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Police Force (Government Spending)

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by how much in real terms Government spending on the police force has changed since 1979. [11158]

Mr. Michael: On the basis of the latest gross domestic produce deflator figures issued by the Treasury, total spending on the police in England and Wales will have increased in real terms by 100.4 per cent. between 1978-79 and 1997-98.

Police (Wales)

Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on each of the four Welsh police forces in each year since 1979. [11191]

Mr. Michael: The information is set out in the table.

Expenditure

	£ million
	Dyfed Powys	Gwent	North Wales	South Wales
1978-79	7.615	8.511	11.672	26.219
1979-80	10.016	10.971	15.362	35.086
1980-81	11.698	12.826	17.233	41.527
1981-82	13.709	15.014	20.060	49.634
1982-83	15.052	16.379	22.314	55.399
1983-84	16.301	18.455	25.200	59.667
1984-85	19.134	20.120	27.838	66.756
1985-86	18.813	20.619	27.567	68.001
1986-87	20.699	22.213	30.257	72.723
1987-88	23.831	24.096	32.961	78.957
1988-89	25.293	27.170	36.812	86.312
1989-90	29.522	30.444	41.084	97.275
1990-91	30.878	33.286	44.725	106.257
1991-92	35.150	36.682	50.700	118.537
1992-93	38.896	38.965	55.897	127.300
1993-94	41.518	41.406	58.387	130.885
1994-95	44.381	42.951	61.156	130.371
1995-96	46.534	49.907	66.185	154.710
1996-97	48.813	62.752	69.339	151.524
1997-98	50.481	65.162	72.039	156.800

Information from police grant claim forms, except: 1995-96 and 1996-97--Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy estimates. 1997-98--revenue budgets and additional police grant.

29 Jul 1997 : Column: 151

Firearms Consultative Committee

Mr. Cawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will lay before Parliament the eighth annual report of the Firearms Consultative Committee. [11516]

Mr. Michael: I have today placed a copy of the annual report of the Firearms Consultative Committee in the Library.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received the annual report for 1996 of the complaints audit committee of the immigration and nationality directorate; and if he will make a statement. [11623]

Mr. Straw: A copy of the report, publication of which was delayed by the election, has been placed in the Library. It is a wide-ranging and informative document and I am grateful to the committee for its comments and recommendations. These are already receiving careful consideration.

Probation Officers

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the future qualifications and training arrangements for new probation officers. [11816]

Mr. Straw: I hope to proceed quickly to develop a diploma in probation studies, located in higher education and combined with a national vocational qualification, which will become the qualification for new probation officers. I intend that the new arrangements should be employment led and delivered by a consortium of probation services that will manage the recruitment and selection of trainee probation officers.

The combined diploma and NVQ will offer a mixture of academic teaching and work-based supervised practice, all based on the occupational standards that will be developed for probation officers. The new qualification should be delivered through flexible teaching methods that take account of trainees' previous work, academic qualifications and experience so that a wide range of recruits can be attracted to the probation service.

I have decided that training for new probation officers should no longer be linked to social work education. I will be supporting the development of a new and separate diploma in probation studies, which will equip the probation officers of the future to play their full part in this Government's plans for an integrated approach to working with offenders. It will focus on probation's top priority role of protecting the public and reducing crime through effective work with offenders. There will, therefore, be no further funding or support from the Home Office for the diploma in social work.

These arrangements will be developed in partnership with probation service organisations and higher education institutions to provide high-quality training for high-quality recruits.

29 Jul 1997 : Column: 152

EU Framework and Workplace Directives

Gillian Merron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the implementation of the general fire safety aspects of the EU framework and workplace directives. [11817]

Mr. George Howarth: After consulting my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, I announced on 16 July that we proposed to implement the outstanding fire safety elements of the European community framework and workplace directives. Today, I have signed and laid before Parliament the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 made under the European Communities Act 1972 to apply throughout Great Britain. A compliance cost assessment is attached to the regulations showing that the estimated costs to employers attributable to these regulations will be less than £30 million. I have placed copies of these documents in the Library. To assist employers, there will be a package of user-friendly guidance comprising a handy, free card summarising the regulations and employers' rights and a short booklet, both of which will be widely available.

The regulations take into account the views expressed in the many responses received during the consultation exercise carried out last year and the representations received since then from business interests and the fire service. I am grateful to business and fire service representatives for the assistance they have given to my officials during the drafting of the regulations and supporting guidance.

Where appropriate, the regulations have been drafted using copy-out language. This ensures that there is full compliance with the directives but that no unnecessary costs are imposed on business.

The regulations put the primary responsibility for fire safety in the workplace on employers. It is for them to determine and provide the measures they believe to be necessary to meet the risk from fire identified in their premises. In this way, what is provided will be appropriate to the risks and tailored to the specific circumstances of the workplace. The regulations incorporate a new approach to fire safety enforcement. Most significant breaches of the regulations can be dealt with by civil sanctions with the onus of proof on the fire authority rather than the employer.

However, to emphasise the importance of fire safety, criminal sanctions will remain for serious risks.

The regulations include some of the user-friendly enforcement safeguards of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994. They will be enforced by the fire authority, who will use the employer's own assessment of the risk from fire as a starting point. The fire service have an important role to play. It will offer employers advice and assistance in meeting their obligations and avoiding over-provision.

The Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations will come into effect in England, Scotland and Wales on 1 December 1997 and will make explicit what is already implicit in United Kingdom law. In light of the existing general duties of care employers owe to their staff, business should, for the most part, already have in place what these regulations require of them. As standards of fire safety in the workplace are already generally high in

29 Jul 1997 : Column: 153

Great Britain, most businesses will have little to do and this is reflected in the total estimated compliance costs of less than £30 million. This is significantly lower than the previous estimate--more than £1.7 billion--associated with earlier drafts of the regulations.

Forensic Science Service

Mr. Hope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will lay before Parliament the annual report and accounts for the Forensic Science Service. [11818]

Mr. Straw: I have today laid before Parliament copies of the Forensic Science Service annual report and accounts for 1996-97.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Defence Sales

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the results of the review of defence sales criteria before the House rises for the summer Adjournment. [10388]

Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to publish his policy statement on defence exports. [10642]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: I refer the hon. Members to the answer that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to my hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms) on 28 July 1997, Official Report, columns 26-29.

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