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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 21 November 1990
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
Teachers' Pay
85. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent discussions he has had with trade union representatives regarding teachers' pay ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar : My right hon. and learned Friend would expect to meet the six teacher unions early next year to discuss the recommendations of the Interim Advisory Committee on School Teachers' Pay and Conditions.
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Books
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will set out the level of expenditure on books at 1978-79 prices per child by local education authority in (a) 1978-79, (b) 1984-85 and (c) 1989-90.
Mr. Fallon : Information for 1978-79 is not available by individual local education authority, and the latest year for which figures are available is 1988-89. Cash figures for expenditure per pupil by local education authority for 1984-85 and 1988-89 are shown in tables 1 and 2. Table 3 shows the average expenditure per pupil in England at 1978-79 prices for 1978-79, 1984-85 and 1988-89.
While some local authorities' expenditure returns to Government Departments show separate figures for books, these can be misleading because of differing practices in attributing spending as between books and equipment. The tables therefore show combined spending figures for books and equipment, with figures as returned for books only in brackets. Even on the combined totals, coverage from authority to authority is likely to differ.
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Table 1
Expenditure per pupil<1> 1984-85 Cash (£)
Nursery and primary schools Secondary schools
Local authority |Books and |(of which |Books and |(of which
|equipment |books) |equipment |books)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barking |24.73 |(6.79) |52.01 |(11.92)
Barnet |28.71 |(10.41) |51.02 |(17.00)
Bexley |19.23 |(6.01) |40.90 |(13.02)
Brent |34.04 |(8.53) |52.25 |(13.35)
Bromley |30.05 |(7.66) |50.88 |(11.61)
Croydon |24.78 |(6.84) |49.39 |(14.09)
Ealing |24.16 |(6.58) |43.96 |(12.23)
Enfield |25.87 |(7.25) |45.77 |(11.13)
Haringey |35.56 |(8.64) |57.61 |(15.50)
Harrow |22.74 |(5.58) |49.27 |(12.26)
Havering |26.06 |(0.00) |58.36 |(0.00)
Hillingdon |23.93 |(20.05) |45.27 |(36.59)
Hounslow |27.28 |(7.17) |41.66 |(12.17)
Kingston-upon-Thames |29.11 |(7.10) |60.56 |(12.13)
Merton |21.57 |(0.00) |33.37 |(0.00)
Newham |22.79 |(7.10) |41.90 |(15.24)
Redbridge |24.38 |(9.68) |48.57 |(15.93)
Richmond-upon-Thames |21.96 |(2.33) |55.74 |(2.13)
Sutton |26.71 |(12.19) |38.41 |(10.02)
Waltham Forest |34.19 |(8.06) |57.41 |(13.21)
ILEA |47.47 |(9.06) |90.89 |(18.36)
Birmingham |13.76 |(3.84) |27.47 |(6.40)
Coventry |25.57 |(2.14) |53.57 |(2.37)
Dudley |21.15 |(0.00) |35.65 |(0.00)
Sandwell |18.63 |(0.00) |42.15 |(0.00)
Solihull |18.47 |(4.72) |46.20 |(9.54)
Walsall |25.28 |(4.79) |37.27 |(10.00)
Wolverhampton |26.48 |(7.41) |43.35 |(12.44)
Knowsley |19.37 |(4.72) |34.02 |(5.71)
Liverpool |25.53 |(7.08) |47.51 |(11.52)
St. Helens |14.93 |(6.24) |22.52 |(7.48)
Sefton |20.26 |(6.14) |40.11 |(11.35)
Wirral |25.18 |(7.23) |49.64 |(9.89)
Bolton |27.19 |(8.60) |51.66 |(9.42)
Bury |20.65 |(20.47) |52.41 |(52.41)
Manchester |23.79 |(6.80) |56.48 |(12.39)
Oldham |27.43 |(3.31) |40.65 |(0.51)
Rochdale |22.10 |(5.84) |34.82 |(6.46)
Salford |27.42 |(6.03) |46.59 |(9.74)
Stockport |23.66 |(7.24) |47.65 |(10.84)
Tameside |25.36 |(10.18) |40.42 |(12.30)
Trafford |22.63 |(5.18) |32.41 |(1.34)
Wigan |22.35 |(6.42) |45.36 |(12.13)
Barnsley |23.00 |(8.19) |42.67 |(7.65)
Doncaster |16.86 |(5.06) |35.78 |(9.37)
Rotherham |15.72 |(5.35) |26.70 |(6.22)
Sheffield |36.01 |(14.42) |36.55 |(6.60)
Bradford |18.80 |(0.80) |35.99 |(1.34)
Calderdale |19.38 |(6.30) |34.07 |(8.05)
Kirklees |18.57 |(7.54) |39.16 |(14.03)
Leeds |8.56 |( .16) |13.17 |( .35)
Wakefield |21.72 |(10.21) |30.10 |(11.79)
Gateshead |26.14 |(7.68) |46.72 |(8.76)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne |19.26 |(4.92) |38.64 |(10.42)
North Tyneside |27.99 |(10.03) |50.30 |(13.82)
South Tyneside |20.87 |(8.07) |54.13 |(11.75)
Sunderland |18.81 |(5.19) |41.88 |(6.92)
Isles of Scilly |27.90 |(5.46) |41.29 |(10.07)
Avon |24.19 |(6.55) |40.67 |(8.32)
Bedfordshire |26.00 |(10.40) |55.45 |(19.11)
Berkshire |23.30 |(10.21) |43.67 |(16.73)
Buckinghamshire |30.99 |(13.60) |50.99 |(12.19)
Cambridgeshire |25.34 |(9.65) |43.14 |(13.22)
Cheshire |22.09 |(5.18) |44.89 |(6.84)
Cleveland |19.99 |(5.22) |38.09 |(8.02)
Cornwall |29.97 |(9.45) |41.51 |(11.63)
Cumbria |21.26 |(5.73) |32.88 |(4.05)
Derbyshire |28.03 |(8.36) |48.37 |(11.75)
Devon |13.57 |(8.47) |21.57 |(9.40)
Dorset |28.63 |(9.84) |38.97 |(11.79)
Durham |17.22 |(7.14) |28.37 |(9.45)
East Sussex |21.83 |(7.40) |42.78 |(12.45)
Essex |21.12 |(7.08) |38.21 |(8.15)
Gloucestershire |20.62 |(9.11) |35.71 |(9.24)
Hampshire |19.54 |(6.83) |40.92 |(10.36)
Hereford and Worcester |22.93 |(9.98) |43.50 |(12.13)
Hertfordshire |23.31 |(9.88) |42.15 |(11.74)
Humberside |24.08 |(6.71) |40.80 |(9.43)
Isle of Wight |26.07 |(11.04) |52.57 |(12.36)
Kent |20.68 |(7.03) |38.74 |(9.60)
Lancashire |22.86 |(8.04) |37.79 |(8.14)
Leicestershire |22.52 |(5.92) |41.53 |(8.05)
Lincolnshire |18.02 |(5.65) |43.05 |(9.08)
Norfolk |22.78 |(6.54) |40.36 |(10.30)
North Yorkshire |24.60 |(11.47) |39.45 |(11.66)
Northamptonshire |22.39 |(6.13) |44.72 |(11.58)
Northumberland |26.00 |(9.59) |43.31 |(14.31)
Nottinghamshire |29.80 |(9.44) |44.96 |(12.13)
Oxfordshire |21.77 |(2.65) |38.28 |(3.70)
Salop |15.80 |(6.65) |33.80 |(9.33)
Somerset |27.22 |(5.59) |46.49 |(11.93)
Staffordshire |19.56 |(4.90) |36.53 |(8.63)
Suffolk |25.17 |(7.04) |43.29 |(11.00)
Surrey |15.11 |(4.75) |34.37 |(7.60)
Warwickshire |19.24 |(7.27) |47.97 |(11.63)
West Sussex |23.26 |(8.24) |41.89 |(10.57)
Wiltshire |23.05 |(10.53) |37.34 |(11.39)
Table 2 Expenditure per pupil<1>-1988-89 England<2> Cash (£) --------------------------------------------------------------- Barking |32.65 |(11.50)|80.58 |(22.72) Barnet |35.17 |(11.99)|68.96 |(17.52) Bexley |31.98 |(7.38) |99.22 |(1.92) Brent |38.42 |(9.46) |76.43 |(15.27) Bromley |33.80 |(9.02) |67.33 |(13.07) Croydon |54.89 |(11.10)|111.98 |(22.49) Ealing |33.86 |(5.73) |91.61 |(12.63) Enfield |30.76 |(9.16) |61.09 |(15.95) Haringey |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a Harrow |39.77 |(6.98) |75.72 |(10.85) Havering |30.02 |0.00 |91.34 |0.00 Hillingdon |40.45 |(11.99)|80.08 |(22.30) Hounslow |33.40 |(9.61) |49.65 |(19.84) Kingston-upon-Thames |55.50 |(12.92)|106.58 |(18.63) Merton |31.28 |(25.44)|36.02 |(26.95) Newham |26.35 |(6.44) |65.87 |(11.34) Redbridge |38.84 |(11.30)|81.31 |(23.65) Richmond-upon-Thames |29.95 |(8.25) |62.88 |(13.76) Sutton |34.64 |(13.39)|71.17 |(17.01) Waltham Forest |28.21 |(4.91) |75.37 |(10.55) ILEA |60.56 |(12.08)|89.89 |(19.28) Birmingham |22.74 |(4.70) |51.42 |(9.50) Coventry |26.08 |(2.01) |92.00 |(2.95) Dudley |35.72 |(6.79) |76.36 |(2.44) Sandwell |31.50 |(3.06) |73.42 |(1.02) Solihull |34.88 |(4.96) |122.79 |(11.28) Walsall |35.12 |(9.10) |46.29 |(14.38) Wolverhampton |24.54 |(7.23) |56.08 |(13.99) Knowsley |22.47 |(8.88) |61.05 |(7.01) Liverpool |32.61 |(7.76) |66.56 |(12.13) St. Helens |14.98 |(6.33) |30.36 |(10.39) Sefton |21.41 |(7.11) |60.55 |(11.12) Wirral |42.39 |(11.92)|130.04 |(23.45) Bolton |33.23 |(9.32) |71.24 |(11.01) Bury |30.75 |(8.65) |93.06 |(15.21) Manchester |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a Oldham |30.45 |(7.19) |75.02 |(10.58) Rochdale |35.27 |(9.08) |59.17 |(10.52) Salford |32.70 |(0.23) |73.65 |(0.07) Stockport |35.87 |(10.15)|96.37 |(12.13) Tameside |27.91 |(5.74) |43.96 |(8.06) Trafford |37.75 |(12.54)|70.39 |(11.37) Wigan |17.87 |(5.42) |60.39 |(17.03) Barnsley |22.89 |(4.75) |43.23 |(2.36) Doncaster |27.08 |(6.67) |55.45 |(11.14) Rotherham |28.87 |(6.82) |57.92 |(9.04) Sheffield |12.11 |(5.33) |23.46 |(7.98) Bradford |28.71 |0.00 |71.73 |0.00 Calderdale |28.52 |(8.99) |63.13 |(13.77) Kirklees |25.17 |(7.90) |63.89 |(20.93) Leeds |15.30 |(0.43) |28.26 |(2.45) Wakefield |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a Gateshead |29.26 |(4.89) |75.22 |(11.65) Newcastle-upon-Tyne |30.36 |(7.00) |74.85 |(17.41) North Tyneside |25.56 |(8.30) |48.48 |(12.26) South Tyneside |27.22 |(4.81) |95.85 |(9.24) Sunderland |23.19 |(6.15) |76.03 |(9.12) Avon |17.62 |(6.01) |48.75 |(11.37) Bedfordshire |28.28 |(9.53) |86.88 |(23.60) Berkshire |33.07 |(13.88)|75.33 |(23.85) Buckinghamshire |32.59 |(15.51)|72.90 |(17.13) Cambridgeshire |42.32 |(11.98)|79.84 |(21.62) Cheshire |25.80 |(8.86) |56.49 |(18.39) Cleveland |11.84 |(7.27) |34.10 |(11.16) Cornwall |37.15 |(12.32)|63.84 |(21.77) Cumbria |36.69 |(13.11)|58.74 |(15.67) Derbyshire |29.35 |(8.50) |74.40 |(14.87) Devon |37.40 |(12.12)|65.14 |(20.11) Dorset |38.56 |(11.63)|80.62 |(13.72) Durham |28.51 |(9.47) |67.70 |(16.44) East Sussex |32.56 |(11.04)|77.26 |(17.78) Essex |36.19 |(9.69) |81.08 |(14.11) Gloucestershire |29.42 |(11.93)|59.02 |(19.40) Hampshire |35.55 |(2.28) |78.86 |(4.72) Hereford and Worcester |28.44 |(11.13)|57.92 |(14.98) Hertfordshire |40.59 |(14.97)|76.11 |(20.18) Humberside |32.68 |(8.96) |60.98 |(13.00) Isle of Wight |32.74 |(11.92)|54.37 |(11.61) Kent |29.02 |(9.00) |71.61 |(14.15) Lancashire |30.13 |(9.59) |65.70 |(13.22) Leicestershire |31.59 |(11.26)|81.42 |(16.36) Lincolnshire |16.22 |(10.94)|29.03 |(17.69) Norfolk |29.63 |(8.27) |56.04 |(12.29) North Yorkshire |31.24 |(5.95) |68.37 |(7.48) Northamptonshire |33.41 |(7.81) |74.41 |(18.34) Northumberland |33.32 |(11.07)|72.62 |(16.92) Nottinghamshire |35.60 |(11.74)|66.56 |(18.25) Oxfordshire |43.28 |(8.01) |103.89 |(17.59) Shropshire |30.94 |(10.74)|64.32 |(18.54) Somerset |37.22 |(6.64) |90.56 |(14.45) Staffordshire |36.68 |(9.92) |77.80 |(13.44) Suffolk |29.28 |(8.97) |54.73 |(14.02) Surrey |21.48 |(5.45) |94.51 |(11.93) Warwickshire |25.68 |(8.82) |98.23 |(16.12) West Sussex |34.85 |(10.22)|73.25 |(16.21) Wiltshire |40.32 |(26.49)|71.08 |(32.56) <1> The figures are based on local education authority expenditure and pupil number returns to the relevant Government Departments. <2> n/a denotes that an expenditure return has not been received from the local education authority, or that a separate figure for books has not been provided.
Table 3
E. Land Averages
Expenditure per pupil
Cash Nursery and primary Secondary schools
|schools
Year |Books and |(of which |Books and |(of which
|equipment |books) |equipment |books)
|£ |£ |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |12.88 |(4.24) |24.40 |(7.17)
1984-85 |23.60 |(7.25) |42.53 |(10.15)
1988-89 |32.14 |(8.95) |69.79 |(14.25)
Real terms Nursery and primary Secondary schools
at 1978-79 |schools
prices
Year |Books and |(of which |Books and |(of which
|equipment |books) |equipment |books)
|£ |£ |£ |£
1978-79 |12.88 |(4.24) |24.40 |(7.17)
1984-85 |13.24 |(4.07) |23.86 |(5.69)
1988-89 |14.61 |(4.07) |31.73 |(6.51)
School Budgets
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has any estimate of the financial value of contributions made to school budgets by parents.
Mr. Fallon : My right hon. and learned Friend is not aware of any reliable and up-to-date estimate.
Schools (Charging)
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the progress of the review of the charging regulation under the Education Reform Act 1988.
Mr. Fallon : My right hon. and learned Friend is collecting evidence from a range of sources about the operation of the relevant legislation. The results of a sample survey of schools will be available in January 1991 to supplement information from other interested bodies.
TRANSPORT
Driving Tests
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department proposes to introduce any changes for the disabled (a) in driving test requirements and (b) in qualifications and requirements for driving instructors ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Chope : I do not at present have any plans to introduce such changes. The Driving Standards Agency is,
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however, considering possible ways to ensure that there are no unnecessary obstacles to disabled people who wish to become driving instructors.Trains (Accidents)
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department has, and what representations it has received, about deaths and injuries caused as a result of faulty train doors, in British Rail and underground services.
Mr. Freeman : In the five-year period 1985-1989 there is no evidence to show that faulty train doors on British Rail and underground services were the cause of death or major injury. During that time, fatalities and injuries have occurred in accidents associated with train doors for the following reasons :
(a) passengers slipping as they enter or alight from stationary trains.
(b) passengers opening slam-type doors as the train enters the station, causing injury to persons on the platform.
(c) passengers falling out of trains after deliberately or accidentally opening a slam door while the train is in motion. (d) incorrect operation of sliding doors.
A number of hon. Members and members of the public have made representations about accidents in the last category. The railway inspectorate received a letter in October from a member of Liverpool city council concerning recent accidents on the west coast main line involving passengers falling from trains. After each accident on this line, BR examined all doors concerned and found them to be working properly.
1989 details are provisional.
Jubilee Line
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to safeguard the route of the extension of the Jubilee line to the royal docks in the London borough of Newham.
Mr. Freeman : The Bill for the Jubilee line extension provides for an underground step-plate junction south of Canning Town to allow an extension of the Jubilee line through the royal docks to be built at a later stage. As most of the land required for such an extension is owned by either British Rail or the London Docklands development corporation, no further action is necessary to safeguard the route.
Bus Services
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement regarding monopoly bus operation situations which have arisen as a result of implementation of the Transport Act 1986.
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Mr. Freeman : The Transport Act 1985 brought the bus industry fully within the scope of competition legislation, which is the responsibility of the Office of Fair Trading and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The Monopolies and Mergers Commission has so far been requested to investigate six cases involving mergers in the bus industry.Gyroplanes
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many accidents have occurred involving gyroplanes in the last five years ; how many have been investigated by the United Kingdom air accidents investigation branch ; what have been the main causes of such accidents ; and what arrangements have been made to monitor these aircraft to ensure that reasonable safety standards are observed prior to the marketing of gyroplanes for use by the general public.
Mr. McLoughlin : The statutory responsibility for the safety regulation of United Kingdom civil aviation rests with the Civil Aviation Authority. I am advised by the authority that there have been 16 accidents in the last five years, six of which involved fatalities in which a total of six people have been killed. The six accidents involving fatalities have been the subject of field investigations by the Department of Transport's air accidents investigation branch. Of these six accidents, two have involved mechanical failure, two have been associated with weather conditions prevailing at the time of the flight, and two are attributable to pilot error.
Rail Services
Mr. Gerald Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans London Transport has to improve rail access to south and east London.
Mr. Parkinson : A Bill to extend the Jubilee line through south London to docklands and Stratford is currently before the House. This will do much to improve access to areas of Southwark, Bermondsey, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets and Newham.
I recently announced the go-ahead for east-west crossrail, which will provide Stratford and points east with a direct rail link with west London and the west end as well as the City.
London Transport is extending the docklands light railway to Bank and Beckton.
I am pleased to report that I have authorised London Transport to deposit a Bill for the proposed extension of the docklands light railway to Lewisham. I have done this on the clear understanding that the project will only proceed if LT is successful in its efforts to arrange an acceptable privately financed scheme, and the powers are being taken in that behalf. This extension would provide a further important river crossing and allow the docklands regeneration benefits to spread south from the Isle of Dogs to areas of Greenwich and Lewisham.
London Transport is also spending very large sums modernising the Central line as well as continuing to invest heavily in safety and in the general upgrading of the existing underground system. London Transport's investment programme over the next three years will approach £3 billion, an increase of about 90 per cent. in real terms over the previous three years. With such a large programme already in hand and largely funded by
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Government grant, further extensions to south and east London could be afforded now only if they were privately funded or London Transport felt able to reorder its priorities.As it is, although a substantial private sector contribution has been offered towards a station on the proposed east London line extensions, the project as a whole would still require substantial public funding. Given the public expenditure constraints within which it must operate, London Transport has concluded that it has other more pressing priorities at present and has therefore decided, with my agreement, not to seek leave to deposit the necessary Private Bill in this Session of Parliament. I hope nonetheless that London Transport will continue to discuss the project with interested parties in case a way can be found of taking the project forward at less cost to it. We are discussing with London Transport the case for safeguarding the route of the extensions through the planning system so as to ensure that they remain an option for the future.
Learner Drivers
Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress with the production of an official syllabus for learner drivers and riders.
Mr. Chope : I am pleased to announce that the Driving Standards Agency has produced a book containing the syllabus and guide to car and motor cycle tests. The book, called "Your Driving Test", is published today and can be obtained from HMSO and major bookstores. The agency also plans to produce a companion volume about driving tests for large goods and passenger vehicles.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Prisons
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in England and Wales in which restraints have been used on inmates during the last three years ; and how many times restraints have been used at each prison during this period.
Mrs. Rumbold : The number of applications of restraints under rule 46 of the Prison Rules 1964, rule 49 of the Detention Centre Rules 1983, rule 49 of the Youth Custody Centre Rules 1983 and rule 49 of the Young Offender Institution Rules 1988 are given in the table.
Restraints<1> applied to violent or refractory
inmates of prison service
establishments in England and Wales: by
establishment, 1987-89
Establishment and type Number of applicati
|1987|1988|1989
-------------------------------------------------
Local prisons/remand centres
Ashford |- |- |5
Bedford |4 |3 |2
Birmingham |- |10 |3
Bristol |- |- |1
Brixton |- |- |6
Camp Hill |- |- |5
Canterbury |1 |- |-
Cardiff |5 |1 |2
Chelmsford |- |1 |1
Durham |- |1 |-
Exeter |2 |- |-
Hull |7 |4 |9
Leeds |1 |1 |-
Leicester |5 |17 |4
Lewes |- |1 |4
Lincoln |- |5 |4
Oxford |1 |1 |-
Pentonville |2 |1 |-
Reading |1 |2 |2
Risley |- |- |2
Rochester |- |- |2
Swansea |1 |- |-
Wandsworth |5 |10 |7
Wormwood Scrubs |3 |2 |2
Training prisons
Acklington |- |- |2
Albany |2 |- |20
Blundeston |4 |- |-
Camp Hill |2 |6 |-
Chelmsford |1 |- |-
Cookham Wood |- |- |1
Dartmoor |1 |- |-
Frankland |6 |7 |3
Full Sutton |- |7 |9
Garth |- |1 |-
Havering |- |- |1
Lindholme |1 |4 |2
Long Lartin |4 |3 |-
Parkhurst |6 |6 |9
Preston |- |- |2
Shepton Mallet |- |3 |-
Stafford |3 |- |1
7Styal |1 |- |-
Wakefield |2 |- |-
Wayland |- |- |1
Aylesbury |- |1 |5
Buckley Hall |- |1 |-
Dover |7 |- |5
Glen Parva |1 |1 |-
Guys Marsh |1 |- |3
Hatfield |- |1 |-
Hollesley Bay |1 |- |-
Onley |1 |2 |-
Rochester |8 |- |-
|-- |-- |--
All establishments |90 |103 |125
<1>Loose canvas jacket, body belt, handcuffs and
ankle straps. No leather wrist straps were used.
Firearms
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Northumbria on the number of incidents involving the use of firearms dealt with by Northumbria police in 1990 and the number of officers trained in the use of firearms in the force at the present time.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the chief constable of Northumbria that between 1 January and 15 November 1990 firearms were issued to his officers in 176 operations against crime. On 15 November, 149 of his officers were trained and authorised to be issued with firearms.
Fresh Start
Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) the average sickness rates and (b) the average long-term sickness rates, namely over one year, for each prison in the United Kingdom for each of the two years before Fresh Start was implemented and the subsequent years.
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Mrs. Rumbold : The number of lost days due to sickness absence in prison establishments in England and Wales for the year ending March 1990 averaged about 13 days per officer. I will write to the hon. Member shortly with the breakdown by establishment. Information on long and short-term sickness rates and sickness rates in earlier years is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Suicides (Police Cells)
Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many self-inflicted deaths, suicides and attempted suicides took place among prisoners held in police cells in 1988, 1989 and 1990 to date.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of deaths which occurred in police custody, together with brief details of the circumstances surrounding each case, are contained in the annual reports of Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. The number of cases in which the coroner's inquest has returned a verdict of suicide is as follows :
|Number
---------------------
1988 |5
1989 |5
1990 |<1>1
<1>A number of
inquests have yet to
be concluded.
Other self-inflicted deaths are not categorised separ-ately and no details of attempted suicides are recorded centrally.
Immigration
Mr. Fishburn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the average and the maximum delays suffered by non-EEC passengers at passport check-ins at Heathrow and Gatwick over the past six months ; and what are the comparable figures for EEC passengers.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The average and maximum delays at Heathrow and Gatwick during the six-month period 1 April to 30 September 1990 were as follows :