§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will meet the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to discuss the adequacy of the computer system in the missing persons bureau in New Scotland Yard for the tracing of missing persons; and whether he will place in the Library a copy of the report by the police working party referred to in his answer to the hon. Member for Leicester, West of 19 December 1988,Official Report, column 142;
(2) whether he will discuss with chief officers of police the steps to be taken to seek EEC funding in order to comply with the Council of Europe recommendation R(79)6.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggNo. We expect to receive a copy of the report commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers to review police procedures for dealing with inquiries relating to missing persons shortly. We will be happy to consider any recommendations which the police may put to us.
Publication of the report is a matter for the Association of Chief Police Officers.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish the names, age and last known whereabouts of all persons missing in the Metropolitan area for more than three months and where such names have already been published by the Metropolitan police.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggNo. I understand that the decision to publish details of a missing person would normally be taken by the division concerned and such cases are not separately identifiable from records held centrally by the Metropolitan police.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken during each of the years since 1979 to ensure compliance with the Council of Europe recommendation R(79)6.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to him on 19 December 1988 at column143.
194W
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to require all police authorities to inform the police national computer bureau of every unidentified body found within their jurisdictions.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to him on 19 December 1988 at columns142–43.