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UN Human Rights Treaties

Baroness Whitaker asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many states have ratified the First Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, thus providing a right of individual petition; whether the other Member States of the European Union have so ratified; and whether the United Kingdom will join them.[HL1859]

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Ninety-five states, of which 14 are members of the European Union, have granted the right of individual petition under the First Optional Protocol.

The Government have no present plans to grant new rights of petition under any United Nations human rights treaty. This reflects the outcome of a thorough review of our obligations under international human rights treaties in March 1999. We will review the position again when the Human Rights Act 1998 has been implemented and is properly bedded down.

Baroness Whitaker asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will lift their reservation on Article 10(2)(b) and (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits mixing young offenders and adult prisoners; and[HL1860]

Whether they will lift their reservation on the provision to prohibit separating young from adult offenders in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.[HL1863]

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Government agree in principle that young prisoners should be held separately from adults. We have provided £51 million to enable the Prison Service to create a distinct estate for young men under 18 years old. However, the United Kingdom believes it should maintain its reservations on Article 10(2)(b) and (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 37(c) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. There continue to be a small number of young men whose particular circumstances mean that they are best temporarily held in adult prisons, for example, because of distance from court.

The Government have decided that young women aged 15-16 should be placed in non-Prison Service accommodation, and those aged 17 years as spaces become available. In the interim, 17 year-olds on remand will continue to share facilities with adults due to their small numbers, and those sentenced with other young women under 21 in enhanced young offender units in women's prisons.

Baroness Whitaker asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will lift their reservation on Article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights relating to the advocacy of religious hatred.[HL1861]

12 Apr 2000 : Column WA50

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Government have no immediate plans to lift this reservation.

Incitement of racial hatred is an offence under Part III of the Public Order Act 1986. For the purposes of this offence "racial hatred" is defined as hatred against a group of persons in Great Britain defined by reference to colour, race, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins. This means that the law does not cover all religious groups. The Government are listening to the concerns of minority faith communities about the issues of religious discrimination, and to the case for it to be made subject to the law. This issue raises many difficult, sensitive and complex questions.

We have commissioned a team from the University of Derby to conduct research to assess the current scale and nature of religious discrimination. The results, due in autumn 2000, will help to inform our thinking about the appropriate response regarding religious discrimination and incitement of religious hatred. In the meantime, we intend to maintain the reservation.

Baroness Whitaker asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many states have made a declaration under the Convention Against Torture so as to allow individual petition; and whether the United Kingdom will now make a similar declaration.[HL1862]

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Forty-two states have made a declaration under Article 22 of the United Nations Convention against Torture, allowing individual petition.

The Government have no present plans to grant new rights of petition under any United Nations human rights treaty. This reflects the outcome of a thorough review of our obligations under international human rights treaties in March 1999. We will review the position again when the Human Rights Act 1998 has been implemented and is properly bedded down.

Security Service Tribunal

Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:

What arrangements have been made following the expiry of the terms of appointment of the members of the Security Service Tribunal on 18 December 1999.[HL2045]

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Lord Justice Mummery has been appointed as President of the Tribunal for a period of five years, following his predecessor's acceptance of an appointment to the post of Security Service Commissioner. Sheriff John McInnes has been reappointed as Vice-President of the Tribunal and both he and Sir Richard Gaskell have been reappointed to the Tribunal for a further period of five years.

Lord Justice Simon Brown, formerly president of the Security Service Tribunal, has accepted an

12 Apr 2000 : Column WA51

appointment as the Security Service Commissioner for a period of three years from 1 April.

Firefighters: Conditions of Service

Baroness Thornton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have received the recommendations of the inquiry into the machinery for determining firefighters' conditions of service.[HL2043]

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Professor Burchill, who undertook the inquiry, has submitted to my right honourable friend the Home Secretary a number of recommendations for improving the working of the National Joint Council for Local Authorities' Fire Brigades. These include proposals which would involve the acceptance by the employees and the union of conciliation and arbitration, in the event of disputes, a clarification of procedures, a streamlining of the negotiation arrangements, and an independent Chair for the National Joint Council.

Implementation of these recommendations would be a matter for the National Joint Council rather than for the Government itself. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is therefore consulting the employers and the union and other interested parties to confirm that they are willing to accept the proposals and to give them effect. He expects to announce the outcome of these consultations and to publish Professor Burchill's report early next month.

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is extremely grateful to Professor Burchill for the time and effort he has given to the inquiry, the way he has conducted it and the extent of common understanding and agreement he has already been able to achieve.

Fire Service: PFI Bids

Baroness Thornton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have reached a decision on the bids for notional credit approvals under the second round of the private finance initiative for the Fire Service.[HL2042]

Lord Bassam of Brighton: We received indicative bids from 10 fire authorities for notional credit approvals under this second Private Finance Initiative (PFI) round for the fire service.

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary has today decided that notional credit approvals for 2001-02 should be set aside in respect of indicative bids from the fire authorities for:

Tyne and Wear (Phase 1 of its proposed scheme);

West Midlands;

Dorset; and

Mid and West Wales.

It will now be for those authorities to prepare an outline business case. Confirmation of the credit approvals will be given only on completion of such a

12 Apr 2000 : Column WA52

business case demonstrating that PFI is the most cost-effective solution for the projects concerned, and on approval of the inter-departmental Project Review Group.

My right honourable friend the Home Secretary has also decided that he will be prepared to consider further the indicative bids from Tyne and Wear (Phase II) and London once decisions on provision of notional credit approvals for 2002-03 have been taken.

We shall be in touch with all those authorities whose bids were not selected on this occasion to offer guidance on how the bids might be developed and resubmitted in any future bidding rounds.

Kerb Crawling

Baroness Howells of St Davids asked Her Majesty's Government:

What steps they are taking to make kerb crawling an arrestable offence.[HL2041]

Lord Bassam of Brighton: My right honourable friend the Home Secretary is very aware of the nuisance caused by the activities of kerb crawlers. The Government agree that a specific power of arrest would assist the police in dealing with this problem. My right honourable friend intends to include this proposal in the draft of a police and private security Bill on which we will be consulting later this session, and which we will introduce at the earliest legislative opportunity.

Firearms: Use by Police

Lord Hogg of Cumbernauld asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the most recent statistics available for the police use of firearms.[HL2046]

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The statistics for April 1998 to March 1999 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were issued to officers was 10,928, a fall of over 7 per cent on the previous year. The number of firearms incidents in which firearms were discharged by police was five, compared to three the previous year. There were no fatalities.

There was an increase of 3 per cent to 7,791 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.

Number of Operations in Which Firearms were Issued

	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99
Total	8,726	12,379	11,842	10,928
Avon and Somerset	326	312	139	88
Bedfordshire	264	345	323	260
Cambridgeshire	47	54	96	43
Cheshire	219	288	216	299
Cleveland	487	1,026	103	35
City of London	275	308	307	147
Cumbria	54	72	68	52
Derbyshire	72	109	147	176
Devon and Cornwall	90	160	133	61
Dorset	36	36	54	69
Durham	111	131	103	114
Essex	267	331	505	590
Gloucestershire	33	41	51	52
Greater Manchester	142	214	165	160
Hampshire	190	245	217	129
Hertfordshire	47	96	82	75
Humberside	92	291	472	317
Kent	82	236	423	92
Lancashire	227	333	338	616
Leicestershire	138	155	89	109
Lincolnshire	25	58	52	57
Merseyside	280	671	675	484
Metropolitan	2,178	2,439	2,578	2,742
Norfolk	96	166	128	185
Northamptonshire	54	64	77	51
Northumbria	452	1,360	823	683
North Yorkshire	52	65	102	69
Nottinghamshire	57	84	306	266
South Yorkshire	225	155	302	135
Staffordshire	80	257	240	209
Suffolk	150	180	193	174
Surrey	70	133	87	60
Sussex	445	235	330	123
Thames Valley	96	215	227	158
Warwickshire	55	97	152	291
West Mercia	59	106	132	130
West Midlands	226	270	227	305
West Yorkshire	657	617	630	662
Wiltshire	26	26	26	24
Dyfed Powys	11	17	27	38
Gwent	47	89	86	64
North Wales	117	233	310	386
South Wales	69	59	101	148

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Number of Authorised Firearms Officers (AFOs)

	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99
Total	6,554	6,738	6,585	6,308
Avon and Somerset	157	165	161	153
Bedfordshire	48	46	42	50
Cambridgeshire	92	90	80	80
Cheshire	84	70	82	70
Cleveland	65	86	84	78
City of London	120	88	81	55
Cumbria	100	108	122	98
Derbyshire	130	110	100	87
Devon and Cornwall	140	151	147	82
Dorset	75	74	72	72
Durham	103	138	144	96
Essex	203	228	217	235
Gloucestershire	85	82	84	79
Greater Manchester	186	209	182	217
Hampshire	104	106	112	110
Hertfordshire	43	42	41	43
Humberside	104	90	102	102
Kent	144	150	150	130
Lancashire	138	132	125	132
Leicestershire	105	104	94	90
Lincolnshire	81	82	85	75
Merseyside	119	147	165	121
Metropolitan	1,915	2,035	1,971	1,951
Norfolk	99	98	102	109
Northamptonshire	95	92	92	92
Northumbria	160	173	126	123
North Yorkshire	134	108	95	83
Nottinghamshire	126	128	129	120
South Yorkshire	125	110	108	90
Staffordshire	80	78	86	92
Suffolk	70	82	96	101
Surrey	79	76	61	69
Sussex	149	180	146	156
Thames Valley	175	185	194	179
Warwickshire	50	41	38	44
West Mercia	153	155	159	139
West Midlands	87	88	95	92
West Yorkshire	150	131	114	128
Wiltshire	145	134	105	88
Dyfed Powys	57	70	71	67
Gwent	55	70	59	64
North Wales	70	72	90	97
South Wales	154	134	176	169

12 Apr 2000 : Column WA54

Number of Operations Involving Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs)

	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99
Total	5,523	8,060	7,544	7,791
Avon and Somerset	200	247	121	83
Bedfordshire	239	309	285	240
Cambridgeshire	15	23	19	27
Cheshire	180	240	166	247
Cleveland	465	1,014	57(1)	29
City of London	23	25	34	32
Cumbria	44	64	43	38
Derbyshire	53	97	99	153
Devon and Cornwall	21	77	58	43
Dorset	22	28	50	66
Durham	38	62	85	84
Essex	155	218	180	285
Gloucestershire	10	13	48	49
Greater Manchester	6	--(2)	56	43
Hampshire	159	208	170	114
Hertfordshire	20	35	25	26
Humberside	35	284	437	277
Kent	42	208	212	74
Lancashire	187	320	321	596
Leicestershire	101	126	68	109
Lincolnshire	21	39	34	42
Merseyside	239	618	559	396
Metropolitan	1,025	790	954	1,573
Norfolk	80	152	117	167
Northamptonshire	3	20	29	32
Northumbria	325	715	515	503
North Yorkshire	0	13	52	30
Nottinghamshire	44	66	256(1)	246
South Yorkshire	171	129	252	115
Staffordshire	70	235	206	185
Suffolk	117	120	135	104
Surrey	47	52	76	46
Sussex	413	173	284	0(1)
Thames Valley	73	164	184	139
Warwickshire	54	91	127	220
West Mercia	39	77	98	99
West Midlands	98	103	102	129
West Yorkshire	587	584	586	630
Wiltshire	1	23	21	17
Dyfed Powys	6	12	19	30
Gwent	39	58	47	39
North Wales	14	173	260	298
South Wales	42	55	97	136

(1) These forces have changed the counting method for incidents to which ARVs are deployed.

(2) No figures available.

12 Apr 2000 : Column WA53

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