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European Convention on Human Rights
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that a statement of compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights is made by Ministers in all secondary legislation; and if he will make a statement. [102654]
Mr. Straw: The Government have decided that, from the beginning of the current session, a Minister inviting Parliament to approve a draft statutory instrument or statutory instrument subject to affirmative resolution should always volunteer his or her view regarding its compatibility with the Convention rights. The Minister's view should also always be given regarding the incompatibility of any secondary legislation to the extent that it amends primary legislation; and that statement should be made in writing where the secondary legislation which amends primary legislation is not subject to affirmative resolution. The written statement should be made in whatever form seems appropriate, for example, in a letter to the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy for Departments to publish their assessments of the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights on all proposed new legislation; and if he will make a statement. [102670]
Mr. Straw:
Under section 19 of the Human Rights Act 1998, the Minister responsible for a Bill must certify in full whether or not in his or her view the Bill is compatible with the provisions of the Act. This section is already in force. In addition, the Government now have decided that a Minister in charge of a Bill should be ready in debate to explain his or her thinking on the compatibility of particular provisions of the Bill with the Convention rights. The Minister should be ready to give a general outline of the arguments which led him or
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her to the conclusion reflected in the statement made under section 19 of the Human Rights Act 1998 in relation to the particular provision.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 24 November 1999, Official Report, column 125W, on trial by jury, if he will give a full breakdown of where the estimated savings to the criminal justice system from the Government's proposals to limit the right of defendants to elect for jury trial will be made, including savings to (a) the courts and (b) the Prison Service; and if he will make a statement. [102649]
Mr. Straw:
For the courts, there would be annual resource savings of £12 million on committals and £36 million on Crown Court trials which would no longer take place. This would be offset by the cost of magistrates courts trials (£8 million, including the cost of any subsequent committals for sentence), and the cost (estimated at £0.5 million) of interlocutory appeals to the Crown Court. Resource savings for the Prison Service, estimated at £66 million annually, would result from the shorter custodial sentences imposed by magistrates courts.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 November 1999, Official Report, column 244W, concerning jury trials, if the material requested has been prepared; and if he will make a statement. [102650]
Mr. Straw:
The available information, drawn from two sources, is given in the table:
| Year | Number of defendants convicted or acquitted following summary trial (4) | Number of defendants committed for trial (4) | Percentage of committals for trial resulting from defendants' elections (5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 270,695 | 81,973 | 42 |
| 1990 | 277,916 | 82,026 | 39 |
| 1991 | 277,407 | 82,643 | 36 |
| 1992 | 267,341 | 74,902 | 37 |
| 1993 | 257,955 | 66,643 | 35 |
| 1994 | 263,041 | 69,528 | 35 |
| 1995 | 244,877 | 61,133 | 33 |
| 1996 | 243,860 | 61,215 | 32 |
| 1997 | 258,393 | 66,456 | 28 |
| 1998 | 291,785 | 51,952 | 28 |
(4) Source: Home Office Court Proceedings Database
(5) CPS prosecutions only. Source: Crown Prosecution Service statistics.
Quantum Project
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce the outcome of the Invitation to Tender for the Prison Service's Quantum Project. [102974]
Mr. Boateng:
The Invitation to Tender for the Quantum Project, for an information technology infrastructure service, joint development of a strategy for information technology-based business change and an agreed mechanism for implementing business change on
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a partnership basis, was issued on 25 September. The short-listed companies provided their submissions in response to the Invitation to Tender on 8 November.
Following thorough evaluation against commercial and, separately, qualitative criteria, Martin Narey, Director General of the Prison Service, has selected the tender of Electronic Data Systems (EDS) as the one which is the most economically advantageous to the Prison Service based on the best combination of deliverability, quality, risk transfer and cost. The Prison Service and EDS will now commence preferred supplier negotiations with a view to award of contract.
Mr. Gerald Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Kosovar refugees are currently in the UK; and, of those, how many (a) are seeking and (b) have been granted asylum. [101961]
Mrs. Roche:
It is estimated that as at the end of March 1999, the latest date for which detailed figures are available, the number of asylum applications awaiting an initial decision for nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was 9,540.
In the period January 1997 to May 1999 a total of 5,190 nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were recognised as refugees and granted asylum. A further 905 were not recognised as refugees but granted exceptional leave to enter or remain.
I regret that it is not possible to identify Kosovars separately within the available statistics for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
4,346 Kosovars arrived in the United Kingdom under the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Humanitarian Evacuation Programme (HEP) between 25 April and 25 June with a further 68 arrivals on subsequent medical flights. As at 2 December 1999, 1,319 Kosovars (including 25 per cent. of those evacuated under the HEP) had returned voluntarily.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the use of animals in drug testing, with particular reference to those used in anxiety models for drugs; and if he will make a statement. [102252]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The use of animals in drug testing is kept under review and each project licence application is considered on its individual merits. Licences are issued only after the likely benefits (to man, animals or the environment) have been weighed against the costs to the animals involved and if there are no alternatives which replace animal use, reduce the number of animals needed or refine the experimental design to minimise suffering. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate advises on whether, and on what terms, licences and certificates should be granted or amended.
Various licences have been granted in the United Kingdom to assess the efficacy and safety of pharmaceutical agents or study the mechanisms of addiction but none can be described as models for lifestyle drugs.
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Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 November 1999, Official Report, column 239W, on the Prison Service drug strategy, if he will list those Prison Service establishments where CARAT services are available; if he will list the expected dates for the roll-out of services to those Prison Service establishments where roll-out is not complete; and if he will make a statement. [102651]
Mr. Boateng:
The roll-out of Counselling Assessment Referral Advice Throughcare services in each prison will be completed by the end of January.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 November 1999, Official Report, column 239W, on the Prison Service drug strategy, how many staff have been recruited per Prison Service establishment and in total; how many vacancies there are to fill per establishment and in total; and if he will make a statement. [102652]
Mr. Boateng:
Approximately 200 new members of staff have been recruited to support Counselling Assessment Referral Advice Throughcare services. Information on the number of workers recruited per establishment and on the number of vacancies to be filled per establishment is not held centrally.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate the Prison Service has made of the total cost over three years of the Prison Service CARAT drug strategy; what is the breakdown of the estimate; and if he will make a statement. [102653]
Mr. Boateng:
I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 26 November 1999, Official Report, column 239W.
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