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Animal Experiments
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current regime for controlling the use of animals in tests in preventing genetic modification of animals. [134458]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The production of genetically modified animals, as well as their use in experiments or other scientific procedures, is controlled under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The Government are satisfied that the 1986 Act adequately caters for transgenic animals used in scientific procedures, and that there is no need for separate controls.
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Since the genetic modification of animals was first achieved, the number of genetically modified animals produced and used under the terms of the Act has increased considerably, and is likely to continue to increase. The production and use of such animals allows new areas of medical and other scientific research to be explored; provides the potential for investigating a wide variety of conditions including cancer, cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis; and allows the quality of the science in many areas of research and testing to be improved.
The vast majority (over 95 per cent.) of GM animals produced and used are mice. Other genetically modified animals produced and used under the 1986 Act are: rats; rabbits; pigs (for xenotransplantation research); sheep (modified, for example, to produce human proteins in their milk which can be extracted and used to treat human medical conditions); domestic fowl and fish.
Stakeholder Pensions
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to offer the (a) police, (b) prison and (c) fire services a stakeholder pension. [134374]
Mr. Charles Clarke: All police officers have access to the police pension scheme. Consideration is being given to whether police service stakeholder pension arrangements should be made available to police officers who earn less than £30,000 a year, and who wish to top up their benefits.
All prison officers have access to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS). Civil Service stakeholder pension arrangements will be made available to prison officers and other civil servants covered by the PCSPS who earn less than £30,000 a year and who wish to top-up their PCSPS benefits. The Cabinet Office is making the necessary provision on behalf of all civil service employers.
The provision of stakeholder pensions is currently under consideration for the fire service.
Policing (Rural Areas)
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about his policy on policing in rural areas. [134995]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Our policy is to ensure that all areas of the country, urban and rural, benefit from a modern, effective and responsive police service and we are increasing funding for rural forces to take account of the additional costs associated with policing rural areas. The police funding formula includes a sparsity element which directly benefits rural forces and an extra £15 million from the Police Modernisation Fund has been allocated this year to 31 forces covering rural areas. This rises to £30 million from 2001-02. The forces concerned will be required to demonstrate real improvements in the policing of rural areas in return for the extra money.
Illegal Weapon Imports
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to prevent weapons legally bought on the continent from being brought into this country where they are illegal. [135010]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: The manufacture, sale and importation of 14 bladed, pointed and other offensive weapons have been banned under Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, in addition to flick knives and gravity knives, the sale of which was already banned under the Restrictions of Offensive Weapons Act 1959. The law prohibits the possession of offensive weapons in a public place, and the possession of knives in public without good reason or lawful authority, with the exception of a folding pocket-knife with a blade not exceeding three inches. Strict controls apply to the possession and importation of firearms.
The enforcement of controls on the importation of weapons is a matter for HM Customs and Excise, who deploy their resources in accordance with their assessment of risk.
Terrorism Advocates
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is towards the activities in the United Kingdom of individuals advocating terrorism abroad. [135015]
Mr. Straw: The Government are determined to ensure that the United Kingdom is not used as a base for the planning and preparation of terrorism here or abroad. The Terrorism Act 2000, which is due to come into force early next year, further strengthens our response to international terrorism by the inclusion of powers to proscribe organisations concerned in international terrorism; to counter the financing in this country of terrorism anywhere overseas, and includes a new offence of incitement here to commit an act of terrorism, wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom, where that act, if committed in England and Wales, would constitute one of a number of specified offences, in particular murder.
It is a high priority for the police and the Security Service to counter the activities of those who may be seeking to support terrorism outside the United Kingdom. Where there is any evidence of terrorist activity, action is taken either under the criminal law, supported as necessary by the current counter-terrorist legislation, or under immigration legislation.
Racially Motivated Crimes
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportions of victims of racially- motivated crimes in each of the past three years have been (a) black, (b) Asian and (c) white. [135001]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is not available.
Information on racist incidents is collected annually from all police force areas by HMIC. However, the ethnicity of the victim is not collected.
The British Crime Survey collects information about racially motivated crimes and the ethnicity of victims. The last available figures are for the year 1995. The survey estimates that there were in total about 382,000 racially motivated crimes in 1995. 238,000 of these incidents were against white people (62 per cent. of the total); 42,000 against black people (11 per cent); 41,000 against Indians (11 per cent) and 60,000 against Pakistanis or Bangladeshis (16 per cent).
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Voting Systems
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the desirability of adopting (a) proportional representation or (b) an alternative vote system for Westminster parliamentary elections; [135031]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the effect of introducing an alternative vote system in UK parliamentary elections on the degree of proportionality between votes cast and hon. Members returned. [135026]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government have not made such an assessment of the alternative vote (AV) system. The Independent Commission on the Voting System proposed that its recommended system, AV plus, be put before the electorate in a referendum as an alternative to first-past-the-post. While no change will be made to the voting system without an endorsement by the general public in a referendum, a decision has yet to be made as to its timing and the question to be asked.
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of alternative voting arrangements at the May 2000 local elections under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. [134872]
Mr. Straw [holding answer 26 October 2000]: My Department has received reports from all the local authorities which ran pilot schemes under the terms of the Representation of the People Act 2000.
Copies have been placed in the Library and are accessible on the Home Office website. We are considering their conclusions, in consultation with electoral administration and local authority associations.
Applications to run pilot schemes in May 2001 have been invited.
Metropolitan Police
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there has been in the level of ethnic minority recruitment to the Metropolitan Police since the publication of the Macpherson report. [135000]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The figures show the number and percentage of minority ethnic recruits for the three years 1997-98, 1998-99 and the first six months of 2000-01.
| Year | Number of minority ethnic officers recruited | Minority ethnic recruits as a percentage of all recruits |
|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 62 | 5.2 |
| 1998-99 | 92 | 5.6 |
| 1999-2000 | 71 | 7.1 |
| 2000(1) | 27 | 5.2 |
(18) March to September
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in Essex (a) have sought application forms to join the Metropolitan police force in the past six months and (b) subsequently made a formal application; and how many Metropolitan
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police officers have (i) sought application forms to join the Essex police force and (ii) subsequently made a formal application, in the same period. [135093]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information is not collected centrally in the form requested.
I am advised by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) that, between 1 April 2000 and 17 October 2000, it received 98 inquiries from officers of Essex police. The MPS does not have a central record of the number of formal applications by officers of Essex police. Since 1 July, three officers from Essex police have joined the MPS.
I am advised by Essex police that 21 officers from the MPS have applied to join the force since 1 January 2000. Three of those officers have subsequently withdrawn their applications. No information is currently available centrally about the outcome of the other applications.
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