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Deputy Chief Constable of Sussex
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the early retirement of the Deputy Chief Constable of Sussex. [22781]
Mr. Denham: We have set out our position on ill health retirement and disciplinary procedures in the White Paper. We have recognised that the current procedure can be damaging to public confidence. Police authorities should consider whether it would be right to exercise its discretion not to retire the officer where public interest in completing the proceedings in a misconduct case outweighs the medical condition. The White Paper says that
- "the Government believes that it is wholly unacceptable for sickness or medical retirement to be used as a means of avoiding discipline".
Rape
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what he plans to do in response to the recommendations of the Joint Inspectorate Domestic report on rape; and if he will make a statement. [71057]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 18 July 2002]: An inter-agency working group, led by the Home Office and with representation from the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Court Service, was formed in response to the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary/ Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate report into the investigation and prosecution of cases involving allegations of rape. The group is producing a detailed action plan for implementing the report's findings. It will detail measures across the whole of the criminal justice system, from police recording procedures and investigation, through review and decision making by the Crown Prosecution Service, to the trial itself and post-trial support for the victim. The action plan is being published today. I will arrange for copies to be placed in the Library.
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Police Pay
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has recently had with the Police Federation with regard to changing the pay and terms and conditions of police officers. [52319]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 26 April 2002]: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary held his most recent meeting with representatives of the Police Federation for England and Wales on 8 July. At that meeting, he discussed with them the implementation of the package of reforms to police pay and conditions of service that was agreed on 9 May by all parties in the Police Negotiating Board (PNB), including the Federation.
Drug Rehabilitation Programmes
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been in drug rehabilitation programmes in the Portsmouth, South constituency in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [64587]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Information requested on the number of people who have been in drug rehabilitation programmes in the Portsmouth, South constituency is not available. Figures are collected by the Portsmouth Drug Action Team (DAT), which covers a much wider area than Portsmouth, South.
The total number of people who have been in drug rehabilitation programmes over the last three years has increased significantly. In 1999–2000 the number of people accessing these services was 283. This number rose in the next two years to 307 in 2000–01 and 417 in 2001–102.
Retail Crime
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of money drawn from the Criminal Justice Reserve will be allocated to retail crime reduction. [54470]
Mr. Denham: No money from the Criminal Justice System Reserve has been allocated to retail crime reduction. However, £15 million has been allocated under the Capital Modernisation Fund to assist small retailers in deprived areas and funding for retail crime reduction measures can also be allocated through various other schemes such as the Targeted Policing an Safer Communities initiatives.
Derek Jack Tully
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason, in relation to the case of Derek Jack Tully, the Parole Board has imposed the parole condition of non-marital residence against the expressed wish of his wife; and if he will call for a report from the Probation Service on why they attempted a late evening supervision in his daughter's home; on how many occasions they tried to arrange two supervisions on the same day; and if he will make a statement. [70093]
Hilary Benn: The inclusion of additional licence conditions in the parole licence of prisoners serving a sentence of four years or more is a matter for the Parole Board. The Parole Board is an independent body; and
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therefore, it is not appropriate to comment upon its decisions in individual cases. I have referred the hon. Member's inquiry to the Chairman of the Board, requesting that he reply direct.
Furthermore, it is not normal practice to comment on an individual case supervised by the Probation Service. I have asked the National Director for the National Probation Service to request a report of the circumstances from the Chief Officer for the Essex area and will write to the hon. Member when this has been received.
Prisons
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visits from local probation officers prisoners in category B prisons are expected to receive in advance of release; and how many were received per prisoner released from each category B prison in the last year for which information is available. [67193]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 5 July 2002]: Figures on the information requested are not collected centrally. There is no requirement for the home supervising (local) probation officer to carry out a minimum number of visits to a prisoner in a category B prison who will be subject to supervision on release. Probation officers are expected to use their judgment to ensure that there is sufficient contact at a pre-release stage to enable the successful resettlement of the offender and the preparation of a supervision plan.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons he has visited; and when these visits took place. [67928]
Hilary Benn: Since becoming Home Secretary in June 2001, my right hon. Friend has visited two prisons; Leeds on 8 August 2001 and Belmarsh on 24 January 2002. Further visits will take place in due course.
Policing (Christmas)
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were required to be on duty on Christmas day, as a percentage of the normal staffing levels. [30937]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is not held centrally. Constables and sergeants who are required to do duty on Christmas day may elect to receive either a payment at double time or time off in lieu equal to twice the time they were required to do duty. In addition, where they receive less than eight days' notice of having to work on Christmas day, they also receive a day off in lieu.
Consultation
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what format his Department has published the results of its 2001 written consultations. [70503]
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Hilary Benn: The majority of the results of public consultation documents issued by my Department in 2001 have been published in both printed and electronic form.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether consultation documents published by his Department in 2001 carried the consultation criteria as recommended in the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultations. [70502]
Hilary Benn: The seven consultation criteria were published in one of the consultation documents issued by the Home Department in 2001.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has a designated consultation co-ordinator in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultations. [70501]
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many consultation documents published in 2001 in (a) electronic and (b) printed form his Department has monitored and evaluated in accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Written Consultations. [70504]
Hilary Benn: All the consultation documents published by my Department in 2001 were available in both written and electronic form. 13 published consultation documents were monitored and evaluated in accordance with the Code of Practice on Written Consultations.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints his Department has received about its 2001 consultations in (a) electronic and (b) printed form. [70505]
Hilary Benn: The Home Department received two complaints about consultation exercises published in 2001. The first concerned the consultation exercise on 'justification for the use of X/Gamma radiation scanners by the Immigration Service for detecting people seeking to enter the United Kingdom illegally in vehicles and/or freight, by clandestine means' and was received in printed format. The second concerned the 'consultation paper on revising the definition of categories of deaths of members of the public during or following police contact' and was in electronic format.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which consultation documents published by his Department in 2001 were not made available as paper copies. [70506]
Hilary Benn: All the public consultation documents published by the Home Department in 2001 were available in printed form.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long his Department allowed for consultation on each consultation document it published in 2001 in (a) electronic and (b) printed form. [70500]
Hilary Benn: I have listed details of the length of consultation period allowed for those public consultation exercises published by the Home Department in 2001. The length of the consultation period was the same for documents in printed and electronic form.
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Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the public consultations undertaken by his Department since 1997, indicating for each consultation (a) if copies were available online, (b) if copies were available in print, (c) the date the time period given for responses opened and (d) the date the time period given for responses closed. [69805]
Mr. Blunkett: The Home Department holds central records on issued consultations from 1997 for the Home Office, its non-departmental public bodies and agencies. Current consultation papers can be found on the website on
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http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/atoz/consult_papers.htm. Archived consultation papers can be found on http:// www.homeoffice.gov.uk/atoz/consuarchive.htm.
Providing all the details requested would involve disproportionate cost. However, the online archive does contain details of the consultation period for most of the consultation documents listed.
Listed in the table are the details available for 2001–02 Home Office consultation exercises.
| Title of consultation | Electronic copies available | Printed copies available | Start date of consultation period | End date of consultation period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal (Scientific Procedures Act 1986) Review of the Ethical Review Process | Y | Y | 11 January 2001 | 23 March 2001 |
| Animal Rights Extremism: Government strategy | Y | Y | 28 March 2001 | 27 April 2001 |
| Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 New Laws for A successful multi racial Britain | Y | Y | 22 February 2001 | 15 May 2001 |
| Proceeds of Crime—consultation on draft legislation | Y | Y | 5 March 2001 | 29 May 2001 |
| The Law on Extradition—a review | Y | Y | 12 March 2001 | 8 June 2001 |
| Review of the Victim's Charter | Y | Y | 27 February 2001 | 15 June 2001 |
| Guidance on the use of an Intermediary under Section 29 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 | Y | Y | 8 May 2001 | 29 June 2001 |
| Funding Community Groups | Y | Y | 3 May 2001 | 23 July 2001 |
| Review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 | Y | Y | 1 May 2001 | 31 July 2001 |
| Justification for the use of X/Gamma radiation scanners by the Immigration Service for detecting people seeking to enter the UK illegally in vehicles and/or freight, by clandestine means | Y | Y | 17 July 2001 | 27 August 2001 |
| Extension of the Civil Penalty to rail freight shuttle wagons | Y | Y | 18 July 2001 | 29 August 2001 |
| Review of Part 1 of the Sex Offenders Act 1997 | Y | Y | 30 July 2001 | 19 October 2001 |
| Making Punishment Work: Review of the Sentencing Framework for England and Wales | Y | Y | 5 July 2001 | 31 October 2001 |
| Assessing Communications Data Draft Code of Practice | Y | Y | 13 August 2001 | 2 November 2001 |
| Review of Family Visitor Appeals | Y | Y | 29 October 2001 | 14 December 2001 |
| Ratification of the EU Driving Disqualification Convention | Y | Y | 25 September 2001 | 18 December 2001 |
| Revising the definition of categories of deaths of members of the public during or following police contact | Y | Y | 14 December 2001 | 31 January 2002 |
| Police and Criminal Evidence Act—Code A | Y | Y | 11 March 2002 | 19 February 2002 |
| The Motor Salvage Operators Regulations 2002 (Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001) | Y | Y | 4 January 2002 | 1 March 2002 |
| Secure Borders, Safe Haven White Paper Consultation | Y | Y | 7 February 2002 | 21 March 2002 |
| Extension of controlled drugs licensing | Y | Y | 11 February 2002 | 1 May 2002 |
| Proposed changes to the Misuse of Drugs legislation | Y | Y | 4 March 2002 | 17 May 2002 |
| Review of Crime Reduction Training | Y | Y | 4 March 2002 | 27 May 2002 |
| Review on Workpermit Policy on Recruitment and Employment Agencies and Contractors | Y | Y | 18 March 2002 | 14 June 2002 |
| Charging for the consideration of Workpermit applications | Y | Y | 15 April 2002 | 5 July 2002 |
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Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public consultations have been commenced by his Department since 1 April; and
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what the (a) closing date and (b) website address of each were. [72061]
Hilary Benn: The details requested are listed in the table:
| Title of consultation | Closing date | Website address |
|---|---|---|
| Charging for the consideration of work permit applications | 5 July 2002 | http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/atoz/consult—papers.htm |
| Merger of CDRPs/DAT: consultation exercise | 26 July 2002 | http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/atoz/consult—papers.htm |
| Police and Criminal Evidence Act consultation on Code of Practice (Code B-E) | 16 August 2002 | http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/atoz/consult—papers.htm |
| Working Holiday Maker Scheme consultation document | 23 August 2002 | http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/atoz/consult—papers.htm |
| Review of Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme 2002 | 23 August 2002 | http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/atoz/consult—papers.htm |
| Breaking the Circle: A report of the review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act | 13 September 2002 | http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/new.htm |
| Criminal Justice System White Paper: Justice for All | 9 October 2002 | http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/new.htm |
| Entitlement Card and Identity Fraud: A Consultation Paper | 10 January 2003 | http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/new.htm |
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