To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when the current trial period of the C-LIX court listing information service will come to an end.

The C-LIX court listing field trial has been planned to take place in a number of phases. The first of these, linking the Central Criminal Court to five sets of barristers' chambers, is currently under way. This will be extended in April to include other London Crown court centres and additional sets of chambers. A further phase is planned in which the range of end-users will be increased to include solicitors' firms and interested members of other criminal justice agencies—for example, police and the Prison Service.The formal end date of the field trial has not yet been fixed, but a full evaluation is expected before the end of this year.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what opinion research his Department has commissioned into the advertising for last year's electoral registration campaign; and when the results of this research will be made available.

Pre- and post-campaign research, taking a sample of 1,800 respondents, was commissioned following the autumn 1992 electoral registration poster campaign.A copy of the advertising monitor summary of results for the electoral registration campaign—autumn 1992 has been sent to the House of Commons Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what review has been undertaken into developments in the level of the threat of grievous bodily harm, rape, robbery or murder facing elderly people; and if he will make a statement.

Statistics of crime recorded by the police can provide national trends in crime risks by age only for murder. The rate of murder against those aged 70 or more has declined since 1980 in England and Wales, and that for those between 50 and 69 years is relatively stable; the numbers involved are small.The British crime survey can provide information on trends in violence against the elderly between 1981 and 1991. The proportion of those aged 60 or over who were victims of robbery, wounding, common assault or any sexual offence showed no change over the period: about one in 200 of those aged 60 or more were a target in 1991. Trends in all these statistics are continually monitored.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what ESDA evidence has been adduced in (a) the case of Paul Malone and (b) the case of the Birmingham Six.

A report on ESDA tests on certain documents was submitted to my right hon. and learned Friend by Mr. Malone's solicitor in support of representations about the safety of his conviction. I understand that further ESDA tests have been carried out at the request of the chief constable of Cheshire. The results of both sets of tests are currently being considered by officers of the Metropolitan police who are reinvestigating the case.A description of the evidence of ESDA tests adduced in the final appeal of the Birmingham Six is to be found on pages 42–52 of the judgment of the Court of Appeal on 27 March 1991—R

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anomalies have been identified by ESDA evidence affecting the case of Paul Malone.

I understand that the results of ESDA tests on certain documents relating to Mr. Malone's conviction are among matters being examined by officers of the Metropolitan police as part of their further inquiries into this case. The significance of these results cannot properly be assessed until the investigation as a whole has been completed. When I have received the investigating officers' report on the case, I will, of course, give it full and careful attention.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many 10-year-olds have been charged with crimes in the youth courts in the last two years for which figures are available; and how many have been convicted.

The information readily available centrally on the number of 10-year-olds prosecuted in 1990 and 1991 is given in the table. Data on people charged are not held centrally.

Number of 10 year olds prosecuted at magistrates' courts by type of offence and type of court 1990 and 1991
England and Wales
	Type of magistrates' courts
Type of offence	Juvenile courts	Adult courts	All
Indictable offences
1990	88	25	113
1991	67	7	74
Summary non-motoring
1990	27	18	45
1991	15	22	37
Summary motoring
1990	2	25	27
1991	1	55	56

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners in each prison establishment committed assaults (a) on other prisoners and (b) on prison officers between April 1992 and February 1993, and for each of the previous 10 years.

The available information is for the

Table 5
Assaults1 in male young offender institutions April 1992/February 19932
Establishment	Assaults on inmates	Assaults on prison staff3	Average population	Assaults on inmate per 100 population	Assaults on staff per 100 population
Closed YOIS
Aylesbury	26	43	232	11·2	18·5
Castington	40	19	240	16·7	7·9
Deerbolt	55	16	366	15·0	4·4
Dover	24	17	217	11·1	7·8
Feltham	44	22	258	17·1	8·5
Glen Parva	50	14	410	12·2	3·4
Hollesley Bay	18	6	165	10·9	3·6
Huntercombe	22	3	199	11·1	1·5
Moorland	11	15	150	7·3	10·0
Northallerton	21	7	192	10·9	3·6
Onley	81	16	324	25·0	4·9
Portland	15	7	386	3·9	1·8
Stoke Heath	26	16	187	13·9	8·6
Swinfen Hall	14	4	163	8·6	2·5
TOTAL	447	205	3,489	12·8	5·9
Open YOIS
Finnamore Wood	4	0	78	5·1	0·0
Guys Marsh	6	0	90	6·7	0·0
Hatfield	9	1	144	6·3	0·7
Thorn Cross	23	0	174	13·2	0·0
Usk	0	0	71	0·0	0·0
TOTAL	42	1	557	7·5	0·2
Short Sentence Institutions
Eastwood Park4	6	0	66	9·1	0·0
Hollesley Bay	12	2	80	15·0	2·5
Wetherby	14	2	135	10·4	1·5
TOTAL	32	4	281	11·4	1·4
Juvenile Institutions
Feltham	20	3	122	16·4	2·5
Onley	40	4	78	51·3	5·1
Werrington	38	4	104	36·5	3·8
TOTAL	98	11	304	32·2	3·6
1Includes attempts, incitements and assisting.
2Provisional data.
3Prison officers and other members of staff not of prison officer grade.
4Open for part period only. Average population relates to the period of time open.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers and what proportion of the total number in each police force area in England and Wales were (a) men and (b) women from ethnic minority groups in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion were in senior grades.

I will write to the hon. Member.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conclusions he has reached on the proposals from the Commission for Racial Equality for changes to the Race Relations Act 1976; and if he will make a statement.

The Government are giving careful consideration to the Commission for Racial Equality's recommendations and will respond formally in due course.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the revised opening date for HM prison Blakenhurst.

It is the current intention to open Blakenhurst prison on 26 May 1993 subject to satisfactory completion of the preparatory work being carried out by the contractor.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of offences were reported as no-crimes for each police force in England and Wales for each of the last 10 years, and at the latest available date.

Figures are not available centrally, but many forces publish "no crime" totals in their chief constable's annual reports.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of racial assault and racial harrassment were reported to each police force area in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; and how many prosecutions and how many convictions resulted.

Information is not available before 1988. The figures since then are set out in the table. Figures for 1992 are not yet available. Figures on prosecutions and convictions are not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.All forces respond to racial attacks as a priority, and their responses are systematically monitored by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary. The increase in reports to the police might indicate an increase in the confidence of victims in the ability and willingness of the police to help.

Racial incidents Community relations indicators: reported racial incidents
Forces	1988	1989	1990	1991
Avon and Somerset	57	71	83	148
Bedfordshire	21	25	33	0
Cambridge	52	60	71	107
Cheshire	0	0	0	3
City of London	4	0	0	0
Cleveland	29	55	57	68
Cumbria	0	4	1	9
Derbyshire	17	20	53	143
Devon and Cornwall	2	3	6	9

Persons fined for all offences in the Metropolitan police district1 in the last six months of 1991, by type of court and month
Number of persons
Type of court	July	August	September	October	November	December	Total
Magistrates' courts	15,705	14,120	14,933	16,031	14,575	11,754	87,118
Crown Court	212	175	176	157	130	100	950
All courts	15,917	14,295	15,109	16,188	14,705	11,854	88,068
1Including City of London.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued in the Metropolitan police district in each of the first six months of 1992; and how many were paid and how many were unpaid.

The numbers of fixed penalty notices issues in the first six months of 1992 were as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were fined in courts in the Metropolitan police district in each of the six months up to the latest available date; and, of that number, how many people defaulted on their fines.

The information readily available centrally on the persons fines in the Metropolitan police district in the last six months of 1991 is given in the table. Data on people defaulting on their fines are not held centrally.

	Number
January
a1	150,679
b2	7,328
c3	10,856
February
a	153,829
b	5,523
c	9,034

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for the reports of the Home Office controller at the Wolds remand centre to be placed in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

No. The controller's reports on Wolds provide management information which, like such material on other prisons, is not made public. The report of HM chief inspector of prisons, who is due to carry out an inspection in May, will be published and the board of visitors will be publishing their report for 1992 on 6 April. The Prison Service intends to publish information about the performance of all prisons, directly and privately managed, on a regular basis in its annual report. An interim report on the Wolds will be published shortly, at the end of its first year of operation.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Prison Service practice or procedures are required to be followed by the contractor under the terms of the contract at HM prison Wolds.

The contractor is required to follow the practices or procedures relating to:

• Inmates Personal Record System (Form No. 2050);
• LIDS (the inmate database system);
• the reporting of population levels;
• Assisted Prison Visits Scheme;
• Prison Visitors Scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are being held at the Wolds at the latest available date; and what proportion of them are from ethnic minority groups.

On 19 March, 310 prisoners were unlocked at Wolds remand prison. Of these, 22—7·1 per cent.—were members of ethnic minority groups.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department will pay compensation to Beck and Pollitzer following the cancellation of the contract in respect of the supply and transport functions of his Department.

The contract in respect of the warehousing and distribution function was not signed and there will be no compensation paid to Beck and Pollitzer.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his most up-to-date projections for the prison population for 2000 and 2010 for (a) women, (b) remand prisoners, (c) sentenced male prisoners and (d) young people under 21 years.

Projections of long-term trends in the prison population to 2000 were published in the Home Office statistical bulletin 10/92 on 28 May 1992. Copies are available in the Library of the House. We intend to publish updated projections to 2001 soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for changes to the 1992–93 non-voted cash limit within his responsibility.

The local authority capital non-voted cash limit will be increased by £202,000 from £109,141,000 to £109,343,000. The increased provision results from the transfer of unallocated supplementary credit approvals from the Welsh Office to the Home Office, for the purpose of the replacement of fire service mobilisation and communications systems.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to bring into effect the remaining provisions of the Charities Act 1992.

It is our intention to bring the 1992 Act fully into force at the earliest opportunity—consistent with effective preparation and consultations. I therefore intend to bring the further provisions into effect by the following dates:

• By the end of 1993: further fees regulations;
• by the end of March 1994: provisions on professional fund-raising (Part II of the Act);
• by the end of June 1994: accounting provisions (contained in Part I of the Act);
• by the end of 1994: public charitable collections (Part III of the Act).

Where possible we will, however, seek to bring the provisions into effect earlier than the dates given.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the annual cost of monitoring the religious affiliation of the (a) part-time and (b) full-time members of the Royal Irish Regiment.

The annual cost of collating statistics on the religious affiliations of the Royal Irish Regiment, which is required of all public authorities in Northern Ireland under the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989, is estimated to be £300.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies have been undertaken to establish the use made by RAF Chivenor and RAF Valley of the Pembrey range and Welsh low-flying area when RAF Brawdy was unable to operate due to poor weather conditions.

None.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 12 November, Official Report, columns 882–83, if he has reached a decision on the future of the fleet maintenance and repair organisation, Portsmouth.

I have given full and careful consideration to the representations made on the proposals I announced on 12 November 1992, Official Report, columns 882–83, to cease refit work at the fleet maintenance and repair organisation, Portsmouth and to reduce excess capacity among the work force. I have decided to proceed with these proposals, taking account of the overall problem of excess refit and repair capacity in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 12 November, Official Report, column 883, if he has reached a decision on the future of operational sea training at Portland.

Having given full and careful consideration to the representations made, I have decided to proceed with the transfer of operational sea training from Portland to Devonport and to close Portland naval base by April 1996. We will continue to consult the trades unions about the implications for staff, and will also work closely with the Portland area local authorities to investigate possible alternative commercial uses for the naval base.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the range and average level of overnight money market rates on the inter-bank markets in London each month from September 1992 to January 1993.

The range and the average level of overnight money market rates on the interbank markets each month from September 1992 to January 1993 were as follows:

Overnight interest rates1
	Range	Average2
1992
September	180 -3½	9 23/32
October	100 -4	9⅝
November	14⅛ -2½	7 19/32
December	9¼ -2	6 13/16
1993
January	100 1¼	6 29/32
1These are quoted rates as observed by the Bank of England, and are not comprehensive. As they are quoted rates, transactions did not necessarily take place at these rates, and it is also possible that transactions took place at other rates.
2The average is based on daily observations taken at 10.20 am.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the cost to the Exchequer of tax reliefs for afforestation in each of the 10 years up to 1993.

The estimated cost of allowing tax relief for afforestation under schedule D was of the order of £10 million a year between 1983–84 and 1987–88. No estimates are available of the cost of relief allowed for 1988–89 to 1992–93 under the transitional provisions introduced when forestry was removed from the scope of taxation in 1988–89.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last discussed the proposed Ashford international passenger station with the chairman of British Rail; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport made a statement about Ashford international passenger station yesterday.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vacant residential properties are owned by his Department in each county; what are his plans for reducing this number; and if he will make a statement.

As at 31 December 1992, the latest date for which figures are available, my Department held 3,432 residential properties in connection with road schemes in England, of which 721 were vacant. Details of these properties are held by departmental region and are set out in the table. To break down the figures to county level could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Region	Total stock	Vacant stock
South East	894	181
South West	130	27
West Midlands	256	78
North West	405	91
Northern	31	7
Yorkshire and Humberside	65	20
East Midlands	43	13
Eastern	617	183
London	991	121
TOTAL	3,432	721

My Department is actively participating in the work of the task force on Government Departments' empty houses, as announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment in a written answer to my hon. Friend, the Member for Reading, West (Sir A. Durant), on 8 December 1992,

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many representations he has received from private companies seeking to invest in and construct new motorways or to increase the capacity of existing motorways.

Many of the companies that participated in bids for the concessions for the Dartford-Thurrock crossing, the second Severn crossing and the Birmingham northern relief road have also advocated an expansion of the role of private finance in the operation and improvement of the existing motorway network. Our planned Green Paper on motorway charging will invite views on the possibilities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those local authorities which have provided financial support to maintain or retain public transport services.