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Rural Awareness
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when his Department will establish rural targets and monitoring as part of overall rural proofing measures as set out in the Countryside Agency's report "Rural Proofing in 2001–02"; [54409]
- (2) when his Department will introduce measures to raise rural awareness through staff (a) training, (b) development and (c) secondments as part of overall rural proofing measures set out in the Countryside Agency's report "Rural Proofing in 2001–02"; [54419]
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(3) when his Department will implement proofing and checklist measures as part of overall rural proofing measures set out in the Countryside Agency's report "Rural Proofing in 2001–02". [54435]
Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Angela Eagle) on 20 May 2002, Official Report, column 82W.
Road Traffic Penalties
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the results of the consultation on road traffic penalties. [64283]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 25 June 2002]: We are currently in the final stages of formulating the Government's response to the consultation exercise on road traffic penalties.
Voluntary Sector
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 30 April 2002, to the hon. Member for West Dorset (Mr. Letwin), Official Report, column 703W, on Government funding of the voluntary sector, how the voluntary sector has been defined for the purpose of the estimates; and whether some categories of non-governmental organisation have been excluded from this definition. [65038]
Beverley Hughes: The definition used for the purposes of the estimates is the same as that published in the report on Central Government Funding of Voluntary and Community Organisations 1982–83 to 1999–2000 (annexe B, page 23) ISBN 1 84082 636–3, copies of which are available in the Library.
Some categories of non-governmental organisation are excluded under this definition, i.e. universities, non- departmental public bodies, political parties, informal groups and self-help groups directly run by clinicians.
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 30 April 2002, to the right hon. Member for West Dorset (Mr. Letwin), Official Report, column 703W, on Government funding for the voluntary sector, if he will break down the figure for (a) other state sources, by type of statutory body, (b) lottery funding by lottery distributor, (c) local government by local authority, (d) central Government by department and (e) European funds by Directorate- General; and in the case of (e), what EU funding for the voluntary sector is given in the other member states. [65037]
Beverley Hughes: The full information requested on a breakdown of funding to the voluntary sector from all these sources is not routinely collated by Government and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Information on central Government funding by Department was published in the report on Central Government Funding of Voluntary and Community Organisations 1982–83 to 1999–2000 (pages (4–5) ISBN 1 84082 636–3, copies of which are available in the Library.
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Dumped Vehicles
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the steps the police take to track down the owners of dumped vehicles. [66515]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 2 July 2002]: The police and local authorities have a joint responsibility for the removal of abandoned vehicles and taking action as appropriate against their owners. When a vehicle is reported or discovered apparently abandoned on the highway, the police will carry out a number of checks to ensure it is not stolen, illegally parked, or causing an obstruction or danger. If it is, removal of the vehicle will be arranged as soon as possible. Once the vehicle is removed, the police will take steps to identify the last registered keeper of the vehicle via a search of vehicle keepership information on the police national computer.
Where an apparently abandoned vehicle is not of police interest, details are forwarded to the local authority, which has responsibility for its removal and ultimate disposal. The Government have recently introduced tough new measures to help local authorities deal more effectively with the problem of abandoned vehicles, including improved access to the Driving Vehicle Licence Agency (DVLA) vehicle records.
Policy Appraisal
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has established a baseline for policy appraisal against which to measure progress on equal treatment; and what progress has been achieved. [66606]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 2 July 2002]: In 1998, the Home Office, Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Cabinet Office Women's Unit issued Policy Appraisal for Equal Treatment (PAFET) guidelines to all Government Departments. PAFET covers the responsibility officials have for assessing how their work is likely to affect different groups and to take action to ensure this is taken into account from the beginning of the policy process and its evaluation.
Guidance has been circulated to all senior managers at Grade 7 level and above within the Home Department to ensure that the effects of any policy changes on all sections of the population are considered at the earliest stage of policy development.
In addition, as a result of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, listed public bodies are now required to consult on the potential impact of new policies, and to monitor existing policies, to ensure that there is no differential and adverse impact on people from minority ethnic communities.
EU Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the EU directives and regulations that have been implemented through his Department in 2002; and what was the cost of each to public funds. [64975]
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Mr. Bob Ainsworth: No European Union directives and regulations have been implemented through the Home Office in 2002.
Plain Clothes Allowance
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the proposal to remove the plain clothes allowance to CID officers; and whether he intends to introduce measures requiring police officers to contribute payments towards the cost of their uniforms. [30114]
Mr. Denham: The Police Negotiating Board (PNB) reached agreement on 9 May 2002 on a package of modernising reforms to police pay and conditions of service. The PNB is the statutory negotiating body for police pay and conditions of service, on which all the main police organisations are represented, including the Association of Chief Police Officers, the Association of Police Authorities, the Superintendents' Association and the Police Federation.
One of the reforms agreed is to reduce the plain clothes allowance on 1 April 2003 to half its current rate of £258 and then to abolish it altogether on 1 April 2004. That change has to be seen in the context of all the changes, which include an increase in the basic salary for all federated ranks' officers of £402 a year from 1 April 2003 and a shortening of the federated ranks' pay scales, resulting in faster progression to the top of the scales. Once they have spent a year at the top of the scales, federated ranks officers will be eligible for a new competence-related payment of £1,002 a year, with at least 75 per cent. of those eligible expected to get the payment. In addition, under a new special priority payment scheme to target extra pay at those officers at the sharp end of policing, officers in qualifying posts will receive annual payments of between £500 and £3,000 normally, up to £5,000 exceptionally.
The PNB Agreement does not require officers to contribute to the cost of their uniforms.
Youth Justice
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many cases involving young people as defendants have been thrown out of magistrates courts in each month in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001; [58891]
- (2) what assessment his Department has made of the recent trend in court cases involving young people which (a) are adjourned and (b) do not end in a conviction. [58890]
Hilary Benn: The information requested for 1999 and 2000 is contained in the table, except for statistics of cases that are adjourned which are not collected centrally.
(14) Under section 23(3) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, adjourned 'sine die' etc.
(15) Discharged under section 6 Magistrates Courts Act 1980 (when examining Justices decide that there is insufficient evidence on which to commit the defendant for trial).
(16) No evidence offered, not proceeded against or charge withdrawn.
(17) Under section 9 Magistrates Courts Act 1980 (when the court, after hearing the evidence, decide the defendant is not guilty).
(18) Staffordshire police were only able to submit sample data for one week in each quarter for persons proceeded against in magistrates courts in 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, estimates derived from these data are not robust enough at a monthly level and have been included in the totals only.
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