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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 12 June 1997

HOME DEPARTMENT

Firearms

Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the number of persons resident in the United Kingdom who are authorised to possess a firearm for their personal protection (a) under a certificate, permit or other form of authority issued in accordance with the Firearms Act 1968, (b) by virtue of being servants of the Crown and (c) by any other exemption or method of authorisation. [3295]

Mr. Michael: I have made no such estimate. Home Office guidance to the police in England, Wales and Scotland is that they should refuse applications for the grant of a firearm certificate for the applicant's protection or that of his premises. In Northern Ireland, there are approximately 11,000 people who hold certificates for firearms needed for personal protection. Information on the number of military personnel or other Crown servants currently authorised to retain service weapons for purposes of self-protection is not readily available.

Mr. Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many lives he estimates will be saved each year by the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997; and on what basis this estimate is made. [3297]

Mr. Michael: No such estimate can be prepared. The intention of the Act is to reduce the risk to public safety of another outrage such as that committed at Dunblane primary school by someone using a lawfully held handgun.

Mr. Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to place in the Library at monthly intervals a memorandum setting out the type and number of firearms which have been surrendered in accordance with the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 but which have not been destroyed, the reasons for not destroying them, the person or body to whom they have or are to be transferred and the price which has or is to be paid for them. [3299]

Mr. Michael: No. Police forces will retain handguns surrendered to them until compensation has been paid. We will report the overall outcome of the surrender exercise to the House but obtaining monthly reports on the lines suggested would be a time-consuming and expensive exercise which would not be justified. There will be no sales of surrendered handguns.

Mr. Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the total cost of introducing and implementing the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and the present Firearms (Amendment) Bill. [3296]

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Mr. Michael: The estimated total cost of implementing both the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and the Firearms (Amendment) Bill is £169 million. Of this figure, £138 million is the estimated cost of implementing the prohibition on higher-calibre handguns contained in the Act which includes the cost of compensation payments for these, for their accessories and the police and central administration costs. The remaining £31 million is the estimated cost of implementing the prohibition of small-calibre handguns envisaged by the Bill, including the cost of compensation payments for them and their accessories.

Mr. Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements have been made for the destruction of firearms surrendered to the police in accordance with the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. [3298]

Mr. Michael: Those firearms surrendered under the terms of the 1997 Act will be destroyed in accordance with local police arrangements. These will vary from force to force. A few firearms may be retained for police training purposes, and some may be taken by museums for public display.

Deportations

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been deported from the United Kingdom in each of the last five years. [2977]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The answer to the question is given in the following list.

Persons removed ¹ from the United Kingdom under the deportation process, 1992-1996
1992: 2,583
1993: 2,285
1994: 1,870
1995: 1,893
1996 ² 1,889.
¹ Includes voluntary departures after deportation action had been initiated.
² Provisional

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deportation orders have been signed by Ministers in each of the last five years. [2990]

Mr. O'Brien: The information requested is given in the table:

Deportation Orders signed by Ministers, 1992-96.
1992: 887
1993: 1,245
1994: 1,514
1995: 1,648
1996 ¹ : 1,864.
¹ Provisional.

Freemasonry

Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he is going to implement the Home Affairs Select Committee's recommendations on freemasonry in the police and the judiciary, with special reference to a public register of freemasons. [3000]

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Mr. Michael: The Government are currently considering the Home Affairs Committee report on freemasonry in the police and the judiciary, and have written to the Clerk of the Committee to say that a substantive response to the Committee's recommendation will be made by the end of August this year.

Electoral Registration

Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 June, Official Report, columns 90-91, if he will make a statement on the statistics published on 2 June, Official Report, column 91, in respect of the decline in the percentage of eligible adults who are registered to vote over the last 20 years. [3072]

Mr. George Howarth: It is not possible to make a direct comparison between electoral registration figures and estimates of the resident population, because they are not compiled on the same basis. The 1997 electoral register for Great Britain published in February showed the highest ever number of parliamentary electors registered to vote and saw the largest annual increase since 1987. We will seek to encourage this continuing improvement in electoral registration.

Juvenile Offenders

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juveniles aged 10 to 16 years were convicted in each offence group in each year since 1994. [2991]

Mr. Michael: Information from 1994 and 1995 is given in the table. 1996 data will not be available until the autumn.

Number of persons aged 10 to under 17 convicted at all courts by type of offence 1994 and 1995England and Wales

Offence	1994	1995
Indictable offences
Violence against the person	3,951	3,231
Sexual offences	322	301
Burglary	5,758	6,049
Robbery	1,204	1,466
Theft and handling stolen goods	11,043	12,267
Fraud and forgery	266	306
Criminal damage	1,461	1,583
Drug offences	471	600
Other (excluding motoring offences)	1,491	1,814
Motoring offences	158	175
Total Indictable offences	26,125	27,792
Summary non-motoring offences	8,046	10,393
Summary motoring offences	2,646	2,936
All offences	36,817	41,121

Tote

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current salary of the chairman of the Tote; when his appointment is due to end; and if he will make a statement. [2993]

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Mr. George Howarth: The current salary of the chairman of the Tote is £103,108. Lord Wyatt's appointment is due to end on 30 June. We are taking steps to select a successor.

Police Forces (Chemical Agents)

Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which police forces in England and Wales use the MIBK chemical agent; [2769]

(2) if he will forbid the use of the chemical agent MIBK by police forces in England and Wales; [2770]

(3) what assessment he has made of representations from the Hertfordshire and Surrey Police regarding the MIBK chemical agent and its effect on foetuses. [2768]

Mr. Michael: My right hon. Friend does not plan to forbid the use of Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK) by police forces. MIBK is the solvent used as a carrying medium in CS canisters carried by officers in 17 forces in England and Wales. It has a wide range of uses, for example as a food additive and as a solvent in certain paints and varnishes. It is also found naturally in oranges, grapes and vinegar. A great deal is known about MIBK. The Department of Health has advised that it is an appropriate solvent to use in CS canisters, and it has been used by the Gendarmerie National in France for 17 years without any serious medical concerns.

There have been isolated reports published which suggest that at very high levels MIBK may affect unborn foetuses in lower mammals. These reports and the other available scientific evidence have been assessed by the Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch, the Department of Health and the Ministry of Defence. Their advice is that the scientific evidence does not indicate that MIBK is a human teratogen (that is to say, produces foetal abnormalities).

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