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Prisoners (Release)
Mr. Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners not excluded by paragraph 2.3 of IG 36/95 have left prison since April 1995 without resettlement leave having been granted. [13055]
Ms Quin: The information requested is not recorded centrally and could be made available only at disproportionate cost by an examination of individual prisoner records.
Prisons (Psychiatric Services)
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of doctors currently working in the Prison Service are qualified in psychiatry; and what plans he has to increase the numbers qualified. [13197]
Ms Quin: Twenty-one out of 197 doctors employed by the Prison Service are either members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists or holders of the diploma in psychiatric medicine. In addition, visiting specialists from the national health service provide the Prison Service with specialist psychiatric services.
The Prison Service, in conjunction with Nottingham university, introduced the diploma in prison medicine in October 1996. The aim of the diploma is to support the professional development of prison doctors. It has a significant psychiatric component which should be helpful to those doctors who are not specifically qualified in psychiatry.
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in England and Wales are currently awaiting transfer to NHS psychiatric hospitals; and what is the average waiting time for such a transfer. [13195]
Ms Quin:
On 28 October 1997, 49 prisoners--25 sentenced and 24 unsentenced--were awaiting transfer to a national health service psychiatric hospital. The average time taken in 1996 between receipt in the Home Office of an application for transfer, which includes the two medical reports required under the Mental Health Act 1983, and the issue of a warrant authorising transfer to hospital, was eight days in the case of unsentenced prisoners and 16 days for sentenced prisoners.
Only in very exceptional circumstances would transfer not take place within 14 days of the issue of a warrant.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has conducted and with whom concerning the most effective manner of incorporating the European convention on human rights into United Kingdom statute law. [13556]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 31 July 1997, Official Report, column 567.
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Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will assess the advantages of introducing identity cards to assist the prohibition of the sale of (a) cigarettes, (b) alcohol and (c) solvents and other volatile substances to those under age. [13131]
Mr. George Howarth:
We are considering the options but have yet to decide whether identity cards should be introduced in the United Kingdom. The issues go far wider than proof of age for purchases. However, the fact that an identity card scheme could help to prevent the sale of age-restricted goods such as tobacco, alcohol and solvents to youngsters is one of the potential benefits which will be taken into account.
Mrs. Dunwoody:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list his Department's priorities in relation to fire safety for the United Kingdom presidency of the EU. [12983]
Mr. George Howarth:
We do not propose any initiative relating to fire safety specifically as a result of the United Kingdom presidency of the European Union. However, on the domestic front, as I announced in a reply to a question from the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) on 23 June, Official Report, column 360, we are developing proposals to consolidate and rationalise our fire safety legislation. We hope shortly to publish a consultative document setting out our proposals.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the financial difficulties facing the London fire service and on his response to it. [13224]
Mr. George Howarth:
I have received representations from the London fire and civil defence authority about expected future funding difficulties. The revenue provision for the authority in 1998-99 will be announced in the coming weeks as part of the provisional local government settlement for England. I understand that the authority is making a number of proposals for reductions in firefighting resources. Before these could be implemented, they would require the approval of my right hon. Friend under the provisions of section 19 of the Fire Services Act 1947.
Mr. Horam:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will set out the calculations by which a fire service in a C risk category area must meet its attendance time requirement of eight to 10 minutes under Home Office standards; [13485]
(3) what action is taken if a fire service in a C risk category area does not meet its eight to 10 minute attendance time standard. [13487]
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Mr. George Howarth:
Statutory responsibility for the provision of a fire service to meet efficiently all normal requirements rests locally with the fire authority. In performance of their duties, fire authorities have regard to the national standards of fire cover, which have been endorsed by the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council and are recommended by the Home Secretary.
The national standards set out for fires in each category of fire risk the recommended minimum number of firefighting appliances which should attend within predetermined times. The recommended response is the same whatever time of day an incident takes place. In conducting reviews of fire risk, brigades carry out timed runs, making assumptions about the time it will take for a fire appliance to reach a given point in accordance with local traffic conditions. Such evidence will also be supported by an examination of actual attendance times.
The national standards are not statutory and they do allow for the possibility of brigades not meeting the recommended response time for every fire call, for example in circumstances where a number of simultaneous incidents occur. For each response to a fire call, brigades record the time from the despatch of the applicant to arrival at the incident and it is the practice to investigate the reasons if in the case the national recommended response times have not been met.
Each brigade is inspected annually by Her Majesty's inspectorate of fire services to monitor, among other things, whether the national recommended standards are in general being maintained.
The overall performance of brigades in meeting the recommended response times is also monitored by the Audit Commission, which publishes the results of its findings. The Audit Commission said earlier this year that the fire service was one of the most consistently high performing services in local government.
A fire authority may not change the staffing of a fire station from whole-time to day-crewed or retained without the approval of the Home Secretary under section 19(4) of the Fire Services Act 1947. He will approve only if he is satisfied that the fire authority has consulted about its proposals and, on the advice of Her Majesty's inspectorate, that the national standards will continue to be maintained.
Mr. Horam:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out the pension arrangements for firemen in the London area. [13486]
Mr. George Howarth:
Regular firefighters in London, as elsewhere in England and Wales, are members of the firemen's pension scheme, the current provisions of which are set out in the Firemen's Pension Scheme Order 1992, as amended.
Mr. Horam:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he had made of the forward cost of pensions for firemen retiring in the London area; and what assessment he has made of the impact of that cost on the provision of fire services. [13480]
Mr. George Howarth:
In reaching its decisions on the provisional local government settlement for 1998-99, the Government will have regard to the pressures on the fire
30 Oct 1997 : Column: 844
service, as on other local authority services. These pressures include the increasing pension commitments of fire authorities.
(2) if, when a fire service in a C risk category area is moved from round-the-clock cover to a retained basis, it is still expected to meet its attendance time target of eight to 10 minutes; and what the revised time calculations are; [13481]
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