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Correspondence

Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 20 April 2000, Official Report, column 592W, when a reply will be sent to the letter from the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford to the Minister of State, the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche), of 24 January. [124142]

Mrs. Roche: A full reply to the letter of 24 January from the hon. Member for Maldon and East Chelmsford was sent on 23 May.

Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Central of 9 May concerning issuing of letters to asylum seekers notifying refusal but delaying the issue of the removal notice; what consultation he has had with the Secretary of State for Social Security regarding its impact on benefits; if he will make it his policy to discontinue the practice; and if he will make a statement. [123865]

Mrs. Roche: I replied to my hon. Friend on 23 May. There was no need to consult the Secretary of State for Social Security about the content of the interim letters to asylum seekers, because the relevant paragraphs were concerned with support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) which is part of the Home Office. There was never any intention to cut off support before the asylum seekers had the opportunity to appeal against the refusal of their claims, but I accept that the wording used in the interim letters may have caused some confusion. In order to avoid this in future, the paragraphs about NASS support have now been removed from the interim letter. Where appropriate, they are now included in the letter which provides full reasons for the refusal of the asylum claim.

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Fire Service

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each fire authority, grouped into (a) London area, (b) metropolitan areas, (c) shire counties and (d) shire unitary authorities for each year from 1992 to date, (i) the number of fire call-outs, (ii) the average call out time for urban areas and rural areas, (iii) the number of fatalities and injuries, (iv) the number of fatalities and injuries per head of population and (v) the totals of (i) to (iv) for each grouped fire authority (a) to (d); and if he will make a statement. [123903]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information is not available in the exact form requested as statistics are compiled by brigade area. Tables showing the following information for fires attended by local authority fire brigades in England and Wales during the period 1992 to 1998: (i) the total number of fires and the number of fires involving property and/or casualties (primary fires). The figure for total fires (comprises property fires and those involving casualties (i.e. primary fires), small outdoor fires (i.e. secondary fires) and chimney fires); (ii) the average response time in minutes from receipt of the first call to the brigade to time of arrival, split by urban and rural areas within the brigade; and (iii) the number of fatal and non-fatal casualties involved in fires and rates per million head of the population have been placed in the Library.

Water Cannon

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his oral statement of 22 May 2000, Official Report, column 656, if he will make a statement on his policy in respect of the use of water cannon against crowds (a) comprised entirely of adult males, (b) comprised of adult males and adult females and (c) comprised entirely of adult females. [124361]

Mr. Straw: Water cannon are not currently in use for public order purposes in England and Wales.

The possibility of providing the police with water cannon to deal with serious public disorder was carefully considered by a joint police and Home Office working party in the 1980s. Tests were conducted into all aspects of the water cannon's operational capabilities. Models in use on the continent were examined and a wide range of tests were carried out using custom-built British prototypes, as a result of which a number of operational problems emerged.

Water cannons cannot be mobilised quickly in order to deal with spontaneous disorder and when mobilised are slow and difficult to manoeuvre, particularly in narrow streets. When water cannon were used in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s they were not found to be effective and, in fact, they became prize targets for rioters.

For these reasons, chief police officers in England and Wales have not been persuaded that water cannon would be of operational value in dealing with public disorder in this country.

Police Service Strength

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the most recent breakdown of

5 Jun 2000 : Column: 158W

the Police Resources Unit projections of total police service strength in England and Wales from 31 March 1999 to 31 March 2003. [123975]

Mr. Charles Clarke: There were 126,096 police officers on 31 March 1999. On the basis of projections made by police forces earlier this year, total police numbers for 31 March 2000 were estimated at 124,800. Actual figures should be available by the end of June. For projections for 2000-01 and 2001-02, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary gave to the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) on 22 May 2000, Official Report, columns 655-58W.

Police force projections indicate that for 31 March 2003 there would be 125,900 police officers, as cited in the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Southwark North and Bermondsey (Mr. Hughes) on 15 March 2000, Official Report, columns 177-79W. Chief Officer's projections were made on the basis of the Comprehensive Spending Review settlement which extends to 2001-02, but in the absence of any information about funding levels for the police service in 2002-03. Funding levels from 2002-03 will only be known when the outcome of the 2000 Spending Review is announced in the summer, when more realistic projections can be made.

Child Curfew Orders

Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local child curfew orders have been issued in Dorset. [124514]

Mr. Charles Clarke: No applications have been received from local authorities to establish child curfew schemes under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Local authorities should consider the contribution such schemes could make to tackling problems of anti-social behaviour by children identified in their local crime and disorder reduction strategy.

Police Recruitment (Dorset)

Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussions he has had with the Chief Constable of Dorset regarding police recruitment; [124527]

(2) what share of the Crime Fighting Fund for Police recruits will be allocated to Dorset. [124517]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I have not had any discussions with the Chief Constable of Dorset Police regarding police recruitment.

Dorset Police were allocated 46 police officers (29 officers in 2000-01 and 17 in 2001-02) under the accelerated recruitment scheme of the Crime Fighting Fund. The funding for each force will be determined once we have received a profile of their planned recruitment during the first year.

Persistent Young Offenders

Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in reducing the time taken between arrest and sentence for persistent young offenders. [124516]

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Mr. Charles Clarke: I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Home Office, to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on 12 May 2000, Official Report, column 523W.

Drug Treatment and Testing Orders

Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug treatment and testing orders have been issued in Dorset. [124515]

Mr. Charles Clarke: None: the order was piloted in three areas: Croydon, Liverpool and Gloucestershire.

As announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, North (Mr. Gardiner) on 15 May 2000, Official Report, columns 63-64W, Drug Treatment Testing Orders (DTTOs) will be rolled-out to all areas in England and Wales from 1 October 2000.

Dogs (Scientific Tests)

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral statement made by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Mr. Morley) on 14 December 2000, Official Report, columns 250-54, on animals, when the Government introduced a ban on the use of dogs in scientific tests; and how this ban was announced. [124422]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Dogs are used in regulated procedures where their use is justified under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. There are no current plans to change the legislation.

The oral statement made by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 14 December 1999, Official Report, columns 250-54, stemmed from a misleading newspaper report in the Sunday Times on 12 December 1999. This report appeared to be based on a misreading of the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999, which came into force on 30 December 1999. The Act tightens controls over commercial breeding establishments supplying dogs for the pet trade. It is designed to raise standards of care in puppy farms and stipulates tighter controls on the sale of dogs by dealers and pet shops and stiffer penalties for breeders who flout the law.

Establishments breeding animals for laboratory use are exempt from the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999 and will continue to be regulated by the provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 which requires Home Office inspection and close veterinary supervision.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food wrote on 2 February 2000 to the hon. Member for Lewes (Mr. Baker) about correcting the error. A copy of his letter was placed in the Library.

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