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Fingerprinting

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the requirement to take Polaroid photographs during fingerprint retrieval at the scene of a crime was introduced. [30706]

Mr. Denham: There is no actual requirement to take Polaroid photographs during fingerprint retrieval at the scene of a crime, although it is considered good practice to take a Polaroid or some other photograph as a means of recording the location of any fingerprints found at the scene. Their location can be recorded in the form of a sketch or some other manuscript description. Unfortunately, the information I gave in my answer of 29 November 2001, Official Report, column 1123W, supplied by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in good faith, was inaccurate and I apologise for this error.

Prisons (Wales)

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maximum capacity is for each prison in Wales; and how many prisoners are held in each prison. [45795]

Beverley Hughes: On 22 March 2002, the operational capacity and number of prisoners held for each prison in Wales were as shown in the table.

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PrisonOperational capacityNumber of prisoners
Cardiff669667
Parc968968
Prescoed128116
Swansea366344
Usk220215

Prisoners (Literacy and Numeracy)

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his latest assessment is of progress on the PSA target to improve literacy and numeracy skills of prisoners discharged from their sentence. [47216]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 10 April 2002]: Our most recent data suggest that there will be a shortfall on meeting our Service Delivery Agreement target to achieve 18,000 basic skills qualifications in 2001–02 by around 10 per cent. Nevertheless, this is still a major increase over the 12,500 basic skills qualifications achieved by prisoners in the previous year, and all of the qualifications achieved in 2001–02 will be at Level 2.

Female Imprisonment

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department further to his answer of 27 February 2002, Official Report, column 1393W, on female imprisonment, when statistics for 2001 on the number of women appearing before the courts and their subsequent sentences will be made available. [46607]

Beverley Hughes: Statistics on court proceedings and sentencing in 2001 will be published by December 2002 in "Criminal statistics, England and Wales 2001".

Victims' Charter

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the members of the team preparing the report on the Victims' Charter Consultation; what its terms of reference are; when its work is expected to commence; and when the report will be published. [46479]

Mr. Keith Bradley: A summary of responses to the consultation process on the Review of the Victims' Charter was placed in the Library and published on the Home Office website in July 2001.

The Victims' Charter Review Implementation Group first met on 2 October 2001. Its terms of reference are:

To complete the third stage of the Review of the Victims' Charter by October 2002; including making recommendations on the introduction of rights for victims, a Victims' Ombudsman/Commissioner, the feasibility of a victims' fund and other related policy matters.

The Victims' Charter Review Implementation Group is made up of representatives of the following Government Departments, organisations and victims' groups:


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The Group's work, and that of its subsidiary Groups working on the Victims' Ombudsman/Commissioner and the inclusion of victims of road traffic incidents within the scope of the Victims' Charter, is well under way. It will be reporting its conclusions later this year, and I expect to make an announcement in the autumn.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the members of the Victims' Charter Implementation Group, and the departments, organisations and victim groups which they represent. [46491]

Mr. Keith Bradley: The Victims' Charter Review Implementation Group meets quarterly and its membership is comprised of representatives from the following departments, organisations and victims groups:


Money Laundering

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence the SFO provided in answer to Nigerian and Swiss requests for assistance in the case of alleged money laundering using UK financial institutions by the late General Abacha; and if he will make a statement. [39004]

Mr. Blunkett: Ordinarily it is practice not to comment on international requests for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters as they concern on-going criminal proceedings. However, the fact of these requests have been acknowledged publicly by the Federal Government of Nigeria and in proceedings before the High Court.

Four requests for assistance were received from the Swiss authorities relating to criminal investigation of, inter alia, fraud and money laundering allegedly committed in violation of Swiss law. In execution of three

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of the requests, evidential material was transmitted by the Home Office to the Swiss authorities on 18 October 2001. The remaining request is being processed.

The request from the Federal Government of Nigeria, which concerns criminal investigations and proceedings relating to allegations of corruption and theft of public funds in Nigeria, is being processed. Prior to a decision of the Divisional Court, handed down on 18 October 2001, a High Court injunction prohibited my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Mr. Blunkett) dealing with the request.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has indicated through its solicitors that it is pleased with the way in which its request is being dealt with by the Government.

Criminal Justice

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of whether the target percentage improvements in the satisfaction of (a) victims and (b) witnesses with their treatment in the criminal justice system will be met by March. [47409]

Mr. Keith Bradley [holding answer 10 April 2002]: The 2002 British Crime Survey and the 2002 Witness Satisfaction Survey will determine whether the targets for improvements of victim and witness satisfaction levels have been met. These surveys will be carried out shortly and the results will be available later in the year.

As an interim indicator, the 2001 British Crime Survey showed that the satisfaction level of victims had remained similar, at 58 per cent., to the result from the 2000 Survey.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the PSA target to increase public confidence in the fairness of the criminal justice system will be measured; and if he expects the target to be met by March. [47229]

Mr. Keith Bradley [holding answer 10 April 2002]: The Public Service Agreement (PSA) target is to promote confidence in the criminal justice system. It will be measured through questions to the public in the British Crime Survey. The target is due to be specified in terms of a percentage increase later this year. The target date is 2004.

Criminal Appeals

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which criminal cases it is possible for the prosecution to appeal against (a) conviction and (b) sentence; and what proposals he has to extend the list of such cases. [47122]

Mr. Keith Bradley: There are no powers for the prosecution to appeal against conviction.

At present, under the provisions of Sections 35 and 36 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 the Attorney-General has power to refer to the Court of Appeal cases where the sentence imposed appears to be unduly lenient. The power applies to sentences passed in the Crown court in relation to all indictable offences and to certain triable either way offences specified in orders made by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Mr. Blunkett) under section 35(4) of the 1988 Act. The latter applies to offences of indecent

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assault, threats to kill, cruelty to children and serious fraud sentenced in the Crown court, including those committed for sentence after conviction in magistrates courts.

An order extending the Attorney-General's powers in relation to unduly lenient sentences came into effect on 21 August 2000, and applies to sentences passed after that date. This enables the Attorney-General to refer to the Crown court, sentences imposed for offences of illegal trafficking in drugs and pornographic material involving children and offences specifically against children (unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16, inciting a girl under 16 to have incestuous intercourse and indecent conduct towards a young child). The Government will keep under review whether further extensions should be made in future.

The Government are also committed to reforming the double jeopardy rule for murder cases, which would enable the prosecution to reopen proceedings following an acquittal, in certain circumstances. We are considering the nature and extent of this reform in light of the Law Commission's report, and Sir Robin Auld's review of the criminal courts.

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