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Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 12 May 1999, Official Report, column 156, on the private finance initiative, if he will list (i) the amounts by which the contract payments were reduced, (ii) the reason for each
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reduction, (iii) the dates on which the reductions were made and (iv) the period of the contract they relate to; if he will list the decisions on further reductions in contract payments which are pending; and if he will make a statement. [90711]
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Mr. Straw:
The available information is as given in the table.
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| Description/amounts by which contract payment reduced | Reasons for reduction | Dates reduction made | Contract period deductions relate to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration and Nationality Directorate | |||
| £4.5 million | Delay in delivering full implementation of programme | Between 24 April 1996 and 31 March 1999 | 24 April 1996-31 March 1999 |
| Medway Secure Training Centre | |||
| 1. £618,721 | 1. Non-availability of places | Between September 1998 and May 1999 | 1. 18 July 1998-30 April 1999 |
| 2. £61,161 | 2. Failure to meet performance standards | 2. 17 April 1998-30 April 1999 | |
| Data Capture (United Kingdom Passport Agency) | |||
| £66,931 (service credits) | 1. Failure in systems availability (£47,235). | March 1999 | 5 October 1998-31 March 1999 |
| 2. Accuracy errors in data passed to United Kingdom Passport Agency | |||
| Manufacture of Digital Passports (United Kingdom Passport Agency) | |||
| £4,489 (service credits) | Faults in passport books | Between 5 October 1998-to date | 5 October 1998-to date |
| Altcourse Prison | |||
| £28,089 | Failure to meet performance standards | May 1998 | December 1997-February 1998 |
| Lowdham Grange Prison | |||
| 1. £702 | 1. Unavailable place | 1. July 1998 | 1. 14-22 June 1999 |
| 2. £82,645 | 2. Failure to meet performance standards | 2. Between October 1998 and March 1999 | 2. June 1998-February 1999 |
| Parc Prison | |||
| 1. £54,782 | 1. Failure to meet standard contract requirements | 1. March 1998 | 1. February 1998 |
| 2. £751,309 | 2. Failure to meet specific performance standards | 2. Between May 1998 and October 1999 | 2. 17 November 1997- 30 November 1998 |
| 3. £835 | 3. Doubling cell occupation beyond permitted level | 3. Between August 1998 and June 1999 | 3. July 1998-May 1999 |
| Prison PABX System | |||
| £441,382 | Late delivery of systems | Between April 1996 and October 1997 | April 1996-October 1997 |
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Of the contracts referred to in the table, further payment reductions are due to be implemented as follows:
(a) Immigration and Nationality Directorate Case work Programme
In response to the continued delay in full delivery of the programme, payments to the contractor will be made at a lower level until such time as delivery is complete.
(b) Medway Secure Training Centre
In response to failure in performance during the period 1 May 1999 to 31 July 1999, further payment reductions are due--amount yet to be determined.
(c) Data Capture (United Kingdom Passports Agency)
Further reductions relating to timeliness of delivery of data and system availability in respect of this contract are under negotiation.
(d) Parc Prison
Further reductions for double cell occupation and failure to meet performance standards for the period between 1 March 1999 and 30 June 1999 are due. Amount: £2,287.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department for written answer on a named
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day between May 1997 and 14 April 1999; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that named day. [91065]
Mr. Straw:
I refer to the reply given to you on 15 April, Official Report, column 316. A further 11 'Named Day' parliamentary questions were answered by my Department up to, and including, the 14 April 1999 and received a substantive reply on the day requested. This does not alter the figure of 75.4 per cent. as previously stated.
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the remission rates applied to prison sentences; and what monitoring his Department undertakes of remission rates in other European countries. [90989]
Mr. Boateng:
Provisions in Part II of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 abolished remission. In the reply I gave to my hon. Friend on 13 July, Official Report, column 109, I set out the new arrangements under the Act. We have no current plans to change these arrangements.
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The Government do not currently monitor the release arrangements in other European countries. However, at its meeting in June, the Council of Europe's European Committee on Crime Problems mandated the Council on Penological Co-operation to examine
Ms Kelly:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported racial incidents there were by region in each year since 1995; and how many led to a conviction. [91165]
Mr. Straw:
Available information about the number of racist incidents recorded by each police force since 1995 is set out in the table. These are based on the Association of Chief Police Officers definition of a racial incident
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry recommended that these incidents are referred to as "racist" incidents and that simpler and clearer definition should be used;
Information on convictions arising from racist incidents is not available.
the question of early (conditional) release (parole).
Terms of reference for this examination have yet to be drawn up.
"any incident in which it appears to the reporting or investigating officer that the complaint involves an element of racial motivation; or any incident which includes an allegation of racial motivation made by any person."
Last year, a breakdown of the number of racist incidents recorded by the police in each police area was included for the first time in the Home Office publication "Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System", a copy of which is in the Library. The statistics for 1998-99 will be published in the autumn.
"A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person."
The new definition was adopted by all police forces on 29 April 1999.
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Freedom of Information
Ms Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from organisations concerned with health and safety on the draft Freedom of Information Bill. [90809]
Mr. Straw: Up to and including 12 July 1999 I had received one representation on the draft Freedom of Information Bill from an organisation concerned with health and safety. This was from the Health and Safety Commission and Health and Safety Executive (dated 7 July) and was a contribution to the public consultation exercise.
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