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Burglary
Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent from public funds on measures to combat burglary in each of the last 10 years; and what plans he has for such spending in each of the next three years. [105706]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Details of individual police force expenditure in England and Wales on measures to combat burglary are not held centrally. However, burglary is one of the key strategic objectives of most of the local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. Centrally, of the £250 million budget for the Crime Reduction Programme, which runs from 1999-2000 to 2001-02, £62 million has been allocated to the Reducing Burglary Initiative. This Initiative supports projects undertaken by the Partnerships
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which apply a range of anti-burglary measures. These projects are to be evaluated to identify what works and where, most cost-effectively.
So far, £4 million has been committed under the Initiative on the first 63 projects now under way. The balance will be allocated over the remaining two years of the Initiative with up to 200 round two projects beginning in March.
Sir John Stanley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is his policy to encourage police authorities to increase the civilian staff of police forces in order to release more police officers for operational duties; and if he will make a statement. [105422]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Staffing levels in a police force, whether police officers or civilians, are a matter for the police authority and chief officer to determine. It is my policy to encourage authorities and chief officers to make efficient and effective use of staff resources.
Police authorities have been required to plan and deliver efficiency gains of 2 per cent. year on year between 1999-2002. Efficiency gains totalling £440 million will be redeployed to support front-line policing. Civilianisation of non-operational posts can play a key role in releasing resources for operational work.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date he took the decision to ask for a medical report on General Pinochet. [105712]
Mr. Straw:
I took the decision on 4 November 1999.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will supply the Spanish judicial authorities with a copy of the medical report carried out on General Pinochet. [105718]
Mr. Straw:
Senator Pinochet consented to the medical examination on the express basis that none of its contents were disclosed to anyone other than his legal representatives, to me and my advisers, and to the Law Officers and Director of Public Prosecutions. Senator Pinochet has been asked to agree to Spain and the other countries with an outstanding extradition request being provided with a copy of the medical report. He has declined to do so.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received requesting him to make public the medical report on General Pinochet; and if he will make a statement. [105711]
Mr. Straw:
I have received a number of representations asking me to make public the medical report on Senator Pinochet. I will make a full statement on the case when it is finally concluded.
Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the Chilean authorities requested a medical report on General Pinochet; to whom the request was made; and if he will make a statement. [105714]
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Mr. Straw:
On 14 October 1999, representations were submitted by the Chilean Embassy to me, through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, attaching recent medical reports on Senator Pinochet. They suggested that there had been a recent and significant deterioration in his medical condition.
I have a clear legal duty to operate the Extradition Act 1989 properly. In the light of the information from the Chilean Embassy, that duty included informing myself of the true facts about Senator Pinochet's health. I therefore asked him to undergo a thorough and extensive medical examination, to be undertaken by an independent team of clinicians.
Mrs. Ann Cryer:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what figures he can require from local authorities about the composition of their work forces in terms of (a) standard age groups, (b) ethnic origins and (c) gender. [104013]
Dr. Reid:
I do not collect figures from local authorities on the detailed composition of their work forces. In some cases, other UK Ministers may seek information direct from Scottish local authorities in areas reserved to the UK Parliament, although this information is unlikely to cover detailed composition of their work forces either. Any collection of information about local authorities' work in areas of devolved competence would be a matter for the Scottish Executive. It is, of course, for local authorities themselves, as independent corporate bodies, to ensure that they comply with employment law, including equal opportunity requirements.
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons held (a) certificates relating to the holding of (i) firearms, (ii) shotguns and (iii) explosives and (b) dealer certificates at the latest date for which information is available. [105820]
Dr. Reid:
The latest dates for which information is available regarding certificates relating to firearms, shotguns and dealers is the end of December 1998 and relating to explosives the end of December 1997.
At 31 December 1998, 31,072 persons held firearms certificates and 63,100 held shotgun certificates.
At 31 December 1997, 499 persons held certificates relating to the acquisition and keeping of explosives, and 64 held certificates relating to the acquisition of explosives only.
At 31 December 1998, 295 persons held dealer certificates.
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland for each police force in Scotland, if he will list
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the system used to hold the register of privately held firearms and persons holding firearms certificates, naming each electronic system concerned; and if he will place the functional specification and user guide of each such system in the Library. [105823]
Dr. Reid:
This information is not held centrally.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much of his Department's assets have been disposed of during each of the last five years; what valuation the Government puts upon his Department's assets; and if he will list his Department's assets, broken down by (a) the Department of Trade and Industry (Core Department) (b) agencies, (c) trading funds, (d) non- departmental public bodies, (e) research councils, (f) public corporations, (g) the Office of Fair Trading, (h) the Office of Telecommunications, (i) the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets and (j) the Export Credit Guarantee Department. [103603]
Mr. Byers
[holding answer 21 December 1999]: (a) During the 1998-99 financial year tangible fixed assets comprising land and buildings to the value of £8,475,000 were disposed of. Information for the preceding four financial years is not available in the form requested.
| £000 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Assets--Tangibles | ||||||||||||
| Land and Buildings | 21,568 | |||||||||||
| Office Machinery | 235 | |||||||||||
| Computer Equipment | 3,079 | |||||||||||
| Scientific Equipment | 14,775 | |||||||||||
| Telecommunication Equipment | 70 | |||||||||||
| Furniture, Fixtures and Fittings | 3,127 | |||||||||||
| Plant and Machinery | 343 | |||||||||||
| Total | 43,197 | |||||||||||
| Fixed Assets--Investments | ||||||||||||
| British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme Investment Reserve | 1,059,000 | |||||||||||
| Mineworkers Pension Scheme Investment Reserve | 713,000 | |||||||||||
| Ordinary Shares | 32,668 | |||||||||||
| Public Dividend Capital | 72,214 | |||||||||||
| Launch Investment | 1,206,700 | |||||||||||
| Loans to Trading Funds | 6,237 | |||||||||||
| Loans to Industry | 5,160 | |||||||||||
| Total | 3,094,979 | |||||||||||
| Current Assets
| Debtors | 338,658
| Short-term Investments | 1,663,000
| Cash at Bank and in hand | 410,831
|
| Total | 1,663,000
| | ||
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Note:
Only figures for the last four years are available
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Source:
1998-99 Annual Report and Trading Accounts--Treatment of Forgiveness of Sovereign Debt
(b)-(f) The net book value of assets held by ACAS on 31 March 1999 was £1,975,000, consisting of computer and office equipment, furniture, fixtures and fittings. Information on the assets of the Department's agencies, including its trading funds, of its larger executive NDPBs (those employing 25 staff or more, which are the Research Councils, the Gas Consumer Council, the National Consumer Council, the Design Council, the Coal Authority, the UKAEA, and the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (replaced by the Competition Commission on 1 April 1999)), and of the Post Office, BNFL and British Shipbuilders, can be found in their annual reports and accounts for 1998-99. These are available in the Library of the House.
(g) As at 31 March 1999 the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) considered the net book value of its assets to be £4.7 million. This was made up of IT hardware and software (£2.3 million), furniture and fittings (£0.1 million) and assets under construction (£2.3 million). All of the OFT's IT hardware assets have either been replaced or upgraded over the last five years. All redundant hardware was disposed of at nil value, having been depreciated out. There has been no significant disposal of furniture over the period. The OFT had no holdings of land or buildings over the period.
(h) Within the last year, Oftel modernised its run-down accommodation and office equipment. Most furniture and IT has been replaced or upgraded. Over the last four years, receipts for asset disposals were as follows:
Year £
1995-96 2,316
1996-97 1,853
1997-98 150
1998-99 1,370
The draft resource accounts (unaudited) for 1998-99 show Oftel's net book value of assets as £979,000 including computer, other office and telephone equipment. Oftel's assets are recorded in the National Asset Register published by HM Treasury in November 1997.
Gross replacement cost @ 31 March 1999 Net book value @ 31 March 1999
Computer Pool 334 201
Computers 431 260
Furniture, Office Equipment Pool 233 127
Furniture and Office Equipment 200 157
Official Vehicles 98 83
Total 1,296 828
(j) ECGD has made no material disposal of property over the period. However, the nature of its operation means that it has disposed of the following assets over the period:
(a) Debt Sales: Since 1992 the Paris Club has been encouraging creditors to sell or convert a portion of their rescheduled debt. By the end of 1995-96 ECGD had successfully converted approximately £70 million of debts owed to it by Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania and in 1996-97 seven sales involving Nigerian and Tanzanian debt, to the value of £20 million, were concluded. No sales were made in 1997-98 and 1998-99. (Source: Annual Report and Trading Accounts 1995-96 to 1998-99)
b) Forgiveness of Unrecovered Claims: Forgiveness of unrecovered claims for the last five financial years is as follows:
Year £ million
1994-95 450.2
1995-96 14.6
1996-97 118.9
1997-98 115.6
1998-99 11.3
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