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Coin Machines
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the value of transitions through coin-in coin-out machines in unlicensed premises. [50011]
Mr. Caborn: We have made no such assessment.
Better Quality Services Initiative
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which of the services of her Department have not been reviewed under the Better Quality Services Initiative; and when they will be reviewed. [50324]
Dr. Howells: So far reviews of 8 per cent. of departmental services have been completed. A recent project carried out jointly with the Treasury and the Centre for Management and Policy Studies will lead to the completion of reviews of core support functions by 2003. IT technical support in the Department will be
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reviewed by 2004. The Department is on course to meet its service delivery agreement target of conducting Better Quality Services reviews of 50 per cent. of its activities by the end of 2004. Other services do not form part of the programme under the current service delivery agreement and a programme of reviews post 2004–05 has yet to be drawn up.
Correspondence
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to her answer of 25 March 2002, regarding replies to parliamentary and public correspondence, what percentage of letters (a) from hon. Members and (b) from members of the public were answered in 2001–02 within 18 working days. [50550]
Mr. Caborn: Provisional figures for the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 indicate that 90 per cent. of letters from hon. Members and 93 per cent. of letters from members of the public were answered within 18 working days. Final figures will not be available until the beginning of May.
Part-Time Employees
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of the staff of her Department are part-time employees. [47175]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 10 April 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 11 April 2002 by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, Official Report, column 553W.
Special Advisers
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many special advisers there were in her Department; and what their salaries were in each of the last five years. [46957]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 10 April 2002]: The Department has one special adviser in post at 12 April 2002. On salaries, I refer the hon. Member for West Chelmsford to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 11W.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Prisoners (Children)
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the placing of children of imprisoned fathers and mothers into care with special reference to the length of time they spend in care. [42942]
Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
It is not possible to identify this information from the data collected.
Job Sharing
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the extent of job sharing in his Department. [41044]
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Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 336W.
Age Discrimination
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the policy of his Department is towards age discrimination. [42584]
Angela Eagle: The Home Office has made a commitment to provide staff of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to maximise their skills and achieve their potential. This is incorporated into our employment policy on discrimination and is set out in our new equal opportunities statement. Continuing work to promote a diverse work force will include monitoring of recruitment, selection and appraisal statistics to ensure that age discrimination is not taking place.
The Department has recently completed a comprehensive review of its age retirement policy, resulting in a change in age retirement policy throughout the Home Office (including agencies), except for the prison service which is carrying out its own separate review. The new policy, which will come into force on 1 April 2002, will allow staff in all grades below the senior civil service to retire at any point between the ages of 60 and 65.
The Home Office (including agencies but excluding the prison service) has also changed its recruitment policy as of 1 April 2002, to allow the recruitment of staff up to the age of 64 subject to their meeting normal standards of health. Provided that there is an expectation of a reasonable period of employment and a return on recruitment and training, the primary criterion for selection will be the ability of a candidate to carry out the duties of the vacant post. If the most suitable candidate happens to be over sixty years old, this should not prevent a candidate being offered the post.
In making these various changes, the Home Office is implementing the recommendations of the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU) report "Winning the Generation Game".
Drugs
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans to tackle drug taking and drug-related crime in (a) Wales and (b) the north-west. [44050]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: My right hon. friend the Home Secretary has an overarching role in monitoring progress against the United Kingdom drugs strategy, taking account of differences in approach where responsibility is devolved. The National Assembly for Wales has devolved responsibility for setting the strategic direction in Wales and monitoring its progress.
Criminal justice policy, however, is not devolved and I am pleased to report that arrest referral schemes and drug testing and treatment orders—both of which aim to help break the link between drug misuse and crime by helping offenders access treatment services—are now available throughout Wales.
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Also, to help the police and local communities in England and Wales tackle neighbourhood drug problems and the crime associated with them, the Government have allocated "Communities Against Drugs" funding worth over £220 million over three years. Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships will use this money to finance locally determined actions, including in Wales.
In the north-west, there are 22 drug action teams implementing a wide range of measures to address problems of drug misuse at a local level.
- The drawing up of young people's substance misuse plans to deliver better and integrated services for young people;
Arrest referral schemes in all five police forces;
The roll-out of drug testing and treatment orders across all five probation service areas;
The development of treatment plans, in conjunction with Drugs Prevention Advisory Service and the National Treatment Agency, to reduce the time in accessing treatment and expand the range of support provision within each drug action team area.
Police Officers
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) special constables there were in (i) Wales and (ii) Lancashire in each year since 1997. [44046]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is set out in the table.
| Wales | Lancashire constabulary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year(4) | Police | Special Constable | Police | Special Constable |
| 1997 | 6,952 | 1,142 | 3,247 | 483 |
| 1998 | 6,617 | 1,097 | 3,257 | 489 |
| 1999 | 6,646 | 1,088 | 3,245 | 449 |
| 2000 | 6,632 | 835 | 3,179 | 382 |
| 2001 | 6,927 | 789 | 3,255 | 360 |
| 2001 | 7,134 | 775 | 3,288 | 325 |
| 2002(5) | 7,116 | n/a | 3,316 | n/a |
(4) As at 31 March
(5) Figures are those for 31 January 2002
UK Security
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reviews of UK security he is undertaking; and when he expects to report on them to Parliament. [44691]
Mr. Blunkett: The Government keep all aspects of the security of the United Kingdom under continuous review. My hon. Friend will appreciate that it would not be appropriate to make the details of these matters public. However, the provisions of the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 are both subject to independent reviews and the reports arising from these reviews will be laid before Parliament.
Irish Terrorism
Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many incidents connected with Irish terrorism, excluding murder, have taken place in Great Britain between 1969 and 10 April 1998 for which nobody has been convicted; and if he will list them; [44333]
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- (2) how many murders connected with Irish terrorism have taken place in Great Britain between 1969 and 10 April 1998 for which nobody has been convicted; and if he will list them. [44332]
Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 20 March 2002]: The answer to this question can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However, from March 1973 to 31 December 2001, there were 371 devices in London, and 17 shootings. In the rest of Great Britain there were 583 devices and 34 shootings. A total of 164 arrests were made in London and 261 in the rest of Great Britain during the same period. I understand that Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) (Alan Fry) of the Metropolitan police would be happy to meet with you to discuss these matters if you wish.
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