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Unemployment Rates
Ms Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many constituencies in England, broken down by Government office in each region, are ranked within the top 100 by overall unemployment rate. [144282]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Kidgell to Ms Karen Buck, dated January 2001:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question regarding the number of constituencies broken down by Government Office in each region that are ranked within the top 100 by overall unemployment rate (144282). I am replying in his absence.
- The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish a monthly count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits. The claimant count consists of all people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or National Insurance credits at Employment Service local offices. They must declare that they are out of work, capable of, available for and actively seeking work during the week in which the claim is made.
- Given below are the numbers of parliamentary constituencies in each English Government Office Region ranked with the 100 highest claimant count rate in November 2000.
| English Government Office Region | |
|---|---|
| North East | 16 |
| North West | 16 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 17 |
| East Midlands | 4 |
| West Midlands | 14 |
| East | 2 |
| London | 28 |
| South East | 2 |
| South West | 1 |
Hospital-acquired Infection Statistics
Tony Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what requirement there is for death certificates to record information about MRSA and other hospital- acquired infections as a cause of death; [144461]
- (2) how many people have died from MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections in the last year for which figures are available. [144475]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
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Letter from Karen Dunnell to Tony Wright, dated 10 January 2001:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your two recent questions on the requirement for death certificates to record information about MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections as a cause of death, and on the number of people who have died from MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections (144461, 144475). I am replying in his absence.
- The doctor who signs the death certificate must state the cause of death to the 'best of his knowledge and belief'. Guidance issued to doctors asks that they describe the cause of death as fully as possible including any underlying causes or contributory conditions, as well as the immediate cause of death.
- It is not possible to give reliable figures on the number of deaths involving MRSA or other hospital-acquired infections (HAI) from routinely collected mortality data. HAI are rarely the underlying cause of death. They may be mentioned as late complications of persons dying of other disease or injuries. However few certificates involving infections indicate whether the infection was acquired in hospital or in the community or whether it was resistant to antibiotics. Furthermore antibiotic resistance and place of infection are not coded in the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases which is used for recording cause of death.
HOME DEPARTMENT
NCIS/NCS Levies
Mr. Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will announce the National Criminal Intelligence Service and National Crime Squad levies for 2001-02; and if he will make a statement. [144929]
Mr. Straw: I am writing today to the Chairman of the Service Authority for the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) and National Crime Squad (NCS) to inform him of my decision on the proposals for increases in the levy for the two organisations.
In reaching my decision, I have taken into account the proposals put to me by the Service Authority, as well as representations made to me by the Association of Police Authorities, Association of Chief Police Officers and others as part of the process of consultation over the levy proposals. I have considered all this against the background of the overall settlement for the police service, from which the levy for the two organisations is funded. I have also taken account of the funding which NCIS and NCS receive from other sources.
I have decided to award an increase of £5.33 million or 4.9 per cent. to the NCS in line with the average police settlement for England and Wales. This increases the levy for 2001-02 to £114.05 million.
In the case of NCIS, I have taken particular account of the increasing importance which good quality intelligence plays in fighting the criminal organisations behind much of the serious criminal activity in the United Kingdom; and the vital role which NCIS plays in working with police forces, Her Majesty's Customs and Excise and other organisations both nationally and internationally to tackle the problem. I have therefore decided to increase the NCIS levy by £9.2 million to £49.5 million in 2001-02, which amounts to an increase in the levy of 23 per cent.
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I am satisfied that these increases in the levy and other resources will enable both NCIS and NCS to continue and enhance their work in tackling serious criminal activity such as drug trafficking, people trafficking and money laundering and bringing to justice the criminals and criminal organisations involved in it.
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what categories of submissions from civil servants to Ministers, other than those relating to (a) intelligence and (b) personnel matters, are not circulated to Special Advisers; [143808]
- (2) what categories of submissions from civil servants are submitted to Special Advisers before being seen by Ministers. [143809]
Mr. Straw: Special Advisers in this Department have access to material produced by permanent civil servants in accordance with paragraph 14e of the "Model Contract for Special Advisers".
Charity Workers (Misuse of Drugs Act)
Mr. Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, following the appeal court decisions upholding the convictions of Ruth Wyner and John Brock, he will review the provision of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 that disallowed a valid defence. [144471]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Ruth Wyner and John Brock were convicted under Section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) because they failed to take reasonable steps to prevent drug dealing on the premises for which they were responsible. In upholding the convictions, the Court of Appeal ruled that the trial judge's summing up was fair and balanced and contained an accurate review of the evidence, including a faithful rehearsal of the appellants' denials that they were aware of the scale of the drug-dealing. The Court of Appeal noted that on the evidence before them, the jury could only have concluded that both appellants were aware of, or shut their eyes to, an obviously significant level of dealing. It would be quite wrong to amend the law to permit managers of premises, be they charity workers or not, to act in this way.
Armed Police Officers
Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons in possession of a firearm and suspected of being in the course of committing a crime have been (a) shot and killed and (b) shot and wounded by armed police officers in each of the past 20 years. [144298]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Figures available are for 1991 onwards and are as follows:
| Shot and killed | Shot and wounded | |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 3 | 2 |
| 1992 | 3 | 8 |
| 1993 | 3 | 2 |
| 1994 | 2 | 4 |
| 1995 | -- | 3 |
| 1996 | -- | 1 |
| 1997 | -- | 1 |
| 1998 | 1 | 1 |
| 1999 | 2 | 4 |
| 2000 | 1 | 3 |
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The figures include incidents where the person was subsequently found to be in possession of a replica or imitation firearm.
Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were found guilty of unlawful killing using firearms in each of the past 20 years. [144169]
Correspondence
Mr. Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will request the Director General of the Prison Service to provide a reply to correspondence and telephone calls from the hon. Member for Chatham and Aylesford concerning a constituent. [144160]
Mr. Boateng: The Director General wrote on 3 January.
Voluntary Work
Mr. Hope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on resources to help more people to volunteer or become involved in their communities. [144928]
Mr. Boateng: My noble Friend the Lord Falconer of Thoroton and I are announcing tomorrow our plans to deliver the investment and outcomes proposed by the Active Community Cross Cutting Review.
The Active Community Settlement, announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 2000, includes £60 million over three years to support new volunteering opportunities in the public sector.
Departments were invited to match the funds available. As a result, funding over the next three years on new public sector volunteering opportunities will amount to at least £120 million. Details of a range of projects are being placed in the Library on Thursday 11 January 2001.
Many of the projects are specifically targeted at enabling those aged 50 and over to get actively involved in their communities as part of a National Experience corps. We hope to capture the wealth of experience this age group has to offer the community.
My noble Friend Baroness Greengross of Notting Hill has agreed to act as Chairman for a new Advisory Group charged with developing a blueprint for a National Experience Corps, which we intend to launch in April this year. Membership of the Advisory Group and its remit will also be placed in the Library.
The Active Community Settlement includes £35 million revenue and £25 million capital over the three years from April 2001 to modernise the infrastructure of voluntary and community organisations, to improve publicity and marketing for volunteering and to develop the national structure and standards governing mentoring.
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Community involvement will also be enhanced as a result of new investment in community groups and through the local network of Children's Funds--announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer as part of SR2000. The overall package represents a significant new investment in volunteering and community involvement--£120 million for public sector volunteering opportunities, £60 million towards mentoring, marketing and capacity building, £50 million for community groups in deprived areas and the £70 million which has already been announced for Children's Funds.
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