You are here: Parliament home page > Parliamentary business > Publications and Records > Hansard > Commons Debates > Commons Debates by date > Commons Debates - previous sessions > Bound Volume Hansard - Written Answers
Previous Section Index Home Page

Immigration Rules

Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the review of paragraph 320 (18) of the Immigration Rules. [123030]

Mr. Straw: I have today published a consultation document which details the consideration given to this matter and the changes proposed. A copy of the paper has been placed in the Library. Comments on the document are invited by 20 June 2000 and should be addressed to:


Susan Wale,
European Directorate,
Room 1212 Apollo House,
36 Wellesley Road,
Croydon,
CR9 3RR.

Prison Service

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the results

18 May 2000 : Column: 213W

achieved by the Prison Service on each of its Key Performance Indicators in 1999-2000; and if he will make a statement. [123128]

18 May 2000 : Column: 214W

Mr. Boateng: The Prison Service Key Performance Indicators (KPI) results for 1999-2000 are given in the table. Data are provisional and subject to validation by prisons.

18 May 2000 : Column: 213W

KPITargetActual
Category A escapes00
Escapes from prisons and prison escorts, expressed as a proportion of average population0.05%0.059%
Escapes from contracted escorts, expressed as a ratio per prisoners handledLess than 1:20,0001:22,251
Assault rate (percentage of average population)9%9.9%
Rate of positive random mandatory drug tests (MDT)18.5%14.4%
Percentage of the population held two to a cell designed for one (Doubling)18%18.5%
Average purposeful activity hours24 hours23.2 hours
Total Accredited Offending Behaviour Programme completions (OBPs)3,6004,478
Sex Offender Treatment Programmes (SOTPs)700586
Cost per Uncrowded prisoner place£26,208£25,567
Cost per prisoner£27,392£25,567
Average working days lost to staff sickness12.513.3
Percentage of public correspondence replied with 20 working days95%93.6%

18 May 2000 : Column: 213W

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department has compiled a list of postcodes to be avoided in the dispersal of asylum seekers' programmes. [120632]

Mrs. Roche: Asylum seekers who are supported by the National Asylum Support Service will be dispersed to cluster areas around the country. Our intention is to ensure that the cluster areas are suitable for asylum seekers taking into account, inter alia, the views of local authorities. In some cases, local authorities may advise that particular areas may not be suitable for asylum seekers and they may identify such areas by post-code. That information would be taken into consideration in determining whether to accept any accommodation for asylum seekers if offered in that area.

Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the number of asylum seekers placed to date in bed and breakfast accommodation in Bournemouth; whom local authorities are required to notify before placing asylum seekers in such accommodation in other authority areas; and if he will make a statement. [122477]

Mrs. Roche: The information requested is not held centrally. There is no requirement under the voluntary interim scheme for one local authority to notify another before placing asylum seekers in accommodation in another local authority area. However, we have encouraged local authorities doing this to liaise with those authorities into whose areas asylum seekers are being sent.

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that the Asylum Support Agency maintains the closest possible contact with local authorities in connection with the asylum seekers dispersal policy; and if he will make a statement. [122748]

Mrs. Roche: We remain in consultation with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of London Government (ALG). We consult local authority consortiums about proposed accommodation providers operating in their area, giving as much information as possible about the likely locations of the accommodation that the private sector providers are likely to offer.

18 May 2000 : Column: 214W

We notify the relevant health and education authorities that an asylum seeker (and family if applicable) have been dispersed to their area. On a weekly basis, we notify the relevant local authority consortiums.

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each region in England the contracts that have been entered into between the Asylum Support Agency and providers of accommodation. [122751]

Mrs. Roche: As of 15 May, the Home Office had awarded contracts to the following accommodation providers:


These providers--although not contractually limited to the areas in which they are operating at present--are currently supplying accommodation in the following cluster areas:



Other cluster areas will be brought on stream as the new support arrangements are rolled out.

18 May 2000 : Column: 215W

Negotiations will also be continuing with a view to concluding further contracts with other providers to ensure that sufficient accommodation continues to be available to meet projected needs. We expect to be in a position to award further contracts shortly.

Home Detention Curfew

Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners imprisoned for burglary and released on the Home Detention Curfew scheme had been convicted of a prior offence of burglary; and if he will make a statement. [122094]

Mr. Boateng: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by requesting information from individual establishments.

Probation Service

Mr. Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of recruitment and retention of probation officers. [122309]

Mr. Boateng: During 1999, there have been significant increases of four per cent. in the number of probation officers in post and of seven per cent. in the number of other probation service staff in post (whole-time equivalent in both cases). The increase in probation officers is due largely to more than doubling the number of trainee probation officers in the year.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what evidence is used by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in judging whether a claimant's own conduct caused or contributed to the incident; [122327]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Authority advises that in the three years ending 31 March 2000, the proportion of cases refused under paragraph 13(d) of the compensation scheme, on grounds of conduct, as a percentage of total cases settled was around 5.4 per cent.

The Authority further advises that in most cases, it determines whether an applicant's conduct caused or contributed to the incident in which the applicant was injured by considering the report on the incident provided to the Authority by the police and any other relevant information the applicant may have supplied. The Authority may also consider police witness statements and interview transcripts where available. Where the incident has resulted in court proceedings, the Authority may also obtain and consider information about these proceedings and their outcome.

Sexual Offences

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the review led by his Department into the law on sexual offences will be completed and a report published. [122586]

18 May 2000 : Column: 216W

Mr. Charles Clarke: The sex offences review has completed its work and reported to Ministers. I hope that its proposals will be published for consultation shortly.

Next Section Index Home Page