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Departmental Policies (Lancaster and Wyre)
Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Lancaster and Wyre constituency, the effect on Lancaster and Wyre of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [154681]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Home Office is working to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced, and the protection and security of the public are maintained. Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in Home Office Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report, Home Office Annual Report 1999-2000, is available in the Library. The latest report will be published shortly.
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Information on recorded crime and policing is also published. 'Recorded Crime England and Wales, 12 months to September 2000' and 'Police Service Strength England and Wales, 30 September 2000' can be found in the Library. The recorded crime statistics include information on recorded crime by Basic Command Unit and Crime and Disorder partnerships.
The impact of Home Office policies and actions is not normally examined by constituency and the statistics which the Department collects, such as recorded crime, cannot be matched in the way requested although set out are examples relating to the Lancaster and Wyre constituency or the immediate locality:
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
Wyre Community Safety Partnership was awarded £120,000 for a project entitled Wyre CCTV Unit. The scheme will consist of two CCTV units, capable of being deployed to any part of Wyre targeting short term crime 'hotspots' and communities, which are suffering from incidents of youth crime and disorder.
The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is funding two Intervention Schemes and one Bail Supervision Scheme in the Lancaster and Wyre area. Almost £57,000 is being funded towards Drugline Lancashire--Preston Arrest Referral and Cautioning Plus Project. The main aims of this project include the provision of direct services to challenge cycles of drug use and crime: counselling, information, befriending, advocacy, holistic welfare, early and crisis intervention. They also include the establishment of a networking system combining a focus on drugs, crime and young people.
Approximately £37,000 has been awarded for the Lancashire Restorative Justice Project. The main aim is to provide both victims and young offenders with the opportunity to communicate with one another in a safe environment in order that the offender may make amends for previous inappropriate behaviour and assist the victim to come to terms with the harm suffered.
A Bail Support Scheme has been awarded £191,000 in the area. The project aims to provide a practical alternative to magistrates and courts in Lancashire and Blackburn for remands to custody, secure accommodation and remands to local authority accommodation.
More generally, all of the policies of the Home Office will impact on the residents of Lancaster and Wyre to a greater or lesser extent. For example:
- 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships have been established;
- racial harassment and racially motivated crimes have been made criminal offences by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998;
- the asylum backlog has been cut from 103,495 at the end of January 2000 to 66,195 by the end of December 2000; and
- good progress is being made in reducing the incidence of fire deaths in England and Wales. They have dropped from 605 in 1997 to 534 in 1999.
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David Blagden
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on the subject of David Blagden; and if he will make a statement. [154418]
Mr. Boateng: I have received a good deal of correspondence on Mr. Blagden's behalf suggesting that his continued custody is unfair and unjust given the nature of his index offence and the length of time he has served. There has also been considerable media interest in the case of this discretionary life sentence prisoner both at local level and nationally.
Legal advisers acting for David Blagden are currently challenging by judicial review the content of material due to be put before my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, for his consideration of the Parole Board's recommendations following its hearing of this case on 2 May 2000. Until this action is concluded, it is not possible to respond to the Parole Board's recommendation.
Prison Education
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the education budget for the Prison Service was for the 2000-01 financial year; and what it will be for the 2001-02 financial year; [154525]
- (2) what the education budget for the Prison Service was for the financial years (a) 1999-2000 and (b) 2000-01; and what it will be for the 2001-02 financial year. [154527]
Mr. Boateng: The information available is for certain identifiable areas of education expenditure, covering payments to education and library service providers and purchase of education materials. It does not include the private sector managed prisons.
Expenditure in 1999-2000 was £47.4 million. Forecast expenditure in 2000-01 is about £50 million.
Both of these figures include Value Added Tax (VAT) payments, where applicable, but do not include refunds to prisons of any recoverable VAT, details of which are not readily available.
As announced in paragraph 23 of the recently published plans for the new partnership between the Prison Service and the Department for Education and Employment "Improving Prisoners' Learning and Skills", a copy of which is in the Library, funding for education, libraries and education materials will be at least £51 million in 2001-02, with planned increases to at least £59 million in 2002-03 and £63 million in 2002-04. These figures allow for VAT refunds.
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the average number of hours per prisoner spent in educational classes per week, in each year from 1992 to present; and if he will make a statement. [152874]
Mr. Boateng: The available information is set out in the table. Information is not available for years before 1995. Comparable data are not collected from private sector prisons.
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The figures relate only to education classes delivered by education contractors, who are in the main further education colleges, and do not include vocational training, physical education or distance learning. Not all prisoners need or wish to participate in education classes and the figures do not therefore reflect the number of hours spent by those prisoners who engage in education classes.
| Year | Average number of hours per prisoner per week spent in education classes in public sector prisons |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 3 hours 36 minutes |
| 1996 | 3 hours 12 minutes |
| 1997 | 2 hours 54 minutes |
| 1998 | 2 hours 54 minutes |
| 1999-2000 | 3 hours 12 minutes |
Note:
Figures may not all be on a like for like basis as the 1999-2000 hours of study data relate to the financial year not calendar year as previously.
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Correspondence
Mr. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Manchester, Central dated 19 October 2000 and 17 January about Mr. H. H. R. (H1001080). [154589]
Mrs. Roche: Lord Bassam wrote to my hon. Friend on my behalf on 16 February.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average time was spent on remand in 2000 by (a) females aged under 21 years, (b) males aged under 21 years, (c) adult females and (d) adult males, respectively. [154653]
Mr. Boateng: Provisional figures for time spent on remand are given in the table.
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| Average whole weeks spent remanded: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| In custody | On bail | Number of defendants | |
| Adult defendants who were remanded in custody throughout court proceedings | 6 | 0 | 1,563 |
| Adult defendants who were remanded in custody for part of the proceedings | 4 | 8 | 1,449 |
| Adult defendants who were remanded on bail only | 0 | 10 | 14,046 |
| All adult defendants | 1 | 6 | 24,750 |
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Prisoner Releases
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, for the period between the commencement of the Home Detention Curfew scheme and 28 February inclusive, (a) the number of prisoners released on the scheme, (b) the number of prisoners convicted of each specific offence who were released on the scheme, with a breakdown of the offences committed, including specific offences committed by prisoners normally classified under the categories (i) other homicide and attempted homicide, (ii) other violence against the person, (iii) drug offences, (iv) assaults and (v) other offences, including a breakdown of the prisoners normally classified in the sub-category of other offences called other offences, (c) the average sentence (i) received and (ii) served, and the average period spent on the scheme, in respect of each specific offence, (d) the number of prisoners released on the scheme, with a breakdown of the offences committed, who (i) breached the conditions of the curfew, (ii) disappeared and were recaptured, (iii) disappeared and remain unlawfully at large and (iv) had their licences revoked, and for what reasons, (e) a breakdown of the specific offences committed by prisoners released on the scheme while on the scheme, including all offences committed by prisoners who committed more than one offence and (f) a breakdown of the specific offences committed by prisoners released on the scheme who committed a further offence while on the scheme that was similar in character to that for which they were originally convicted, including all offences committed by prisoners who committed more than one offence; and if he will make a statement. [152693]
Mr. Boateng [holding answer 8 March 2001]: I have written to the right hon. Member and placed a copy of the letter in the Library.
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