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Police Time

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated average time required is for a police officer to complete the formal documentation of criminal evidence following an arrest for (a) burglary, (b) car theft and (c) criminal damage; and what steps he has taken to monitor the time spent on procedural rather than operational tasks and to reduce it. [127344]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Manual of Guidance for the preparation, processing and submission of files, which is issued by the Trials Issues Group, sets out what information the police must supply to the Crown Prosecution Service (CRS) to ensure a successful prosecution. The number of documents required depends on the nature of the individual case, as does the time it

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takes to complete them; an average time would not be meaningful and has not been estimated. In straightforward cases in which a guilty plea is expected (which accounted for more than half the cases in the pilot last year of the Narey measures for reducing delay) it is sufficient to prepare an 'expedited file' consisting of no more than five or six forms. The national introduction of those measures in November 1999 is expected to reduce the volume of cases requiring full files, and should also lead to an improvement in the timely delivery of case files to the CPS. Getting the file right first time, and on time, significantly reduces administrative burdens.

The Home Office is committed to looking at ways of reducing administrative burdens on the police where it is possible to do so consistently with the interests of justice, and will continue to collaborate with forces to that end.

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Portland Young Offenders Institution

Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff who work in the juvenile wing at Portland Young Offenders Institution have training in dealing with adolescents. [127426]

Mr. Boateng: There are 48 staff who work in the under 18 unit at Portland. Of these, 46 have been trained in dealing with adolescents. The two remaining staff will be trained in September.

Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if slopping out has been ended in Portland Young Offenders Institution. [127415]

Mr. Boateng: Slopping out has ended at Portland. There are two wings in which the cells are too small to accommodate integral sanitation. An electronic unlocking system gives prisoners access to toilet facilities during the night. They are provided with chamber pots in case a fault occurs with the electronic system.

Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juveniles have been sent to Portland Young Offenders Institute since 1 April. [127419]

Mr. Boateng [holding answer 23 June 2000]: Since 1 April this year, a total of 93 prisoners aged under 18 have been sent to Portland.

Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the number of places designated for juveniles in Portland Young Offenders Institute was reduced in May. [127418]

Mr. Boateng [holding answer 23 June 2000]: Since 1 April this year, Portland has provided 130 places for prisoners aged under 18. This has not changed. It was originally proposed to provide 134 places, but this was reduced to provide four "calming rooms" where refractory young prisoners could be placed in preference to moving them to the segregation unit.

Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fully trained prison officers are on duty at night in Portland Young Offenders Institute. [127417]

Mr. Boateng [holding answer 23 June 2000]: There are a total of 11 staff on night duty at Portland; one senior officer and two officers, who are supported by eight operational support staff. All staff on duty at night are fully trained according to the requirements of their respective grades.

Sex Offenders

Mr. Hope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the provisions of Part 1 of the Sex Offenders Act 1997; what form the review will take; and over what period it will take place. [127846]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I am happy to be able to announce that the Government are establishing a review of Part 1 of the Sex Offenders Act 1997. Officials will shortly be setting up a small steering group, which will direct the review and undertake a consultation process. Research to be published shortly on the effectiveness of the Act will provide an important, but not exclusive, background for the review. The review will examine

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a wide range of aspects of Part 1 of the Act and will include consultation with other Government Departments, non-government organisations and the general public. I anticipate that the steering group will report to Ministers at the end of the year.

Hilda Murrell

Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress in the investigation of the murder of Hilda Murrell. [126265]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 22 May 2000, Official Report, columns 365-66W.

Severe Personality Disorders

Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's response to the First report of the Home Affairs Committee, Session 1999-2000, on Dangerous People with Severe Personality Disorders. [126123]

Mr. Boateng: The Government's response to the Committee's report on Managing Dangerous People with Severe Personality Disorder was published as the Committee's Third Special Report on 18 May.

The Government are grateful for the Committee's support for the proposals set out in the consultation paper which was published last July. The Government expect to announce their decision on the way forward once the Spending Review has concluded in the summer.

Football Hooligans

Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of the England soccer fans deported from Belgium over the weekend of 17 to 18 June had criminal convictions; [127493]

(2) how many people were stopped at ports, airports and railway stations in efforts to prevent soccer hooligans reaching the Euro 2000 soccer championships; [127489]

(3) how many police officers were deployed in the attempts to stop soccer hooligans reaching Belgium for the Euro 2000 soccer finals; [127491]

(4) how many people had their passports withdrawn or suspended for the duration of the Euro 2000 soccer championships; [127492]

(5) how many British people were prevented by police or court action from getting to the Euro 2000 championships. [127490]

Mr. Straw: Information provided by the Dutch and Belgium authorities is currently being analysed by the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). I understand that, to date, 393 of the 932 England supporters arrested during Euro 2000 have a criminal record. As the hon. Member may be aware, it is estimated that about one third of males in England and Wales have a criminal record by the age of 30.

There are 101 people currently subject to International Football bans, all of whom were required to report to a police station during Euro 2000. Of these 16 people were ordered to surrender their passports during the tournament as a condition of their ban. No data are available on the

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number of suspected hooligans who were dissuaded from travelling to Euro 2000 as a result of intensive police activity at United Kingdom exit points. But it is known that at least 98 English supporters were refused entry by the Dutch and Belgian authorities.

I regret that it is not possible for operational reasons to say how many police officers were deployed here and overseas as part of the extensive Euro 2000 policing operation.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April have not received substantive answers, for the reason that the information is (a) not held centrally, (b) not held in the form requested or (c) not available. [127680]

Mr. Straw: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 23 June 2000, Official Report, columns 339-40W.

Human Rights Act 1998

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the extra administrative expenditure resulting from the Human Rights Act 1998. [127619]

Mr. Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State in his reply to the hon. Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne) on 23 May 2000, Official Report, column 401W.

Election Expenditure

Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what limitations will be in place for expenditure by political parties for the next election. [126143]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Paragraph 3 of Schedule 8 to the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Bill imposes limits on campaign expenditure by registered political parties in the 365 days prior to the date of a general election. The maximum amount a party may spend is determined by the number of constituencies contested. A party receives an allowance of £30,000 for each constituency contested, subject to a minimum threshold. A party contesting every constituency in the United Kingdom would therefore be subject to a limit on campaign expenditure of £19.77 million during the normal 365-day period. In the event that Schedule 8 is brought into force less than 365 days prior to the date of the next general election, clause 151(5) of the Bill provides that the relevant commencement order may specify a lower limit to apply during the shortened campaign period. We have undertaken to consult the main political parties before any such order is made.

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