(15) Figures as at 30 June 1998
3 Sept 1998 : Column WA14
Prisons: Education Data
Lord Harris of Greenwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many of Her Majesty's prisons reduced the number of hours of education in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998; and what proportion of the total number of prisons this represents for each of those years.[HL3062]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The information requested is given in the tables. The figures for reduction in education hours are based on the 121 prisons for which data are available for the whole period. The reduction in hours is, in part, a reflection of increased efficiency in education provision. More education is delivered as time-limited courses to address specific needs, or is part-time rather than full-time.
Prison Service: Reduction in Education Hours
| Number of prisons reducing the number hours of eduction | Proportion of prisons of the total number that this represents
|
| 1996-97 on 1995-96 | 102 | 84%
|
| 1997-98 on 1996-97 | 68 | 56%
|
| 1998-99 on 1997-98 | (16)86 | (16)71%
|
(16) Data for the first quarter of 1998-99 has been annualised and remains provisional.
Prison Service: Average education output
| Education Hours Per Prisoner Per Week
|
| 1995-96 | 4.9
|
| 1996-97 | 4.3
|
| 1997-98 | 4.1
|
| 1998-99 First Quarter | (17)3.8
|
(17) Data for the first quarter of 1998-99 has been annualised and remains provisional.
Asylum Applications Backlog
Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn asked Her Majesty's Government:
How long they anticipate that it will take, following the guidance given in their White Paper, Fairer, Faster and Firmer-a Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum, to clear the backlog of the 10,000 individuals seeking asylum who made application prior to 1 July 1993 and have not yet received a response.[HL3218]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: As indicated in the White Paper, Fairer, Faster and Firmer-a Modern Approach to Immigration and Asylum, we are aiming to clear all the backlog of undecided asylum claims before April 2001 so as to achieve our target, on current forecasts of asylum claims, of decision times of two months or less
3 Sept 1998 : Column WA15
by that date. We will start by clearing the undecided cases which date from before 1 July 1993, and hope to be able to decide most of these by early 1999.
Firearms: National Register
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the names and qualifications of the members of the working group which has been set up to establish the central database for the establishment of a central register of firearms holders required by Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997; when the working group was established; and what are the dates on which it has met.[HL3046]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: I understand from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that a working group to consider the possibility of setting up a national firearms register was first established on 28 August 1996, and was attended by the following members:
| Mr. M. Curtis | Police Information Technology Organisation (Local Police Systems Directorate)
|
| Mr. J. Phillips | Chief Constable, Kent County Constabulary
|
| Mr. A. Burden | Chief Constable, Gwent Constabulary
|
| Mr. J. Twigg | Police National Computer Directorate
|
| Mr. M. Reed | Police Information
Technology Organisation (Local Police Systems Directorate) |
It was agreed at the meeting of the ACPO Administration of Firearms and Explosives Licensing Sub-Committee held on 18 March 1998 that a revised working group should be set up to review the work which had been done by the earlier group and on an ad hoc basis since. Their aim is to finalise a detailed user requirement for submission to the ACPO Police National Computer (PNC) Steering Committee and the Police Information Technology Organisation. The members of this group are:
| Mr. D. Winser | Assistant Chief Constable, Cambridgeshire Constabulary
|
| Mr. I. McColl | Firearms Licensing Officer
|
| Mr. J. Brear | Firearms Enquiries Officer
|
| Sgt. C. Locke | Metropolitan Police Firearms Enquiry Officer
|
| Supt. I. Brown | ACPO PNC Steering Group
|
| Ch. Insp. J. Thompson | PNC Directorate |
This group is scheduled to meet in September when all the current information has been marshalled.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Williams of Mostyn on 22 July (WA 118), whether it is a statutory requirement of Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 to establish a central register of firearm holders or whether the creation of such a register is dependent on the Association of Chief Police Officers' assessment of its operational priority.[HL3125]
3 Sept 1998 : Column WA16
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The establishment of a central register of all persons who have applied for a firearm or shotgun certificate, or to whom a firearm or shotgun certificate has been granted, or whose certificate has been renewed, is a statutory requirement of Section 39(1) of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. Sub-section (2)(b) further requires the register to be kept by means of a computer which provides access on-line to all police forces. The legislation does not specify when the requirement must be met.
Firearm and Shotgun Certificates
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Williams of Mostyn on 22 July (WA 118-120), when they expect to be able to update the statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates issued in England and Wales for 1996 given in that Answer, to show the position on 31 December 1997.[HL3047]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: I understand that the Firearm statistics for England and Wales for the year ending 31 December 1997 will be ready for publication by late September or early October.
Immigrants and Asylum Seekers: Reference Numbers
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What identifying numbering system, if any, is used to record the arrival of immigrants or asylum seekers in the United Kingdom; and whether the numbers so allocated are notified to any other government departments.[HL3230]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Persons subject to control who are seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom are given a unique port reference number if they are required to submit to further examination by an immigration officer. This will include port asylum applicants, who will also attract a separate and individual Home Office reference number. These numbers do not in themselves identify such persons as asylum seekers, and they may be quoted in correspondence with other government departments.
Surrendered Handguns: Disposal
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many handguns have been handed in to each police force under the provisions of the Firearms Acts; how many of these have been destroyed; and what records police forces are required to keep of the identification numbers, or other particulars, of firearms handed in and destroyed.[HL3231]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: Under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Acts 1997, a total of 162,198 handguns were surrendered to the police in England,
3 Sept 1998 : Column WA17
Wales and Scotland. A breakdown of these figures by police force area is contained in the table. A proportion of the 3,607 firearms surrendered or otherwise disposed of under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 will also have been handguns but details of these were not recorded centrally.
Figures for the number of handguns destroyed are not collected centrally. The vast majority of handguns surrendered to the police have been destroyed, or will be when the relevant compensation claims have been settled and disposal instructions issued by the Firearms Compensation Section. A small number of handguns will be retained by the police for official purposes or will be given to suitably authorised museums.
The way in which the details of firearms surrendered to the police were recorded is a matter for individual chief officers. Serial numbers for such firearms should have been given on the compensation claim forms submitted to the police at the time of surrender, and should have been checked by the police against the serial numbers appearing on the firearms themselves and in the relevant firearm certificates or dealers' registers of transactions.
| Handguns Surrendered under the Firearms Acts 1997 | |
|
| Constabulary /Police | 1997 Act | | | 1997 (No. 2) Act |
|
| England & Wales | Large Calibre | Small Calibre (ex gratia) | Total | Small Calibre | Combined Total
|
| Avon & Somerset | 3,227 | 566 | 3,793 | 702 | 4,495
|
| Bedfordshire | 992 | 232 | 1,224 | 150 | 1,374
|
| City of London | 73 | 30 | 103 | 30 | 133
|
| Cambridgeshire | 1,176 | 365 | 1,541 | 253 | 1,794
|
| Cheshire | 2,250 | 361 | 2,611 | 367 | 2,978
|
| Cleveland | 700 | 242 | 942 | 123 | 1,065
|
| Cumbria | 863 | 150 | 1,013 | 274 | 1,287
|
| Derbyshire | 1,791 | 476 | 2,267 | 287 | 2,554
|
| Devon & Cornwall | 3,625 | 573 | 4,198 | 892 | 5,090
|
| Dorset | 2,207 | 545 | 2,752 | 348 | 3,100
|
| Durham | 1,020 | 313 | 1,333 | 108 | 1,441
|
| Dyfed Powys | 1,320 | 234 | 1,554 | 239 | 1,793
|
| Essex | 4,840 | 1,268 | 6,108 | 658 | 6,766
|
| Gloucestershire | 1,102 | 280 | 1,382 | 318 | 1,700
|
| Greater Manchester | 3,834 | 1,093 | 4,927 | 595 | 5,522
|
| Gwent | 1,112 | 289 | 1,401 | 163 | 1,564
|
| Hampshire | 3,757 | 766 | 4,523 | 649 | 5,172
|
| Hertfordshire | 1,998 | 435 | 2,433 | 241 | 2,674
|
| Humberside | 1,169 | 352 | 1,521 | 216 | 1,737
|
| Kent | 3,745 | 822 | 4,567 | 603 | 5,170
|
| Lancashire | 2,280 | 671 | 2,951 | 340 | 3,291
|
| Leicestershire | 2,515 | 377 | 2,892 | 202 | 3,094
|
| Lincolnshire | 1,308 | 338 | 1,646 | 162 | 1,808
|
| Merseyside | 2,907 | 650 | 3,557 | 408 | 3,965
|
| Met Area 1 | 699 | 177 | 876 | 89 | 965
|
| Met Area 2 | 2,852 | 629 | 3,481 | 499 | 3,980
|
| Met Area 3 | 3,264 | 749 | 4,013 | 473 | 4,486
|
| Met Area 4 | 4,176 | 868 | 5,044 | 820 | 5,864
|
| Met Area 5 | 3,324 | 573 | 3,897 | 631 | 4,528
|
| Norfolk | 2,224 | 554 | 2,778 | 350 | 3,128
|
| Northamptonshire | 1,048 | 333 | 1,381 | 226 | 1,607
|
| Northumbria | 1,823 | 459 | 2,282 | 279 | 2,561
|
| North Wales | 1,267 | 287 | 1,554 | 263 | 1,817
|
| North Yorkshire | 3,105 | 794 | 3,899 | 126 | 4,025
|
| Nottinghamshire | 3,571 | 555 | 4,126 | 628 | 4,754
|
| South Wales | 2,862 | 784 | 3,646 | 337 | 3,983
|
| South Yorkshire | 2,125 | 663 | 2,788 | 219 | 3,007
|
| Staffordshire | 2,942 | 641 | 3,583 | 364 | 3,947
|
| Suffolk | 1,598 | 527 | 2,125 | 216 | 2,341
|
| Surrey | 3,114 | 668 | 3,782 | 680 | 4,462
|
| Sussex | 3,286 | 502 | 3,788 | 530 | 4,318
|
| Thames Valley | 3,806 | 807 | 4,613 | 1,013 | 5,626
|
| Warwickshire | 832 | 215 | 1,047 | 176 | 1,223
|
| West Mercia | 2,588 | 608 | 3,196 | 491 | 3,687
|
| West Midlands | 5,011 | 825 | 5,836 | 640 | 6,476
|
| West Yorkshire | 3,702 | 654 | 4,356 | 588 | 4,944
|
| Wiltshire | 1,352 | 320 | 1,672 | 204 | 1,876
|
|
|
| Sub Total for E and W | 110,382 | 24,620 | 135,002 | 18,170 | 153,172
|
| | | | |
|
| Scotland | | | | |
|
| Central Scotland | 289 | 103 | 392 | 17 | 409
|
| Dumfries and Galloway | 236 | 83 | 319 | 33 | 352
|
| Fife | 293 | 76 | 369 | 61 | 430
|
| Grampian | 657 | 149 | 806 | 85 | 891
|
| |
| Lothian and Borders | 1,253 | 245 | 1,498 | 194 | 1,692
|
| Northern | 958 | 307 | 1,265 | 173 | 1,438
|
| Strathclyde | 1,922 | 633 | 2,555 | 378 | 2,933
|
| Tayside | 654 | 155 | 809 | 72 | 881
|
|
|
| Sub total for Scotland | 6,262 | 1,751 | 8,013' | 1,013 | 9,026
|
| | | | |
|
| Overall total for E, W and S | 116,644 | 26,371 | 143,015 | 19,183 | 162,198
|
3 Sept 1998 : Column WA18
