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Departmental Policies (Northamptonshire)
Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Northamptonshire, the effects on the town of Northampton of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [11282]
Mr. John Denham: The Home Office is working with individuals and communities to build a safe, just and tolerant society enhancing opportunities for all and in which rights and responsibilities go hand in hand and the protection and security of the public are maintained and enhanced. Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in Home Office Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report, Home Office Annual Report— 2001–02, is available in the Library. Information on crime levels is contained in the publication: "Crime in England and Wales 2001–02", which can be found in the Library.
These statistics provide information specifically relating to Northampton and to Northamptonshire. A number of Home Office initiatives funded under the Crime Reduction Programme will have an impact on crime levels in Northamptonshire, including some with specific reference to Northampton, for example;
Reducing Burglary Initiative: Three schemes funded to the value of £178,390, including a £ 72,000 scheme in Northampton. Targeted Policing Initiative: A county-wide scheme for tackling vehicle crime using Automatic Number Plate Reading technology—£1,095,000.
Violence Against Women: a £225,706 domestic violence project in Northampton.
Close Circuit Television (CCTV): £383,285 on three CCTV schemes covering Northampton town centre, car parks and housing estates.
In addition, funding of £410,200 under the Communities Against Drugs Initiative and £80,608 under the Safer Communities Initiative has been made available to the Northampton Crime and Disorder reduction partnership. Northamptonshire partnerships have also received £51,500 under the Partnership Development Fund.
Further information on the Home Office and its policies is published on its website. (www.homeoffice.gov.uk).
Prisoners (CAB Advice)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on pilot schemes funded by the Community Legal Service to support Citizens Advice Bureau staff to advise prisoners on (a) welfare benefits and (b) debt management. [18852]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply. I apologise for the delay in replying this was due to an administrative error. As part of the ongoing development of the Community Legal Service, the Legal Services Commission is exploring projects to support advice to prisoners on legal matters. Specifically this includes work with the Kent Probation Project, based at the Tunbridge Wells area office for the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, which is supporting the needs of prisoners in Kent. In addition all prisons in England and
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Wales have been supplied with a full set of Community Legal Service Legal Information Leaflets and an increasing number of prisons are formally applying to be quality marked as Community Legal Service Information Points.
Emergency Services (Radios)
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice his Department issues to police authorities on the need to ensure interoperability of radio systems with other emergency services. [19702]
Mr. John Denham: Interoperability between emergency services is, at present, arranged locally by each force and the Home Office provides the radio channels necessary for communication between operational commanders at major incidents. Full interoperability is one of the potential operational benefits of Airwave, the new police radio communications service. The other emergency services have the option of either joining the Airwave service or arranging interoperability between their separate networks.
The Home Office is promoting agreement between the three emergency services on the level of interoperability necessary to ensure public safety.
Police Funding (Surrey)
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what change there has been in funds allocated by his Department to Surrey Police in real terms since 1997. [23079]
Mr. John Denham: The information is set out in the table.
| Government Grant (cash) (1) | (real) (3) | Real terms change | Additional Home Office funding (including special grant, capital, DNA and other payments) (4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £m | £m | per cent. | £m | |
| 1997–98 | 75.6 | 83.1 | 2.2 | |
| 1998–99 | 67.7 | 72.5 | -12.7 | 1.9 |
| 1999–00 | 74.7 | 78.1 | 7.7 | 1.7 |
| 2000–01 | 89.6 | 91.6 | 17.3 | 3.6 |
| 2001–02 | 87.6 | 87.6 | -4.3 | 4.2 |
| 2002–03 | 87.0 | 84.9 | 1.2 | (5) |
| (2) | 1.2 |
1. Total Government Grant includes Home Office Police grant, Revenue Support Grant, National Non Domestic Rates, Crime Fighting Fund and Rural Policing Fund Grant. Surrey gained resources following changes in boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District in April 2000. Grant also includes provision to offset costs incurred in transitional arrangements: £7.0 million in 1999–2000, £5.5 million in 2000–01, £1.61 million in 2001–02 and £0.8 million for 2002–03.
2. The reduction in grant in 2002–03 reflects a shift from local to central financing of National Crime Squad (NCS) National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) from 1 April 2002. However, on a like-for-like basis, government grant in 2002–03 shows a 2.2 per cent. increase in cash terms or 1.2 per cent. increase in real terms compared to 2001–02. Actual cash figures with the like-for-like percentage change are included above.
3. Real terms figures are given at 2001–02 prices (GDP deflator)
4. The additional payments were specific to particular years, and have therefore been excluded from the year-on-year comparison.
5. Capital grant only.
In addition, under the Crime Reduction Programme over £3.7 million has been allocated since 1999 to Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships for projects in Surrey.
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Urban Regeneration
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what schemes targeting urban regeneration needs are managed by his Department; how much each scheme has available to invest; what issues each scheme aims to tackle; and how much has been spent annually since 1997 (a) in the United Kingdom, (b) in Teesside, (c) in Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough Councils and, (d) in the Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency. [25474]
Mr. John Denham: The Home Office makes a contribution to urban regeneration through a number of schemes which reduce crime, tackle drugs and drug-related crime, encourage community development and support racial equality. Relevant information that is currently available includes:
| Area Total | No Schemes | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teesside £2,031,345 | 22 | £649.766 | £1,063.313 | £318,266 |
| Redcar and Cleveland £733,500 | 7 | £166,348 | £458,152 | £109,000 |
| Middlesbrough £866,195 | 11 | £185,299 | £478,422 | £209,266 |
| Stockton £424,858 | 4 | £298,119 | £136,739 | – |
| Middlesbrough South/Cleveland £606,200 | 5 | £154.048 | £395,152 | £57,000 |
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Total funding | 50,000,000 |
| Teesside | 494,800 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | 121,600 |
| Middlesbrough | 210,300 |
| Stockton | 162,900 |
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Total funding | £2,900,00 |
| North East Region | £248,530 |
| Teesside | £112,000 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | £28,000 |
| Middlesborough | £50,000 |
| Stockton | £34,000 |
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| Area Total | No Schemes | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redcar and Cleveland £130,000 | 1 | 0 | £65,000 | £65,000 |
| Middlesbrough £162,125 | 1 | £25,125 | £68,500 | £68,500 |
| Stockton £187,250 | 1 | £50,250 | £68,500 | £68,500 |
| £ | 1997–98 | 1998–99 |
|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 84,690,663 | 87,578,663 |
| Teesside | Not Available | 424,030 |
| Middlesbrough | Not Available | 275,464 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | Not Available | 118,783 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | Not Available | 29,783 |
| County of Cleveland | 427,996 | 439,123 |
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 (to date) | |
|---|---|---|
| All projects | £1,761,267 | £2,577,627 |
| Middlesbrough | £5,396 | £7,944 |
Police numbers
Figures for police numbers and spending are available nationally and for the Cleveland Authority. They are not available for individual councils or parliamentary constituencies.
On 31 January this year there were 128,748 police officers in England and Wales, a record number and 4,578 more than in March 2000. Spending by the police has increased by £1.27 billion (+ 17.9 per cent.) since 1997 to £8.361 billion in 2002–03.
Between March 2000 and January 2002 police numbers in the Cleveland Police increased by 33 to 1,437. The increase in numbers has been made possible by the extra recruits allocated to the Cleveland Police under the Crime Fighting Fund over the three years to March 2003. Cleveland Police has been allocated a total of 74 Crime Fighting Fund recruits. 20 were recruited in 2000–01 and 36 were recruited in 2001–02. The force is expected to take on a further 18 Crime Fighting Fund recruits in 2002–03. Spending on policing by the Cleveland Police Authority has increased by 24 per cent. (+ £18.57 million) since 1997 and now totals £95.13 million for 2002–03.
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