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Attendance Centres
Ms Rosie Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to reform attendance centres. [107346]
Mr. Charles Clarke: In January last year, we set up a small working group, including attendance centre representatives and other experts, to consider the centres' future operation. It made a number of useful proposals for reform of their management and operation, including developing more individual programmes to tackle offending problems.
For the 84 junior attendance centres, we have decided to combine reforms on these lines with organisational changes to match the philosophy of the youth justice reforms launched in the Government's November 1997 White Paper, "No More Excuses--A New Approach to Tackling Youth Crime in England and Wales".
From April 2000, the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales will take over from the Home Office the central responsibility for commissioning and funding junior attendance centres. The Board will invite youth offending teams to start taking over as local agents for these centres from April, that is generally from chief officers of police. Close liaison with the police will continue, through police membership of youth offending teams. The local changes will be made first in a number of pilot areas. They will also be invited to develop the centres' programmes in line with the working group's principles, and liaise with the courts to ensure centres play an appropriate role in the new range of youth justice disposals.
Senior attendance centres, which cater mainly for offenders aged 18 to 24, will remain the responsibility of the Home Office nationally and the police locally. Their future operation will be reviewed in the context of the adult sentencing framework.
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the total number of police officers in (a) Essex and (b) Southend in (i) 1995, (ii) 1996, (iii) 1997, (iv) 1998 and (v) 1999. [107270]
27 Jan 2000 : Column: 249W
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The information available is set out in the table. The data about the number of officers in the Southend Division have been provided by the Chief Constable of Essex. The force is not able to provide figures for 1995 and 1996.
| Year (20) | Essex police | H Division, Southend |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2,921 | n/a |
| 1996 | 2,884 | n/a |
| 1997 | 2,961 | 319 |
| 1998 | 2,929 | 320 |
| 1999 | 2,891 | 304 |
(20) As at 31 March
Fine Defaulters
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the pilot schemes to test the alternatives to custody for fine defaulters which were provided by the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. [107069]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Measures in the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 which allow courts to impose a community service order, a curfew order or disqualification from driving on fine defaulters instead of sending them to prison are being piloted in Norfolk and Greater Manchester. A report on the findings from the pilots will be published soon and a decision taken over whether or not to make the provisions available nationally. A Research Finding detailing interim findings was published last year evaluating the use of these measures during 1998.
Home Detention Curfew Scheme
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of sentence (a) received and (b) served by prisoners released under the Home Detention Curfew scheme in 1999. [107031]
Mr. Boateng: The average sentence length of those released under the Home Detention Curfew scheme in 1999 was 14.5 months, of which 5.7 months (39 per cent.), including time on remand, was served before release.
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criminal offences were committed by prisoners released under the Home Detention Curfew Scheme in 1999; and how many prisoners convicted of each type of offence were released. [107036]
Mr. Boateng: The original offences committed by prisoners released under the Home Detention Curfew scheme in 1999, and the estimated number (to the nearest hundred) of prisoners convicted of each type of offence who were released, are shown in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Violence | 2,600 |
| Robbery | 600 |
| Burglary | 1,500 |
| Theft and handling | 2,000 |
| Fraud and forgery | 1,300 |
| Drugs | 2,400 |
| Other | 4,500 |
| Total | 14,900 |
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Crown Court Appeals
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the average (a) cost of, (b) length of and (c) waiting time for a hearing of an appeal to the Crown Court from the decision of magistrates on mode of trial, under the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) Bill; [107034]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of defendants in each of the last three years who would have exercised the right of appeal to the Crown Court on mode of trial, under the provisions to be introduced by the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) Bill; [107029]
(3) what estimate he has made of the average (a) cost of, (b) length of and (c) waiting time for a trial in the magistrates court following the dismissal of an appeal to the Crown Court from the decision of magistrates on mode of trial, under the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) Bill. [107033]
Mr. Straw: The new appeal procedure would be fast and efficient with determination within forty-eight hours in most cases. Our estimate is that even if as many as a quarter of defendants who had been refused Crown Court trial were to appeal, the cost of the resulting hearings would be less than £500,000. No additional delay would be caused by these appeals, since they would run concurrently with the progress of the case in the magistrates court.
Police Complaints Authority
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were undertaking investigations under the supervision of the Police Complaints Authority in each month for each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what was the annual cost of these investigations. [107032]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information is not recorded centrally on the number of police officers undertaking Police Complaints Authority supervised investigations or on the cost of those investigations.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 1,142 |
| 1996-97 | 998 |
| 1997-98 | 979 |
| 1998-99 | 953 |
| 1999-2000 | (21)638 |
(21) Up to 31 December 1999
Alexander Schweidler
Mr. Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government investigations into Alexander Schweidler. [106941]
Mr. Straw:
Mr. Schweidler was granted British citizenship in 1964. I understand that he died on 24 January. His case was one of just under 400 cases involving allegations of offences under the War Crimes Act 1991 investigated by the Metropolitan Police Service
27 Jan 2000 : Column: 251W
War Crimes Unit during the 1990s. Police investigations into allegations against Mr. Schweidler started in 1994. I understand there was insufficient evidence to support a prosecution. There have been no investigations separate to these.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to public funds of the proceedings concerning Senator Pinochet since his arrest. [105494]
Mr. Townend:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total cost to date of the detention of Senator Pinochet broken down into (a) legal, (b) security and (c) other costs. [105247]
Mr. Straw:
Total costs will be estimated once the case is completed. The costs we are able to calculate at this stage total £1,322,326.83. The breakdown of this is as follows:
The figures exclude VAT, (which is payable in some but not all items).
(a) Legal Costs
Costs incurred to date by the Crown Prosecution Service
Counsel's fees: £353,000
Interpreter's fees: £4,200
Other cost (including Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff time, photocopying, etc): £238,000
Costs to Treasury Solicitors:
Amicus curiae (approximate costs and disbursements including counsel's fees: £70,000
Other costs and disbursements: £18,000
Costs incurred to date by the Home Office
Counsel's fees:
£144,000 of which:
£38,110.29p is, subject to agreement or assessment by the court recoverable under costs orders made against Senator Pinochet by the Divisional Court.
Treasury Solicitors fees: £36,000
Costs incurred to date by the Lord Chancellor's Office
1st hearing at the House of Lords: £270,935.89
Application to vacate at the House of Lords: £151,361.30
Hearing dealt with to date in the Divisional Court: £31,328.39
(b) Security Costs
Police costs incurred in detaining Senator Pinochet are a matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and the Chief Constable of Surrey.
(c) Other Costs
Cost of Medical Examination: £5,501.25.
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