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Police (Retirement)
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of early retirement and retirement on the ground of ill health to police authorities in (a) 1980, (b) 1990 and (c) the latest 12 months for which statistics are available; and for each of these years, what percentage of the final budget this cost accounted for. [143881]
Mr. Charles Clarke: There is no provision within the police pension scheme for officers to retire early with an actuarially reduced pension. Maximum pension benefits are payable on completion of 30 years' service and most officers retire having completed at least 30 years' service.
Officers may also retire with an immediate pension before completion of 30 years--or reaching compulsory retirement age--on the ground of ill-health. A police authority may retire an officer on that ground if he or she becomes permanently disabled from performing the ordinary duties of a police officer. The total cost of retirement on ill health ground to police authorities is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Guernsey
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers he has to persuade the States of Guernsey to introduce legislation against discrimination. [144034]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Insular Authorities in Guernsey are aware of their obligations under international conventions on discrimination and have undertaken, in a Billet d'Etat in September 2000, to propose legislation on race discrimination. My officials have recently met representatives of the Insular Authorities to discuss the form the legislation should take. The authorities have also prepared a draft sex discrimination law which is currently subject to consultation. It is planned that both pieces of legislation will be introduced in the States of Deliberation during 2001.
Motorcycle Theft
Mr. Opik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what actions he is taking to reduce levels of motorcycle theft in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [143905]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The National Criminal Intelligence Service has received additional Government funding to run a project aimed at tackling organised motorcycle theft. Crime prevention messages specifically aimed at motorcyclists will be included in the next phase (starting in the next financial year) of the national vehicle crime reduction communications campaign. Local authorities now have powers to provide secure parking for motorcycles under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 (as amended). The Vehicles (Crime) Bill currently before Parliament provides for statutory regulation of the motor salvage industry, which will help to prevent vehicles, including motorcycles, from being stolen to be broken up for spare parts or "rung" (ie taking on the identities of vehicles which have been written off in accidents).
Prisons (Drugs)
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have tested positive through mandatory drug testing in each of the last five years. [143913]
Mr. Boateng: The numbers of positive mandatory drug tests recorded in each of the last five years is given in the table.
| Year | Number of positive MDT results(30) |
|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 21,590 |
| 1997-98 | 20,346 |
| 1998-99 | 19,330 |
| 1999-2000 | 17,505 |
| 2000-01(31) | 11,243 |
(30) Includes prisoners testing positive on more than one occasion
(31) Year to 30 November 2000
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been successfully prosecuted for smuggling drugs into prison in each of the last five years (a) in the UK, (b) at Frankland Prison and (c) at Durham Prison. [143914]
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Mr. Boateng: Figures for the number of people successfully prosecuted for smuggling drugs into prisons are not recorded centrally. The best available measure is the number of visitors arrested, figures for which are given in the table.
| Frankland | Durham | National | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 10 | 1 | 1,320 |
| 1997 | 8 | 21 | 1,189 |
| 1998 | 3 | 32 | 1,114 |
| 1999 | 5 | 11 | 830 |
| 2000(32) | 3 | 5 | 492 |
(32) Up to 20 December
Custodial Sentences
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of remand prisoners have received custodial sentences in each of the last five years. [143917]
Mr. Boateng: Available information on the proportion of persons remanded to custody who subsequently received a custodial sentence is given in the table. This information is published in successive volumes of "Prison statistics England and Wales" (Table 2.6 of the 1999 edition, Cm 4805), copies of which are in the Library.
| Finale court outcome-immediate custody(34) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Males(35) | Females(35) |
| 1995 | 46 | 33 |
| 1996 | 46 | 32 |
| 1997 | 45 | 31 |
| 1998 | 45 | 32 |
| 1999 | 47 | 35 |
(33) Includes persons remanded in custody by magistrates during proceedings or on committal.
(34) Includes detention in a young offender institution and unsuspended imprisonment.
(35) Estimated percentages.
Prisons (Suicides)
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides there were among male prisoners under the age of 25 years, broken down by prison, in each of the last five years. [143963]
Mr. Boateng: The requested information in respect of the 114 self-inflicted deaths among male prisoners under 25 during the last five years is set out in the table.
(36) As at 20 December 2000
(37) Prisoner Escort and Custody Service (PECS)
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Life Sentences
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are serving mandatory life sentences. [143915]
Mr. Boateng: The latest available provisional information is for 31 November 2000. On that date there were 3,376 persons in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales serving a mandatory life sentence.
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time served before release was for life sentence prisoners in the last 10 years. [143916]
Mr. Boateng: Information on the average time served before release for life sentence prisoners in England and Wales over the last 10 years is given in the table. This information is also published in successive volumes of
8 Jan 2001 : Column: 425W
"Prison Statistics England and Wales" (table 5.5 of the 1999 edition, Cm 4805) copies of which are in the Library.
| Year of release | Average time served (years) |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 13.0 |
| 1991 | 12.1 |
| 1992 | 13.2 |
| 1993 | 14.5 |
| 1994 | 14.9 |
| 1995 | 13.8 |
| 1996 | 13.8 |
| 1997 | 14.3 |
| 1998 | 13.3 |
| 1999 | 14.8 |
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