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Life Sentences (Murder)
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department since 1983 (a) how many people have been given life sentences for murder and (b) of these how many remain in detention; and what are the reasons for the difference between the two figures. [101341]
Mr. Boateng: In the 16 years from 1983 to 1998, a total of 3,360 persons were received into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales under sentence for murder. Of these, 2,652 are currently still in custody. The remainder have died or been discharged and these are set out in the table.
| Type of discharge | Number |
|---|---|
| Release on licence | 250 |
| Successful appeal | 146 |
| Transfer to psychiatric hospital | 144 |
| Transfer to a non Prison Service establishment | 50 |
| Pardon/remission | 3 |
| Died | 80 |
| Deported/repatriated | 21 |
| Transfer to another establishment outside England and Wales | 14 |
| Total discharges | 708 |
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Kosovo
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will offer United Nations investigators the use of DNA testing equipment and trained staff to identify the killer of a Serb killed on Flag Day in Kosovo Polje; and if he will make a statement. [101163]
Mr. Charles Clarke: We are doing all we can to support the peacekeeping process in Kosovo and help the International Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) investigate crimes against humanity and will continue to do so. It is for the United Nations investigators involved in this particular case to decide whether DNA evidence may be of value to their investigation. In that event, we would be happy to consider how we might be able to help.
Jury Trial
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the savings from the implementation of his proposals to change the law relating to election for trial by jury. [101371]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 24 November 1999, Official Report, column 125W.
Drug-related Offences
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many successful prosecutions there have been for drug-related offences in the Peterlee and Seaham police sub-division in each year since 1995. [101424]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Data are collected on drug offences only, not on offences which may have been committed owing to drug taking. Nor can information be provided at police sub-division level. There is readily available information on proceedings in the Easington Petty Sessional Division for possession of class B drugs. (These drugs are essentially cannabis and amphetamines, and probably account for about 80 per cent. of all drug offences.) In 1995, out of the 25 persons proceeded against in the magistrates court, 22 were sentenced by that court; none were committed for trial to the Crown court. The following year, 1996, 35 out of 39 proceeded against were sentenced by the magistrates court; one person was committed for trial. In 1997, the latest year for which published data are available, 15 out of 18 proceeded against were sentenced in the lower court, while two were committed for trial.
Consultants
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) agreements and (b) contracts with consultants have been agreed since 1 July for future work, giving in each case the name of the consultants and the project concerned. [101456]
Mr. Straw: The details are as follows.
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7 Dec 1999 : Column: 505W
Mr. Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations responded to the consultation on his Department's (a) draft and (b) final report to the Council of Europe on the Convention for National Minorities; and what issues they raised. [101505]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
A very large number of issues were raised and, therefore, I will write to the hon. Member and set out what is a lengthy list.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the number of parking places at prisons in England and Wales and of the use made of these by prison officers and civilian staff. [101838]
Mr. Boateng:
No central record is kept of the number of staff car parking places which exist on the prison estate or of the frequency of use. The Prison Service recognises the need to reduce dependency on the private motor vehicle and endeavours to ensure that car parking at new prisons being planned is kept to the minimum level operationally acceptable.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the extent of parking places at police premises in England and Wales and of the use made of them by police officers and civilian staff. [101839]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
None. The information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
An Audit Commission report published in March this year recommended that all police forces undertake a strategic review of their estate with a view to identifying efficiency savings through rationalisation and better use
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of resources. Such reviews are likely to include the availability of parking spaces for operational and staff vehicles.
Mr. Dobbin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many people from ethnic minorities have joined the New Deal in Heywood and Middleton constituency since its launch nationally. [100296]
Ms Jowell:
By the end of September 1999, 34 young people in Heywood and Middleton constituency who identified their ethnic background as from an ethnic minority group had started on the New Deal. The Government are committed to ensuring that New Deal actively promotes equality of opportunity and outcome for young jobseekers of all ethnic and racial groups, and has published their strategy for engaging ethnic minority jobseekers and businesses in the New Deal.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many London local authorities are receiving Section 11 funding. [101044]
Jacqui Smith:
In November 1998, the Government announced a new grant, the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG), to replace the education element of the Home Office's Section 11 Grant. EMAG was established to raise standards for those ethnic minority and Traveller pupils particularly at risk of underachieving and to meet the particular needs of pupils for whom English is an Additional Language. All London local authorities received funding through EMAG for 1999-2000. Details of individual allocations, which mirrored Section 11 allocations in 1998-99, are set out in the following table.
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| £ | |
|---|---|
| Local education authority | Grant |
| Barking | 662,475 |
| Barnet | 1,459,113 |
| Bexley | 179,781 |
| Brent | 2,370,904 |
| Bromley | 51,161 |
| Camden | 2,931,900 |
| City of London | 108,500 |
| Croydon | 2,032,254 |
| Ealing | 2,949,203 |
| Enfield | 2,293,602 |
| Greenwich | 1,783,616 |
| Hackney | 4,299,222 |
| Hammersmith | 940,880 |
| Haringey | 3,337,039 |
| Harrow | 863,751 |
| Havering | 75,640 |
| Hillingdon | 629,631 |
| Hounslow | 1,829,207 |
| Islington | 2,529,175 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 1,177,506 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 222,389 |
| Lambeth | 3,436,055 |
| Lewisham | 2,211,561 |
| Merton | 803,895 |
| Newham | 253,058 |
| Redbridge | 1,965,442 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 76,785 |
| Southwark | 1,431,818 |
| Sutton | 151,345 |
| Tower Hamlets | 8,125,390 |
| Waltham Forest | 2,054,111 |
| Wandsworth | 1,912,879 |
| Westminster | 2,151,538 |
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