To ask the Attorney-General (1) what are the current establishment figures for legally qualified persons in each Crown Prosecution Service area in England and Wales;(2) what are the current establishment figures for non-legally qualified persons in each Crown Prosecution Service area in England and Wales;

To ask the Attorney-General what are the proposed new rates of remuneration proposed for (a) legally qualified and (b) non-legally qualified persons in the Crown Prosecution Service.

The proposed new rates of pay for (a) legally qualified and (b) non-legally qualified staff in the Crown Prosecution Service are as follows:

The information requested is given in the following table, which represents the position as at 31 March 1988.

To ask the Attorney-General when he anticipates that the establishment numbers will be complete in the Crown Prosecution Service; and if he will make a statement.

It is difficult to estimate when the establishment figures within the Crown Prosecution Service will be complete until the full impact has been felt of the proposed new pay scales for lawyers. In addition to this offer, the service is considering a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging recruitment and retention of staff.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to reduce the use of rural and urban speed limits.

None. The Department has given guidance on criteria for speed limits to all highway authorities through circulars roads 1/80 and 4/83. The guidance is advisory but is widely respected and followed. The aim is to achieve realistic speed limits which give a satisfactory balance between safety and the need for fast convenient travel.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what child care provision his Department

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre at Swansea runs an annual summer holiday play scheme for children of school age. An experimental child care acheme was held at the Cardington residential training centre for two weeks in August 1987. The Department is considering what scope there is for further provision without continuing subsidy.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to deregulate bus services in London; and if he will make a statement.

It remains our intention to extend bus deregulation to London in the early 1990s.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report for each highway authority in England the percentage of each authority's bid for transport supplementary grant that is attributable to minor works for 1987–88 and 1988–89.

The information is given in the following table.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list in the Official Report for each highway authority in England the percentage of each authority's bid for transport supplementary grant and its transport supplementary grant allocation attributable to roads on the primary route network, for 1987–88 and 1988–89.

The information is given in the following table for major schemes (each costing over £1 million). Equivalent data including minor works could be prepared only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has any information about the likely change in the number of (a) bus, (b) coach and (c) rail passengers carried as fare levels change; and if he will make a statement.

The Department does not itself publish general data on the effects of fare changes on public transport passenger levels. This information is available from various sources such as London Regional Transport and some passenger transport executives. Also, fom time to time, university research departments publish studies and the Department's Transport and Road Research Laboratory issued a wide ranging collection of evidence in 1980. However, where the Department is involved in individual investment decisions an examination is undertaken of the elasticities involved, in particular the interaction between public transport fares and road traffic congestion levels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what application has been made to him by the Civil Aviation Authority to permit experimental flights of jet aircraft to or from London City airport; what response has been made; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received no application and does not expect one. Permission for such flights is not within his jurisdiction.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the status of the 1984 White Paper on airline competition policy following the British Airways takeover of B-Cal; and if he has any plans to publish a new statement of policy.

The Government's objectives remain as set out in the 1984 airline competition policy White Paper:

• —to encourage a sound and competitive multi-airline industry;
• —to promote competition in all markets.
• — to ensure adequate safeguards against anticompetitive behaviour by airlines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has plans to review the adequacy of the current level of penalties to deter heavy goods vehicle operators from overloading, in relation to the profitable nature of the offence.

The level of fines imposed by the magistrates courts for overloading offences usually falls far short of the maximum provided by statute.Seriously overloaded vehicles are prohibited from proceeding until they have been unloaded. This provides a deterrent.In the case of habitual offenders the traffic commissioners can revoke or curtail an operator's licence. On 150 occasions last year overloading was one of the grounds for such action.During 1988–89 the Department's traffic examiners plan to weigh nearly 100,000 goods vehicles, an increase of 35 per cent. compared with 1987–88.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to his reply of 27 January, Official Report, column 302, if he will list the projects covered in each region by the Manpower Services Commission's local grants to employers programme, distinguishing between training and consultancy grants.

This information is not available. Information about projects to support individual employers is confidential for commercial reasons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give details of the number of employers against whom legal action has been taken over the last five years in connection with the quota scheme of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

There have been no prosecutions under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 in the last five years. The last prosecution was in 1975.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what information his Department has about the health and safety requirements for the spraying of lime and other potentially dangerous substances in residential areas.

When the spraying of lime and other potentially dangerous substances in residential areas is carried out as part of a work activity it is subject to the general requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and, in the case of pesticides, the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the current unemployment and unfilled vacancies figures on his Department's register for the travel-to-work areas of Ashford, Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone, respectively.

The following information is in the Library. The table shows the number of unfilled vacancies (excluding community programme vacancies) at job-centres covering areas closely corresponding to the Ashford, Canterbury, Dover and Deal and Folkestone travel-to-work areas on 4 March 1988, together with the total number of unemployed claimants in each travel-to-work area on 10 March 1988.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners remanded to police cells escaped between 1 January and 31 March; and if he will make a statement.

The police inform me that the information available, which may not be complete, records that 15 such prisoners escaped during that period.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the British Broadcasting Corporation and independent television companies about the family viewing content of television programmes broadcast before 9 pm

We have discussions with the broadcasting authorities from time to time on a wide range of issues, including their responsibility for programme standards. In this context, my right hon. Friend met the chairmen of the BBC and IBA on 29 September 1987 in order to discuss the portrayal of violence and sex on television. The broadcasting authorities have issued guidance on these matters, including advice on the timing of programmes and the care which needs to be taken when children and young persons are likely to be viewing.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to monitor the change in the incidence of residential burglaries in areas where neighbourhood watch schemes have been established; and if he will make a statement.

Where police forces have been able to isolate crime figures to areas covered by individual schemes the results have indicated that well-run schemes can reduce the level of local crime including residential burglary. For example, neighbourhood watch schemes were established in the five towns project area in north Tyneside. By the end of the first 18 months of the project, residential burglary was down by 23 per cent. and crime overall was reduced by 18 per cent. Given that there are now over 50,000 schemes in England and Wales, it would not be practical for the Home Office to collect such results centrally, but we are considering proposals for a study in one police force area of the effectiveness of neighbourhood watch schemes in preventing crime.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the spread and achievements of the neighbourhood watch movement.

There are now more than 50,000 neighbourhood watch schemes in England and Wales, almost double the figure 12 months ago. With so many schemes there is inevitably a variation in their size, scope and in the commitment of their members and, like all voluntary activity, some schemes are more effective than others. There are, however, many examples of schemes where crime has been reduced in neighbourhood watch areas coupled with an equally important enhancement, or revival of community spirit.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to make solvent abuse a criminal offence.

No. We share the view of most professionals in this field that to criminalise solvent misuse would be counter-productive and likely to deter misusers from seeking the help they need.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of the ministerial group on the misuse of drugs.

The ministerial group on the misuse of drugs, which I chair, continues to develop the Government's strategy to reduce both the supply of and demand for illicit drugs. Recent measures include improved international co-operation, strengthened enforcement by Customs and police, and increased prevention measures in the health and education fields.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the steps being taken by the Government to strengthen the capability of the police to combat drug trafficking.

Police resources for drugs enforcement have been substantially increased in recent years. All police forces now have drugs squads employing in total more than 850 police officers. Seventeen dedicated drugs wings have recently been added to regional crime squads with 221 additional police officers to man them. The national drugs intelligence unit has been strengthened and further expansion is planned for this financial year. The Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 provides the police with vital new investigative powers which are now being used to good effect.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to combat drug trafficking.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave today to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire, West (Mr. McLoughlin) and to the reply I gave to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Sackville) on 17 March 1988 at column 656.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation prohibiting television or radio interviews with members of terrorist organisations along the lines of the example set by the Government of the Republic of Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

I have no plans at present to introduce legislation prohibiting television or radio interviews with members of terrorist organisations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will review the law on fraud; and if he will make a statement.

Several aspects of the law on fraud are currently being reviewed by the Law Commission, and we shall give careful consideration to its recommendations.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Government action to improve the investigation and prosecution of fraud cases.

Many of the reforms which the Roskill committee proposed have been enacted in the Criminal Justice Act 1987. They include creation of the serious fraud office, equipped with extensive investigatory powers and an expert staff, which became operational earlier this month; and changes in court procedure for complex fraud cases which we hope to bring into effect later this year.In the Criminal Justice Bill we are proposing further measures, including changes to the law of evidence, which will help to bring fraudsters to justice.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has received to the new crime prevention advertising campaign.

The first phase of this three-year advertising campaign is only now drawing to a close and it is too early to draw conclusions about its effectiveness. We shall be better able to do this when we have the results of the market research we have commissioned. However, we have already received 176,000 requests for the crime prevention handbook featured in the advertising and 450,000 copies are being issued in response. The handbook is being reprinted.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on steps being taken to increase the crime detection rate.

In 1987, the overall clear-up rate rose from 32 per cent. to 33 per cent. Operational decisions about the investigation of crime are a matter for chief officers. They are adopting a range of strategies, including crime screening and administrative support units, to help target resources more effectively. The Home Office is supporting work to improve the quality of the scientific and technological support available to the police. But in seeking to prevent and detect crime the police also need the help of the whole community. The Government's new crime prevention advertising campaign is aimed at encouraging individuals and groups to involve themselves in this task. Better prevention of crime will allow the police to concentrate resources on the detection of more serious offences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what subjects he discussed at his last meeting with the Association of Chief Police Officers; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend and I last met representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers on 24 March. The Metropolitan police were also represented. We discussed the problems caused by the need to accommodate prisoners in police cells.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has made to the request from the Leicestershire police authority for a higher police establishment; and whether he will make a statement.

The Police Authority has been informed that its application will be considered in the light of advice from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary along with applications from other authorities for increases in establishment in 1988–89.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the review of the written evidence of Dr. Frank Skuse at the trial of Judith Ward, carried out by the director of the Chorley forensic science laboratory.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the outcome of the review by the director of the Chorley forensic science laboratory of the evidence of Dr. Frank Skuse at the trial of Judith Ward.

A review of Dr. Skuse's written evidence at the trial of Judith Ward was carried out by the then director, Chorley forensic science laboratory, in 1985, as part of a review of Dr. Skuse's evidence in some 350 cases, dating hack to 1966. The director concluded that there were no grounds for suspecting that Dr. Skuse's work in any of these cases had led to any miscarriage of justice.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what scientific tests were carried out by Dr. Frank Skuse to determine the presence of explosives on the person of Judith Ward.

Dr. Skuse carried out the following tests to determine the presence of explosives on the person of Judith Ward:

• The Gricss Test
• Mass spectrometry
• Thin layer chromatography (TLC)
• Tests for ammonium and nitrate ions.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the review of the evidence of Dr. Frank Skuse at the trial of Judith Ward carried out by the director of the Chorley forensic science laboratory included Dr. Skuse's oral evidence.

No. Mr. Walker, the then director of the laboratory, examined the written material which was available at the laboratory, which included Dr. Skuse's written statement. In any case, I understand that no transcript of Dr. Skuse's oral evidence is available; as none appears to have been produced.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to meet the chairman of the hoard of governors of the British Broadcasting Corporation to discuss restrictive practices in broadcasting.

My right hon. Friend has meetings with the chairman of the board of governors of the British Broadcasting Corporation from time to time at which various issues are discussed. No meeting is planned specifically to discuss restrictive practices in broadcasting.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment announced on 28 March that questions as to possible restrictive practices in television broadcasting and film production were being referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to improve the communications network between the emergency regional government centres in the event of a nuclear attack.

The emergency communications network, which includes links between regional Government headquarters in wartime, is being extended and improved. Particular attention is being paid to the potential effects of the nuclear electromagnetic pulse.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he intends to take in relation to the system of visas, so as to stop the exploitation and abuses of immigrant workers by some employers.

Immigration control measures can have only a limited effect on employment abuses in this country. If, however, the hon. Member has particular instances or proposals in mind, perhaps he would write to me with the details.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress in implementing his proposals to combat the increase of offences involving the use of knives.

We have added to the Criminal Justice Bill a new provision making it an offence to be in possession of a bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place without good reason, with the onus on the carrier to show that he has such a reason. This represents a considerable strengthening of the law and will make it easier for the police to deal with people they find carrying knives. The Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent in the summer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent consideration he has given to employing the private sector to relieve overcrowding in the remand sector.

I refer my hon. Friend to the statement on prisons which my right hon. Friend made to the House on 30 March at columns 1083–85. He announced then our intentions, as part of the measures we are taking to deal with the current and projected growth in the population, to invite the private sector to make proposals for the faster provision of urban remand facilities and open prisons, to publish a Green Paper and set up a consultancy on the scope for involving the private sector in all aspects of the remand system, and to examine the possibility of the private sector providing and managing secure bail hostels.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of crimes involving the use of firearms in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what was the comparable total 10 and 20 years previously.

The number of notifiable offences recorded by the police in which firearms were reported to have been used is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" copies of which are available in the Library. Table 3.1 in the issue for 1986 (Cm. 233) gives figures for 1976 to 1986 inclusive. Comparable figures are not available before 1969, and figures for 1987 are not available yet.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of crime in 1987 was accounted for by the theft of, or from, vehicles; and what measures he is taking to reduce auto crime.

In 1987, offences of theft of, and from, motor vehicles accounted for 26·9 per cent. of the total number of notifiable offences recorded by the police in England and Wales.Last November, the Home Office standing conference on crime prevention set up a working group to consider the prevention of car crime. Rover Group, which is represented on the working group, has offered to produce a thief-proof concept car, incorporating a range of the latest technology in car security, for display at this year's standing conference in December.Three parts of a British Standard on vehicle security (mechanical locking systems, security of in-car entertainment equipment, and window etching) have been published and further parts are due to be published shortly. We are seeking to have the British Standard adopted as a European Community directive.Our new crime prevention publicity campaign, launched last month, includes information on car crime and the scope for preventing it.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the police officers who gave evidence at the original Birmingham pub bombing trial have since been imprisoned for criminal offences; and for what offences.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the police officers who gave evidence against the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings have subsequently been convicted of assaulting suspects with a view to obtaining a confession.

Of the 57 officers who gave written or oral evidence at the trial, none is currently suspended from duty. One, a police constable at the time involved in escort duties, but not in interviewing suspects, and who gave oral evidence, was subsequently, as a sergeant, convicted at Birmingham Crown court on 1 November 1983 of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The victim was a suspect arrested on suspicion of theft. The officer was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, six months of which were suspended. He was dismissed from the force.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department. pursuant to his answer of 17 March, Official Report, column 1212, before which police force he proposes that those hon. Members with evidence of alleged collusion between the two principal Crown witnesses. Dr. Frank Skuse and Superintendent George Reade, at the recent Appeal Court hearing of the Birmingham pub bombings case, should lay such evidence.

The responsibility for investigating alleged offences rests with the police force in whose area the offence occurred. It will be for that force to seek assistance from any other force as necessary. In the case to which the hon. Member refers I understand the alleged offence may have occurred in the City of London.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further actions he proposes to seek to reduce the incidence of the crime of rape; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, North (Mr. Greenway) on 13 April at column 145.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women were being held on remand in police cells on Monday 18 April.

On Monday 18 April 1,161 male prisoners, most of whom would have been on remand, were held in police cells in England and Wales; no women were being held.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of non-payment of fines were before the courts in 1987 and 1980.

The information is not recorded centrally.