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22 Oct 2002 : Column 220W—continued
Focus Group Research
Mr. Allen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use he and his Department has made of focus group research since June 2001; if he will identify for each research project the topics covered, the person or organisation carrying out the research, and the total cost; and if he will publish the research on his Department's website. [74998]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Treasury Estate
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask Chancellor of the Exchequer, what parts of HM Treasury estate have been sold, and to whom, since 1997. [75682]
Suicides
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average age-standardised mortality rate from suicide per 100,000 working-age adults was in (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000. [75636]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Evan Harris, dated 22 October 2002:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question asking what the average European age-standardised mortality rate from suicide per 100,000 working adults was in (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000. I am replying in his absence. (75636)
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- The figures requested are given in the table below. Figures for men and women are shown separately, as different age groups are used to classify working age depending on sex.
| rate per 100,000 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calendar year(7) | Men | Women |
| 1998 | 20.8 | 5.5 |
| 1999 | 20.4 | 5.7 |
| 2000 | 18.8 | 5.8 |
Sources:
(4) Directly age-standardised to the European standard population.
(5) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989 excluding E988.8.
(6) Adults of working age were classified as men aged between 16 and 64 and women aged between 16 and 59.
(7) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year
Prostate Cancer
Mr. Barker: To ask the Secretary of state for Health, when figures for the incidence of prostrate cancer in the UK as whole will be available. [75806]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Gregory Barker, dated 22 October 2002:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning when figures for the incidence of prostate cancer in the UK as a whole will be available. (75806)
- The numbers of newly diagnosed cases and directly age standardised rates for prostate cancer in the United Kingdom and its constituent countries for 1998 are available and are given in the table below.
- Figures for the United Kingdom for 1999 are expected to be available early in 2003.
| Number | Rate | |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 22916 | 67.4 |
| England | 19335 | 67.6 |
| Wales | 1262 | 68.1 |
| Scotland | 1839 | 66.4 |
| N Ireland | 480 | 61.2 |
Notes:
* Using the European Standard Population
International Classification of Disease Tenth Revision Code C61
HOME DEPARTMENT
Sex Offenders
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons on the Sex Offenders Register are registered at addresses in Southampton, Portsmouth and Hampshire, and on the Isle of Wight; [23943]
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- (2) how many persons on the Sex Offenders Register, registered at addresses on the Isle of Wight, were (a) never convicted of a sex offence and (b) convicted of a sex offence (i) within the last two years, (ii) 3–5 years ago, (iii) 6–10 years ago, (iv) 11–20 years ago and (v) more than 20 years ago; [23944]
(3) how many persons on the Sex Offenders Register, registered at addresses on the Isle of Wight, were (a) never imprisoned as a result of a sex offence and (b) released from imprisonment for a sex offence (i) within the last two years, (ii) 3–5 years ago, (iii) 6–10 years ago, (iv) 11–20 years ago and (v) more than 20 years ago; [23945]
(4) what offences have been committed in the last 10 years by those persons on the Sex Offenders Register who are registered at addresses on the Isle of Wight. [23946]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 19 December 2001]: The Sex Offenders Act 1997 requires offenders cautioned for, convicted of, or found not guilty by reason of insanity of an offence specified in Schedule One to the Act since the date of its implementation to notify their local police of their names, addresses, dates of birth and intentions to travel abroad for eight days or longer. There is, however, no register of sex offenders, as such; nor are sex offenders subject to the requirements of the Sex Offenders Act separately identified as such in criminal statistics.
The Home Office has issued guidance to chief officers of police and probation in respect of their statutory duty under section 67 of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 to make arrangements for the assessment and management of the risk posed by dangerous offenders. The guidance requires information about the number of registered sex offenders in each police area to be published. A copy of the relevant annual report, which reveals there are 713 registered sex offenders in Hampshire, translating to a rate of 40 per one hundred thousand of the population can be obtained from the Hampshire police or Probation Services. Detailed Information requested is not available centrally.
Traffic Policing
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the UK police forces which have a dedicated traffic enforcement division, how many officers there were in the divisions; and what these figures were as a percentage of the force strength; [73427]
- (2) if he will list the UK police forces which have disbanded their dedicated traffic divisions in the last 10 years; [73428]
(3) what the budget for traffic enforcement was in each police force for the last 10 years; and what each figure was expressed as a percentage of the force budget. [73429]
Mr. Denham: The two tables give the information readily available. Table 1 sets out for each police force in England and Wales in 2001–02 the number of officers in traffic posts (''traffic police''). Traffic police are defined as ''staff who are predominantly employed on
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motorcycles or in patrol vehicles for the policing of traffic and motorway related duties''. The definition does not include accident investigation, vehicle examination or radar duties. No records are kept centrally of which forces organise their traffic posts into dedicated traffic enforcement divisions or which forces have disbanded dedicated traffic enforcement divisions.
Table 2 sets out for each force in England and Wales the net cost of traffic and road safety for the past two years, showing each force's spend on these as a proportion of the force budget. The table shows that, over the two-year period, spend on traffic and road safety increased as a proportion of the force budget in a significant number of forces.
A thematic inspection report on road policing by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, published in 1998, identified an intelligence-led model for this activity, integrating traffic policing with other core activities and making more effective use of police resources. As forces increasingly adopt this approach, the number of dedicated traffic officers may reduce, but this does not necessarily reflect a lower level of enforcement. The increased use of cameras and other technology can allow a reduction in traffic officers whilst maintaining traffic targets/ enforcement levels. It also allows traffic officers to be appropriately targeted elsewhere. Reductions in the numbers of traffic officers, taken by themselves, can therefore be misleading.
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