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Section 28
Mr. Pearson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 21 February 2000, Official Report, column 712W, if he will provide a full list of the organisations which have made representations to him calling for (a) the repeal and (b) the retention of section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. [111931]
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Ms Beverley Hughes:
A full list of organisations that have made representations to the Secretary of State concerning the repeal of section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 has been placed in the House Libraries.
Ms Perham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has for the transfer of the London Research Centre to the Greater London Authority. [111993]
Mr. Hill:
The London Borough of Islington has been directed to prepare a transfer scheme for the transfer of the appropriate staff, property, rights and liabilities of the London Research Centre to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The transfer will take place on 1 April 2000. The intention is that the property, rights and liabilities will then transfer to the Greater London Authority on 8 May 2000, with the exception of a small number of functions of the LRC which will transfer to Transport for London on 3 July 2000. My officials are in contact with Islington Council as to the detailed contents of the transfer scheme.
Mr. Sanders:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make it his policy to introduce a marine conservation Bill to promote the sustainable conservation of marine habitats and species. [111923]
Mr. Mullin:
The Government have no plans at present to introduce a marine conservation Bill. My Department conducted a review of coastal byelaw powers in 1998. We have given a long-term commitment to introduce legislation to take forward those recommendations in the review which require changes to the law.
We are also actively considering what measures might be warranted to improve protection of marine habitats and species. My Department has established a review group to look at ways of improving marine nature conservation. The group's final report is expected to be presented to DETR Ministers and the National Assembly for Wales by the end of this year.
In addition, the Countryside Amenity and Conservation Bill will include provisions on wildlife enforcement, and wildlife crime, including crime relating to marine species, will be punishable by tougher measures such as custodial sentences.
Mr. Simon Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if his oral statement of 22 February 2000, Official Report, columns 1373-76, relating to the installation of train protection warning systems, applies to all freight rolling stock. [112040]
Mr. Hill:
The Railway Safety Regulations 1999 require all trains, including freight trains where they are running on passenger lines, to be fitted with train protection warning systems by the end of 2003. A freight train which will never run on a passenger line will not require train protection.
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Mr. Nicholas Winterton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans the Government have to introduce neighbourhood forums in place of parish and town councils. [111956]
Ms Beverley Hughes:
Neighbourhood Forums could have a valuable role in making local government more effective, but the Government do not intend that they should take the place of parish councils. Our White Paper, "Modern Local Government: In Touch with the People", set out our policy that parish councils are an essential part of the structure of local democracy in our country and that they would continue to play a vital part in the life of our towns, villages and rural communities, as they have in the past.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent discussions he has had with the First Secretary concerning the Strategic Rail Authority and its potential impact upon Wales; and if he will make a statement. [112022]
Mr. Hill:
The First Secretary has made representations on the railways provisions of the Transport Bill. The shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has consulted the National Assembly for Wales in connection with proposals for franchise replacement. Wales will benefit, along with the rest of Great Britain, from the strategic and coherent direction which the SRA will bring to the railway industry. Specific Welsh concerns will be addressed by having a Welsh representative on the Authority and by consultation with the National Assembly both on that appointment and on the SRA's strategies.
Dr. David Clark:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he plans to make a statement on the proposed byelaws for a 10 mph speed limit on Lake Windermere. [112500]
Mr. Mullin:
I have today announced that I have confirmed the Windermere byelaws. A copy of the decision letter setting out my reasons for the decision will be placed in the House Libraries.
Mr. William Ross:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many privately owned, legally held (a) shotguns, (b) rifles and (c) handguns have been used for (i) murders and (ii) attempted murders in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years and the current year to date; and how many of the deaths and injuries were self-inflicted. [102156]
Mr. Ingram:
The Chief Constable has advised me that the information about the number of attempted murders in which legally held privately owned firearms used is not readily available and would incur disproportionate cost to provide. Tables A and B, however, show the number of
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murders and suicides involving legally held, privately owned shotguns, rifles and handguns in each of the last five years.
| Year | Shotguns | Rifles | Handguns | Total murders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 1997 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Year | Shotguns | Rifles | Handguns | Total suicides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 1997 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| 1998 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| 1999 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 39 | 5 | 8 | 52 |
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Maginnis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many questions on policing matters in Northern Ireland have been tabled by the hon. Member for Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) since 1 June; and what has been the cost of providing answers to those questions. [103673]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 10 January 2000]: I apologise to the hon. Gentleman for the time taken to answer his question. During the period 1 June 1999 to 31 January 2000, my hon. Friend the Member for Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) has asked a total of 153 parliamentary questions on policing matters in Northern Ireland. It is estimated that the total cost of answering these questions was £52,020.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which projects relating to his Department that appeared in the Private Finance Panel's list of 29 November 1995 (a) have been completed, (b) are still pending, (c) have been dropped and (d) are being pursued by means other than a public private partnership. [105878]
Mr. Ingram [holding answer 24 January 2000]: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 24 January 2000, Official Report, columns 117-18W.
Paramilitaries
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (i) on what date the most recent use of violence for political ends was thought to be the responsibility of or claimed by (a) the Irish Republican Army, (b) the Real IRA, (c) Oglaigh na'hEireann,
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(d) Cumann na mBann, (e) Fianna na h'Eireann, (f) the Red Hand Commando, (g) Saor Eire, (h) the Ulster Freedom Fighters, (i) the Ulster Volunteer Force, (j) the Irish National Liberation Army, (k) the Irish People's Liberation Organisation, (l) the Ulster Defence Association, (m) the Loyalist Volunteer Force, (n) the Continuity Army Council, (o) the Orange Volunteers and (p) the Red Hand Defenders, (ii) how many persons have been charged or successfully prosecuted for belonging to each, (iii) how many persons have been charged or successfully prosecuted for soliciting support for each, (iv) how many persons have been charged or successfully prosecuted for contributing money or property to each, (v) how many persons have been charged or successfully prosecuted for displaying support for each and (vi) what is his estimate of the numerical strength of each organisation. [107832]
Mr. Ingram:
Attribution for paramilitary style incidents is generally confined to the generic terms Loyalist and Republican. In some cases the police are unable to attribute individual incidents to a particular group. In the absence of a claim of responsibility they can consider only the physical evidence available or intelligence information. Where attribution may be determined by any of these means, it is not Royal Ulster Constabulary policy to make this known except where it is specifically in the public interest to do so. It is not therefore possible to provide the information requested and to obtain the details necessary would incur a disproportionate cost owing to the manner in which the offences are recorded.
| Year | Persons proceeded against | Persons found guilty |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1 | 1 |
| 1992 | 16 | 15 |
| 1993 | 26 | 22 |
| 1994 | 19 | 17 |
| 1995 | 28 | 24 |
| 1996 | 7 | 6 |
| 1997 | 5 | 2 |
| 1998 | 3 | 3 |
| Year | Persons proceeded against | Persons found guilty |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 2 | 2 |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 3 | 3 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
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| Year | Persons proceeded against | Persons found guilty |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 1 | 1 |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Persons proceeded against | Persons found guilty |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 30 | 25 |
| 1992 | 19 | 18 |
| 1993 | 15 | 14 |
| 1994 | 18 | 11 |
| 1995 | 11 | 11 |
| 1996 | 4 | 3 |
| 1997 | 1 | 1 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
| Year | Persons proceeded against | Persons found guilty |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 2 | 2 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
Note:
The statistical database is unable to relate charges against prosecutions.
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