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HOME DEPARTMENT
Correspondence
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letters dated 19 March, 23 March and 22 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. H. Eljack, 5 Oundle Close. [86409]
Mr. Straw: I wrote to my right hon. Friend, on 10 June 1999.
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 27 April, ref. 7518/99. [86400]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
I am sorry that my hon. Friend has not yet received a reply to his letter of 27 April. I will be replying shortly setting out the full background to this case.
11 Jun 1999 : Column: 421
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used to decide which prisoners should serve their sentence in Ford Open Prison. [86711]
Mr. George Howarth:
Ford prison is an open prison and accepts adult male category D prisoners. The current arrangements for the categorisation and allocation of adult male prisoners are set out in chapter 7 of Prison Service Order 2200, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Allocation criteria for individual establishments are agreed between the area manager and the governor of the prison. They vary according to local circumstances. The criteria for acceptance at Ford prison are listed as follows:
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact that advertisements implying a pleasure for women in male roughness have on his efforts to avert domestic violence; and if he will make a statement. [86477]
Mr. Boateng:
No such assessment has been made but nobody should believe that violence against women is either acceptable or enjoyed by the victims. There can be no excuse for such conduct. It is so serious because it is so often committed in what should be the "safety" of the victim's home, even in front of children, by a partner to whom the victim should be able to look for support and protection.
The "Break the Chain" campaign launched this year made clear the Government's determination to tackle domestic violence. The leaflet has been so much in demand that we are having to reprint it as a matter of urgency.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 9 February 1999, Official Report, column 144, to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan), what was the role of the fourth officer at the arrest of Senator Pinochet. [86752]
Mr. Straw:
As indicated in the my reply of 9 February 1999 to the hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs. Gillan), Official Report, column 144, only two officers were present. They were the head of the Metropolitan Police Extradition Squad and another member of the Squad.
11 Jun 1999 : Column: 422
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many 999 calls were received in each of the last three years by (a) police forces and (b) the Metropolitan Police; and if he will make a statement. [86653]
Mr. Boateng:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) on 19 March 1999, Official Report, columns 824-26.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those areas which (a) have successfully bid for additional funding for the targeted policing initiative, and how much has been allocated in each case and (b) submitted unsuccessful bids; and if he will make a statement. [86124]
Mr. Boateng:
Of the £250 million three year Crime Reduction Programme which we announced on 21 July 1998, £32 million has been earmarked for the targeted policing initiative. The aim of this initiative is to help police forces, in collaboration with local crime and disorder partnerships, to improve the way in which they tackle crime. Rather than only responding to crime and dealing with its immediate consequences, the challenge is to reduce it by analysing the real crime problem and tackling its underlying causes. To this end we will be funding some 20 developmental projects over the next three years with an emphasis on developing and testing our new, effective and cost effective targeted policing tactics.
On 11 November last year, we wrote to all chief constables in England and Wales, copied to police authorities and local authority Chief Executives, inviting them to submit proposals under the first of two competitions in the targeted policing initiative. A total of 32 police forces submitted 73 outline proposals for funding a range of targeted policing initiatives in their areas. The bids contained a good mix of problems to be tackled and possible approaches to tackling them.
The proposals were assessed against the published criteria by a specially convened panel comprising representatives from the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Local Government Association. The panel identified 11 proposals (table 1) as strong contenders for further development and which are currently undergoing validation and development with the help of independent consultants appointed by the Home Office. The development of the proposals is due to be completed shortly and I expect to be able to announce the final results by the end of June.
There is no maximum sentence length, but prisoners must be within three years of their parole eligibility date;
prisoners serving a sentence for a sex offence or an offence of arson will not be accepted;
prisoners serving sentences for violent offences will be accepted only on progressive moves from closed establishments, and where their conduct during their sentence has indicated their suitability;
prisoners should have no history of escape or abscond, and no failure on temporary release in the previous three years; and
prisoners will not be accepted if they require full time medical care. They should be fit for most forms of work.
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11 Jun 1999 : Column: 423
11 Jun 1999 : Column: 425
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