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Mr. Douglas Hogg : The meeting of EC Foreign Ministers on 19 July is likely to address how the European Community can contribute further in support of the co-chairman's efforts to achieve a peace settlement in Bosnia, including the question of further pressure on Croatia.
Mrs. Naseem Akhtar
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision is to be taken by the United Kingdom post in Islamabad on the application by Mrs. Naseem Akhtar and her children (REF : IMM/B7202) to join her husband in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : In the absence of any information about this case, I have asked the High Commission in Islamabad for a full report. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.
Sudan
Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Government have made to the Khartoum Government over their human rights record.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Such representations have been made on many occasions, most recently by the EC troika ministerial mission which visited Khartoum on 22 June, and in which the United Kingdom was represented.
TRANSPORT
Teesside Park
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will provide signs to Teesside park on the A19 northbound and southbound in the vicinity of its junction with the A66 ;
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(2) if he will provide signs to Teesside park on the A66.Mr. Key : It is not my policy to install such signs at the intersection of two primary routes. However, I am reviewing the particular circumstances of this case.
Superintendent Earnshaw
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department intends to reply to a letter from Superintendent Earnshaw of Stockton police dated 21 April, Ref. DN 504726/1/01.
Mr. Key : A reply was sent to Superintendent Earnshaw on 1 July 1993.
M66, Manchester
Sir Thomas Arnold : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will now take steps to arrange the meeting recommended in paragraph 16.33.1, on access to Nut Bank house, in the inspector's report on the public inquiry into the M66-Manchester outer ring road (Denton to Middleton section) proposals, published on 19 February.
Mr. Key : We are in contact with solicitors acting for the owner of Nut Bank house. A meeting will be arranged as soon as possible.
A1, Lancashire
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what are his Department's current plans for a major road development linking the Lancashire border to the A1 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : I have no current plans for a new major road development linking the Lancashire border to the A1. The trans-pennine study considered options for roads in the area. The consultation period on the study has only recently finished and I shall make a statement in due course.
A13, Newham
Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the cost of installing a footbridge, together with approach ramps suitable for prams and push chairs, across the A13 Newham way near to its junction with Beckton road or Forty Acre lane.
Mr. Norris : At present, there are no plans for a footbridge at this location. However, if a bridge was to be provided typical construction costs would be of the order of £300,000 depending on circumstances at the site.
Roads
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he next intends to publish a White Paper on roads.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has no immediate plans to publish a White Paper on roads. He is at present consulting on his Green Paper "Paying for Better Motorways".
Ferries
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which roll -on roll-off ferries operating from United Kingdom ports do not yet full conform with safety
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regulations arising from the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster ; by what date the vessels are expected to conform ; and if he will make a statement.Mr. Norris : All roll-on roll-off passenger ferries operating from United Kingdom ports must comply with national and international safety regulations including those arising from the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster.
M25
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the various studies he has commissioned or put out to tender to consider the need for widening the M25 beyond eight lanes and the sections of the M25 to which they apply.
Mr. Key : Three commissions have already been let to study the need for the feasibility of providing more than four lanes on the M25. They relate to the following sections :
Junctions 10-12 (A3 to M3)
Junctions 12-15 (M3 to M4)
Junctions 15-16 (M4 to M40)
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to announce a preferred route for the link roads proposed alongside the M25 from junctions 12 to 15.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend hopes to have completed his consideration of the issues to enable a decision to be issued soon.
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what studies he has carried out to date into the effects of building link roads alongside the M25 between junctions 5 and 28 on (a) pollution including carbon dioxide emissions, (b) development pressures and (c) sites of nature conservation and landscape importance.
Mr. Key : Each individual scheme's environmental statement includes an assessment of the impact of the proposals on both atmospheric pollution and any land to be affected. No studies have yet been carried out into development pressures resulting from M25 widening proposals.
Birmingham Northern Relief Road
Ms Walley : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his powers to control the levels of tolls on the proposed Birmingham northern relief road, and on his reserve powers to take over the operation of the proposed road.
Mr. Key : My right hon. Friend has no powers to control the level of tolls on the Birmingham northern relief road. The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 provides for a toll order to specify the maximum tolls which a concessionaire may charge only in the case of major crossings to which there is no reasonably convenient alternative.
The 1991 Act provides that where a concession agreement terminates for any reason before the end of a toll period the Secretary of State shall take reasonable steps to secure the appointment of a new concessionaire ; and that he may himself collect tolls pending such appointments or in accordance with an extension toll order.
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Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Luff : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will provide an estimate of the proportion of his Department's total expenditure, including an appropriate allocation of running costs, which is spent on (a) road transport, (b) railways, (c) aviation and (d) shipping.
Mr. Norris : Full details of the Government's expenditure plans for transport are published in the Department of Transport report 1993, Cm 2206. Over the three-year period 1993-94 to 1995-96 total planned expenditure is £18,351 million of which 53 per cent. is for national and local roads, 38 per cent. for public transport, including rail, and just over 2 per cent. for air and sea transport ; the remainder is accounted for by central administration, the Department's executive agencies, and miscellaneous services.
British Rail
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has had from the North West Regional Association about British Rail privatisation ; what reply he is sending ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : An official reply was sent to the secretary of the North West Regional Association on 1 July in response to its letter of 23 June. I am sending a copy of the correspondence to the hon. Member.
Railways (Vandalism)
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 14 May, Official Report, columns 613-4, if he will provide a regional breakdown of prosecutions for acts of vandalism on rail lines.
Mr. Freeman : This information is not readily available in the form requested.
A6(M)
Ms Coffey : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provisions he has made to ensure there is no conflict of interest between the advice given by L. G. Mouchel and Partners as consultants to his Department in respect of traffic modelling and design for the A6(M) and their acting as consultants to the applicants in respect of planning applications for a superstore on Melford road, Stockport, and a superstore on Stockport road west, where his Department is a statutory consultee.
Mr. Key : I am aware of the consultants' involvement and believe that they are acting in a proper and professional manner. The application for Melford road has been considered largely in relation to its impact on the existing road network, given its distance from the proposed bypass.
My Department has formed its own view on all the evidence available in connection with the Stockport road west development and has responded accordingly.
Motor Vehicles
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the percentage of motor vehicles on the road that are (a) unlicensed, (b) do
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not have a valid MOT certificate or (c) whose regular driver is uninsured ; what these figures approximate to in terms of numbers of vehicles and drivers and how many prosecutions were undertaken in respect of each category in the most recent year for which figures are available.Mr. Key : In Great Britain there are 35 million drivers holding full or provisional driving licences and 24.8 million licensed vehicles.
It is estimated that there were 1.3 million unlicensed vehicles in use on the public road at the end of September 1992. In 1992-93 over 435,000 vehicle licence evaders were penalised either by prosecution--193,000--or through out-of-court settlement--242, 000--recovering £37.5 million in revenue. In addition it is estimated that 180,000 evaders relicensed their vehicles as a direct result of enforcement action recovering a further £14 million.
There is no reliable estimate of the percentage of motor vehicles on the road which do not have an MOT test certificate or whose regular driver is uninsured. In 1991, 253,813 persons were found guilty in England and Wales of vehicle insurance offences and in Scotland 15,816 drivers were found guilty of driving while uninsured. In the same period in Great Britain 141,450 persons were found guilty of vehicle test offences.
Speed Limits
Mr. Nigel Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the trials of the variable speed limits outside schools are to begin ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Key : The first experimental site at Howick on the A5092 trunk road in Cumbria has come into operation today. This is the first of the 14 school sites on trunk roads and 100 sites on local authority roads where variable limits are being introduced on an experimental basis. The results will be monitored and, if the signs are effective in reducing drivers speeds, provision will be made to permit variable speed limits to be more widely applied.
M27 Aircraft Crash
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to his answer of 5 July at column 8 , whether the aircraft which crashed on the M27 on 26 May carried a co-pilot licensed to act as pilot in command.
Mr. Norris : I understand that the co-pilot holds a licence which entitled him to act in the capacity of a co-pilot on that particular aircraft, but not as a pilot in command.
Night Flights
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, (1) using the new system for restricting night flights announced on 6 July, how many noise quota points would have been used up by the aircraft that operated into and out of Heathrow airport during (a) the night quota hours of the 1992-93 winter period and (b) the night quota hours of the 1992 summer period ;
(2) using the new system for restricting night flights an nounced on 6 July and the aircraft that have operated or are scheduled to operate into or out of Heathrow airport
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during the night quota hours of the 1993 summer period, how many noise quota points will be used up during this period.Mr. Norris : More data on aircraft type, engine fit and maximum certificated landing and taking off weights are required to classify aircraft under the new night restrictions system than under the present regime. Not all this data is available for past movements, so only estimates can be given. These are (a) about 6,000 in winter 1992-93 (b) about 6,225 in summer 1992 and (c) about 6,400 in summer 1993.
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many air traffic movements took place at Heathrow airport during (a) the night quota hours of the 1992-93 winter period and (b) the night quota hours of the 1992 summer period.
Mr. Norris : The total number of runway movements--that is, air transport movements and all other movements such as empty positioning flights--during the night quota periods was
(a) 3,413 : 1992-93 winter
(b) 3,409 : 1992 summer
Of these movements at (a) 3,078 counted against the main quota, 21 counted against the delayed quota, 225 were by aircraft exempt from the restrictions, and 89 movements were granted dispensations and exemptions according to current arrangements.
Of the movements at (b) 2,649 counted against the quota, 60 counted against the delayed quota, 678 were by aircraft exempt from the restrictions and 22 were granted dispensations and exemptions according to current arrangements.
Mr. Wilshire : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many air traffic movements he estimates will occur at Heathrow airport during the night quota hours of the 1993 summer period on the basis of the number of aircraft that have or are scheduled to operate into and out of the airport.
Mr. Norris : In total, about the same as in summer 1992.
Bus Companies
Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to bring in legislation to require municipal authorities to sell off their bus companies ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : Our manifesto contained a pledge to privatise the remaining local authority bus companies. I am pleased that many authorities are selling their companies voluntarily. It is our intention to introduce legislation at an early opportunity to require the rest to do so.
East London River Crossing
Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government have spent on the proposed east London river crossing up to 7 July.
Mr. Norris : Approximately £31 million. The bulk of the expenditure has been on scheme preparation but the figure also includes some £3 million on advance works and £9 million on land and property purchase.
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Civil Aircraft
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what consideration his Department has given to the mandatory fitment of high- intensity strobe lights to civil aircraft regularly involved in low-level flying activities such as power line and pipeline surveying and crop spraying ;
(2) what consideration his Department has given to the provision of air-to- air transponder equipment for civil aircraft regularly engaged in activities at low altitude ;
(3) what capability the civil aircraft notification procedure has for the notification of linear activities such as power line and pipeline surveying ;
(4) what measures have been introduced by his Department since 1988 to encourage civilian pilots and aircraft operators to make use of the civil aircraft notification procedures ; and if he will make a statement as to what further measures are under consideration.
Mr. Norris : Aviation safety matters such as these are for the Civil Aviation Authority, in the first instance. I have therefore passed the hon. Member's questions to the chairman of the authority, asking him to write to the hon. Member.
I am always ready to consider any proposals for changes in primary or secondary legislation which the authority may put to me.
German Merchant Fleet
Mr. Luff : To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he is making to the European Commission about German plans to increase tax concessions to the German merchant fleet.
Mr. Norris : It is our policy to urge the Commission to look into all cases of state aids in the transport sector, including aids to shipowners, in order to secure the removal of those that distort competition. I understand that what is proposed by Germany in this particular case would renew fiscal arrangements that have been in place for some time.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Stefan Kiszko
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to provide the families involved with the results of the investigation on the completion of any criminal proceedings arising from the Lancashire police force's investigation into the Stefan Kiszko case.
Mr. Charles Wardle : It is for the chief constable of West Yorkshire police and the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide what information may be disclosed to the Kiszko and Molseed families. As the Prime Minister has already informed the hon. Member, West Yorkshire police have assured both families that they will brief them fully about what happened as soon as they are free to do so.
Firearms
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many thefts of shotguns there were in 1991 in each police force area (a) from domestic premises and (b) from all premises.
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Mr. Maclean : The following table shows, for each police force in England and Wales in 1991, the number of notifiable offences of burglary and theft in which shotguns were reported to have been stolen from domestic and all premises :
Notifiable offences of burglary and theft
in which shot guns were stolen
Police force area |Domestic premises|All premises
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |15 |20
Bedfordshire |4 |8
Cambridgeshire |9 |10
Cheshire |7 |13
Cleveland |3 |4
Cumbria |7 |8
Derbyshire |5 |6
Devon and Cornwall |27 |35
Dorset |2 |2
Durham |21 |24
Essex |14 |17
Gloucestershire |4 |6
Greater Manchester |4 |5
Hampshire |16 |20
Hertfordshire |2 |2
Humberside |7 |7
Kent |30 |46
Lancashire |18 |27
Leicestershire |7 |13
Lincolnshire |6 |9
London, City of |- |-
Merseyside |6 |7
Metropolitan Police District |22 |28
Norfolk |17 |25
Northamptonshire |10 |11
Northumbria |15 |21
North Yorkshire |12 |18
Nottinghamshire |1 |4
South Yorkshire |20 |26
Staffordshire |- |-
Suffolk |11 |11
Surrey |17 |20
Sussex |13 |16
Thames Valley |21 |35
Warwickshire |6 |10
West Mercia |8 |11
West Midlands |8 |11
West Yorkshire |7 |11
Wiltshire |3 |5
Dyfed-Powys |3 |6
Gwent |- |-
North Wales |6 |10
South Wales |2 |6
England and Wales |416 |574
False Imprisonment
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce measures to ensure that compensation awards to persons having been falsely imprisoned are harmonised ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean : It has been the long-standing practice for the amount to be paid in an award of compensation under section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, or under the related ex-gratia scheme, to be settled according to the assessment or advice of an independent assessor, currently Sir David Calcutt QC. The assessor applies principles analogous to those governing the assessment of damages for civil wrongs. I am satisfied that these arrangements result in fairness and consistency in the determination of amounts to be paid.
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Mr. John Matthews
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on his decision to place an exclusion order on Mr. John Matthews ;
(2) what consideration he gives to (a) acquittal decisions by the courts in respect of terrorist-related offences with which a person has been charged and (b) decisions by the Crown Prosecution Service to withdraw charges against such a person, in deciding whether to place an exclusion order on such a person.
Mr. Howard : On Tuesday 6 July I exercised the powers conferred upon me by part II of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 to exclude John Gerard Matthews from Great Britain. Before reaching a decision I carefully reviewed all the information which had been placed before me. On the basis of that information I was satisfied that the criteria set out at section 5 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act were met in this case.
The decision which I am required to take in relation to exclusion orders is different in kind from that which the prosecuting authorities apply in deciding whether to continue criminal proceedings. They consider whether, on the basis of evidence which will be admissible in court, there is a realistic prospect of persuading a jury beyond reasonable doubt that a person is guilty of a specific offence. I have to be satisfied that a person is or has been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism connected with the affairs of Northern Ireland. In making that assessment it is open to me to consider information which would not be admissible in court. Whilst I would have regard to the fact that a person had been acquitted, or criminal proceedings discontinued, that fact would not preclude the making of an exclusion order.
Notifiable Offences, London
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many notifiable offences were reported in the Metropolitan police area in the first three months of 1993 ; and if he will give a breakdown of the figures by category of offence.
Mr. Maclean : The information requested is not yet available.
Parliamentary Boundaries
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current timetable for the work of the Boundary Commission for England in reviewing the current parliamentary boundaries ; and what will be the effect on this timetable of re-examination by the commission of the population figures on which its work has so far been based.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The Boundary Commission for England is required, by the Parliameat it will be in time. The enumeration date for its review is February 1991, and the release of subsequent electoral statistics, or indeed a more recent evaluation of the accuracy of the electoral register, will not affect its timetable.
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Fire Services, Merseyside
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Merseyside fire and civil defence authority following its consideration of the report of Her Majesty's inspector of fire services ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My right hon. and learned Friend has received from the clerk to the Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority a copy of a resolution made at the authority's annual general meeting on 28 June. The resolution relates to the report of an inspection of the Merseyside Fire Brigade conducted by Her Majesty's inspector of fire services during the week beginning 25 January 1993. We shall consider the resolution carefully alongside the report of the special inspection of the Merseyside brigade which was conducted during the week beginning 5 July, once that report is available.
Ex-offenders
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions the Prison Department has had with each training and enterprise council regarding schemes to provide employment for ex-offenders ;
(2) how much the Prison Department spent in (a) 1991 and (b) 1992 on funding schemes which provide employment for ex-offenders ; and what proportion this was of the Prison Department's budget.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated July 1993 : Training and enterprise councils employment schemes for ex-offenders--
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question seeking information about what discussions the Prison Service has had with each Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) regarding schemes to provide employment for ex-offenders.
TECs are responsible for adult and youth training schemes. Prison Service establishments are encouraged to work with their local TEC in helping to meet offenders' training needs. Discussions between the Prison Service and individual TECs normally take place at a local level ; the details are not recorded centrally.
As a result of these local contacts, a number of important joint ventures between prisons and TECs have been developed. To build on these, the Prison Service is working with the Training, Enterprise and Education Directorate and the Probation Service to produce a good practice guide for TECs on meeting the training needs of offenders and ex-offenders. The guide will be issued later this year. Letter from Derek Lewis to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated July 1993 : Expenditure on Employment schemes for ex-offenders
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about how much the Prison Department spent in 1991 and 1992 on funding schemes which provide employment for ex-offenders. The Prison Service undertakes a wide range of work aimed at preparing, training and assisting prisoners to find jobs on release. The cost of this is not separately distinguished. The work is described in "Employment in Prisons and for Ex-Offenders. The Government Reply to the First Report from the Employment Committee Session 1991-92 HC30". I
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