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Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987: Fines
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What are, for the last five years and for each of air, sea or Channel Tunnel carriers, the values of penalties imposed for contravening the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987, and the value of fines outstanding.[HL4087]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The table shows (in £ million), on an annual basis from 1995 onwards, details of:
- the total cumulative value, as at the end of each year shown, of all charge demands served from inception under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987;
- the annual total value of all charge demands served during the year; and
- the total value of all charges outstanding at the end of each year.
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | Jan-Sep 2000 | |
| Cumulative | 88.1 | 100.5 | 112.7 | 125.6 | 137.0 | 145.1 |
| Annual | 12.4 | 12.4 | 12.3 | 12.8 | 11.5 | 8.1 |
| O/S | 18.7 | 15.1 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 7.3 | 7.1 |
Roma: Anti-discrimination Measures
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 3 October (WA 212), whether they consider that the bringing into force of Protocol No 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights would assist the Roma in protecting them against racial discrimination across Europe in those countries which have ratified the Protocol; and, if not, what are their reasons.[HL4101]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Protocol 12 will be open for signature in Rome on 4 November. The extent of protection of Roma, over and above that already conferred by Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and any other domestic legislation and practice, will depend on how the authorities in those countries, and ultimately the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, interpret the Protocol. The measures taken by this Government to protect the Roma were summarised in the Answer I gave the noble Lord on 3 October (Official Report WA 212).
Shotguns and Criminal Offences
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many criminal offences have been committed with legally held shotguns in each of the last five years.[HL4098]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Complete figures are not available to show how many offences in which shotguns were used involved legally or illegally held shotguns.
Figures are available, however, for offences of homicide involving shotguns recorded by the police in England and Wales for the years from 1994 to 1998. The total figures are as follows:
| Total number | Shotgun legally held/certificate not required | |
| 1994 | 36 | 7 |
| 1995 | 28 | 6 |
| 1996 | 17 | 4 |
| 1997 | 16 | 1 |
| 1998 | 10 | 1 |
The table details the number of criminal offences committed in Scotland with shotguns held legally and illegally in each of the years from 1995 to 1999. Information has also been provided on the number of criminal offences committed with a shotgun where it was not possible to determine whether or not the weapon was legally held, either because no accused was identified or because the weapon was not recovered.
(1) No accused identified or accused identified but shotgun not recovered.
Figures for Northern Ireland on whether firearms used in offences were legally or illegally held are not available.
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Bassam of Brighton: This information is not collected centrally. The number of shotguns stolen in each of the last five years is as follows:
(2) 1997-98 for England and Wales.
(3) 1998-99 for England and Wales.
Lord Brougham and Vaux asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Government intend to write to the Firearms Consultative Committee shortly to seek its views on a number of issues, in particular those arising from the Second Report of the Home Affairs Committee on Controls over Firearms.
Earl Howe asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The regulatory appraisal which accompanied the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 included an annex explaining how potential income from the new scheme had been calculated. The appraisal made clear that, in order to make the necessary calculations, a number of estimates had to be made based on data from a variety of sources.
Income has not reached the suggested levels largely because fewer than expected people have had NHS treatment following a road traffic accident and have gone on to make a successful claim for personal injury.
There may be other factors which need to be taken into account but it is still too early in the life of the new
Earl Howe asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they consider the performance of the Compensation Recovery Unit of the Benefits Agency in collecting fees for National Health Service hospitals under the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 to be satisfactory; and[HL4153]
What was the full cost of collection of fees paid to National Health Service hospitals under the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 during its first year of implementation, including, if applicable, any capital charges; and what are the budgeted outturn figures for these costs during the second year.[HL4154]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: From 5 April 1999 a new system of centralised collection of National Health Service charges following road traffic accidents was introduced. The system is administered by the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU), a part of the Benefits Agency, on behalf of the Department of Health.
In the first year of operation, the full cost of the new system to the Department of Health was £1.2 million, including capital charges such as the costs of a new computer system. In that year, CRU collected and distributed £26 million to English NHS trusts. In the start-up year, the cost of collection was therefore 4.7 per cent of the amounts collected.
Six months into the second year of operation, CRU has collected and distributed £30 million to NHS trusts in England, suggesting that a full year figure of at least £60 million is possible. We have budgeted for costs of £1.06 million in the current year, which, if £60 million is achieved, would mean collection costs would be 1.8 per cent of the total amounts recovered.
The performance of CRU, after some initial difficulties associated with the introduction of a new IT system, and the cost of collection expressed as a percentage of income collected, are fully acceptable to the Department of Health. The new scheme has dramatically increased the amounts being recovered and this money is already available to NHS trusts to improve patient care.
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government's three-year, £100 million tobacco control programme is aimed at helping smokers to give up and non-smokers not to start. The fewer people smoke--in particular parents--the less likely it is that children will be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. The current programme of tobacco education will continue to emphasise the dangers smokers pose to those around them and in particular the responsibility of parents in this area.
The Government have supported the introduction of the hospitality industry's Public Places Charter, which is aimed at improving facilities for non-smokers in hotels, pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues.
One of the statutory health warnings on cigarette packets is "Protect children: don't make them breathe your smoke". The United Kingdom has supported plans at a European level to increase the size of health warnings on tobacco products to increase their impact on smokers.
Legally held shotgun Illegally held shotgun Legal possession of shotgun not determined (1)
1995 24 66 50
1996 2 46 43
1997 15 16 33
1998 5 21 16
1999 9 20 26
How many legally held shotguns have been reported as stolen and then subsequently used in criminal offences in each of the last five years.[HL4099]
18 Oct 2000 : Column WA93
England and Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
1995 728 35 50
1996 624 23 71
1997 539 15 79
1998(2) 524 10 101
1999(3) 395 17 82
What decision, if any, they have made as to the recommendations they will make for subjects for inclusion in the "Working Agenda" of the Firearms Consultative Committee due to report to Parliament in July 2001.[HL4100]
Why fees being collected by the Compensation Recovery Unit of the Benefits Agency on behalf of National Health Service hospitals are currently running at an annualised rate of some £70 million when, under the regulatory appraisal for the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999, it was anticipated that fees collected would amount to £123 million to £165 million per annum.[HL4152]
What has been the cost of collecting fees paid to National Health Service hospitals under the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 expressed as a percentage of fees collected (a) during the year ended 5 April 2000 and (b) since April 2000; and whether they consider these percentages to be satisfactory; and[HL4151]
Whether they have any specific proposals to highlight the dangers of passive smoking for children over 10.[HL3975]
18 Oct 2000 : Column WA95
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