| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Hunting with Dogs
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from Ministers outside his Department on the issue of hunting with dogs. [122698]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information relating to internal discussion and consultation is not disclosed under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to bring forward a Bill, one of whose aims would be to ban hunting wild mammals with hounds. [122749]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in the reply he gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Foster) on 11 November 1999, Official Report, columns 787-88W, how the Government wished to proceed on the issue of hunting with dogs. The Government will offer reasonable time, if necessary, and drafting assistance for this issue to be considered by the House of Commons through a Private Member's Bill on a free vote.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has set the Burns inquiry a deadline for reporting; and if he will make a statement. [122750]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: In announcing the inquiry into hunting in the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr. Foster) on 11 November 1999, Official Report, columns 787-88W, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary stated that the inquiry will be asked to report by late spring this year.
18 May 2000 : Column: 220W
Police (Chorley)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the police cells at Chorley will be brought up to Health and Safety Executive approved standard. [122172]
Mr. Charles Clarke: A £300,000 refurbishment of Chorley police station is in progress, and I understand that the police station will meet all applicable health and safety standards when it is complete.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people arrested in Chorley have been detained in police cells in (a) South Ribble and (b) Skelmersdale, in the last year for which figures are available; and of those detained, how many were arrested in Chorley. [122170]
Mr. Charles Clarke: This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times in the last two years Greater Manchester police have assisted in operations in Chorley. [122173]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Officers from Greater Manchester and Lancashire collaborate on routine operations on a day-to-day basis in Chorley and this has proved very successful. There has been only one pre-planned organised collaboration in the area, Operation Coalition, involving both forces.
Back-up Custody Facilities, Leyland
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at which police station the back-up custody suite to Leyland is located. [122171]
Mr. Charles Clarke: There are two back-up custody facilities for Leyland: Chorley is the first and Bamber Bridge the second.
Family Support
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much was spent in each year since 1997 on the Family Support Grant; [122597]
- (2) how much has been spent in each year on the Fathers Fund. [122598]
Mr. Boateng: The Family Support Grant is a new programme of funding for voluntary organisations which first became available in 1999. There is no separate Fathers Fund, but each year a theme is selected to focus on particular areas of work. In 1999, the theme was work with boys, young men and fathers. Grants first paid out in the year April 1999-2000 are available for up to three years and for 2000-2001, for up to two years. Expenditure has been as follows:
1999-2000
£1 million in total, of which £474,724 was on work with fathers;
2000-01
£3 million in total, including £663,645 on work with fathers.
18 May 2000 : Column: 221W
Police Corruption
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the overall cost of the Lancet inquiry into alleged corruption in the Cleveland police force and breakdown the costs under their main headings; and if he will make a statement. [122701]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The cost of the Lancet inquiry to the end of April this year was £2.622 million. This can be broken down as follows:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland officers (including salaries, overtime and travel/subsistence) | 1.271 |
| Officers from Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and West Yorkshire (including salaries, overtime and travel/subsistence) | 1.169 |
| Other costs (accommodation and office expenditure) | 0.182 |
Young Offenders Institutions
Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many inmates of young offenders institutions (a) committed and (b) attempted suicide in each year since 1977; [122747]
- (2) how many cases of self-harm by inmates of young offenders institutions took place in each year since 1977. [122726]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested is given in the tables from the earliest year that records are available. Information about attempted suicides is not recorded separately, but is incorporated into figures on self-harm incidents.
| Financial year | Incidents of self-harm |
|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 312 |
| 1991-92 | 341 |
| 1992-93 | 469 |
| 1993-94 | 474 |
| 1994-95 | 717 |
| 1995-96 | 1,143 |
| 1996-97 | 793 |
| 1997-98 | 879 |
| 1998-99 | 944 |
| 1999-2000(7) | n/a |
(7) Not yet available
| Calendar year | Number of deaths |
|---|---|
| 1988 | 1 |
| 1989 | 2 |
| 1990 | 2 |
| 1991 | 4 |
| 1992 | 4 |
| 1993 | 1 |
| 1994 | 1 |
| 1995 | 2 |
| 1996 | 6 |
| 1997 | 5 |
| 1998 | 5 |
| 1999 | 8 |
| 2000(8) | 1 |
(8) As at 16 May 2000
Notes:
1. Establishments have been categorised according to their primary role. However, it should be noted that there are a number of other prisons that hold young offenders (eg male remand centres) which are not included.
2. Incidents do not equate to numbers of prisoners as an individual prisoner may self harm more than once.
3. Self harm data are derived from information provided by establishments to the Prison Health Policy Unit. These data include information on all attempted suicides.
4. Prior to 1990, data on self-harm have not been held centrally in a format which permits distinction according to type of establishment.
5. Prior to 1988, data on suicides have not been held centrally in a format which permits distinction according to type of establishment.
6. It should be noted that not all self-inflicted deaths conclude with a verdict of suicide.
18 May 2000 : Column: 222W
Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of (a) rape and (b) assault within young offenders institutions were reported to the authorities in each year since 1997. [122725]
Mr. Boateng: The figures for the numbers of assaults of a sexual nature and other assaults in young offender institutions reported to Prison Service headquarters since April 1997 are set out in the table. Separate figures for rape and buggery are not available. Such assaults are included within the figures for assaults of a sexual nature, which also include lesser sexual offences.
| Year | Assaults of a sexual nature | Other assaults |
|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 17 | 1,016 |
| 1998-99 | 19 | 1,501 |
| 1999-2000 | 17 | 2,757 |
Forensic Science Service
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce delays by the Forensic Processing Department in Chepstow in the processing of forensic information relating to recent burglaries in Devon and Cornwall. [122615]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I understand that the main involvement of the Forensic Science Service Chepstow Laboratory in these cases has been DNA analysis. The information was provided within 23 days. More generally, the average turn round time for all work in domestic burglary cases over the last six months was 34 days. This year, the Forensic Science Service aims to improve turn round times by the introduction of a classification system whereby cases identified by the customer as urgent or critical are dealt with ahead of standard case types. Further, over the next six months the number of staff is being increased by 15 per cent. to address the balance between demand and capacity in all case types.
18 May 2000 : Column: 223W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |