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Family Visitor Appeals
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the net income was from fees for family visitor appeals during the first year of operation of the charging policy. [27870]
Angela Eagle: The net income from fees for family visitor appeals in the first year of the scheme was £104,000.
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of collecting and refunding fees for family visitor appeals was during the first year of operation of the charging policy. [27871]
Angela Eagle: Most of the costs of collecting and refunding the fees are staff costs. Many individuals are involved, including those at diplomatic posts overseas, but there are few who spend a significant proportion of their time on these tasks. Consequently, it is not possible to provide the information requested by the my hon. Friend except at disproportionate cost.
Prisoners (Drugs)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female prison inmates have been charged with possession of illegal drugs in each of the last three years. [28078]
Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of prisoners charged is not collated centrally. Numbers of prisoners found guilty at adjudication of possessing a controlled drug are given in the table.
| 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Males | 2,551 | 2,185 | 1,781 |
| Females | 51 | 106 | 52 |
| Total | 2,602 | 2,291 | 1,833 |
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Child Asylum Seekers
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent measures have been taken to deal with unaccompanied children seeking asylum. [28511]
Angela Eagle: We are committed to offering protection and appropriate levels of care to unaccompanied minors who claim asylum in the United Kingdom. To achieve this we work closely with the Department of Health, local authorities and non-governmental organisations.
With regard to recent measures I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend, the Member for Wigan, (Mr. Turner) on 8 November 2001, Official Report, column 386W.
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied children have sought asylum in each year since 1996. [28510]
Angela Eagle: The information requested has been provided in the table.
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000(21) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total applications | 631 | 1,102 | 3,037 | 3,349 | 2,733 |
(18) Unaccompanied at the point of their arrival, and not known to be joining a close relative in the United Kingdom.
(19) May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January 1999 and March 2000
(20) Figures exclude disputed age cases.
(21) Provisional figures.
Information on unaccompanied minors is published annually in the statistical bulletin "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom", a copy of which is available in the Library; and from the Research, Development and Statistics (RDS) website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ rds/immigration1.html.
Terrorism-related Allegations
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with foreign Governments over the activities of Bachir Aouni; and if he will make a statement. [25179]
Mr. Blunkett: None. Mr. Aouni is held in custody pursuant to a request from Italy for his extradition.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will investigate the links between Alam Moussa (aka Louis Szondy) and Sakina Security Services; and if he will make a statement; [25182]
- (2) if he will investigate the links between Bachir Aouni, currently serving a prison sentence in respect of fraud, and a north London mosque; and if he will make a statement; [25183]
(3) if he will investigate the links between Bachir Aouni and GIA; and if he will make a statement. [25181]
Mr. Blunkett: The police continue a range of investigations into terrorist-related allegations, and I discuss their action with them on a regular basis. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on individual cases, and anyone who has information they believe to be relevant should pass it on to the police.
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Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses
Mr. Rammell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to implement the special measures for vulnerable or intimidated witnesses recommended in the "Speaking up for Justice" report. [30364]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The "Speaking up for Justice" report on vulnerable or intimidated witnesses in the criminal justice system published in 1998 proposed a range of special measures available for use at the trial including:
- video-recorded statements to replace the evidence-in-chief
video-recorded pre-trial cross-examination
live TV links
screens around the witnesses box so that the witness does not need to face the defendant in court
removal of wigs and gowns
assistance with communication if necessary, including the use of an intermediary; and
power for the judge to clear the public gallery in cases involving sexual offences or intimidation so the witness can give evidence in private.
Implementation of the special measures will be phased as we have an opportunity to see how they are working.
The implementation in the Crown court will take place six months from today to allow a lead-in for the agencies to conduct training and preparation. All the special measures will be implemented for vulnerable witnesses, with the exception of intermediaries and pre-trial cross-examination which will be subject to pilot projects. The same measures, with the added exception of video-recorded statements, will be implemented at the same time for intimidated witnesses.
All other measures will be introduced in 2003–04 for all qualifying witnesses.
In magistrates courts implementation of special measures in July 2002 will be restricted to TV links and video recorded evidence for child witnesses in cases involving sexual offences, violence (including threats) and cruelty. This would provide protection for children in cases involving assaults, muggings and domestic violence. It would also bring the adult magistrates courts into line with the current provision in the Youth court.
Most of the measures will be extended to magistrates courts by 2003–04 (after their evaluation in the Crown court) to bring them in line with the Crown court.
A whole range of guidance and training materials for the criminal justice agencies are being published tomorrow including:
- Recognising Capability—a training programme for those in the criminal justice system working with vulnerable or intimidated witnesses
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Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on vulnerable or intimidated witnesses including children
Vulnerable Witnesses: A Police Service Guide
Adult pre-trial therapy
Early Special Measures Meeting between the Police and Crown Prosecution Service and Meetings between the Crown Prosecution Service and Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses: Practice.
Over the next couple of years we will also be starting pilot projects on video-recorded pre-trial cross- examination and the use of intermediaries.
Council Tax (Police Costs)
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average cost per head of the police element of the council tax. [28666]
Dr. Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
In England, the average police authority council tax for 2001–02 is approximately £26 per head of population. This includes council tax that is met by council tax benefit. This excludes the City of London, for which the council tax for police services cannot be separately identified.
HEALTH
Cancelled Operations
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many operations were postponed in each of the last five years by hospital authorities; and if he will make a statement; [11476]
- (2) if he will rank each hospital in England by the number of postponed operations as a proportion of total operations, giving the relevant number for each hospital. [11477]
Mr. Hutton: We are committed to achieving the NHS Plan targets for improving performance on cancelled operations.
From April 2002, when a patient's operation is cancelled by the hospital on the day of surgery for non-clinical reasons, the hospital will have to offer
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another binding date within a maximum of the next 28 days or fund the patient's treatment at the time and hospital of the patient's choice.
To ensure that this target is achieved, we have established a Theatre project, to develop good practice in operating theatres and ensure that this is spread throughout the national health service. This will improve the patient and carer experience; improve employee satisfaction and morale; optimise theatre utilisation, planning and scheduling; and reduce cancelled operations.
In addition, as part of the Government's £100 million strategy to reduce long waits in accident and emergency a 100 million programme of investment was announced. This will contribute to a drive to reduce hospital bed occupancy rates by purchasing additional operations in the private sector. This, alongside continued growth in general and acute hospital beds, will free up capacity in the NHS for emergency patients, help to eliminate long trolley waits and dramatically reduce—by up to 75 per cent.—the number of planned operations cancelled at the last minute.
The number of operations cancelled by hospitals, for non-clinical reasons in England, from 1996–97 to 2000–01 are given in the table.
| Year | Number of cancelled operations in year |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 52,047 |
| 1997–98 | 50,505 |
| 1998–99 | 56,150 |
| 1999–2000 | 60,242 |
| 2000–01 | 77,818 |
Note:
Information collected by the Department of Health are numbers of operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons on the day of admission, or on the day of the operation.
Source:
Department of Health Patients Charter returns
The number and proportion of operations cancelled for non clinical reasons on the day of admission, or on the day of operation are given in the table.
The data supplied are for the latest available full year at health authority level. Trust level data have only been collected on a shadow basis since Quarter 1, 2001–02 and it is unclear how robust this is at this level at present. Also, when measuring relative performance, it is better to measure over a whole year, rather than a single quarter.
(22) Solihull does not have any acute trusts.
Notes:
1. Information collected by the Department of Health are numbers of operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons on the day of admission, or on the day of the operation.
2. Activity figures are elective first finished consultant episodes (FFCEs).
3. Figures are trust level aggregated to host health authority.
Sources:
Department of Health Patients Charter returns
Department of Health Hospital Episode Statistics
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