House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 5 Jul 1999 (pt 1)

5 Jul 1999 : Column: 323

Written Answers to Questions

Monday 5 July 1999

HOME DEPARTMENT

Climate Change Levy

Mr. Pearson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of (a) the cost of the climate change levy to his Department and (b) the savings from the reduction in National Insurance Contributions that will occur when it is introduced. [88863]

Mr. Straw: The net impact of the climate change levy and the associated reduction in main rate of employers' National Insurance Contributions on the Home Office will depend on the rates of climate change levy. The final rates of climate change levy will not be set until Finance Bill 2000.

In addition, the Government are still considering a number of detailed issues on the tax treatment of different energy products which could have a significant impact in some instances. It is, therefore, not possible to give definitive figures about the impact of the climate change levy on the Home Office.

Ministerial Protection

Mr. Stott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which class of vote covers expenditure incurred on protection of Ministers and other current and former parliamentarians; and what is the total of this expenditure in the current financial year. [88849]

Mr. Straw: The class of vote covering such expenditure is Class IV. It is not the practice to publish how much is spent on protective security measures as to do so would provide an indication of the level of security being provided.

Restaurant Health Inspections

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to include individual restaurant health inspection data in his Department's proposals for freedom of information. [89131]

Mr. Straw: Food hygiene inspections are conducted by local authority Environmental Health Officers under the Food Safety Act 1990. This Act does not prohibit the disclosure of inspection reports unless they contain confidential information.

Local authorities are public authorities within the meaning of the draft Freedom of Information Bill and will be required to apply the legislation to information requests when the Bill is enacted.

Clause 34(2) of the draft Bill exempts information from the right of access if disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person. It is possible that inspection reports may fall for consideration under this exemption. But, even if the disclosure of a

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report is exempt by virtue of this clause, authorities would have a duty under clause 14 to consider, on a case by case basis, whether the information requested should be disclosed in the public interest.

In addition, under clause 6 of the draft legislation, public authorities would have a duty to adopt a publication scheme, which has regard to the public interest and must be approved by the Information Commissioner. Under clause 6, a local authority could agree with the Information Commissioner that such reports should be published as of right and if so, in what form and to what timetable.

Criminal Records Checks (Voluntary Sector)

Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the cost of providing free access to criminal records checks for the voluntary sector; [89123]

(3) what assessment he has made of the effects of charging for criminal records checks on the voluntary sector; [89121]

(4) when the Criminal Records Bureau will be established; [89124]

(5) what representations he has received on the effects of charging for criminal records checks on the voluntary sector. [89120]

Mr. George Howarth: It is intended that all applicants will be required to pay for certificates from the Criminal Records Bureau. We have received a large number of representations from voluntary organisations and individuals on this subject. We considered very carefully whether there was any way in which free checks could be provided for volunteers. Whilst we acknowledge the valuable contribution volunteers make, we have concluded that it will not be practicable to provide any free checks from the Criminal Records Bureau for volunteers or for any other groups. We realise that this is unwelcome news but providing free checks would prove an unsustainable burden on the public purse and may increase demand for certificates from the Bureau to an uncontrollable extent. In addition, we do not consider it would be fair to allow volunteers to have free certificates when there are other equally deserving groups such as the unemployed or the disabled.

It is difficult to estimate what the cost of free certificates would be to the Bureau, as it is not known how many volunteers would be required to apply for certificates, but the cost is potentially enormous. If checks were provided only to new volunteers seeking the higher levels of checks, the cost could exceed £10 million a year. If checks were extended to all existing volunteers, the cost could be between £40--£200 million. The cost of the fees for certificates from the Bureau will be kept to the minimum necessary to recoup costs and to provide a satisfactory service.

The Criminal Records Bureau is being established to enable checks to be carried out to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children or vulnerable adults. It will be for voluntary organisations to decide whether

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volunteers require a certificate, and a certificate will not obviate the need for voluntary organisations to carry out their own checks and references as part of normal recruitment procedures. However, the over-riding consideration at all times must be the protection of the vulnerable, and the service provided by the Criminal Records Bureau will help to achieve this. We do not believe that volunteering will diminish with the introduction of these checks.

The Bureau will be set up in Merseyside and work on implementation and timing is being taken forward.

M4 Bus Lane

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists have been (a) cautioned and (b) charged for using the new bus lane on the M4. [89174]

Mr. Boateng: The information requested is not available.

Emergency Services

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average time for an officer to answer the telephone to a 999 call for the (a) London Ambulance Service, (b) Metropolitan Police and (c) London Fire Service in (i) 1999 to date, (ii) 1998 and (iii) 1997; what were the target times in each of those periods; and what percentage of calls met those targets. [89253]

Mr. George Howarth: This information is not held centrally; however, the following information has been supplied by the London Ambulance Service, Metropolitan Police and London Fire Service:

The London Ambulance Service answers approximately 90 per cent. of 999 calls within five seconds. It aims to achieve a target of 95 per cent. of calls within five seconds by April 2000. 99 per cent. of calls are answered within 15 seconds.

The Metropolitan Police aims to answer 80 per cent. of calls within 15 seconds. In 1997, it answered 90.8 per cent. within target time; in 1998, 88.6 per cent; and to 30 June 1999, 80.2 per cent.

The London Fire Brigade aims to answer 90 per cent. of calls within 20 seconds. In 1997 it answered 93 per cent. of calls in 6 seconds; in 1998, 96 per cent. of calls in 4 seconds; and to 29 June 1999, 96 per cent. of calls in 3 seconds.

Immigration Detainees

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people charged with immigration offences were detained in prisons in England and Wales on 1 June. [89177]

Mr. George Howarth: The available information is for 31 May 1999 and shows that 480 persons were detained in prisons in England and Wales under the Immigration Act 1971.

Extradition Treaties

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the countries which do not have an extradition treaty with the United Kingdom. [89175]

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Kate Hoey: Details of the United Kingdom's extradition arrangements are not available on this basis. Those countries with whom the United Kingdom has extradition arrangements follow. The Extradition Act 1989 enables special extradition arrangements to be made with foreign states with whom the United Kingdom has no extradition arrangements. In addition, there are a number of international conventions which allow for the extradition of fugitives between ratifying states for certain serious offences, even in the absence of an extradition arrangement.

Countries with bilateral extradition treaties with the United Kingdom (with date of entry into force)

1. Albania: 1927

2. Argentina: 1894, 1980

3. Bolivia: 1898

4. Brazil: 1997

5. Chile: 1898

6. Colombia: 1889

7. Cuba: 1905

8. Ecuador: 1886

9. Guatemala: 1886

10. Haiti: 1876

11. Iraq: 1933