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Chief Inspector of Prisons
Mr. Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the post of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons on the expiry of Sir David Ramsbotham's appointment; and if he will make a statement. [125552]
Mr. Straw: I am delighted that Her Majesty the Queen has consented to an extension of the appointment of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, until July 2001. Sir David has made a great contribution to our shared goal of ensuring that prisoners are held securely in safe, decent and healthy establishments. I am pleased that he will continue in his role beyond the expiry date of his original appointment.
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Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Probation, Sir Graham Smith, also retires close to the end of July 2001. Aligning the dates when both posts will be vacant, gives the Government flexibility in considering how best to ensure that the arrangements for inspection of prisons and the probation service best support closer working between the services as well as ensuring that the individual services continue to be inspected rigorously and independently as they have been. I shall be making a further statement to Parliament on this in due course.
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Mr. Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what re-appointments and appointments are to be made to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. [125553]
Mr. Straw: Her Majesty the Queen has approved the re-appointment for a further term of the following existing members of the Criminal Cases Review Commission:
- Mr. Barry Capon CBE
- Miss Jill Gort
- Mr. John Knox
- Mr. David Kyle
- Professor Leonard Leigh
- Dr. James MacKeith
- Mr. Edward Weiss
Marches and Demonstrations (Kent)
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will grant to the Chief Constable of Kent powers to proscribe marches and demonstrations in public places within the Thanet District, Dover District and Canterbury City Council boundaries between 10 June and 31 October. [125354]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986 enables a chief constable to apply to the District Council for an order prohibiting public processions or marches for a period of up to three months, where he reasonably believes that such marches may result in serious public disorder, and that disorder could not be prevented by the imposition of appropriate conditions on the march. The District Council may make such an order with the consent of the Home Secretary. Should an application be received by the Home Secretary in this case, it will be carefully considered on its merits.
Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the cost of drug treatment and testing measures contained in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill. [125325]
Mr. Boateng: The current estimates are dependent upon the number of people who will be subject to the drug treatment and testing measures and their deterrence effect. The estimated annual cost for national implementation is in the range of £50 million to £80 million. This includes an estimate of the costs arising from possible increases in the prison population.
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The initial piloting of these drug testing proposals in three areas will provide further information of the costs.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he commissioned on which he based the plans for the Drug Abstinence Order contained in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill; and if he will make a statement. [125326]
Mr. Boateng: The use of drug testing to deter and monitor drug misuse in the proposed Drug Abstinence order is based on existing evidence from both America and this country. This includes the evaluation of programmes in Oregon showing that drug testing can be useful in supervising offenders in the community. The Prison Service's mandatory drug testing programme also demonstrates that testing can have a significant deterrent effect on drug misusers.
The drug testing proposals, including the Drug Abstinence Order, are to be piloted over two years and the outcomes fully evaluated. These evaluations will provide further material to inform the future use of Drug Abstinence Orders.
Prisons
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons have appointed an equal opportunities officer; what percentage of (a) staff and (b) managers have received racial harassment and discrimination training; when targets for the implementation of the Instruction to Prison Governors IG51/1996 will be met; and if will he make a statement. [125327]
Mr. Boateng: All prisons directly managed by the Prison Service have an equal opportunities officer.
The current recorded level of delivered training in racial harassment and discrimination is 9.9 per cent. Records do not differentiate between managers and staff.
The target set out in instruction to governors 51 of 1996, a copy of which is in the Library, was for all staff to receive racial harassment and discrimination training by July 2000. However, legislation and case law have moved on since the instruction was issued and the training needs to be updated. The development and introduction of new training forms part of the Prison Service's diversity action plan.
The Prison Service launched the racial equality for staff and prisoners programme (RESPOND) in February 1999. Under this material issued to all establishments, it makes clear that racism will not be tolerated and includes guidance on language and behaviours which could cause offence.
Police Costs
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 November, Official Report, column 241W, on police costs whether information is available on the total additional costs to police forces responsible for policing each of the party conferences last year; and if he will make a statement. [125348]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: The total additional qualifying expenditure (extra costs that were related to the police security operation) that was incurred for the Labour Party and Conservative party conferences in 1999 were as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Labour Party Conference at Bournemouth | |
| Dorset Police | 1,659,317 |
| Conservative Party Conference at Blackpool | |
| Lancashire Constabulary | 891,867 |
The special payment I authorised for Dorset Police was limited to £1.6 million and, therefore, the excess (£59,317) was met from within their budget. In the case of the Lancashire Constabulary, I have made a special payment that is equal to their additional costs as they were less than the special grant maximum I had earlier set at £895,000.
Drug Testing
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has taken to ensure consistency and accurate standards of drug testing conducted by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [125323]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The piloting of the drug testing proposals contained in the Criminal Justice and Court Services Bill is due to start in Spring 2001. Planning will include consultation with the Forensic Science Service on the testing arrangements to ensure that the analytical processes are accurate, fully meet industry standards and are subject to rigorous quality assurance programmes. Use will also be made of the considerable experience gained from the well-established Prison Service mandatory drug testing programmes.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's policy in relation to arrest referral schemes and how arrest schemes are to operate in relation to powers to test for drugs at the time of charging of suspects. [125324]
Mr. Charles Clarke: We anticipate that the testing of arrestees charged with the relevant offences will help to identify those who would benefit from participation in arrest referral schemes which are now being developed with a view to providing coverage of all custody suites by April 2002.
The drug testing proposals are to be piloted over two years from spring 2001. This will include an assessment of how drug testing can be used to maximise the effectiveness of arrest referral schemes.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Audit Commission report entitled, Another Country; what plans he has to make changes to the current arrangements for the dispersal of asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. [125320]
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Mrs. Roche: We welcome the Audit Commission report on the dispersal arrangements. The field work for the report was undertaken between October 1999 and March 2000 and draws its conclusions from the effectiveness of dispersal operations under the voluntary arrangements, before the National Asylum Support Service became operational on 3 April 2000. Many of the conclusions and recommendations made within the report have been implemented, or are being developed, or are under active consideration.
We will continue to work with regional consortia to ensure that asylum seekers are properly supported while their claims are being considered, and that no one area takes a disproportionate burden.
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