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EU General Affairs Council
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, consequential on the conclusions of the General Affairs Council of the European Union meeting on 7 December, he will list (a) the adaptations necessary to the working structures in justice and home affairs, and for what purposes, (b) when the changes were discussed at the Meeting of the K4 Committee and who represented Her Majesty's Government and (c) what instructions he has given to United Kingdom Permanent Representatives on COREPER in respect of its remit to prepare for the necessary changes. [77217]
Mr. Straw: I take it that my hon. Friend is referring to the conclusions of the General Affairs Council (GAC) on 7 December 1998 relating to preparation of the implementation of the Amsterdam Treaty.
It has been recognised for some time that the provisions of the Treaty of Amsterdam have legal and practical implications for Council working structures in the field of justice and home affairs (JHA). While the JHA Council will maintain political oversight over all JHA areas, including those transferring to the First Pillar, adjustments will need to be made to working structures below the level of the Council. The main change arises from the fact that the co-ordinating committee under Article 36 of the revised Treaty on European Union which will replace the present K4 Committee will, unlike that Committee, have no responsibility for the matters transferring to the First Pillar. In the interests of ensuring effective co-ordination of future work on immigration, asylum and border controls, and on civil judicial co-operation, it has been decided to create new groups to assure such co- ordination. The opportunity has also been taken to review lower level working structures, with a view to achieving greater coherence and efficiency and to incorporating Schengen working structures into the Council structures. A number of changes to working groups have now been agreed, for implementation when the Amsterdam Treaty enters into force.
These matters have been discussed in the K4 Committee on a number of occasions, most recently at the meeting on 23-24 February, where the United Kingdom was represented by Mr. John Warne, Director of the Organised and International Crime Directorate at the Home Office.
The Presidency's proposals were approved by the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) on 17 March. It was also agreed that Coreper would review the new working structures at the end of the year 2000.
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Mr. Soley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department collects comparative data on accidents involving police, ambulance and fire service vehicles responding to emergency calls. [77343]
Mr. George Howarth:
No comparative data are collected but the Home Office monitors accident rates arising from both police responses to emergency calls and pursuits. We are supporting the Association of Chief Police Officers in all its work to reduce the casualties which regrettably arise from time to time in these situations.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of computer systems in (i) his Department, (ii) public services for which his Department is responsible and (iii) departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible, which will be millennium compliant by December; and if he will make a statement. [77294]
Mr. Straw:
All business critical Information Technology systems in the Home Department are expected to be Millennium compliant well before December 1999.
All Police Forces and Fire Brigades in England and Wales report that their business critical IT systems will be Millennium compliant by December 1999. Programmes of independent assessment of these reports are currently under way.
All the Non-Departmental Public Bodies for which the Home Department is responsible report that their business critical IT systems will be Millennium compliant by December 1999.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total expenditure by his Department and by each of the public services for which he is responsible on ensuring that computer systems are millennium compliant; and if he will make a statement. [77295]
Mr. Straw:
The projected total expenditure on Year 2000 work up to the end of March 1999 in the Home Department is £22.584 million. In addition, total expenditure on Year 2000 work up to the end of December 1998 in Police Forces was £17.2 million and in Fire Services was £1.756 million.
A projection, undertaken in January 1999, of cumulative expenditure on Millennium compliance work up to March 2000 in the Home Department was £25.326 million; in the Police Forces, £56.233 million; and in the Fire Services, £8.605 million.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons in England and Wales currently have drug free wings; how many have specialised drug addiction treatment programmes and staff; and if he will make a statement. [77281]
Mr. George Howarth:
It is estimated that there are now approximately 4,000 voluntary testing places covering one third of prisons. There are currently 73 centrally funded
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drug treatment/rehabilitation programmes being delivered by prison and specialist staff. The Prison Service is committed to the expansion of treatment programmes and to providing access to voluntary testing for all prisoners considered suitable by 2001.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seconded probation staff were working in HM prisons in England and Wales on 31 December in each of the last four years; what plans he has to change numbers of seconded staff over the next two years; and if he will make a statement. [77291]
Mr. George Howarth:
The numbers of seconded probation staff in prison establishments for the last four years ending 31 December, are as follows:
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1995 | (3)639 |
| 1996 | (3)568 |
| 1997 | 590 |
| 1998 | 657 |
(3) Figures for 1995 and 1996 include probation seconded officers but not probation service officers which have been recorded only since 1997
The Prison and Probation Services have a joint commitment to the effective delivery of throughcare. The number of seconded probation staff in establishments is dependent on an annual contract between the Governor of the establishment and the Chief Probation Officer for the area. Staffing levels need to be flexible, to meet changing requirements.
Governors must adhere to the principles of the National Throughcare Framework Document--signed by the Prison and Probation Services--in determining the number of seconded probation staff needed to prepare ex-offenders adequately for post-release supervision.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders are currently on a home detention curfew; and if he will make a statement. [77282]
Mr. George Howarth:
On 17 March 1999, there were 2,031 offenders on home detention curfew in England and Wales. Since the commencement of the scheme on 28 January 1999, 2,403 offenders have been placed on Home Detention Curfew. Of this number, 298 have successfully completed their curfew and 71 have been recalled.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the use of electronic tagging of young offenders; and if he will make a statement. [77283]
Mr. George Howarth:
Curfew orders backed by electronic monitoring for young offenders aged 10 to 15 are currently being piloted in Norfolk and Greater Manchester. These are due to run until 31 March 2000. Information on the pilots is being collected and analysed
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by the Research Development and Statistics Directorate of the Home Office. A final report is due early in 2000 and a decision will then be made on whether to extend the use of this provision.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if individuals who have mistakenly had their communications intercepted by statutory agencies, owing to an error by a public telecommunications operator or for any other reason, are informed of the mistake and given details of the communications which have been intercepted; how many individuals mistakenly had their communications intercepted in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [77275]
Mr. Straw:
Whenever a person's communications are intercepted in error a report explaining the reason for the error and the action taken in response is submitted to the Secretary of State and to the Commissioner appointed under the Interception of Communications Act 1985. All product obtained from the interception is destroyed. The Commissioner reports on errors, in such detail as he considers appropriate, in his annual reports. The numbers of errors in the last five published reports are as follows:
| Report for (year) | Number of errors |
|---|---|
| 1993 | 9 |
| 1994 | 14 |
| 1995 | 7 |
| 1996 | 8 |
| 1997 | 18 |
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