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Prisons (NVQs)

Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many NVQs were completed in Prison Service establishments in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [120683]

8 May 2000 : Column: 309W

Mr. Boateng: The figures given are for complete National Vocational Qualifications, not units.

National Vocational Qualifications completed in prisonestablishments 1997-98 to 1999-2000

	Number
1999-2000	4,109
1998-99	5,462
1997-98	4,680
1996-97	(21)--
1995-96	(21)--

(21) No records available

Magistrates Courts

Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the costs to each police authority in England and Wales consequent upon the closure of magistrates courts within their area from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 1999. [R] [121029]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The information on which such establishments could be based is not held locally.

Internet

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the costs of intercepting internet traffic by the Government's new computer centre, GTAC; and how these costs will be distributed between internet service providers and the Government. [121022]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Government have allocated £25 million to establish the Government Technical Assistance Centre. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on 6 April 2000, Official Report, column 596W.

Separately, Clause 12 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill establishes a power to require communication service providers to maintain a reasonable intercept capability. The particular nature of the requirements will be spelt out in detail in subordinate legislation subject to affirmative resolution. The requirements are likely to change as technology develops.

The Government are currently considering a detailed independent report on how interception might be achieved on the internet and how much it might cost. Existing policy on the allocation of cost is set out in that report which can be found at http..//www.homeoffice.gov.uk/oicd/ripbill.htm.

Richard Lewis (Pardon)

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will grant a pardon to Richard Lewis, also known as Dic Penderyn; and what representations he has received on this issue. [121127]

Mr. Straw: I have no plans to grant a posthumous Free Pardon for Richard Lewis. I have not recently received any representations in support of a pardon, but I would, of course, be prepared to look at this case should such representations be received.

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Illegal Entrants

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many clandestine illegal entrants have been discovered in vehicles arriving at United Kingdom ports in each month for the last 12 months for which figures are available. [121289]

Mrs. Roche: Information is recorded centrally on the numbers of persons issued with notice of illegal entry as clandestine entrants. Figures for April 1999 to March 2000 are given in the table. This information is collated by the date of issue of notice of illegal entry and does not contain details of the date of entry to the United Kingdom. The central record does not differentiate between those persons detected in vehicles at ports of entry and those persons whose clandestine entry came to light at a later stage.

Persons issued with notice of illegal entry as clandestine entrants, by month, April 1999 to March 2000(22)

	Number of persons
1999
April	750
May	1,110
June	960
July	1,330
August	2,055
September	2,150
October	2,240
November	1,850
December	1,885
2000
January	2,085
February	2,225
March	2,330

(22) All data are provisional and rounded to 5

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the stowaways he witnessed being discovered at Dover on Wednesday 26 April (a) have claimed asylum and (b) remain in the UK. [121286]

Mr. Straw: Of the nine individuals whose discovery I witnessed on 26 April, six are known to have claimed asylum and are still in the country. Information concerning the three others is not yet available to me but I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as it is.

Violent Crime

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the incidence of crimes of violence in (a) Gwent, (b) other Welsh Police Authority areas and (c) English Police Authority areas. [120935]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The latest recorded crime figures published for the period October 1998 to September 1999 show the total of all violent crime, which includes violence against the person, robbery and sexual offences, to be:

Area	Offences per 100,000 population
(a) Gwent	2,151
(b) All other police areas in Wales	962
(c) Police areas in England	1,159

8 May 2000 : Column: 311W

Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, local authorities and the police working in partnership are required to develop local strategies for reducing crime and disorder. For the partnerships in Gwent, the key priorities and targets in their local strategies include tackling: drugs and alcohol misuse; anti-social behaviour, including neighbourhood disorder; youth disaffection and offending by young people; and violent and hate crime.

Sick Prisoners

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will recommend that remission of sentences granted to sick prisoners because of their illnesses be reviewed when the prisoner has recovered. [120928]

Mr. Boateng: Section 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 allows for release from prison on compassionate grounds in exceptional circumstances. Remission of sentence was abolished with the introduction of the 1991 Act.

Decisions to release prisoners under section 36 of the 1991 Act are rare. Release is granted only where strict criteria are met and where it is considered that release will not place the safety of the public at risk.

Where a prisoner's exceptional circumstances warrant release on compassionate grounds, he or she must comply with the conditions contained in their release licence. If he or she fails to comply with those conditions, or if his or her behaviour after release indicates that there is reason to revise the original risk assessment, the licence can be revoked and the individual returned to custody. Current policy is that improvement in an individual's medical circumstances are not, on their own, sufficient reason to revoke a licence. There are no plans to change this policy.

Home Detention Curfew

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), of 2 May 2000, Official Report, column 75W, on the home detention curfew scheme, what offences were committed by the prisoners released before the requisite period; and what was the (a) sentence received, (b) requisite period and (c) sentence served in each case. [121074]

Mr. Boateng: My reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), of 2 May 2000, Official Report, columns 74-75W, indicated that 12 prisoners had been released on the Home Detention Curfew scheme before the end of the requisite period. Further inquiries have revealed that in one case the prisoner was in fact released on the correct date. The available information, therefore, shows that since the Home Detention Curfew scheme commenced in January 1999, a total of 11 prisoners have been released early.

The original offences committed by the prisoners released on Home Detention Curfew before the requisite period, the sentence received, the requisite period and the sentence served in 10 of the 11 cases, are shown in the table. The table also shows additional days awarded (ADAs) as a result of a prisoner breaching the prison

8 May 2000 : Column: 312W

disciplinary code. As explained in my reply of 2 May, in a number of cases the early releases were due to the prison's failure to take into account the additional days awarded.

A further prisoner, sentenced to two years and six months in respect of an offence of wounding (inflicting grievous bodily harm), was released on Home Detention Curfew before the end of the requisite period of 398 days due to an error in the original sentence calculation. The prisoner was returned to custody after 15 days. He was subsequently released at his automatic conditional release date, his second Home Detention Curfew application having been refused. He served a total of 442 days.

Original offence	Sentence received	Requisite period	Sentence served
Robbery (assault with intent)	3 years 6 months (1,277 days)	580 days + 10 ADAs	588 days
Importation of drugs	2 years 6 months (912 days)	397 days + 10 ADAs	397 days
Escaping unlawful custody	2 years (731 days)	307 days + 5 ADAs	307 days
Possession of drugs with intent	2 years (731 days)	307 days	305 days
Possession of drugs with intent	2 years (731 days)	307 days + 42 ADAs	321 days
Robbery, assault with intent	1 year 9 months (639 days)	261 days	259 days
Theft	1 year 6 months (547 days)	215 days + 14 ADAs	223 days
Theft	1 year (366 days)	124 days + 1 ADA	121 days
Unlawful sexual intercourse	6 months (184 days)	46 days	35 days
Motoring offences	4 months (120 days)	30 days + 7 ADAs	33 days

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