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Crime Prevention
17. Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's plans to give crime prevention a higher priority. [5523]
Mr. Michael: We are determined to raise the profile of crime prevention across the board. It makes far more sense to stop a crime happening than to have to pick up the pieces afterwards, important though it is to help victims and to catch and punish offenders.
One of our first priorities is to place a new duty on local authorities and the police service together to develop statutory local partnerships for crime prevention and community safety and, with other key partners, to agree local community safety targets. Our proposals, which we intend to include in the crime and disorder Bill later this year, will be developed on the basis of full consultation with all interested parties.
Mr. Borrow:
The Minister's answer will be welcomed in my constituency of South Ribble. I am, however,
Mr. Michael:
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I have had the experience in an area of my constituency where there were problems trying to reconcile the police view of crime and the local authority's view of crime. When we asked local people, they said, "You've both got it wrong." Absolutely central to the process I have described will be a local crime and disorder audit to identify problems of concern to all local people by using both police and local authority experience of crime and disorder and listening to the views of the community.
Once the problems have been identified, there are many ways in which they can be tackled. When I was a board member of Crime Concern, I saw some of the excellent initiatives that had been developed there. Only last week, in the Prudential youth action awards, we saw examples of young people being part of the solution and not part of the problem when they are invited and brought into tackling local neighbourhood problems. I certainly take on board my hon. Friend's points.
Mr. Baldry:
Is the House to understand, from the Minister's earlier comments about tightness of funding in the Home Office, the Home Secretary's refusal to set any targets for increasing the number of police officers and the fact that the police and the Home Office had not a mention in last week's Budget, that the Home Office is having a pretty tough time in its negotiations with the Treasury? Given that the best method of crime prevention is more police officers, is not the message that is coming through clearly this afternoon that the Home Office is short of funding and that there will be less funding for our police forces in the coming years?
Mr. Michael:
I think that the hon. Gentleman has been day dreaming for the past three quarters of an hour. The message that is coming through quite clearly is that the Government will use the resources available within the police service, the Home Office and local authorities to tackle crime and its causes--an area in which the Conservative Government were guilty of abject failure for 18 years, when crime rocketed and, in the past few years, violent crime has gone through the roof. I promise the hon. Gentleman that a Government who will tackle these issues has replaced a Government who failed on these issues.
18. Mr. Hutton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to tackle offending by young people. [5525]
Mr. Straw:
We are pursuing a wide-ranging programme of change, including fast-track punishment for persistent young offenders, ending the practice of repeat police cautions, new powers for courts to impose reparation and action plan orders, and actions to make the youth courts more effective.
Mr. Hutton:
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply. Does he agree that magistrates courts need the widest possible range of sentencing options available to them if they are to deal properly with the criminal behaviour of young offenders, who can cause such misery to decent, law-abiding citizens? In particular, does he agree that that should include the availability of secure accommodation, which the previous Government completely failed to deliver?
Mr. Straw:
I agree with my hon. Friend. It is clear that magistrates courts must themselves have a specific responsibility for the sentences that they wish to see imposed in respect of young offenders. It was frankly absurd for the previous Administration to set up a system whereby there was a constant shuttlecock between the courts on the one hand and social services on the other, with neither being clear as to which had responsibility for dealing with persistent young offenders.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that he will have given no comfort to those in the volunteering and voluntary organisations today by the lack of mention of their role and their disappointment at the summary return to the Home Office? Will he pay tribute to Nicholas Ward and the "Make a difference" team for all their work? Does he agree that worthwhile activities for young people are extremely important if they are to be prevented from becoming involved in crime?
Mr. Straw:
I am delighted to pay tribute to the voluntary sector, when I am asked a question about it.
23. Mr. Connarty:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to consult local authorities on crime prevention matters. [5532]
Mr. Michael:
As we recognise that local government is crucial to the effective prevention of crime, we shall be giving local authorities and the police service a new joint duty to develop statutory local crime prevention partnerships. I have already had some preliminary discussions with local authority and police representatives about the proposals, which are generally welcomed, and I shall continue to consult closely with them as the proposals develop.
Mr. Connarty:
I thank my hon. Friend for his reply. I take the point made earlier that many disruptive neighbours are not council tenants. However, the chief executive of my local authority sees the origin of disruptive and implacable tenants in terms of the Tenants Rights Etc. (Scotland) Amendment Act 1980. Will my hon. Friend take issue with him about the contents of that Act and try to give back to local authorities the powers that people want them to have over disruptive tenants, including the power to remove their tenancies should they continue to terrorise their neighbours?
Mr. Michael:
I recognise the nature of the problem that my hon. Friend describes, but it is for other Ministers to address tenancy issues. As part of the crime and disorder Bill later this year, we shall be introducing the community protection order which, irrespective of whether housing is rented or owned and who is the landlord, will provide a means by which the police and local authorities can tackle violent and disruptive neighbours who, as my hon. Friend rightly says, have made people's lives a misery in communities up and down the country.
School Standards
3.30 pm
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Mr. David Blunkett): Before I begin my statement, on behalf of the whole House, I should like to offer condolences to the parents and family of the 16-year-old girl who was killed and of those who have been injured in the bus crash in the French alps, involving children from St. James's high school in Bolton. We all send them our best wishes.
With permission, I wish to make a statement to the House setting out proposals in the White Paper, "Excellence in schools".
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made it clear that education is the Government's No. 1 priority. Our consultation document and the Budget announcement of an increase of almost £2.5 billion in revenue and capital investment in education demonstrate that commitment and our priority. We shall publish a separate consultation paper on special educational needs.
Our proposals focus clearly on the central task of raising standards. We are establishing a new partnership for schools--one with teachers and the profession. Self-improvement is at the core of success. Schools must take responsibility for accepting that challenge. Good schools will flourish. Our proposals offer increased support through the new standards and effectiveness unit to schools in need of improvement. We shall build on best practice from around the world. We have set up the standards task force to spearhead our crusade to raise standards throughout the education service.
The new role for local education authorities will reflect our priorities by focusing on raising standards, not controlling schools. Intervention by LEAs will be in inverse proportion to success. All schools and local education authorities will establish challenging targets as part of the development plans on which they will be judged.
What we propose today will make a difference for everyone involved in the education of our children--parents, teachers and non-teaching staff, governors and the wider community. Our early years plans will lay the ground work, but, to provide a firm foundation, the best teaching methods must be available in every classroom in the land.
Our national literacy and numeracy strategy will ensure that all primary teachers are trained to use the most effective teaching methods. There will be a structured hour devoted each day to both literacy and numeracy in all primary schools.
Parents are a child's first teacher. They deserve better information and advice in order to increase their involvement in their child's learning. Home-school agreements will set out rights and responsibilities for home and school. They will explain clearly what is expected of the school, the parent and the pupil. Such agreements will make clear the need for regular and punctual attendance, good discipline and the vital role that homework can play in supporting learning in and out of school.
Parent participation in the life of the school is also vital. The provision of additional parent governors will be complemented by their direct representation on the education committee of their local authority.
We are offering a new deal for teachers: a new partnership between Government and all those involved in education. This Government value teachers, and will celebrate good practice. We will introduce a general teaching council, develop advanced skills teacher posts and provide comprehensive in-service training. There will be a new curriculum for initial teacher training, focusing on literacy and numeracy. A probationary year for all newly qualified teachers will continue their professional development.
We will introduce scholarships for the most outstanding teachers, encouraging them to spend a term sharing their knowledge and skills with others. A new awards scheme will recognise the success of individual schools.
This Government recognise that strong and committed leadership at every level is crucial. The role of the head teacher is critical to the success of the school. We will therefore strengthen head teacher training by introducing a mandatory qualification for all newly appointed heads. We will introduce a national training scheme for all existing heads, and overhaul the appraisal process for both heads and teachers.
Last week, I told the House how we would give young people hope through a new deal for the under-25s. Today's White Paper outlines a new approach to support areas of greatest disadvantage. Education action zones will draw together a range of initiatives in a partnership approach to raising standards. We will develop the specialist schools programme, so that such schools' innovative approach to teaching and learning can benefit the wider family of schools in their area.
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