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Baroness Wharton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What rules as regards the method of killing are laid down for the putting down of dogs condemned under the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997; whether the killing must be carried out by a veterinary surgeon;
- and whether the owner can claim to be present and can remove the body for private burial.[HL265]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: No rules have been issued by the Home Office in relation to these matters. Arrangements for putting down dogs following an order of the court under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (as amended in 1997) are operational matters for the local authority and the police service, which are responsible for enforcement.
Litter Offences
Lord Hardy of Wath asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will publish the number of prosecutions proved in respect of offences under the
- Litter Act 1983 in each police force area since 1995; and whether they will draw public attention to the penalties which such offences could incur.[HL226]
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The offence of littering under Section 1 of the Litter Act 1983 has been replaced by Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Figures for the number of prosecutions and convictions in each police force area in 1995 and 1996 are given in the table.
Under the Act, local authorities are able to prosecute offenders or issue fixed penalties of £25 and are involved in publicising the possible penalties offenders may face. The Tidy Britain Group, which is largely funded by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, is also involved in conveying this message to the public through its campaigns and educational work.
| 1995 | 1996 | |||||||
| Police Force Area | Total prosecutions | Total convictions | Total prosecutions | Total convictions | ||||
| Avon and Somerset | -- | -- | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Bedfordshire | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ||||
| Cambridgeshire | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||||
| Cheshire | -- | -- | 4 | 3 | ||||
| Cleveland | 52 | 19 | 15 | 9 | ||||
| Cumbria | 37 | 34 | 58 | 50 | ||||
| Derbyshire | 9 | 5 | 11 | 10 | ||||
| Devon and Cornwall | 10 | 8 | 22 | 15 | ||||
| Dorset | -- | -- | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Durham | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| Essex | 12 | 11 | 20 | 14 | ||||
| Gloucestershire | 10 | 9 | 6 | 3 | ||||
| Greater Manchester | 32 | 27 | 21 | 17 | ||||
| Hampshire | 11 | 7 | 17 | 15 | ||||
| Hertfordshire | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | ||||
| Humberside | 11 | 5 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Kent | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Lancashire | 4 | 4 | 9 | 8 | ||||
| Leicestershire | 11 | 8 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| t | ||||||||
| Lincolnshire | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | ||||
| London, City of | 12 | 8 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Merseyside | 2 | 1 | 6 | 4 | ||||
| Metropolitan Police | 695 | 443 | 244 | 177 | ||||
| Norfolk | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| Northamptonshire | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| Northumbria | 10 | 4 | 20 | 17 | ||||
| North Yorkshire | 8 | 5 | 12 | 12 | ||||
| Nottinghamshire | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | ||||
| South Yorkshire | 22 | 14 | 13 | 9 | ||||
| Staffordshire | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | ||||
| Suffolk | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | ||||
| Surrey | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Sussex | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| Thames Valley | 5 | 3 | 3 | -- | ||||
| Warwickshire | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| West Mercia | 15 | 13 | 8 | 6 | ||||
| West Midlands | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ||||
| West Yorkshire | 30 | 24 | 17 | 8 | ||||
| Wiltshire | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Dyfed-Powys | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | ||||
| Gwent | 14 | 9 | 19 | 18 | ||||
| North Wales | 7 | 5 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| South Wales | 20 | 15 | 16 | 12 | ||||
| England and Wales | 1,101 | 723 | 626 | 468 | ||||
Crime and Disorder Bill [H.L.]: Drug Treatment and Testing Provisions
Baroness Hilton of Eggardon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they will place in the Library a paper summarising the responses to the consultation exercise on the Drug Treatment and Testing Order provisions in the Crime and Disorder Bill.
Lord Williams of Mostyn: The paper summarising the responses to the consultation exercise has now been placed in the Library.
Pay Review Bodies: Recommendations
Baroness Turner of Camden asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What are the latest reports and recommendations of the pay review bodies.
The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Richard): The 1998 reports of the five pay review bodies have been published today. Copies are available in the Vote Office and the Library of the House. I am grateful to the chairmen and members of the pay review bodies for the work they have put into them.
The Government have twin objectives: to run a stable economy in which inflation is low and there is a long-term prosperity; and to reward the effort and dedication of those working in many of our most important public services, including schools, hospitals and the Armed Forces, while leaving as much money as possible for front line services.
In the evidence the Government submitted to the pay review bodies, we stressed the need for their recommendations to be affordable to ensure that departments can maintain the delivery of services within their agreed spending plans. We also made it clear that pay increases throughout the economy should be compatible with the Government's overriding economic objective of stable growth and long-term prosperity. Responsible decisions now on pay, in both the private and the public sectors, will help to secure jobs and prosperity in the future.
Against this background, in considering the recommendations of the independent pay review bodies, the Government have sought to strike a balance between ensuring that the pay settlements for these important public sector groups are fair; that they are affordable
within departments' existing spending plans; that they are consistent with the Government's inflation target of 2.5 per cent.; and that they are responsible in terms of the long-term stability of our economy.The main pay recommendations average some 3.9 per cent. The Government believe that this is high in relation to inflation, both the headline rate (3.6 per cent.) and the underlying rate (2.7 per cent.). It is also significantly higher than the average of 3.3 per cent. for last year's recommendations, which were introduced in stages by the previous administration to accommodate the public expenditure costs.
After careful consideration the Government have decided to accept this year's main pay recommendations in full. However, to ensure that departments can accommodate the costs without damaging front line services and to ensure that these awards do not lead to unwelcome increases in pay pressures throughout the economy more generally, we have decided that it is essential to stage their introduction. Full implementation will therefore be achieved by December this year following a first-stage increase of 2 per cent. for each group from April.
The main pay recommendations are as follows:
- The Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB) has recommended increases of 3.75 per cent. in the basic military salary for all ranks and classes except Privates Classes I, II and III and Lance Corporals Class III, for whom they recommend increases of 4.2 per cent.
- The Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration (DDRB) has recommended general increases of 4.2 per cent. except for General Medical Practitioners, for whom they recommend increases of 5.2 per cent.
- The Review Body for Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine (NPRB) has recommended increases of 3.8 per cent. in national pay scales.
- The School Teachers Review Body (STRB) has recommended increases of 3.8 per cent. in teachers' pay.
- The Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB) has recommended:
- (a) increases of 3.5 per cent. in the minimum and maximum values of each of the pay ranges for the senior civil service. Within the ranges, departments will determine individual salaries on the basis of performance.
- (b) new pay ranges for senior military officers within which the pay of individual officers will be determined according to job weight.
- (c) increases of 3.5 per cent. in judicial salaries.
In addition, the Government are separately taking action to improve training and development, and address concerns about recruitment and retention, in nursing and other professions allied to medicine. We are providing for an extra 1,300 training places for nurses this year, launching a national recruitment campaign and implementing more family-friendly employment policies.
The staging arrangements will apply to all groups. They will extend to the recommended increases in the minima and maxima of the senior civil service pay ranges and the awards departments will determine for the senior civil service and senior military officers
within the framework set by the SSRB recommendations.Pay increases for MPs and Ministers are linked to the pay ranges for the senior civil service, which means their awards will be treated in the same way as other groups. They will, therefore, receive an increase of 2 per cent. on 1 April. The balance of the 1998 recommendation will be paid on 1 April 1999; in the same way, 0.75 per cent. is due on 1 April 1998, resulting from the staging of last year's awards, which other groups received in December 1997.
As agreed last year, Cabinet Ministers will in 1998-99 forgo, for a second year, the substantial increases recommended by the SSRB in 1996 to which they would be entitled.
The reports are substantial wide-ranging documents. This response addresses the main pay recommendations. Many other detailed recommendations will also be accepted, although some will require further consideration and discussion as necessary. In particular the NPRB recommendation for additional discretionary increments will need to be addressed as part of wider NHS pay discussions; and the DDRB recommendation for the enhancement of GMPs' net remuneration will need to be considered and discussed as proposed.
The Government have asked the SSRB to resume work, which had been temporarily deferred, on the pay of Lords Ministers outside the Cabinet.
The following table summarises the main pay recommendations of the Review Bodies.
| Main Pay Recommendations per cent. | Paybill costs £ million | |
| AFPRB--Armed Forces--Private Classes I, II and III and Lance Corporals Class III | 4.2 | 45 |
| --basic military salary | 3.75 | 179 |
| Total | -- | 224 |
| DDRB--Doctors and Dentists | -- | -- |
| --General medical practitioners | 5.2 | 80 |
| --Other doctors and dentists | 4.2 | 202 |
| Total | -- | 282 |
| NPRB--Nursing staff, midwives, health visitors and professions allied to medicine | 3.8 | 351 |
| STRB--School teachers | 3.8 | 446 |
| SSRB--Senior Salaries | -- | -- |
| --Senior civil service | (1)3.5 | -- |
| --Senior military | 0 to 3.5 | -- |
| --Judiciary | 3.5 | 6 |
| Total--all groups | 3.9 | 1,309 |
(1) Increases in pay band minima and maxima. Recommendations for the senior civil service affect the pay framework within which departments will set individual pay rates.