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Meningitis C Vaccine
Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will write to the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon on the cost effectiveness of the new meningitis C vaccine. [100079]
Yvette Cooper: I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Ashford Hospital
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will be making his decision on the proposals of West Surrey Health Authority relating to (a) Ashford Hospital's (i) accident and emergency department and (ii) intensive care unit and (b) service cuts. [100091]
Ms Stuart: We fully recognise the concerns of the local community on such an important issue.
Following formal consultation the decision was referred to Ministers on 16 November 1999. We will carefully consider all options before reaching a final decision on the future arrangements for health services in North West Surrey and outer West London.
PRIME MINISTER
Anglo-French Summit
Ms Osborne: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Anglo-French Summit of 25 November. [100564]
The Prime Minister:
The twenty-second UK/French Summit took place in London on 25 November. Discussions were wide-ranging and took place in a positive and friendly atmosphere. We had worthwhile exchanges on a range of EU, economic and foreign policy issues, and I discussed the lifting of the French ban on British beef with both President Chirac and Prime Minister Jospin.
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The main outcome of the Summit was on European defence. We issued a declaration which further advances UK/French co-operation in this field and follows on from the work started at last year's Summit at St. Malo.
We also discussed the issues to be considered at the Lisbon Special European Council next March and agreed to work together to develop ideas and initiatives on growth, innovation and employment in Europe.
A copy of the declaration on defence co-operation and a document setting out in more detail the issues discussed in relation to innovation and employment in Europe have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Ms Roseanna Cunningham:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what his estimate is of the value of land and property held by (a) the Public Record Office and (b) HM Land Registry in (i) Scotland and (ii) in total and the total value of assets held by each of these bodies. [99733]
Mr. Lock:
The value of the interest in land and property held by the Public Record Office in Scotland is nil. The value of the interest in land and property held by the PRO in England and Wales at 31 March 1999 was £83,073,000. The value of the total assets held by the PRO at 31 March 1999 was £87,520,000.
The value of the interest in land and property held by Her Majesty's Land Registry in Scotland is nil. The value of the interest in land and property held by HMLR in England and Wales at 31 March 1999 was £105,788,000. The value of the total assets held by HMLR at 31 March 1999 was £196,965,000.
Ms Roseanna Cunningham:
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what his estimate is of the value of land and property in (a) Scotland and (b) in total held by each of the executive agencies for which he is responsible and the total value of assets held by each of these bodies. [99732]
Jane Kennedy:
The value of the interest in land and property held by the Court Service in Scotland is nil. The value of the interest in land and property held by the Court Service in England and Wales at 31 March 1999 was £1,119,192,000. The value of the total assets held by the Court Service at 31 March 1999 was £1,158,472,000.
The value of interest in land and property held by the Public Trust Office in Scotland is nil. The value of the interest in land and property held by the Public Trust Office in England and Wales at 31 March 1999 was £7,710,000. The value of the total assets held by the Public Trust Office at 31 March 1999 was £9,405,000.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Director General of the Prison
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Service will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 20 April concerning a constituent and Chelmsford Prison. [99420]
Mr. Boateng
[holding answer 23 November 1999]: In the Director General's absence from the office, the Deputy Director General responded to the hon. Member on 19 November apologising for the excessive delay in replying.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-related murders and manslaughters there have been on Merseyside in each year since 1995. [99434]
Mr. Charles Clarke
[holding answer 23 November 1999]: Information, corroborated by the Merseyside police, shows that there was one homicide involving drugs on Merseyside in 1995, three in 1996, three in 1997 and one in 1998.
Homicides involving drugs are so coded if the narrative of events supplied by the police to the Home Office mentions that (i) the suspect was reported to be under the influence of drugs at the time of the offence or (ii) the homicide was motivated by the need to obtain drugs, or money to buy drugs or is drug related in some other way, such as rivalry between dealers, etc.
Caroline Flint:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for a formal consultation of the education and youth services about combating drug abuse. [99519]
Mr. Boateng:
The education and youth services are the responsibility of the Department for Education and Employment. My Department works closely with that Department in helping to ensure that the education and youth services are properly engaged in our efforts to combat drug abuse.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of the representations received in response to the Government's consultation document on managing dangerous people with a severe personality disorder. [99308]
Mr. Boateng
[holding answer 23 November 1999]: Following completion of the consultation period, a report summarising responses to the document will be prepared and placed in the Library. Individual responses, unless they contain personal information or the respondent has indicated that its contents are confidential, will also be placed in the Library.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total prison population in England and Wales as of 1 November, and the corresponding figure on (a) 1 November 1998, (b) 1 November 1997, (c) 1 November 1996 and (d) 1 November 1995. [99584]
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Mr. Boateng:
The information requested is available for the last day of the month and is given for the appropriate month ends in the table.
| On 31 October | Number |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 65,900 |
| 1998 | 65,580 |
| 1997 | 63,226 |
| 1996 | 57,764 |
| 1995 | 52,027 |
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of (a) men and (b) women serving a life prison sentence for murder as of 1 November. [99583]
Mr. Boateng: The latest available provisional information is for 31 October 1999. On that date, there were 3,270 males and 130 females in Prison Service Establishments in England and Wales serving a life sentence for murder.
Non-payment of Fines
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women were in prison in England and Wales for the non-payment of fines on 1 November. [98454]
Mr. Boateng: The available information is for 31 October 1999 when there were 70 male and four female fine defaulters in prison in England and Wales.
Prisons (Privatisation)
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for privatisation of prisons in Britain. [98672]
Mr. Boateng: There are no plans to privatise prisons in England and Wales.
There are currently eight prisons whose management is contracted out to the private sector with three more due to open by 2001. Following the competition for the management of Buckley Hall and Doncaster prisons, I announced on 22 October that there would be further competitions as contracts fall for renewal. The next contracts to expire are for Blakenhurst and Wolds prisons. The management of Manchester prison will be competed for prior to the expiry of the Prison Service service level agreement on 15 October 2001. As was the case with Buckley Hall and Doncaster, the Prison Service will have the opportunity to make an in-house bid in these competitions. I also announced that continually failing prisons in the public sector would be market tested; proposals for this are being developed.
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