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Special Advisers
Sir Norman Fowler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the functions of his special advisers, together with their terms of contract, indicating (a) pay, (b) pension provision and (c) other benefits. [69337]
Mr. Straw: Justin Russell advises me on policy matters and Ed Owen is my adviser on media and political matters. They are employed under terms and conditions set out in the Model Contract for Special Advisers, a copy of which had been placed in the Library.
For information on salaries, I refer the right hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Bow (Ms King) on 16 November 1998, Official Report, columns 354-55.
In line with the practice of successive Administrations, information on the salaries and the paybill costs for individual Special Advisers is not provided in order to protect the privacy of the individuals concerned.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison radio stations are operated by inmates in prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [68830]
Mr. George Howarth:
Feltham young offender institution has the only radio station operated by inmates in establishments in England and Wales.
The radio station is funded by a charity called Friends of Feltham. The inmates involved are paid by the establishment in the same way as all inmates involved in purposeful activity.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average number of hours per day during 1998 that prisoners in prisons were locked in their cells. [68857]
Mr. George Howarth:
During the calendar year 1998, prisoners were locked in their cells for an average of 15.4 hours on weekdays and for an average of 16.3 hours at weekends.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons in England and Wales operate a pre-release programme; and if he will make a statement. [68832]
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Mr. George Howarth:
There are no central records of the number of prisoners operating pre-release programmes. Preparing prisoners for release is extremely important and the Prison Service provides assistance in a variety of ways. These include the delivery, by specially trained prison and probation staff and specialists from a range of voluntary organisations, of a range of advice and information on, for example, accommodation, employment, parenting skills and substance abuses.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average period of time taken by his Department to respond to complaints made to them by an inmate serving a prison sentence in England and Wales was in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [68831]
Mr. George Howarth:
This information is not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. However, the prisoner requests complaints procedure provides that prisoners should receive a reply within six weeks, and if that is not possible, they should receive an interim reply explaining the delay. There have been some delays in dealing with requests and complaints in Prison Service headquarters, and improved procedures are currently being put in place to keep prisoners informed of progress.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place those in Liverpool City Library those documents held by his Department relating to the Hillsborough disaster. [68854]
Mr. Boateng:
As much of the evidence as possible considered by Lord Justice Stuart-Smith's scrutiny of the Hillsborough disaster has already been placed in the Library and it is open to Members to arrange for their constituents to view it there. We have no plans to place copies of the material in Liverpool City Library and I am sorry that my reply to my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field), 26 October 1998, Official Report, column 3, gave that impression. I subsequently wrote to my right hon. Friend on 7 December setting out the position and placed a copy of that letter in the Library.
Maria Eagle:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports he has received from (a) the South Yorkshire Police Authority and (b) South Yorkshire Police, on the costs to the South Yorkshire Police Authority of funding the defence of David Godfrey Duckenfield and Bernard Dean Murray in the cases of Adlington v Murray and Adlington v Duckenfield; and on what dates he received those reports. [68844]
Mr. Boateng:
We have received no reports on the costs to the South Yorkshire Police Authority other than the information contained in my reply I gave on 1 February 1999, Official Report, column 428. This information was obtained from the South Yorkshire Police on 28 January and confirmed by the Police Authority on 1 February.
4 Feb 1999 : Column: 761
Mr. Rowlands:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those cases of criminal prosecution relating to the activities of mercenaries and private military companies which (a) have been brought and (b) have been brought successfully since 1987. [68694]
Mr. Boateng:
The information requested is not held on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database.
Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of convictions expressed as a proportion of the total number of recorded crimes in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [68608]
Mr. Boateng:
The available information is given in the table:
| Year | Percentages |
|---|---|
| 1993 | 5.8 |
| 1994 | 6.2 |
| 1995 | 6.2 |
| 1996 | 6.2 |
| 1997 | 7.2 |
(17) Indictable offences including those triable-either-way.
(18) Excluding other criminal damage of value £20 and under. Includes estimates for criminal damage over £20 for Merseyside and Metropolitan Police.
Circus Animals
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in respect of the treatment of circus animals; and what plans he has to review the regulations governing their use. [69015]
Mr. George Howarth: Representations have been received from the all party parliamentary group for animal welfare, Members of Parliament, animal defenders and members of the public.
The legislation--the Protection of Animals Act 1911 and the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925--make it a criminal offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to any domestic or captive wild animal. Trainers and exhibitors of circus animals are required to be registered with the local authority. Officers of local authorities have the power of entry to premises in which performing animals are being kept for training or exhibition and powers to inspect those animals.
The Home Office is planning to issue guidance to local authorities about these powers. The Department will also be seeking information about the welfare of circus animals which are kept in winter quarters. Once this information has been obtained, we will consider the matter further. In the meantime, we expect local authorities to be robust in their enforcement of existing legislation governing the use of animals in circuses.
Mr. Gordon Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the outcome has been of
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the consultation exercise that has been undertaken on the proposal to introduce a Drug Supply Offender Protection Order; and if he will make a statement. [69802]
Mr. George Howarth:
An undertaking was given during the passage of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to consult on the proposal to introduce a Drug Supply Offender Protection Order. A consultation paper was issued on 23 June, copies of which were placed in the Library together with a list of the organisations to whom it was sent.
The proposal would enable magistrates, on application, to impose an Order requiring anyone convicted or cautioned of a drug supply offence in this country or overseas to refrain from any act, if that was considered necessary to protect the public from the supply of drugs.
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