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Police
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers, per force in total, there were in England and Wales on 31 March; how many there were in each case per head of population; and if he will make a statement. [84367]
Mr. Boateng: The information is not yet available. Once all the data from police forces has been received and validated, the statistics will be placed in the Library. I expect this information to be available in early June, on the basis of last year's timetable.
Cleveland Police
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 6 May 1999, Official Report, column 468, on the Cleveland Police, if the meeting of the Cleveland Police Authority on 8 February discussed the 999 call from the house of the former Deputy Chief Constable on 20 January. [84259]
Mr. Boateng: Yes. The issue was dealt with as a confidential matter in private session in accordance with Section 100 of the Local Government Act 1972. It would, therefore, not be appropriate to provide any further details.
Lancet Inquiry
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 4 May 1999, Official Report, column 317, on the cost of the Lancet inquiry, if the salaries of the eight suspended officers mentioned in his answer of 20 April 1999, Official Report, column 484, were included in his breakdown of costs. [84249]
Mr. Boateng: The salaries of the eight suspended officers were not included in the breakdown of costs, as these referred solely to the salary costs of Cleveland Officers working on the Lancet Inquiry and not those officers who are the subject of the investigation.
The salary costs of the eight suspended officers total £282,703 per annum inclusive of allowances and costs. In accordance with Force policy, those salaries are carried by the particular District to which the officers were posted when they were suspended; in this case all eight officers were posted to Middlesbrough District.
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Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 4 May 1999, Official Report, column 317, on the Lancet Inquiry, if he will list the total cost of the salaries of the 11 officers, and the total number of days each one has worked on the Lancet Inquiry. [84260]
Mr. Boateng:
One of the 11 officers of the Force's Organised Crime Group has tendered his intention to retire from the Police Service with effect from 23 May 1999. The remaining 10 officers' salaries total £326,351, inclusive of allowances and costs. The information requested on the number of days each one has worked on the Lancet Inquiry is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost to Cleveland Constabulary.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of the Government's evidence to the House of Lords European Communities Committee's inquiry into the corpus juris report. [84070]
Kate Hoey:
Copies of the evidence have now been placed in the Library.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of recorded homophobic crimes for each police force in each year since 1996. [84069]
Mr. Boateng:
This information is not collected centrally, although Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary have encouraged police forces to implement locally, recording systems for homophobic incidents and crime.
In the Home Office, recorded crime statistics incidents of homophobic crime could appear in the categories of, for example, violence against the person and criminal damage, but there is no way of identifying those offences which have a homophobic element.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to reduce the number of homophobic attacks. [84068]
Mr. Boateng:
The crime reduction partnerships established under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 are required to carry out audits and publish strategies to deal with crime in their area. This includes strategies to deal with crimes against the gay and lesbian community.
The police service is also taking steps to improve communication between forces and gay and lesbian communities both to promote better understanding within the service of the impact of such incidents on the community and to provide a better service. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) published in 1996 a good practice guide for dealing with homophobic incidents. Recording and monitoring systems are being improved in order to enable forces to deal appropriately with such incidents.
Agreement has recently been reached by ACPO that the definition of a homophobic incident should be simplified
18 May 1999 : Column: 298
to bring it into line with the more simplified definition of a racist incident recommended by the Macpherson Inquiry. This will be promulgated throughout the service.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish the programme and itinerary for the visits of the biotechnology clusters team to centres in the United Kingdom and overseas. [83314]
Mr. Battle
[holding answer 5 May 1999]: As announced on 16 April, the team of experts who will accompany Lord Sainsbury on a fact-finding mission to examine the growth of biotechnology clusters will undertake a programme of visits in the UK and the United States as follows:
| April 1999 | May 1999 | June 1999 |
|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | Seattle | Boston |
| Guildford | Central Scotland | -- |
| Oxford | -- | -- |
In addition, officials are undertaking visits and consultations in Manchester, York, London, Newcastle, Norwich and Cardiff and, where appropriate, will be compiling data on other centres.
Export Credits Guarantee Department
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what ethical and environmental guidance exists for the Export Credits Guarantee Department on applications for support. [83976]
Mr. Wilson: ECGD abides by the government's policy on the environment and human rights as outlined in Foreign Office Mission Statement.
If there are environmental or ethical concerns which could impact adversely on a project for which ECGD has been asked to provide support, as part of its risk assessment process, ECGD looks closely at how these concerns can be mitigated or resolved before deciding whether to provide cover. ECGD is currently strengthening its environmental screening process and will publish further guidance for its customers later in the year. In relation to defence transactions, ECGD support is available only when export licences have been granted.
Ilisu Dam
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate his Department has made of the number of people likely to be displaced as a result of the proposed construction of the Ilisu Dam. [83977]
Mr. Wilson: The advice we have so far received is that between 12,000 to 15,000 people may be displaced as a result of the construction of the Ilisu Power Project. We will be commissioning independent advice on this and related matters.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what amount of credit is being
18 May 1999 : Column: 299
requested by Balfour Beattie from the Export Credits Guarantee Department to underwrite its share of the cost of the Ilisu Dam. [83978]
Mr. Wilson:
While the final amount of UK supply has not yet been finalised (and is a figure that at this stage is normally treated as commercial-in-confidence and not disclosed), I am advised that the current estimate of loan value is between US$200m and US$250m. No decision on ECGD cover has yet been taken.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the conditions which have been applied to the Her Majesty's Government's granting of export credit insurance for the Ilisu Dam. [84531]
Mr. Wilson:
No decision on ECGD cover has been taken and so it is not possible to make any statement at this time.
Mr. Alan Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if approval of UK export credit guarantees for the Ilisu Dam in Turkey will be conditional on the project complying with (a) the World Bank's guidelines and (b) the UN Convention on the Laws of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses International Waterways. [84228]
Mr. Wilson:
We have yet to take a decision on whether ECGD support should be made available for this project. We require to be satisfied on a number of issues, including the implications for the local population and issues concerning downstream waterflows and neighbouring states.
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