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Metropolitan Police Housing

Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who receives the proceeds of the sale of Metropolitan Police housing. [112409]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Receiver for the Metropolitan Police District informs me that the proceeds of the sale of Metropolitan Police housing go to the Metropolitan Police Fund.

New Prisons

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions his Department has had on possible sites for the construction of new prison establishments in England and Wales; and if he will list the areas in which such establishments may be built. [112618]

Mr. Boateng: The siting of new prisons is governed by strategic need. Prison population pressures are currently greatest in areas such as Greater London, the Midlands, the North-West and Yorkshire, and it is in these locations that the Prison Service has concentrated its efforts on finding new prison sites.

All new prison sites involve discussions with the respective local planning authorities in accordance with Crown development procedures.

Animal Experiments

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the enforcement of European Union legislation in the UK regarding animal experimentation. [112692]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is the role of the European Commission to enforce Community legislation in the sense that full transposition into national law is required for a Council Directive.

Directive 86/609/EEC--on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes--is transposed and implemented in the United Kingdom through the rigorous controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

The domestic legislation was last amended in July 1998 (for enactment on 5 September 1998) when several requirements of the Directive, which had previously been enacted through administrative provisions, were placed on the face of the 1986 Act.

New Public Bodies

Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the new public bodies established by his Department since May 1997. [112669]

3 Mar 2000 : Column: 448W

Mr. Straw: The annual Cabinet Office publication "Public Bodies" provides information on a range of public bodies. The 1997 edition lists those public bodies in existence prior to May 1997. The 1998 and 1999 editions lists public bodies in existence in subsequent years. Copies of these publications have been placed in the Library. Copies are also available on the Cabinet Office website www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/quango.

Home Detention Curfew

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the prisoners released to date under the Home Detention Curfew scheme have (a) breached the conditions of the curfew, (b) disappeared, (c) had their curfew revoked and (d) re-offended while on the scheme; what offences were committed by those who re-offended while on the scheme; what was the (i) average and (ii) maximum sentence received by a prisoner for an offence committed while on the scheme; and if he will make a statement. [112728]

Mr. Boateng [holding answer 2 March 2000]: As of 29 February 2000, 862 prisoners subject to home detention curfew have had their licences revoked by the Secretary of State following a breach of the curfew conditions of their licence or a breach of their non-curfew licence conditions. Fifty are currently unlawfully at large. Breaches of non-curfew related conditions by curfewees whose original offences were committed prior to 1 January 1999 are dealt with by the courts. Information on these cases is not held centrally.

The number of cases where a breach of curfew conditions has been reported is not readily available and I will write to the hon. Member with this information.

As of 29 February, the Prison Service had received notification of 194 curfewees who had been charged with an offence committed while subject to the home detention curfew scheme.

A breakdown of the offences committed by these curfewees is shown in the table. This breakdown has been prepared from information supplied by police forces and drawn from the police national computer. Further analysis of re-offending by those subject to home detention curfew, including the procedures for notification of further charges to the Prison Service by the police, is currently under way as part of a long-term evaluation of the scheme.

Information is not held centrally on the sentences received by prisoners for offences committed while subject to home detention curfew.

Overall, the home detention curfew scheme has an impressive success rate of 95 per cent. of curfewees completing their period of curfew licence. However, we are not complacent about any re-offending on curfew and the scheme is strictly enforced. Where a prisoner does commit a further offence while subject to curfew, he or she is in breach of their licence conditions and may be recalled to prison, in addition to the possibility of an additional sentence for the new offence.

3 Mar 2000 : Column: 449W

Offence type	Number
Burglary, theft and stealing from shops(9)	70
Assault	31
Driving and Traffic Offences	19
Drug Offences	16
Breach of the peace(10)	14
Handling Stolen Goods/Deception	12
Criminal Damage	10
Threatening Behaviour	8
Possession of an offensive weapon	4
Breach of court injunction or Restraining Order	3
Rape	2
Harassment	1
Going Equipped	1
False Imprisonment	1
Arson	1
Indecent Exposure	1
Total	194

(9) Including taking without consent/taking and driving away

(10) Including Drunk and Disorderly

Note:

Where a curfewee was charged with more than one offence, they appear in the table next to the most serious offence. The table excludes those where, following initial notification, the Prison Service was informed that the charges had been withdrawn.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners released on the home detention curfew scheme have been convicted (a) summarily and (b) on indictment of a further offence committed whilst on the scheme; and what (i) original and (ii) further offences were committed and what sentences were received in each case. [112794]

Mr. Boateng: Information is not held centrally on the convictions and sentences received by those who have committed offences while subject to home detention curfew.

Probation Service

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on his plans to change the name of the Probation Service to the Community Punishment and Rehabilitation Service; how many representations were (a) in favour and (b) against his plans; and if he will make a statement. [112738]

Mr. Boateng [holding answer 2 March 2000]: A total of 216 representations have been received relating to the proposed change to the name of the probation service. The great majority of these have been generally supportive of the plans for modernising the service and accept the benefit of having a new name, but most expressed concern about the name "Community Punishment and Rehabilitation Service". The new name will be one of a range of measures in the forthcoming Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill, and I have said that I will listen carefully to the points raised when the Bill is considered by Parliament.

Crime Statistics (London)

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his projection for the level of recorded crime from April 1999 to March 2000 for the Metropolitan Police area in relation to (a) burglary of dwellings and (b) robbery against which the five-year crime reduction target has been set. [113023]

3 Mar 2000 : Column: 450W

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that the current projections for burglary of a dwelling and robbery offences in the financial year 1999-2000 are: (a) burglary of a dwelling, approximately 79,000; and (b) robbery approximately 36,000.

As part of its strategy to reduce crime in London, the Metropolitan Police have targets to reduce domestic burglaries by 10 per cent. and Street Crime by 15 per cent. over the next five financial years, based on the projected recorded crime figures for the end of the financial year 1999-2000.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish statistics for (a) crime rates broken down by categories of offences and (b) clear up rates in (i) the areas transferring out of the Metropolitan force and (ii) London boroughs for each of the last two years. [112761]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Most details of notifiable offences, and clear ups, are not collected centrally below police force area level. Details of the numbers of a limited range of offences recorded in Basic Command Units for the six month period ended September 1999, including London boroughs and those areas being transferred from the Metropolitan police to other forces, are included in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin on recorded crime, issue 1/00, published on 18 January and which is available in the Library.

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