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Wheel Clamping
10. Ms Rosie Winterton (Doncaster, Central): What steps he is taking to regulate the activities of private wheel-clamping companies. [103970]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Paul Boateng): We have issued a White Paper on the private security industry and propose in it to establish a private security industry authority. This would require wheel clampers to be licensed, and establish a mechanism whereby wheel-clamping firms could be subject to statutory regulations or codes of practice. We are currently considering the responses to the White Paper and will then proceed accordingly.
Ms Winterton: As I am sure my right hon. Friend will be aware, his answer will delight thousands of motorists who have been the victims of the notorious clamp- and-deliver tactics of unscrupulous cowboy companies. Will he assure me, however, that he will consult not only the wheel-clamping industry, but motoring organisations, the police and local authorities to ensure that any regulation is strong enough to make sure that motorists are no longer subject to the tactics adopted by the modern highway robbers posing as parking enforcers?
Mr. Boateng: My hon. Friend has been a redoubtable campaigner against the highway robbers and cowboys in the industry. I can certainly give her the assurance that she seeks.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): I acknowledge that no one in their right mind would attempt to clamp the hon. Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton), who has been an indefatigable campaigner on this subject. However, will the Minister confirm that, as part of the proposals that the Government intend to introduce, they will speed up the review announced in November by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and
the Regions of the procedure whereby the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is able to release the personal details of motorists?
Mr. Boateng: We are working closely with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions on all these issues. The hon. Gentleman can be assured that that co-operation will continue.
Mr. Robin Corbett (Birmingham, Erdington): May I tell my right hon. Friend that cowboy clampers are still demanding money with menaces in many parts of central Birmingham? In some instances, they are trying to seize jewellery and other valuables from those who are caught in dark areas where people park. I urge my right hon. Friend to make the best possible speed in introducing regulations to encourage the proper firms that exercise their responsibilities sensitively, and to clamp down on and put out of business those who act in a hard way and frighten the living daylights out of people.
Mr. Boateng: My hon. Friend speaks with considerable authority and knowledge on this subject. We are considering a range of options, including criminal sanctions.
Fire Safety
14. Mr. David Crausby (Bolton, North-East): What plans he has to co-ordinate responsibility for the improvement of fire safety. [103974]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mike O'Brien): The Government continue to give priority to community fire safety, and there have been recent welcome reductions both in the number of fires and in deaths from fire. We expect shortly to set up a new fire safety advisory board to help maintain the impetus for improvements in fire safety.
Mr. Crausby: I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. I am sure that he is aware that there are some 60 complex pieces of legislation governing fire safety. Does he agree that a single fire safety Bill would help further the reductions in fires and deaths from fires and, most important, would further assist fire authorities in shifting the emphasis from cure to prevention?
Mr. O'Brien: I agree with that. We remain committed to introducing a fire safety Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows. One of the aims of that Bill will be to rationalise fire safety legislation, replacing fire safety provisions in various Acts and introducing a general duty of care, to be enforced as far as possible by fire authorities.
Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich): Will my hon. Friend monitor closely some of the aspects of fire reports that are of continuing interest for passengers? Will he, for example, continue to discuss with Eurotunnel the conditions that exist for the safe carriage of passengers, given that there are continuing worries
about suggestions that official fire forces might be replaced by people who are employed directly by the authority?
Mr. O'Brien: I will certainly ensure that the Home Office keeps fully informed of the situation regarding the channel tunnel. We want to ensure that all passengers can travel in that tunnel and that all freight can be carried in it in as safe an environment as possible.
Witness Protection
15. Dr. Desmond Turner (Brighton, Kemptown): What measures he is taking to ensure that witnesses in magistrates courts are adequately protected. [103975]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Paul Boateng): The victim support scheme will be extending its activities to the magistrates courts. That will be of considerable assistance to witnesses who are victims appearing in magistrates courts. To enable the scheme to do this, we have increased incrementally by 50 per cent. to £19 million the grant made available to it, so that it can establish witness support services in all such courts by April 2002.
Dr. Turner: I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. As I am sure he is aware, there is a very real and considerable problem of intimidation, not only of those who are victims as well as witnesses, but of witnesses, and not just in magistrates courts but in Crown courts. There are many and constant examples in my constituency. In a serious murder trial, for example, witnesses were literally in fear for their lives. The police do not have the resources to protect every witness, so in areas of my constituency there is a climate of fear: people dare not give evidence or give written statements for fear of reprisals. Will my right hon. Friend please undertake to review witness support and, in particular, protection?
Mr. Boateng: The police rightly give considerable priority to witness support and protection. We support them in that with the resources necessary to that end. More than that, it was this Government, as my hon. Friend knows, who introduced the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 precisely in order to address the problem that he has identified, which manifests itself in magistrates courts, including in cases of domestic violence and neighbour disputes. It is very important to ensure, as we have, that magistrates courts have a battery of protection that they can extend to witnesses. Without such support, we shall be unable effectively to reduce crime in the way that we are determined to do.
Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex): The right hon. Gentleman clearly and rightly takes this matter very seriously. Does he agree that witness intimidation hinders the good order and administration of honourable justice not only in murder cases, to which the hon. Member for Brighton, Kemptown (Dr. Turner) drew the House's attention, but in lesser cases? Does the Minister also agree that the only way in which we can prevent that is by ensuring more people on the ground, better planning and
layout of magistrates courts and the provision of areas where people can be protected while waiting to give evidence?
Mr. Boateng: The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. The security of magistrates courts, in relation to the protection of both victims and witnesses, can be enhanced enormously by proper layout and design--indeed, the number of escapes can be reduced by effective layout and design in cell and dock areas. We are liaising very closely with the Lord Chancellor's Department on existing and new build in order to ensure that we take such matters into account, to protect witnesses and victims and reduce the number of escapes in transit.
Fiona Mactaggart (Slough): As the chair of the all-party voice group, I know how welcome the new witness protection measures are to people with learning disabilities who have been victims of abuse. One issue about which they are particularly concerned is training of the judges and magistrates who decide on cases involving victims who have learning disabilities. Can the Minister tell us of any progress on judicial training?
Mr. Boateng: I can certainly assure my hon. Friend that we take judicial training very seriously. We work closely with the Judicial Studies Board, which, as she will appreciate, is an independent body. I assure her that the board, the Home Office and--important in this context--the Department of Health are well aware of the importance of ensuring that special needs are taken into account. That applies to learning disabilities. We have found that those who work for some of the charities engaged in work involving learning disabilities are very often the best people to provide such training. We are actively exploring that avenue in order to ensure that the judiciary gets the benefit of hearing from those who have to work at first hand with such problems.
No one should be denied justice simply because they are living with a disability. That applies particularly to learning disability. All too often, people are led simply to dismiss the evidence of those who are grappling with disabilities--and doing so with great heroism and courage. Such people deserve, and will get, the full protection of the law.
Mr. David Heath (Somerton and Frome):
Does the Minister appreciate that the problem of petty intimidation of witnesses applies equally in rural areas such as the one I represent? I have seen several cases recently in small villages of people being afraid to come forward with the evidence that the police need. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that that fear is exacerbated by the lack of visible police presence, reduction in patrols and the inability successfully to mount prosecutions? Will he
Mr. Boateng:
Both rural and urban areas suffer from this problem. My fellow Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) and I work closely on issues of sparsity and criminal justice. The hon. Gentleman's point will certainly be borne in mind.
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