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Asylum Seekers
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizens of (a) Albania, (b) Hungary, (c) Macedonia, (d) Romania and (e) Slovenia have sought political asylum in the United Kingdom in the last three months; how many applications have been accepted; and what were the equivalent figures for each of the last three years. [64240]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The available information is given in the table.
| Total applications | Total decisions | Grants of asylum | Grants of ELR | Total refusals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | |||||
| Albania | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Hungary | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Macedonia | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Romania | 200 | 235 | -- | -- | 235 |
| Slovenia | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 1996 | |||||
| Albania | 35 | 10 | -- | -- | 10 |
| Hungary | * | 5 | -- | -- | 5 |
| Macedonia | 5 | 10 | -- | -- | 10 |
| Romania | 115 | 195 | -- | * | 195 |
| Slovenia | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1997(34) | |||||
| Albania | 125 | 40 | * | * | 35 |
| Hungary | -- | * | -- | -- | -- |
| Macedonia | 5 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Romania | 175 | 220 | * | * | 220 |
| Slovenia | 5 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 1998(34) | |||||
| Albania | 190 | 65 | -- | -- | 65 |
| Hungary | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Macedonia | 5 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Romania | 285 | 295 | -- | -- | 295 |
| Slovenia | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
(33) Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with * = 1 or 2.
(34) Provisional figures.
Domestic Violence
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has
16 Dec 1998 : Column: 608
had with police forces about domestic violence; and what plans he has to ensure better police protection for women threatened by domestic violence. [63906]
Mr. Boateng:
Home Office officials maintain regular contact with the lead representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers on domestic violence.
Before too long, I expect to be able to publish two Home Office-sponsored research reports on domestic violence policing. Their recommendations and other guidance will be disseminated next year to police forces throughout England and Wales.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the limits on the information which the police can demand from service providers in respect of e-mail without the need to secure approval from him. [63792]
Mr. Straw:
Under the Interception of Communications Act 1985, e-mail in the course of its transmission over the public telecommunications network may be intercepted only under a warrant issued by the Secretary of State or for one of the limited purposes in section 1(2) or 1(3) of the Act. E-mail held by an Internet Service Provider is subject to data protection legislation and any conditions in the service provider's licence. It is open to the police to apply for a court order in order to obtain any e-mail retained by an Internet Service Provider.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the legislative framework relating to the interception of signals connecting (a) mobile phones, (b) pagers and (c) interactive cable TV services. [63559]
Mr. Straw:
The Interception of Communications Act 1985 provides that communications may lawfully be intercepted in the course of their transmission by means of a public telecommunications system only in obedience to a warrant issued by the Secretary of State or in certain other circumstances specified in section 1(2) and (3) of the Act. This applies equally to mobile and fixed public telecommunications systems and to interactive cable TV services.
The question whether a communication is, at the point of interception, on the public or the private side of a telecommunications system is a point of fact which has received some measure of clarification by the Courts. I have announced the intention to legislate to bring so-called "private side interception" within the law on interception.
Pagers operate by wireless telegraphy and, as such, are covered by section 5 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949. This provides that it is an offence to use Wireless Telegraphy intending to obtain information about the contents of a message, its sender or the recipient, except under the authority of the Secretary of State or in the course of a person's duty as a servant of the Crown. As police officers are not, in law, servants of the Crown in England and Wales, police applications to intercept pagers in the course of criminal investigations are warranted by the my Department under my authority.
16 Dec 1998 : Column: 609
Mr. Swinney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the offices or agencies under his control which will be subject to L.2 of Head L in Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998; how many people are currently employed in these offices; and what equal opportunities practices are adopted in these offices. [63794]
Mr. Straw:
Schedule 5 refers to reserved matters. Work is in train to agree secondary legislation on the specification of cross-border public authorities. Until that work is completed, it is not possible to say how many people are employed in these offices or what specific equal opportunities practices are adopted. My Department is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all staff, regardless of ethnic origin, religious belief, sex, sexual orientation, disability or any other irrelevant factor.
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much money is currently planned to be spent on the regeneration of coalfield communities in Wales. [62619]
Mr. Hain:
The needs of deprived areas, which include communities within former coalfields, of the South Wales Valleys and North East Wales, are taken into account in the various spending programmes of the Welsh Office. Specific programmes, directed to these areas to tackle social, economic and environmental regeneration, include nearly £30 million in 1998-99 under Welsh Challenge and the Strategic Development Scheme; £337,000 in 1998-2000 on the 4 of the 8 approved "People in Communities" pilots in these areas aimed at tackling; and nearly £20 million by the WDA on reclaiming 370 hectares of land, the majority of which is in former coal mining areas. An estimated £10 million of New Deal funding for Wales is expected to be spent in the Employment Service Districts covering Welsh coalfields areas in 1998-99.
The share for Wales of the recently announced endowment in lieu of the £10 million surplus from the miners' pension fund will be used to fund further projects in former coalmining areas. The South Wales Valleys are part of the area of Wales which is set to gain Objective 1 status, bringing access to a substantial package of European aid.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will ensure that imported (a) pork and (b) chicken has not been reared and fed on bonemeal or other animal by-products. [63835]
Mr. Rooker
[holding answer 14 December 1998]: No. The ban on meat and bonemeal in pig and chicken feed in the United Kingdom is to prevent cross contamination
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of ruminant feed with meat and bonemeal incorporated into feed for other farm animals. There is, therefore, no basis on which it would be reasonable to restrict imports of pig meat or chicken. However, my hon. Friend may be aware that the Government have received undertakings from the major retailers that all own label fresh pork, bacon, ham and sausages sold in their supermarkets will come from meat and bonemeal (and stall and tether) free production systems.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many visits by MAFF personnel have been undertaken to intensive egg production units since 1 May 1997; and what percentage of these have been unannounced. [63643]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 15 December 1998]: Visits by Ministry personnel to intensive egg production units, as distinct from packing stations, are basically those undertaken by members of the State Veterinary Service in relation to animal welfare. 272 welfare visits have been undertaken since 1 May 1997. Of these, 44 per cent. were undertaken in response to complaints or other indications that welfare may be poor, and in many cases were unannounced.
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