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Railway Fatalities

Ms Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many railway passenger fatalities there were in each EU member state in the last 10 years. [105189]

Mr. Hill: Information about railway passenger fatalities is published by the European Commission in "Transport in Figures". The latest readily available information is as follows:

Number of passenger fatalities

	Persons killed in accidents involving railways
	1990	1995	1996
Belgium	0	3	6
Denmark	1	0	0
Germany	50	34	35
Greece	0	3	0
Spain	4	0	0
France	30	22	14
Ireland	1	0	0
Italy	9	4	1
Luxembourg	0	0	0
Netherlands	2	0	1
Austria	6	7	3
Portugal	22	12	10
Finland	0	1	3
Sweden	3	2	0
Great Britain(4)	37	10	17

(4) Described as UK in 'Transport in Figures'

Source:

UIC (GB from national statistics)

These statistics are not necessarily based on common definitions and there is thus uncertainty about their comparability. The GB figures cover accidents on National Rail, London Underground and other urban railways, and included all passenger fatalities, both on trains and railway premises.

Street Lighting

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what statutory obligations local authorities have to provide street lighting. [105341]

Mr. Hill: Highway Authorities provide lighting under powers given by the Highways Act 1980. There are no statutory obligations for local authorities to provide street lighting.

19 Jan 2000 : Column: 450W

Railtrack

Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what was the (a) budgeted and (b) outturn investment by Railtrack in each year since its creation. [105703]

Mr. Hill [holding answer 18 January 2000]: Railtrack's budgets for investment are a commercial matter for the company.

The table provides details of Railtrack's outturn infrastructure expenditure in each financial year since 1996-97, when it was privatised.

Analysis of Railtrack infrastructure expenditure, 1996-97 to 1998-99£ million cash prices

	1996-97	1997-98 (5)	1998-99
Infrastructure maintenance	732	702	694
Expenditure on renewals	821	1,073	1,098
Backlog expenditure	28	63	92
Enhancement investment	170	208	294
Total infrastructure expenditure	1,751	2,046	2,178

(5) As restated in Railtrack's Annual Report and Accounts 1998-99

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum Seekers

Ms Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce which company has been chosen to operate the new voucher scheme for asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. [106372]

Mrs. Roche: On 7 January, the Home Office awarded a contract for the operation of the new voucher scheme to Sodexho Pass International.

The voucher scheme will form an essential part of the new arrangements for supporting asylum seekers which were included in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and will come into operation on 1 April 2000. The provision of vouchers supplemented by a small weekly cash allowance will enable asylum seekers to meet their essential living needs while reducing the incentive to economic migration inherent in a fully cash based system of support.

Data Protection

Ms Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to lay the subordinate legislation to be made under the Data Protection Act 1998. [106373]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I intend to lay in draft next week the subordinate legislation subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. I shall publish on Thursday 20 January a draft of the Data Protection (Notification and Notification Fees) Regulations on the Internet at www.homeoffice.gov.uk and place copies in the Library. I intend to lay these Regulations and the other subordinate legislation subject to the negative resolution procedure in good time before the Data Protection Act 1998 comes into force on 1 March.

19 Jan 2000 : Column: 451W

Contraband Tobacco

Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many retailers were (a) arrested, (b) prosecuted and (c) convicted for selling contraband tobacco in each year since 1996. [104632]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Data on arrests are not collected centrally by individual offence.

The Home Office Court Proceedings Database does not hold information on the employment status of individuals or the characteristics of defendants who are not individuals. Nor does it hold information about the characteristics of individual cases apart from those that are evident from the description of the offence with which the defendant has been charged.

Retailers selling contraband tobacco can be prosecuted under section 170 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (either subsection (1) or (2); Common Law (cheating the revenue) and section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 (conspiracy to evade excise duty). Such cases cannot be identified separately from the many other offences prosecuted under this legislation, which will include beer, wine and spirits, for example, as well as tobacco.

London Prisons

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visitors to each of the London prisons were (a) charged with and (b) convicted of seeking to take illegal drugs into a prison in 1999. [104459]

Mr. Boateng: Figures for the number of visitors to London prisons who were charged with, or convicted of seeking to take illegal drugs into a prison in 1999 are not recorded by the Prison Service.

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates at each of the London prisons were put on a governor's report in 1999. [104463]

Mr. Boateng: Adjudication statistics refer to charges rather than individuals and the available information, for January to November 1999, is given in the table.

Number of adjudications (governor's reports) on offences against prison discipline, January to November 1999

Prison establishments in Greater London	Number
Belmarsh	1,430
Brixton	1,055
Downview	114
Feltham	1,832
High Down	1,081
Holloway	1,279
Latchmere House	93
Pentonville	1,220
Wandsworth	1,060
Wormwood Scrubs	744
Total	9,908

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many strip-searches of inmates took place in each of the London prisons in each of the last 12 months. [104462]

19 Jan 2000 : Column: 452W

Mr. Boateng: Prisons are not required to maintain statistics of the number of strip searches carried out. Strip searching is an essential element in maintaining security and good order in prisons. It is not possible to record every occasion on which it takes place, as at present this would have to be done manually. This would pose an unacceptable administrative burden, achievable only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women were being held in London prisons for alleged immigration offences on 1 January. [104461]

Mr. Boateng: The available information is for 30 November 1999 and relates to the number of persons held in London prisons under the Immigration Act 1971. On that date, there were 59 males and 25 females held in London prisons under the Immigration Act 1971.

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates held in London prisons attempted (a) to commit suicide and (b) to cause self-inflicted injuries in 1999. [104460]

Mr. Boateng: The information requested is given in the table, which covers the period 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999.

Establishment	Incidents of self-harm financial year 1998-99
Belmarsh	61
Brixton	186
Downview	1
Feltham	292
High Down	61
Holloway	250
Latchmere House	0
Pentonville	94
Wandsworth	305
Wormwood Scrubs	185

Notes:

1. These data are derived from information provided by establishments to the Directorate of Health Care.

2. Incidents do not equate to numbers of prisoners as an individual prisoner may self-harm more than once.

3. Statistics on self-harm are collected on a financial year basis.

4. The establishments listed are those in the Greater London area.

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates at each of the London prisons were charged with being in possession of illegal drugs while in prison in 1999. [104458]

Mr. Boateng: The number of offences of possession considered at adjudication is given in the table.

Number of adjudications on offences of possession of a controlled drug, January to November 1999

Prison establishments in Greater London	Number of offences (6)
Belmarsh	2
Brixton	18
Downview	1
Feltham	60
High Down	26
Holloway	4
Latchmere House	1
Pentonville	59
Wandsworth	6
Wormwood Scrubs	21

(6) Individual prisoners may be charged with more than one offence

19 Jan 2000 : Column: 453W

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