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HOME DEPARTMENT
Press Office
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department's press office have received (a) termination and (b) redundancy payments in each of the last four years. [41081]
Angela Eagle: No press office staff have received termination and no redundancy payments have been made in the last four years.
Equal Pay
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the extent of the gender pay gap among staff in his Department. [41000]
Angela Eagle: In response to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) Task Force "Just Pay" report, the Government have committed Departments and agencies to review their pay systems by April 2003 and prepare action plans to close any equal pay gaps. The Cabinet Office issued comprehensive guidance in January 2002 to assist Departments and agencies in carrying out these reviews. All Departments and agencies have until April 2003 to complete an equal pay review and prepare any necessary action plans to close any equal pay gaps.
Probation Service
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were employed by
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the National Probation Directorate (a) on 1 April 2001 and (b) at the latest available date; what the budget was of the service; and if he will make a statement. [41152]
Beverley Hughes: As of 1 April 2001, there were 109 members of staff employed by the National Probation Directorate. This increased to a total of 205 members of staff at the end of January 2002, when the latest figures were collected.
This figure has been taken from the Staff-in-Post returns, which are completed on a regular basis and includes all full time permanent staff, temporary staff and secondments from other services.
At the latest available date, the budgetary cost for these members of staff was £8.264 million. This takes into account the increase of staff from April 2001 until January 2002.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to establish a pay review body for the National Probation Service. [41151]
Beverley Hughes: There are no plans to establish a review body for the National Probation Service. The Service has longstanding joint arrangements at national level for negotiating the pay and conditions of staff employed by the Probation Boards.
Probation Officers
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to address the shortage of probation officers in (a) Norfolk and (b) England and Wales. [41334]
Beverley Hughes: We are actively recruiting Trainee Probation Officers in all parts of England and Wales. This is carried out by annual recruitment drives and as a consequence recruitment of trainee probation officers has trebled in size.
The next recruitment drive will commence on 18 March 2002 and will be advertised in the National Press. We are expecting to recruit 1,000 trainees across the whole Probation Service.
Young Offenders Institution (Aylesbury)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the fire prevention and fire safety arrangements at Aylesbury Young Offenders Institution. [40843]
Beverley Hughes: Aylesbury Young Offenders Institution is subject to the requirements of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 as amended in 1999. Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 call for risk assessments to be conducted and these have been completed for all premises in the establishment. In addition the establishment has been inspected by officers from the Crown Premises Inspection Group of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services.
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Electronic Monitoring
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what forecast he has made for the number of offenders who will be electronically monitored in (a) two years time and (b) five years time. [40026]
Beverley Hughes: We are considering a range of options for the expansion of electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system. At present we cannot give any estimate of the number of persons who will be electronically monitored in two or five years time.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost of electronic tagging is in (a) two years time and (b) five years time. [40024]
Beverley Hughes: The future cost of electronic monitoring will depend on a number of factors including the initiatives we take forward in this area, the response to them from the courts and prison governors, the outcome of the current public spending round, and the prices contained in bids for future electronic monitoring contracts.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the (a) contractors, (b) suppliers, (c) period of contract and (d) value of each contract for electronic monitoring services carried out on behalf of his Department in the last 12 months. [40061]
Beverley Hughes: The contractors are Premier Monitoring Services Ltd., Reliance Monitoring Services Ltd., and Securicor Custodial Services Ltd.
They deliver electronic monitoring services using equipment supplied by Electronic Monitoring Systems Incorporated, Elmotech, Guidance Control Systems Ltd. and Premier Geografix Ltd.
The contracts began on 28 January 1999 and are for a five-year period, which may be extended by up to a further two years.
The total value of the contracts in the 12 month period from February 2001 to January 2002 was £36,913,731.78.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders are being electronically monitored. [40025]
Beverley Hughes: The number of persons subject to electronic monitoring on 1 March 2002 was 3,685.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from firms providing electronic monitoring services in respect of the expansion of their operations; and if he will make a statement. [40058]
Beverley Hughes: Although the electronic monitoring contractors frequently discuss the level of business with Home Office officials, there have been no representations from firms specifically aimed at expanding their operations.
Leave Entitlements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the average annual leave entitlement of staff in his Department in each of the last four years. [31737]
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Angela Eagle: Due to fluctuating numbers in each grade over the last four years it is not possible to provide information on average annual leave entitlements.
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The current leave entitlement for staff in the Home Office and its Agencies is shown in the table:
| Leave entitlement | |
|---|---|
| Non-agency Home Office(4) | |
| Band A | Grades up to and including Higher Executive Officer and equivalents: 22 days on entry, 25 days after one year's service and 30 days after 13 years. |
| Band B | Grades above Higher Executive Officer, up to and including Grade six and equivalents: 25 days on entry and 30 days after 10 years' service. |
| Prison Service | |
| Band A | Prison officers. 22 days on entry, 25 days annual leave after one year's service and 30 days after 18 years. |
| Band B | Generalist grades up to and including Executive Officer and equivalents. 25 days on entry and 30 days after 16 years service (from 1 March 2002). |
| Band C | Generalist grades Higher Executive Officer and above and equivalents. 25 days on entry and 30 days after 15 years' service. |
| Passport and Records Agency | |
| One band | All staff receive 25 days on entry and 30 days after 10 years' service. |
| Forensic Science Service | |
| Band A | Grades up to and including Higher Executive Officer and equivalents: 22 days on entry, 25 days after one year's service and 30 days after 10 years. |
| Band B | Grades above Higher Executive Officer, up to and including Grade six and equivalents: 25 days on entry and 30 days after 10 years' service. |
(4) i.e. excluding the Prison Service, Passport and Records Agency and forensic science service.
There have been a number of changes over the last four years to the annual leave entitlements of staff in the above bands. These have all primarily been aimed at reducing the qualifying period for the maximum leave allowance of 30 days.
The annual leave entitlement for staff in the senior civil service is currently set by the Cabinet Office and has been unchanged in the last four years.
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