asked the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received from farmers in Wales about the proposed Agricultural and Development Advisory Service charges for statutory work in connection with milk and dairies regulations; and if he will make a statement.

We have received a number of representations about the Government's decision to charge for statutory work under the milk and dairies regulations.In deciding to introduce charges for this work, we were conscious of the fact that producers derive benefit from it. The high quality and reputation of our domestic milk production helps to maintain liquid consumption and this in turn benefits producer returns, which would certainly suffer if consumers had less confidence in the product.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many representations he has received from Wales in favour of stunning of animals prior to ritual slaughter; and if he will make a statement.

The Farm Animal Welfare Council's report on the welfare of livestock when slaughtered by religious methods included a recommendation that the slaughter of animals without pre-stunning should be prohibited within three years. The Department has received 77 representations from Wales in support of this recommendation. The report and all the comments made on it are presently under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the first issue of the Easingwold Newsletter can be expected; and whether copies will be available in the Library.

We hope the first issue of a civil defence periodical will be available later this year. I shall be glad to arrange for copies to be placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has any new proposals to fund crime prevention schemes.

Considerable central Government resources are already available, including about £18 million currently through the community programme for places devoted to crime prevention projects and £6·3 million through the urban programme during 1985. The Government will continue to direct public funds where they can be most effective.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he intends to take to assist and encourage local authorities, housing associations, and other public bodies to undertake measures to improve crime prevention for the public.

Measures are being developed on a number of fronts.Five local demonstration projects with Home Office funded co-ordinators have been set up.The Manpower Services Commission has allocated some £18,000,000, under the expanded community programme, for places devoted to crime prevention projects.The Home Office crime prevention unit, in collaboration with the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and the Association of Chief Police Officers, has recently issued to local authority chief executives examples of good local crime prevention practice.Five working groups covering residential burglary, car security, shop theft, commercial robbery and the prevention of violence associated with licenced premises have been set up to report to the Home Office Standing Conference on Crime Prevention in November.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further action he proposes to deal with the rising crime rate.

We have before the House measures to deal with the growing menace of drugs and drug-related crime and to combat public disorder. The criminal justice White Paper published recently announced a number of proposals for changes in sentencing powers. We shall also continue to pursue vigorously our crime prevention measures which are beginning to show encouraging results. But the fight against crime requires the commitment of the whole community, not just the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many victims of violent crime in the Metropolitan police district were women or children aged under 18 years in each of the years since 1977.

The number of women and young persons under the age of 18 who were victims of offences of violence against the person, rape or robbery was approximately 12,800 in 1983, 13,800 in 1984 and 15,300 in 1985. Figures for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I will, with permission, publish more detailed information for 1983–85 in the form of a table in the Official Report.The detailed figures are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the information available to his Department indicates the extent to which (a) poor street lighting, (b) vandalised or derelict property, (c) absence of caretakers, park keepers and similar staff, (d) absence of public transport and (e) lack of a telephone are factors contributing to the incidence of crime; and if he will make a statement.

Research, much of which has been undertaken or commissioned by the Home Office, and experience suggest that each of the factors listed by the hon. Member may have some effect on the incidence of crime in specific localities or at particular times of day. There is, however, no information available nationally to indicate the extent of their contribution to crime levels.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the percentage increase in the number of young people aged under 21 years (a) cautioned for and (b) found guilty of indictable offences, respectively, between 1979 and 1984.

The increase was 24 per cent. for those cautioned and 5 per cent. for those found guilty.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the clear-up rate for all crimes in England and Wales in each of the last seven years.

Clear-up rates for notifiable offences recorded by the police are published each year in chapter 2 of the Command Paper "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" (table 2.17 of the issue for 1984, Cmnd. 9621) and most recently in a Home Office statistical bulletin (table 5 of issue No. 4/86).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the increase since 1978 in the total number of crimes of violence against the person committed in the Metropolitan police district for the most recently available year.

Police recorded 20,200 offences of violence against the person in the Metropolitan police district in 1985—6,000 more than the corresponding figure for 1978. Numbers of offences recorded in the Metropolitan police district are published annually by type of offence in the report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and in Home Office statistical bulletins (table 6 of issue No. 4/86).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of appeals following complaints against the police have been upheld by the Police Complaints Authority; and if he will make a statement.

The Police Complaints Authority's functions are to supervise the investigation of serious complaints against the police and to examine proposals by police forces in respect of disciplinary proceedings against police officers following complaints investigations. The authority has no appellate function. The authority's first annual report covering the period from its establishment on 29 April, to the end of 1985 was published on 22 April.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation allowing individuals access to records concerning themselves held in data banks belonging to Government agencies.

When the Data Protection Act 1984 comes fully into force in November 1987 individuals will have the right of access, within the terms of the Act, to data about themselves which are held by Government agencies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of drug offences notified to the Metropolitan police in 1978 and in the most recently available year.

The available information relates to persons found guilty of or cautioned for offences involving controlled drugs. The total numbers found guilty or cautioned for such offences in the Metropolitan police district, including the City of London, in 1978 and 1984 were 4,121 and 8,722 respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he plans to make any changes in his policy towards the police and public order, in the light of the report entitled "The Effect of the Policing of the News International Dispute on Wapping Residents", published by the National Council for Civil Liberties, a copy of which has been sent to him.

No. The residents of Wapping have undoubtedly suffered considerable inconvenience as a result of the industrial dispute at the News International plant. The marches and demonstrations have caused particular difficulty on Saturday evenings. The Commissioner very much regrets that police action in checking those seeking access to some streets has caused inconvenience and delay to residents, but he is satisfied that this is necessary in order to limit and contain the public order problems associated with the dispute.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions firearms were issued to police officers in England and Wales in 1985; and what were the comparable figures in the two previous years.

The available records show that the number of operations involving persons known or believed to be armed in which firearms were issued to police officers in England and Wales was 3,180 in 1983, 2,667 in 1984 and 2,488 in 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in 1985 firearms were fired by police officers during the course of operations.

The available records show that firearms were discharged on seven occasions by police officers during the course of operations in 1985. A total of 13 shots were fired.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received to date against the repeal of the Sunday trading laws.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received to date against the repeal of the Sunday trading laws.

Since the debate on the Auld report in the House of Commons in May last year, we have received 22,667 representations in favour of our proposals and 48,904 representations against.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources he plans to make available for police training in the powers being conferred upon them by public order legislation.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given earlier today to a question from the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received concerning the funding of the West Yorkshire police authority.

I attended a meeting on 26 February between my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment and representatives of the West Yorkshire police authority about the authority's funding. The representatives' primary concern was the authority's grant-related expenditure assessment, which is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. We have received no representations since that meeting.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the 1985–86 cost to his Department of grant-aid to voluntary after-care hostels for offenders.

£4,422,288.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to improve morale in the prison service; and if he will make a statement.

We shall continue to pursue the strategy of improvement in the prison estate, in working practices in the prison service, and in related aspects of the criminal justice system which my right hon. Friend set out in his address to the prison governors' conference in November last year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met representatives of local authorities regarding emergency control centres; and if he will make a statement.

As I said in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Dr. Thomas) on 14 April at column 231, I met members of Carmarthen district council on 3 March to discuss this subject in relation to an emergency centre at Carmarthen.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms he has developed for the deployment of civil defence volunteers in an emergency.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms he has developed for the deployment of civil defence volunteers in an emergency.

The deployment of volunteers in an emergency would be for local authorities to determine. Advice is given in the emergency planning guidance to local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to change the term civil defence, as used by his Department; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Wansdyke (Mr. Aspinwall).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is yet in a position to announce his conclusions on the adequacy of the regulations governing the sale and control of crossbows; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is yet in a position to say whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to control the sale of crossbows; and if he will make a statement.

I am currently considering whether any steps could usefully be taken to try to prevent crossbows falling into the wrong hands. Discussions with interested parties including crossbow sporting organisations, the manufacturers and the police are taking place. My right hon. Friend will report our conclusions to the House as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received concerning the danger arising from the unrestricted sale and possession of crossbows.

Since the beginning of this year, we have received 76 letters from right hon. and hon. Members and 45 from organisations and members of the public. Among these were representations from the Association of County Councils, the Association of District Councils, Suffolk county council, the Northumbria police authority, the National Farmers' Union, the British Veterinary Association and the National Housewives Association.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the current operations of community relations councils.

Community relations councils engage in a wide variety of activity, but a convenient summary description of this under four main heads can be found in chapter 10 of the most recent (1984) annual report of the Commission for Racial Equality. I understand that, following consultation with the National Council of Community Relations Councils, the CRE has recently decided to commission a research project which will examine the different ways in which community relations councils currently operate and make recommendations with a view to improving the effectiveness of "race relations" work at a local level. The research will be undertaken by the Policies Studies Institute and its findings will be made public.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review disciplinary procedures within the Metropolitan police.

No. The police disciplinary arrangements, including the procedures specifically within the Metropolitan police, were revised when the Police (Discipline) Regulations 1985 came into operation on 29 April 1985.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to relieve the overcrowding in Her Majesty's prisons.

We have taken vigorous steps to cope with the rising population by acceleration of the building programme by re-occupying disused accommodation and by altering functions of establishments so as to make more intensive use of the prison estate. We are also continuing to encourage the use of non-custodial sentences whenever this is right.The present unsatisfactory conditions in some of our prisons results from years of neglect and will not be remedied quickly. It was for this reason that in 1979 the Government embarked on the major building programme that is currently under way. This programme includes a total of 18 purpose-built new prisons which will provide some 8,000 additional places by the early 1990s. Three of these prisons have already been completed, five are currently under construction and the remainder are at various stages of planning and design. Apart from the new prisons, there are some 25 major capital projects at existing establishments and also many other smaller schemes. These projects will provide 5,500 or so places over the next few years. In addition, a former RAF camp at Lindholme near Doncaster has been acquired and converted for prison purposes and a prison previously not in use has been re-opened, providing a further 900 places early in 1986. The building programme will gradually improve conditions and bring us nearer to ending overcrowding.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received concerning his promised autumn review of manning levels in the Thames Valley police force.

Several of my hon. Friends have expressed support for a further increase in the authorised establishment of the Thames Valley Police. My right hon. Friend will take account of their views when he considers in the autumn the possibility of a further increase for Thames Valley; 370 additional police posts have already been approved for the force since May 1979.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what detection equipment will be available to police and fire services and local authorities to monitor the presence of toxic chemicals in the event of terrorist use of chemical weapons or materials.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given today to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Tayside, North (Mr. Walker).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the scope and operation of the law in relation to the ownership of weapons in the United Kingdom.

The Firearms Act 1968, which lays down strict controls over the possession and use of firearms in Great Britain, is kept under constant review but we have no plans at present to amend the Act. Separate stricter legislation exists in Northern Ireland and I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland also has no plans to introduce amending legislation.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to make any changes in the treatment of prisoners charged with serious offences.

My right hon. Friend has no plans for any changes at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he is now giving to requests for increased funding from his Department for local victim support schemes.

I generally refer to my right hon. Friend's decision to provide £136,000 during 1986–87 to assist local schemes in financial difficulties, and to the various other central Government programmes under which local victim support schemes may be able to obtain funding. In 1984–85, 66 schemes received grants amounting in total to some £580,000 from central Government sources, including the urban programme administered by the Department of the Environment and Manpower Services Commission voluntary projects and community programmes. But I also point out that the Government should not be expected to undertake general responsibility for the running costs of the schemes which, as locally based voluntary groups, should be able to look to the communities which they serve as their main sources of funds.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the development of lay visitor schemes at police stations.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Halifax (Mr. Galley) on 26 February at columns 569–70.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police are currently required on an average Saturday night to police the News International dispute at Wapping.

The number of officers deployed on each Saturday evening since the dispute began was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the operation and effectiveness of the Intoximeter and Camic breath analysers; and if he will make a statement.

The Home Office forensic science report on the evidential breath testing machines, published on 25 June 1985, demonstrated both instruments to be fundamentally acceptable in the sense that they do not place subjects unjustly in jeopardy. Work on the modifications to the machines arising from the report's recommendations is continuing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he proposes to introduce limitations on the time spent on remand in custody awaiting trial.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Mr. Favell) on 8 April at column 7.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the current operation of the prison department.

Yes, but I support management's drive for improved working practices in prisons.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the contribution which the tape-recording of interviews by the police can make to improving police-community relations.

The fact that an interview is tape-recorded serves both as an additional stimulus to the interviewing officer to conduct it in a proper and effective manner, and as a safeguard against allegations that evidence has been obtained by improper means or has been falsified. Tape recording can thereby make a significant contribution both to police effectiveness and to improving relations between the police and the community they serve.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been taken by the Government and police forces in England and Wales to strengthen relations between the police and the community since the Scarman Report.

The police in England and Wales have made great efforts to review and, as necessary, to adapt their procedures and approach in the light of Lord Scarman's recommendations. This has included a growing emphasis on community policing and the increased use of foot patrols. Most police forces have specifically designated community constables working under the guidance of a specialist community liaison department. Improved training at all levels in community and race relations aspects of policing skills has been introduced and strenuous efforts are being made to recruit more police officers from the minority communities.The thrust of Government policy has been to encourage these initiatives, and to develop policies designed to enhance public confidence in the police. A major objective of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 was, while providing the police with the powers they need to deal with crime, to ensure the open and accountable use of powers. The new independent Police Complaints Authority has been set up to provide reassurance that complaints against the police will be handled rigorously and impartially. The development of local consultative arrangements, for which the 1984 Act also provides, is making an important further contribution to the objective of developing public trust; in common with crime prevention initiatives like neighbourhood watch, such arrangements enable the police to be more responsive to the community's needs.The way suspects are treated within the police station is an issue which can have a significant impact upon general public perceptions of the police: in addition to the safeguards for suspects contained in the codes of practice made under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, therefore, the Government are encouraging the development of schemes for the tape recording of police interviews, and the establishment of panels of lay visitors who can see for themselves how suspects are treated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he intends to take to publicise to individual police forces the effects of the provisions of the Social Security Bill, in so far as they may remove from police officers the threat of deprivation of pension in any disciplinary proceedings.

Guidance will be issued after the Bill is enacted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the arrangements for monitoring the departure of visitors to the United Kingdom at the conclusion of their permitted stay.

The current computerised monitoring arrangements make for the most efficient and effective use of the Department's resources. Possible further uses of new technology in the immigration control are being examined as part of the computing strategy of the immigration and nationality department.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received about the problem of mass trespass by itinerants on private land.

Representations have been made by a number of right hon. and hon. Members, the Association of County Councils, the Country Landowners Association, the National Farmers Union, the Central Council of Physical Recreation and the Council for the Protection of Rural England.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next expects to meet the Prison Officers Association.

My right hon. Friend met the Prison Officers Association to discuss the current dispute on Monday, 21 April. We have no further plans, at present, to meet it again.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, when he next meets the chairman of the BBC he will raise the subject of violence on television.

This is one of the subjects which is likely to be discussed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the present prison population comprises persons awaiting trial.

On 31 March 1986, about 17 per cent. of the total population of prison department establishments in England and Wales was untried. Information on the number awaiting commencement of their trial is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the objectives served by his Department's funding for the National Marriage Guidance Council.

The Home Office grant to the National Marriage Guidance Council is intended to assist the council in its selection and training of new counsellors, and in the provision of continuing support and in-service training to existing counsellors.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time spent on remand in remand centres awaiting trial.

Information is not available on the average time spent on remand in different types of establishment. The information available centrally relates to the average time spent on remand in custody by all untried prisoners and is published annually in "Prison Statistics, England and Wales" (table 2(g) of the latest issue for 1984, Cmnd. 9622). Provisional estimates for 1985 were given in "The prison population in 1985" (paragraph 8 of Home Office statistical bulletin 7/86).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of persons who were refused entry into the United Kingdom and detained in each month over the past year; and if he will identify them by country of origin.

The following tables give the information available on the number of occasions on which passengers were taken by the immigration authorities to approved detention accommodation in each month in the year ending February 1986. They are based on returns from all ports of entry, plus returns from the detention facilities at Harmondsworth and Heathrow queens building. Passengers who were taken to different buildings at different times may have been counted more than once. These figures include passengers required to submit to further examination and cannot be broken down to identify those passengers refused entry into the United Kingdom.