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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Entertainment Expenses
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (1) what arrangements were made for paying for the party at Haymarket House in the summer of 1999 to mark the move of the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) from his Department to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; [147723]
- (2) which Ministers were invited to the party which the Lord Chancellor hosted at Haymarket House in summer 1999 to mark the move of the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) from his Department to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; [147725]
(3) which Ministers she informed about the arrangements for paying for the party she hosted at Haymarket House in summer 1999 to mark the move of the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) from his Department to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. [147724]
Jane Kennedy: My hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Vaz) became a Parliamentary Secretary in the Lord Chancellor's Department on 17 May 1999. The Hinduja Foundation hosted a reception on 22 September 1999 to mark his becoming the first Asian Minister in recent times. Neither the Lord Chancellor nor his Department had any involvement in organising, hosting or paying for the event.
The Lord Chancellor and my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, East attended the reception. The invitation list, which was cross-Party, was the responsibility of the Hinduja Foundation.
On 11 October 1999, my hon. Friend became a Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Jury Service
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will introduce proposals for those who work as housewives to receive an allowance when on jury service. [147439]
Jane Kennedy: The Government have no plans at present to seek a change in the law relating to allowances paid to those who are eligible to perform jury service.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what representations she has received about housewives attempting to evade jury service. [147440]
Jane Kennedy: This Department has no record of representations on this point.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if there is a daily allowance for those on jury service who are not in paid employment. [147438]
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Jane Kennedy: There is no daily allowance for those on jury service who are not in paid employment. However, they are entitled to claim for loss of benefits and fees paid to carers or child-minders, which have been used solely because of jury service. Jurors' are also entitled to claim travelling and subsistence expenses.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Electronic Signatures
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the President of the Council if she will propose to the Modernisation Committee that it examine the feasibility of using electronic signatures by hon. Members for authorising EDMs, parliamentary questions and deferred divisions. [147719]
Mrs. Beckett: As a general rule, hon. Members must be present in person to vote in deferred divisions, as for any other division. I am sure the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons would be interested in any proposals my hon. Friend cared to make about the authentication of EDMs and Questions.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Police Grant
Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he plans to allocate the police grant in 2001-02; and what the final funding allocations for police authorities will be for that year. [147945]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I have today laid before the House the Police Grant Report (England and Wales) 2001-02 (HC 156). The report sets out my determination for 2001-02 of the aggregate amount of grants that I propose to pay under section 46(2) of the Police Act 1996, and the amount to be paid to each police authority and to the Greater London Authority for the Metropolitan Police Authority.
Funding allocations for each police authority for 2001-02 are set out in the table. The table also shows allocations approved by Parliament for 2000-01.
(17) Rounded to the nearest £100,000. The Allocation is the sum of: Police Grant, Transitional Grant, Police SSA, Capital Finance SSA, SSA Reduction Grant and Central Support Protection Grant.
(18) Figure for the Metropolitan police includes its Special Payment.
(19) Figure for the City includes Police SSA, Grant and SSA Reduction Grant, but excludes other SSAs (e.g. Capital Financing) and Central Support Protection Grant. These are allocated to the Common Council of the City of London as a whole in respect of all its functions.
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Terrorism Regulations
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to lay a draft order under paragraph 16 of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000; when he intends to make and lay an order to amend the Channel Tunnel Order 1993 to apply the Terrorism Act 2000 to the Channel Tunnel system; and when he intends to make and lay regulations under section 119 of the Terrorism Act. [147968]
Mr. Straw: I have today laid before Parliament a draft order under paragraph 16(1) of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 enabling an examining officer to require certain persons to complete and produce to the officer, if required to do so, a landing or disembarkation card. The persons in question are those who disembark or embark at a sea or airport in Great Britain or Northern Ireland or, as the case may be, on a ship or aircraft travelling between Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or the Republic of
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Ireland. As required under paragraph 16(1), the order sets out the information to be contained in the card and the form of the card.
I have also made and today laid an order to amend the 1993 Channel Tunnel Order to ensure that the Terrorism Act 2000 extends to examining officers performing their functions in relation to the Channel Tunnel system; and Regulations under section 119 of the Act applying provisions of the Act relating to terrorist property offences to persons in the public service of the Crown. The Regulations also disapply section 19 of the Act, which imposes a duty to disclose information about suspected offences, in the case of persons performing, or connected with the performance of, regulatory, supervisory, investigative or registration functions of a public nature.
Police Authorities
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the level of funding was for police authorities in (a) England and (b) Wales for each of the last 10 years. [146007]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The level of funding (police grant and Standard Spending Assessment (SSA)) is given in the table.
| £ million | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | England | Wales |
| 1991-92 | 4,792 | (20)123 |
| 1992-93 | 5,333 | (20)133 |
| 1993-94 | 5,605 | (20)139 |
| 1994-95 | 5,862 | (20)142 |
| 1995-96 | 5,957 | 316 |
| 1996-97 | 6,184 | 332 |
| 1997-98 | 6,391 | 341 |
| 1998-99 | 6,607 | 352 |
| 1999-2000 | 6,784 | 361 |
| 2000-01 | 6,987 | 370 |
(20) Prior to 1995-96 Welsh SSAs were unhypothecated at county level. Details of payments were agreed by constituent counties to police authorities in Wales. Figures for 1991-92 to 1994-95 are Home Office police grant only.
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