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Prisoners (Right of Confidentiality)
Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rights prisoners have to confidentiality in interviews conducted with journalists. [106446]
Mr. Boateng: Interviews with journalists are conducted in the same way as other visits, and thus are governed by policy set out in Prison Service Standing Order 5A, a copy of which is in the Library. Under this Order, for reasons of security and control, prisoners do not have the right to confidentiality, except in the case of visits from their legal advisers.
Visits are conducted within the sight of a prison officer, and are liable to be within the officer's hearing, particularly where security considerations require close supervision of the visit.
The provisions for legal visits are different, in order to ensure that a prisoner's access to the legal system is not in any way compromised. Such visits take place within the sight, but not within the hearing, of prison officers.
Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people seeking entry to the UK in each of the last five years have been refused under the provision of Immigration Rule 320(18). [106985]
Mrs. Roche:
The available information relates only to persons refused leave to enter and removed where the principal reason for the decision was taken under paragraph 320(18) and is given in the table.
| Year of decision | Passengers refused Leave to enter because of a criminal conviction and removed |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 8 |
| 1996 | 13 |
| 1997 | 16 |
| 1998 | 15 |
| 1999(2) | (3)14 |
(2) 1st half
(3) provisional
Police Complaints Authority
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further appointments he has made to the Police Complaints Authority. [107855]
Mr. Straw:
I am pleased to announce that Her Majesty the Queen has approved the appointment of Sir Alistair Graham as Chair of the Police Complaints Authority and that I have appointed Mrs. Wendy Towers as a member of the Authority.
28 Jan 2000 : Column: 367W
Sir Alistair previously served as Chairman of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland since 1997. He will take up his post on 1 April 2000 and the appointment is for three years initially.
Mrs. Towers was previously a full-time member of the Parole Board and had earlier followed a career in personnel management. She will take up her post on 7 February and her appointment is also for an initial three year period.
Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to change the AD suffix in official year references. [107179]
Mr. McLoughlin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices there were in (a) Derbyshire and (b) the West Derbyshire constituency in each year from 1980 to 1999; and if he will make a statement. [107127]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
I understand from the Post Office that they do not hold historic information on the numbers of post offices in each parliamentary constituency or local administrative area and that such information cannot readily be compiled.
The Post Office advise that in October 1999 the number of post offices in the county of Derbyshire was 337 and in the West Derbyshire constituency was 64.
Mr. Rowlands:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he last met the senior management of Marks and Spencer to discuss the impact on employment levels of their decision to terminate supply contracts with W. S. Baird Ltd. [107022]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
I am due to meet senior managers of Marks and Spencer in the coming few weeks for a routine briefing. No doubt product sourcing will be one of many issues discussed.
Mr. Rowlands:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has held with Department for Education and Employment ministers on the impact on employment of Marks and Spencer's decision to discontinue sourcing from W. S. Baird Ltd. [107021]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
I have not discussed the decision of Marks and Spencer to discontinue sourcing from W. S. Baird Ltd. with Ministers from the Department for Education and Employment. However, Government Departments, including the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Education and Employment are in regular contact and work together to provide a range of support to the textile and clothing industry.
28 Jan 2000 : Column: 368W
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact of worker participation on innovation; and if he will make a statement. [106522]
Ms Hewitt:
The impact of employment practices on all aspects of a firm's performance is of key interest to my Department. The Workplace Employee Relations Survey, published last September 1 , clearly shows that workplace outcomes and performance appear to be influenced by the way employees are managed. Workplaces with modern employment practices (which included problem-solving groups) were associated with improved performance, less resignations, less dismissals and better management- employee relations.
DTI analysis of data from the Community Innovation Survey and some results form survey work on SME innovation by the Centre for Business Research in Cambridge 2 has provided evidence on the connections between labour market practices, business human resource management and innovation. Innovative companies use flexible labour market practices but are relatively more intensively engaged in staff development and active human resource management. Training linked to technological change goes with higher levels of innovativeness, reinforcing the message that developing staff capabilities tends to be conducive to innovation.
The positive impact of involving people throughout an organisation was also highlighted in Partnerships with People, a study conducted in 1997 and co-sponsored by the DTI. It concluded that an organisation's creative and innovative potential can be released when its employees are fully involved in all areas of the organisation.
My Department will be commissioning further research to examine the effects of partnership and workplace performance using WERS 98. We can only improve competitiveness if we work together to improve every aspect of our performance, including making the most of our innovative potential. I believe that partnership is at the heart of what constitutes a responsible and successful organisation.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what reports he has received from the Low Pay Commission on the impact on unemployment of the national minimum wage; and if he will make a statement. [106524]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
The Government asked the Low Pay Commission to examine the effect of the introduction of the national minimum wage, in particular its impact on employment. I received the Commission's report in December and am consulting other Government Departments about the report's findings. Once this consultation is completed, I will publish the report and the Government's response.
28 Jan 2000 : Column: 369W
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent representations he has received to increase the level of the national minimum wage; and if he will make a statement. [106523]
Mr. Alan Johnson:
My Department has received a number of representations on the level of the national minimum wage in recent weeks. As with its introduction, any future changes to the national minimum wage rates will take account of the economic circumstances prevailing at the time.
Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the economic impact of the closure of Bradwell Power Station. [106179]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 24 January 2000]: An assessment was prepared in 1998 by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) who were commissioned by Essex Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) and key partner organisations to undertake a review on the impact of Bradwell Power Station upon the local economy, and of the mechanisms which might be put in place to counter any effects of the closure of the plant. No further assessment has been made by the Government.
Arrangements are being made with Essex TEC for a copy of the PWC report to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assistance from public funds will be available to mitigate the economic effects of the closure of Bradwell Power Station; and if he will make a statement. [106180]
Mrs. Liddell
[holding answer 24 January 2000]: Maldon has been designated by the Government as an Enterprise Grants Area. Under the Enterprise Grant Scheme grants up to £75,000 may be paid in support of new investment by business employing up to 250 people. Investment by SMEs in the vicinity of Bradwell may therefore be eligible for financial assistance.
1 "Britain at Work", by Mark Cully, Stephen Woodland, Andrew O'Reilly and Gill Dix, (1999) is the first of two volumes of findings which reports the findings from WERS 98.
2 "Enterprise Britain", edited by Andy Cosh and Alan Hughes, ESRC Centre for Business Research, 1998.
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