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Justices of the Peace
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff at his Department are justices of the peace; and if he has a strategy for his Department to encourage members of staff to become justices of the peace. [44552]
Angela Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally.
Staff in the Home Office (including the Prison Service) who are justices of the peace are allowed up to 18 days special leave with pay to perform their duties plus reasonable travelling time, to permit up to 26 attendances.
The Home Office is the lead Government Department for the active community initiative. Staff can take paid leave for volunteering in certain public capacities (e.g. school governors up to six days, magistrates up to 18 days). Staff in the non-agency Home Office can also take up to five days paid leave a year for any other voluntary activity.
A volunteering manager has recently been appointed, seconded from the voluntary sector, to actively promote volunteering among Home Office staff, ensure that a wide range of opportunities are available, monitor participation and evaluate the benefits to the individual and the Department.
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which public service agreement targets that are scheduled to be met in 2002 will not be achieved by the due date. [44842]
Angela Eagle: Information about progress on public service agreement targets will be published in the Department's 2002 Department report in mid-May.
New Deal
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people employed by the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible under the New Deal for Young People in each of the last four years have subsequently (a) found unsubsidised employment for more than 13 weeks and (b) returned to jobseekers' allowance or other benefits. [49596]
Angela Eagle: Information on the New Deal programme has never been collected centrally for non-departmental public bodies, and those Home Office non-departmental public bodies that employ their own staff do not monitor new dealers who have left their employment.
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many private finance initiative
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projects have been subject to refinancing after the contracts have been signed; and what has been the financial effect in each case. [50285]
Angela Eagle: The following Private Finance Initiative projects have been subject to post contract refinancing;
- Her Majesty's Prison Altcourse (Fazakerley) Prison Service Effect of refinancing;
- Prison Service subject to increase of liability to £1 million in the event of premature termination of contract.
- Year: 1999
- Her Majesty's Prison Parc (Bridgend) Prison Service;
- Refinancing subject to ongoing negotiation between contractor and Prison Service.
- Year: 1996
- Hassockfield Secure Training Centre Youth Justice Board (YJB);
- The contract allows for re-financing but, does not allow YJB to share in benefits of re-financing or obtain details of benefits that may accrue to the contractor.
- Year: 1999.
Asylum Seekers
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether the running of accommodation centres for asylum seekers will be contracted out to the private sector; [48941]
- (2) who will be responsible for the administration and management of each accommodation centre for asylum seekers. [48940]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 15 April 2002]: Our intention is to identify the most cost effective option which delivers the required standards of design, build and operation.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people he expects to be employed at each accommodation centre for asylum seekers; and what estimate he has made of the salary costs of each centre. [48942]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 15 April 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh) on 26 March 2002, Official Report, column 895W. Estimates for staffing costs have not been made.
Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sites are under consideration for the provision of the pilot asylum seeker accommodation centres. [52351]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 25 April 2002]: They are as follows:
- Qinetiq (formerly Defence Evaluation Research Agency (DERA)) Pershore, Worcestershire (Mid Worcestershire).
Royal Air Force (RAF) Hemswell, West Lindsey, Lincolnshire (Gainsborough).
Sully Hospital, Barry, South Glamorgan (Vale of Glamorgan).
Hooton Park, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire (Ellesmere Port and Neston).
Land vacated by Ministry of Defence (MOD) Logistics, Bicester, Oxfordshire (Banbury).
Air West Edinburgh (formerly RAF Turnhouse), Edinburgh (Edinburgh, West).
RAF Newton, West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire (Rushcliffe).
National Energy Site Killinghome, near Grimsby, North Lincolnshire (Cleethorpes).
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Angela Eagle [holding answer 25 April 2002]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh) on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 360W, we expect that, nationally, accommodation centres will reduce the burden on local authorities due to the range of facilities provided on site. This includes education for children and adults, and primary health care facilities. We will, however, take funding considerations into account as we continue to develop our policy.
Street Robberies
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many street robberies there have been in each of the London boroughs in the last three years. [50877]
Mr. Denham: The table contains figures for total recorded robberies (including robberies of personal property and business property) in London boroughs for 1999–2000 and 2000–01. The Home Office did not collect borough figures prior to April 1999. The Home Office will publish national statistics for 2001–02 in the summer in its crime bulletin. The Metropolitan police have already published figures for this period, which are available on its web site.
The Metropolitan police force area is one of the 10 areas included in the Government's wider street crime initiative, which involves a concerted response to street crime across all the criminal justice and social agencies.
The 10 Force Street Crime Initiative began in April 2002 across the 10 force areas with the biggest robbery problem. The police and criminal justice agencies are working together in these areas to target and fast-track all street crime offenders. The initiative also brings together the resources and expertise of non-criminal justice system agencies to help tackle the causes of street crime and take preventative action.
(28) Based on force boundary since 1 April 2000
7 May 2002 : Column 132W
Voluntary Sector
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate the Government have made of the level of direct European Union funding for the voluntary sector in the United Kingdom in the last 12 months. [51208]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 19 April 2002]: The most recent Government estimate of funding provided by the European Union (four structural funds) to voluntary and community organisations in the United Kingdom, in total, is £232,061,849 for the 2000–01 financial year.
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