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Crime and Disorder Act 1998
8. Mrs. Christine Butler (Castle Point): If he will make a statement on the role of the voluntary sector in the implementation of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. [80957]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Paul Boateng): Voluntary organisations have a huge amount to contribute to crime prevention and reduction and the safer resettlement of offenders. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 provides a framework for a wide range of voluntary bodies to be invited to participate in the work of the crime and disorder reduction partnerships. I am glad to say that many voluntary organisations have taken up that opportunity and are working closely with the statutory sector to reduce the levels of crime, not least in the vital role that they have to play in implementing the youth justice measures in the 1998 Act.
Mrs. Butler: Will my hon. Friend congratulate the voluntary sector in Castle Point on its crime prevention work in the overall strategy for crime reduction in the constituency? In particular, will he send a message to bodies that represent the old, the very young, the vulnerable and the disabled, which promote the interests of those who most fear crime, encouraging them in the vital role that they play in the crime reduction strategy?
Mr. Boateng: I am happy to do that. My message to the organisations working with the elderly and the vulnerable is to thank them for all that they are doing, and to tell them that their views and their concerns will be taken up in the audits that underpin the crime prevention and reduction partnerships, and will be carried forward in the strategies. They have a vital role to play in ensuring that the elderly and the vulnerable, who are most likelyto be the victims of crime, are properly protected. Partnerships between the voluntary sector, the statutory sector and the police are most likely to reduce and prevent crime, and we are determined that they will have all the support that they need to achieve that end.
Mr. Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale, West): Will the Minister also pay tribute to the work of voluntary organisations such as the scouts and the guides in helping to keep young people away from involvement in crime? Will he give consideration to the importance of not
reducing the resources available to the scouts and the guides through the £10 levy on the vetting of people to be leaders of scouts or guides organisations?
Mr. Boateng: Scouts and guides, and indeed the whole array of the uniformed youth service, play an important role in diverting young people from crime. They set an example in recommending a life of discipline and duty that others would do well to emulate.
As the hon. Gentleman will know, we are engaged in discussions with the sector--indeed, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary had a meeting with representatives only the other day--to ensure that the necessary measures that we have introduced to bear down on the abuse of trust, and the welcome steps that we have taken to provide guides and scouts with access to the best possible information to prevent the service from being misused by those who would abuse children, are implemented in a way that does not place undue burdens on scouts and guides, or on any other part of the voluntary sector.
However, we are obliged--I make no bones about this--to implement a policy of the last Government as well. We must recognise that there is a cost to be met for those searches, and that we would not do the voluntary sector any good by exempting it from meeting a proportion of that cost.
Dr. Brian Iddon (Bolton, South-East):
May I praise the work of tenants and residents associations, and also place on record my thanks not only to the residents of part of my constituency who have put up with hell for the past 12 months, but to K division of the Greater Manchester police for sorting out the problem?
Does my hon. Friend agree that "training" is the word that we should consider seriously? Is it not important to train everyone, from the police down, in aspects of the Act that can affect ordinary lives on the streets, so that everyone is aware of their individual powers?
Mr. Boateng:
I wholeheartedly endorse what my hon. Friend has said. Training in the benefits that the Act can bring is essential not simply for the police but for magistrates--and, indeed, to increase local authorities' awareness of the powers now available to them.
Tenants and residents associations have long asked for the powers that we have given the police, local authorities and magistrates in the Act. I know that they welcome what we have done, and we are determined that the Act be used. The anti-social behaviour order in particular holds out the possibility of relief from behaviour that plagues all too many of our estates and communities. At long last, something is being done--by this new Labour Government.
9. Mr. Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham):
What representations he has received about opening times for police stations in Sussex. [80958]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Kate Hoey):
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary regularly receives representations from hon. Members, members of the public and others on
Mr. Loughton:
Will the Minister join me in condemning the tragic killing of PC Jeffrey Tooley, a young officer based in the traffic division at Shoreham in my constituency? While carrying out his duties late on Saturday night, he was hit by a van--apparently deliberately--which then failed to stop. The officer died in hospital yesterday. Will the Minister extend her condolences both to his family and to colleagues to whom I spoke this morning?
Will the Minister tell me how I can convince my constituents that the Government are serious about tackling crime in communities in my part of West Sussex? During the last two years, evening and weekend opening hours have been eliminated in all the police stations in my constituency; no police emergency service response vehicles are now based at any of those police stations; and overall Sussex police numbers have been reduced by 161.
Kate Hoey:
I am sure that all hon. Members throughout the House will wish to send their condolences to the family of PC Jeffrey Tooley. His death shows us again the dangers involved in being a police officer, and the extent to which police officers deserve our support.
There is always public concern about operational decisions to reduce the opening times of certain police stations. It must be said that all the developments that the hon. Gentleman said had taken place during the past two years took place under a funding regime implemented by the last Government; but the police must clearly make an operational decision on whether their resources are best used to keep police stations open during the evenings so that people can pop in, now that so many people use the telephone and can communicate with the police in other ways. We must allow them to make those operational decisions in their own areas.
11. Dr. Nick Palmer (Broxtowe):
If he will instruct immigration officials to ensure that asylum seekers who appear to have been tortured are not dispersed to areas without agencies specialising in the support of torture victims. [80960]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Mike O'Brien):
Wherever possible, the immigration service shall endeavour to respond positively to individuals' circumstances by arranging a suitable dispersal location, particularly in the case of torture victims.
Dr. Palmer:
I am grateful to the Minister for his reply, which he mentioned in private correspondence. Although many of us see the sense in dispersing asylum seekers across the country so that there is not a huge burden on a particular area, it would cause enormous distress to all of us if the situation of torture victims or apparent torture victims were aggravated by a lack of support in this country. Will my hon. Friend therefore reinforce his statement by saying that he hopes that immigration officials will give particular weight to that consideration?
Mr. O'Brien:
We shall indeed ensure that we are very considerate of those who have been victims of torture. I have had discussions with the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture--which, until now, has been based predominantly in the London area--and said that we have to begin to create infrastructures outside London, so that victims who are already in other locations, and those who might go there in future, are able to obtain full and proper treatment. We are determined to do all that we can to achieve that.
Mr. Richard Allan (Sheffield, Hallam):
Does the Minister agree that it would be better if Home Office officials spent their time developing proper care packages for victims of torture--as they have done recently in Leeds with their excellent work for the Kosovans--rather than wasting it setting up the ludicrous and unworkable voucher support system for asylum seekers? Will he not now heed the call of The Big Issue and other organisations to amend the relevant part of the Immigration and Asylum Bill, so that those who are fleeing persecution and torture are not thrown into social exclusion when they arrive in the United Kingdom?
Mr. O'Brien:
Unfortunately, I read a copy of The Big Issue, which misquoted me at length, and was particularly disappointed at the way in which it ran that story. It is important that all hon. Members face up to the reality of abuse of the asylum system. Although we have to create an asylum system that delivers for people who are victims of torture and who are genuine refugees, our system should also deter those who deliberately set out to abuse and undermine it. We have to restore integrity to the asylum system, and the Government are committed to doing that.
Mr. James Clappison (Hertsmere):
May I bring the Minister back to the issue of victims of torture? He will be aware from the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture that many of the experts whom it draws upon to help victims of torture are based in particular areas, especially London. Although sharing burdens in the matter is important, does not the Minister agree that, in both current and future arrangements, we should do all that we possibly can to get help to the victims of torture who need it, to help them to come to terms with their experiences? They have already been through terrible experiences; should not our arrangements be designed to help them as much as we possibly can?
Mr. O'Brien:
We certainly have to be sure that our asylum system is able sensitively to address the particular and very sensitive issues of victims of torture. We are committed to operating such a system. We are therefore committed not only to dealing with victims of torture who are already in the United Kingdom but to capacity building, so that we start to create the types of mechanisms that will ensure that victims of torture are properly dealt with when they come to the United Kingdom. I am not convinced that we have in place sufficient capacity to deliver for victims of torture. We still have much work to do, and I hope to work with the medical foundation and other organisations to improve our capacity to help the victims.
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