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Justice and Home Affairs Council
Mr. Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the outcome of the Justice and Home Affairs Council held in Brussels on 2 and 3 December; and if he will make a statement. [102095]
Mr. Straw: The Minister of State, Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche), and I represented the United Kingdom at the Council. The main matters dealt with were as follows:
- "A" points
- The Council agreed as an "A" point, among other things, the draft Council Conclusions on the implementation of measures to combat child sex tourism.
- Follow-up to the Tampere Council
- The European Commission presented its proposals for a "scoreboard" to monitor the implementation of the conclusions of the Tampere Special European Council and commitments arising from the Treaty of Amsterdam.
- Draft Mutual Legal Assistance Convention
- Good progress was made on the negotiation of this important instrument and a number of Member States were able to lift their reservations.
- Counterfeiting the Euro
- The Council agreed the substance of the proposed Framework Decision subject to a small number of, mainly procedural, reservations.
- Draft Insolvency Regulation
- All aspects of this draft instrument were agreed, except for the question of territorial application on which discussions are continuing.
- Draft Service of Documents Regulation
- The Council agreed the text of the proposed Regulation subject to a United Kingdom Parliamentary scrutiny reservation and reserves relating to the instrument's scope.
- Draft Directive on Electronic Commerce
- The Council discussed the criminal law aspects of this draft Directive, the overall objectives of which the United Kingdom fully supports.
- Organised Crime
- The Council considered progress of work on two draft documents: "Prevention and Control of Organised Crime: A European Strategy for the New Millennium"; and the 1998 European Union "Organised Crime Situation Report".
- Draft Eurodac Regulation
- The Presidency reported that considerable progress had been made on the draft regulation. It was noted that the European Parliament would need to be re-consulted on the draft instrument and that the United Kingdom maintained a Parliamentary scrutiny reserve.
- Commission Proposal on Admission on Family Reunification
- The Commission introduced its proposal to give European Union citizens and legally resident third country nationals the right to have non-European Union family members join them. Member States gave a general welcome to the proposal which was remitted to the relevant working group for detailed consideration.
- Draft Negotiations mandate on Dublin Parallel Agreement with Norway and Iceland
- The Council noted that the negotiating mandate had effectively been agreed, other than as regards the question of its territorial application.
13 Dec 1999 : Column: 6W
Prisons
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate (a) the prison population and (b) spending on prisons in the next five years. [101964]
Mr. Boateng: New short-term prison population projections as at October 1999, and revised long-term projections, have been prepared by the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate. A summary is in the Library and available in the September prison population brief on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | 65,300 |
| 2000-01 | 68,100 |
| 2001-02 | 70,100 |
| 2002-03 | 70,800 |
| 2003-04 | 71,300 |
| 2004-05 | 71,900 |
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | 1,925.280 |
| 2000-01 | 1,981.280 |
| 2001-02 | 2,004.912 |
Correspondence
Mr. Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Eccles will receive a reply from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate Board to his letter of 6 July, reference number 915495/99. [101935]
Mrs. Roche: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate replied to my hon. Friend the Member for Eccles on 8 December requesting additional information.
Swords
Mr. John M. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the law regarding retail availability of swords and similar weapons, with particular reference to the age limits for intending purchasers. [101937]
Mr. Boateng:
It is an offence under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1999 for any person to have with them an offensive weapon in a public place, including private premises to which the public have access. In addition, the Criminal Justice Act 1988, as amended, prohibits the sale of any knife, knife blade or other article with a blade or which is sharply pointed, to a person under
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the age of 16, with the exception of a folding pocket knife with a blade not exceeding three inches and a permanently enclosed razor blade cartridge.
We have no immediate plans to amend this legislation but will keep the matter under review.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female prison officers were currently suspended from duty for alleged misconduct on 1 December. [102405]
Mr. Boateng:
The table shows the number of prison officers suspended for alleged misconduct on 1 December.
| Prison officers | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Number suspended | 97 | 11 |
Prevention of Torture
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when in the last five years the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture has visited the United Kingdom; how many months elapsed between each visit and the publication of the Committee's report; and when he expects the report of the Committee's most recent visit to be published. [102186]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The report of the Committee's third visit to the United Kingdom, in May 1994, was published in March 1996. The report of the Committee's fourth visit, in September 1997, has not yet been published; that is a matter for the Committee. The Committee's fifth visit took place between 30 November and 8 December 1999.
Prisons (Disinfecting Tablets)
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the findings of the pilot project into the provision of disinfecting tablets in prisons to reduce transmission of HIV and hepatitis viruses will be made available. [102206]
Mr. Boateng: The Prison Service is currently considering a report from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine evaluating the pilot project for the re-introduction, on a trial basis, of disinfecting tablets in 11 prisons in England and Wales. I expect to be able to make an announcement on the results and outcome of the evaluation in the New Year.
Operation Lancet
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of Operation Lancet into the Cleveland Police Force under its recently appointed investigating officer. [102146]
Mr. Boateng:
There is nothing I can add at present to the extensive comments made by the Minister of State, Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Mr. Clarke), in responding to my hon. Friend in an Adjournment Debate on 10 November 1999, Official Report, columns 1093-95.
13 Dec 1999 : Column: 8W
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police on matters concerning Regulation 6 disciplinary notices relating to senior police officers and Operation Dollar; [102196]
Mr. Boateng:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Minister of State, Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke) on 6 December 1999, Official Report, column 392W.
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of Operation Dollar into the Cleveland Police Force, indicating the person responsible as the investigating officer of the operation. [102147]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Mr. Lloyd Clarke, Deputy Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire Police, is the Investigating Officer for Operation Lancet and for Operation Dollar, which is linked to Lancet. Both operations are currently on-going.
(2) if he will meet the Chairman of the Cleveland Police Authority to discuss matters concerning Regulation 6 disciplinary notices relating to senior police officers and Operation Dollar. [102197]
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