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Prisoners (Licence Period)
Lorna Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the length of licence period a prisoner receives in relation to the length of sentence served. [90265]
Mr. Boateng: The Criminal Justice Act 1991 sets out the arrangements for the release on licence of determinate sentence prisoners. Under the Act, prisoners serving a sentence of 12 months or more but less than four years must be released on licence at the half-way point of the sentence. Those serving a determinate sentence of four years or more are eligible for release on licence at the half-way point of the sentence and in any event must be released on licence at the two thirds point. Prisoners serving a sentence of less than 12 months must be released unconditionally at the half-way point.
Under the home detention curfew arrangements introduced by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, there is now provision for some determinate sentence prisoners to be released on licence up to a maximum of two months earlier than under the arrangements above. These provisions apply only to prisoners aged 18 or over who are serving a sentence of more than three months but less than four years. Prisoners released on this scheme are monitored by electronic tagging.
Finally, under section 58 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, where a court proposes to impose a custodial sentence for a sexual or violent offence, and considers that the normal licence period under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 would not be adequate, it may now pass an extended sentence on that offender. This means in effect that the offender will be subject to a longer period of supervision on licence.
The Government have no current plans to change these arrangements.
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Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to ensure that police keep in close contact with witnesses about progress on cases in which they are involved; and what guidelines he has issued on the subject. [90309]
Mr. Boateng:
The 1996 Victim's Charter outlines the standards of service that victims and witnesses can expect from the police and the other criminal justice agencies. The Charter standards are monitored regularly by the interdepartmental Victims Steering Group, chaired by the Home Office. A review of the Charter itself will begin next year. The review will take into account both changes in legislation and new non-legislative measures, including those measures introduced as a result of the Macpherson Inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
Lorna Fitzsimons:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress made with the National Victim Support help line since it was established; what activities it undertakes apart from referring callers to local victim support groups; and what monitoring he undertakes of its work. [90308]
Mr. Boateng:
Victim Support's telephone Supportline has dealt with more than 10,000 calls since its inception in February 1998. The majority of callers are victims of crime, who are provided with emotional support and practical information and advice according to need. Among other things, callers can be offered details of, or referral to, their local victim support scheme and other sources of help and information as appropriate. Supportline also provides an easily accessible Victim Support number for use by other agencies in contact with victims and witnesses.
Supportline activities are monitored daily, and formal reports detailing the number and nature of calls are collated and evaluated monthly by Victim Support. Summarising reports are made available to the Home Office on a quarterly basis.
Mr. Kemp:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug seizures occurred in (a) 1997 and (b) 1998 in the Northern Region. [90256]
Mr. Boateng:
There were 21,840 seizures of controlled drugs in the Northern Region in 1997. Figures for 1998 will not be available until late 1999.
Mr. Kemp:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sexual offences (a) were reported and (b) resulted in convictions in the last two years in the Northern Region. [90255]
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Mr. Boateng:
Figures for 1998 are not yet available. The overall figures for 1996 and 1997 for the North West (including Merseyside) and North East government regions are as follows:
| Year | Sexual offences recorded by the police | Offenders convicted for sexual offences |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 5,059 | 1,004 |
| 1997 | 5,581 | 1,003 |
It is important to note that the figures for offences reported and convictions are not directly comparable because convictions relate to offenders.
Charity Volunteers
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the total number of hours worked by volunteers in the charities sector in each year from 1992 to the present. [90254]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested is not available.
The 1997 National Survey of Volunteering from the Institute for Volunteering Research found that, across the United Kingdom, an estimated 21.8 million volunteers were contributing an average of 88 million hours per week--an annual total of nearly 4,600 million hours. This compared with the 1991 figure, the date of the previous survey, of 23.2 million volunteers contributing 62 million hours per week--an annual total of around 3,200 million hours. These figures refer to all types of formal volunteering and include sports, arts and politics. Much of this volunteering will have taken place in public sector organisations, for example, schools and hospitals, but the 1997 survey found that 84 per cent. of volunteers were active in the voluntary sector.
Corporate Manslaughter
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to implement the Law Commission recommendation on corporate manslaughter. [90242]
Mr. Boateng: An inter-departmental working group, which includes a member of the Law Commission, is currently considering all of the recommendations contained in the Law Commission's report number 237 "Legislating the Criminal Code: Involuntary Manslaughter", including those relating to corporate manslaughter. We expect to receive the working group's recommendations shortly and will then consider how to take them forward.
Probation Service
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the change in the number of Probation Service staff between 1994 and the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [90587]
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Mr. George Howarth:
At the end of 1994, there were 16,405 probation staff, of whom 7,776 were probation officers. At the end of December 1998, there were 14,613 probation staff, of whom 7,191 were probation officers. The figures given here are full-time equivalents.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the current number of vacancies for Probation Officers in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [90586]
Mr. George Howarth:
Information on probation officer vacancies is not collected centrally. However, information about the staffing requirements of the Probation Service will be generated by the work force planning survey currently being undertaken by the Home Office with the Association of Chief Officers of Probation and the Central Probation Council.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 1 July 1999, Official Report, column 249, on European Communities working groups, if he will list the Title VI working groups referred to and indicate how many times each has met. [90399]
Mr. Straw:
I will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidance to local authorities summarising the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999 and outlining their specific powers and responsibilities. [90621]
Mr. George Howarth:
Yes. Appropriate guidance will be issued to local authorities before the Act comes into force at the end of this year.
Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many family units will be included in the redevelopment of Her Majesty's Prison, Aldington; and if he will make a statement. [90577]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
It has not yet been decided how many family units will be included in the redevelopment of the Aldington site, but we anticipate the requirement will be three to four units.
Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements in terms of (a) support services, (b) translation services, (c) health services and (d) dietary services will be provided for asylum seekers following the redevelopment of Her Majesty's Prison, Aldington; and if he will make a statement. [90578]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
It is too early in the procurement process to provide details of the services to be provided once Aldington is redeveloped as an Immigration Service Detention Centre. The Services will be based on the provisions and facilities at the only other purpose designed centre, Tinsley House. A copy of the contract for Tinsley House is available in the Library.
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Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated cost to the Treasury of the plans to redevelop Her Majesty's Prison, Aldington; and if he will make a statement. [90574]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The project to redevelop Her Majesty's Prison Aldington is at a very early stage. Work has just started to prepare the outline specification for the centre, on which planning authority and, later, the detailed Invitation to Tender for a public-private partnership will be based.
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