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Data Protection (Registration Fees)
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the fees likely to be received from applicants for registration under the Data Protection Act 1984 in the next three financial years; and what plans he has to transform the registration fee into a tax on data users. [11238]
Mr. Sackville: The current estimates are:
| Financial Years | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 4.4 |
| 1998-99 | 6.5 |
| 1999-2000 | 4.9 |
The fee has been set at a level which will ensure that the full costs of the Data Protection Registrar's activities, since the exception of her office, are met on an accruals accounting basis. Fee income for 1998-99 and 1999-2000 may be affected by changes to the registration arrangements with the implementation by October 1998 of the European Community directive on data protection. We have not yet decided the form of the new arrangements.
Probation Service
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of expenditure in the current financial year on the probation service in (a) England and Wales and (b) Wales; and if he will express this expenditure as a percentage of expenditure on police and prisons. [11017]
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Mr. Sackville: The information requested is set out in the table:
| England and Wales | Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| Current estimate of expenditure on probation service 1996-97 | £350.2 million | £18.1 million |
| As percentage of estimated expenditure on police | 9.9 per cent. | 10.4 per cent. |
| As percentage of estimated expenditure on prisons | 21.3 per cent. | (1)-- |
(1) Separate figures for expenditure on the Prison Service in Wales are not kept.
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the expenditure of the probation service in each of the counties of Wales since 1992, indicating the annual percentage increases or decreases on the previous year's expenditure. [11019]
Mr. Sackville: Net specified expenditure by probation areas in Wales between 1992-93 and 1995-96, and year-on-year percentage changes are given in the table. The probation areas correspond with the pre-April 1996 counties, with the exception of north Wales, which comprises the former counties of Clwyd and Gwynedd.
| 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyfed | ||||
| Expenditure (£) | 1,700,530 | 1,845,785 | 2,020,753 | 2,144,641 |
| Percentage change on previous year | -- | +8.5 | +9.5 | +6.1 |
| Gwent | ||||
| Expenditure (£) | 2,277,894 | 2,456,291 | 2,614,526 | 2,698,153 |
| Percentage change on previous year | -- | +7.8 | +6.4 | +3.2 |
| North Wales | ||||
| Expenditure (£) | 2,991,103 | 3,166,670 | 3,439,321 | 3,612,692 |
| Percentage change on previous year | -- | +5.9 | +8.6 | +5.0 |
| Powys | ||||
| Expenditure (£) | 630,889 | 701,511 | 782,941 | 867,437 |
| Percentage change on previous year | -- | +11.2 | +11.6 | +10.8 |
| South Glamorgan | ||||
| Expenditure (£) | 3,307,601 | 3,506,904 | 3,791,970 | 4,023,999 |
| Percentage change on previous year | -- | +6.0 | +8.1 | +6.1 |
| Mid Glamorgan | ||||
| Expenditure (£) | 3,474,121 | 3,725,125 | 3,934,732 | 4,064,822 |
| Percentage change on previous year | -- | +7.2 | +5.6 | +3.3 |
| West Glamorgan | ||||
| Expenditure (£) | 2,819,039 | 3,034,418 | 3,223,813 | 3,307,664 |
| Percentage change on previous year | -- | +7.6 | +6.2 | +2.6 |
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what national standards or criteria are currently in force in determining the average case load
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of probation officers (a) dealing with community service orders, (b) dealing with offenders in custody and (c) dealing with supervision orders. [11021]
Mr. Sackville: Decisions on allocation of case load to make best use of available staff resources are matters for individual probation committees, having regard to local circumstances; and no national standards or criteria have been issued.
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the percentage change in expenditure upon the probation service in England and Wales since 1992; and what are the equivalent figures for the police and prison services. [11018]
Mr. Sackville: Central Government support for the probation service in England and Wales, current and capital, between 1992-93 and 1995-96 increased by 9.6 per cent. The equivalent figures for the police and the Prison Service are 19.1 per cent. and 3.5 per cent. respectively.
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of probation officers currently dealing directly with cases in each of the counties of Wales; and what assessment he has made of the change in the number of officers following the proposed budgets for 1997-98. [11020]
Mr. Sackville: The latest available published figures for the numbers of probation officers and senior probation officers 1 employed by probation committees in Wales at 30 June 1996 are given in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Dyfed | 29 |
| Gwent | 65 |
| North Wales | 64 |
| Powys | 10 |
| South Glamorgan | 71 |
| Mid Glamorgan | 67 |
| West Glamorgan | 51 |
(2) Whole-time equivalents.
Baboons
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many project licence applications for the use of wild-caught baboons have been approved by the Animal Procedures Committee since 1994 for research; what checks were made to ensure that these animals did not suffer unduly during trapping and transport to the United Kingdom; and what was the country of origin of these animals. [11169]
Mr. Sackville: Since the start of 1994, three project licences authorising the use of wild-caught baboons have been approved by the Animal Procedures Committee.
We announced in 1995 a ban on the use of wild-caught non-human primates unless specific and exceptional justification could be made. Details of the trapping, housing and transport arrangements for any holding
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centres must now be submitted to the Home Office before animals acquired from these sources can be used in regulated procedures.
All the animals originated in Kenya. Following a visit by one of the animals (scientific procedures) inspectors to the holding centre concerned, many further application to use animals acquired from this source will not be considered until adequate improvements have been made to the facilities.
Mr. Donohoe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many personalised number plates there are in the ownership of the executive agencies operated by his Department; and if he will list them. [11416]
Health and Safety (Co-Steel)
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many Health and Safety Executive inspectors have visited Co-Steel to speak to employees without management present since August 1996. [11083]
Sir Paul Beresford: An HSE inspector who made three visits to investigate a fatal accident which occurred on 28 September 1996 interviewed several employees without management being present. An HSE inspector who carried out an inspection on 5 December 1996 had a discussion with two employees without management being present.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to initiate an investigation into safety procedures at Co-Steel, following the withdrawal of the British Safety Council's safety award. [11082]
Sir Paul Beresford: The Health and Safety Executive carried out an inspection of Co-Steel Sheerness plc in May 1996 and were generally satisfied with the company's health and safety arrangements. However HSE is currently examining the arrangements for complying with the reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995.
Health and Safety
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which elected workers representatives have access to documents relevant to workplace health and safety in derecognised workplaces. [11084]
Sir Paul Beresford: Under the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996, employers who choose to consult their employees via elected representatives are required to provide the representatives with the information necessary to carry out their functions. Employers must let workers representatives see the records of work-related injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences which relate to the representatives' responsibilities.
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