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26 Engineer Regiment disbands.38 Field Squadron Royal Engineers disbands.
1st Armoured Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment disbands. 1995
2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles, 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles, 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles and 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles merge to form a single large regiment of three battalions.
71 Amphibious Support Squadron Royal Engineers disbands. 28 Signal Regiment disbands.
NORTHAG Air Support Radio Squadron disbands.
By 1997
As part of the drawdown in Hong Kong : there will be a reduction of one further Gurkha battalion ; The Queen's Gurkha Engineers, The Queen's Gurkha Signals and the Gurkha Transport Regiment will each reduce to one squadron ; and 660 Squadron Army Air Corps will disband.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Prison Population (Ethnic Groups)
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average sentence length of the prison population for each major ethnic group.
Mrs. Rumbold : The readily available information for 1990 is given in the table. The differences between the average sentence lengths received by males in the major ethnic groups in 1984-85 were discussed in Home Office Statistical Bulletin Issue No. 17/86 "The Ethnic Origin of Prisoners : The Prison Population on 30 June 1985 and Persons Received July 1984-- March 1985, paragraphs 24-27" a copy of which is in the Library. The differences were found to be associated with a range of factors including the type of offence, the type of court which had passed sentence, and the number of previous convictions.
The average sentence lengths recorded for some of the female groups may be unrepresentative in that they are based on small numbers of persons.
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Average sentence length<1> of persons received into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales under an immediate custodial sentence<2>:
by sex, type of prisoner and ethnic origin, 1990
Months
Sex and Type of prisoner |White |West Indian |Indian |Chinese |Other, not |All persons
|Guyanese |Pakistani |Arab |recorded (including
|African |Bangladeshi |Mixed |refusals)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Males
Young Offenders |12.2 |16.7 |16.1 |14.4 |11.6 |12.6
Adults |17.7 |25.5 |21.1 |23.2 |23.4 |18.6
Females
Young Offenders |10.8 |19.3 |3.2 |13.2 |7.2 |11.7
Adults |12.4 |25.6 |37.6 |18.4 |16.2 |14.9
<1> Provisional Figures.
<2> Excluding those sentenced to life.
Torture
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received the report on the visit to the United Kingdom by the European committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : We have received the committee's report and have recently responded to it. Subject to the
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committee's agreement, we plan to make its report and the Government's response publicly available as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.City Status
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications he has received for city status ; and if he will list those towns seeking city status.
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Mr. Kenneth Baker : It is likely that the Queen will wish to grant city status to one town to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession. I have received representations that their town might be chosen for this from and on behalf of the authorities of the following 20 towns in England : Blackburn ; Bolton ; Brighton ; Chelmsford ; Colchester ; Croydon ; Dudley ; Guildford ; Ipswich ; Middlesbrough ; Milton Keynes ; Northampton ; Preston ; Sandwell ; Shrewsbury ; Southend-on -Sea ; Stockport ; Sunderland ; Telford ; and Wolverhampton.Dogs
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the first set of centrally collected statistics related to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
Mrs. Rumbold : Information relating to 1991 prosecutions is expected to be available towards the end of 1992.
Prison Officers
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the general secretary of the Prison Officers Association ; and what subjects were discussed.
Mrs. Rumbold : My right hon. Friend last met the chairman and general secretary of the Prison Officers Association on 25 July 1991. I met them on 7 November. Subjects discussed at these meetings included the reorganisation of London prisons, the use of police cells, the corporate objectives process, the current review of the prison estate, contracting out and the Prison Service Union's application for recognition.
Prison Escapes
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have escaped from prisons in the United Kingdom in each of the last three years up to 1 November.
Mrs. Rumbold : The figures are as follows :
|Number
-----------------------------------------
Year ended 1 November 1989 |169
Year ended 1 November 1990 |185
Year ended 1 November 1991 |316
Reports of all escapes are analysed to identify methods and possible preventive measures. The numbers of escapes nevertheless remain a cause for concern.
Joseph Arthur Lewis Baker
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is yet in a position to write to the hon. Member for Stockton, South about the matters relating to Joseph Arthur Lewis Baker raised on 22 October 1991, Official Report, column 539.
Mrs. Rumbold : I have written to my hon. Friend.
Prison Cells, London
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison cells were out of use on 1 November at London prisons due to the work taking place on the installation of an internal sanitation system.
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Mrs. Rumbold : Three hundred and four cells.
Relate
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are being used to decide the forthcoming level of grant allocation to Relate.
Mr. John Pattern : Subject to parliamentary approval of supply estimates the level of grant to Relate's central administrative costs in 1992-93 will maintain cores funding in real terms. Additional funding will be made available in 1992-93 for other activities designed to improve the organisation's management structures at national and local level.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will show the level of grant expenditure allocated to Relate each year since 1979, both at current prices and showing the percentage change in the level of funding.
Mr. John Patten : The information is as follows :
|Grant |Percentage
|increase
|(£ cash |on previous
|terms) |years
----------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |418,000 |-
1980-81 |555,000 |32.8
1981-82 |704,000 |26.8
1982-83 |750,000 |6.5
1983-84 |788,000 |5.0
1984-85 |827,460 |5.0
1985-86 |864,570 |4.5
1986-87 |890,500 |3.0
1987-88 |912,870 |2.5
1988-89 |935,910 |2.5
1989-90 |958,890 |2.5
1990-91 |1,006,840 |5.0
1991-92 |1,107,500 |10.0
1992-93 |<1>1,511,400|36.5
Subject to Parliamentary approval of Supply Estimates. In addition Relate received a special grant of £600,000 over the three years 1988-89 to 1990-91.
Sunday Trading
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration his Department is giving to the use of section 43 of the Shops Act 1950 to enable shops to trade legally on Sundays during the Christmas period.
Mrs. Rumbold : Section 43 of the Shops Act 1950 contains no power to vary the provisions of the Act which are concerned specifically with Sunday trading.
Mr. David Porter : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidance on which shops and markets may open and which goods may be legally offered for sale in England on Sundays between 17 November and Christmas.
Mrs. Rumbold : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply to a question from him given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 5 November 1991 at column 46.
PC Tony Salt
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands as to why PC Mark Bury
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was permitted to retire on medical grounds before disciplinary action was taken against him, following the various false statements he made about the circumstances surrounding the death of his colleague, PC Tony Salt ;(2) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands as to the date on which Assistant Chief Constable Meften became aware of the statement by the widow of PC Salt regarding the discovery of her husband's kubaton ; and what action he took ;
(3) if he will call for a report from the West Midlands police regarding the disciplinary action taken against the officers responsible for obtaining confessions from Messrs. Peter Gibbs, Mark Samuels and Tony Frances on charges of murdering PC Tony Salt ; (4) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands as to (a) the date when the widow of the late PC Tony Salt made a statement regarding the discovery at home of her husband's kubaton, (b) the date the statement was passed to the Crown prosecution service and (c) the date charges were dropped against the three men accused of Mr. Salt's murder.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No. These are matters for the chief constable of the West Midlands.
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will order a public inquiry into the death of PC Tony Salt ; and if he will make a statement.
Young Offenders
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to encourage the establishment of projects similar to the Ilderton motor project in Deptford ;
(2) if he will list the community-based projects in the United Kingdom which attempt to rehabilitate young people convicted of the offence of taking away a vehicle without the owner's consent ; and how much Home Office funding has been allocated to such projects in recent years.
Mr. John Patten : The Home Office is providing £157,000 to seven motor projects this financial year under the young adult offenders grant scheme which exists to support voluntary organisations offering supervision to a wide range of offenders, in partnership with probation services. These projects are :
|£
-----------------------------------------------------------
Guiding Hands Assocation, West Glamorgan |20,787
Croft Motor Trust, North Yorkshire |4,100
Car Offender Project, West Sussex |27,774
Dragon Wheels, South Glamorgan |2,194
NACRO New Careers Training, West Yorkshire |69,653
Telford Drive, Shropshire |21,679
Mendip Motor Project, Somerset |11,300
|-------
Total |157,487
Similarly the Home Office makes grants available through the safer cities programme to motor projects with the aims of crime prevention. Grants in this financial year are :
|£
------------------------------------------------------
Salford Swinton Karting |2,005
Salford General Education in Automobile
Responsibility |12,000
Nottingham Wheelbase |13,500
Hull Orchard Park Wheels |750
Coventry Henley Green Motorcycle |16,000
Bradford Motor Education |16,500
|---
|60,755
No comprehensive record is held centrally of similar projects in England and Wales not funded by the Home Office.
Overall provision for the young adult offender grant scheme is being increased from £2.8 million this financial year to £3.8 million next ; further applications will be invited shortly and motor projects as well as others will be welcome to apply.
Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders have been transferred from Hewell Grange to other institutions since 1 September 1991.
Mrs. Rumbold : The following numbers of young offenders have been transferred from Hewell Grange since 1 September :
|Number
-------------------------------------------
Week commencing 1 September |Nil
Week commencing 8 September |5
Week commencing 15 September |Nil
Week commencing 22 September |95
Week commencing 29 September |2
On 30 September the role of Hewell Grange was changed from that of a young offender institution to a category D open prison for adult males.
Football (Policing)
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a table showing, for each year since 1986, (a) the total number of police officers on duty at Football League matches in England and Wales, (b) the total attendance at Football League matches in England and Wales, (c) the total number of police officers as a percentage of the total attendance at Football League matches in England and Wales and (d) the total number of police officers in England and Wales.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information on the number of police officers on duty at Football League matches is not held centrally. On 31 July 1991 I wrote to the hon. Member with details of the attendance at Football League matches in England and Wales ; those details were placed in the Library. The number of police officers in England and Wales is contained in the following table :
|Police
|strength at
|31 December
------------------------------------
1990 |127,090
1989 |126,110
1988 |124,759
1987 |124,102
1986 |121,550
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NATIONAL FINANCE
British Telecom
Mr. Gordon Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the costs to the Government of (a) advertising, (b) marketing, (c) fees to advisers and (d) receiving bank and registration costs in connection with the sale of further shares in BT from (i) March 1990 to date and (ii) projected costs from March 1990 to March 1992.
Mr. Maude : Costs for the BT sale will be reported to Parliament after the sale has been completed. Sales proceeds will be appropriated in aid of the expenses of the sale.
Civil Service Recruitment
Mr. Beith : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any plans to improve recruitment and retention levels in the civil service in the London area.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Recruitment and retention in the civil service is monitored carefully. There have been very significant improvements in the recruitment and retention position of the civil service in the London area, due in part to the changes in pay which the Government have introduced over the past three years.
Monetary Union
Mr. Marlow : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on the United Kingdom net contribution to the community budget of the proposals on cohesion in the draft treaty on monetary union.
Mr. Maude : Cohesion is best achieved by sound macro-economic policies, supported by the existing structural funds, within which there is provision for commitments to be doubled in real terms by 1993 in comparison with 1987. Future levels of the funds will be considered as part of the review of Community finances, not within the intergovernmental conferences. There is no reason why economic and monetary union should justify increases in the funds ; sound open-market policies should bring about the convergence of economic performance necessary before any decision could be taken to move to a single currency.
Savings (Taxation)
Mr. Oppenheim : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures for the taxation on savings in each OECD country for savings of (a) £10,000 and (b) £20,000.
Mr. Maude : The tax charge would depend on the type of investments held and the degree to which they produced income or capital gains subject to tax, as well as the amount of income and gains from other sources received by the saver and the availability of tax allowances and reliefs.
Guest Houses
Mr. Bellotti : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of revenue has been lost from uncollected uniform business rates from guest houses accommodating more than six paying guests.
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Mr. Key : I have been asked to reply.
This information is not available.
THE ARTS
Regional Arts Boards
31. Mr. Soames : To ask the Minister for the Arts what progress has been made on the setting up of the new regional arts boards.
Mr. Renton : I am delighted to tell my hon. Friend that excellent progress has been made. The 10 new regional arts boards formally came into being as planned on 1 October this year. The chairman and vast majority of board members have been appointed, and there remains only a small number of staff appointments to be made.
Arts, London
33. Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Minister for the Arts what financial assistance is currently given to the arts in London out of public funds ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Renton : The Arts Council spent £19.3 million in London in 1990-91 on its own clients and through Greater London Arts. In addition, the Arts Council made grants totalling just under £51.5 million to the major national companies, which are mainly based in London.
Local authorities in London also provide support for the arts from public funds.
Victoria and Albert Museum
34. Mr. Carrington : To ask the Minister for the Arts when he next plans to visit the Victoria and Albert museum to discuss the increase in its collection of fine arts.
Mr. Renton : I have made several visits to the Victoria and Albert museum and am familiar with the extent of its magnificent collections of fine arts. Last week I was pleased to announce additional funding of £5 million over four years to the museum to enable it to concentrate conservation of these collections in a single building at South Kensington.
Arts Sponsorship
35. Mr. Colvin : To ask the Minister for the Arts by how much the demand for business sponsorship incentive scheme awards exceeds the funding available ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Renton : The business sponsorship incentive scheme has been very successful in attracting sponsorship, with 2,075 sponsors and £45 million new money for the arts since 1984. The scheme is currently confined to new sponsors and demand for matching awards is close to the current ceiling of £3.5 million. From 1992-93 the annual budget will be increased to £4.5 million to help sustain the continuing growth in business sponsorship of the arts.
Museums (North-West)
37. Mr. Pike : To ask the Minister for the Arts what industrial museums he has visited in the last 12 months in the north-west.
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Mr. Renton : Since my appointment as Minister for the Arts in November 1990 I have visited the Quarry Bank mill at Styall in Cheshire, and the museum of science and industry in Manchester in June. Last week on a return visit to Manchester, I was pleased to announce a special grant of £200,000 in 1992-93 towards that museum's 1830s warehouse project.Birmingham (City of Music)
Mr. Roger King : To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will visit Birmingham during its year as Arts Council city of music in 1992.
Mr. Renton : I was delighted to be present at the launch on 7 October of "Sounds like Birmingham", which sets out a full and exciting range of events to celebrate Birmingham's year as City of Music. It will also play a prominent part in National Music Day. I am inviting the EC Ministers of Culture to join me in Birmingham on 7 September 1992 to mark our presidency of the European Communities.
CIVIL SERVICE
Executive Agencies
41. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on the achievements of the next steps agencies.
Mr. Renton : Next steps is progressing well. We are today publishing the 1991 annual review on next steps agencies together with the Government reply to the seventh report of the Treasury and Civil Service Committee. The annual review shows agencies meeting and beating targets for quality of service, financial performance and efficiency and gives many instances of improved service to customers.
Mr. Cash : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when the Government intend to reply to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee's seventh report of Session 1990-91, on the next steps initiative ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Renton : The Government are today publishing, as Cm 1761, the reply to the Treasury and Civil Service Committee's latest report on next steps.
The Government are able to report further good progress in implementing next steps, with 56 agencies now established and 32 more announced candidates. Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue are moving towards full operation on next steps lines. In all, by next April over half the civil service should be covered, and some 70 agencies due to be established by next July. The Government are committed to completing the coverage as far as practicable by the end of 1993. Details of all existing agencies are set out in the second annual review of next steps, published today as Cm 1760, which also sets out their targets and the results they are achieving. The Government welcome the Committee's continuing endorsement of next steps, its recognition of the substantial progress that has been made, and its constructive recommendations. The Government remain firmly committed to taking forward this major programme of change, to making the reforms durable, and to ensuring that they deliver all the benefits of which they are capable.
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Next steps is leading to a more effective and adaptable civil service, with all its traditional values of propriety and impartiality intact, but better attuned to deliver the high-quality public services for which the citizen increasingly looks.ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Divorce
Mr. Battle : To ask the Attorney-General what information he has concerning the total cost of processing divorce applications in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
The Attorney-General : The information sought is not readily available. It is estimated that the administrative cost of processing divorce proceedings in the High Court and in the county courts in each of the last four years was :
|£ million
------------------------------------
1987-88 |16.5
1988-89 |17.0
1989-90 |18.3
1990-91 |20.5
A substantial proportion of these costs is recovered by way of court fees, as follows ;
|£ million
------------------------------------
1987-88 |13.8
1988-89 |14.8
1989-90 |15.9
1990-91 |16.9
The net cost of legal aid and advice in divorce and related matters during the same period was :
|£ million
------------------------------------
1987-88 |95.6
1988-89 |109.6
1989-90 |117.4
1990-91 |137.0
Court Hearings
Mr. Butcher : To ask the Attorney-General if he will ensure that during court hearings of serious crimes, witnesses for the prosecution are securely separated from defendants' associates and defendants' witnesses while on court premises.
The Attorney-General : Segregated witness waiting rooms are provided in existing court buildings wherever possible. For new Crown court buildings, the design standards provide for a sufficient number of witness waiting rooms per courtroom and a separate witness suite which incorporates toilet facilities. Listing officers will, whenever possible, list cases so that witnesses and others involved are not kept waiting unnecessarily on court premises.
Mr. Butcher : To ask the Attorney-General if he will ensure that witnesses attending hearings of serious crimes are invited to attend the court on a phased basis rather than having to be present at all times during a particular day.
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The Attorney-General : So far as possible, the Crown prosecution service tries to minimise delay for witnesses waiting to give evidence, and it is current practice to phase the attendance of witnesses in lengthy trials.County Court Rules
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Attorney-General what is the average time taken to hear a disposal action at Lambeth county court under order 9, rule 3(3) of the county court rules ; and what is the reason for this length of time.
The Attorney-General : There is no longer a hearing for a disposal action under order 9, rule 3(3). In line with the Lord Chancellor's objective of ensuring that business in the civil courts is dealt with at the most appropriate level this function is now undertaken by court staff.
Extradition (Ireland)
Mr. Stanbrook : To ask the Attorney-General what arrangements have been made (a) to comply with the terms imposed by the Irish Republic on the endorsement of British warrants under the Irish Extradition (Amendment) Act 1989 and (b) to comply with the Irish demand for formal adoption of the speciality rule in extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.
The Attorney-General : The effect of the Extradition (Amendment) Act 1987 in the Republic of Ireland is that a warrant issued in the United Kingdom can be backed for execution in the republic only if the Attorney- General in the republic is satisfied that there is a clear intention to prosecute the person, and that this intention is based on sufficient evidence. To enable the Attorney-General in the republic to discharge this duty, I have agreed that, in cases arising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, I shall supply him with a certificate confirming the prosecuting authority's intention to prosecute, a statement detailing the facts of the case, and a statement of the relevant law. These documents are not required, however, if the person concerned has been ordered to stand trial following a consideration of the evidence by a judicial authority, since the relevant provisions of the 1987 Act do not apply to such a case.
There is no statutory speciality rule that applies to extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and the republic. There is an agreement between the United Kingdom and the republic, however, which the Government have no plans to change and under which the consent of the requested state is required before charges, other than those for which the offender's return was ordered, may be substituted or added, save in the limited circumstances where the substituted offence is one for which the jury could enter an alternative verdict notwithstanding that the indictment contained only the charge for which his return was ordered.
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