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PSA Targets
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost to public funds is of the failure to achieve the public service agreement target to increase the number and proportions of recorded crimes for which an offender is brought to justice. [68778]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 11 July 2002]: As the public service agreement target relates to the number of offences which are brought to justice in 2003–04, it will not be possible to say until after the end of 2003–04 whether or not the target has been met.
Drug Misuse
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the proportion of young people under 25 (a) misusing illegal drugs and (b) with access to illegal drugs in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [69105]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 11 July 2002]: Results from the 1998 and 2000 British Crime Surveys estimate that 29 per cent. of adults aged between 16 and 24 reported to have used an illegal drug in the previous year.
Results from the 2001 survey of drug use, smoking and drinking among school children aged 11 to 15 years in England (published in a statistical press notice by Department of Health on 15 March 2002) show that 42 per cent. have been offered at least one or more drugs and that 20 per cent. reported the use of an illegal drug in the previous year.
A revised method of measuring the prevalence of drug use was introduced in 2001. The format of the questions was changed as was the wording of the questions, after research showed that pupils found the previous survey difficult to answer. It is likely that the increase in levels of reported drug use is due to this change in question
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format rather than a real change in behaviour. Because of this revised methodology the 2001 estimates on drug use are not strictly comparable with results from previous sweeps.
The estimates from previous years for those who reported ever having been offered at least one or more drug are 34 per cent. in 1998, 35 per cent. in 1999, and 35 per cent in 2000.
The estimates from previous years for those reporting use of an illegal drug in the previous year are 11 per cent. in 1998, 12 per cent. in 1999 and 14 per cent. in 2000.
Information regarding younger children is not available centrally.
Recovered Assets Fund
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments have been made for projects under the Recovered Assets Fund, broken down by region. [69337]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Confiscated Assets Fund (CAF) was the forerunner of the Recovered Assets Fund (RAF) and provided funding for anti-drug projects. In 1999–2000 it approved national projects totalling £764,300. In 2000–2001 its national projects totalled £6,841,000 plus one in Wales for £262,000. Finally, in 2001–2002 it approved national project funding of £5,624,143 plus £2,500 in the south west, £879,600 in the midlands and £625,500 in London and the south east.
I expect to announce shortly a first tranche of projects that are to receive funding under the Recovered Assets Fund, which has replaced the CAF and has a broader scope. These are in addition to RAF grants worth £250,000 for two asset recovery related projects which are already under way.
Mr. B. K. Pathan
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter sent by the hon. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz) on 22 April, concerning Mr. B. K. Pathan of Leicester, reference P302501; and if he will make a statement. [69247]
Beverley Hughes: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 23 July 2002.
Firearms
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has collated on the types of firearms used for criminal purposes since 1997. [47446]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Criminals in the United Kingdom use a range of different firearms obtained from a variety of different sources. The information collected centrally at present relates only to broad categories of weapons and is given in the table.
As part of our efforts to crack down on misuse, we are currently funding a new National Firearms Forensic Intelligence Database which is expected to be operational in 2003. As well as helping to track the provenance of guns which have been recovered and to identify any
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which have been previously used, it will also help to provide a much more detailed assessment of the types of weapons used.
| Number of offences | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Principal weapon | 1997 | 1998–99(47) | 1999–2000(47) | 2000–01(47) |
| Long-barrelled shotgun | 313 | 322 | 353 | 302 |
| Sawn-off shotgun | 267 | 320 | 340 | 305 |
| Handgun | 2,648 | 2,687 | 3,685 | 4,019 |
| Rifle | 51 | 43 | 67 | 36 |
| Imitation firearm | 511 | 566 | 823 | 773 |
| Unidentified firearm | 713 | 665 | 762 | 953 |
| Other firearm | 401 | 606 | 813 | 974 |
| Air weapon | 7,506 | 8,665 | 10,103 | 10,227 |
| Total | 12,410 | 13,874 | 16,946 | 17,589 |
(47) Year ending March.
Emergency Planning
Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Departments will take the lead in the event of different kinds of emergency taking place in the UK. [72965]
Mr. Blunkett: Most emergencies are handled at a local level by the emergency services and by the appropriate local authority or authorities with no direct involvement by central Government.
Where central Government do become involved because the incident is of such a scale or complexity to require central co-ordination or support, it is essential that we are clear in advance which Department will be in the lead.
The Civil Contingencies Committee has had an up-to-date list of pre-nominated leads produced in order to reflect the devolution settlement; the changes to the machinery of Government made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister since the general election; and incidents which were not covered in the earlier 'Dealing with Disaster' guidance document.
I am placing in the Library a paper explaining the respective roles of lead Government Departments and the Civil Contingencies Secretariat and a table summarising which Departments will have the lead for different categories of emergency.
The table shows the position that holds within the devolved Administrations and arrangements are being made to place the material in the Libraries of the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Arrangements are also being made for this material to be made available to the local authority and emergency services associations and to be placed on the internet at www.ukresilience.info that will be updated whenever necessary and should be consulted for the latest information on pre-designated lead Departments.
Prisons
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the level of staff absence through (a) short-term and (b) long-term sickness is in each prison, broken down by category, in the last 12 months for which information is available. [62378]
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Hilary Benn: Information relating to the financial year 2001–02 is contained in the table. Information about
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privately managed prisons is not available as it is commercial in confidence.
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