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Lord Corbett of Castle Vale asked Her Majesty's Government:

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: I understand from Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary that the force as a whole was inspected in December 2000 and August 1999, but this area of business was not specifically inspected. However, a best value review of firearms licensing is expected to take place in 2004.

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Immigration Detainees

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

    How many persons they currently hold subject to restrictions in (a) asylum reception centres; and (b) immigration detention centres; and in respect of (b) how many are subject to removal orders or are facing criminal charges. [HL4794]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Filkin): The latest available data on the number of persons held in (a) Oakington Asylum reception centre and (b) dedicated immigration removal centres relates to 30 March 2002 and are contained in the table.

Reception centrePopulation at 30 March 2002(1)
Oakington230
Immigration Removal Centres
Harmondsworth525
Campsfield House185
Haslar135
Tinsley House125
Lindholme95
Dungavel90
Yarl's Wood(2)5
Total Removals Centres1,160

(1) Figures are rounded to nearest five.

(2) Only five detainees were being held at Yarl's Wood Removal Centre, which was being temporarily emptied of detainees following the fire there on 14–15 February 2002.

Figures for the number of those detainees who were subject to removal orders as at 30 March would be available only by examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Persons facing criminal charges would not normally be held in an immigration removal centre.

Information on Immigration Act detainees as at 29 June will be published on 30 August on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigrationl.html.


Refugees

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

    Further to the reply by Lord Filkin on 18 June (col. 728), what precisely they mean by (a) the "mandate refugee programme"; (b) the "10 or more plans"; and (c) the "CSR 2002 process"; and how much funding they expect.[HL4854]

Lord Filkin: (a) The mandate refugee programme provides resettlement to the United Kingdom of refugees who are in their own country, or in a third country, who are faced with some threat to their safety or well-being and are deemed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to be refugees. Applicants are assessed on whether the United Kingdom is the best place for them, as well as taking into account the circumstances in their present country of refuge. Funding for this programme is taken from the overall Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) budget.


    (b) The 10 or more plan provides resettlement to the United Kingdom for disabled mandate refugees who have medical needs that cannot be

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    treated in their current place of refuge. Funding for this programme is also taken from the overall IND budget.


    (c) The SR 2002 process refers to the spending plans and priorities for all Home Office areas and is currently under discussion for the period 2003–04 to 2005–06. Funding proposals are subject to funding being available.

Trafficking People

Lord Beaumont of Whitley asked Her Majesty's Government:

    For each of the last five years, what sum has been recovered by way of confiscation from those prosecuted for involvement in the trafficking of women.[HL4887]

Lord Filkin: I refer the noble Lord to the reply I gave him on 18 June (WA 70).

Commission for Racial Equality Annual Report

Lord Hughes of Woodside asked Her Majesty's Government:

    Whether they intend to make available the Commission for Racial Equality 2001 annual report.[HL5031]

Lord Filkin: The Commission for Racial Equality's annual report 2001 is published today.

Copies have been placed in the Library and arrangements have been made for copies to be sent to the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.

Magistrates' Court Closures

Lord Jones asked Her Majesty's Government:

    How many magistrates' courts have been closed since 1990 in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.[HL4491]

The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Magistrates' courts committees are not required by statute to inform the Government of court closures. The data held centrally are, therefore, of variable quality, and particularly so before 1995. Since 1990 the best information indicates that in England and Wales 112 and 27 courthouses were closed respectively.

In Northern Ireland one magistrates' court venue has been closed since 1990. The court, at

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Newtownabbey, County Antrim, was closed on 17 February 2002 and the business was absorbed in Belfast Magistrates' Court.

Third Parties—Rights Against Insurers

Lord Hogg of Cumbernauld asked Her Majesty's Government:

    Whether the Government accept the recommendations made by the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission in their report on Third Parties—Rights Against Insurers.[HL5006]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Government have carefully considered this report and accept the Law Commissions' recommendations. A consultation paper will be issued shortly on implementing the proposals by way of a Regulatory Reform Order.

Land Registration Act 2002

Lord Howie of Troon asked Her Majesty's Government:

    When they intend to implement the Land Registration Act 2002.[HL5007]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Land Registration Act 2002 will be brought into force on Monday 13 October 2003. This will allow sufficient time to consult on and make the necessary secondary legislation, to develop new office procedures to accommodate the new legislation and to carry out a thorough programme of education and training both within the Land Registry and across the wider conveyancing community.

Turkish Cypriot Assets

Lord Kilclooney asked Her Majesty's Government:

    Whether vehicles, machinery and other assets were left for safe-keeping at the two sovereign bases in Cyprus by Turkish Cypriots in 1974; whether any of these assets were returned to Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus; and whether there are still Turkish Cypriot assets held for safe-keeping at the two bases.[HL4895]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): Vehicles, machinery and other items of personal property were left in the Western Sovereign Base Area by Turkish Cypriots when they were evacuated by air from RAF Akrotiri in January 1975. None of these items has been returned to Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus. Much of the property had to be destroyed on public health grounds as its condition deteriorated, but the majority of the vehicles, together with some agricultural machinery, are still held in a compound at British Forces Episkopi. A number of sporting weapons are also held in the armoury at RAF Akrotiri.

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Type 45 Destroyer: RAND Report

Lord Acton asked Her Majesty's Government:

    Whether the RAND report on Type 45 procurement options has been published.[HL5004]

Lord Bach: The RAND report on acquisition options for the Type 45 destroyer has now been published. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

RAND is a very experienced and influential organisation and has been conducting analyses of military shipbuilding, the industrial base and competition issues for two decades. The Ministry of Defence commissioned RAND last year to carry out an independent study into a range of alternative procurement strategies for our future warship programme over the next 15 to 20 years, with particular reference to options for Type 45 destroyers. This followed receipt of an unsolicited bid from BAES Marine proposing that it should build all 12 ships planned for the Class. This differed from the Type 45 shipbuilding procurement strategy at that time, which envisaged Vosper Thornycroft building one of the first batch of three ships and competing with BAES Marine for later batches.

Initial results from the study were used to help inform the MoD's decision to proceed with a revised procurement strategy for the Type 45, in which each of the two shipbuilders, BAES Marine and Vosper Thornycroft, will be allocated modules (or blocks) of the ship to build. The revised strategy was announced by my Right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 10 July 2001 (Official Report, col 675–85) in another place.

RAND's analysis indicated that there would be roughly an even chance that competitive production of the Type 45 by two shipbuilders would yield about the same overall cost as sole-source production. Noting that a competitive strategy could lead to one shipbuilder building most of the ships, RAND also investigated alternative strategies to direct work to each of the two shipbuilders to keep both involved in building warships.

The RAND results also suggested that, for strategies that directed Type 45 work to a number of shipyards, allocation of blocks is more cost effective that the allocation of whole ships because the workforce increase productivity as it gains experience of building the same blocks. Such a strategy will also have the advantage of keeping both shipbuilders in the Type 45 progamme and potentially available to compete for future warship programmes. In addition, the revised strategy is likely to provide better value for money in the longer term than the unsolicited proposal, if it enables competition to be pursued on other warship programmes.

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Following the Type 45 decision, RAND continued its study, taking a broader look at the foreseeable balance of demand and supply in the warship building sector an the potential effects of different procurement approaches. The report does not make specific recommendations concerning procurement strategies for future programmes, although it has helped clarify issues regarding block production (which is likely to be employed for the future carrier). It also provides an indication of the size of workforce that will be required to sustain the future programme.

RAND's work has already helped the MoD to arrive at a pragmatic solution for the Type 45. The report will also provide a valuable source of information for further study of the warship building sector.


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