| Home Page |
Column 1
Written Answers to Questions
Monday 23 July 1990
CIVIL SERVICE
Trade Unions
101. Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service when he last met representatives of the civil service unions to discuss working conditions.
Mr. Luce : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner).
Morale
102. Mr. Fisher : To ask the Minister for the Civil Service what plans he has to improve morale within the civil service.
Mr. Luce : Maintaining good morale is an important policy for all involved in the management of the civil service. The next steps initiative will provide many opportunities to engage the enthusiasm and talents of staff.
NATIONAL FINANCE
Manufacturing
Mr. French : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the manufacturing sector productivity growth for each European Community country on the nearest comparable basis for the last three years ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norman Lamont : Following are the relevant data.
Average annual percentage
growth of Labour Productivity
in
Manufacturing
|1986-89
-------------------------------
United Kingdom |5.2
Germany |2.3
France |4.9
Italy |<1>4.8
Belgium |n/a
Netherlands |-1.2
Spain |1.2
<1> The figure for Italy is
for 1986-88.
Sources: OECD Main Economic
Indicators
OECD Quarterly Labour Force
Statistics
CSO Economic Trends.
Of the major EC countries for which data are available, the United Kingdom has had the fastest growth of labour productivity in manufacturing since 1986. Reliable data for other EC countries are not available.
International Monetary Fund
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the board of the International Monetary Fund will next discuss International Monetary Fund assistance to Vietnam.
Column 2
Mr. Ryder : Vietnam is in arrears to the IMF and in 1985 was declared ineligible for further loans while these arrears persist. The IMF board regularly reviews Vietnam's ineligibility, most recently on 12 March.
Manufacturing Industry
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reasons for the deterioration in the balance of trade in manufactures since 1985.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 18 July 1990] : The balance of trade in manufactures deteriorated because United Kingdom demand for consumer and, especially, investment goods, grew faster than industry's capacity to meet it. The excess was met by imports. But the strong investment growth of the last three years will add to domestic capacity and enable British industry to meet more domestic and foreign demand. Industry has already exploited export opportunities. Indeed, in 1989, exports of manufactures, excluding erratic items, increased by 11 per cent., the fastest annual rate since 1973, and in the latest three months they rose by 14 per cent. Increased capacity, along with tight monetary policy continuing to restrain the growth of domestic demand, will provide the right conditions for an improvement in the balance of trade in manufactures.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the reasons for the deterioration in the balance of trade with the United States in manufactures since 1987 ; and whether he will publish a table showing imports and exports of manufactures less erratics to the United States of America in 1987, 1988, 1989 and this year to date.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 18 July 1990] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier today about the balance of trade in manufactures as a whole. The information requested is not available. Trade in manufactures including the erratic items is, however, readily available in the House of Commons Library in Business Monitors MA20 (annual data) and MM20 (monthly data), published by the Central Statistical Office.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the gross output of manufacturing industry other than food and fuel excluding inter-industry transfers within the sector as defined in 1973, 1979 and the latest available year.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 18 July 1990] : Current price information on the gross output of each manufacturing industry is published annually in Business Monitor PA1002, report on the census of production summary volume. Copies of this volume up to 1987, the latest available year, are available from the House of Commons Library.
The value of the transfer of goods between industries is not separately identified in the census, but guidance on the sales by manufacturing industries to other sectors can be obtained from the input-output tables for the United Kingdom. These have been published for 1974, 1979 and 1984 and are available in the House of Commons Library.
Column 3
Gilts
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his most up-to-date estimate of the level of gilts sales in the final quarter of the current (a) calendar year and (b) financial year.
Mr. Ryder [holding answer 19 July 1990] : It is not the Government's practice to provide the information requested.
Public Sector Borrowing Requirement
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his most up-to-date estimate of the public sector borrowing requirement in the current financial year.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 19 July 1990] : The most up -to-date estimate of the public sector borrowing requirement in the current financial year is £6.5 billion, covering the outturn for April to June. The Budget forecast for the public sector borrowing requirement in 1990-91 as a whole is minus £6.9 billion, that is, a net repayment.
Minimum Wage
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stretford, 2 February, Official Report, column 375, on minimum wage effects, what estimates have been made of the relationship between employment and wages using the current version of the Treasury model ; and what estimates have been obtained using alternative economic models.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 20 July 1990] : Most economic models, including the current version of the Treasury model, show that slower growth of real wages will raise employment in the long run.
It has not, since 1978, been the practice to run particular simulations on the Treasury model to meet specific outside requests ; but the hon. Member will be aware that the current version of the model is available for Members' use through the Library.
Diplomatic Properties (Rates Arrears)
Mr. Ron Brown : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many European Community countries are in rates arrears for diplomatic properties in London ; what are the respective amounts involved ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Norman Lamont [holding answer 20 July 1990] : The Rating of Government Property Department collects the beneficial portion of the rates on properties occupied by diplomats. The following members of the European Communities have arrears outstanding in respect of claims made to date
|£
------------------------------
France |91,856.89
Portugal |2,031.34
The Rating of Government Property Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly approach countries that are in arrears and urge them to make payment.
Column 4
OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
Know-how Funds
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether further education level initiatives qualify for know-how fund initiatives ;
(2) what funding the British Council is receiving in order to fund further education college level initiatives in Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
Mrs. Chalker : Under the know-how-fund, the British Council has been asked to manage programmes of academic links between British and Hungarian and Czechoslovakian institutions. The annual level for funding for each country is currently set at £100,000. Colleges of further education can submit proposals for consideration under these schemes, which also operate in Poland, where the annual level of funding is £150,000.
Overseas Aid
Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of gross domestic product Government support for overseas aid made up in 1989-90 ; and what are the estimates for 1990-91, 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Mrs. Chalker : The proportion of United Kingdom gross national product devoted to official development assistance in 1989 was 0.31 per cent. Estimates for future years are not available.
Cambodia
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government will now give Government-to- Government aid to Cambodia.
Mrs. Chalker : We welcome America's decision to ease the flow of private humanitarian assistance to Cambodia. Britain has been building up its humanitarian aid since November 1989, by providing support for the activities of British NCOs and international agencies. Direct Government-to -Government aid is ruled out as we have no official dealings with the Hun Sen regime.
Colonial Service Pensioners
Mr. Stanbrook : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the actual cost of public funds of the concession awarding war service credit to colonial service pensioners for the financial year 1989-90 ; and what is the estimated cost for 1990-91.
Mrs. Chalker : The additional cost of pensions attributable to the concession to grant credit for war service to colonial service pensioners was approximately £1.8 million in 1989-90 and is estimated at £3.3 million for 1990-91. Expenditure was lower in 1989-90 because a substantial number of those eligible chose to forgo the payment for the period April to December 1989 in exchange for an addition to their contingent widow's entitlement.
Column 5
PRIME MINISTER
Marine Life
Mr. Morley : To ask the Prime Minister if she will make a statement outlining the mechanisms for, and extent of, co-operation between the Department of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in respect of research into the long-term effects of dredging on marine life.
The Prime Minister : The Department of the Environment co-ordinates the comments of Government Departments on applications for licences issued by the Crown Estate Commission to extract aggregates from the sea bed. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food provides comments on applications in respect of the potential impact of extraction on the fishing industry and on the marine environment. Research into effects of aggregate dredging on the sea bed is conducted by the Ministry, which has recently decided to undertake a further programme of research in this area. The work will be part-funded by the Crown Estate Commission. The Ministry will draw on the results of this research in commenting to the Department on extraction policy and on dredging applications.
Child Benefit
Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Prime Minister whether the views expressed in her written answer on child benefit given to the hon. Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 17 March 1981, Official Report, column 55, remain her policy.
The Prime Minister : The Government's policy on child benefit remains as set out in our last manifesto. As I have said on many occasions we stand by that commitment.
Colin Wallace
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to her answer of 2 July, Official Report, column 413, when she expects a reply to be sent on her behalf to Colin Wallace's letter of 10 June about alleged links between Charles Haughey and the IRA.
The Prime Minister : A reply has been sent on my behalf.
SCOTLAND
Radioactive Discharges
Mr. Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the volume and nature of radioactive discharges into the Firth of Forth from (a) Torness power station and (b) Rosyth royal dockyard ; and what arrangements are made for monitoring and recording such discharges and any residues in the marine environment.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Details of the quantity of waste discharged and of the environmental monitoring undertaken and of the results obtained are published in a series of bulletins issued by the Scottish Development Department. These are available in the Library. The operators are required, as a condition of the authorisation, to sample and analyse all discharges, to
Column 6
keep records and to send a copy of the records to Her Majestys' industrial pollution inspectorate. Check samples of the liquid waste are periodically taken on behalf of the Inspectorate and analysed. A condition of the authorisation is that environmental monitoring as specified by the Secretary of State must be undertaken by the operator. To provide an independent check on the operators results a separate sampling and analyses programme is undertaken by the inspectorate. The Torness nuclear power station authorisation relates to dscharges of liquid waste into the North sea.Mental Welfare Commission
Mr. Galbraith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the nominating bodies for the four new commissioners appointed to the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland on 1 May and for the three reappointments to the commission.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Under section 2(5) of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984, my right hon. and learned Friend, before making recommendations to Her Majesty the Queen for appointment to the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, is required to consult such bodies as appear to him to be concerned. These bodies are invited to nominate suitable candidates and any names put forward are considered along with other possible candidates. The final recommendations submitted to Her Majesty are solely a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend.
Nurses (Bridging Course)
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the Government intend to allocate additional funds to increase the number of available places on the bridging course for nurses.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Health boards are already in receipt of additional funding for Project 2000 purposes and are free to decide how much of that money should be spent on bridging and conversion courses for enrolled nurses.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the ratio of enrolled nurses applying to undertake the registered general nursing bridging course and the number of available places on the bridging course in Grampian.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : As at May 1990, the latest date for which figures are available, the ratio of applicants to places was 15 : 1. Work is in hand to increase the rate of enrolled nurse conversion generally.
Broadleaved Woodland
Sir Hector Monro : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is in a position to announce the outcome of the review of the Government's present policy for broadleaved woodland.
Mr. Rifkind : The Government's policy for broadleaved woodland was announced on 24 July 1985 in a statement to the House by my right hon. Friend the Member for Ayr (Mr. Younger) at columns 557-62. The main objective of the policy was described in the statement as being "to maintain and enhance the value of Britain's broadleaved woodland for timber production, landscape, recreation and nature conservation".
Column 7
The statement also listed a number of complementary aims which would involve the planting of more broadleaved trees and the better management of broadleaved woodlands to serve a range of needs. Several new measures designed to achieve the policy aims were introduced or foreshadowed by the 1985 statement, such as the preparation of Forestry Commission guidelines on the management appropriate to various types of broadleaved woodland ; a substantial reduction in the volume of timber--both broadleaved and conifer--that could be felled without a licence, directed mainly at arresting the depletion of ancient woodlands ; and the introduction of a broadleaved woodland grant scheme designed to assist in the rehabilitation of neglected woodland and to encourage the creation of new multi-purpose broadleaved woods. The main features of the broadleaved woodland grant scheme were incorporated in the woodland grant scheme following our decision to remove forestry from the scope of income tax and corporation tax in 1988.In the 1985 announcement we stated that the operation and effectiveness of the new measures would be reviewed after some three years. That review was put in hand in October 1988. As a first stage, information was assembled by the Forestry Commission on the progress achieved against the aims and measures set out in 1985 and presented in a report entitled "Broadleaved Policy--Progress 1985-1988". Copies of the report were sent to more than 600 individuals and organisations for comment. A great many helpful and constructive replies were received by the summer of 1989, and the Forestry Commission then held bilateral discussions with the Nature Conservancy Council, the Countryside Commissions, Timber Growers United Kingdom, the Country Landowners Association, the Institute of Chartered Foresters, the National Farmers Union and Wildlife Link. We are also indebted to the Agriculture Committee of this House for the observations it made on this topic in its report issued earlier this year "Land Use and Forestry"--HC 16 -1.
What became immediately clear from the review was the very considerable success that the policy has had in extending the area of broadleaves throughout the country. In 1984-85, some 9 per cent. of grant-aided planting by private owners was with broadleaves ; by 1988-89 this had risen to around 17 per cent. The policy has also been successful in arresting the loss of broadleaved woodland and in focusing attention on the irreplaceable contribution that the semi-natural woodlands make to our environment.
A number of bodies saw a need for further increases in the broadleaved planting grants. The Government have considered the case for this with care, but, against the background of the considerable expansion in broadleaved planting that has taken place since 1985 and the substantial rise in grant rates which occurred with the introduction of the woodland grant scheme in 1988, we have concluded that there is no evidence that the grants on offer have been inadequate. The Government will, however, keep the rates of grant under review.
The most important single issue to emerge from the broadleaves policy review, however, and one which was shared by the broad spectrum of forestry and environmental interests consulted, relates to the need to encourage good multi-purpose management of the various types of broadleaved woodland. Concern over this issue
Column 8
has been highlighted by the decision taken in the 1988 Budget to remove tax reliefs on woodland management expenditure, although transitional provisions were introduced for these reliefs to continue for existing woodland owners until April 1993.The comments received on this issue have related not only to the costs of managing broadleaved woodlands over the very long period between establishment and the first returns from the sale of timber, and of bringing neglected woodlands back into production, but to the lack of the necessary incentives to encourage owners to adopt practices that would have environmental benefit over and above normal maintenance work. Particular concern has been expressed by a number of bodies that owners are not receiving the special help required to enable them to meet the more exacting multi-purpose objectives and the associated higher costs of managing ancient semi-natural woodlands.
The Government accepts that more needs to be done to ensure the better management of our broadleaved woodlands in the future, to encourage owners to bring neglected woodlands into a healthy and productive state, and to provide owners with the necessary incentives to maintain and improve the environmental value of their woodlands. We have therefore decided to make woodland management grants available under the Forestry Commission's woodland grant scheme. In the light of the changes to the forestry tax arrangements and the considerable scope which exists to improve the environmental value of all types of woodland, we have further decided that woodland management grants will be made available for conifer as well as broadleaved and mixed woodlands.
To qualify for the new grants, woodland owners will be required to agree to a five-year plan of operations with the Forestry Commission which will set out the management objectives for the woodland and prescribe operations which will advance those objectives during the period of the plan. The grants will be paid annually in arrears subject to satisfactory implementation of the plan. A lump sum payment of £100 will also be available from the Forestry Commission for owners who draw up management plans for the first time with the benefit of professional advice for areas eligible for the woodland management grants. This assistance will not be available, however, for planting plans.
There will be two types of woodland management grant :-- (
(a) standard management grants, which will be payable during the normal maintenance period following the initial establishment phase of the woodland--for conifer woodlands between 11 and 20 years of age and for broadleaved woodlands between 11 and 40 years. In return for these grants owners will be obliged not only to carry out normal silvicultural operations to a high standard but also to take such steps as may be agreed between them and the Forestry Commission to increase the environmental value of the woodlands ;
(b) special management grants, which will be payable for woodlands of special environmental value of any age above 10 years. In return for these grants, the owner will be required to agree to take specified action which will maintain and enhance the woodland's special character. Woodlands in this category will be those which in the Forestry Commission's view are of special value for nature conservation, landscape, public recreation or a combination of these by virtue of their nature, location or use. There will be a presumption that
Column 9
conifer and broadleaved woodlands properly classified as ancient and semi-natural on the inventory being drawn up by the Nature Conservancy Council will qualify, as will those of special landscape value in national parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and national scenic areas or which are covered by woodland tree preservation orders, but each case will, of course, have to be considered on its merits. Any woodland, whether or not in a nationally designated area, may qualify if the owner has proposals to establish, develop or improve free facilities for public access or for public recreation in the woodland, provided the proposals are in keeping with public demand for such facilities and are accepted by the Forestry Commission. Owners in receipt of this special management grant will not be eligible to claim the standard management grant in respect of the same area.A supplementary grant will be paid for woodlands of less than 10 hectares in either of the above categories in recognition of the higher management costs involved.
Woodlands which are currently in receipt of grants from other public bodies will not be eligible for the woodland management grant, except for those established under the farm woodland scheme. The annual payments to farmers under that scheme are compensation for agricultural income forgone, and are not provided for the purpose of defraying maintenance expenditure.
The rates of woodland management grant and their periods of eligibility are given in the following table.
Subject to clearance by the European Commission under the terms of article 93 of the treaty of Rome, this significant extension to the woodland grant scheme will come into operation on 1 April 1992, with the first grants being paid in 1993-94. It is estimated that the annual cost of the new grants will be of the order of £5 million once the system has built up ; this will be found by the Forestry Commission from within existing resources.
The commission will be issuing detailed guidance on the management grants early next year, to enable woodland owners to put the preparation of management plans in hand. Some woodland owners are able to claim tax relief on the cost of managing their woodlands under the transitional taxation arrangements that will continue until April 1993, but tax relief for 1992- 93 will not be available on woodlands for which management grants are received for that year. Turning to other features of the review, it is clear that the guidelines for the management of broadleaved woodland prepared by the Forestry Commission in 1985 have generally served their purpose well. It was advanced, however, by a significant number of commentators that the guidelines were not being interpreted by all the parties concerned with sufficient sensitivity to regional or local variations. The Government are clear that the guidelines must not be treated as hard and fast rules, but should be interpreted flexibly enough to enable appropriate local and regional factors which affect woodland management to be taken into account. We have asked the Forestry Commission to ensure that this is done.
Under the present provisions of the woodland grant scheme, planting grants are paid for the initial establishment of new coppice stools but only on the basis of traditional coppice rotations. We have decided that this is unnecessarily restrictive and the Forestry Commission will be introducing an amendment to the scheme so that the establishment of short rotation coppice will be eligible for planting grants, subject of course to the silvicultural
Column 10
and environmental conditions of the scheme being met. Coppice woodland can have particularly high conservation value if managed in a traditional way and will be eligible for the woodland management grant provided that the other conditions are met.A number of bodies thought that increased provision should be made for open spaces in determining the areas eligible for Forestry Commission planting grants. In administering the woodland grant scheme the commission is already fully aware of the value of open ground and the associated edge habitats for reasons of landscape, nature conservation, recreation and game management. There can be no question of planting grants being paid on large areas left unplanted. We have, however, asked the commission to continue to adopt a flexible approach, particularly where a modest amount of open space over and above what is normally required for roads and rides would bring significant benefits to the woodland environment.
We are very conscious of the cost and difficulties of growing some species of broadleaves in those areas where populations of grey squirrel are high. The review has indicated that the setting up of grey squirrel control groups has met with only limited success. We have asked the Forestry Commission to persevere with these initiatives since co-operative effort is essential. In areas vulnerable to grey squirrels, prescriptions for their control will be an obligatory part of the approved management plan on which grant will be paid.
In our recent response to the Agriculture Committee's report "Land Use and Forestry", we agreed that Coed Cymru was a useful illustration of the effective integration of advisory services which had been successful in delivering advice to woodland owners. We have asked the Forestry Commission to consider encouraging parallel projects as one of the important means of providing an effective advisory service elsewhere in Britain. The Forestry Commission will also seek to increase the help which its own foresters can give, particularly in the co-ordination of advice, the training of advisers and the better marketing of the produce from broadleaved woods. The Government are grateful to all those who contributed so constructively to this review of broadleaves policy, and we are sure that the decision to introduce woodland management grants will be particularly welcomed by both forestry and environmental interests. The policy we introduced in 1985 has proved to be soundly based and has already had a significant impact on British forestry. With the changes I have announced, we are well placed to continue with the important task of conserving and enhancing the value of our woodland heritage.
Woodland management grants: Grant rates effective from
1 April 1992
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NORTHERN IRELAND
Security
Mr. Duffy : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the current security situation in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Cope : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 July 1990 to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Mossley Hill (Mr. Alton) at column 1162.
Trade Union Law
Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will take steps to bring trade union law in Northern Ireland into line with that in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Mr. Brooke : It is my intention to bring forward a proposal for legislation in Northern Ireland which will reflect the provisions of the Trade Union Act 1984 and the industrial relations provision of the Employment Acts 1988 and 1989. The application to Northern Ireland of provisions equivalent to those in the current Employment Bill will be considered in due course following discussions with interested bodies.
Column 12
Stevens Inquiry
Mr. William Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects any trials arising out of the Stevens inquiry to begin.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 3 July 1990] : Eleven persons interviewed by the Stevens team have so far been brought before a court. Other investigation files have also been submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland by the police. His directions are awaited.
Offences
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons were charged with (a) non-scheduled offences, and (b) scheduled offences ; and how many persons were found not guilty of all or some of the offences with which they were charged in 1989.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 4 July 1990] : Information in the precise form requested is not readily available. However, the number of persons proceeded against in Northern Ireland courts during 1989 for non- scheduled offences totalled 42,800 of which 3,153 were found not guilty ; 456 people were proceeded against for scheduled offences of whom 42 were found not guilty.
Column 13
Security Forces
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give (a) the number of incidents where security forces in Northern Ireland opened fire on vehicles taken without their owner's consent and (b) the number of (i) persons injured and (ii) persons killed, in such incidents separately, for 1987, 1988 and 1989.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 4 July 1990] : The following table details the number of incidents where the security forces in Northern Ireland opened fire at either stolen, hijacked or suspect vehicles, and the number of injuries arising from such incidents.
Year |Number of|Injuries
|incidents
----------------------------------------
1987 |8 |2
1988 |15 |3
1989 |26 |19
No deaths have occurred as a result of these incidents.
Plastic Bullets
Mr. McNamara : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many formal complaints have been made about incidents of police use of plastic baton rounds in 1989 ; in how many cases the complaint has been upheld ; and in how many cases disciplinary action has been taken against the officers involved.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 4 July 1990] : During 1989, seven complaints were made concerning the use of plastic baton rounds by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. One case was subsequently withdrawn. Three cases have been investigated and files forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who directed no prosecution in each case. No disciplinary action has been recommended in any of these cases. The other three cases are at present under investigation.
Sexual Offences
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many men in Northern Ireland were convicted of the offences of procuring or attempting to procure the commission of acts of buggery and gross indecency in each of the years 1980 to 1989, inclusive.
Mr. Cope [holding answer 6 July 1990] : I am advised by the Chief Constable that information is not available in the form requested. However the following figures are available from 1986 which the hon. Member may find helpful.
Convictions for |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soliciting by males |- |- |- |1 Gross indecency<1> |19 |7 |20 |19 Indecent assault on a male |9 |10 |20 |15 <1> Includes buggery.
Column 14
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Attorney-General how many subject access requests under the terms of the Data Protection Act his Department has received ; what was his estimate of the number of requests that would be received ; what consideration he is giving to the subject access fee charged by his Department as a result ; and whether he will make a statement.
The Attorney-General : There have been no subject access requests under the terms of the Data Protection Act in respect of data held by the legal secretariat to the Law Officers, the Treasury Solicitor's Department or the Serious Fraud Office. The Crown prosecution service has received seven subject access requests. I had estimated that the number of requests would be low and I have at present no plans to introduce a subject access fee.
| Next Section
| Home Page |