment) Bill. We do not believe that disabling guns provides sufficient safeguards for the protection of the public and there would be no guarantee that a person minded to do so could not keep or obtain illicit spares at home.
Mr. Porter:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to reduce the amount provided for facilities, fixtures and fittings in the budget plans for the top security unit at Woodhill prison, Milton Keynes and implement a regime of minimal facilities; and if he will make a statement. [11189]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 21 January 1997]: 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. David Porter, dated 23 January 1997:
Mr. Frank Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the impact on his budget of the implementation of the Firearms (Amendment) Bill; and when he will publish the findings. [11844]
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Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 21 January 1997]: No research has been commissioned on the financial impact of the Bill, although our estimate of the costs that will need to be paid to compensate people who surrender guns and accessories is set out in the financial memorandum to the Bill.
(2) in which prisons the video recording of strip searching has (a) been authorised in the past and (b) is still authorised; [10913]
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about the use of video during the strip searching of prisoners, how many have been video taped, the number fined for refusing and how many have had their fines returned.
A closed loop video system was introduced at Long Lartin prison for use in the prisoners strip search room during random strip searches following visits. This was to both safeguard prisoners against abuses of procedure and to protect staff in the event of malicious and/or false allegations concerning propriety of a search.
The closed loop nature of the system meant that strip searches could not be seen by staff. Video tapes were instead securely stored and filed.
This limited scheme lasted four months, was evaluated and has now ended. There are no plans to repeat the scheme at Long Lartin prison or elsewhere.
Two hundred and sixteen prisoners were video recorded while being strip searched. Of this number ten refused. Six prisoners had their earnings stopped or deducted on adjudications, following refusal to be strip-searched before a video camera. These adjudications have all been quashed. In each case the stopped or deducted earnings have been returned.
"that, removal of key components is not a practicable proposition for all types of guns".[11614]
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about facilities at Woodhill prison.
The costs identified to refurbish the high security unit at Woodhill have been properly quantified to meet the needs of security, the regime and safety of the public, staff and prisoners. The costing exercise has not identified any areas where savings could be made without compromising security and safety.
The cells in the high security units at Woodhill prison will have integral sanitation, as does every other cell at Woodhill. The rules on volumetric control will apply as elsewhere and there will be no in-cell television or video. Furniture in the cells will be standard prison issue and association areas will have standard furnishing and equipment. Meals will be provided from the kitchen and there will be no facility for prisoners to cook their own meals.
The high security units at Woodhill will form part of a co-ordinated series of close supervision units each holding a small number of prisoners with varying regimes ranging from the strict through to more structured regimes. When they are ready for use they will provide:
a structured regime unit with limited association where the behaviour of prisoners can be assessed
a restricted regime unit with a strict, no association regime for prisoners who continue to be disruptive or dangerous
a programme intervention unit offering structured therapy programmes and full association for those who would benefit from such an approach.
It is anticipated that the high security unit at Woodhill will be ready for use at the end of this year.
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