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Long-service Medals
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to equalise the length of service required to qualify for a police long-service medal with periods which apply in respect of the fire and ambulance services. [104502]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The respective qualifying periods for the long-service award--Police (22 years), Fire Service (20 years) and Ambulance Service (20 years) are directly related to conditions of employment. I am not aware of any suggestion by the Police Service that there should be any change to the qualifying period for their long-service medal. I have, therefore, no plans at present to make any such change.
Holocaust Denial Legislation
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce Holocaust denial legislation; and if he will make a statement. [104504]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Holocaust denial is a very difficult area in which to legislate. It is not easy to strike a balance between outlawing such offensive statements while ensuring that freedom of speech is not unduly restricted.
Therefore, while the Government are following carefully the current debates on this issue within the Jewish community and elsewhere, we have no immediate plan to introduce legislation.
Corporate Manslaughter
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has held on the question of legislation relating to corporate manslaughter; and how soon he will introduce such legislation. [104598]
Mr. Charles Clarke: We are currently considering the conclusions of the inter-departmental working group of officials which has been examining the recommendations made in the Law Commission's report no. 237 "Legislating the Criminal Code: Involuntary Manslaughter". The Law Commission's report included a recommendation that there should be a new offence of corporate killing.
We will be consulting our colleagues shortly and then expect to publish our conclusions for consultation. We will also be considering the prospects for future legislation.
Police Officers
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if validated figures for the total number of police officers per police force and in total at the end of October 1999 are available; and if he will make a statement. [104728]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 14 December 1999, Official Report, column 145W.
We collect police strength information only on a six monthly basis in order to reduce administrative burdens on the police. Police strength figures as at October 1999 will not therefore be requested from forces.
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Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serving police officers there were on 30 June and 31 December in each of the years 1992 to 1999 for which figures are available. [104465]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Information on police numbers is set out in the table. From 1995, this information has been collected only twice yearly, in March and September.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| June | |
| 1992 | 127,626 |
| 1993 | 128,031 |
| 1994 | 127,328 |
| December | |
| 1992 | 128,045 |
| 1993 | 127,658 |
| 1994 | 127,358 |
| March | |
| 1995 | 127,222 |
| 1996 | 126,901 |
| 1997 | 127,158 |
| 1998 | 126,814 |
| 1999 | 126,096 |
| September | |
| 1995 | 126,808 |
| 1996 | 127,123 |
| 1997 | 126,862 |
| 1998 | 126,504 |
| 1999 | (7)-- |
(7) Not yet available
Prison Service
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if the former Prison Service Director of Security has had access to the criteria for the competition for the operation of HMP Manchester and HMP Blakenhurst; and if he will make a statement; [104737]
- (2) if members of the Prison Service Management Board have had access to the criteria for the competition for the design, construction, management and financing of HMP Peterborough and HMP Ashford; and if he will make a statement. [104738]
Mr. Boateng: The competitions for Blakenhurst, Manchester, Peterborough and Ashford prisons have not yet started and the evaluation criteria for those competitions have not yet been developed.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rules govern senior employees of the Prison Service taking new employment with private companies which have contracts with or are seeking contracts with the Prison Service; how the rules have operated in relation to the former Director of Security; and if he will make a statement. [104739]
Mr. Boateng:
The rules governing business appointments were last revised by the Cabinet Office in 1996 in the light of recommendations made by the Nolan Committee. The rules require senior civil servants in certain categories or other civil servants who have had
19 Jan 2000 : Column: 455W
official dealings with their prospective employer to report offers of appointment. Approval is required for the initial appointment and any further appointment within two years of leaving Crown employment. These rules have been applied in relation to the former Prison Service Director of Security who made an application on 7 January 2000. In compliance with these rules, the advice of the Cabinet Office is being obtained before her application can be responded to.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Home Office business appointment rules apply to members of the Prison Service Management Board; and if he will make a statement. [104735]
Mr. Boateng:
All members of the Prison Service Management Board are subject to the rules on business appointments which have been issued by the Cabinet Office.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if members of the Prison Service Management Board had access to the deliberations of the evaluation panel reports of the bids for HMP Doncaster; and if he will make a statement. [104736]
Mr. Boateng:
The members of the Prison Service Management Board received copies of the evaluation report of the bids for Doncaster prison in October 1999.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available, in how many and what percentage of either-way cases in which (a) magistrates declined jurisdiction and (b) defendants elected to go to the higher court, defendants pleaded (i) guilty and (ii) not guilty; and if he will make a statement. [104731]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
No regular statistics are collected on this. However, there is some information available from the baseline data collected by the Home Office in 1998 for the evaluation of the pilot schemes to reduce delay in the criminal justice system. In a sample of nearly 1,000 triable either way cases dealt with in the Crown
19 Jan 2000 : Column: 456W
Court, guilty pleas were entered by 80 per cent. defendants in cases in which the magistrates declined jurisdiction and by 59 per cent. of defendants who elected to go to the higher court. In 11 per cent. of cases in which magistrates declined jurisdiction and 30 per cent. of those where defendants elected Crown Court trial, the defendant entered a not guilty plea and there was a contested trial. In the remainder--most of which were dropped--no information is available as to plea.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available, in what percentage of all either-way cases defendants elected for jury trial; and if he will make a statement. [104734]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Figures provided by the Attorney General's Department, which relate to prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service, are given in the table.
| Percentage of either way cases committed for trial on election of defendant | Year on year change | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 33 | -- |
| 1996 | 32 | -1 |
| 1997 | 28 | -4 |
| 1998 | 28 | 0 |
| 1999(8) | 32 | +4 |
(8) January-September
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available, in how many and what percentage of summary-only cases defendants pleaded (i) guilty and (ii) not guilty. [104733]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available, in how many and what percentage of indictable-only cases defendants pleaded (i) guilty and (ii) not guilty. [104732]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The information is contained in the table:
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| Type of plea | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guilty | Not guilty | Not known | |||||
| Year | Total tried [=100 per cent.] | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage |
| 1995(9) | 6,899 | 3,550 | 51 | 3,319 | 48 | 30 | 0 |
| 1996 | 15,565 | 8,327 | 53 | 7,203 | 46 | 35 | 0 |
| 1997 | 15,710 | 8,300 | 53 | 7,368 | 47 | 42 | 0 |
| 1998 | 16,740 | 8,644 | 52 | 8,046 | 48 | 50 | 0 |
(9) Plea data collected as from July 1995.
19 Jan 2000 : Column: 455W
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