| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Immigration (Carriers' Liability)
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the haulage companies charged under the Carriers' Liability (Clandestine Entrants and Sale of Transporters) Regulations 2000 have been charged on more than one occasion. [129793]
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the haulage companies charged under the Carriers' Liability (Clandestine Entrants and Sale of Transporters) Regulations 2000 were registered in Scotland. [129792]
Mrs. Roche: Of a total of 233 penalties raised by 6 July 2000, 59 had been raised against British registered companies. Records relating specifically to Scottish registered companies are not kept separately.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on (a) the effectiveness and (b) the effect upon the haulage industry of the Carriers' Liability (Clandestine Entrants and Sale of Transporters) Regulations 2000. [129797]
Mrs. Roche: The civil penalty provisions of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 were introduced as recently as 3 April 2000. Provisional figures indicate that the number of illegal entrants detected in Kent since the introduction of the provisions has fallen by 25 per cent., and that the number detected nationally has fallen by about 22 per cent. Total penalties imposed up to 6 July 2000 amount to £2,530,000.
There is now an obligation on lorry drivers to search their vehicles before they embark for the United Kingdom. A code of practice established in consultation with the industry protects drivers from the imposition of a civil penalty if they can show that they have complied with its terms.
11 Jul 2000 : Column: 536W
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hauliers convicted of transporting clandestine entrants into the United Kingdom since the implementation of the Carriers' Liability (Clandestine Entrants and Sale of Transporters) Regulations 2000 have been fined, for each particular incident (a) £2,000, (b) £4,000, (c) £6,000, (d) £8,000, (e) £10,000, (f) £12,000, (g) £14,000, (h) £16,000, (i) £18,000, (j) £20,000, (k) £22,000, (l) £24,000, (m) £26,000, (n) £28,000, (o) £30,000, (p) £32,000, (q) £34,000, (r) £36,000, (s) £38,000, (t) £40,000, (u) £42,000, (v) £44,000, (w) £46,000, (x) £48,000, (y) £50,000 and (z) £52,000 and over. [129956]
Mrs. Roche: The Civil penalty is set at £2,000 for each clandestine illegal entrant found concealed in a transporter. Penalties imposed thus far have been as follows. Fourteen charges of £2,000; 31 charges of £4,000; 49 charges of £6,000; 37 charges of £8,000; 27 charges of £10,000; 18 charges of £12,000; 15 charges of £14,000; eight charges of £16,000; 10 charges of £18,000; five charges of £20,000; seven charges of £22,000; one charge of £24,000; two charges of £26,000; one charge of £28,000; one charge of £32,000; one charge of £36,000; two charges of £38,000; one charge of £42,000; one charge of £44,000; one charge of £46,000; one charge of £50,000; and one charge of £100,000.
Xenotransplantation
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many primates have been used in the years since 1995 in research involving pig kidneys and pig hearts being transplanted into primates; and what percentage of these primates have rejected the transplanted organs. [129961]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The number used in xenotransplantation research in each of the last four years for which information is available is as follows:
- 1996--60
- 1997--83
- 1998--81
- 1999--49.
Child Curfew Orders
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to extend the age range covered by child curfew orders; [129243]
- (2) what guidance he has issued regarding child curfew orders; [129239]
(3) how many (a) child curfew orders and (b) antisocial behaviour orders have been granted; and if he will break down the number granted in each (i) local authority and (ii) parliamentary constituency. [129265]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Government issued detailed guidance to local authorities and the police in September 1998 on the provisions for local child curfew schemes under sections 14 and 15 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. A copy is in the Library. No applications have yet
11 Jul 2000 : Column: 537W
been received from local authorities to establish such a scheme. Following consultation with local authorities and the police, the Government are considering what improvements might be made to the provisions, including extending the age range, to ensure that they are able to contribute effectively to local partnership efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Information on the number of anti-social behaviour orders granted by the courts is being collected centrally with effect from 1 June 2000. Following a trawl of police forces we are aware that at least 80 such orders were made between 1 April 1999 and 31 May 2000, the latest date for which figures are available. We know that anti-social behaviour orders have been granted in the following police force areas, although the list is not exhaustive:
- Avon and Somerset;
- Thames Valley;
- Cambridgeshire;
- West Mercia;
- Cleveland;
- West Midlands;
- Cumbria;
- West Yorkshire;
- Derbyshire;
- Devon and Cornwall;
- Greater Manchester;
- Hampshire;
- Hertfordshire;
- Lancashire;
- Leicestershire;
- Metropolitan;
11 Jul 2000 : Column: 538W
Norfolk;
- North Yorkshire;
- Northumbria;
- Nottinghamshire;
- South Yorkshire;
- Suffolk; and
- Sussex.
Internet Service Providers (Defamation Law)
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the operation of the law of defamation as it relates to the liability of internet service providers. [129407]
Mr. Lock: I have been asked to reply.
A consultation paper on perceived abuses of defamation procedures is currently being prepared by my Department. This will be issued within the next few weeks. It will cover, among other things, defamation on the internet and the subsequent liability of internet service providers.
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation he has held with internet service providers on the law of defamation. [129406]
Mr. Lock: I have been asked to reply.
No formal consultation has yet been held. However, my Department will shortly be issuing a consultation paper on perceived abuses of defamation procedures which will cover the issue of defamation on the internet. Comments will be invited from the Internet Service Providers Association.