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Young Remand Prisoners
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to end the practice of holding males aged under 18 years in adult prisons while on remand. [23726]
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Mr. Michael:
The Government are concerned about the continued remand of boys to prison which is a long-standing issue which the last Government failed to resolve. This Government's policy is to move to a situation where it is no longer necessary to remand 15 and 16 years olds to prison. I set out the background in detail in my answer to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on 12 January 1998, Official Report, columns 64-66. We have reviewed this whole difficult area and decided that the priority is to give the courts the right range of powers to remand juveniles to secure accommodation, and there are provisions within the Crime and Disorder Bill to achieve this. The proposals do not apply to 17 year olds who are treated as adults for remand purposes. There is no proposal to change the remand arrangements for this older age group.
We hope that the outcome of the current review of the secure juvenile estate and the work which the Prison Service is currently doing will enable us to end the practice of detaining juveniles with adults.
Mrs. Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has conducted into the effect of legislation to facilitate the civil recovery of damages from criminals on the level of crime against businesses. [23949]
Mr. Michael:
No such research has been conducted by the Home Office.
Mr. Collins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the quantity of illegal arms in circulation in England and Wales and on the impact on the illegal arms trade of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. [23490]
Mr. Michael:
There is no reliable estimate of the number of illegal firearms in this country. The primary purpose of the 1997 legislation, especially the banning of handguns, is to provide greater safeguards for the safety of the public, given that the shootings at Dunblane and Hungerford were committed using lawfully held weapons. In 1996, there were 294 incidents in which handguns were stolen or otherwise misappropriated so the ban will remove a significant supply of weapons for use in crime.
Mr. Collins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his current estimate of the sums paid under the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 Compensation Scheme to handgun owners (a) since the commencement of the scheme and (b) once full compensation has been paid. [23544]
Mr. Michael:
On 6 January 1998, £30.3 million had been paid out under the Firearms Compensation Scheme. The latest total estimate for the Scheme, including payments for small-calibre pistols and ancillary equipment to be surrendered during February, is £166 million.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the totals of those (a) held in custody and (b) who received jail sentences subsequently following allegations that they have been dealing in
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(i) heroin, (ii) ecstasy and (iii) cannabis in each of the last eight years; and what proportion they represent of the totals charged in each category. [23387]
Mr. Michael:
Information for those appearing at the Crown Court in 1996 is given in the table. Crown Court data for earlier years and data for magistrates' courts are not sufficiently robust to allow for this level of detail.
| Dealing in: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Heroin | Ecstasy | Cannabis | |
| Dealt with(6) | 992 | 839 | 2,720 |
| Held in custody | 625 | 343 | 794 |
| Percentage held in custody | 63 per cent. | 41 per cent. | 29 per cent. |
| Held in custody and sentenced to immediate custody | 538 | 301 | 578 |
| Percentage of those held in custody sentenced to immediate custody | 86 per cent. | 88 per cent. | 73 per cent. |
(5) dealing includes offences of supply and possession with intent to supply.
(6) includes all those acquitted or sentenced.
Voluntary Work
Mr. Godman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received concerning the funding of projects organised and administered by community and voluntary organisations. [21443]
Mr. Michael: We receive grant applications from a wide range of community and voluntary organisations. In addition, we are in frequent discussion with representatives of voluntary and community organisations about matters of mutual interest, including funding.
Charity Collections
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice his Department issues to the owners of premises approached by charities for permission to make collections who wish to verify the standing of the charity; and if he will make a statement. [22885]
Mr. Michael: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 12 November 1997, Official Report, columns 558-59.
Littlewoods Directors
Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the appointment of Ms Perkins as a non-executive director of Littlewoods. [24237]
Mr. Straw:
My wife's unpaid appointment as a non-executive director of Littlewoods was made in July 1997, as part of a long-standing scheme for establishing better understanding between senior civil servants and the private sector. I am informed that 119 senior civil servants had appointments as non-executive directors in 1996-97. As a precaution against any appearance of conflict of interest, when my wife's appointment was made
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I arranged for any matters affecting the interests of Littlewoods to be considered by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Home Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley, North and Sefton, East (Mr. Howarth). This is in accordance with the Guidance for Ministers and precedent. No conflict of interest therefore arises.
Tigers
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what account she takes of the threats which exist to the future of the tiger population in India in deciding her Department's policy towards India. [22949]
Clare Short: Protection of the natural environment is one of the priorities for Department for International Development set out in the recent White Paper. All projects are screened for their environmental impact. We are supporting the Indian Government's efforts to save the tiger with a £50,000 grant to the Global Tiger Forum, £1 million to the Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (a non-governmental organisation), and contributions to multilateral agencies with global environmental agendas.
Bulgaria
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made about the levels of poverty in the former Eastern bloc states with particular reference to Bulgaria. [23015]
Clare Short: The transition to democratic systems of government and market economies in the Eastern bloc has undoubtedly been accompanied by an increase in the incidence of poverty, particularly in Bulgaria. Our future work will place increased emphasis on trying to ensure that support to transition takes full account of the need to protect poor and vulnerable groups and to spread more widely the benefits from economic development.
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement about British assistance towards development projects in Eastern Europe, with particular reference to Bulgaria. [23016]
Clare Short: Our assistance to Eastern Europe is directed through the Know How Fund, which supports transition to pluralist democracy and market economies. We are reshaping Know How Fund programmes to give greater emphasis to protecting the poorest and to enabling the widest number of people to share in the fruits of change, as described in our pamphlet "Support for Transition Countries: A New Strategy", a copy of which I am placing in the Library of the House. In Bulgaria, we shall support the encouraging reforms being pursued by the new government, paying particular attention to the needs of poor and vulnerable groups.
Ann Clwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the Bulgarian state orphanage system. [23017]
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Clare Short:
We have discussed this issue with UK-based agencies working with Bulgarian orphanages. We conclude that we should help relieve the very poor conditions found in orphanages, and also assist the Bulgarian authorities to investigate community-based alternatives to institutional care. We are funding a £250,000 project with this aim, to be managed by the Save the Children Fund (UK). We have provided a total of £359,000 to UK-based agencies and the Bulgarian Red Cross for relief programmes with vulnerable families and institutions and are supporting social homes and orphanages through small grants. We have also contributed about £2 million to the European Union's Emergency Social Assistance and Humanitarian Office Programmes in Bulgaria.
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