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Ethnic Minority Staff

Mr. Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish his race equality employment targets for ethnic minority staff in the Home Office and its service areas. [93898]

Mr. Straw: I will tomorrow place a copy of "Race Equality--The Home Secretary's Employment Targets" in the Library. The paper sets out recruitment, retention and career progression targets for ethnic minority staff in the Home Office, the prison, the police, the fire and the probation services.

Travel Documents

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on charging for Home Office travel documents. [93899]

Mr. Straw: The Home Office has issued travel documents to refugees, stateless persons and some other third country nationals for many years. This service has always been subject to the payment of a fee. These travel documents are issued under the Royal Prerogative, but there is no specific legal power for the taking of fees in connection with such documents. The Home Office first received legal advice raising questions about the legal basis for charges and advising that specific powers should be taken to charge for these documents on 9 February 1999. I have, therefore, decided that it would be right for applications outstanding on that date to be processed free of charge, as will applications received between that date and the date on which new fees regulations are made. These applicants need take no action. Refunds, where appropriate, will be offered automatically by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, although it is likely to be some months before all applicants receive their refunds.

Until 31 December 1993, refunds were made to all applicants whose applications for a travel document were refused. Since then, the practice has been to charge for processing applications, whether or not a document is issued. It is not proposed to offer refunds to applicants whose cases were completed before 9 February 1999, who were charged in good faith and who received the document for which they applied. But there are an estimated 1,500 applicants who received neither a travel document, because their application was refused, nor a refund, because their application was determined after 31 December 1993. It is proposed to offer refunds to such applicants provided they apply before 30 November 1999. It is, however, not possible to identify such applications from Home Office records and we are inviting those immigration advisers who are members of the Immigration and Nationality User Panel to help to trace those who may be eligible for a refund.

An information line has been established which gives more detail about eligibility for refunds, how to apply if necessary, and how refunds will be made. The number of the information line is 020 8681 5615. Information is also being placed on the Immigration and Nationality internet website--www.homeoffice.gov.uk./ind/hpg.htm.

In the light of the legal advice which has been received, I have decided that it would be right to put beyond doubt the power to levy fees in connection with Home Office travel documents. A new clause to this effect will

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accordingly be brought forward to the Immigration and Asylum Bill, which is currently before the House of Lords. The clause will be retrospective--it will have the effect of making charges imposed by the Home Office in the past, in connection with travel documents, lawful.

In the meantime, there is an enabling power in the Finance Act 1973 to charge for services provided by the Government pursuant to any international treaty to which the United Kingdom is a party. This would cover documents issued to refugees and stateless persons in accordance with the relevant United Nations Conventions, although not other types of travel document. I have decided to exercise these powers pending the enactment of wider powers in the Immigration and Asylum Bill. When the Bill has received Royal Assent, regulations will be made covering fees for the full range of travel documents.

National Lottery

Mr. Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the fourth report on the impact of the National Lottery on the horserace betting levy. [93900]

Mr. George Howarth: An update on the impact of the National Lottery on the horserace betting levy has been published today and copies have been placed in the Library. This fulfils an undertaking made during the passage of the National Lottery Bill.

The paper, which has been prepared by the Economics and Resource Analysis Unit of the Home Office, examines continuing trends in off-course betting expenditure, on which the levy is closely dependent.

The statistical analysis suggests that, in 1998, approximately £1.1 billion was diverted from off-course betting expenditure as a direct result of the National Lottery. This equates to off-course betting expenditure being about 13.2 per cent. below the level it would have reached in the absence of the Lottery. Horserace betting accounts for about 69 per cent. of off-course betting expenditure and, therefore, the levy yield is likely to have been similarly affected. This can be only an approximate figure, and the effect of the Lottery may vary over time.

Motorcycle Gatherings

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions over the past three years when the police have recommended to organisers of motorcycle gatherings that the event be cancelled; for what reason the recommendation in each case was made; what was the response of the organisers; on the occasions when the event subsequently went ahead, if there were any arrests; and if he will make a statement. [92755]

Mr. Boateng: This information is not collated centrally. The decision to recommend cancellation of an event on public order or public safety grounds is an operational matter for the local chief officer of police.

Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirement is placed upon the police to take account of losses likely to be incurred when they recommend to organisers of motorcycle gatherings that the event be cancelled; and if he will make a statement. [92756]

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Mr. Boateng: None. This is a matter for event organisers and the local police.

Young Offenders

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what actions he has taken to improve the management of Her Majesty's Young Offenders Institution and Remand Centre, Feltham following the report by the steering group set up by the Director General of the Prison Service in response to the recommendations made by the Chief Inspector of Prisons. [92629]

Mr. George Howarth: The steering group set up by the Director General of the Prison Service for Feltham Young Offenders Institution, following the Chief Inspector of Prisons' report, endorsed the recommendations contained in the four reports submitted to it by the task force which went into Feltham to address the immediate problems. The recommendations will form part of an action plan detailing improvements to be taken forward and will build on the six month improvement plan charted at the time of the inspection. This action plan is expected to be finalised shortly.

Many improvements have already been taken forward at Feltham. The task force identified 39 issues for immediate action, 33 of these have now been implemented and work on the remaining six is well in hand. The significant achievements include:

making significant in-roads into the 'transit-camp' problem by ending the use of Kestrel unit as a daily discharge unit and the use of Osprey unit for allocation purposes;

reducing the capacity of Feltham by 72 thereby reducing the overcrowding and allowing the refurbishment of two units to begin;

increasing the quality of health care by moving into a fully refurbished health care unit and through the provision of eight officers on detached duty from other establishments to offset the staff shortages; discussions have begun with the local health authority about future service delivery;

increasing the amount of physical education from two to five classes in both the morning and afternoon sessions;

increasing the numbers attending education by 30;

securing additional £2 million funding to develop a separate regime for under 18 year olds which will include 12 hours out of cell each day and 30 hours purposeful activity each week, for which a further £3.4 million capital investment is being made to provide separate reception and education facilities for the under 18s.

an assessment centre has been held to recruit more officers. Consultation on proposals for revised staff attendance and shift patterns commenced this month;

nearly 600 mattresses have been replaced and general cleanliness and hygiene have been improved with new cleaning schedules and inspection arrangements; and

funds have been made available to undertake a backlog of small repairs.

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if a court can order a secure remand for a young defendant when no place is available; and if he will make a statement; [92917]

(2) what was the total availability of local authority secure accommodation for juvenile and young offenders on the last date for which figures are available and in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [92916]

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(3) what has been the demand for secure accommodation for juvenile and young offenders in each of the last 12 months; on how many occasions a place was not found when requested; and if he will make a statement; [92915]

(4) what representations he has received about the operation of the national clearing system for secure accommodation for juvenile and young offenders; and if he will make a statement; [92918]

Mr. Straw: The local authority secure estate is used both to accommodate any child who is being looked after by the local authority under the Children Act 1989, and to hold those who are sentenced under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, those sentenced to a secure training order under section 1 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and those who are held on secure remand. Since 1994, the number of approved secure places, those children accommodated and the occupancy rate of secure units available ¹ in England and Wales ² (as at 31 March) is given in the table:

Year	Approved places	Children accommodated	Occupancy rate (per cent.)
1994	289	244	84
1995	266	233	88
1996	274	246	90
1997	348	290	83
1998	456	334	73

(16) Children Accommodated in Secure Units, year ending 31 March 1998

(17) Welsh information has only been available since 1997 (previously Wales had two small units providing two places each)

A Government funded building programme was put in place to expand the local authority secure estate by 170 places specifically to allow for the implementation of the provisions in relation to court-ordered secure remands. These places are now available and the total number of approved places in local authority secure accommodation is 460.

Section 97 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which came into force on 1 June 1999, allows courts, where certain criteria are met, to remand direct to local authority secure accommodation 12 to 14 year old boys and girls and 15 and 16 year old girls. Where a court remands a child or young person to local authority secure accommodation, it must designate a relevant local authority. Under section 23(4) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, there is a requirement on the court to consult the designated local authority before it imposes a security requirement. The purpose of such consultation is to allow the local authority to provide the court with information so that the court is best placed to make an appropriate decision depending on the circumstances of the case. Such information should include the nature and availability of local provision to support a remand in the community, and the nature and availability of secure and non-secure local authority accommodation. Where the court then remands a child or young person to local authority secure accommodation, the designated local authority is under a duty under section 61 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 to comply with the security requirement.

Section 98 of the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act, which also came into force on 1 June 1999, allows courts, where certain criteria are met, to remand direct to local authority

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secure accommodation 15 and 16 year old boys whom, by reason of their physical or emotional immaturity or a propensity to harm themselves, the courts consider it would be undesirable to remand to Prison Service accommodation. Before reaching such an opinion the court must consult a probation officer, a local authority social worker or a member of a youth offending team and before ordering a remand to local authority secure accommodation in such a case, the court must be notified that such accommodation is available.

In providing advice to the courts about the availability of local authority secure accommodation and in complying with security requirements imposed by the courts, local authorities may use information held by the national bedbank service, set up and funded by the Department of Health and operated by Leeds Social Services Department. This is not a clearing house facility and is designed only to provide information to local authorities on the availability of secure places. We have received one written representation on the operation of the national bedbank service.

Information is not recorded centrally on the demand for local authority secure accommodation or the number of occasions a place has not been found when requested.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, announced in his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Leicestershire (Mr. Taylor) on 22 July 1999, Official Report, columns 622-23, that the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales will, from April 2000, become the commissioning and purchasing body for all forms of secure accommodation for children and young people on remand or under sentence. A copy of the Board's advice on how this should operate has been placed in the Library. One element is the establishment of a clearing house facility to manage the placement of children and young people in secure accommodation, including the local authority secure estate. The Board is now consulting local authorities and other bodies on its proposals.

Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the size of young offender institutions in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [92883]

Mr. George Howarth: The size of Young Offender Institutions in England and Wales was considered as part of the design for the Prison Service's new distinct juvenile estate, and I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on 27 April 1999, Official Report, column 109, about the composition of the estate.

Since then, Aylesbury has been withdrawn from the estate as the need for the role originally envisaged for the establishment has changed. Aylesbury will continue to take a small number of difficult/longer-term juveniles where that offers the most appropriate way of meeting their individual needs.

There are no proposals to vary the size of Young Offender Institutions for 18-20 year old offenders.

Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review staff training in young offender institutions in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [92884]

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Mr. George Howarth: The Prison Service is in the process of developing its 'Nature of Adolescence' training for staff who work with young people in custody. This work is being carried out in collaboration with the Trust for the Study of Adolescence. Separately, the Youth Justice Board has begun tendering for the provision of training for all staff who work in the youth justice system, which will make with special provision for those who work in secure facilities. This is to support the implementation of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and the delivery of the principal aim of the youth justice system which is to prevent offending by children and young people.

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