§ Mr. Soleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will outline the nature of changes 824W the comparative accident records of (a) automatic railway/ road level crossings and (b) manned railway/road level crossings.
§ Mr. David Mitchell[pursuant to the reply, 19 July 1984, c. 272]: The following table is based on the figures given in the Department of Transport's "Railway Accidents — Report on the Safety Record of the Railways in Great Britain", published annually, copies of which are in the Library. The accident rates quoted are per 100 level crossings averaged over a 10-year period and are for British railways only.
introduced as a result of the amendment in 1983 of the procedures for the care of persons in police custody mentioned on page 53 of the report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for 1983.
§ Mr. HurdThe Commissioner revised his general orders in 1983 to bring together in one place instructions relating to the care of persons in custody, particularly those who appear to be drunk. The Commissioner also took the opportunity to extend the instructions. A person who appears to be drunk has to be roused and spoken to every half hour. The previous instructions required that a doctor should be called if at this point, amongst other things, the person could not be roused or made to respond in any way. The revised orders require that a doctor must be called if the person does not show signs of sensibility and awareness or fails to respond normally to questions or conversation. In addition, the revised orders make further provision for the treatment of persons who come into police custody when unconscious or insensible. In particular they now require that an arrested person who is unconscious on arrival at the police station must be taken to hospital without delay; before they required that he be taken to hospital if a doctor could not attend quickly.