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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 30 January 1997
HOME DEPARTMENT
Metropolitan Police (Vauxhall)
Miss Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 December, Official Report, columns 266-67, on police accommodation in Lambeth, when the strategic review of the provision of police accommodation was commenced; by whom it was conducted; what its conclusions were; and what actions have been taken as a result. [12376]
Mr. Maclean: The Commissioner informs me that a review of police accommodation in Lambeth began in July 1996 to determine priorities for new police accommodation in the borough. It is being conducted by a police superintendent working to a member of the area senior management team.
The review focused initially on a feasibility study into an alternative approach to the provision of custody accommodation in Lambeth and concluded that a centralised criminal justice facility would be a more effective alternative to a traditional police station on the Grafton square site. The term "criminal justice facility" has been adopted by the Metropolitan police to describe the proposed development. The development would house all the cells, and process the related administration, for the police stations in the borough of Lambeth. It would also include an identification suite, and a sector base and station office with facilities for pubic inquiries.
This conclusion will affect other police accommodation needs in Lambeth, which are now being considered as part of the continuing review. Action to date has been confined to an amended planning application for the Clapham site.
Sir Irvine Patnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Deaprtment what progress is being made towards introducing a national voluntary identity card; and if he will make a statement. [13070]
Mr. Sackville:
My right hon. and learned Friend announced on 22 August 1996 plans to introduce a voluntary national identity card. As set out in the Queen's Speech at the opening of Parliament, we intend shortly to publish a draft Identity Cards Bill for consultation.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to publish a Green Paper on the youth justice system; and if he will make a statement. [13199]
Mr. Maclean:
The ministerial group on juveniles has been considering what more can be done to identify children at risk of offending and to address the problems
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which put them at risk. The Government intend to publish a Green Paper shortly, setting out a strategy for early intervention with children and young people at risk of offending.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of his Department's budget has been spent on measures relating to crime prevention, per project, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [13200]
Mr. Maclean:
Home Office expenditure specifically allocated to crime prevention in 1996-97 is £22.5 million. That figure is separate from, and additional to, public expenditure of £7 billion on the police service, an increase of more than 100 per cent. since 1978-79. The prevention of crime is one of the key functions of the police service.
It is not possible to identify the level of public expenditure on the police service or other programmes within the Home Office budget which is devoted to crime prevention.
As regards Home Office support for crime prevention projects, it is estimated that, since 1988, over 3,800 crime prevention measures have been initiated under the safer cities programme. There have been 365 successful bids in the first two rounds of closed circuit television challenge, in 1994-95 and 1996-97.
Crime prevention projects have been funded under a number of other Government programmes which, since 1994, have been subsumed into the single regeneration budget.
Mr. Pendry:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many of the shortlisted bidders to run the British academy of sport she has visited. [13518]
Mr. Sproat:
None--deliberately.
Mr. Spellar:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what is her Department's latest estimate of the cost of millennium projects at Greenwich; and what are the projected increases in construction costs contained within that estimate. [10870]
Mrs. Bottomley:
This is a matter for the Millennium Commission. I shall write to the hon. Member in my capacity as chairman of the commission and place copies of my reply in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Fisher:
To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will list the grant in aid to the Arts Council for each year since 1993-94, together with the estimates
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for (a) 1998-99 and (b) 1999-2000, (i) in cash terms and (ii) indicating the annual change in each year in (1) cash, (2) real and (3) percentage terms. [13205]
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Mr. Sproat:
The Arts Council of England has received grant in aid to fund its operating costs and grant programmes as follows:
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(2) if he will make a statement on the proportion of his Department's budget which is spent on crime prevention measures. [13201]
| £ million | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 | |
| Cash | (1)189.15 | 185.99 | 191.13 | 186.13 | 186.10 | 184.60 | 183.49 |
| Annual cash | -- | (3.16) | 5.14 | (5.00) | (0.03) | (1.50) | (1.11) |
| change | -- | (1.67 per cent.) | (2.76 per cent.) | (2.62 per cent.) | (0.02 per cent.) | (0.81 per cent.) | (0.60 per cent.) |
| 1995-96 prices(2) | 197.37 | 190.70 | 191.13 | 181.59 | 178.00 | 173.10 | 168.69 |
| Annual | -- | (6.67) | 0.43 | (9.54) | (3.59) | (4.90) | (4.21) |
| "real terms" change | -- | (3.37 per cent.) | (0.22 per cent.) | (4.99 per cent.) | (4.1 per cent.) | (1.98 per cent.) | (2.43 per cent.) |
| Cumulative | -- | (3.16) | 1.98 | (3.02) | (3.05) | (4.55) | (5.66) |
| cash change from 1993-94 | -- | (1.67 per cent.) | (1.05 per cent) | (1.59 per cent.) | (1.61 per cent.) | (2.41 per cent.) | (2.99 per cent.) |
| "Real terms" | -- | (6.67) | (6.24) | (15.78) | (19.37) | (24.27) | (28.68) |
| change from 1993-94 | -- | (3.38 per cent.) | (3.16 per cent.) | (7.99 per cent.) | (9.81 per cent.) | (12.30 per cent.) | (14.53 per cent.) |
(1) The Arts Council of England came into being in April 1994. The sum shown for 1993-94 is an estimate of that attributable to England from the grant in aid to the Arts Council of Great Britain.
(2) Cash adjustment by GDP deflator (basis: 1995-96).
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Sports Sponsorship
Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what reports she has received on the United Kingdom sports sponsorship market for 1996; and if she will make a statement. [13996]
Mr. Sproat: The Department's sports sponsorship consultant has recently submitted his annual report on the condition of the UK sports sponsorship market. This report confirms that sports sponsorship in the UK generated more than £300 million in 1996, a real-terms increase of some 19.3 per cent. over the corresponding figure for 1995. Most people are well aware of the major sponsorship deals agreed by football, rugby, and cricket, but I am particularly pleased to see from this report that there were a large number of sponsorships agreed in 1996 involving schools and young people, most notably British Telecom's support of school sports worth £750,000. This is an excellent example of the links called for in the Government's policy statement, "Sport: Raising the Game", issued in July 1995.
The expansion in the UK sports sponsorship market is extremely good news for the sports sector, particularly given that this is additional to the thousands of national lottery projects being supported up and down the country.
Furthermore, the sportsmatch partnership between sport, business and Government continues to flourish, and was responsible for an additional £6.4 million to the overall sponsorship market. A wide range of sports have benefited from this excellent scheme.
Whitemoor Prison (Escape)
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Attorney-General if he has received a report from Mr. Justice Kay regarding his decision to stop the trial of six men accused of the escape from Her Majesty's prison Whitemoor; and when he
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expects to decide whether proceedings for contempt of court will be instituted against the editor of the Evening Standard newspaper. [13411]
The Attorney-General: I expect to receive a report from Mr. Justice Kay shortly and will consider it in conjunction with any representations which may be made on behalf of Associated Newspapers Ltd., publishers of the Evening Standard, the editor or the journalist responsible for the particular article. Once this material has been considered a decision will be taken.
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