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Animal Cruelty
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were charged with cruelty to animals in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [151015]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on the number of persons charged with an offence is not collected centrally.
However, information taken from the Home Office's Court Proceedings Database showing the number of persons prosecuted and convicted of offences relating to animal cruelty during the period 1997-99 is given in the table.
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| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offence | Prosecutions | Convictions | Prosecutions | Convictions | Prosecutions | Convictions |
| Protection of Animals Act, 1911 (as amended) | 1,051 | 867 | 1,104 | 887 | 1,046 | 825 |
| Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 Sec 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Protection of Animals Act, 1934 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | -- | -- |
| Docking and Necking of Horses Act, 1949 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 | -- |
| Pet Animals Act, 1951 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
| Protection of Animals (Amendment) Act, 1954 | 34 | 30 | 22 | 19 | 25 | 21 |
| Animal Health Act, 1981, Secs 40-42, 46 and 49 and Orders made under Secs 8, 9, 37, 38, 39 and 43 | 65 | 57 | 76 | 62 | 39 | 34 |
| Slaughterhouses Act, 1874 | -- | -- | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Abandonment of Animals Act, 1960, Sec 1 | 26 | 21 | 36 | 26 | 17 | 12 |
| Animals (Cruel Poisons) Act, 1962 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Animal Boarding Establishments Act, 1963 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Riding Establishments Acts, 1964 and 1970 | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Slaughter of Poultry Act, 1967 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 8 | 7 |
| Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968, Secs 1, 2 and 6 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 11 |
| Protection of Badgers Act, 1992 (except Sec 13) | 44 | 25 | 18 | 4 | 30 | 10 |
| Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 Sec 9 | 5 | 3 | -- | -- | 3 | -- |
| Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 Sec 11 | 2 | -- | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1995 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 7 | -- | -- |
| Breeding of Dogs Acts 1973 and 1991 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Diseases of Animals Act | 89 | 74 | 85 | 65 | 58 | 39 |
| Wild Birds Protection Acts | 84 | 63 | 68 | 42 | 157 | 118 |
| Total | 1,449 | 1,177 | 1,470 | 1,159 | 1,432 | 1,104 |
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Smoking (Prisons)
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will publish the rules which operate within prisons with regard to smoking by (a) prisoners and (b) prison officers on duty; [151163]
- (2) what arrangements are made to prevent prisoners from being exposed to tobacco smoke against their will. [151162]
Mr. Boateng: The policy on smoking in Prison Service premises is set out in "Instruction to Governors 16/1996", issued on 21 March 1996 (a copy of which can be found in the Library). It seeks to ensure that prisoners are not exposed to tobacco smoke against their will.
In particular, smoking is banned in all visits areas and governors are asked to consider bans in other communal areas and make arrangements to prevent smoking in consulting rooms in health care centres. There should also be provision for prisoners who smoke to smoke away from non-smoking prisoners within patient areas. So far as is reasonably practicable, non-smoking prisoners are not expected to share a cell with smokers.
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The policy is under review and it is expected to follow that of health authorities which are required to operate a smoking cessation service to support those who want to give up.
New Prison (Peterborough)
Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the economic benefits to Peterborough from the siting of a new prison in the city in terms of (a) direct and (b) indirect employment. [151567]
Mr. Boateng: The assessment made in 1997 and reiterated at the public inquiry into the new prison in 1998 was that it would create an estimated 400 direct and 440 indirect jobs during construction and 350 direct and 190 indirect jobs once the prison opens. However, these can only be indicative estimates and precise staffing figures will be dependent on the design and operational policies of the contractor selected to design, build and run the prison.
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Police Constables (Benefits)
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of serving police constables who are in receipt of Working Families Tax Credit. [151238]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 26 February 2001]: I have made no such estimate.
Prison Service
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on agreeing Service Level Agreement standards for Prison Service establishments; and if he will make a statement. [151623]
Mr. Boateng: Service Level Agreements (SDAs) have been developed and piloted during this financial year. The purpose of the SDA is to provide three year business plan agreements between the Area Manager and Governor of a prison, and to integrate Prison Service Performance Standards into the business planning process.
SDAs covering all prison establishments are scheduled to be agreed by the end March for 2001-02.
Reconvictions
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reconviction rates were for (a) all prisoners, (b) male prisoners and (c) young offenders for each year from 1992 to 2000; and if he will make a statement. [151762]
Mr. Boateng: Two year reconviction rates for standard list offences following release from prison between 1992 and 1997 are shown in the tables. Figures for subsequent years are not yet available. Changes in the standard list of offences recorded are estimated to have increased the 1994 figure by about 1 per cent., the 1995 figure by about 1.4 per cent. and the 1996 and 1997 figures by about 1.9 per cent.
| Year of discharge from prison | Percentage reconvicted |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 51 |
| 1993 | 53 |
| 1994 | 56 |
| 1995 | 58 |
| 1996 | 57 |
| 1997(13) | 57 |
(13) First quarter
| Year of discharge from prison | Percentage reconvicted |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 52 |
| 1993 | 54 |
| 1994 | 56 |
| 1995 | 58 |
| 1996 | 58 |
| 1997(14) | 57 |
(14) First quarter
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| Year of discharge from prison | Percentage reconvicted |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 71 |
| 1993 | 74 |
| 1994 | 75 |
| 1995 | 76 |
| 1996 | 75 |
| 1997(15) | 74 |
(15) First quarter
Immigration Officers
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers there were for each function in each year since 1992; and if he will make a statement. [151763]
Mrs. Roche: The numbers of immigration officers for each function (Ports and Enforcement) are set out in the table.
| Immigration officers involved in enforcement activities | Immigration officers involved in activities at ports locations | Total immigration officers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| April | |||
| 1992 | 116 | 1,670 | 1,786 |
| 1993 | 177 | 1,625.5 | 1,802.5 |
| 1994 | 248.5 | 1,869 | 2,117.5 |
| 1995 | 272 | 1,831 | 2,103 |
| 1996 | 257.5 | 1,834.5 | 2,092 |
| 1997 | 240 | 1,836.4 | 2,076.4 |
| 1998 | 233 | 1,758.8 | 1,991.2 |
| 1999 | 219.7 | 1,640.5 | 1,860.2 |
| 2000 | 248.2 | 1,657.5 | 1,905.7 |
| 2001 | 425.7 | 1,971.6 | 2,397.3 |
Safe Cells
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many safe cells have been installed since 7 July 2000; [151825]
- (2) how many people have committed suicide since 7 July 2000; how many of them were (a) female, (b) male, (c) remand prisoners and (d) aged under 21 years; and how many suicides took place in safe cells. [151824]
Mr. Boateng: No safer cells have been installed since 7 July 2000, but 1,000 are planned in the three years from April 2001. Rye Hill prison which opened in January this year and Dovegate prison (which will open later this year) will have over 1,000 cells in which elements of the safer cell are incorporated.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 5 February a new three-year strategy to reduce prisoner suicide and self-harm in prisons. One strand of the strategy will be physical improvements to reception and induction areas, including the creation of more safer cells, crisis suites and gated cells that enable staff to watch closely at-risk prisoners.
There have been the following numbers of self-inflicted deaths since 7 July 2000: (a) female--3; (b) male--46; (c) remand prisoners--28; and (d) aged under 21 years--11. There have been no self-inflicted deaths in safer cells.
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