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Ministerial E-mail Address
Mr. Brake: To ask the Prime Minister what is his e-mail address. [62558]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for South Dorset (Mr. Bruce) on 20 July 1998, Official Report, column 389.
Cabinet Advisers
Mr. Fabricant: To ask the Prime Minister (1) if he will appoint a chief engineering adviser to the Cabinet with responsibilities separate from those of the Chief Scientific Adviser; [61903]
- (2) if he will list the areas of responsibility of the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Cabinet. [61904]
The Prime Minister: There is no need for such an appointment.
The responsibility of my Chief Scientific Adviser embraces the provision of advice on engineering issues, in addition to the whole spectrum of science and technology matters. He is also head of the Office of Science and Technology with responsibility for its cross-departmental functions.
Lockerbie
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Prime Minister when in December he expects to meet the Lockerbie relatives. [62852]
The Prime Minister: I will meet a group of the Lockerbie relatives on 10 December.
Social Exclusion Unit
Mr. Corbett: To ask the Prime Minister what progress the Social Exclusion Unit has made in its first year; and if he will announce the new membership of the Ministerial Network on Social Exclusion. [63135]
The Prime Minister: I established the Social Exclusion Unit in December 1997. I asked it to focus on the following priorities in its first phase of work to July 1998:
7 Dec 1998 : Column: 17
across Whitehall are working together to address some of the most intractable problems faced by deprived neighbourhoods.
These pieces of work have clearly shown the benefit of a central Unit which covers the policies of a number of Government departments, and which works at great speed with a membership of civil servants and outside experts. Other parts of Government are already learning the lessons of this method of working.
The Unit's main priorities are now:
The Unit was set up on a time limited experimental basis. Its current work programme will take it until Summer 2000 at least. Its success will be reviewed in Summer 1999, and a decision announced about its longer term future and work programme.
Truancy and School Exclusion: to make a step change in the scale of truancy and exclusions from school, and to find better solutions for those who have to be excluded.
Street Living: reducing to as near to zero as possible the numbers sleeping rough in towns and cities.
Worst Estates: developing integrated and sustainable approaches to the problems of the worst housing estates, including crime, drugs, unemployment, community breakdown, bad schools etc.
All of these are areas where action was long overdue. The Unit has reported to me on each, with a full analysis of the problem and concrete and imaginative recommendations for action, all of which I have accepted. Those recommendations are now being implemented. To take forward the work on deprived neighbourhoods, a major process of policy formulation has begun, which will contribute to a National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal to be published in early 2000. This work is the biggest piece of joined up government ever attempted--eighteen policy teams, ten Ministers and departments
the follow up work on poor neighbourhoods, and two new topics:
1. Teenage parents--to work with other Departments, building particularly on the work already undertaken by the Department of Health, to develop an integrated strategy to cut rates of teenage parenthood, particularly under age parenthood, towards the European average and propose better solutions to combat the risk of social exclusion for vulnerable teenage parents and their children. This work will report to Ministers early in the New Year.
2. 16 to 18 year olds--to work with other Departments to assess how many 16 to 18 year olds are not in education, work or training, analyse the reasons why and produce proposals to reduce the numbers significantly. To report to Ministers by Easter 1999.
| Minister | Department |
|---|---|
| Stephen Byers | HM Treasury (Chair) |
| Hilary Armstrong | Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions |
| Paul Boateng | Home Office |
| John Denham | Department of Social Security |
| Lord Falconer | Cabinet Office |
| Peter Hain | Welsh Office |
| Tessa Jowell | Department of Health |
| Geoffrey Robinson | HM Treasury |
| Barbara Roche | Department of Trade and Industry |
| Lord Sewel of Gilcomstoun | Scottish Office |
| John McFall | Northern Ireland Office |
| Andrew Smith | Department for Education and Employment |
Franco-British Summit
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Franco-British Summit on 3 to 4 December. [63089]
The Prime Minister:
The twenty-first British-French Summit took place in St. Malo on 3 and 4 December. It was a substantive summit in a cordial atmosphere, with worthwhile exchanges on a wide range of European, economic and other issues. The Summit resulted in Joint
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Declarations on European Defence and Co-operation in Africa. The texts of the Declarations have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Police and Prison Officers (Kenya)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training schemes are supported by his Department for the training of police and prison officers employed in the services in Kenya; and if he will make a statement. [62183]
Mr. Boateng: The Home Office are not at present supporting any training programmes specifically designed for police or prison officers in Kenya.
Training arrangements for police officers from Kenya would normally be funded by the Department for International Development or by the Foreign Office. Ten Kenyan police officers have attended various training courses in Britain in the last four years, including three who attended command courses at Bramshill Police College. Also, under a United Kingdom development assistance project run in Kenya by the Department for International Development, training is currently being provided for senior command officers in the Kenyan police service. This training includes management and operational skills. Under the same project, support is also being given to develop and include a human rights component in Kenyan police training programmes.
All the training courses provided by Prison Service Training Services are also available to members of the Kenyan Prison Service, subject to availability, security and financial considerations.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons in England and Wales currently have prisoners held two to a cell designed for one. [62184]
Mr. George Howarth:
Of the 133 prisons open at the end of October 1998, 63 had prisoners held two to a cell designed for one.
These data are provisional and subject to validation by prisons.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on reducing the level of illegal drug use in prisons in England and Wales. [62185]
Mr. George Howarth:
In May this year, I launched the Prison Service Drug Strategy which set out a framework for improving the assessment and treatment of drug misusers in prison and for reducing the supply of drugs into prison. Since then, the Prison Service has been allocated an extra £76m over the next three financial years from the Comprehensive Spending Review to implement that strategy. Prison Service officials are currently working with the United Kingdom Anti Drugs Co-ordination Unit, probation services and external drugs
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agencies to create specifications, services and outputs, and to identify the specific needs of individual prisons and groups of prisoners.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers are currently suspended from duty due to allegations which have been made against them by prison inmates at prisons in England and Wales. [62181]
Mr. George Howarth:
On 2 December 1998, there were 44 staff suspended from duty as a result of allegations made by prisoners at prisons in England and Wales.
Mr. Mullin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the pilot project on the introduction of new-style security passes for prison staff; and from what date it is proposed that wearing the new-style passes is to be mandatory. [62225]
Mr. George Howarth:
Evaluation of the pilot exercise, which took place between April and July this year, did not uncover any major problems. Minor practical improvements have been made to the design of the pass holder.
An instruction about the wearing of the new security pass is being prepared in consultation with the Prison Service trade unions. The issue of the pass is expected to begin shortly and be completed by April 1999. The wearing of the new pass will be mandatory from the time it is issued.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions public funds have been used to pay the debts of (i) staff messes and (ii) staff clubs, in Prison Service establishments; and what was the total amount so spent in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [61906]
Mr. George Howarth:
The Prison Service has kept central records only since 1 April 1995. Since then, records show that public funds have been used on two occasions to pay the debts of staff messes in Prison Service establishments. The sums involved were as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Year | Amount |
| 1995-96 | 23,898 |
| 1996-97 | 2,675 |
| 1997-98 | nil |
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Year | Amount |
| 1995-96 | nil |
| 1996-97 | 18,253 |
| 1997-98 | 35,717 |
7 Dec 1998 : Column: 20
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