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Youth Offenders
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children aged under 18 years were received into prison custody on remand and under sentence between (a) April 1999 and April 2000 and (b) April 2000 and April 2001. [7935]
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Beverley Hughes: The information is as follows:
| Type of reception(17) | April 1999 to March 2000 | April 2000 to March 2001 |
|---|---|---|
| Untried | 4,984 | 4,134 |
| Convicted unsentenced | 2,883 | 2,464 |
| Sentenced | 5,511 | 5,871 |
(17) Initial receptions only; each prisoner is only counted once under their initial custody type.
(18) The Prison Service holds most under 18s in young offender institutions or in specialist accommodation for that age range.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each month since the introduction of the detention and training order on 1 April 2000 how many young people have received orders of (a) four months, (b) six months, (c) eight months, (d) 10 months, (e) 12 months, (f) 18 months and (g) 24 months broken down by age and gender. [7936]
Angela Eagle: Statistics on court proceedings and sentencing in 2000 are due for publication on 1 November. I will write to my hon. Friend at that time.
Asylum and Economic Migration
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had on seeking an internationally recognised redefinition of asylum and economic migration; and if he will make a statement. [7299]
Angela Eagle: Within the European Union, discussions are in hand on a package of measures designed to set out shared minimum standards on asylum procedures and processes. A proposal for a Council Directive on qualification as a refugee is expected to be presented by the European Commission very shortly. The United Kingdom has participated actively in European discussions on all asylum issues, opting into all the measures presented to date, and will continue to do so.
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Economic migration is similarly the subject of on-going discussions at a Community level—most recently at this week's European Conference on Migration held in Brussels—in the context of the European Commission's communication on a Community immigration policy. This communication is concerned, among other things, with the management of labour migration. We have welcomed this communication, while noting that the United Kingdom's approach to specific proposals for legal instruments will be influenced by its Protocols to the Treaties.
Police Response Times
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce standards for response times from the police in answering telephone calls; and if he will make a statement. [7292]
Mr. Denham: Responsibility for answering 999 calls is an operational matter and therefore the responsibility of the chief officers of the force concerned.
The Government accept that this is an important issue for both the police and the public, and affects public confidence in the police service.
Football Banning Orders
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many football banning orders have been issued to date; and of those how many were in respect of individuals with no relevant previous criminal convictions. [7251]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 15 October 2001]: The current number of extant football banning orders imposed by the courts is 716. All types of order, other than orders on complaint, were imposed following conviction of a football related offence as defined in schedule 1 of the Football Spectators Act 1989. All persons subject to orders on complaint have convictions for violence or public order offences, though not necessarily football related.
| Type of order | Number |
|---|---|
| Exclusion Orders (imposed under section 30 of the Public Order Act 1986) | 53 |
| Restriction Orders (imposed under section 15 of the Football Spectators Act 1989) | 31 |
| Domestic Football Banning Orders (imposed under Football (Offences and Disorder) Act 1999) | 54 |
| International Football Banning Orders (imposed under Football (Offences and Disorder) Act 1999) | 51 |
| Orders on Conviction (imposed under section 14A of the Football Spectators Act 1989—as amended by the Football (Disorder) Act 2000) | 444 |
| Orders on Complaint (imposed under section 14B of the Football Spectators Act 1989—as amended by the Football (Disorder) Act 2000) | 83 |
| Total | 716 |
Child Curfew Orders
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many child curfew orders have been applied for and issued in the north-west; [7742]
- (2) how many child curfew orders have been applied for and issued in Wales. [7696]
Mr. Denham: No applications have yet been received to establish local child curfew schemes under section 14 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Sections 48 and 49 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, which took effect on 1 August 2001, have recently extended the upper age limit to 15 and allowed the police, as well as local authorities, to initiate schemes.
Porton Down
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to date of the inquiry by the Wiltshire Constabulary into events at CBD Porton Down; what proportion has been financed directly by his Department; what progress has been made; and if he will make a statement. [7377]
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Mr. Denham: The cost of the inquiry was £1,333,930 as at the end of September 2001, excluding costs to the Ministry of Defence. The Home Office, in recognition of the unique and extraordinary nature of the inquiry, made a grant of £870,000.
A full inquiry has now been carried out into the death of an individual during an experiment in 1953, resulting in a report being forwarded to Her Majesty's coroner for Swindon and the county of Wiltshire. The coroner has since made recommendations to the Attorney-General.
Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances relating to a number of allegations made by volunteers who attended Porton Down and participated in experiments, between 1939 and 1989, a number of reports have now been forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service. Investigations into other allegations continue and further files will be submitted in due course.
Crown Court Trials
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of all either-way cases where defendants elected for Crown court trial (a) were rejected by the judge before plea, (b) involved a guilty plea and involved a sentence, (c) involved a guilty plea but were dismissed without completing trial, (d) resulted in a guilty verdict by the jury and (e) resulted in a verdict of not guilty. [7854]
Mr. Denham: The Home Office court proceedings database does not identify either-way cases where: (a) defendants who elect for Crown court trial are rejected by the judge before plea.
Information from the Home Office court proceedings database shows that for England and Wales 1999, (b) the defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 62 per cent. of either-way cases tried at the Crown court; (c) in a negligible percentage of cases the defendant pleaded guilty, but was not tried; (d) in 13 per cent. the defendant was found guilty by a jury after pleading not guilty; and (e) in 23 per cent. of cases the defendant was acquitted by a jury.
The remaining 3 per cent. of defendants were not tried.
Departmental Properties
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number, value and location of properties newly leased in each of the last five years by his Department, broken down by leases by the Department itself, its next step agencies and its non-departmental public bodies, differentiating between purchases made as a result of the creation of new bodies and those purchases made by established bodies. [7816]
Mr. Blunkett: The Home Office, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) have acquired a total of 102 properties by lease since 1 April 1996.
The detail relating to the acquisitions is set out in the tables. It excludes both properties acquired on a short- term basis by licence and residential accommodation taken to accommodate staff members. The properties were acquired for the main Department or established bodies except where indicated.
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| Number of properties acquired | Total value of properties (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| Main Department | ||
| 1996–97 | 8 | 859,150 |
| 1997–98 | 6 | 522,026 |
| 1998–99 | 4 | 500,549 |
| 1999–2000 | 14 | 2,181,890 |
| 2000–01 | 34 | 9,901,708 |
| Total | 66 | 13,965,323 |
| Agencies | ||
| 1996–97 | 2 | 1,284,000 |
| 1997–98 | 3 | 106,000 |
| 1998–99 | 7 | 316,501 |
| 1999–2000 | 10 | 3,307,147 |
| 2000–01 | 2 | 31,850 |
| Total | 24 | 5,045,498 |
| NDPBs | ||
| 1996–97 | 1 | 69,050 |
| 1997–98 | 1 | 119,696 |
| 1998–99 | 4 | 20,100,618 |
| 1999–2000 | 3 | 616,905 |
| 2000–01 | 3 | 427,401 |
| Total | 12 | 21,333,670 |
| Total | ||
| 1996–97 | 11 | 2,212,200 |
| 1997–98 | 10 | 747,722 |
| 1998–99 | 15 | 20,917,668 |
| 1999–2000 | 27 | 6,105,942 |
| 20001–01 | 39 | 10,360,959 |
| Total | 102 | 40,344,491 |
| Location | Number | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Main Department | ||
| Stanstead | 1 | 63,959 |
| Heathrow | 2 | 654,346 |
| Darlington | 1 | 5,025 |
| Dover | 1 | 31,700 |
| Dundee | 1 | 58,900 |
| Plymouth | 1 | 18,493 |
| Watford | 1 | 26,730 |
| Total | 8 | 859,150 |
| Agencies | ||
| London | 1 | 1,266,000 |
| Reading | 1 | 18,000 |
| Total | 2 | 1,284,000 |
| NDPBs | ||
| Birmingham | 1 | 69,050 |
| Total | 1 | 69,050 |
Note:
The property purchased by the NDPB was for a new body
22 Oct 2001 : Column: 89W
| Location | Number | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Main Department | ||
| Bootle | 1 | 311,500 |
| Manchester | 1 | 46,570 |
| London | 1 | 32,966 |
| Glasgow | 1 | 109,513 |
| Total | 4 | 500,549 |
| Agencies | ||
| Birmingham | 1 | 276,000 |
| Manchester | 2 | 40,501 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 12,000 |
| Belfast | 2 | 76,575 |
| West Bromwich | 1 | 21,000 |
| Total | 7 | 316,501 |
| NDPBs | ||
| Onley | 1 | 6,122,608 |
| Birmingham | 1 | 222,435 |
| Durham | 1 | 6,126,603 |
| Rochester | 1 | 7,628,972 |
| Total | 4 | 20,100,618 |
Note:
The NDPB properties at Onley, Durham and Birmingham were acquired for new bodies
| Location | Number | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Main Department | ||
| Manchester | 1 | 44,930 |
| Leicester | 1 | 4,500 |
| Liverpool | 4 | 309,343 |
| Gatwick | 1 | 235,624 |
| Croydon | 5 | 1,327,306 |
| Heathrow | 1 | 251,992 |
| Bristol | 1 | 8,195 |
| Total | 14 | 2,181,890 |
| Agencies | ||
| Croydon | 1 | 319,530 |
| Birmingham | 5 | 1,255,967 |
| Peterborough | 2 | 116,150 |
| London | 1 | 1,607,000 |
| Evesham | 1 | 8,500 |
| Total | 10 | 3,307,147 |
| NDPBs | ||
| London | 2 | 533,480 |
| Birmingham | 1 | 83,425 |
| Total | 3 | 616,905 |
Note:
Two NDPBs properties were acquired for new bodies at a total cost of £368,425
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| Location | Number | Value (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Main Department | ||
| Heathrow | 2 | 437,224 |
| Gatwick | 3 | 101,698 |
| Immingham | 2 | 11,125 |
| Croydon | 5 | 2,082,242 |
| Yeadon | 1 | 20,344 |
| Leeds | 2 | 601,903 |
| Southend | 1 | 6,231 |
| Hounslow | 1 | 770,000 |
| Birmingham | 1 | 1,500,000 |
| Bedford | 1 | 405,000 |
| Manchester | 1 | 15,100 |
| Rugby | 1 | 3,732 |
| Ch. Norton | 1 | 1,957,500 |
| Glasgow | 1 | 59,996 |
| Hayes | 1 | 577,367 |
| Feltham | 1 | 300,000 |
| London | 2 | 539,050 |
| Exeter | 1 | 1,300 |
| Dover | 2 | 96,539 |
| Crawley | 1 | 117,930 |
| Leicester | 1 | 12,000 |
| Southampton | 1 | 60,430 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 225,000 |
| Total | 34 | 9,901,708 |
| Agencies | ||
| Warrington | 1 | 26,250 |
| Doncaster | 1 | 5,600 |
| Total | 2 | 31,850 |
| NDPBs | ||
| London | 1 | 39,813 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 304,512 |
| Birmingham | 1 | 83,076 |
| Total | 3 | 427,401 |
Note:
The three properties purchased by NDPBs were for new bodies
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