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Caution Plus
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the operation of caution plus by the Thames Valley police force; and what plans he has to encourage other forces to adopt caution plus. [11782]
Mr. Michael:
The operation of caution plus schemes in a number of areas has demonstrated the value of early, positive intervention with young offenders. I have been impressed by a number of initiatives such as the retail theft initiative in Milton Keynes which show the value of the police working with local authorities and the community--including the business community--to tackle crime and to "nip things in the bud".
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We are studying "best practice" in the Thames Valley and elsewhere in working towards implementation of our proposed final warning for young offenders and the intervention which will be associated with it. Our first consideration is how best to see "what works" in order to prevent crime and reduce reoffending.
Mr. Laurence Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy towards the state funding of political parties. [11649]
Mr. George Howarth:
We have no plans to introduce state funding of political parties.
Mr. Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the disclosure by political parties of their financiers and donations. [11648]
Mr. Howarth:
We are committed to obliging parties to declare the source of all donations above a minimum figure.
Mr. Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the compulsory registration by political parties of their membership. [11650]
Mr. Howarth:
We have no plans to introduce compulsory registration by political parties of their membership.
Mr. Opik:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the objectives of the Home Office programme development unit; what performance indicators will be used to monitor its work; and if he will make a statement. [11914]
Mr. Michael:
The primary objective of the Home Office programme development unit is to contribute to the development of policy and practice in the area of crime and criminal justice through experimental initiatives from which general lessons can be drawn. It identifies, initiates, encourages, develops and manages innovative local projects to test out in practice ideas stemming from research and practice. It ensures projects are properly monitored and independently evaluated and disseminates the results. It offers help with the replication of similar programmes where appropriate.
The work of the programme development unit is assessed by the contribution that its work makes to informing policy and practice; the extent to which projects found to be successful are continued beyond the period of Home Office funding, either through attracting funding from other sources or through being mainstreamed into the activities of other bodies such as local authorities; and the extent to which they are replicated.
The work of the programme development unit is regarded as an essential component in the armoury to tackle and prevent crime.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 21 July, Official Report, column 385, if he will list those who responded to the consultation document "Bringing Rights Home",
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published in December 1996; and what further discussions on the incorporation of the European convention on human rights have been held since. [11937]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
We received responses to "Bringing Rights Home" from the following persons and organisations:
Home Office Ministers have had meetings to discuss incorporation of the convention with Charter 88, the Human Rights Incorporation Project, the Institute for Public Policy Research, Sir Kenneth Keith, Liberty, my noble Friend the Lord Lester of Herne Hill and Justice.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the success of schemes of policing for rural areas with particular reference to country watch. [11785]
Mr. Michael:
The Government recognise that the most effective response to rural crime is a partnership between the police and the local community, but no specific assessment has been made of country watch. We encourage crime prevention schemes that enable members of the public--with the support of the local police--to do something positive in the fight against crime.
In accordance with this, we intend to introduce new statutory duties for local authorities and the police to work together and with the local community to analyse and identify local problems of crime and disorder and then together to draw up and implement strategies for tackling such problems. That will apply in both rural and urban areas.
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Schemes like country watch will continue to play a role in this partnership. The support which such schemes attract from the local community can make a significant impact on crime in the countryside.
Mrs. May:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to issue the consultation paper on compensation arrangements for special constables; who is being consulted; what is the deadline for consultation; and when he plans to bring forward legislation. [11724]
Mr. Michael:
We intend to issue the consultation paper in September, and shall invite the police representative bodies, the Local Government Association, and the working group on the special constabulary to submit comments by the end of October. Subject to these consultations, our aim is to introduce these new arrangements as part of a revised and consolidated set of regulations for special constables, to be made next year under the Police Act 1996.
Mr. Ruffley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there have been in post in each year since 1979. [11354]
Mr. Michael
[holding answer 29 July 1997]: The number of special constables in post in England and Wales since 1979 are given in the table.
Charter 88
Churches Commission for Racial Justice
Data Protection Registrar
Director of Human Rights, Council of Europe
Martin Doherty
Editor of the "European Human Rights Law Review"
Avril Fox
Guild of Editors
Sir Basil Hall
Human Rights Incorporation Project
Institute for Public Policy Research
Joseph Jaconelli
Justice
Martin Kenny
Law Society
David Lepper
Liberty
Karen Maloney
Frank McManus
Councillor N. Perrott
Public Law Project
Royal National Institute for Deaf People
Rabinder Singh
Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights
Dr. Robert Wintemute
Enid Wistrich.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1979 | 15,960 |
| 1980 | 15,108 |
| 1981 | 14,978 |
| 1982 | 15,160 |
| 1983 | 15,331 |
| 1984 | 16,012 |
| 1985 | 16,161 |
| 1986 | 16,070 |
| 1987 | 16,209 |
| 1988 | 15,788 |
| 1989 | 15,589 |
| 1990 | 15,881 |
| 1991 | 18,073 |
| 1992 | 19,243 |
| 1993 | 20,566 |
| 1994 | 20,096 |
| 1995 | 20,026 |
| 1996 | 19,736 |
| 1997(40) | 19,836 |
(40) The figure for 1997 is provisional. The figures from 1979 to 1994 were recorded as at 31 December of those years. From 1995, the figures were recorded as at 31 March.
Prisons (Staff)
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the ratio of prison staff to prisoners in each year from 1993 to 1997.[11838]
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| Year | Staff: prisoner ratio |
|---|---|
| 1993 | 1:1.17 |
| 1994 | 1:1.24 |
| 1995 | 1:1.26 |
| 1996 | 1:1.33 |
| 1997(41) | 1:1.50 |
(41) Figures as at 30 June 1997.
Perjury
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons found guilty of perjury since 1979 served custodial sentences in an open prison; and what percentage this represents of the total. [10010]
Ms Quin: The information available centrally combines the offences of perjury, libel and perverting the course of justice. Information for 1991 to 1996 is contained in the table. From court proceedings statistics for the years 1991 to 1995, it is known that around one in nine of these offenders will have served sentences for perjury. It is not possible to provide the information in this form prior to 1991 as information held centrally before that date combined perjury with a much larger group of offences.
| Year | Number of discharges | Percentage of all discharges from open prisons | Percentage of all discharges from all prisons | Percentage of all discharges for perjury, libel, and perverting the course of justice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 40 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 30.5 |
| 1992 | 66 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 34.7 |
| 1993 | 59 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 26.1 |
| 1994 | 76 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 24.5 |
| 1995 | 102 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 21.2 |
| 1996 | 156 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 27.8 |
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of time spent in prison by prisoners who were released in each year since 1992 having served a custodial sentence for perjury. [10009]
Ms Quin: The information available centrally combines the offences of perjury, libel and perverting the course of justice. The available information is contained in the table.
In the information held centrally about prisoners, the offence of perjury cannot be separately distinguished from among this group of offences. From court proceedings statistics for the years 1992 to 1995, it is known that around one in nine offenders given custodial sentences for perjury, libel or perverting the course of justice were guilty of the offence of perjury.
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| Average time served (months) | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 3.7 |
| 1993 | 4.3 |
| 1994 | 3.8 |
| 1995 | 3.5 |
| 1996 | 3.6 |
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