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Metropolitan Police
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants sought to join the Metropolitan police force in each month since January 1999; how many were accepted for training; and what the rate of take-up was for each course at Hendon since May 1997. [125270]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is set out in the tables. The selection process is a rolling programme and therefore those who have applied since January 2000 are unlikely to have completed all selection elements. The percentage take-up rates of places offered is based on those individuals who were offered employment and accepted.
| Applications received | Candidates accepted for training | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | ||
| January | 476 | 146 |
| February | 652 | 162 |
| March | 571 | 181 |
| April | 580 | 151 |
| May | 523 | No intake |
| June | 554 | 87 |
| July | 326 | 99 |
| August | 268 | 119 |
| September | 405 | 109 |
| October | 735 | 92 |
| November | 566 | 101 |
| December | 459 | No intake |
| 2000 | ||
| January | 413 | 104 |
| February | 443 | 61 |
| March | 382 | 65 |
| April | 297 | 100 |
| May | 307 | 102 |
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Prison Service
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on prisoners' wages in each of the last two years. [125339]
Mr. Boateng: Expenditure on prisoners' earnings in England and Wales was £20.270 million in 1998-99 and £21.210 million in 1999-2000.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women received into prison (a) under sentence and (b) on remand who had children under the age of 18 months were given a place in a mother and baby unit in each of the last five years. [125340]
Mr. Boateng: There are 64 places in total available in mother and baby units at four prisons. On 5 June 2000, there were 54 mothers and their babies in the units.
Centrally available data only give figures for the past 19 months. The information is given in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Remands | 22 |
| Sentenced | 184 |
| Total | 206 |
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prison service
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staff is registered disabled; how many (a) applicants for jobs and (b) employees in the Prison Service are registered disabled; and if he will make a statement. [125335]
Mr. Boateng: Most recruitment undertaken in the Prison Service is for unified grades (prison officers, governors) who are currently exempt from the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
From the statistics gathered for the quarter October--December 1999, of those who applied for jobs, a total of 13 declared a disability and one person with a disability was appointed.
Out of 43,683 staff in post on 31 March 2000, a total of 139 were identified as disabled.
The Prison Service will be undertaking a staff disability survey towards the end of this year which should allow a more accurate database to be established. This, in turn, will inform decisions on the level of resources required to assist staff to carry out their duties.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many disabled people visited prisons in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [125336]
Mr. Boateng: I regret that this information is not available.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to repeat the 1991 National Prison Survey in 2001; and if he will make a statement. [125333]
Mr. Boateng: There are no plans to repeat the 1991 National Prison Survey in 2001. A survey of prisoners is being carried out this year for the Home Office to investigate factors related to criminality. This covers much of the same information.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours per week on average remand prisoners spent out of cell in each local prison in England and Wales in 1999; and if he will make a statement. [125334]
Mr. Boateng: The Prison Service does not monitor time out of cell for remand prisoners separately. The average time out of cell on weekdays and weekends for all prisoners in local prisons in England and Wales for the year 1999-00 are given in the table.
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Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce privacy screening in shared prison cells fitted with integral sanitation. [125338]
Mr. Boateng: A significant proportion of shared prison cells with integral sanitation already have privacy screening. This work has been carried out by establishments under local management.
The Prison Service is currently evaluating options to standardise the type of privacy screen and to extend the installation to all shared cells with integral sanitation. A decision has not yet been taken as to when this work might be carried out.
Criminal Justice
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list those measures on just processes and outcomes which his Department is monitoring as described on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01; [125621]
- (2) if he will list those measures on just processes and outcomes which his Department is monitoring, as referred to on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01. [125619]
Mr. Charles Clarke: On just processes, the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Home Office and the Law Officers Department are jointly monitoring the number of cases that are dismissed because the magistrates find that there is no case to answer, and non-jury acquittals in the Crown Court.
For just outcomes, the three Departments are monitoring the number of successful appeals against sentence; the number of successful appeals by the prosecution on the basis that the original sentence is unduly lenient; and the number of criminal cases in which there is a successful appeal to the Divisional Court by way of case stated or judicial review.
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how his Department measures the satisfaction of jurors with their treatment by the criminal justice system; and if he will place in the Library details of the opinion research on jurors mentioned on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01. [125625]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Lord Chancellor's Department is to conduct an annual survey of jurors to measure their satisfaction with their treatment by the criminal justice system. We are placing in the Library the results of the survey conducted to inform the new measure and target for juror satisfaction.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his definition of a public disorder incident as referred to on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01. [125617]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Business Plan follows the definition of disorder used by the police service, i.e. a breach of the peace of which the police are aware, which may require police intervention or action in partnership with others. Racist or homophobic incidents and incidents involving or arising out of disturbances in public places, licensed premises or private property, drunkenness, domestic incidents, marches and demonstrations, civil disputes, neighbour disputes, public or sports events, hunt sabotage, and other unlisted types of disorder or nuisance will all count towards the total.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if a decision not to prosecute or to discontinue a prosecution will count as a disposal for the purposes of meeting the Government's objective of reducing the time taken from arrest to disposal, as set out on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01. [125623]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The timeliness measure for the time taken from arrest to sentence or other disposal for all offenders is currently collected from charge. It excludes cases where there is a decision not to prosecute before the first listing at a magistrates court. Cases discontinued at or after first listing at a magistrates court are counted as disposals in the calculation of the measure; cases that are discontinued at the Crown court also count as disposals except where the indictment is left to lie on file as a result of a prosecution application before the first main hearing.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public disorder incidents, as defined in his list of performance measures on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01, were recorded per 1,000 of the population in each of the last 10 years; what the baseline figure is against which his reduction target will be measured; and when he expects that target to be achieved. [125615]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information is not available in the form required for the last 10 years. The baseline will be that recorded during 2000-01 and the target will be for achievement by 31 March 2002.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the principal cities whose robbery figures will be taken into account in measuring the performance of the criminal justice system under its
12 Jun 2000 : Column: 517W
business plan 2000-01; and what is the baseline figure for robbery against which his reduction target will be measured. [125612]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The following police authorities have set targets under Best Value for reduction of robbery:
| Police authority | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater Manchester | 10 |
| Merseyside | 15 |
| Metropolitan police | 15 |
| West Midlands | 34 |
| West Yorkshire | 22 |
Police authorities have used the baseline year of 1999-2000. The full figures for 1999-2000 will be published on 18 July.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the baseline levels of vehicle crime and domestic burglary are against which he has set the performance targets listed on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01. [125613]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Based on the 1998-99 recorded crime figures, the baseline levels used are as follows:
| Number of offences | |
|---|---|
| Vehicle crime(32) | 1,077,732 |
| Domestic burglary | 473,352 |
(32) Theft of and from vehicles
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the ingredients of the basket of measures on the rights of defendants mentioned on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01; and if he will give details of the performance targets in each case. [125626]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The measures on the rights of the defendants contained in the basket are listed on page 5 of the Business Plan.
Work is continuing on targets for the underlying measures to be in place by 31 March 2001.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his baseline figure is for public confidence in the criminal justice system against which he will measure his target, described on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01; and if he will place in the Library details of how he measures public confidence. [125627]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The public confidence measure is going to be based on questions in the British Crime Survey. The baseline figure will come from the British Crime Survey 2000. The results will become available for analysis this summer. When available, details of the calculations will be placed in the Library.
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his latest estimate is of the overall cost of the criminal justice system per person (a) proceeded against, (b) found guilty or admitting guilt and (c) found not guilty. [125628]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on the overall cost of the criminal justice system per person is not yet available. Information on the average costs of court proceedings in 1997-98 (including disposals, but excluding police investigation, for which no unit costs were available), was published in 1999, in Home Office Research Findings 103, a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the economic cost of crime in each of the last 10 years; what is the baseline against which the reduction target set out on page 4 of the Criminal Justice System Business Plan 2000-01 will be measured; and if he will make a statement on the methodology used in calculating the economic cost of crime. [125618]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on the economic cost of crime in each of the last 10 years is not available. A baseline is to be established to enable a target to be set by 31 March 2001 and research will be published in the next few months setting out the data available and the work proposed to improve data.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason he has replaced the measure of reducing the long-term rate of growth of crime which he proposed in the 1999 Criminal Justice System Business Plan. [125622]
Mr. Charles Clarke: We decided that the challenging and specific crime reduction targets which we have set would provide a better focus for the work of the police, crime and disorder reduction partnerships and the criminal justice system.
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