House of Commons Hansard Debates for 8 Dec 1992

Written Answers to Questions

Tuesday 8 December 1992

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Market Testing

Mr. Pickthall : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is his estimate of the number of civil service jobs likely to be lost as a consequence of market testing.

Mr. Waldegrave : Market testing is not about abolishing jobs but about testing whether services performed in-house or by the private sector offer better value for money.

Until the outcome of individual market testing exercises is known, it is not possible to say whether the question of job losses will arise.

Where, in the past, contracting out has offered best value for money, in most cases staff have been taken on by the contractor, or they have been redeployed by their Department or absorbed through natural wastage.

NATIONAL HERITAGE

Civil Servants

Mr. Raymond S. Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage how many civil servants are currently employed by his Department (a) in London and (b) elsewhere.

Mr. Brooke : The total number of permanent staff in the Department of National Heritage is 862. This figure includes 352 in the Historic Royal Palaces Agency--HRPA. All are based in London.

The total number of casual staff in the Department is 73. This figure includes 69 in the HRPA. All are based in London.

National Lottery

Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the impact of a national lottery on employment in the pools industry.

Mr. Brooke : Employment levels in the pools industry are dependent on many factors and are a matter for the pools companies. Estimates of the effects of the national lottery on the level of pools turnover are subject to a series of hypotheses.

Mr. Kilfoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed national lottery on employment in Scotland.

Mr. Brooke : It is too early to say precisely what jobs will be created by the introduction of the national lottery and where they will be located.

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Longford Hall

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to his answer of 16 November, Official Report, column 43, what actions were taken by his Department or its predecessors following receipt of letters dated 7 December 1991, 20 May 1992 and 17 August 1992 regarding disrepair of Longford hall, from the hon. Member for Stretford ; what consideration was given to an inspection by English Heritage ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Brooke : I refer to the answers I gave on 16 November 1992, Official Report, column 43. Longford hall is in the first instance the responsibility of its owners, Trafford metropolitan borough council : I understand that consideration is still being given to possible new uses for the building.

St. Anne's Hotel, Buxton

Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what action he is taking to ensure that the necessary structural repairs are carried out to the former St. Anne's hotel, the Crescent, Buxton.

Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has today authorised the service on the owners, Capitalrise Ltd, of a notice under section 48 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 specifying the works which he considers reasonably necessary for the proper preservation of the building and notifying them that, if these are not carried out within three months, he may begin proceedings for the compulsory purchase of the building under section 47.

Royal Palaces

Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the publicly owned works of art in royal palaces which have not been on public exhibition.

Mr. Brooke [holding answer 7 December 1992] : A list of works of art in the royal collection held in trust for the nation which have not been on public exhibition is not available. However, a large proportion of works of art from the royal collection are on permanent public display at Hampton Court palace, Kensington palace, the state apartments at Windsor castle, Osborne house, the palace of Holyroodhouse, Kew palace, the banqueting hall and the national gallery. Other paintings are on periodic display at the Queen's gallery in Buckingham palace and the Queen's private residence at Balmoral and Sandringham. In addition, about 500 paintings have been loaned to exhibitions in the United Kingdom and abroad over the last five years.

Theatres Restoration Fund

Mr. Bowis : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what are the guidelines for the theatres restoration fund and for application eligibility ; and what conditions are imposed as to the age of the building on behalf of which an application is to be made.

Mr. Key [holding answer 4 December] : The purpose, scope and eligibility criteria of the theatres restoration fund are set out in "Notes for Applicants", copies of which

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I am sending to my hon. Friend and placing in the Library of the House. In essence, the criteria are that only purpose -built theatres are eligible ; that they must be constituted as charitable trusts ; and that they should be of architectural merit and/or that the work produced in the theatre is of artistic significance. There are no specific conditions relating to the age of a building.

Windsor Castle

Mr. Mackinlay : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what delay experienced by the county fire brigade in reaching the fire at Windsor castle was due to the presence of soldiers carrying out band and other ceremonial duties.

Mr. Brooke [holding answer 3 December 1992] : I understand that the Royal Berkshire fire and rescue service encountered no such delay.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Dangerous Dogs

Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given to police forces regarding identification of dog types in relation to prosecutions under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Mr. Charles Wardle : The Home Office issued guidance to the police about the identification of specially controlled dogs shortly before the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 came into force in August 1991. Chief officers of police were also sent posters giving further indication of typical size and range of colouring of pit bull terriers. In a Home Office circular containing further advice on the 1991 Act, issued this year, the attention of the police was drawn to a list, provided by the Stafforshire Bull Terrier Breed Council, of clubs which are willing to offer advice where there is any doubt about whether a particular dog is a Staffordshire bull terrier. This is the type with which the pit bull terrier is most commonly confused.

Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding problems arising from the operation of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Mr. Charles Wardle : We regularly receive representations from hon. Members, animal welfare bodies and other organisations and individuals about the 1991 Act. There is also regular contact with the enforcement authorities on various aspects of the operation of the Act. We shall continue to listen carefully to those who wish to offer constructive comments.

Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimate of the cost of keeping dogs in kennels during the course of appeals in relation to prosecutions under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Mr. Charles Wardle : Information relating to the total cost of keeping dogs in kennels pending the outcome of appeals under the 1991 Act is not collected centrally. Kennelling costs may vary around the country. However I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the cost of kennelling one dog for one day in the London area is about £8.

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Mr. Foulkes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to date of prosecutions under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 ; how much has been paid to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ; and what other organisations have received payment.

Mr. Charles Wardle : Information on the costs to the police, local authorities, the Crown prosecution service and the courts of prosecutions under the 1991 Act is not available centrally. The Home Office has not made any payments to the RSPCA or the SSPCA. At the time the exemption scheme was coming into effect, payments were made to the Index of Exempted Dogs, which administers the exemption scheme established under the Act, in respect of reminder letters issued by the index to the owners of specially controlled dogs who had registered with the police but who had not at that time completed the exemption process. The index also received revenue from fees collected in respect of applications made for certificates of exemption.

Betting

Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation is taking place or is planned with betting shop employees about proposals to introduce evening off-course betting.

Mr. Peter Lloyd : We issued a consultation document in October 1991 inviting the views of all interested parties, including betting office employees, on whether licensed betting offices should be open in the evening and, if so, at what times. We are giving careful consideration to views received in response to that document, including those from betting office employees, and will announce our conclusions as soon as possible.

Drugs

Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what part of Wales has the highest per capita conviction rate for drug offences in Wales ;

(2) what percentage of convictions in Wales (a) involving under-18s and (b) in total, are for drug-related offences.

Mr. Jack : Information for 1991, which is provisional, is given in the tables.


|c|Table A|c|                                         

|c|Number of persons per 100,000 population convicted 

of indictable|c|                                      

|c|drug offences in Welsh police force areas          

1991<1>|c|                                            

Police force area |rate                               

------------------------------------------------------

Dyfed-Powys       |43                                 

Gwent             |25                                 

North Wales       |44                                 

South Wales       |77                                 

                                                      

Wales             |56                                 

England and Wales |53                                 

<1> Provisional.

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