Written Answers
Alcohol-Related Problems Of Offenders
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will list the projects, referred to in the Answer given to the Baroness Fisher of Rednal in columns 761 and 762 of the
Official Report of 6th July 1982, of which the aim is to explore the problems of offenders whose involvement in criminal activity may be linked with drinking.
As the reply given to the Question by the noble Baroness indicated, the three projects listed in the second paragraph of that reply and in the second paragraph of the reply given to a Question by the noble Lord on 7th July (H.L. debates, Vol. 432, col. 885) are all broadly concerned with these problems.
Immigration: Accommodation In Detention
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will give details of the accommodation available for persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 at all ports of entry to the United Kingdom other than Heathrow and Gatwick.
Small detention units are available in immigration service premises at Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow Airports. At Dover, Harwich Newhaven and Sheerness arrangements exist for the use when necessary of port police accommodation. At other ports of entry where there is no detention accommodation, arrangements are made for persons detained to be accommodated in an immigration detention unit at one of the other ports (including those which serve Heathrow and Gatwick), or in police accommodation. Occasionally persons detained at ports of entry are accommodated in a prison or remand centre.
asked Her Majesty's Government:What access to the telephone is afforded to persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 at Ashford Remand Centre, and at each of the places where such persons are accommodated from the ports of entry to the United Kingdom other than Heathrow and Gatwick.
Persons detained in immigration service detention accommodation or in accommodation provided by port police either have a public pay telephone in the detention accommodation or are given access to a telephone at any reasonable time. Those detained in police accommodation are given reasonable access to a telephone at the discretion of the officer in charge.Persons detained under the Immigration Act 1971 in Ashford Remand Centre or any other remand centre or prison are treated as unconvicted prisoners and are subject to the same rules as others in that category: that is, they are not normally allowed to receive telephone calls, and may not make telephone calls unless the business is of an urgent nature and cannot reasonably be dealt with by other means.
Prisoners: Un Standard Minimum Rules
asked Her Majesty's Government:Why, on the last occasion when they made a return of the questionnaire on the United Nations' standard minimum rules (SMRs) for the detention of prisoners, they falsely claimed that the prison rules are disseminated by means of cell information cards in English and certain other languages concerning information about prison procedures with regard to letters, visits, diets, possessions etc. and other matters bearing on SMRs, when in many prisons no such information is available.
The return stated that cell information cards in English and certain other languages contain information about prison procedures with regard to letters, visits, diets, possessions et cetera, and other matters bearing on standard minimum rules. These cards are available to prisoners.
Prisoners: Communication Through Interpreters
asked Her Majesty's Government:What arrangements are made for non-English speaking prisoners in England and Wales to communicate through interpreters when they need to approach the governor, board of visitors or Secretary of State on any matter, and when they are subject to disciplinary proceedings, and what standards of training certification are prescribed for interpreters employed in these duties.
Prison Rule 7 requires that every prisoner should be provided with information about the prison rules and other matters which it is necessary he should know. Those prisoners who cannot read or who have difficulty in understanding have this information explained on reception. Where a prisoner who cannot speak English wishes to approach the governor or the board of visitors, or to petition the Secretary of State he is helped by prison staff or inmates who are bilingual, or by an interpreter. Professional interpreters are not routinely used to overcome problems of communication, and there are no prescribed standards of training certification. I am not aware of any problems having arisen through a lack of comprehension of English, but I should be glad if the noble Lord would let me have details of any particular difficulty of which he may be aware.
Prevention Of Terrorism: Use Of Legislation
asked Her Majesty's Government:How many persons have been arrested in Great Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism Act during each of the last five years and in any subsequent period; how many have been served with exclusion orders; how many have been charged with offences; how many have been found guilty and how many have been extradited to stand trial elsewhere or deported.
Disproportionate cost would be involved in providing more information than that already published in Tables 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the latest quarterly, Home Office Statistical Bulletin on Statistics on the
| PREVENTION OF TERRORISM (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) ACT 1976 | ||||||||||||||
| No. of Arrests | No. of persons subsequently charged (scheduled and other offences) | |||||||||||||
| 1977… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | 167 | 81 |
| 1978… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | 155 | 72 |
| 1979… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | 162 | 51 |
| 1980… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | 222 | 103 |
| 1981… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | 495 | 153 |
| 1982 (to 30 June) | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | 407 | 169 | |
| NORTHERN IRELAND (EMERGENCY PROVISIONS) ACT 1978 | ||||||||||||
| *No. of Persons arrested by HM Forces | No. of Persons arrested by Royal Ulster Constabulary | No. of persons subsequently charged | ||||||||||
| Scheduled Offences | Non-scheduled Offences | |||||||||||
| 1978 (from 1st June) | … | … | … | … | … | … | N/A | 1,186 | 276 | 53 | ||
| 1979… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | N/A | 2,035 | 427 | 99 |
| 1980… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | N/A | 1,719 | 340 | 81 |
| 1981… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | 1,993 | 2,555 | 587 | 186 |
| 1982… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | †83O | ‡679 | 137 | 17 |
| Notes: | ||||||||||||
| *Persons initially arrested by members of Her Majesty's Forces and handed over to the Royal Ulster Constabulary may be subsequently re-arrested by the police, and would in such cases appear both in the figures for arrests by Her Majesty's forces and those for arrests by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. | ||||||||||||
| †To 30th June. | ||||||||||||
| ‡To 31st May. | ||||||||||||
Statistical Services: Review Recommendation
asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in implementing the recommendations in the Review of Government Statistical Services (Cmnd 8236].
Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976 (Issue No. 14/82), published on 27th July, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
asked Her Majesty's Government:How many persons have been arrested in Northern Ireland under the Emergency Provisions and Prevention of Terrorism Acts during each of the last five years and in any subsequent period; how many have been subsequently charged with scheduled offences and other offences; and how many have been found guilty.
This information is not readily available in the form sought by the noble Lord but that available is as follows:
Savings identified by the review and worth £10 million a year were implemented as planned by April this year. Further savings worth at least £6 million a year will be implemented by April 1984. A few remaining recommendations from the review are still subject to further study and wider consultation. Work on establishing a budget framework for departments' statistical tasks is largely complete. This is enabling changes in statistical activity and expenditure to be monitored and further improvements in efficiency sought. For this good progress towards a more efficient and effective Statistical Service thanks are largely due to the efforts of members of the service.
Aujeszky's Disease: The Pig Industry
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether, in view of the threat posed to the pig industry by the recent increased number of outbreaks of Aujeszky's disease, they will introduce an eradication scheme; what consultation they have had with the industry about this matter; and whether the industry is prepared to fund the compensation costs in such a scheme.
The Government's policy on Aujeszky's disease continues to be that which was announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in June 1980. As he made clear, a national compulsory slaughter policy with compensation payable at public expense would not have been justified. Following that announcement and at the request of the NFU, a poll was conducted which revealed insufficient support for an eradication scheme financed by the industry. Recently there has been an increase in the incidence of the disease, particularly in Humberside, although a number of these outbreaks have a single origin and there is no evidence of an increase in the virulence of the disease. Officials have recently discussed the subject with the National Farmers' Union and the Government are keeping the issues arising under active review in the light of recent developments, and will continue to consult the industry.
Eec Institutions: Uk Civil Servants
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether British civil servants of the highest qualities are being seconded to the institutions of the EEC in sufficient numbers.
British civil servants of high quality are encouraged to apply for posts with institutions of the European Community and supported for them as far as possible. Government departments are aware of the value of a period of service with the Community to someone who is later expected to reach senior ranks in our own Civil Service; such experience is counted as an advantage to the person concerned.
Electric Shock Weapons: Aldershot Exhibition
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether at the recent arms exhibition at Aldershot electric shock weapons, usable for torture, were on sale; how many and to whom were they sold; and whether they are stocked for use by the British armed forces.
Some anti-riot equipment was on display at Aldershot. Equipment of this kind is strictly controlled under export licensing arrangements, and display at Aldershot does not imply that sales would be approved. Any application would be subject to the closest scrutiny with particular reference to human rights implications, but none have been made as a result of the exhibition. The British forces do not stock and have no requirement for this particular anti-riot type of equipment.
Falkland Islands Dispute: Nuclear Weapons
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will state categorically that nuclear weapons were not carried by the Falklands task force.
I have nothing to add to the answer I gave the noble Lord on 27th April 1982 (Hansard, Vol. 429, No. 78, col. 778).
The Ordnance Survey
asked Her Majesty's Government:If they will make a statement about the future of the Ordnance Survey.
My right honourable friend announced proposals for a trading fund for the Ordnance Survey in July last year. Since then we have conducted far-reaching consultations on the proposals. The report of these consultations and of our conclusions will be laid before Parliament shortly. The responses to consultation are an impressive testimony to the value placed upon the Ordnance Survey as our national mapping agency and to the high regard in which its work is held. We welcome this support. But many of the responses also expressed fears that the Government's proposals will lead to a deterioration in the service provided, or to a loss of quality. We hope to show, as the Government's proposals ate developed and submitted to Parliament, that these fears are misplaced.The Government's objective is to ensure that the national asset represented by Ordnance Survey and its topographical archive is fully maintained, developed, and exploited. We believe the private sector has a vital role to play and intend that Ordnance Survey should co-operate with it closely and fully; but Ordnance Survey should not be diverted from its national surveying and mapping task, and we agree with those who say that its effectiveness in performing those tasks cannot be assessed solely in commercial terms. Efficiency and cost effectiveness must however be part of the assessment of performance. The Government believe that the more commercial discipline of a trading fund provides the best environment for securing this without impairing the fulfilment of the survey's non commercial objectives.An order to establish the trading fund, which will be subject to affirmative resolution procedure, will be presented to Parliament in due course. Key factors in the operation of the new system will be the programme of activities OS is to undertake, the commercial policy it is to follow, and the financing of that work which is required by the Government but which is not chargeable to individual users (public or private). A full statement on these matters will be made so that they can be taken properly into account as Parliament considers and debates the proposed training fund order. It is envisaged that subject to Parliamentary approval, the Ordnance Survey Trading Fund should start operating on 1st April 1983.To advise my right honourable friend and Ordnance Survey management about the development and implementation of the approach I have outlined, we propose to establish a small advisory board. The provision of independent advice is a requirement identified by the Ordnance Survey Review Committee. One of the advisory board's key tasks will be to review the Ordnance Survey's plan, and notably the financial arrangements under which Ordnance Survey will operate. Others will be to advise on major policy decisions, and on marketing, development, and subcontracting strategies. Sir Robert Clayton, Technical Director of the General Electric Company, has agreed to be the chairman of the board. A further announcement will be made about other appointments to the board, which we hope will start work very soon.House adjourned at ten minutes past eleven o'clock.