| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Anti-social Neighbours
30. Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in respect of his policy to tackle anti-social neighbours.[15809]
Mr. Michael:
In September we published a consultation paper outlining proposals for a new court order which would prohibit an individual who had engaged in anti-social behaviour from continuing to behave in that way. The responses received have been generally positive, and we will introduce appropriate provisions in the Crime and Disorder Bill shortly.
24 Nov 1997 : Column: 435
31. Mr. Touhig:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the report by the Office for National Statistics on alcopops; and if he will make a statement. [15810]
Mr. George Howarth:
The findings of the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) report "Young teenagers and alcohol in 1996" support those of other surveys and research, which indicate worrying levels of alcohol misuse by young people. The Government's announcement on 17 July made clear our concern about this problem and set out the action which we expected all concerned, including the industry itself, to take.
32. Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to protect the public from serious sex offenders released early from non-life sentences. [15811]
Mr. Michael:
The Sex Offenders Act 1997 requires offenders who have been convicted of sex offences against children and other serious sex offences to notify the police of their name and address and any changes to these details. The police will work with the Probation Service and other agencies to use this information to protect children and vulnerable people by alerting agencies and individuals of the presence of an offender in their area when appropriate. The Crime and Disorder Bill will also introduce provisions to allow for the extended supervision of sex offenders. This will enable probation services to ensure that offenders complete treatment programmes.
33. Mr. Rooney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he intends to introduce to safeguard the rights of British citizens under the European Convention on Human Rights. [15812]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
We introduced the Human Rights Bill in another place last month. The Bill gives further effect in domestic law to the rights and freedoms set out in the Convention, and will significantly improve the ability of people in the United Kingdom to rely on their Convention rights before our own courts.
34. Gillian Merron:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to tackle the link between drugs and crime. [15813]
Mr. Stephen Twigg:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to tackle the link between drugs and crime. [15815]
Mr. George Howarth:
The Home Office has a research programme designed to shed further light on the links between drugs and crime. In addition, a Home Office Drugs Prevention Initiative study is testing the
24 Nov 1997 : Column: 436
impact of drug treatment interventions in the criminal justice system--from arrest through sentence and beyond--to refer people with drug problems to drug treatment programmes.
A new testing and treatment order will be introduced to give courts the powers to require drug misusing offenders to undergo treatment. The new order will be rigorously enforced and include the use of drug testing to ensure those in treatment are staying off illegal drugs.
The new United Kingdom Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator Keith Hellawell, has been appointed and will be supported by a Deputy, Michael Trace. The immediate priorities for the Co-ordinator will include reviewing existing action against drug misuse and submitting proposals to Ministers for a new strategy as quickly as possible, aimed at tackling drug problems through effective enforcement, treatment and education.
35. Mrs. Fiona Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has received to his proposals to tackle youth crime. [15814]
Mr. Michael:
The Government's formal proposals for tackling youth crime were set out in the three consultation documents and the consultation periods for these documents closed recently. Several hundred responses were received, and these are currently being assessed. The intention is to provide Parliament with a report on these consultation exercises as soon as practicable. More generally we have received an enthusiastic response from the police, the public and most other organisations in the field.
37. Mr. Yeo:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received regarding the use of private contractors in the management of the Prison Service. [15816]
Ms Quin:
Since 1 May, my right hon. Friend has received representations from hon. Members, the Prison Service Trade Unions, members of staff, representatives of contractors and other members of the public. The subjects covered include: the building and running of new prisons under the private finance initiative; the involvement of the private sector in Prison Service administration under the Quantum project; and the contractual management of industries at Coldingley prison.
Figures are available for Parliamentary Questions and Ministers' cases and are listed in the table:
| Subject | Parliamentary Questions | Ministers cases |
|---|---|---|
| Quantum | 6 | 2 |
| PFI and Prisons | 3 | -- |
| Prisons and Private sector | 4 | 10 |
| Totals | 13 | 12 |
24 Nov 1997 : Column: 437
Police Officers
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are per head of population in (a) England as a whole and (b) the Devon and Cornwall constabulary. [15789]
Mr. Michael: The average ratio for England is one police officer: 414 people. In the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary the ratio is one police officer: 538 people. This is based on police numbers at March 1997, and the latest population figures which are for June 1996.
Bus Lanes
Mr. Brake:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will raise the penalty for illegal use of bus lanes. [16839]
24 Nov 1997 : Column: 438
Mr. Michael:
Illegal use of a bus lane is an offence under section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and carries a maximum fine of £1,000. An offence can be dealt with under the fixed penalty procedure, in which case the penalty is currently £20.
We have no plans to increase the maximum penalty which may be imposed by the courts, but we are reviewing the current level of the fixed penalty.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the reviews being undertaken by his Department, indicating the consultation documents issued in relation to each review and the expected completion date for each. [16539]
Mr. Straw:
The information requested about reviews is set out in the table.
24 Nov 1997 : Column: 437
24 Nov 1997 : Column: 439
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |