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UK Passport Agency
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what preparations are being made by the UK Passport Agency for the processing of criminal record checks; and if he will make a statement. [88167]
Mr. Boateng: The Passport Agency has set up a team in Merseyside to manage the introduction of the Criminal Records Bureau.
Detailed planning is under way with the aim of commencing operations on a phased basis.
Procurement of accommodation and Information Technology services is now under way by open competition and advertisements have been placed in the Open Journal of the European Community (OJEC).
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place between his Department and the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions for linking the aims and objectives for the Police Service with the National Road Safety Strategy. [88315]
Mr. Straw:
The over-arching aims and objectives for police forces in England and Wales which were published last year include an objective of contributing to improving road safety and the reduction of casualties. That links with the police's aim to promote safety and reduce disorder. The performance measures related to the new duty of best value are likely to include performance measures in relation to this area of policing. These measures are to be agreed following a period of consultation over the summer. The new National Road Safety Strategy and casualty reduction targets for 2010 are being developed by the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) in close consultation with officials in my Department and with representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers' Traffic Committee. DETR expect to be able to publish the strategy and targets in the autumn.
30 Jun 1999 : Column: 186
Dr. Julian Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his oral answer of 21 June 1999, Official Report, column 783, what the role of F Branch of the Security Service formerly dealing with subversion currently is; what proportion of its work relates to the pensions of former F Branch employees; if the threat assessment set out on page 12 of the Home Office publication of 1998, "MI5 The Security Service", with particular reference to subversion, still applies; and if the statement on page 19 that there are no investigations into subversion is still valid. [88224]
Mr. Straw:
The 1998 booklet "MI5 The Security Service" contains as much information as it is possible to disclose on this subject. The information which it contains on Security Service investigations of subversion remains valid. It would not be in the public interest to provide further details of the kind requested.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will survey those persons admitted to young offenders' institutions over the next three calendar months to establish how many and which had been members of uniformed youth organisations; for what duration; and what percentage of admissions this represents. [88420]
Mr. George Howarth:
No. The Government believe that the 'what works' and related research provides a reliable basis for developing ways to tackle offending by young people and have no plans to commission a survey of this nature.
However, I have set up some focus groups with young offenders to discuss in more general terms their backgrounds, experience of the criminal justice system, their perceptions of custody and their plans for the future. A draft report has been received and the final report should be made available to me very shortly.
Mr. Stinchcombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prison drug tests proved positive in (a) drug-free wings and (b) other wings in the latest period for which figures are available. [88306]
Mr. George Howarth:
The proportion of random mandatory drug tests that proved positive for the period 1998-99 was 18.3 per cent. which is 1.7 per cent. less than the target of 20 per cent. set for the year. This can be compared with the previous years' figures of 24.4 per cent. positive in 1996-97 and 20.8 per cent. in 1997-98. Figures for drug testing results from voluntary testing units are not collated centrally.
Mr. Stinchcombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) arrests have been made on suspicion of smuggling drugs into prison, (b) prosecutions have been brought and (c) convictions have been obtained in the most recent period for which figures are available. [88303]
Mr. George Howarth:
I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) on 23 June 1999, Official Report, column 379.
30 Jun 1999 : Column: 187
Dr. Julian Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review court procedures for conducting means assessments prior to sentencing of convicted criminals. [R] [87556]
Mr. Straw
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: Courts are required by law to inquire into the financial circumstances of a convicted offender before fixing the amount of any fine. Means assessments are also currently carried out in criminal cases before the grant of legal aid.
A case is pending before the European Court of Human Rights questioning the role of the Justices' Clerk in conducting means inquiries in magistrates courts. Once the outcome of the case is known the Government will consider what action, if any, needs to be taken.
The Access to Justice Bill includes a proposal to transfer from the Justices' Clerk to the Justices' Chief Executive the administrative responsibility for collecting fines. The Bill also proposes the abolition of means assessments before the granting of legal aid and the introduction of a power at the end of a case for the higher courts to order defendants to meet some or all of the defence costs. There will be power to assess the defendant's means before any such order is made.
The Government have no other plans to review court procedures in this area.
Mr. Coaker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what progress is being made with respect to the Public Safety Radio Communications Project; and if he will make a statement; [88605]
Mr. Boateng:
The Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), a Home Office Non-Departmental Public Body, is managing the Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP). This is a major Public Private Partnership project designed to replace the police service's existing radio communications systems with a modern national infrastructure delivered under a service provision contract. The Service Provider will design, build, fund and own the infrastructure and individual police forces will contract to take a range of core (mandatory) and menu (optional) services for anticipated contract periods of 15 years.
A Project Definition Study has been completed and negotiations on price and contractual terms are now in progress with British Telecommunications as the candidate Service Provider. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Association of Police Authorities (APA) are being kept fully briefed of progress. When negotiations are concluded, a formal business case will shortly be put to Ministers, ACPO and the APA, for a decision on its acceptance.
Over the next three years the police service will receive an additional £1.24 billion in central government funding. It is a matter for each police authority to set their budget and for each chief constable to determine how to use the resources that are available. The scope for additional funding for PSRCP is under consideration.
30 Jun 1999 : Column: 188
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what programmes there are to help prisoners find accommodation on their release. [88675]
Mr. George Howarth:
The Prison and Probation Services work closely together to help prisoners released on licence to maintain or secure appropriate accommodation. For prisoners not subject to statutory supervision there are a number of sources of advice and guidance. These include prison officers trained by "National Association for Care and Resettlement of Offenders", accommodation specialists from the probation service and independent organisations.
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department has done to identify debt problems affecting prisoners that could increase the likelihood of an individual re-offending, if not dealt with before the prisoner's release. [88672]
Mr. George Howarth:
It is recognised that financial considerations can be related to the risk of re-offending in some cases. While no specific programme is in place to identify problems of debt, it is a factor which is taken into account in wider assessments for sentence planning and in the provision of advice and information.
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work is being done in the Prison Service to ensure that a resettlement service is provided for each prisoner. [88673]
Mr. George Howarth:
Adult prisoners with six months or more to serve and young offenders serving one month or more are subject to a system of sentence planning to determine what can be done during their time in custody and on licence to contribute to successful release. The Prison Service invests annually in the "National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders" prison link unit, providing £226,000 for 1999-2000, to train prison officers to provide advice and information on resettlement issues, and for specially trained staff to provide pre-release courses.
Individual prisons liaise with probation services and other statutory and independent organisations, to provide resettlement services appropriate to local circumstances.
(2) what funding arrangements will be put in place for the Public Safety Radio Communications Project. [88606]
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