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Human Rights Act 1998

Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Williams of Mostyn on 7 December (WA 68), whether in the period before they bring Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 into force, they will instruct counsel acting in proceedings on behalf of a Minister of the Crown or government department to submit that the courts should, so far as is possible, read and give effect to legislation in a way which is compatible with the Convention rights.[HL254]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn): A great deal of training and preparation will need to be done before Section 3 or the other main provisions of the Act can be brought into force. Until that time, it would be premature to invite the courts to act as if those provisions had been brought into force.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Williams of Mostyn on 7 December (WA 68), whether the main provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998 will be "implemented as a whole" throughout the United Kingdom, or whether they will be implemented earlier in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in respect of the powers of the elected and other public authorities, by virtue of the devolution legislation.[HL290]

Lord Williams of Mostyn: We do not at present have any plans to bring the Human Rights Act into force at different times in different parts of the United Kingdom.

The devolved institutions established by the Scotland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 will have no power to act in a way which is incompatible with the convention rights set out in the Human Rights Act. That issue will be justiciable in the courts under the terms of the

15 Dec 1998 : Column WA142

devolution legislation when those institutions begin to operate, even though the Human Rights Act may not have been brought into force.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why they are delaying the bringing into force of the Human Rights Act 1998.[HL291]

Lord Williams of Mostyn: As the noble Lord will be aware from the Home Secretary's speech at Third Reading of the Human Rights Bill in another place on 21 October (Official Report, col. 1359), and from his own correspondence with my right honourable friend the Lord Chancellor, we would like to bring the Act into force as soon as is feasible but there is a great deal of training and preparation to be done first.

Police Use of Firearms

Baroness Gould of Potternewton asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the latest available statistics on the police use of firearms.[HL336]

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The statistics for April 1997 to March 1998 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were issued to officers was 11,842, a fall of over 4 per cent. on the previous year. The number of occasions on which firearms were discharged by police fell to just three, from five the previous year, resulting in two fatalities.

There was a decrease of 7 per cent., to 7,510 in the number of operations in which armed response vehicles were deployed. Firearms were carried in these vehicles but were not necessarily issued to officers on each occasion.

Full details are set out in the tables below:

Number of operations involving Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs)

	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98
Total	2,423	5,523	8,060	7,510
Avon & Somerset	90	200	247	121
Bedfordshire	0	239	309	285
Cambridgeshire	27	15	23	19
Cheshire	76	180	240	166
Cleveland	89	465	1,014	*57
City of London	0	23	25	0
Cumbria	19	44	64	43
Derbyshire	58	53	97	99
Devon & Cornwall	0	21	77	58
Dorset	25	22	28	50
Durham	27	38	62	85
Essex	165	155	218	180
Gloucestershire	0	10	13	48
Greater Manchester	69	6	**	56
Hampshire	156	159	208	170
Hertfordshire	37	20	35	25
Humberside	6	35	284	437
Kent	47	42	208	212
Lancashire	48	187	320	321
Leicestershire	50	101	126	68
Lincolnshire	45	21	39	34
Merseyside	73	239	618	559
Metropolitan	N/K	1,025	790	954
Norfolk	36	80	152	117
Northamptonshire	21	3	20	29
Northumbria	310	325	715	515
North Yorkshire	0	0	13	52
Nottinghamshire	40	44	66	*256
South Yorkshire	140	171	129	252
Staffordshire	3	70	235	206
Suffolk	113	117	120	135
Surrey	25	47	52	76
Sussex	304	413	173	284
Thames Valley	6	73	164	184
Warwickshire	22	54	91	127
West Mercia	26	39	77	98
West Midlands	58	98	103	102
West Yorkshire	173	587	584	586
Wiltshire	13	1	23	21
Dyfed Powys	9	6	12	19
Gwent	9	39	58	47
North Wales	0	14	173	260
South Wales	8	42	55	97

* These forces have amended their arrangements for counting ARV deployment to incidents.

** No figures available.

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Number of operations in which firearms were issued

	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98
Total	6,141	8,726	12,379	11,842
Avon & Somerset	156	326	312	139
Bedfordshire	36	264	345	323
Cambridgeshire	73	47	54	96
Cheshire	93	219	288	216
Cleveland	107	487	1,026	103
City of London	325	275	308	307
Cumbria	44	54	72	68
Derbyshire	68	72	109	147
Devon & Cornwall	29	90	160	133
Dorset	46	36	36	54
Durham	100	111	131	103
Essex	267	267	331	505
Gloucestershire	27	33	41	51
Greater Manchester	110	142	214	165
Hampshire	195	190	245	217
Hertfordshire	69	47	96	82
Humberside	49	92	291	472
Kent	95	82	236	423
Lancashire	57	227	333	338
Leicestershire	78	138	155	89
Lincolnshire	50	25	58	52
Merseyside	116	280	671	675
Metropolitan	1,804	2,178	2,439	2,578
Norfolk	56	96	166	128
Northamptonshire	40	54	64	77
Northumbria	593	452	1,360	823
North Yorkshire	25	52	65	102
Nottinghamshire	47	57	84	306
South Yorkshire	172	225	155	302
Staffordshire	21	80	257	240
Suffolk	119	150	180	193
Surrey	60	70	133	87
Sussex	375	445	235	330
Thames Valley	65	96	215	227
Warwickshire	25	55	97	152
West Mercia	50	59	106	132
West Midlands	141	226	270	227
West Yorkshire	181	657	617	630
Wiltshire	26	26	26	26
Dyfed Powys	16	11	17	27
Gwent	20	47	89	86
North Wales	60	117	233	310
South Wales	55	69	59	101

15 Dec 1998 : Column WA144

Number of Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs)

	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98
Total	6,837	6,554	6,738	6,137
Avon & Somerset	156	157	165	161
Bedfordshire	67	48	46	42
Cambridgeshire	87	92	90	80
Cheshire	122	84	70	82
Cleveland	55	65	86	84
City of London	146	120	88	81
Cumbria	105	100	108	122
Derbyshire	140	130	110	100
Devon & Cornwall	116	140	151	147
Dorset	76	75	74	72
Durham	108	103	138	144
Essex	209	203	228	217
Gloucestershire	71	85	82	84
Greater Manchester	181	186	209	182
Hampshire	110	104	106	112
Hertfordshire	48	43	42	41
Humberside	110	104	90	102
Kent	147	144	150	150
Lancashire	135	138	132	125
Leicestershire	103	105	104	94
Lincolnshire	73	81	82	85
Merseyside	160	119	147	165
Metropolitan	2,013	1,915	2,035	1,523
Norfolk	117	99	98	102
Northamptonshire	83	95	92	92
Northumbria	166	160	173	126
North Yorkshire	142	134	108	95
Nottinghamshire	125	126	128	129
South Yorkshire	162	125	110	108
Staffordshire	84	80	78	86
Suffolk	65	70	82	96
Surrey	76	79	76	61
Sussex	142	149	180	146
Thames Valley	180	175	185	194
Warwickshire	56	50	41	38
West Mercia	160	153	155	159
West Midlands	87	87	88	95
West Yorkshire	156	150	131	114
Wiltshire	165	145	134	105
Dyfed Powys	58	57	70	71
Gwent	54	55	70	59
North Wales	71	70	72	90
South Wales	150	154	134	176

15 Dec 1998 : Column WA143

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