---

Firearm Certificates: Gwent and Hampshire

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

In each of the last three years, what was the average time taken to process (a) shotgun and (b) firearm certificate applications, renewals and variations in the Gwent Constabulary and the Hampshire Constabulary.[HL5101]

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The figures are given, in days, in the tables below. Figures for average times taken to make variations to certificates are not available:

For Gwent Constabulary

	1999		2000		2001		2002
Type	Shotgun	Firearm	Shotgun	Firearm	Shotgun	Firearm	Shotgun	Firearm
Grant	101.37	162.35	183.85	216.51	196.97	237.00	59.76	111.25
Renewal	54.84	80.75	131.07	174.52	214.88	229.85	77.47	75.41

22 Jul 2002 : Column WA5

For Hampshire Constabulary (figures for 2002 are unavailable)

	1999		2000		2001
Type of application	Shotgun	Firearm	Shotgun	Firearm	Shotgun	Firearm
Grant	63.98	74.51	115.74	110.22	122.19	106.71
Renewal	7.94	35.72	48.66	53.6	33.96	46.89

22 Jul 2002 : Column WA5

Criminal Cases: Prosecution Disclosure

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

What hitherto has been the attitude of the criminal courts to the subsequent discovery of "human error" affecting full disclosure in criminal cases. [HL5195]

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Where the error in prosecution disclosure comes to light before or during the trial, the court will usually seek to rectify this by ordering the prosecution to disclose to the defence the relevant unused prosecution material. It is also open to the court to accept an abuse of process argument raised by the defence and stay the proceedings. The court also has power to order costs against the prosecution for any time wasted if prosecution disclosure was delayed. In addition, where the prosecution fails to comply with its primary disclosure requirements, the defence is released from the duty to make defence disclosure.

Where the error comes to notice following conviction, this may be raised by the defence as part of an appeal. In these circumstances, if the Court of Appeal considers that the effect of the failure in prosecution disclosure is to render the conviction unsafe, it may quash the conviction and may also order a retrial.

22 Jul 2002 : Column WA6

If an error in prosecution disclosure was attributable to an individual police officer, it would be open to the chief constable to institute disciplinary proceedings against the officer concerned. If the prosecution disclosure failure was the subject of a formal complaint against the police, it would be open to the Police Complaints Authority to recommend initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the officer concerned if appropriate.

Abnormal Loads on Motorways

Lord Mason of Barnsley asked Her Majesty's Government:

What further progress has been made regarding the self-escorting of abnormal loads on motorways and linked dual carriageways since the House of Lords debated the Police Reform Bill; and[HL5253]

Which government department or organisation is expected to lead on the development of any guidelines for the self-escorting of abnormal loads on motorways and linked dual carriageways.[HL5254]

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and the Association of Chief Police Officers are already

22 Jul 2002 : Column WA7

working on the best arrangements for the management of abnormal loads on the roads, including the possibility of self-escorting.

Any new arrangements and guidelines on best escorting practice will take into account the new provisions in the Police Reform Bill, if enacted. These will remove present restrictions on the powers of traffic wardens so that they will be able to stop as well as direct traffic when escorting abnormal loads. They will also make it possible for community support officers and accredited persons to have a limited power to stop and direct traffic specifically for this purpose. It will be for individual chief officers to decide whom to accredit, subject to the requirements set out in the Bill.

Bus Drivers: Use of Mobile Phones

Lord Jacobs asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there is any offence committed on which the police can take action when a bus full of passengers is driven safely down Oxford Street with the bus driver having one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand holding a mobile phone.[HL5305]

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: There is no specific offence of using a mobile phone while driving. However legislation places the responsibility on drivers to have proper control of their vehicles at all times. An offence would be committed in the circumstances described if the police were satisfied that the driver did not have proper control or that his use of the phone resulted in careless and inconsiderate driving or, in an extreme case, dangerous driving.

MAPPA Annual Report

Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to publish the first multi-agency public protection annual report.[HL5483]

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: We have today published the first multi-agency public protection (MAPPA) annual report, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. Local police and probation areas will from tomorrow begin to publish their own reports, and these will provide the public with information on the number of offenders covered by the arrangements.

The work done in the past year by the Multi-Agency Public Protection Panel in managing risk has contributed to a higher level of public protection from potentially dangerous offenders in the community.

Our aim is that the MAPPA process should be transparent and that members of the public should be able to see what is being done on their behalf. That is why the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 requires each area to publish a report detailing the work it has done in the past year. That is also why we

22 Jul 2002 : Column WA8

announced last month that members of the public were being invited to apply to sit on the boards overseeing the arrangements in five pilot areas.

In seeing the information which these reports now make available for the first time, we hope the public will be reassured by the work being done on their behalf.

Government Departments: Data Series for Anti-discrimination Purposes

Baroness Thomas of Wallis Wood asked Her Majesty's Government:

In respect of the Home Office, the Department for Education and Skills, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Scotland Office and the Northern Ireland Office, what new data series separated by gender, race, disability and age have been commissioned by each department since June 1997 up to the present.[HL4453]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Filkin): The following responses are listed by department.

The Home Office:

Since August 1997 the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate of Home Office has commissioned the following data series (including further exercises of regular on-going surveys):

(i) The 2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey collects information on sex, race, disability and age. Reports on the Citizenship Survey planned for 2002 will analyse the data by sex, race and ethnicity.

(ii) The 2000 sweeps of the British Crime Survey incorporated ethnic "booster samples". This has allowed the experience of ethnic minorities with respect to both crime victimisation risk and other experience and views regarding the police and other parts of the CJS. From January 2001 the BCS has moved to an annual cycle with a permanent ethnic boost.

(iii) From 1 April 1999 the information collected by the Home Office on police arrests was extended to provide information for persons arrested for notifiable offences by ethnic appearance of suspect gender, age group and offence group.

(iv) From 1 April 2001 police forces have been asked to provide returns on the number of racist crimes recorded by ethnic appearance of victim, offence group, age group and gender of victim and detection rate. Currently this return is voluntary and it is currently proposed that it will become mandatory from 1 April 2003.

In addition to new data series the Government, through various departments, have commissioned, conducted themselves or contributed to a number of

22 Jul 2002 : Column WA9

one-off or time-limited exercises, yielding information including one or more of these dimensions.

Department for Education and Skills:

Statistics published by the Department for Education and Skills routinely include breakdowns by gender and age, except (in the latter case) where they relate to programmes for children or young people of a specific age (for example national curriculum assessments).

In the early years and childcare field, a number of survey series have been introduced since 1997. The topics covered include parents of three and four year-old children and their use of early years services, parents' demand for childcare and the childcare workforce. The data collected include gender, age, ethnicity and disability, and analyses are published accordingly where sample sizes allow.

Since 1997 the department has developed and implemented a Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC), collecting far more detailed data than hitherto from maintained schools. Data were collected for all maintained school pupils for the first time in January 2002 and are being linked with their key stage and examination achievements as they occur. These data will allow far more detailed investigation of the impact of gender, ethnicity, special educational needs and other factors on the experiences and achievements of school pupils and new analyses or series will be published from this source in due course.

Since 1997 the department has introduced several new statistical series on young people and adults embarking on government-supported training, their qualification achievements and subsequent destinations. These include breakdowns by some or all of gender, ethnicity, disability and literacy/numeracy need.

In 2000 a new series was introduced on the level of highest qualification held by young people and adults of working age, including breakdowns by gender, age and ethnicity. This was a new analysis of data from the long-standing Labour Force Survey.

The department, in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics and the Department for Work and Pensions, introduced the English Local Labour Force Survey in 2000, a new annual exercise expanding on the Labour Force Survey. First results from the enlarged survey were published in 2001, including a wide range of qualifications and labour market analyses with breakdowns by gender, age, ethnicity and disability.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

The June Agriculural Census collects data on employment in agriculture and horticulture broken down by gender, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) also runs a survey which collects information on the earnings of these workers by gender. However, no new

22 Jul 2002 : Column WA10

questions were introduced with the creation of Defra. In 2003 a labour survey will be conducted as part of the EC farm structure surveys. This will ask questions broken down by age and gender.

Defra's draft Equality Scheme, required under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, sets out the actions required to meet the duty, and over time it is possible that this will lead to the commissioning of new data series on ethnicity if this is identified as being necessary.

Internally, data are collected on gender, disability, age and race. Personnel procedures which may have an impact on applicants and staff are monitored, broken down by gender race, and disability and sometimes also by age. A new monitoring programme is being finalised which will take account of the requirements of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act and, as far as possible, forthcoming legislation on sexual orientation, religion and age.

---