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Prison Population
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of when the prison population will return to the level at May 1997. [89832]
Mr. George Howarth: No such estimates have been made. The latest projections of the future prison population were produced in May 1999 and a summary is included in the April "Prison Population Brief" which has been placed on the internet at http://www/homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm.
Animal Experiments
Mr. Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the subject of LD 50 tests on animals; and if he will make a statement. [89724]
Mr. George Howarth: I have received a number of letters on this topic. The most recent correspondence is with the legal consultant to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection. It would be inappropriate to make a statement at this time as the matter may come before the courts and I do not wish to anticipate or prejudice any such proceedings.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers in transit in the United Kingdom have been stopped from their onward journey and (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for bearing a false document in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998 and (iv) 1999 to date. [89674]
Mr. Boateng:
Details of the number of asylum seekers prosecuted and convicted cannot be identified separately from the information held on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database. I understand that many of the prosecutions relate to people whom the carrying companies refuse to carry. The Home Office will not necessarily be involved and no record is kept of the number of such cases.
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Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the proposed changes to the distribution mechanisms for civil defence grants. [89960]
Mr. George Howarth:
The Home Office provides £14.038 million civil defence grant per annum to eligible local authorities in England and Wales as a contribution towards the cost incurred in meeting their civil defence duties. The grant is not intended to meet the full cost of their emergency planning services.
The current system of grant distribution is based on a formula, agreed with the then Local Authority Associations in 1992, and largely based on a two-tier system of local government. The reorganisation of local government created new Unitary authorities in England and Wales, all with a responsibility for emergency planning and, consequently, access to civil defence grant. This reorganisation created numerous anomalies within the funding arrangements that could only be properly addressed by introducing a new mechanism.
The sole avenue of consultation on this issue has been with the Local Government Association (LGA). Following discussions with the LGA a new three-tier grant distribution mechanism has been announced. The mechanism is based on the following rationale:
To ensure protection to those areas where grant will reduce, the full impact of the new mechanism will be phased over one year, 2000-01, with no authority losing more than 10 per cent. of its current allocation.
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has responded to Shropshire County Council's letter of 18 June regarding the proposed distribution mechanism for civil defence grants; and if he will make a statement. [89961]
Mr. George Howarth:
The Head of Emergency Planning replied to the letter from the Chief Executive of Shropshire County Council on 6 July.
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the definitions in law of sexual offences. [90117]
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Mr. Boateng:
The Sex Offences Review has been set up to review the law in England and Wales. Its remit is to recommend clear and coherent sex offences which protect individuals, especially children and the more vulnerable, from abuse and exploitation; to enable abusers to be appropriately punished; and to be fair and non- discriminatory in accordance with the European Court of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. The review started in January this year and hopes to report at the end of the year.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to decide whether compensation will be paid under the terms of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to (a) Nicholas Mullen and (b) Gilbert Thomas Patrick McNamee. [90071]
Mr. Straw:
I expect to be able to decide these applications by the end of August.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average time between receipt of applications for compensation for miscarriages of justice under the terms of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and a decision by the Secretary of State as to whether compensation would be paid for each year from 1991 to date. [90072]
Mr. Straw:
All applications for compensation for wrongful conviction are considered first under the provisions of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and then, if those requirements are not met, under the ex-gratia arrangements announced by the then Home Secretary in his reply to the then hon. Member for Beaconsfield, 29 November 1985, Official Report, columns 689-90, by which I have agreed to be bound.
all 178 grant eligible authorities will receive a basic allocation of £45,000 to ensure a minimum level of service, and the delivery of basic standards of preparedness;
County Councils will receive an allocation of £10,000 for each of the District Councils within the County boundary in recognition of the service that a County must provide to constituent Districts; and
remaining grant after the first two elements have been addressed will be allocated according to Bellwin thresholds. The Bellwin Scheme, operated by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, sets a level of expenditure above which central government may contribute to costs incurred by local authorities in responding to major incidents. The use of Bellwin acknowledges the relationship between population size and the workload of emergency planning teams in large areas.
This new mechanism provides funds to all eligible authorities and now has the advantage of being clear, readily understood and equitable.
| Year | Days |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 153 |
| 1992 | 75 |
| 1993 | 100 |
| 1994 | 122 |
| 1995 | 276 |
| 1996 | 309 |
| 1997 | 205 |
| 1998 | 37 |
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
"Sustainable Energy From Waste"
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to publicise his Department's "Sustainable Energy from Waste" pamphlet; and if he will make a statement. [89118]
Mr. Battle:
The Department of Trade and Industry's pamphlet "Sustainable Energy from Waste" was published on 8 June at the annual conference and
7 Jul 1999 : Column: 543
exhibition of the Institute of Wastes Management in Torbay. It was very well received and is being distributed through the Energy from Waste Association and other relevant trade bodies and through companies and local authorities actively supporting energy from waste as an essential element of an integrated approach to sustainable waste management. The pamphlet complements three other publications produced under the Department's new and renewable energy programme: "An Introduction to Household Waste Management"; "Energy from Waste--Best Practice Guide"; and "Household Waste Management--Some Examples of Current Practice". The latter publication was jointly sponsored with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and all are available from the New and Renewable Energy Enquiries Bureau at ETSU, Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RA (tel: 01235 432450). On 30 June DETR published "A Way With Waste--A Draft Waste Strategy for England and Wales" for public consultation. This envisages that increased recycling and energy from waste will be vital in the next decade. During the month of June 1999 the "Sustainable Energy from Waste" pamphlet was the single most requested publication from the New and Renewable Energy Enquiries Bureau. It will be publicised further in issue 41 of "New Review", the magazine for renewable energy, which is expected to be published at the end of July and will also be available from the New and Renewable Energy Enquiries Bureau.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy that all homes within the United Kingdom should be connected to mains electricity by the end of 2002; and if he will make a statement. [89851]
Mr. Battle:
Obviously it is desirable that the relatively small number of homes without mains electricity (less than 1 per cent. of the total UK housing stock) should enjoy such a service. Unfortunately, since the majority of these households are in remote areas, the costs involved can be significant. As is recognised in existing legislation, it would be unfair for existing customers to subsidise the cost of connection to bring down the price for new ones. However, in cases where a supply has been requested and a quote for the connection has been given, the charge can be subject to determination by the Director General of Electricity Supply. Some remote communities have benefited from EU fund assistance with the cost of connection.
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