Written Answers To Questions
Wednesday 17 December 1980
European Community Legislation
asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish in the Official Report a list of Acts or relevant sections of Acts which have been made necessary by EEC membership.
I regret that the information cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.
Employment
Permaflex Factory, Stoke-On-Trent (Fire)
asked the Secretary of State for Employment when the report by the Health and Safety Executive of the fire which occurred at the Permaflex factory, Longport, Stoke-on-Trent in February will be published; and what are the reasons for the delay.
I understand that it was necessary for the Health and Safety Executive to consult the Home Office on the involvement of the fire services. These consultations have now been completed and arrangements for the printing of the report are in hand. It is anticipated that the report will be available in February of next year.
Youth Opportunities Programme (Allowance)
asked the Secretary of State for Employment if, in view of the recently announced £250 million package for the youth opportunities programme and the special temporary employment programme and the new rates of supplementary and unemployment benefits, he will increase the youth opportunities programme standard trainee allowance which has been frozen since November 1979; and if he will make a statement.
[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1980, c. 813]: The Government considered very carefully the level of YOP allowance for 1981–82, in the context of the cost of a very much enlarged programme. The programme will be aimed at 16 and 17-year-olds and for this age group we feel that the present rate of £23·50 per week represents a sufficient lead over benefit rates, for the programme to reach its target group.
Homeworking
asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has now reached a decision on the future of the Wages Inspectorate's homeworking units.
[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1980, c. 814]: The future of the homeworking unit is under consideration.
asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has now reached a decision on the future of the Homeworking Advisory Committee.
[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1980, c. 814]: The future of the Homeworking Advisory Committee is under consideration pending the outcome of research which I have initiated.
Trade
Indonesian Textile Imports
asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he will make a statement on the outcome of last week's consultations between the EEC Commission and Indonesia on Indonesian textile imports to the United Kingdom.
The consultations referred to in the recent reply given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Trade—[Vol. 995, c. 99–100]—took place in Brussels on 12 and 15 December. Some progress was made, but agreement on the United Kingdom quotas was not reached.
Tourist Industry (North-West)
asked the Secretary of State for Trade if, in view of its increasing importance to the tourist industry in the North-West, he will make arrangements for Manchester to submit schemes to the European regional development fund in order further to increase the value of its contribution to the tourist industry.
As Manchester is located in the assisted areas, tourism projects meeting the objectives of the United Kingdom's regional development programme are eligible for assistance from the regional fund. There are, however, always more eligible infrastructure projects than can be submitted within the United Kingdom's quota; and, in accordance with the fund regulations, priority is given to projects in the special development areas and development areas in preference to those in intermediate areas such as Manchester. Applications are handled by the relevant Government Department; in England, tourism infrastructure projects are submitted by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, and eligible private sector tourism projects receiving assistance from the English Tourist Board are submitted by my Department.
Steel
asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will set out, for the last 12 months and the last three complete years, the volume of United Kingdom steel production, imports and exports, imports and exports divided into EEC and non-EEC origin, destination, imports further subdivided into product which could or could not be manufactured in the United Kingdom and production divided into British Steel Corporation and other United Kingdom manufacturers.
[pursuant to his reply, 11 December 1980, c. 727–28]: The information is amended as follows:
| United Kingdom Trade in Finished Steel | |
| Exports to: | thousand tones Oct 1979-Sep 1980 |
| EEC Countries | 1,171 |
| Non-EEC Countries | 1,776 |
| Total | 2,947 |
British And Japanese Industry
asked the Prime Minister if she will publish in the Official Report any figures upon which she based the comparison between British industry and Japanese industry which she made on 4 December, Official Report, columns 641–42.
As I said in the House, I was quoting from a paper prepared by the Confederation of British Industry. The paper, entitled "Profitability", was presented by the CBI to the October meeting of the National Economic Development Council. A copy is available in the House of Commons Library.
Prime Minister's Visit (Cardiff)
asked the Prime Minister what was the cost of the security arrangements for her visit to Cardiff on 11 December.
The additional cost of policing outside the city hall is estimated at £5,000.
Overseas Development
Aid
asked the Lord Privy Seal what proportion of gross national product is spent on aid to the poorer countries of the world; how this compares with the performance of other European countries, Japan, the United States of America and the countries of the Soviet bloc; when he expects to raise that proportion to the level demanded by the United Nations; and if he proposes to take steps to implement the recommendations of the Brandt report.
The following table gives the ratio of net official development assistance to GNP for 1979:
| per cent. | |
| United Kingdom | 0·52 |
| Austria | 0·19 |
| Belgium | 0·56 |
| Denmark | 0·75 |
| Finland | 0·21 |
| France | 0·59 |
| West Germany | 0·44 |
| Italy | 0·08 |
| Netherlands | 0·93 |
| Norway | 0·93 |
| Sweden | 0·94 |
| Switzerland | 0·21 |
| Japan | 0·26 |
| USA | 0·20 |
Scotland
Murders (Gartnavel Hospital)
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is yet in a position to make a statement on the result of his inquiries into the circumstances of the murders at Gartnavel hospital creche on 5 February 1980 for which Mr. James Harkins has since been convicted.
I have now received full information about the events leading to the murders, by way of documents and reports from those principally concerned in the procurator fiscal's office, the Scottish Courts Administration, the Health Service and also the police. A note, based on these reports and documents, listing the events and the procedural steps which were taken, has been prepared and is available in the Library of the House.The first crucial decision in the chain of events preceding the murders was made when Mr. Harkins who, following charges of assault, breach of the peace and attempted murder, had been committed on remand to Woodilee hospital under section 25 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975, appeared again before the Glasgow sheriff court on 15 January. A bail application was made and was refused; and he was recommitted by a sheriff to the hospital. His further committal on remand to Woodilee hospital instead of to prison does not appear to have been warranted since the hospital psychiatrist's report on his mental condition, to the effect that he was sane and fit to plead, did not satisfy the terms of section 25 of the 1975 Act for the continued detention of an accused person in a mental hospital. In compliance with the judicial order Mr. Harkins was readmitted by the hospital.The hospital staff were not, however, clear about what was expected of them by this recommittal. The psychiatrist taking responsibility for Mr. Harkins' case states that he telephoned the procurator fiscal's office for information about the reason for Mr. Harkins' return and was promised further information when the appropriate official was contacted. The procurator fiscal's staff have no record of the receipt of such a call. At the time of Mr. Harkins' readmission no fresh grounds had appeared to suggest that, if his medical condition warranted his committal to a mental hospital, Woodilee hospital, which is not a place of strict security and in which he had already been detained for seven days, was not a suitable place for his detention. These circumstances of his readmittal are relevant to subsequent events.
I must express concern that Mr. Harkins was able to abscond without difficulty from Woodilee hospital and that immediate action was not taken to secure his return. The precise arrangements made at a mental hospital for the detention of a particular patient rest on the assessment and clinical judgment of the consultant psychiatrist. When Mr. Harkins was taken into custody, the police had considered him to be a special risk prisoner with a history of violence and attempted suicide, and the report form which went with him to hospital was marked accordingly. The form also shows that the police had not thought he was likely to escape. In view of his satisfactory behaviour at the hospital and apparent mental stability, it was considered safe to move Mr. Harkins to a more open ward and to grant him ground parole. Whilst on ground parole, he left hospital. A member of the nursing staff failed to follow instructions regarding the reporting of absences. At about 5 pm that day Mr. Harkins committed the murders. The police were not informed that Mr. Harkins had absconded from the hospital until after the murders had taken place. They were therefore in no position to take any protective action or to seek to apprehend Mr. Harkins beforehand.
The House will be shocked, as I am myself, at the sequence of misunderstandings and, as the tragic outcome shows, misjudgments and shortcomings in this case. I share the public concern which will undoubtedly arise at the apparent misunderstanding in court which resulted in Mr. Harkins being recommitted to Woodilee hospital instead of to prison. That misunderstanding was not, of course, tragic in itself, but it was the first step in the chain of unfortunate events which culminated in the tragedy. It left the staff of the hospital in doubt as to what was required of them by his recommittal. It is fair to acknowledge the great pressures under which Glasgow sheriff court has to operate, and I pay full tribute to the Bench and staff who work there. But this does not condone a misunderstanding which appears to have resulted in a failure to take due account of the statutory provisions which governed Mr. Harkins' recommittal to hospital. I can assure the House that much anxious consideration has been given by myself, the Lord Advocate and officials in our respective Departments and in the sheriff courts to eliminating the possibility of a recurrence of this type of situation. I shall explain in a moment what has been done to this end.
As regards the hospital's part, it is customary that the Secretary of State does not comment on the exercise of a doctor's clinical judgment in the treatment of an individual patient under the NHS. However, the part played by the award of ground parole in this tragedy emphasises clearly the necessity for psychiatrists to pay special regard to the need for close supervision in making their professional assessment of the regime to be provided for a patient received from the courts for detention at hospital. It is difficult for the public to understand why a prisoner who had been charged with attempted murder and whom the police had advised was extremely violent, should be given ground parole at the hospital. In fairness, one has to acknowledge the uncertainty as to why the court had remanded the prisoner to Woodilee hospital, and the fact that the doctor would know that his own recommendation to the court did not provide a basis under the statute for such a committal. But until these matters had been cleared up there was surely a case for exercising special caution in relaxing the supervision of this patient in the period until he would be returned to the court for trial. Similarly, I am disturbed at the lack of a sense of urgency by the hospital nursing staff in responding to Mr. Harkins' unauthorised absence from the hospital grounds.
The provisions of sections 25 and 330 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 under which persons accused of crimes and offences who appear to be or are found to be mentally disordered can be cared for in hospital pending trial instead of being remanded to prison are humane provisions. They have, without untoward result, been used in many cases since first enacted in 1960, and there is no case for changing the law on the subject. Nevertheless, what has been revealed in this case shows the risk that may arise if great care is not taken in their operation. For this reason the Lord Advocate and I have considered what we as Ministers might do to minimise the possibility of recurrence. I have instructed the Scottish Courts Administration, and the Lord Advocate has instructed the Crown Office to draw firmly to the attention of those concerned in the courts the need to ensure that medical reports and recommendations are fully understood and recorded. Both our Departments, in conjunction with senior court staff, have closely examined present procedures to see what changes or further steps are necessary to avoid a repetition of this occurrence. A revised form of committal order has been introduced in the sheriff courts throughout Scotland. Adjustments have also been made to the standard form of extract warrant. These revised procedures which will apply to all cases involving detention under sections 25 or 330 of the 1975 Act will ensure, as far as humanly possible, the elimination of the type of procedural misunderstanding that occured in this unfortunate case.
In future, reports from psychiatrists are to include a passage in which the psychiatrist will state his formal advice to the court in terms related directly to the wording of the statute. This should minimise the possibility of misunderstanding of the purport of the psychiatrist's full report, as evidently occurred at court in this case.
I am also seeking to arrange with psychiatrists that in future no prisoner remanded to a mental hospital by the courts will, unless with the agreement of the procurator fiscal be given parole within the hospital grounds except in circumstances which can be closely supervised. Such an understanding should minimise the possibility of recurrence of the second contributory factor in the tragic course of events. The health board has itself dealt with the failure to follow instructions for reporting absences.
My Department has already written to all health boards with mental hospitals stressing the need to ensure satisfactory arrangements for the detention of mentally disordered persons remanded by the courts pending trial. The letter emphasised that privilege should not be granted which would have the same effect as if the court had released the person on bail, and it stressed that if it appeared there might be difficulty in detaining a person, consideration should be given to his transfer to the State hospital.
The Harkins case has also been studied from the point of view of whether it reveals any relevant shortcomings or weaknesses in the mental health and criminal procedure law itself. This does not appear to be the case.
I have considered whether a more formal public inquiry would be warranted. It does not appear that a formal inquiry would be able to throw significant further light on the events leading to the tragedy. Careful consideration has already been given, as explained, to means of tightening up court and hospital procedures in order to minimise the possibility of recurrence. I have myself in this statement drawn attention to the main areas of concern and expressed what I think will be the House and the public's views in relation to them. In the circumstances I do not think that the setting up of a further, public, inquiry would be warranted. I propose that those concerned with the court and hospital services should concentrate instead on the effective implementation of the safeguards to which I have referred aimed at preventing any recurrence; and I am confident that I can assure the House and the public that all concerned are anxious that their procedures and practice should take full account of the lesson to be learned from this tragic case.
Steel Industry
68.
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the chairman of the British Steel Corporation on the future of the steel industry in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
I discussed the BSC's operations in Scotland and other matters when I met the chairman of the corporation on 16 October, and my hon. Friend the Minister with responsibility for industry and education is participating with colleagues in a meeting with him today at which there will be an initial discussion of the board's corporate plan.
Children And Young Persons (Detention)
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish information giving the number of children and young persons under the age of 17 years who were in remand homes, borstals and similar penal institutions in Scotland for the years from 1970 to date.
The number of persona under 17 years of age sentenced by the courts and received into Scottish penal establishments in the years 1970 to 1979 was as follows:
| young offenders Institutions | Borstals | Detention centre | |
| 1970 | Not avilable | 271 | 325 |
| 1971 | 218 | 306 | 357 |
| 1972 | 248 | 249 | 364 |
| 1973 | 219 | 241 | 343 |
| 1974 | 206 | 220 | 317 |
| 1975 | 142 | 241 | 342 |
| 1976 | 170 | 239 | 297 |
| 1977 | 152 | 195 | 294 |
| 1978 | 140 | 175 | 280 |
| 1979 | 97 | 134 | 143 |
Bypasses (Tranent And Musselburgh)
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will confirm that the starting dates for the Tranent and Musselburgh bypasses in 1982 and 1983, respectively, will not be delayed as a result of planning difficulties which have arisen concerning the proposed Howe Mire opencast site.
I hope that a start of these schemes in 1982 and 1983 can be maintained, but the resolution of any planning difficulties is a matter in the first instance for the objectors and the National Coal Board.
Day Centre (Prestonpans)
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress of the request from Lothian health board and Lothian regional council for consent to proceed with construction of the day centre for disabled people at Prestonpans.
I am not persuaded that this project meets the criteria for the provision of support finance by the health board to the regional council. I have not been approached by the regional council for consent to incur liability to meet capital expenses on this project.
Home Department
Prisoners (Wales)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each prison in Wales the number of prisoners awaiting appeal hearings in the courts; and if he will detail the length of time in weeks that each prisoner so detained has thus far spent in prison.
The information requested is shown in the following table:
| Persons in prisons and remand centres in Wales on 10 December 1980 awaiting appeal hearings: by length of time in custody since lodging the appeal. | ||
| Number of persons | ||
| Establishment | ||
| Length of time in custody since lodging appeal | Cardiff prison and remand center | Swansea prison |
| Up to and including 4 weeks | 2 | 6 |
| Over 4 weeks up to and including 8 weeks | 3 | 3 |
| Over 8 weeks up to and including 12 weeks | 3 | 6 |
| Over 12 weeks up to and including 26 weeks | 2 | 2 |
| Over 26 weeks | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 10 | 18 |
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of persons held in each prison in Wales for each of the previous five years and classify such information by type of offence that conviction was secured.
To provide all the information requested would involve disproportionate cost. Information for 30 June 1979 and 30 June 1980 is given in the following table:
| Population of Cardiff prison and remand centre and Swansea prison on 30 June 1979 and 30 June 1980 by offence group | ||||
| Offence group | Number of persons | |||
| Cardiff | Swansea | |||
| 30 June 1979 | 30 June 1980 | 30 June 1979 | 30 June 1980 | |
| Sentenced population: | ||||
| Violence against the person | 50 | 68 | 50 | 53 |
| Sexual offences | 22 | 18 | 14 | 9 |
| Burglary | 88 | 101 | 76 | 71 |
| Robbery | 10 | 7 | 17 | 22 |
| Theft, handling, fraud and forgery | 116 | 130 | 57 | 60 |
| Other offences | 44 | 40 | 33 | 28 |
| Offence not known | 5 | 2 | 4 | — |
| Total | 335 | 366 | 251 | 243 |
| Other prisoners | 111 | 165 | 56 | 58 |
| All prisoners | 446 | 531 | 307 | 301 |
Askham Grange Prison
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of women at Askham Grange prison, York, who are awaiting the hearing of their appeal; and if he will give a detailed breakdown of the number of weeks that each inmate has been so detained.
On 10 December 1980, there were two females in Askham Grange prison awaiting the hearing of their appeals. One had been held in custody for three weeks since lodging the appeal and the other had been so held for 14 weeks.
Probation Officers (Arbitration Award)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will approve the arbitration award, made by ACAS arbitration panel held on 24 October to probation officers.
I have now approved this award.
Open Channel Radio
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence there is that the frequency of 928MHz offered for open channel radio will induce tumours in operators using transmission and receiving equipment.
As I indicated in my reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Sudbury and Woodbridge (Mr. Stainton) on 11 November—[Vol. 992, c.149.]—we sought advice on this matter from the National Radiological Protection Board which published the following statement last week:
"Objections have been raised to the Government's preferred frequency for a public 'Open channel' radio service (around 928 MHz UHF) on the grounds of possible health hazards. The specific dangers cited are the induction of brain tumours and cataracts in the eyes.
The Board considers that there is no scientific evidence that exposure to microwaves or radiofrequencies will cause brain tumours cm other cancers or that there is any evidence which indicates the existence of special hazards from radiation in the frequency range 150 to 1200 MHz.
Exposure to very high power levels of microwaves has been shown to cause cataracts in animals and may be inferred to give rise to a similar effect in humans, but the exposure must be such as to raise the temperature of the eye by at least 4°C for more than ten minutes. The normal temperature of eyes and body fluctuates daily by about 1–2°C, and possibly more under the influence of physical exertion. For hand-held radio transmitters with total effective radiated powers of less than 3 watts, studies indicate that the temperature rise in the eyes will not be more than 1·0°C when their aerials are held no closer than 1 cm to the face, and the transmitter operated continuously for several minutes. Direct comparisons between hand-held transmitters has shown little difference in the total power absorbed by the head at 150 MHz, 450 MHz and 900MHz or in the maximum values of the power absorption. There is no reason to expect significantly different results at other frequencies in this range.
There is unlikely to be any direct danger to health from handheld transmitters used for the 'Open Channel' communication in any part of the radiofrequency spectrum, when the effective radiated powers are less than 3 watts and the transmitters and their aerials are kept more than 1 or 2 cm from the head. In the case of mobile transmitters with effective radiated powers of 25 watts it would be inadvisable to place the head closer than about 10 cm to the aerial for any length of time."
Parkhurst Prison
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his response to the petition dated 6 October, made on behalf of a number of prisoners at Her Majesty's prison Parkhurst, to form a union; and what is his policy generally on prisoners forming associations to protect their interests.
The petitioner, who wished to form a union, was informed that he would not be allowed to do so and that there were adequate facilities in existence to safeguard prisoners' rights and interests.
Shotguns
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if in view of the growing practice of thieves and burglars carrying, and in some instances using, sawn-off shotguns, he will seek to change the law so as to make it mandatory for any person caught in possession of a sawn-off shotgum to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
No. As the law stands, the maximum penalty for possession of a sawn-off shotgun is five years' imprisonment; for possessing a firearm with criminal intent, 14 years' imprisonment; and for carrying a firearm with intent to resist arrest or with intent to injure, life imprisonment. We would not think it sensible to make the mere possession of a sawn-off shotgun subject to the same mandatory penalty as murder.
Children And Young Persons (Detention)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish information giving the number of children and young persons under the age of 17 years who were in remand homes, borstals and similar penal institutions in England and Wales for the years from 1970 to date.
Information is not available in the form requested. However, information on the number of young persons aged under 17 who were received into prison department establishments in England and Wales as untried or convicted unsentenced prisoners during the years 1971–79 is published in table 2.3 of "Prison statistics England and Wales 1979" (Cmnd 7978). Table 2.2 shows for 1979 the effect of double counting of those who were received both as untried and convicted unsentenced. Information on the number of young persons aged under 17 received under sentence during the years 1970 to 1979 is published in table 3.5. Figures for 1980 are not yet available. Corresponding information on the population of young persons is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Civil Defence
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to make a statement on civil defence.
My right hon. Friend has no plans at present to make a statement to follow the one he made on 7 August.—[Vol. 990, c. 790–804.]
Nuclear Shelters
asked the Secretary of State for the home Department if he proposes to introduce measures to protect the public from unscrupulous manufacturers of ineffective nuclear shelters.
We shall publish guidance on domestic nuclear shelters next month. Existing law covers the sale of shelters which would fail to provide the level of protection claimed for them.
Hare Coursing
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends introducing legislation to ban live hare coursing within the United Kingdom.
No.
Demonstration (Cardiff)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of South Wales on how many people were arrested during the demonstration in Cardiff, on Thursday 11 December; what was the cost to public funds of the police operation; and how many police officers were on duty to maintain public order.
29: an estimated additional cost of £5,000: 1,000.
Police (Complaints)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of complaints made against the police in 1979 alleging assault; how many and what percentage of these led, respectively, to prosecution and conviction; what were the penalties imposed on conviction; what internal disciplinary action was taken by the police and in how many cases, both where prosecution or conviction took place and where it did not.
The information available centrally relates to complaints on which all action was completed in 1979, whether received in that year or carried over from previous years. 2,985 complaints alleged assault, of which 98 were found to be substantiated. Statistics on the number and percentage of these that led respectively to prosecution and conviction are not collected, but information about the number of police officers convicted as a result of a complaint investigation shows that 12 officers were found guilty of offences of violence against the person or summary assault, of whom four were sentenced to imprisonment. Under the Police (Discipline) Regulations 1977 it is a disciplinary offence for an officer to be convicted of a criminal offence. Details of the punishments in respect of the 12 officers mentioned above are not available.
Prison Regulations
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will amend the prison regulations so that any person admitted to prison who is known to be a suicide risk is not placed in a cell alone until he has been examined by a medical practitioner.
We are considering some changes in the guidance issued to prison staff about suicides and attempted suicides in the light of the lessons learned from some recent cases. It would, however, be inappropriate to introduce a general rule that a prisoner who is thought to be suicidal should not share a cell until he has been examined by the medical officer because there may be other considerations, such as the need to protect him from assault by other prisoners or the need to protect other prisoners from assault by him.
Hostel Fire (Kilburn)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has completed his consideration of the implications for future fire precautions legislation of the fire at a hostel in Salisbury Road, Kilburn, on 18 March; and if he will make a statement.
I have now completed my consideration, with other Ministers concerned, of the implications for future fire precautions legislation of this tragic fire. I can find no evidence that local authorities generally have experienced difficulty in understanding their statutory responsibilities as regards fire precautions in hostels or other types of house in multiple occupation. Nevertheless, it is clear that there is a degree of legislative overlap which is a potential source of uncertainty. I shall be discussing with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment and other Ministers concerned how this situation might best be clarified. In the meantime, we propose to issue guidance to housing authorities and fire authorities to assist their understanding of the present law and of how it can best be administered in particular circumstances. We have also put in hand the preparation of a code of guidance setting out a national advisory standard for means of escape in houses in multiple occupation which should prove a useful aid to the consultation between housing authorities and fire authorities which is required by the Housing Acts.
Prisoners (Remands)
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated number of persons currently in prison who have been in remand in custody for longer than 110 days.
[pursuant to his reply, 12 December 1980, c. 846.]: It is estimated that on 31 October 1980, in prison department establishments in England and Wales there were more than 800 persons on remand awaiting trial and more than 200 convicted persons awaiting sentence whose date of initial remand into custody was more than 110 days earlier. This takes no account of any time spent on bail during that period.
Civil Service
Mr Trevor Brown
asked the Minister for the Civil Service, pursuant to his reply of Wednesday 10 December to the hon. Member for Keighley, Official Report, c. 631, if he has received the representations which have been made arising out of the case of Mr. Trevor Brown.
I have received representations arising out of this case from a number of sources, including the hon. Member for Keighley. These representations concerned the rules governing the conduct of civil servants who have been given official permission to take part in political activities, not the limitations on civil servants standing for election to local authorities.
Government Statistical Service
asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will make a statement on his proposals to make economies in the Government Statistical Service; and if he will publish the action documents prepared by Sir Derek Rayner on economies in the Government Statistical Service.
I hope that an announcement will be possible before long. Each Department has completed its own review and action is a matter for that Department's Minister. The House will he kept informed of progress overall.
Energy
Energy Consumption
asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish his forecast for 1981 inland energy consumption; and what is his estimate of (a) coal consumption and (b) volume of coal imports, during next year.
I have no plans for publishing any forecast of inland energy consumption in 1981 at present. The level of United Kingdom coal comsumption and volume of coal imports will depend on a number of factors, including the market conditions prevailing during the year.
Offshore Gas-Gathering Pipeline System
asked the Secretary of State for Energy what action he has taken in response to the organising group's recommendations concerning the disposal of the natural gas liquids from the proposed new offshore gas-gathering pipeline system.
Valuable natural gas liquids will be brought ashore by the new gas-gathering pipeline. The ethane, in particular, will be an important new feedstock for petrochemical plants in the United Kingdom. Timely completion of the facilities for handling these natural gas liquids is essential to the gas-gathering system as a whole.The organising group I set up in June has just made recommendations to me on the handling of these hydrocarbons. Its advice is that the ethane should be extracted at St. Fergus and piped separately to users, with the processing of the remaining stream carried out at Nigg Bay. It recommends that preparatory work should be carried out on an ethane line from St. Fergus to Moss Morran and Grangemouth, with an extension to Teesside, and that an ethane line from St. Fergus to Nigg Bay should also be considered. The organising group has stressed the urgent need for decisions on the routing of the NGLs. It has invited me to decide how they should be aggregated into quantities sufficient for bulk contracts to be entered into for petrochemical use.I have invited the organising group to develop its planning on the lines recommended.It is, however, my view that the actual pattern of disposal of the NGLs should be determined by commercial negotiations. At least seven companies have expressed an interest in purchasing the ethane as feedstock for petrochemical manufacture and several licensees have expressed a need for reassurance that they will be able to regain access to natural gas liquids after onshore fractionation into component products. It is important that commercial negotiations for the sale and processing of NGLs should proceed quickly to a point which enables the pattern of onshore disposal to be settled. To facilitate this, clarity is needed on the rights and roles of the various parties with an interest in the system. I have therefore today confirmed to the British National Oil Corporation that I shall not stand in the way of the exercise by the corporation of the rights to natural gas liquids which it enjoys under participation agreements. The British National Oil Corporation and the British Gas Corporation have informed me that they will co-operate in the disposal arrangements, as appropriate. These developments identify to prospective purchasers a substantial seller able to enter promptly into disposal negotiations. Taken together with the organising group's work on the processing arrangements, this should enable the pattern of the onshore facilities to be determined. There will be no obligation on licensees to sell the remainder of their natural gas liquids through an intermediate agency.I have invited the corporations and the organising group to seek to maximise the national economic benefit and as part of this to recognise the importance of petrochemical activity in the United Kingdom based on natural gas liquids. I have asked them to ensure, so far as possible, that facilities to process the NGLs, including any extracted from Norwegian gas if it becomes available, will be provided in accordance with the timetable envisaged for the gas-gathering pipeline as a whole. They are to ensure that, subject to participation, licensees can recover their own material after fractionation and that later licensees and customers have access to the system on reasonable terms. I have made it clear that BNOC should not commit itself to investment in petrochemical plant.I expect all parties to the commercial negotiations to conduct them constructively and speedily. It would not be acceptable for any of the parties to block agreement on reasonable terms if this threatened to impede timely completion of the gas-gathering system.
Industry
Regional Aid
asked the Secretary of State for Industry what is his Department's estimate of the number of jobs saved by regional aid in each of the last five years and at what Government cost per job.
New jobs can be created, or existing jobs saved, by such measures only at the expense of some jobs lost elsewhere. It is not, therefore, possible to estimate the net effect of regional aid measures, nor the cost to the taxpayer per net job created.
Beer (Gravity Testing)
asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much is charged per individual test to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise for the testing of beer for original gravity at (a) the Glasgow outstation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and (b) the Liverpool outstation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and for the testing of potable spirits for percentage volume of alcohol at (i) the Glasgow outstation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, (ii) the Liverpool outstation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and (iii) the London headquarters of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.
Charges for work carried out at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist are not made on the basis of individual tests. Invoices are raised quarterly to cover all work done for customer departments. Overall charges are intended to recover the total costs to the laboratory of providing the services.
asked the Secretary of State for Industry how much it costs per individual sample for the following (a) testing of beer for original gravity at (i) the Glasgow outstation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and (ii) the Liverpool outstation of Laboratory of the Government Chemist and (b) the testing of potable spirits of percentage volume of alcohol at (i) the Glasgow outstation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist, (ii) the Liverpool outstation of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist and (iii) the London Headquarters of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist.
Separate operating costs for the headquarters and outstations of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist are not readily available. Moreover the actual cost per individual sample can change from day to day as the sample throughput rate varies, and can also depend on how much work the sample requires.If the mean costs per sample falling directly upon the Department of Industry are calculated as annual averages, then the ratios are as follows:
Beer
Liverpool: Glasgow 100: 150
Spirits
Liverpool: London: Glasgow 100: 135: 234
The cost of spirit work in London reflects the higher grade staff employed there on essential advisory duties.
The indirect costs, which arise from services carried out for LGC by other Government Departments, could be included only after a long and expensive investigation.
British Shipbuilders
asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the total amount of public money put into nationalised British Shipbuilders since vesting day, including intervention fund payments, giving the dates when each payment was made and the dates when each amount of public dividend capital and national loans fund money was paid in.