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Paedophiles

Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the average weekly costs of accommodation and what are the subsequent recidivism rates for paedophile offenders (a) in prison and (b) in the Wolvercote clinic. [9601]

Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Hugh Taylor to Mr. Peter Thurnham, dated 15 January 1997:

The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the average weekly cost of accommodation and the subsequent recidivist rates for paedophile offenders (a) in prison and (b) in the Wolvercote Clinic.

Cost per place figures relating specifically to paedophile offenders are not available. The average cost per prisoner for the financial year 1995-96 was £466 per week. The weekly charge for the Wolvercote Clinic is £550.

A 10 year follow-up study on reconviction rates for a sample of paedophiles released from prison in 1980 showed that 36 per cent of paedophiles committed further sexual offences. For serious offences, which included sex or violent offences, the rate of reoffending increased to 45 per cent. This information may appear to be dated but follow-up studies must be for a substantial period of time. Social and legal changes may also affect reconviction rates. A 10 year reconviction study is currently in progress on the Sex Offender Treatment Programme but it is too early for results.

To date, only three offenders have completed the full programme at the Wolvercote Clinic which opened in August 1995. No information is available yet on recidivists.

Mr. Thurnham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Government Departments and other public bodies maintain lists of (a) convicted and (b) alleged paedophile offenders; what guidance has been issued to local authorities concerning that information on such offenders; what co-ordination there is between the different bodies concerned; and if he will make a statement. [10683]

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Mr. Maclean: Information about convicted and alleged paedophiles is held by the following Government Departments and public bodies.

The police hold information about those convicted of sexual offences against children on the Phoenix database of the police national computer and on microfiche records held by the national identification service. They may also retain information locally about alleged paedophiles.

The national criminal intelligence service--NCIS--maintains a database of known or suspected paedophiles.

The Department for Education and Employment maintains a list of persons barred from working in education and in respect of whom the Secretary of State for Education and Employment has made a direction under the Education (Teachers) Regulations 1993, as amended--"List 99".

The Department of Health consultancy index holds information on those notified to it by the police who are or were employed in child care work and who have been convicted of an offence, including sexual offences against children; the information on "List 99", and notifications from employers of the names of persons who formerly worked with children and who have been dismissed or who have resigned in circumstances where the welfare of a child has been put at risk through physical, sexual or emotional abuse or a child has suffered or was likely to suffer harm arising from the action of a member of staff or volunteer engaged to work with children.

Guidance issued to local authorities includes the Department for Education and Employment circular 11/95, "Misconduct of Teachers and Workers with Children and Young Persons", and the joint circular from the Home Office (HOC 47/93), Department for Education (DfEE 9/93), Department of Health (LAC 93(17)), and the Welsh Office (WOC 54/93) on "Protection of Children: Disclosure of Criminal Record Background of those with

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Access to Children". This includes an explanation of the information available to local authorities from police records, the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Employment.

NCIS passes on information about paedophiles to the force in whose area the paedophile is working or living. In addition to this, the police notify the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Employment of convictions of those individuals working in child care posts or as teachers or workers with children or young persons.

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Consultants

Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the amount spent on external consultants by his Department's non-departmental public bodies in each of the last five years. [10194]

Mr. Howard [holding answer 13 January 1997]: The information requested is set out for executive non-departmental public bodies funded by the Home Office.

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					£ thousands
	1991-92	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96
Commission for Racial Equality	not recorded separately
				89.8	84
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority	115	206	1,600	746	225
Gaming Board for Great Britain	0	0	0	0	0
Office of the Data Protection Registrar	5	0	0	50	47
Police Complaints Authority	0	149	74	129	84
Total per year	120	355	1,674	1,014.8	440

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Police Grants

Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the total external support including all police grants to be received by (a) each individual police authority, (b) each class of police authority and (c) all police authorities in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 1997-98 and the change in each in pounds and as a percentage; [10304]

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(2) if he will list the total external support including all police grants other than police rule 2 grant for additional police officers to be received by (a) each individual police authority, (b) each class of police authority and (c) all police authorities in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 1997-98 and the change in each in pounds and as a percentage. [10305]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 13 January 1997]: The information requested is set out in the table.

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	Total external support(20) including all grants		Increase over 1996-97		Total external support excluding rule 2 grant		Increase over 1996-97
Police authorities	1996-97 £ million	1997-98 £ million	£ million	Per cent.	1996-97 £ million	1997-98 £ million	£ million	Per cent.
Avon and Somerset	132.2	134.8	2.7	2.0	131.6	133.2	1.6	1.2
Bedfordshire	49.1	50.2	1.1	2.2	48.9	49.6	0.7	1.3
Cambridgeshire	56.2	57.3	1.1	1.9	55.9	56.5	0.6	1.0
Cheshire	83.5	85.1	1.7	2.0	83.1	84.0	0.9	1.1
Cleveland	66.2	67.6	1.4	2.1	66.0	67.0	1.0	1.5
Cumbria	49.9	50.9	1.0	2.1	49.7	50.4	0.7	1.3
Derbyshire	79.2	81.1	1.9	2.4	78.8	80.0	1.2	1.6
Devon and Cornwall	129.3	133.0	3.7	2.9	128.7	131.2	2.5	2.0
Dorset	53.1	54.1	1.0	1.9	52.9	53.4	0.5	1.0
Durham	63.8	65.1	1.3	2.1	63.5	64.4	0.9	1.4
Essex	127.2	129.8	2.6	2.0	126.6	128.1	1.4	1.1
Gloucestershire	49.7	50.6	1.0	2.0	49.5	50.0	0.6	1.1
Hampshire	147.4	150.5	3.0	2.0	146.8	148.5	1.7	1.1
Hertfordshire	74.6	76.1	1.5	1.9	74.3	75.1	0.8	1.0
Humberside	91.5	93.4	2.0	2.2	91.1	92.5	1.3	1.5
Kent	138.7	141.7	3.0	2.2	138.2	140.0	1.8	1.3
Lancashire	143.9	146.9	3.0	2.1	143.4	145.3	1.9	1.3
Leicestershire	82.2	83.9	1.7	2.1	81.8	82.9	1.0	1.3
Lincolnshire	50.3	52.3	1.9	3.9	50.1	51.6	1.5	3.0
Norfolk	64.3	65.7	1.3	2.0	64.1	64.8	0.7	1.2
Northamptonshire	49.8	50.8	1.0	2.0	49.6	50.1	0.6	1.2
North Yorkshire	57.8	59.2	1.5	2.5	57.5	58.4	0.9	1.6
Nottinghamshire	101.5	104.8	3.3	3.3	101.1	103.6	2.5	2.5
Staffordshire	94.2	96.2	2.0	2.1	93.8	95.1	1.2	1.3
Suffolk	51.9	52.9	1.0	2.0	51.6	52.2	0.6	1.1
Surrey	72.8	75.6	2.8	3.9	72.5	74.7	2.2	3.1
Sussex	125.6	128.1	2.6	2.0	125.0	126.5	1.4	1.2
Thames Valley	168.0	171.3	3.3	2.0	167.2	168.9	1.7	1.0
Warwickshire	41.4	42.2	0.8	2.0	41.2	41.7	0.5	1.1
West Mercia	86.2	87.8	1.6	1.8	85.8	86.6	0.8	0.9
Wiltshire	51.1	52.1	1.0	1.9	50.9	51.5	0.5	1.0
Total English shire authorities	2,633	2,691	59	2.2	2,621	2,658	36	1.4
Greater Manchester	308.7	315.2	6.5	2.1	307.8	312.3	4.6	1.5
Merseyside	203.4	207.7	4.3	2.1	202.9	206.2	3.3	1.6
Northumbria	169.6	173.7	4.1	2.4	169.0	172.1	3.0	1.8
South Yorkshire	138.4	141.4	3.0	2.2	137.9	140.0	2.1	1.5
West Midlands	310.0	317.4	7.3	2.4	309.0	314.4	5.4	1.7
West Yorkshire	233.3	238.2	4.9	2.1	232.5	235.9	3.4	1.4
Total metropolitan authorities	1,363	1,394	30	2.2	1,359	1,381	22	1.6
Metropolitan police(21)	1,518.8	1,548.3	29.5	1.9	1,515.5	1,538.2	22.8	1.5
City of London police(22)
Dyfed Powys	40.7	42.2	1.5	3.7	40.5	41.7	1.2	2.9
Gwent	54.6	56.5	1.9	3.5	54.4	55.9	1.5	2.8
North Wales	58.6	60.7	2.1	3.6	58.4	60	1.6	2.8
South Wales	132.7	137.2	4.5	3.4	132.3	135.9	3.6	2.7
Total Welsh authorities	287	297	10	3.5	286	294	8	2.8
Total (all authorities)	5,801	5,930	129	2.2	5,781	5,870	89	1.5

(20) Includes principal police grant, additional rules 1, 2 and 3, police damping grant, revenue support grant and income from national non-domestic rates.

(21) Includes provision for services other than police functions.

(22) No separately identifiable figures exist for the City of London police.

All figures have been rounded from the original calculations. Figures for total external support were provided by the Department of the Environment.

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