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Firearms
Mr. Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to discuss with the Scottish Executive changes in the legislation governing the use and possession of firearms. [110495]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Government have no immediate plans to change the laws governing the possession and use of firearms, but existing controls will be kept under close scrutiny to see if there is anything further which needs to be done to protect public safety. As part of this process, the Home Office remains in close contact with the Scottish Executive on a wide range of policing issues, including firearms controls as well as other issues of mutual concern. I have recently corresponded with the Scottish Minister of Justice about
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the matters currently being considered by the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into controls on firearms and shall certainly wish to consult further and take into account the view of the Scottish Executive before responding to any recommendations.
Mr. Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the number of people in the UK in possession of firearms. [110496]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Records are kept of the number of people holding firearm and shotgun certificates at the end of each year, and the figures for these as of the end of 1998 are as follows:
| Firearm Certificates | Shotgun Certificates | |
|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 131,900 | 627,600 |
| Scotland | 31,072 | 63,100 |
Some individuals within these totals may hold both firearm and shotgun certificates. These figures do not take into account the ownership of low-powered air weapons which do not require a certificate.
Firearms in Northern Ireland are recorded against the fiscal year and a single type of Firearm Certificate applies to firearms, shotguns and air weapons. At the end of March 1999, there were 83,229 certificates on issue in Northern Ireland.
These figures do not include firearms possessed by Government agencies, commercial bodies or by institutions such as museums. Nor do they include any estimate of firearms in criminal hands.
Prisons
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria have been drawn up on which to base a decision to market-test failing public sector prisons; which prisons are now being considered for market testing; and if he will make a statement. [110458]
Mr. Boateng: I have asked the Director General of the Prison Service to put forward proposals on how prisons which continually fail to meet the standards required of them should be subjected to market-testing. No decision has been made on the criteria to be used, and there is no list of prisons being considered for market-testing.
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 27 January 2000, Official Report, columns 233-34W, on prisons, for what reason he did not include information on plans to open new prisons in the next five years. [110446]
Mr. Boateng: I regret that the information about new prisons was omitted in error from my reply of 27 January 2000, Official Report, columns 233-34W. The table shows new prisons scheduled to open in the next five years.
(48) The "cost at NPV" is the total cost of designing, constructing, financing and managing the prison over the 25 year life of the contract, expressed in Net Present Value (NPV) terms
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HMP Parc
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial penalties have been incurred by the operator of HMP Parc since 1 March 1999; what contract failures have been identified since 1 March 1999; what payments have been withheld in respect of such failures; on what date the Prison Service withdrew special managerial attention from HMP Parc; which recommendations made by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in his report of October 1999 have (a) been implemented and (b) not been implemented, stating the method of implementation and reasons for non- implementation respectively; and if he will make a statement. [110443]
Mr. Boateng: Financial penalties totalling £199,950.48 have been withheld for the period 1 March 1999 to 31 December 1999, of which £198,594.65 have been calculated by converting the penalty points accrued during the period to a financial value in accordance with the performance mechanism contained in the contract. The amount also includes the sum of £1,355.83 which has been deducted from the contractor for "doubling" in excess of permitted levels.
The incidents leading to the deductions are listed in the table and are failures to comply with performance standards.
The list of establishments requiring close managerial attention has been discontinued. For the current approach to raising the standard of under-performing prisons, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Ms Kelly) on 31 January 2000, Official Report, column 426W.
Responses to inspection reports follow a protocol agreed between the Secretary of State, the Prison Service and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons. Following the publication of an inspection report, the Prison Service produces an action plan within 30 working days setting out in detail the programme for implementing each recommendation or, in some cases, the reasons for rejecting the recommendation. The report on Parc contained 216 recommendations and all but 23 are being implemented. Action plans are routinely updated nine and 15 months after publication to monitor the progress made, and copies are submitted to Ministers and to the Chief Inspector. I will write to the hon. Member with details of progress when the Parc action plan has been updated in July.
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