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Select Committee Reports (Leaks)

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what amendments have been made to the Ministerial Code in the past year in relation (a) to soliciting leaked drafts of

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select committee reports and (b) to their use and retention if their receipt was unsolicited; and if he will make a statement; [98135]

(2) what instructions have been given to (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants in relation to the handling of unsolicited leaked drafts of select committee reports. [98134]

The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton (Mr. O'Brien) on 28 October 1999, Official Report, column 953.

National Farmers Union

Mr. Fraser: To ask the Prime Minister (1) how many meetings he has had since August with the President of the National Farmers Union; who else was present; and what was discussed; [98391]

(2) how many meetings have been held since August between Mr. Alistair Campbell and the President of the National Farmers Union; who else was present; and what was discussed. [98393]

The Prime Minister: I met the President of the National Farmers Union on 8 September 1999, when we discussed a number of issues concerning the farming industry. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Director General of the National Farmers Union also attended the meeting.

My Chief Press Secretary has not held a meeting with the President of the National Farmers Union.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Hunting with Dogs

Mr. Michael J. Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans in respect of hunting with dogs. [R] [98388]

Mr. Straw: I am announcing today how the Government wish to proceed on this issue.

The Government's manifesto commitment was for a free vote on whether hunting with hounds should be banned. Such a free vote took place during proceedings in the 1997-98 Session on the Bill to outlaw hunting with dogs sponsored by my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester. His Bill received a Second Reading by 411 votes to 151. I well understand the frustration of many hon. Members that no legislative conclusion followed.

I am, therefore, pleased to announce that the Government will offer reasonable time, if necessary, and drafting assistance for this issue to be considered by the House of Commons through a Private Member's Bill on a free vote. We shall consult the House authorities, as appropriate, on how this can best be taken forward.

The Government have decided that there should first be an inquiry. This will be a committee of inquiry not into whether hunting is right or wrong, which is a matter for Parliament to decide. Instead, the inquiry will be put in place better to inform the debate.

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The inquiry will look at the practical issues involved in hunting with dogs, how a ban could be implemented and what the consequences of a ban would be. It will provide an opportunity for the facts about hunting properly to be considered.

Also, it will enable an examination of the effect on the rural economy, agriculture and pest control, the social and cultural life of particular areas of countryside, the management and conservation of wildlife and animal welfare of hunting and if hunting were to be banned. The inquiry will take evidence from all interested parties.

The inquiry will be chaired by the noble Lords, Lord Burns. It will be asked to report by late spring next year. The names of the other members of the inquiry will be announced as soon as possible. The report will be put before Parliament.

Once the inquiry has reported, the Government's offer of time and drafting assistance will take effect.

Copies of this reply have been placed in the Library and Vote Office.

Radio Communications

Mr. Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total estimated cost of the Public Safety Radio Communications Project; and how much of this the Government are going to fund. [96404]

Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with police authorities and chief constables regarding the allocation of funding for the Public Safety Radio Communications Project; and what estimate he has made of the project's cost in each of the police force areas in England and Wales. [97233]

Mr. Charles Clarke: My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, and I have frequent discussions with police authority representatives and chief constables about police resources, including funding for the Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP). In addition my officials and I have had discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities about the funding of PSRCP.

The Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP) is still in detailed negotiations on price and contract provision. Therefore, figures could change as contract negotiations are finalised, and so there are commercial sensitivities that limit the amount of detailed information I can provide.

Since 1995 the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) has used an indicative figure of £1.5 billion in estimated costs of this project. This figure was intended to be a guide to be revised after the intense two years' study, which has now concluded, to provide firm estimates of price and service quality.

The total cost for the service charge for the Public Safety Radio Communications Service (PSRCS) over the life of the service (15 years for each force) is likely, in today's money value, to be between £1.25 and £1.45 billion, excluding inflation and using standard Treasury accounting techniques. This is equivalent to £2.3 billion in cash terms if the Treasury 6 per cent. discount rate is not applied to the annual cash flows.

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Approximately 80 per cent. of this cost goes to the core service which is to be funded centrally by means of a deduction from total police grant provision. The cost of services additional to the core, which all forces will purchase according to their own requirements, accounts for the remaining 20 per cent. These are net present costs (NPC) calculated employing a standard discounted cash flow technique for a base year of 1999 and using the Treasury's 6 per cent. discount rate.

Separately from the PSRCS charge, forces will need to purchase control room and radio terminal equipment. Based upon our understanding of the police service's overall requirement, we estimate the initial purchase and subsequent replacement costs for terminals to be around £300 million in NPC terms over the PSRCS service contract life. The need to replace terminals is ongoing and expenditure is currently being incurred as forces maintain their existing self-owned systems.

I announced recently that we are providing an extra £50 million of new money for the PSRCP. PITO the non departmental public body managing the PSRCP, has yet to decide, in consultation with the potential PSRCS service provider, BT, how best to use this money to reduce the cost of the service. The Government's intention is for it to be used in a way which reduces the charge in the third and subsequent years thus providing long-term benefit to all forces. PITO estimate that this money could reduce the service charge NPC given above by around £50 to £70 million over the life of the project.

These figures compare with the Government plans for police spending to increase by £186 million in 1999-2000 and further increases for 2000-01 and 2001-02 of £199 million and £290 million respectively. It is a matter for each police authority to set its budget and for each chief constable to decide how to deploy the available resources. The Government have also relaxed the rules on capital receipts from the sales of assets giving Police Authorities the freedom to use proceeds from sales for capital investment.

Since the costs remain to be finalised, for the reasons set out, there are no final figures for the cost of the non-core services to individual police forces. PITO does have estimates but these are subject to negotiation, and are therefore liable to very significant change. Information will shortly be circulated to forces to enable them to calculate their likely potential costs for these non-core services.

Correspondence

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter sent to him on 16 June regarding Mr. Khalid Shalabi Suliman of Birkenhead. [97943]

Mrs. Roche: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 10 November 1999.

Millennium (Policing)

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with chief constables in England on their planning arrangements for 31 December and 1 January 2000; and if he will make a statement. [97962]

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Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 25 October 1999, Official Report, column 682, in response to a question from the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth). My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and Ministerial colleagues met the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), John Evans, on 18 October to discuss the millennium readiness of the emergency services. Mr. Evans chairs the ACPO millennium co-ordinating committee which advises police forces on these issues.

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