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Criminal Justice and Court Services Act
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which provisions of the Criminal
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Justice and Court Services Act 2000 are yet to come into force; what the planned timetable is for their introduction; what orders remain to be brought forward relating to the Act; and if he will make a statement. [5107]
Mr. Keith Bradley: Provisions of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 which have not yet been commenced are: sections 46 and 51, which are concerned with exclusion orders and requirements; section 53 which is concerned with breach of community orders; section 59 which is concerned with remand centres; section 61 which is concerned with the sentencing of offenders aged 18–21, and section 71 which is concerned with information held by the Police Information Technology Organisation for the purposes of part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988. It is hoped to bring section 71 into effect shortly. The exclusion provisions are to be piloted and the other sections will be commenced when possible.
In respect of the powers to make orders under the Act I shall write to the hon. Member.
Criminal Court Orders
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the names of criminal court orders. [5209]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 changed the names of Community Service Orders, Probation Orders and Combination Orders to Community Punishment Orders, Community Rehabilitation Orders and Community Punishment and Rehabilitation Orders. These changes have already taken effect.
The Halliday Report on the Sentencing Framework includes proposals to create new sentences which, in due course, may have implications for the names of existing orders. These proposals are currently the subject of a consultation exercise.
The Government have no other plans to change the names of orders imposed by the criminal courts.
Fine Defaulters
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people (a) were imprisoned and (b) received a non-custodial sentence for fine default in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; how many fine defaults followed non-payment of a television licence fee; what was the average length of prison sentence in each year for fine default; and if he will make a statement. [5114]
Mr. Keith Bradley: Prison receptions data from the Prison statistics database do not include non-custodial sentences for defendants who have defaulted on payment of fines. Details of prison receptions for fine default and average days served are shown in Table A for males and females. Prison receptions for fine default following non-payment of a television licence fee are shown in Table B.
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| Average time served/days(5) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Number of receptions | Males | Females |
| 1991 | 18,973 | 8.1 | 6.8 |
| 1992 | 19,826 | 7.0 | 6.8 |
| 1993 | 22,403 | 7.5 | 6.0 |
| 1994 | 22,469 | 7.3 | 5.0 |
| 1995 | 20,157 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
| 1996 | 8,555 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
| 1997 | 6,336 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
| 1998 | 5,374 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
| 1999 | 3,727 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
| 2000(6) | 2,476 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
(5) Excluding those remaining in custody for fine default on completion of a custodial sentence
(6) Provisional data
| Year | Number of fine defaulters received(7) |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 394 |
| 1992 | 568 |
| 1993 | 825 |
| 1994 | 730 |
| 1995 | 728 |
| 1996 | 327 |
| 1997 | 232 |
| 1998 | 145 |
| 1999 | 80 |
| 2000(8) | 33 |
(7) Includes those aged 17 up to 1992
(8) Provisional data
A Home Office Occasional Paper, "New Measures for Fine Defaulters, Persistent Petty Offenders and Others: The Report of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 Pilots", by Robin Elliott and Jennifer Airs was published in 2000. The report looks in detail at fine default in Norwich and Manchester, including imprisonment, non-custodial sentences and type of offence.
A copy is in the Library or can be accessed on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/occ-fine.pdf.
Reoffending
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average recorded reoffending rate was following (a) a community rehabilitation order with conditions, (b) a community rehabilitation order without conditions, (c) a community rehabilitation order with a condition of attendance at an accredited programme, (d) a community punishment order and (e) a community punishment and rehabilitation order on the most recent date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [5208]
Beverley Hughes: Reoffending data for community penalty commencements are not collected. However data on reconviction following the commencement of various community penalties are collected. The latest available data are for commencements in the first quarter of 1997, and are shown in the table. It is not possible to identify
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separately offenders with a condition of attendance at an accredited programme from those offenders with any conditions specified.
| Order type | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Community Rehabilitation Order with conditions | 58 |
| Community Rehabilitation Order without conditions | 68 |
| Community Punishment Order | 48 |
| Combination Punishment and Rehabilitation Order | 59 |
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which provisions of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 are yet to come into force; what the planned timetable is for their introduction; what orders remain to be brought forward relating to the Act; and if he will make a statement. [5111]
Mr. Blunkett: Part I Chapter II (acquisition and disclosure of communications data) and Part III (investigation of electronic data protected by encryption etc.) of the Act have yet to be implemented. We plan to bring these provisions into force by the end of this year. Orders under section 12 (maintenance of interception capability) and section 13 (Technical Advisory Board) of the Act will be laid before Parliament following the current period of public consultation on the section 12 order.
Terrorism Act
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which provisions of the Terrorism Act 2000 are yet to come into force; what the planned timetable is for their introduction; what orders remain to be brought forward relating to the Act; and if he will make a statement. [5112]
Mr. Blunkett: The only provision in the Terrorism Act 2000 not brought into force on or before 19 February 2001 by any of the three commencement orders signed by my predecessor is section 100 in Part VII of the Act. This concerns the making of a code of practice for silent video recordings in Northern Ireland of those detained under the Act. Section 100 has not been brought into force because an order under paragraph 3 of schedule 8 to the Act has been made introducing video recording with sound in Northern Ireland with effect from 19 February. No order has been made prescribing the kind of information to be provided by passenger carriers about passengers, crew and vehicles travelling in the common travel area (paragraph 17 (4) of Schedule 7). Discussions continue about how the power to collect information is to be used and the kind of information to be collected. No order will be laid before the House without prior formal consultation with carriers.
Probation Service
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the additional Probation Service staff that need to be recruited in order
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to deliver the accredited programme strategy and the recommendations contained in "Making Punishments Work"; and if he will make a statement. [5214]
Beverley Hughes: We estimate that approximately 4,500 additional probation staff will be needed by 2003–04 in order to deliver accredited programmes under the What Works initiative. We have yet to take decisions on the implementation of "Making Punishments Work", but preliminary estimates are that some 4,800 extra probation staff would be required if it were implemented in full.
Passports
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the backlog of unprocessed passport applications was at the end of each month since 1 January. [4940]
Angela Eagle: The backlog of unprocessed passport applications for each month was as follows:
| Month | Backlog |
|---|---|
| January | 154,048 |
| February | 184,704 |
| March | 150,503 |
| April | 179,729 |
| May | 237,719 |
| June | 175,148 |
The increased backlog at the end of May is largely the result of normal seasonal demand, which peaks during May. Despite this backlog the average turnround time for straightforward, properly completed applications remained low at just over five days.
May 2001 intake was 701,144, an increase of 7.5 per cent. over 2000. Much of this increase can be traced to the end of the postal dispute which artificially inflated May intake when compared to previous years.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is providing the Passport Service's out-sourced call service mentioned in paragraph 2.11 of the Services Corporate and Business Plan 2001–2006. [4945]
Angela Eagle: Call centre services for United Kingdom Passport Service have been provided by MM Group since January 2000.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legislative changes he is planning to allow the Passport Service greater access to other databases. [4961]
Angela Eagle: No legislation is currently planned for the Passport Service.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the incidence of internal fraud within the Passport Service. [4950]
Angela Eagle: Detection and prevention of fraud remains a top priority for the United Kingdom Passport Service (UKPS). Any suspected internal fraud or attempted fraud is investigated promptly and thoroughly and is followed up by legal and/or disciplinary action where appropriate. This is carried out with the full
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co-operation of the police. Such cases are rare. A log of suspected and actual cases is maintained and is subject to regular review by the Agencies Management.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the original budgeted estimate was for the cost of moving the headquarters and London Regional Office of the UK Passport Agency; what the current estimated outturn is; and if he will make a statement. [4963]
Angela Eagle: The original budgeted estimate was £11.5 million. The current estimated outturn is £14.0 million.
It should be noted that the functionality of the operation has been raised significantly to enable the introduction of a Tiered Application Service. The number of customer counters has been increased and an enhanced appointment and queue management system added. The level of security has also been improved for the added security of both customers and staff.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work he has commissioned into (a) the incidence of passport fraud and (b) possible new measures to combat such fraud. [4944]
Angela Eagle: A specialist Fraud and Enforcement Unit has been set up within the Passport Service.
Improved analysis of levels of passport fraud is being implemented and access to private and public sector databases is being considered to address particular fraud issues.
The United Kingdom Passport Service will continue to play a full and active role in inter-departmental efforts to combat fraudulent activities across Government.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to recover the deficit which the Passport Service is set to incur in the financial year 2001–02. [4953]
Angela Eagle: The objective of the Passport Service, when setting fees, is to break even after contribution to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for non-fee bearing consular services. Fee levels should be set to ensure that the Passport Service breaks even in any given year. Where this is not possible it is necessary for the Passport Service to enter into discussions with Her Majesty's Treasury to agree that recovery will take place over a longer period.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the percentage increase in the revenue of the Passport Service between 2001–02 and 2002–03; what proportion of that forecast increase is attributable to an assumed increase in fees; and if he will make a statement. [4955]
Angela Eagle: The forecast for income from the Passport Service is £135.4 million in 2001–02 and £156.8 million in 2002–03, an increase of just under 16 per cent. It is important to note that this increase does not simply reflect a potential general fee increase but also an increase in revenue as a result of the planned introduction of Tiered Application Services, for which applicants would choose to pay a fee premium to guarantee faster delivery times. It is intended to introduce these services during the final quarter of 2001–02 and this has been assumed in forecast revenue assumptions.
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports were scrapped prior to issue in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000 and (d) 2000–01. [4951]
Angela Eagle: The number of passports scrapped before issue in each year was as follows:
| Year | Number of passports scrapped prior to issue |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 140,323 |
| 1998–99 | 138,037 |
| 1999–2000 | 121,481 |
| 2000–01 | 107,296 |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to recover the costs of the emergency measures introduced by the Passport Service in 1999. [4954]
Angela Eagle: In 2001–02 the United Kingdom Passport Service Accounts show a surplus of £4.9 million, which will recover some past deficits. The costs of the 1999 emergency measures are to be recovered through an efficiency programme.
The programme of efficiency measures will commence following the cutover of all offices to the new passport issuing service, (PASS). As a result of delays to the completion of PASS rollout to minimise risk, this programme has not yet started. It is planned to complete the rollout later this year and to introduce an efficiency programme in 2002–03.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for (a) new passports and (b) renewals there have been in each month since 1 January. [4939]
Angela Eagle: The split of passport applications received by the Passport Service for each month is as follows:
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Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average processing time was for (a) a new passport application and (b) a renewal in each month of 2001 to date. [4946]
Angela Eagle: It is not possible separately to identify the average processing times of new passport applications and renewals. The average processing times provided relate to all straightforward, properly completed applications issued by the Passport Service during the month.
| Month | Average processing time (days) |
|---|---|
| January | 3.31 |
| February | 4.46 |
| March | 4.67 |
| April | 4.66 |
| May | 5.12 |
| June | 5.61 |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which (a) private sector and (b) public sector databases the Passport Service is seeking access. [4962]
Angela Eagle: The United Kingdom Passport Service is:
- (a) considering a trial starting this Autumn that will involve the use of a financial sector database; and
- (b) considering the scope for data matching procedures with the National Insurance Contributions Office and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
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