§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the Government propose to take following the recommendations of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in 1995 that cigarette lighter refills be limited in size to about 25ml; and if he will make a statement. [111187]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe Department of Trade and Industry pursued the Advisory Council's recommendation with the industry. Some manufacturers voluntarily introduced a 25ml gas lighter refill, but progress towards an industry-wide agreement to reduce the refills to a maximum size of 25ml was hampered by anti-competitive considerations and practical difficulties.
In view of the difficulties encountered in trying to implement the recommendation, the Government decided to tackle the problem by an alternative means. It accordingly introduced the Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations 1999, which prohibits the sale or supply of lighter refills containing butane gas to anyone under 18 years.
Initial decisions on applications received for asylum in the United Kingdom1, 1991–2002, nationals of Iraq—number of principal applicants Cases considered under normal procedures2 Backlog clearance exercise3 Initial decisions4 Granted asylum Granted ELR Refused Granted asylum Refused under backlog criteria5 Exceptional leave granted when applicant had not applied for asylum6 1991 175 45 115 15 — — 250 1992 1,440 190 1,210 40 — — 185 1993 515 185 300 30 — — 990 1994 645 380 220 45 — — 620 1995 795 570 175 50 — — 205 1996 665 470 135 60 — — 380 1997 665 255 295 110 — — 205 1998 1,100 510 500 90 — — 110 1999 745 315 320 100 5 * 75 2000 5,530 845 2,455 2,220 10 * 40 20017 8,880 815 1,855 6,210 — — 20 20027 11,785 700 8,130 2,955 — — n/a 1 Figures rounded to the nearest five, with * = one or two. 2 Cases considered under normal procedures may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria. 3 Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog. 4 Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. 5 Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds. 6 Exceptional leave granted in view of internal situation in Iraq when applicant had not applied for asylum, excluding dependants 7 Provisional data. Information on initial decisions on asylum applications is published quarterly. The next publication will cover the period up to March 2003.
754W
§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been under the Intoxicating Substance (Supply) Act 1985 in each year since 1992. [111188]
§ Hilary BennThe information requested is given in the table for the period 1992 to 2000. These are the latest figures available at the present time. The data are from the Home Office Court Appearances Database.
Number of convictions under the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985, England and Wales, 1992–2000 Number 1992 4 1993 4 1994 6 1995 0 1996 3 1997 6 1998 6 1999 5 2000 0