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Lord Birt
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the role of Lord Birt as the Government's adviser on crime. [216]
Mr. Blunkett: Lord Birt's work has ranged widely over the criminal justice field. His advice, research and analysis are reflected in the Government's strategy document, "Criminal Justice: The Way Ahead" (Cm 5074).
Immigration Officers (French Ports)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the French authorities about the reduction in immigration officers at French ports; what representations he has made; and if he will make a statement. [174]
Angela Eagle: The withdrawal of immigration control authorities from small ports in the north of France was discussed at the United Kingdom-French summit at Cahors in February.
At the summit French Ministers gave an assurance that they were not reducing immigration controls but simply rationalising the roles of the various border control agencies. Where the PAF (the French Border Police) are withdrawn from a port the Douane will undertake immigration functions.
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United Kingdom officials are in regular contact with their French counterparts and are monitoring the situation closely.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the recent incident at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate when an asylum seeker was admitted to the directorate while in possession of a loaded firearm. [155]
Angela Eagle: A man has been charged with a number of offences relating to the possession of a firearm and ammunition and an immigration offence. He appeared at Croydon magistates court on 15 June and was remanded in custody until 25 June to appear at the Central Criminal Court. I cannot make any further comment for legal reasons.
Custody-plus Sentences
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders would serve shorter terms in prison than at present under his proposals for custody-plus sentences; and if he will make a statement. [217]
Mr. Keith Bradley: I have received John Halliday's report of a review of the sentencing framework for England and Wales, which I intend to publish shortly. Once the report is published there will be a period of consultation and I will want to consider carefully which "Halliday" proposals should be taken forward.
Drugs
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a breakdown of expenditure on the Government drugs strategy between spending on (a) courts, (b) prisons, (c) police, (d) the NHS, (e) social services and (f) other departments. [737]
Mr. Denham: The Government have made available substantial resources for directly tackling the problem of drug misuse. These are planned to increase from £700 million in 2000-01 to over £1 billion in 2003-04. Information held centrally relates to the four main aims of the national anti-drugs strategy.
Analyses by Department or function are difficult to calculate because drugs spending in many cases forms part of wider expenditure streams or functions. This is compounded by the increased use of pooled budgets, designed to maximise effective, flexible use of resources on the ground.
Details of the planned expenditure for 2001-02 to 2003-04 are set out in the tables.
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Key Expenditure Figures
| £ million | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-01(15) | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | |
| Drug Treatment(16) | 234 | 328 | 377 | 401 |
| Protecting Young People | 63 | 90 | 97 | 120 |
| Safeguarding Communities | 45 | 79 | 81 | 95 |
| Reducing Availability(17) | 353 | 373 | 376 | 380 |
| Total | 695 | 870 | 931 | 996 |
(14) Excludes devolved spending
(15) Estimates of baseline spend in Departmental Expenditure Limits
(16) Comprises mainstream spending by Department of Health
(17) United Kingdom spend for 2001-02 to 2003-04 based on projected anti-drugs allocation from anti-Organised Crime shared funding
| £ million | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | |
| Criminal Justice System | 1,420 | 2,290 | 2,720 |
| Neighbourhood Renewal Fund | 200 | 300 | 400 |
| Children's Fund | 100 | 150 | 200 |
| Connexions(19) | 77 | 177 | (20)-- |
(18) Excludes devolved spending
(19) This was added to existing provision for the careers service. Funding will go to the careers service in areas where Connexions is not yet running
(20) Provision for 2003-04 will be announced in due course
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strengthening communities | 50 | 70 | 100 |
| Extending drug testing in the Criminal Justice System | 0 | 20 | 30 |
| Providing more help to find jobs | 5 | 15 | 20 |
| Strengthening Drug Action Teams | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Expanding Positive Futures | 2 | 3 | 0 |
(21) Excludes devolved spending
Ports Policing
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account will be taken of the results of the review of ports policing being conducted by the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions in preparation of the proposed Police Bill; and if he will make a statement. [421]
Mr. Denham: The review of ports policing presently being conducted by the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions is due to report its findings in October 2001. Until the recommendations of the Review are published I am unable to comment on whether they will impact on preparation of the proposed Police Bill.