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Police Constables

Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the constabularies of England showing (a) their establishments and (b) the numbers of constables they are short of. [98121]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The powers of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to set police force establishment levels were removed under the Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994. It is for individual chief officers to determine the staffing requirements for each force within the overall resources available. Information on police officer strength is collected at the end of March and September. The figures for 31 March 1999 will be placed in the Library.

Future staffing levels are for chief officers to determine within the overall resources available. However, the Government are making available additional resources, in a new ring-fenced Crime Fighting Fund, to enable the police to recruit 5,000 officers, over and above those that they had otherwise planned to recruit over the next three years.

Mr. Colvin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average earnings are of police constables in England, excluding the Metropolitan police. [98120]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The data to calculate the average earnings of a police constable in England are not held centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. A police constable on appointment will, however, receive £16,635 in salary, rising to £18,612 after initial training and £19,713 on successful completion of two years probationary service. The maximum salary is £26,325, exclusive of allowances and overtime payments where appropriate.

Women's Prison (Ashford)

Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans and timetable for building a new women's prison at Ashford, Middlesex. [98384]

Mr. Boateng: I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible. Copies of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Casinos

Mr. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the opening hours of casinos in England and Wales. [98399]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have issued a consultation letter to interested parties regarding casino opening hours. Copies have been placed in the Library. At present, casinos must close at 4 am. We propose an extension from 4 am to 6 am (except Sundays) for casinos in England and Wales. Comments are requested by 31 January 2000.

The Gaming Act 1968 imposes restrictions on the hours that gaming establishments may open. Under section 18 of the 1968 Act, casinos must close between 4 am and 2 pm on Sundays. The hours on other days are prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State in respect of casinos in England and Wales. Under the Gaming Clubs (Hours and Charges) Regulations 1984, the opening hours of casinos are currently from 2 pm to 4 am.

The British Casino Association, which represents all casinos in Great Britain, has asked for a change in the law to allow casinos to open until 6 am on Monday to Saturday mornings.

Following consultation with the Gaming Board for Great Britain, we have agreed in principle to the proposed change. Casinos are places for late night entertainment and we see no objection to a later closing time. This change would not affect the current permitted hours during which casinos may serve alcohol--3 am in London and 2 am elsewhere.

Gaming is a reserved subject but some powers to make secondary legislation have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament, including gaming hours. The Scottish Executive is embarking on a similar exercise in respect of casinos in Scotland. We would aim to make regulations simultaneously.

Immigration and Asylum Bill

Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation is taking place with carriers prior to the implementation of the passenger information provisions of the Immigration and Asylum Bill. [98400]

Mrs. Roche: We anticipate that discussions with carriers or their representatives will commence in December. The purpose of these talks will be to establish

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the means whereby information on passengers may be provided. We understand that some carriers may have concerns about the implications for them of the new passenger information provisions and we will endeavour to minimise as far as is possible the resource and administrative burden on them.

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the scope of the power to require carriers to provide additional information. This will be capable of requiring carriers to provide information over and above what they currently collect. However, it will not be used to require carriers to provide information to which they do not have ready access. We recognise the constraints under which industry must operate and we will work closely with them to ensure that these are properly considered against operational need.

The passenger information provisions are an important element of the intelligence led approach to the operation of the immigration control. Not only will they enable the Immigration Service to make more efficient use of its resources but they will also benefit carriers, operators and the travelling public.

Police Authorities

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total staffing levels were for (a) 1994-95, (b) 1995-96, (c) 1996-97, (d) 1997-98 and (e) 1998-99, and what the projected level is for 1999-2000 for (i) the Derbyshire Police Authority, (ii) the Leicester Police Authority, (iii) the Cheshire Police Authority, (iv) the Yorkshire Police Authority, and (v) the Surrey Police Authority, broken down into total officer strength and total civilian strength. [98291]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from the hon. Member for Ryedale (Mr. Greenway) on 10 November 1999, Official Report, column 590, for the information requested on police officer numbers. The information requested on civilian strength is set out in the table.

Projected staffing figures for 1999-2000 are not held centrally. It is for individual police authorities with their chief constables to determine staffing requirements within the resources available to them.

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Police Authority	31 March 1995	31 March 1996	31 March 1997	31 March 1998	31 March 1999
Derbyshire Police	625	656	723	787	818
Leicestershire Constabulary	680	667	755	774	802
Cheshire Constabulary	616	690	735	781	785
North Yorkshire Constabulary	508	520	520	543	541
South Yorkshire Police	1,149	1,418	1,291	1,243	1,273
West Yorkshire Police	1,965	2,037	2,234	2,304	2,216
Surrey Police	732	754	727	743	733

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Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what Government funding was received in real terms in (a) 1994-95, (b) 1995-96, (c) 1996-97, (d) 1997-98 and (e) 1998-99, and will be received in 1999-2000 by (i) the police forces in England and Wales in total, (ii) Derbyshire Police Authority, (iii) Leicester Police Authority, (iv) Cheshire Police Authority, (v) Yorkshire Police Authority and (vi) Surrey Police Authority. [98290]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is not readily available. I will write to my hon. Friend.

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Departmental Waste

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to set targets for the recycling of waste (a) paper, (b) cardboard, (c) glass, (d) metal, (e) plastic and (f) other products created by his Department and its agencies; and if he will make a statement. [98225]

Mr. Straw: My Department is working towards implementing the new Government-wide target to recover a minimum of 40 per cent. of total office waste, with at

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least 25 per cent. of that recovery coming from recycling or composting. My Department's approach to waste management is based on the three "R"'s with "Recovery" (i.e. recycling, composting and energy recovery) following "Reduce" and "Re-use" as the preferred options for reducing waste sent to landfill. We have set no individual targets for paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastic and other materials, although paper is recycled in most offices and a number of Home Office sites also recycle cardboard and glass.

My Department is about to undertake pilot waste minimisation schemes in three different types of buildings on the estate with the aim of reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill.

The Prison Service has a vital role to play in reducing waste. They have recently set up a service wide waste management project. The project will identify areas where wastage can be reduced and will address the efficient and effective disposal of prison waste and the recycling of usable waste. The primary aims are to reduce the amount of prison generated waste that is sent to landfill sites and to reduce the demand and consumption of items of clothing and equipment. Recyclable materials, such as paper, cardboard, metal and plastics will be reprocessed and re-usable clothing and equipment items channelled back into the prison estate.

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