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Animal Experiments

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many animals were being used in the UK for scientific experiments on 1 March. [113833]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Records are not held in such a way as to identify the overall number of animals used in procedures on any one day.

The Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals (Great Britain 1998) provides a great deal of information on the numbers of animals used including the total number of animals per species used each year. Figures for 1999 are in the process of being collated and are due to be published in the summer.

Home Detention Curfew

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each year that figures are available what percentage of the prisoners released on licence under home detention curfew were (a) juveniles and (b) young offenders. [113915]

Mr. Boateng: From 28 January 1999 to 31 January 2000, 15.5 per cent. of those prisoners placed on Home Detention Curfew were under the age of 21. Of these, none was aged under 18, as Home Detention Curfew does not apply to prisoners under the age of 18.

Harlan Animal Breeding Centre

Mr. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will release the unpublished sections of the investigation into the operations of the Harlan UK animal breeding centre in Belton, North West Leicestershire. [114310]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Blanked out areas of the text in the report which I placed in the Library on 8 March represent points bearing on commercial sensitivity, personal safety or confidentiality agreements entered into by the Home Office with the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) at the outset of our investigation.

14 Mar 2000 : Column: 157W

It is my wish to publish a fuller version of the report, but I cannot do so without the agreement of the BUAV to waive its confidentiality agreement. We are awaiting a final response from the BUAV on this point. They have agreed to waive a couple of the lines out of the ninety lines blanked out and are considering whether they will lift the restrictions on the rest of the blanked out sections of the report.

Visitor Bond Scheme

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce a bond scheme for visitors to the UK from areas other than South Africa; and if he will make a statement. [113941]

Mrs. Roche: We have not yet decided where to run the pilot scheme. A bond scheme can, however, operate only in countries whose nationals require a visa prior to travelling here. As South African nationals do not require prior entry clearance, consideration is not being given to operating the pilot there.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the Government's response to the consultation on its proposal for a bond scheme for visitors to the UK. [113940]

Mrs. Roche: An announcement about the results of the consultation process will be made in due course. We will also publish our proposals for the scheme when they are finalised. These will take account of all the representations made to us, including those in response to the consultation document.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the responses to the consultation process on a bond scheme for visitors to the UK. [113939]

Mrs. Roche: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 145W.

Police Pensions

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many early leavers there were from the police pension scheme in each police authority area in (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999; [114456]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Police Pension Scheme is administered locally by individual police authorities. Information about those who opt out of the Police Pension Scheme is not held centrally.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the number of police pensions in payment in each police authority area in (a) 1989, (b) 1997 and (c) 1999; [114459]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Police Pension Scheme is administered locally by individual police authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

14 Mar 2000 : Column: 158W

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police authority area were eligible to be members of the police pension fund in (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999. [114462]

Mr. Charles Clarke: All regular police officers in the United Kingdom are eligible to be members of the Police Pension Scheme. Membership is automatic unless officers exercise their right to opt out of the Scheme. There are, however, some restrictions on eligibility to rejoin the Scheme after a decision to opt out.

Information on the total number of police officers in each force in 1997, 1998 and 1999 is set out in the table, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Total police officer strength including secondments within the police service in England and Wales

Police forceMarch 1997March 1998March 1999
Avon and Somerset3,0453,0333,010
Bedfordshire1,1131,0981,050
Cambridgeshire1,3221,3091,282
Cheshire2,0872,0832,084
Cleveland1,4801,5101,450
Cumbria1,1641,1861,132
Derbyshire1,8241,8021,768
Devon and Cornwall2,9083,0062,904
Dorset1,3061,3311,287
Durham1,4891,5431,577
Essex2,9962,9622,898
Gloucestershire1,1531,1241,106
Greater Manchester7,0317,0706,836
Hampshire3,5043,5353,514
Hertfordshire1,7931,7401,732
Humberside2,0712,0451,980
Kent3,3103,2943,246
Lancashire3,3093,3283,257
Leicestershire1,9912,0252,006
Lincolnshire1,2181,2111,146
London, City of (2)883846787
Merseyside4,3324,3114,229
Metropolitan police (1,2)27,12326,56126,133
Norfolk1,4551,4461,384
Northamptonshire1,1991,1911,146
Northumbria3,7323,8213,853
North Yorkshire1,3671,3961,345
Nottinghamshire2,3582,3552,234
South Yorkshire3,2023,2313,215
Staffordshire2,2492,3262,272
Suffolk1,1991,2061,192
Surrey1,6431,6261,667
Sussex3,1403,0462,867
Thames Valley3,7623,8383,768
Warwickshire951947921
West Mercia2,0732,0462,036
West Midlands7,2177,2457,352
West Yorkshire5,2835,2264,996
Wiltshire1,1781,1841,156
Dyfed-Powys1,0161,0121,034
Gwent1,2611,2491,259
North Wales1,3971,4201,416
South Wales3,0303,0532,994
Total of all 43 forces127,158126,814124,520
NCS----1,333
NCIS----243
Total127,158126,814126,096

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of active members of the police pension fund in each police authority area in (a) 1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 1999. [114461]

14 Mar 2000 : Column: 159W

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Police Pension Scheme is administered locally by individual police authorities and the information requested is not held centrally. However, as the vast majority of regular police officers choose to be members of the Police Pension Scheme the number of active members of the Scheme in each force will be slightly less than its total number of officers.

Police (Best Value)

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the national application of the Association of Chief Police Officers' document, "Harmonisation of Business Processes", and its role in delivering best value by comparison of police forces' performance. [114464]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Association of Chief Police Officers' "Harmonisation of Business Processes" document has been one of a number of emerging influences which have been taken account of, and incorporated into, the new inspection model developed by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. The new inspection model will assist us in our efforts to compare performance across police authorities and Basic Command Units.

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