Replies by the Home Office to Written
Questions from the Home Affairs Committee on the Home Office Annual
Report 2001-02
1. PSA Target 1 (Reductions in vehicle
crime, domestic burglary and robbery): the latest outturn figures
are all from March 2001. Are no more recent figures available?
Why not? (page 16)
As the Annual Report was going to publication
in June and the crime statistics for 2001-02 were not due to be
published until 12 July, the figures for the 12 months to March
2001 were the latest available at the time.
Recorded crime statistics are currently published
annually and the data to March 2001 cited in the Annual Report
represented the latest published figures. The data for the 12
months to 31 March 2002 was published on 12 July.
The Home Secretary recently announced (at ACPO
conference) that we were working with the police on moving towards
quarterly publication of crime data. This is in line with the
Home Office and ACPO's stated desire to gather and publish better
data whilst reducing the demands that this places on the police
service.
The Recorded Crime Statistics have been published
alongside the latest British Crime Survey figures for the first
time, and with an explanation of the effects of the National Crime
Recording Standard.
2. PSA8(i) (Reduction in the time from
arrest to sentence): Why is the targetwhich was due to
be set by March 2001not yet specified? According to the
latest outturn entry, "work is ongoing to ensure target is
consistent with other priority areas . . . and does not distort
or over-complicate action on the ground"has this been
the experience of the effect of other targets? Which ones? (page
17)
The quotation in the question taken from the
annual report was made strictly in relation to the arrest to sentence
target and does not relate to any other target. Our experience
is however that specifying targets and relevant performance parameters
is sometimes complicated by the need to avoid perverse outcomes
and unexpected impacts on other targets. There has been delay
in specifying this CJS target (on which LCD lead) and agreeing
how it should be specified in the context of wider CJS targets
has required detailed discussion with wider CJS partners about
the interaction between delay targets and other targets, especially
on attrition (the Justice Gap), and proposals for reform of the
CJS. It was also necessary to take account of fresh priorities
set in the Government's manifestofor example, the 10-year
plan to double the chance of a persistent offender being caught
and punished. This was further complicated by the negotiation
of revised PSA targets for the SR2002 review.
Nevertheless, whilst specific targets were not
specified or published by March 2001, criminal justice agencies
have been focussed on the need for timeliness and have achieved
significant improvements in performance in all areas. Particular
achievements are with other CJS agencies, and ahead of schedule,
halving the time from arrest to sentence for persistent young
offenders:
Substantial improvements in the time
taken to deal with young people in the youth court who are not
persistent offenders. In 2001 the average time between charge
or laying the information and completion was 57 days. This compares
to 87 days in 1997.
These are significant achievements
towards achieving this target.
3. PSA 8(iii) The average time from
arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders has successfully
been halved to 67 days at February 2002. What is the equivalent
average time for adult offenders and how does this compare with
previous years? (page 17)
Information to calculate the exact equivalent
time period for adult offenders is not collected centrally. The
average time from charge or laying of information to completion
for adult defendants in the Magistrates' Courts in March 2002
was 62 days.
There are no figures available for the average
time between arrest and sentence for cases which are completed
in the Crown Court. At present, all cases commence in the Magistrates'
Courts, and if necessary are committed for either trial or sentence
in the Crown Court.
Average times for cases in the Crown Court therefore
start once the case has been committed and do not include the
arrest to charge period. Details of proceedings in the Crown Court
are not collected as part of the Lord Chancellor's Department
Time Intervals Survey.
The table below shows the average in days for
adult defendants from charge or laying of information to completion
from February 1999 to March 2002.
|
| All adult
defendants
|
|
February 1999 | 84 |
June 1999 | 67 |
October 1999 | 72 |
February 2000 | 66 |
June 2000 | 69 |
September 2000 | 60 |
December 2000 | 64 |
March 2001 | 62 |
June 2001 | 64 |
September 2001 | 62 |
December 2001 | 59 |
March 2002 | 62 |
Source: Lord Chancellor's Department Time Intervals Survey.
|
| |
4. During 2001-02, responsibility for seventeen areas
of policy was changed across the Home Office, with two incoming
and fifteen outgoing. What impact has this had on Home Office
resources, in terms of both staff and funding? (page 26)
The impact on Home Office Resources has been a net reduction
of £183 million in 2001-02, £137 million in 2002-03,
and £127 million in 2003-04. The figure in 2001-02 includes
£46 million for General Election Expenses transferred to
DTLR.
The responsibilities and number of staff transferred are
set out in Table 1. Some minor adjustments have occurred to the
figures since a Parliamentary Question from John Bercow was originally
answered on 28 June 2001. Some Home Office staff have transferred
on loan only.
Table 1
Responsibility changes | From
| To | HO Directorate
| No in | No out
|
Work permits | Formerly Department of Education & Employment
| Home Office | Immigration & Nationality Directorate
| 255 | 0 |
UK Anti-drugs Co-ordination | Cabinet Office
| Home Office | Policing & Crime Reduction Group
| 30 | 0 |
Liquor licensing, Gambling and Horseracing |
Home Office | Department for Culture, Media & Sport
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate / Legal Adviser's Branch
| 0 | 12 |
Planning for the Queen's Golden Jubilee |
Home Office | Department for Culture, Media & Sport
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 10+ |
Functions relating to film and video licensing*
| Home Office | Department for Culture, Media & Sport
| Criminal Policy Group | 0
| 0 |
Functions relating to Public Entertainments*
| Home Office | Department for Culture, Media & Sport
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 0 |
The Fire Services | Home Office
| Department for Transport, Local Government & the Regions
| Fire & Emergency Planning Directorate / Research Development & Statistics Directorate
| 0 | 146 |
Fire Service College | Home Office Agency
| Department for Transport, Local Government & the Regions
| Home Office Agency | 0
| 188 |
Contingency/Emergency planning | Home Office
| Cabinet Office | Fire & Emergency Planning Directorate
| 0 | 67 |
Byelaws | Home Office | Department for Transport, Local Government & the Regions
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 3 |
Electoral Law | Home Office |
Department for Transport, Local Government & the Regions
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 6 |
Open Government, Freedom of Information, Data Protection and developing policy on National Identity cards
| Home Office | Lord Chancellor's Department
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate / Legal Adviser's Branch
| 0 | 13 |
Channel Islands/Isle of Man, Royal and Church matters, Hereditary Peers and Lord Lieutenants
| Home Office | Lord Chancellor's Department
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 18 |
Human Rights | Home Office |
Lord Chancellor's Department | Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 4 |
Animal Welfare | Home Office
| Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 2 |
Hunting Bill | Home Office |
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
| Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 3+ |
Sunday trading, Summer time, Easter * | Home Office
| Department of Trade & Industry | Constitutional & Community Policy Directorate
| 0 | 0 |
Gaming Board | Non-Departmental Public Body
| Department for Culture, Media & Sport |
| 0 | 40
|
| | | TOTALS
| 285 | 512 |
+Going on Loan. * No transfer of staff as there was less than one full-time person working on these functions.
| | | |
| |
5. The Report describes the establishment of the
Criminal Records Bureau as an important step in reducing crime
and making our communities safer. Why was the opening of the Bureau
delayed? Why have backlogs already built up within two months
of opening? (page 39)
The start of Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) live operations
was delayed due to the extension in the development programme
and our decision to add additional testing and a pilot operations
phase to reduce risk and improve readiness for Disclosure production.
Despite these precautions and lessons learned from earlier
government IT programmes, a number of teething problems have been
encountered during early live operations and there is a backlog
of applications awaiting processing.
A process improvement plan has been established to improve
productivity and throughput and this plan is being implemented.
CRB performance is improving and it is anticipated that turnaround
times will meet published service standards by end August.
The lessons learned will be passed on to other projects.
6. In 2001-02 the target for violent crime was sub-divided
into targets for different types of violent crime. In Section
3, however, the target on violent crime for 2002-03 is an overall
one. Have the targets on domestic violence and offences involving
firearms been dropped? If so, why? The latest outturn on reduction
of domestic violence against the business plan 2001-02 states
that a large but unreliable reduction has been measuredis
anything being done to improve the data? (pages 156 and 44)
Targets on domestic violence and offences involving firearms
have not been dropped, they are key components of our violent
crime target. However, the Aim 1 business plan in section 3 of
the annual report focuses on the smaller number of high level
delivery targets that reflect our overall objectives. The domestic
violence and firearms targets will continue to be a focus of attention
in the department as reducing crime in these areas is a high priority
in itself and part of our strategy for achieving the main target;
the unreliability of domestic violence data in the British Crime
Survey arises mainly because respondents interviewed in the course
of the survey are not always willing to disclose information about
this sensitive crime. The most recent BCS survey, published on
12 July, includes an inter-personal violence module with a self-completion
survey covering domestic violence, to be repeated every three
years; we believe that this should produce a substantial improvement
in reliability.
7. How will the target on reducing recorded robbery
be met, given that the latest outturn shows a 13 per cent rise?
(pages 156 and 46)
We acknowledge that there has been a problem in meeting this
target. We are taking action and the Prime Minister has said that
this will result in getting the problem under control by the end
of September.
In fact, the Street Crime Initiative is already having an
impact especially in the Metropolitan Police. Their latest published
figures (June 2002) show that street crime is at its lowest level
for 13 months.
The Initiative combines work, across-Government, on policing
and other criminal justice operations with action focusing on
the causes of street crime.
This workfor example the effectiveness of local partnership
workingwill be continuously developed to drive further
progress towards the 2005 target.
8. Has the target on reducing rural crime been dropped?
If so, why? (page 157)
Reducing rural crime remains part of the objective of reducing
overall crime. As mentioned in the answer to question 6 the Aim
1 business plan focuses on the smaller number of high level delivery
targets that reflect our overall objectives. Rural areas will
benefit from achievement of our targets directed at the reduction
of specific types of crime and the fear of crime. In working towards
achievement of these targets in rural areas, it will be necessary
for specific rural considerations to be taken into account and
levels of rural crime will continue to be monitored.
9. Has the target on reducing the economic cost of
crime been dropped? If so, why? (page 157)
At the time of writing of the annual report the economic
cost of crime target was under review as a target as part of the
SR2002 process. As stated in a written answer from John Denham
to Mr John Bercow on 29 April (Column 612W) "The Criminal
Justice Departments and Her Majesty's Treasury have not yet agreed
how best to measure progress. There are no cost of crime targets
for 2000-01 or 2001-02. Although there are no interim targets
until 2004, we are making every effort to ensure that we reduce
crimes with a high economic cost."
Whilst under the SR2002 PSAs published on Monday 15 July
economic cost of crime will no longer be a PSA target, we remain
committed to seeing the cost of crime driven down along with the
other negative consequences of crime. Currently we remain on course
to meet the target as recorded in the Table of PSAs in the annual
report (page 3PSA Target Number 3) which states that the
economic cost of crime fell by about 20 per cent in 2000-01.
10. Improving the standard by which the CJS meets
the rights of defendants: is this still a target (not listed in
Section 3)? If not, why not? (page 162)
Yes, it is in the Home Office SDA and CJS PSA.
Section 3 (page 74) of the Home Office Annual Report refers
to the Home Office PSA on public confidence in the CJS. This is
also a CJS PSA. One of the five performance areas being used to
measure this is the treatment of defendants. Specifically the
target on defendants is to "Improve the standard by which
the CJS meets the rights of defendants" by achieving by 31
March 2002 100 per cent of targets in basket of measures (published
in the CJS Annual Business Plan 2001-2003, in June 2002) and by
31 March 2004 100 per cent of more challenging targets in the
basket.
The current agreed basket of measures is:
98 per cent of prisons by March 2002 to have a
Legal Services Officer so as to ensure that all prisoners receive
information about legal services on reception and know who can
assist them with applications for public funding;
50 per cent of Magistrates' Courts to have full
access to a comprehensive courts-based bail information scheme
by March 2002, rising to 80 per cent by March 2003;
80 per cent of prisons holding remand prisoners
to have a bail information scheme by March 2002, rising to 90
per cent by March 2003; and
90 per cent of people in police stations requesting
the services of a duty solicitor to receive the service within
45 minutes by March 2002.
Of these four targets, LCD have met the first three. They
are still collecting data for the duty solicitors' measure in
the last quarter of 2001-02, so this will not be available for
targeting purposes until the first quarter of 2002-03. They are
collecting and monitoring data in other areas of the CJS to find
suitable new measures, which will be added to the basket. The
outcome of the current Allnut review of data collection within
the CJS should give much more data on which to base targets for
development. We are collecting and monitoring data in other areas
of the CJS to find suitable new measures, which we will add to
the basket.
11. In 2001-02, £100 million of the £525
million Criminal Justice Reserve was spent. Please provide a list
of how this money was spent and provide an indication of how much
of the CJR will be spent in 2002-03 and on what. (page 66)
A total of £76.6 million from the CJS Reserve was spent
in 2001-02. A further £232 million has been allocated from
the CJS Reserve for work in 2002-03."
Funding Position 2002-03
| Resource £m |
Capital £m | Total £m
|
CJS Reserve | 140.00 | 60.00
| 200.00 |
plus unallocated/unspent from 2001-02 | 3.23
| 15.85 | 19.08 |
Sub Total | 143.23 |
75.85 | 219.08 |
Convert capital to resource (please note: agreed by letter from Chief Sec of HMT to Home Sec 26 June 2002)
| 13.85 | 13.85 | 0.00
|
Sub Total | 157.08
| 62.00 | 219.08 |
less existing and new allocations (see below)
| 166.93 | 65.11 | 232.04
|
Overcommitment | -9.85
| -3.11 | -12.96 |
| | |
|
Proposed Allocations 2002-03
| Resource £m |
Capital £m | Total £m
|
Existing Projects |
| | |
Attrition | 21.60 |
| 21.60 |
Crown Court Sitting Days | 11.34
| | 11.34 |
Case Progression Officers | 5.00
| | 5.00 |
Youth Court Time targets | 7.50
| | 7.50 |
Fine Enforcement | 2.00 |
| 2.00 |
Witness Support | 1.10 |
0.60 | 1.70 |
Victim Personal Statement | 8.90
| | 8.90 |
Direct Communication with Victims | 3.80
| | 3.80 |
Auld Implementation | 0.50 |
| 0.50 |
Unified Fee Scheme | 1.00 |
| 1.00 |
Casework Directorate | 1.50
| | 1.50 |
Cross Border Crime | 2.30 |
| 2.30 |
ICT | 0.20 | 7.45
| 7.65 |
CPS Support | 15.00 |
| 15.00 |
Vulnerable/Intimidated Witnesses | 12.05
| 1.70 | 13.75 |
Persistent Offenders | 1.08
| 4.91 | 5.99 |
CJS Performance Managers | 2.34
| 0.40 | 2.74 |
Magistrates' Court Extended Sitting Hours |
4.92 | | 4.92 |
Cross CJS Local/National funding | 2.00
| | 2.00 |
Sub Total | 104.13
| 15.06 | 119.19
|
New | |
| |
Street Crime | 60.00 | 40.00
| 100.00 |
CJS IT | 2.80 | 10.05
| 12.85 |
Sub Total | 62.80
| 50.05 | 112.85
|
Total | 166.93
| 65.11 | 232.04
|
| | |
|
CJS Reserve is £525 million over three years of SR2000.
In 2002-03 the sum is £200 million (£140 million resource
and £60 million capital).
This table relates to 2001-02
Department | Initiative
| Estimated
Outturn
£000
| Estimated
Outturn
£000
|
| | Resource
| Capital |
CJJPU | Analytical Unit (a)
| 0 | |
CJIT | ICT | 200
| 1,870 |
ACJSC: Avon and Somerset | CJ Co-ordinator
| 98 | |
ACJSC: Devon and Cornwall | C-FAR Life Programme
| 150 | |
ACJSC: Greater Manchester | MOD Project Worker
| 9 | |
ACJSC: Merseyside | Race Issues Joint Plan
| 0 | |
ACJSC: West Mercia | Race Conference
| 5 | |
ACJSC: West Mercia | Victims/Witness Workshop
| 0 | |
ACJSC: Staffordshire | Video Equipment
| 2 | |
ACJSC: Staffordshire | Pre Court Visit Video
| 1 | |
ACJSC: West Midlands | Performance Management Analyst
| 30 | |
ACJSC: Leicester/Rutland | Remand Rate Research Project
| 3 | |
ACJSC: Nottinghamshire | Drug Programme Data Collection
| 29 | |
ACJSC: Nottinghamshire | Joint Criminal Justice Plan
| 102 | |
ACJSC: Cheshire | Victim/Witness Research Project
| 12 | |
ACJSC: Yorkshire/Humberside | MAP Consultancy
| 8 | |
ACJSC: Beds/Herts/Suffolk/Surrey | Case Tracking Pilot
| 23 | |
HOHMPS | Attrition |
352 | |
HONPS | Attrition (b)
| 600 | |
HOJVU | Witness Support
| 3,600 | |
HOJVU | Victim Personal Statement
| 67 | |
HOJVU | TIG Secretariat Manuals etc.
| 10 | |
HONPS | Sitting Hours Pilot (b)
| 20 | |
HOHMPS | Sitting Hours Pilot
| 0 | |
HOPODS | Persistent Offenders (b)
| 57 | 140 |
LCD | Attrition (b) | 11,100
| |
LCD | Crown Court Sitting Days (b)
| 6,340 | |
LCD | Case Progression Officers (b)
| 4,000 | |
LCD | Youth Court Time Targets (b)
| 3,500 | |
LCD | Fine Enforcement (b)
| 3,650 | |
LCD | Witness Support (b) |
| 600 |
LCD | Victim Personal Statement (b)
| 1,800 | |
LCD | Auld (b) | 500
| |
LCD | Magistrates' Court Redundancy (b)
| | 8,000 |
LCD | Sitting Hours Pilot (b)
| 134 | |
LCD | Costs and Performance Model (b)
| 281 | |
CPS | Attrition | 3,400
| |
CPS | Crown Court Sitting Days
| 5,000 | |
CPS | Youth Court Time Targets
| 4,000 | |
CPS | Victim Personal Statement
| 2,500 | |
CPS | Bronze + For Victims |
4,400 | |
CPS | Unified Fee Scheme |
1,000 | |
CPS | Early Departure | 6,500
| |
CPS | Casework Directorate |
1,500 | |
CPS | Cross Border Crime |
900 | |
CPS | Sitting Hours Pilot |
66 | |
Sub Total | | 65,949
| 10,610 |
Total | | 76,559
|
| | |
|
Note:
(a) Paid from CJJPU budget. No transfer yet from CJS Reserve.
(b) Outturn 2001-02 figures awaited from CJS departments.
Figure shown as estimated outturn is allocation.
12. Since April 2001, local probation boards have
had a statutory duty to consult and notify victims about release
arrangements of offenders serving 12 months or more for a sexual
or violent offence. Previously, victims were only contacted on
the release of offenders serving more than four years. What impact
has the change had on workload and how well are probation services
coping with this extra work? Please provide outcomes on an area
by area basis. (page 68)
An additional 6,502 new victims of sexual and violent offences
have become eligible to be contacted by the National Probation
Service during the first nine months of the operation of the statutory
duty. We expect this figure to rise to nearly 9,000 by the end
of the first year.
The impact on individual probation areas varies according
to their size and case load (figures shown in the attached spreadsheet).
The additional case load ranges from 10 additional new victims
in Dyfed Powys to 716 additional new victims in London in the
first nine months.
Probation areas are required to contact each eligible new
victim within eight weeks of sentence to offer contact and information.
The current national standard target requires initial contact
to take place within eight weeks of sentence in 85 per cent
of eligible cases.
The cumulative national average performance is currently
running at contact with 63 per cent of eligible new victims within
target time for the additional case load. (Some areas are consistently
achieving figures in excess of the target, others are not yet
reaching the target.)
EXISTING CASES
The cases involving sentences of 12 months to four years
are in addition to the victims who were eligible for contact under
the previous administrative scheme (sentences of four years or
more). Probation areas continue to work with these victims and
have a substantial existing case load.
There were 4,767 new victims in this category in the first
nine months of the 2001-02 year, of which nearly 57 per cent were
contacted within the target eight week period. We expect this
figure to increase to around 7,000 new victims by the end of the
year.
Total new caseload (all cases) for first nine months of the
statutory duty is 11,269 new victims. We expect this to reach
16,000 new victims by the end of the year.
Of these, the total number of victims contacted within eight
weeks is 6,795.
The cumulative average national performance against target
on cases falling within the statutory duty is 60.3 per cent for
the first nine months.
13. Aim 3, target 2 (Increase the number and proportion
of recorded crimes for which an offender is brought to justice)the
target for 2003-04 is to bring 1.2 million crimes to justice,
ie 100,000 additional offences compared with 1999-2000, or a 9
per cent improvement. In September 2001, performance had fallen
below the baseline to just over one million crimes, meaning that
an 18 per cent performance improvement is now required. What factors
have contributed to this fall in performance and how will it be
reversed, in time to achieve the required improvement by 2003-04?
(page 70)
Because so many factors can impact on whether a case is brought
to justice, it is very difficult to pinpoint the underlying causes
of the fall in performance. However, it is likely that a key reason
is the decline in the number of police officers during 1999-2000,
which the Government has now reversed.
The two graphs which follow show this decline and subsequent
increase in the number of police officers in more detail. The
first graph shows how the total number of police officers has
varied since 1990. The second shows effective police strength
since 1996-97.[1]

There are several programmes in train or to be implemented
during the next two years which will result in an increase in
the number of offences brought to justice. These are:
the initiative to target persistent offenders
(to be launched this Autumn);
the Street Crime Initiative;
action to increase the number of domestic violence
and rape cases which result in an offender being brought to justice;
increasing police capacity (through the recruitment
of additional police officers and the introduction of Community
Support Officers);
improved use of technology (through the expansion
of the DNA database and the roll out of Automatic Number Plate
Recognition);
more effective custody management (including the
introduction of custody support staff and the roll out of custody
IT support); and
improved support for witnesses.
Significant action is also planned over the next six months
to step up activity to meet the target:
ACPO have completed a significant analysis of
why cases fall out of the system and what action can be taken
to prevent this occurring; similar studies are planned for the
CPS and Court Service;
in early Autumn, a new publication, Narrowing
the Justice Gap, will be sent to all CJS agencies. This publication
will explain why the target to bring more offences to justice
is important, how it fits with other initiatives, and what action
CJS practitioners are expected to take to improve performance.
It will be accompanied by detailed operational guidance.
Following publication, roadshows will be run for
CJS practitioners to promote Narrowing the Justice Gap,
and to consult them about local examples of good practice and
blockages to success. Practitioners will also receive consultancy
support to help them analyse how they can bring more offenders,
particularly persistent offenders, to justice.
Targets for 2003-04 will be set for each of the
42 CJS areas, aligned to police targets.
In spite of this activity, because of the significant shortfall
between current performance and the 2003-04 target, we cannot
be confident of meeting the target.
14. Aim 3, target 3 describes a cross-departmental
inter-agency national strategy for improving services to victims
and witnesses, to be taken forward in 2002-03. Which departments
and agencies will be involved and when will the strategy be completed?
(page 75)
We aim to complete and publish the strategy either later
this year or early next year. In addition to a number of Home
Office representatives with interests in the strategy, the following
departments and agencies are playing an active part in the work:
Lord Chancellor's Department
Crown Prosecution Service
National Probation Service
15. Rehabilitation and prison regimes: the overarching
performance measure for all rehabilitation activity is the target
to reduce the rate of reconvictions of all offenders and young
offenders by 5 per cent compared to the predicted rates by 2004.
The graph on p 79 shows the two year reconviction rate hovering
between 55 per cent and 56.5 per cent for the six years 1993-94
to 1998-99.
(a) Please clarify this target by providing the predicted
rates against which prison rates have decreased by one percentage
point (as recorded on page 166).
The predicted two-year reconviction rate for persons discharged
from custody during the first quarter of 1998 was 56.7 per cent
The actual rate was 55.7 per cent; hence the actual rate is one
percentage point below the predicted rate. Expressed in the format
of the PSA target of a 5 per cent reduction against predicted,
the prison reconviction was 1.8 per cent lower.
(b) How likely are you to meet the 5 per cent reduction
by 2004? (page 79)
The Young Offender target has been achieved ahead of schedule:
the overall one-year rate for the July 2000 cohort is 26.4 per
centa 14.6 per cent reduction as a percentage of the predicted
rate for that cohort
The Adult Offender target is on track. This target is being
achieved through the delivery of accredited programmes. Performance
of these programmes against the year one benchmarks showed that
over 30,000 programme completions were achieved by the Prison
and Probation Service in 2001-02slightly behind target.
16. The Report refers to the provision by the Department
of Health of 300 psychiatric nurses to improve the care of prisoners
with mental health problems. How many prisoners suffer from psychiatric
problems? (page 80)
It is estimated that 90 per cent of prisoners (within a population
of some 70,000) suffer from at least one of five main categories
of mental disorder (psychosis, neurosis, personality disorder,
drug dependency and alcohol dependency). In addition, co-morbidity
levels are high. Within this overall percentage, at any given
time there are approximately 5,000 prisoners suffering from severe
and enduring mental illness. (Source: Psychiatric Problems
Amongst Prisoners, Office for National Statistics, 1998).
17. Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes
are operating in 84 of the 154 Youth Offending Team areas in England
and Wales. When will they become available in the remaining 70
areas? (page 82)
The Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme (ISSP)
is currently being expanded to the rest of the 10 Street Crime
areas and the bail intake is being doubled. From November 2002
it will target 3,500 prolific young offenders annually and provide
programmes to 80 per cent of Local Authorities in England and
Wales. This expansion means that ISSP will cover an additional
34 Yots across England and Wales. This brings the total number
of Yots covered by the programme to 118. Further expansion beyond
this will depend upon the outcome of SR2002.
18. Within Aim 4.2 (Reducing crime by providing constuctive
regimes that address offending behaviour in custody and after
release) the overall offending behaviour programmes target has
been met but the Sex Offender Treatment Programmes element of
the target was missedpage 166 states 830 SOTPs achieved
against a target of 1,160. Why was the target not met? What actions
are being taken to meet the target in future? (page 85)
The Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP) has an intense
and highly specialised nature, which places high demand on both
facilitators and prisoners. This leads to a higher than average
turnover of staff and dropout rate of prisoners. Unfortunately
the intensive training means replacing such skilled facilitators
is a slow process. Furthermore, it has been difficult to arrange
transfers for suitable prisoners to SOTP prisons, in light of
an overcrowded estate, which leaves many potential candidates
unavailable.
The achievement of future SOTP targets is being supported
through the development of a Strategy, the main element of which
is to increase slightly the size of treatment groups. There is
work also progressing, on assessing and reducing staff turnover
including a review of staff support and initiatives for attracting
and maintaining facilitator pools.
19. Aim 4, target 4 (To provide in relation to the
prison and Probation Service, an independent national complaints
service) relates to the processing time for complaints for both
prisons and probation. Please provide complaints figures for both
for the last ten years. (page 86)
The Ombudsman's Office was set up in 1994, therefore the
data are for the last eight years and not ten. The Ombudsman started
taking complaints from Probationers from 1 September 2001.
Prison Complaints | |
| | |
| | | |
| October 1994
April 1995
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997
| 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01
| 2001-02 |
Number Received | 870 | 1,698
| 1,898 | 1,960 | 1,919
| 1,937 | 2,176 | 2196
|
Number Eligible | 253 | 521
| 520 | 553 | 556
| 561 | 857 | 840
|
% Eligible | 29% | 31%
| 27% | 28% | 29%
| 29% | 39% | 38%
|
Number Ineligible | 617 | 1,177
| 1,378 | 1,407 | 1,363
| 1,376 | 1,319 | 1,356
|
% Ineligible | 71% | 69%
| 73% | 72% | 71%
| 71% | 61% | 62%
|
Probation Complaints | (Since
1 September
2001)
| | | |
| | | |
Number Received | 113 |
| | | |
| | |
Number Eligible | 16 |
| | | |
| | |
% Eligible | 14% |
| | | |
| | |
Number Ineligible | 97 |
| | | |
| | |
% Ineligible | 86% |
| | | |
| | |
| | |
| | | |
| |
20. There is a SDA target to ensure that the number
of referrals to treatment through Drug Treatment and Testing Orders
increases to approximately 6,000 in 2001-02the Annual Report
states that 4,835 Orders were made between April 2001 and 31 March
2002, a shortfall of 19 per cent. Why was the target not met and
how soon will the number of Orders made reach the target? (page
99)
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) were rolled out
from October 2000. 2001-2002 was, therefore, the first full year
of their operation. Some DTTO programmes have been affected by
local implementation problems, mainly relating to treatment capacity
to handle referrals. We closely monitor difficulties as they develop
and have good working arrangements in place with the Department
of Health and the National Treatment Agency to address problems
quickly. The rate of the upward trend in DTTOs indicates that
we should be on track to meet our target of 6,000 Orders in 2002-3.
21. The report states that the target for prisoners
entering rehabilitation programmes has proved challengingwhat
is current performance against the target of 5,700 by 2003-04?
(page 99)
The number of prisoners entering rehabilitation programmes
has risen sharply from 3,107 in 2000-01 to 4,691 in 2001-2 but
falls short of the target of 5,000 entrants. This is due to delays
experienced in commissioning programmes as a consequence of the
market shortage in trained drug workers. The National Treatment
Agency is developing a human resources strategy to improve recruitment
and retention within the drug treatment field. Performance should
improve when the remaining prison service programmes come fully
on line towards the end of this financial year.
22. The number of outstanding asylum applications
has reduced to 40,000 at the end of 2001, and according to the
latest quarterly asylum statistics (First Quarter 2002), to 35,500
at the end of March 2002. However, this still represents almost
half of the 72,430 applications for asylum in the UK lodged in
the financial year 2001-02. What is the age profile of the backlog
applications? (page 102)
IND took 53 per cent of initial asylum decisions in two months
(April-December 2001). Subsequent performance has improved and
we expect to be on or close to the 60 per cent target when full
year performance results are published at the end of August. Simultaneously
older backlog cases were also progressed and the backlog has been
reduced to 35,500. Decision-making continues to outstrip applications
so that the backlog continues to fall. We do not have a breakdown
of the backlog of outstanding asylum applications by age. Such
a figure was not produced when the physical count of the backlog
was carried out in August 2001, as this would have meant detailed
examination of each file.
At the end of March 2002 the number of asylum applications
outstanding for more than 12 months was estimated to be 16,200.
The number of asylum applications outstanding for 12 months or
less was approximately 19,400 based on data from the ACID database.
These figures include work in progress.
23. IND's Public Service Agreement target for 2001-02
was to decide 60 per cent of substantive applications within two
months, rising to 75 per cent by 2004. There are further targets
for four months (75 per cent) and six months (85 per cent). What
is the target for the remaining 15 per cent? What is the maximum
level of applications assumed in creating this target? (page 110)
There is no target for the remaining 15 per cent. A proportion
of cases take longer than six months to decide because they present
complex issues which first need to be resolved. Whilst we try
to keep such cases to a minimum, they are not possible to target
to a specific timescale.
There was no maximum level of applications assumed. The target
applies to all new, substantive asylum claims.
24. How meaningful are these targets when the average
time between application and initial decision was 11 months for
initial decisions made in 2001-02 (according to Beverley Hughes'
answer to a Parliamentary Question from Sir Teddy Taylor on 10
June)? If this was the average time, and over 50 per cent were
decided within two months, there must be several cases with extremely
long duration? (page 103)
The 11 months refers to the average since application in
all decisions made in 2001-02, including third country cases.
For new substantive applications 53 per cent (April-December 2001)
were decided in two months. Subsequent performance has improved
and we expect to be on or close to the 60 per cent target when
full year performance results are published at the end of August.
Although old cases are being resolved as quickly as possible,
they will continue to skew the average until they have all been
decided. Third country cases (ie where someone claims asylum in
the UK and for various reasons another state is responsible for
its examination) also take longer to resolve than those for substantial
UK decisions. The average is still much lower (11 months) than
the 20 months in April 1997.
25. How much of the £1,089 million spent on
asylum support in 2001-02 was for subsistence only support and
how much was for those supported in NASS accommodation? (page
102)
The provisional outturn is that NASS spent directly £438
million on asylum support. The rest of the £1,089 million
was reimbursed to Department for Work and Pensions and local authorities.
The total financial provision for voucher support, including administration,
was £114 million. It is not possible to split the voucher
spend into those receiving subsistence only support and those
receiving the full support package. The mechanism for providing
voucher support is the same for both "full support"
and "subsistence only" and when designed the need to
differentiate was not seen as necessary. A rough estimate would
be that one third of voucher payments relate to those on voucher
only support.
26. The Report mentions a review of the system of
dispersing asylum seekers undertaken in the autumn of 2001, which
identified various key concerns including the variable quality
and standard of accommodation provided. What is being done to
ensure a minimum acceptable standard for the 45,640 asylum seekers
supported in NASS accommodation as at March 2002? (page 104)
Contracts with providers include requirements about inspecting
properties, and the provision of a repairs and maintenance service
which would include an emergency repairs service where a threat
to health or safety is apparent.
NASS has also carried out audits on all private and voluntary
sector providers to ensure they comply with all policies and procedures,
as well as documentation and record keeping. A dedicated Key Performance
Indicator (KPI) and Complaints team were set up at the beginning
of June, to provide a more rigorous scrutiny of contract performance.
Financial penalties will be applied where contractors fail to
deliver on KPIs.
27. The White Paper "Secure Borders, Safe Haven"
(February 2002) proposes pilot Accommodation Centres. There has
already been much opposition to the four proposed pilot sites
which are designed to house 750 asylum seekers each ie a total
of 3,000. Assuming the pilots are successful, how many of the
45,000 or so asylum seekers currently supported in NASS accommodation
will be transferred to Accommodation Centres, and how much will
they cost in comparison with existing NASS support costs? When
will the new centres be in operation?
Accommodation centres will be used for some new applicants
while others continue to enter NASS dispersal accommodation. It
is estimated that the first trial accommodation centre will open
during 2003.
It is not currently possible to provide a unit cost comparison
of accommodation centres and NASS support costs because we have
not yet tendered for the provision of accommodation centres, nor
have we finalised the operating specification for these centres.
Publication of estimated costs is likely to be misleading and
could compromise the procurement process.
In any case, direct comparison is less than straightforward.
NASS costs include the cost of accommodation and basic living
expenses. They do not for example include the costs of education
provision (both for children and adults) or healthcare. Comparison
of costs will form part of the evaluation of accommodation centres.
28. The Report mentions plans for replacing the voucher
system currently operated for asylum seekers with a cash payment
scheme. When will this occur (the Report says it was introduced
in April 2002the White Paper suggests Autumn 2002)? The
voucher system will only have been in place for two years. How
much did it cost to set up, how much will it cost to dismantle
and how much will the new cash system cost to set up? (page 105)
From 8 April 2002, all vouchers provided by NASS could be
exchanged for cash at post offices. Later this summer we will
begin issuing cash on the basis of ARC cards, presented at POs.
We continue to use the same contractor, Sodexho, and costs of
the change are not significant
29. The target for removals of failed asylum seekers
is 2,500 a month by March 2003. The total for 2001-02 was 11,515,
an average of less than 1,000 a month. What are the greatest barriers
in removing failed asylum seekers and how will these be overcome
to meet the PSA target? (page 110)
The greatest barriers to the removal of asylum seekers are
the following:
increasing numbers of asylum seekers including
those from countries to which return is difficult;
40 per cent increase (and rising) in Judicial
Review applications since 2000-01;
decrease in available removal centre beds as a
result of Yarl's Wood fire;
operational limitations on availability of police
officers for operational visits and the availability of short-term
custody capacity;
high numbers of new and newly promoted staff who
need to gain experience to become fully effective.
We are seeking ways to return home asylum seekers to those
countries that it was previously not possible to do so. We are
also optimising the use of available removal centre beds, with
consideration being given to sharing short-term holding facilities
with HM Customs and Excise. Legislation is proposed to help decrease
Judicial Review applications, and a police protocol has been signed.
The training of IS staff continues.
30. The targets on removal of failed asylum seekers:
do the figures and the targets from the business plans 2001-02
and the targets for 2002-03 refer to applicants only or applicants
and dependants? (page 110 and page 172)
The figures and targets apply to applicants and dependants.
31. What will be the cost of making good the damage
at Yarl's Wood? (page 110)
The cost of the reinstatement of the damaged area of Yarl's
Wood Removal Centre to the standard, condition and configuration
immediately before the fire is estimated to be approximately £42
million before VAT.
32. Performance is currently a long way off the 90
per cent target for FCO posts to make a decision within 10 working
days on non-settlement applications requiring an interview. Why
is this so and what is being done about it? (page 113)
Data in 2001-02 shows that the actual percentage of Posts
interviewing Tier 3 applicants within 10 days was 78 per cent
not 53 per cent as estimated at the time of the published HO annual
report.
However, the 90 per cent aim has not been realised. This
can be attributed to an increased number of applications requiring
interview and heightened security procedures post September 11.
To address this growing problem (April 2002 shows a growth
in applications of 19.3 per cent), UK visas have introduced a
series of initiatives to improve service delivery and reduce waiting
times for interview:
a modernisation programme;
risk management strategy;
operational reviews; and
closer working with the FCO and IND Personnel
Directorates.
33. The Report describes progress against only one
of the four performance indicators listed for Work Permits (UK).
Please provide outturn on the other three measures. (page 113)
target 90 per cent of completed High Skilled Migrant
Programme applications decided within one week. Actual performance
63 per cent;
target 90 per cent of complete seasonal applications
decided within one week. This programme was not yet in operation
and therefore cannot be measured;
target 90 per cent of immigration decisions relating
to in-country Work Permit applications decided within one week.
The figures are not yet available but we are currently working
on an IT solution to provide the necessary information.
34. The target on dealing with applications for asylum
support is to increase the percentage resolved within five days:
what is the current percentage? On page 173 it is stated that
no data is yet available on the average time taken; so how can
a baseline be set? (page 112)
The current performance for resolving applications for asylum
support within five working days averages 45 per cent for the
first two months of 2002-03. In 2000-01, the first year of NASS
operation, 36 per cent of asylum support applications were resolved
within five working days. In 2001-02 the figure was 29 per cent.
35. "2001-02 saw a substantial ramping-up of
effort to improve the delivery of Home Office objectives"does
the Home Office have a problem with delivery? (page 134)
The Home Office, in common with the other Departments, is
in the process of improving its delivery capacity in order to
step-up to the challenge of delivering against some very stretching
targetsa number of which have been identified as key priorities
by the Prime Minister.
The ramping-up referred to in the Annual Report is intended
to convey the fact that there are a number of initiatives in progress
in the Home Office which are designed to build on the long-standing
tradition of producing high-quality policies by focussing more
heavily on their practical implementation. These initiatives include
work to increase the application of the project and programme
management techniques already in use for large capital expenditure
projects as well as making improvements to delivery planning and
performance monitoring systems. Much of this work is being taken
forward in collaboration with the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit.
Like the rest of the Civil Service, the Home Office's change
programme involves reviewing and improving structures, systems,
processes and behaviours. Under the umbrella of the Permanent
Secretary's Group-wide business change initiative "Working
in 3D", which reflects the Home Secretary's emphasis on "delivery,
delivery, delivery", the main business areas in the Home
Office have set up local change programmes.
These programmes cover internal restructuring, developing
new IT systems to support changes in processes and ways of working,
and driving behaviours through action on training and development,
reward and recognition, bringing on talent and so on.
36. How does the Home Office currently score on the
new "balanced scorecard", on the "internal measures
of the department's health", and the external measures? (page
135)
Balanced Scorecard used by the Group Executive Board contains
36 "external" measures and 24 "internal" measures.
The "external" measures relate to PSAs, SDAs or other
performance measures with direct relevance to the public, either
outcomes or outputs of the Home Office. The "internal"
measures relate to staff, relationships with stakeholders, central
internal processes and outputs of the department. Together they
seek to give a balanced picture of the organisation, including
its current impact on outcomes of direct interest to the public
and importantly its ability to deliver in the future.
In 2001-02 we were on or exceeding just under half our targets,
we require some additional work to bring us in line with just
over a quarter and require significant work on just over a sixth.
There remain, however, many issues around the quantification of
these performance measures which attempt to capture and isolate
complex social outcomes. And a number require significant work
to ensure that they are meaningful.
Like our "external" measures our "internal"
measures attempt to capture complex issues in a quantified manner.
They too are currently being developed. The challenge is in developing
a small number of meaningful measures and balancing the cost of
data collection with the benefits derived.
Initial work suggests that we have a strong workforce that
is able and willing to meet the challenges of delivering our targets
but that there is significant work to be done in developing our
skills and processes in order to better influence the outcomes
of concern to the public.
37. What are the "risks threatening the Home
Office's delivery plans"? (page 136)
All delivery plans include a systematic consideration of
risk, formally recorded in risk registers. There is a wide variety
of different threats to successful delivery, but analysis of the
risk registers has identified some common risk themes:
the reliance of the Home Office to varying degrees
on external partners/agencies/other government departments to
deliver outcomes;
the potential for progress in one area to adversely
affect the ability to deliver in other areas;
possible resource problems, particularly securing
people with the right skills, and funding for specific projects;
and
in some areas, limited evidence base on the factors
influencing successful delivery, and limited data to measure progress
towards meeting targets.
The risk registers include counter-measures being taken or
proposed to reduce the likelihood and/or impact of risks occurring.
38. What percentage of Home Office services are currently
available electronically? On page 147 the target is to deliver
all services electronically by 2005. Is this possible? Aren't
some services better delivered face to face? How do you define
"electronically"? (page 138)
What percentage of Home Office services are currently
available electronically?
As at February 2002, 52 per cent of Home Office services
were available electronically.
Is it possible to deliver all services electronically
by 2005? Aren't some services better delivered face to face?
Not all services are able to be delivered electronically
because they may require face to face interviews, or the physical
processing of certain documents. These services have been identified,
and removed from the target group of services that the Home Office
monitors towards this target.
How do you define "electronically"?
Delivery of services to the public through a range of media
including internet, public access kiosk, WAP and digital interactive
television. It can also include contact centres, provided that
those facilitating the citizens' access to the service are using
one of the electronic media described above.
39. Capital Modernisation Fund: which of the Home
Office's unsuccessful bids were the highest priority? (page 142)
There were four unsuccessful bids in Round 3 of the CMF.
The projects are summarised below. Figures relate to years as
follows: 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04:
Police Training: Implementing E-learning (ICT
and Distance Learning). £m 1.4/5.3/4.6. A project to implement
e-learning in the police service by developing common IT systems
across the service, linked to a national provider;
Project Jupiter: a regional pilot to electronically
join the organisations that form the 40 Crime & Disorder Partnerships
in the East Midlands. £m 0.7/0.9/5.0 Based upon the lessons
of this pilot, then to implement the project throughout England
and Wales;
National Technical Support Unit. £m 3.5/3.5/2.
Modernisation of facilities and infrastructure to provide support
to law enforcement in tackling new computer related crime; and
High Supervision Community Housing in London.
£m 2.5/0.1/0. Five properties to be purchased in Greater
London and refurbished to provide short stay accommodation in
London for 16 and 17 year-olds serving a community sentence or
remanded on bail.
40. How will diversity in the Home Office be improved
to meet the target? What is being done to reach the diversity
targets for the Senior Civil Service of 35 per cent women, 3.2
per cent ethnic minorities and 3 per cent disabled? (pages 147
and 177)
The Home Office is on track to meeting its diversity targets
for the Senior Civil Service. The current figures for the Senior
Civil Service (excluding equivalents) within the Home Office are
27.3 per cent women, 2.7 per cent ethnic minorities. There are
no known Senior Civil Servants with disabilities.
The Home Office has a Diversity Action Plan which sets out
a wide range of measures which we are taking to help us meet the
targets for the SCS. These include:
diversity Workshops for nearly 3,000 Home Office
staff;
positive action training for staff from under-represented
groups (women, minority ethnic staff and staff with disabilities);
setting up and supporting networks for minority
ethnic staff and staff with disabilities;
setting up mentoring schemes for minority ethnic
staff and potential staff;
funding developmental bursaries for staff with
disabilities; and
reviewing and revising our recruitment literature
and processes with a view to making the organisation more attractive
to applicants form diverse backgrounds.
41. The performance measure for delivery of government
and private Members' Bills and the drafting of secondary legislation
is "level of client satisfaction". Of whom is the "client
satisfaction survey" conducted? Why is the target for 2002-03
93 per cent if the latest outturn showed 97 per cent success?
Why are all the LAB targets below the level of success already
achieved? (pages 152 and 184)
Client Satisfaction Survey questionnaires were issued in
March 2002 to 160 regular clients in units throughout the Home
Office and Northern Ireland Office, as well as stakeholders such
as the Attorney General's Office and the First Parliamentary Counsel.
102 questionnaires were returned, giving a 63 per cent response
rate.
The Client Satisfaction Survey targets of 93 per cent or
above, set in the LAB Business Plan for 2002-03, have in fact
been raised this year from the 90 per cent or above targets which
had been set in previous Business Plans and which had not changed
over recent years. In retrospect, and given the successful high
level of service LAB has continuously provided, we accept that
the targets may be too low and consideration will be given to
raising them.
The important message is that, regardless of the precise
level at which the targets are set, the actual level of satisfaction
remains very high.
42. The target for the Private Office in 2002-03
is that all ministerial correspondence be answered within 15 days
by April 2002. Why is the target for a time which has already
passed? Later, at page 185, the latest outturn for this target
is recorded as only 35 per cent. When was this "latest outturn"
recorded? Has the target already been missed? Is the target being
extended? Will it be possible to reach it, given poor performance
in the past, and if so, what has changed to make this likely?
(page 153)
The question is not totally clear, since it begins by referring
to the Private Office target (which is on page 185 of the Report)
and then says "later, at page 185.". It is therefore
assumed the question is directed at both the Communication Directorate
entry on page 181, and the Private Office entry on page 185.
The SDA target for ministerial correspondence is:
Objective Supporting Objective | Performance Measure
| Targets | Target Date
|
95 per cent of ministerial correspondence answered within 15 working days
(20 days in the Prison Service).
| Achieve monthly performance in excess of 95 per cent.
| October 2002 | PSA/SDA target (answer 95 per cent within 15 days (20 days in the Prison Service))
|
| | |
|
The dates given in the text on pages 181 and 185 all refer
to the targets in force at the time the report was written. These
targets were not achieved, in part because of the decision to
suspend work on the Customer Communications Foundation Project
(see answer to Q53). The target has now been revised internally
to October 2002, but has not yet been published.
The 35 per cent outturn was recorded for December 2001. The
latest outturn figure, for May 2002, is 42 per centthis
is for the whole Home Office including Immigration & Nationality
Department.
There is a high degree of confidence that it will be possible
to reach the new target because:
the Home Secretary has recently appointed Michael
Wills as Parliamentary Under Secretary with special responsibility
for Home Office correspondence handling. In that capacity, Mr
Wills is now spearheading an initiative to drive up performance
across the office;
a new correspondence handling and tracking system
(CTS) is currently in the early development stage and is planned
to be rolled out across the office between September and December
2002. The system will allow all incoming correspondenceministerial
and publicto be scanned on receipt and to be subsequently
handled and tracked electronically. It will have a significant
impact on correspondence handling across the whole HO.
43. The target for answering Parliamentary Questions
is 95 per cent within target dates. The target on page 185 is
all PQs to be answered within target timehas the target
changed? If so, why? The latest outturn on page 185 is 46 per
cent of PQs answered within target. When was this recorded? What
working practices have changed to make the target achievable?
(page 153)
The target for answering PQs has not changed: it is that
95 per cent should be answered by the target date.
The table on page 185 sets out the performance target for
Private Office as it was originally published in the business
plan for 2001-02. However, the target was wrongly stated in the
2001-02 published business plan and should have read "95
per cent". Accordingly it was corrected in this year's business
plan to read as shown on page 153 of the report. With hindsight
we should have added a footnote to this effect and will do so
on the website version of the report.
The latest outturn on page 185 is 46 per cent of PQs answered
within target. When was this recorded? What working practices
have changed to make the target achievable?
This figure was recorded on 20 May 2002.
The clearance process for PQs has a number of stages and
because of the tight timescales involved, a delay at any stage
has a knock-on effect, which can result in targets being missed.
Consequently, there is no single solution to reducing the delays.
A number of steps are being taken to improve the Department's
performance. These include a blitz on all outstanding PQs, shortening
the deadlines for officials to return PQs, refining the Special
Advisers' PQ clearance procedure, changing the design of yellow
jackets, improving the tracking of PQs at every stage, revising
guidance on preparing PQ answers and providing more training for
officials.
44. Aim 3, target 1.2 (To promote race equality in
the police service) states that 27 forces are due to achieve their
2002 milestone of recruitment. What is the performance of the
remaining forces? (page 162)
The table below sets out the position based on the latest
police service strength figures (30 September 2001), 16 forces
in England and Wales will not meet their 2002 milestone.
On current levels six of the 16 forces need to recruit 10
or less minority ethnic officers to reach the milestone.
Performance of Forces who will not meet 2002 milestone
(16)
Force | No of Officers
as at 30.9.01
| No of ME
Officers as
at 30.9.01
| Percentage ME
Officers as at
30.9.01
| Force
Milestone
2002 | No of ME
Officers needed to
reach milestone
|
Bedfordshire | 1,050 | 42
| 4.0% | 5.4% | 15
|
City of London | 699 | 18
| 2.6% | 4.0% | 10
|
Dyfed-Powys | 1,098 | 5
| 0.5% | 1.0% | 6
|
Essex | 2,937 | 31
| 1.1% | 1.5% | 12
|
Greater Manchester | 7,036 |
200 | 2.8% | 3.2% |
22 |
Hampshire | 3,449 | 39
| 1.1% | 1.9% | 25
|
Hertfordshire | 1,843 | 35
| 1.9% | 2.3% | 7
|
Lancashire | 3,288 | 57
| 1.7% | 2.0% | 8
|
Leicestershire | 2,062 | 98
| 4.8% | 6.4% | 33
|
Metropolitan Police | 25,374 |
1,117 | 4.4% | 6.8%
| 596 |
Northumbria | 3,893 | 35
| 0.9% | 1.2% | 10
|
South Yorkshire | 3,223 | 86
| 2.7% | 3.3% | 19
|
Surrey | 2,018 | 29
| 1.4% | 1.8% | 7
|
Thames Valley | 3,708 | 94
| 2.5% | 3.1% | 20
|
West Midlands | 7,432 | 382
| 5.1% | 7.5% | 172
|
West Yorkshire | 4,859 | 148
| 3.0% | 3.5% | 20
|
| | |
| | |
45. Aim 3, target 3 (improving the satisfaction of
victims and witnesses with their treatment by the CJS). Are the
results of the most recent surveys now available and if so, have
the satisfaction ratings risen by the required 5 per cent? If
the surveys are not yet available, when will they be available?
Current levels of victim satisfaction will be measured by
the 2002 British Crime Survey, and we expect the results to be
available in the late autumn. Results from the 2002 Witness Satisfaction
Survey are expected to be available at about the same time.
46. When will the 2004 target for time from charge
to disposal for all defendants be agreed? (page 165)
Target will be agreed as part of SR2002.
47. Please explain why targets for timeliness of
National Probation Service reports to the courts have not been
met. What impact do late reports have on delays in court? (page
165)
Pre-Sentence Reports (PSR) are only one aspect of the information
required by the court to consider cases and neither the Home Office
nor the Lord Chancellor's Department currently collects data which
would allow the effect of delay in presenting PSRs to be separately
identified as a measure of the overall management or timeliness
of court proceedings.
Probation Service National Standards require probation officers
to prepare 90 per cent of PSRs within at most 15 working days
of request, or such shorter timescale as has been agreed in protocols
with the court. NPS' ability to meet National Standards is dependent
upon receiving timely and accurate information from the Crown
Prosecution Service and other agencies. This is an area in which
there is strong anecdotal evidence that problems do arise and
a multi-agency project has now been set up to examine the scope
of the problem and to identify remedial action to improve timeliness
of PSRs. Project members include the Home Office (National Probation
Directorate), Crown Prosecution Service, and Lord Chancellor's
Department.
48. Aim 4, target 2.4 (Custody to work): the latest
outturn on the target for education/training/work training for
young people in custody records "slippage against target"by
how much did you slip? (page 168)
As at February 2002:
62 per cent receiving 15 hours or more;
38 per cent receiving between 13 and 15 hours;
30 hours Purposeful Activity;
30 per cent receiving 30 hours;
50 per cent receiving between 26 and 30 hours;
20 per cent receiving less than 26 hours.
49. Corporate Development and Services Group: Why
were only 57 per cent of vacancies filled within 12 weeks? Is
the failure to meet the target the reason why this target has
now changed? (pages 176 and 147)
This average figure (of 57 per cent) for time taken to fill
vacancies measures several different methods of vacancy fillinginternal
job filling, Whitehall-wide trawls and direct external recruitment.
External recruitment requires the taking of references and security
and health checks of successful applicants. These checks, in certain
circumstances, can take several weeks to complete and this can
have a significant impact on average timescales.
The target has been amended to reflect recently introduced
internal changes to the job filling process. These changes aim
to introduce a more integrated approach to vacancy filling and
a commensurate improvement in the overall time-scale for the processes.
50. Target to deliver central London estate interim
accommodation strategy: it has not proved possible to deliver
100 per cent completion of priority 1 projects by March 2002.
What were the priority 1 projects? By how much was the target
missed? Why? (page 176)
The priority one projects were the Queen Anne's Gate Chiller
Replacement project which was completed in November 2001, the
refurbishment of the toilets at Queen Anne's Gate and Horseferry
House and the automatic chair lift in Queen Anne's Gate which
was completed in September 2001. The only one of these projects
which was still outstanding by March was the toilet refurbishment.
This project was completed in April and the delay was due to one
of the suppliers going out of business.
51. Is progress being made satisfactorily towards
completion of the new Home Office building? (page 176)
A PFI contract has been signed (in March 2002) with Annes
Gate Properties (AGP) to construct and operate a new Home Office
building at 2 Marsham Street, London. The completion of this building
will be in early 2005, with staff moving in between January and
April that year. Demolition of the existing buildings on the Marsham
Street site has commenced.
52. The Report records "some slippage"
against the 2001-02 target on the Home Office's contribution to
sustainable development and the environment. Is this still a target
in 2002-03? By how much has the target been missed and what is
being done about the slippage? (page 177)
The 2001-02 target on the Home Office's contribution to sustainable
development and the environment involved Ministerial agreement
to a revised Home Office sustainable development action plan and
quarterly review on progress by the Department's Green Minister
thereafter. Initially it was decided to hold the revision of the
action plan pending the setting of cross Government targets. Early
indications were that these would be issued in November 2001.
However, once it became clear that these targets were unlikely
to be issued until summer 2002, it was decided to proceed with
the revision of the Home Office action plan. Ministers approved
the action plan in March 2002. Progress on the action plan is
being reviewed by the Department's Green Minister quarterly and
the action plan will be revised to incorporate the cross Government
targets once these are issued.
Whilst there was a delay in setting a sustainable development
workplan, progress did continue on sustainable development issues.
Among the achievements were that 14 Home Office buildings and
five prisons use green electricity, key sites on the Home Office
and Prison estate are participating in the watermark project which
aims to benchmark and reduce water consumption and a number of
waste minimisation schemes were introduced across the estate.
53. What has happened to the Customer Communication
Foundation Project? Will failure to deliver this project impact
on other systems and processes? (page 181)
The Customer Communication Foundation Project (CCFP) was
suspended in November 2001 because it could not be shown to be
cost-effective. Since then the Home Office has implemented a number
of process improvements to speed up the handling of customer communications
generally, whilst at the same time exploring options for an alternative
short term or "tactical" IT solution that would:
help it to meet its SDA targets for replying to
all forms of customer communication;
enable it to track and manage both ministerial
and public correspondence, as well as emails and telephone calls;
enable accurate measurement of performance; and
help prepare the way for the statutory response
requirements under the Freedom of Information Act.
Three Correspondence Tracking System (CTS) options were identified.
One was proposed by Siriusthe Home Office's IT service
providerand was based on the same technology as that proposed
for other office-wide projects (Caseworking and Electronic Document
Record Management). The other two options were both based on Lotus
Notesone an adaptation of the system used by the Department
of Health, the other a bespoke development by Sirius sub-contractors
working on the Briefing & Reference Database project (the
Home Office element of the Knowledge Network). After evaluation
and assessment, it was decided to proceed with a system, which
is based on Meridio document management software and Metastorm
workflow software. The new system will deliver 75 per cent of
the functionality of the CCFP (the main elements missing will
be Customer Relationship Management technology and basic knowledge
management facilities) for around 39 per cent of the price. The
basic knowledge management facilities will now be delivered via
the EDRM project, and the scope for introducing CRM, as an "add-on"
to the CTS now being developed, will be looked at again in due
course.
Work on the CTS project began on 1 July. Sirius have assured
the Home Office that they can deliver the new system in time to
meet the Home Secretary's wish that it be operational by the start
of the next session (ie mid-October).
The suspension of CCFP will not have any impact on other
systems and processes, mainly because the CTS solution is being
delivered in a much shorter timescale than originally envisaged
for CCFP, and will actually be completed earlier.
54. Note (a) states how Total Public Spending is
calculated: please provide a reconciliation between this and the
Resource Accounts. (page 189)
Annual report (page 189):
2000-01 Outturn: £9,209 million.
2000-01 Resource Accounts:
Net Resource Outturn £9,054 million (schedule
1 and 2)
Capital Expenditure £154 million (schedule
4).
Total £9,208 million.
The £1 million difference is due to the fact that in
2000-01 the outturn figures supplied for the Treasury Database
were not reconciled precisely with those in the Resource Accounts.
There will be a reconciliation in future years.
55. Estimated outturn for 2001-02 on "regulating
entry to and settlement in the UK" is £1,590 million
compared with planned expenditure for 2002-03 of £983 million.
Has this estimate been revised, and if so, what to? (page 189)
The latest outturn estimate for 2001-02 is £1,645 million.
A Reserve claim of £800 million was made in 2001-02, which
boosted planned expenditure on asylum and IT, support to IND.
The requirement for additional funds in 2002-03 is under discussion
with the Treasury in the context of SR2002.
56. Estimated outturn for 2001-02 is £10,970
million against a total provision of £10,587 million as shown
in the estimates. Will the Home Office have an excess Vote in
2001-02? (page 189)
No. The estimated expenditure outturn is within provision
voted in the Spring Supplementary Estimate.
The latest forecast is as follows:
Spring Supplementary Estimate 11,178
57. The Home Office Resource Account for 2000-01
was qualified on the grounds of irregular expenditure arising
from the advance of money to local authorities for asylum support.
Is this issue or any other likely to impact on the opinion for
2001-02? What action has been taken to ensure an unqualified account
next year?
ASYLUM SUPPORT
A number of measures have been taken to remedy the weaknesses
exposed in the NAO audit. They comprise:
the introduction of new procedures for checking
lists of local authority claimants against IND records to ensure
that payments are made only to eligible claimants;
issuing instructions to local authority audit
commission auditors making our audit requirements clearer than
they are now;
new grant instructions making clear that no payments
will be made where audit certificates are outstanding.
We consider that these measures should be sufficient to ensure
that this is no longer a qualification issue but it is, of course,
for the NAO to decide.
OTHER ISSUES
The main accounting difficulty we are facing in the production
of the 2001-02 accounts is caused by the new requirement to consolidate
the accounts of 42 National Probation Service Area Boards. Before
April last year the Boards were part of local government in receipt
of grants from the Home Office. With the creation of the National
Probation Service they became part of the department.
The consolidated Area Board accounts will need, in turn,
to be consolidated into the Home Office Resource Accounts. The
42 Area Boards are audited by the Audit Commission, which operates
to a timescale that is not aligned to the production of the Resource
Accounts. Their accounts are normally audited in December. We
have secured the Audit Commission's agreement to bring forward
their audits but even so we shall not be in possession of the
audited accounts of the Area Boards until October.
We are working closely with the Treasury and the NAO, as
well as with the NPS, to resolve this issue.
Action being taken to ensure an unqualified account for 2001-02.
We achieved a substantial improvement in the quality of the
2000-01 accounts, something which was recognised by the C&AG.
We have taken the following steps to ensure that the accounts
for 2001-02 are unqualified:
The accounts production is now better resourced and is being
managed under formal project management disciplines with a detailed
plan, risk register and management reviews.
Specific weaknesses identified in the NAO management letter
have been addressed; namely:
procedures and guidance have been introduced to
ensure better management of suspense accounts;
a thorough review of year end balances has been
carried out;
a complete reconciliation of fixed assets has
been carried out;
we have introduced new procedures to ensure the
production of a robust cash flow statement; and
we have been working closely with the Passports
and Records Agency to ensure that the difficulties we had in reconciling
the accounts for 2000-01 do not recur.
We are working closely with the NAO to an agreed accounts
production timetable, and we are on track.
58. In the Home Affairs Committee session on the
Annual Report 1999-2000, it was estimated that there would be
9,143 Civil Servant full-time staff in post in IND in April 2001
and 68 casual staff (rising to 300 in July/August 2000). The Annual
Report 2000-01 showed a figure of 7,347 staff and 176 casuals,
whilst this year's Report shows 9,477 staff and 163 casuals. What
impact has the lower than estimated number of staff in 2000-01
had on the work of the Directorate? Are IND now at full strength
or is further expansion anticipated?
IND staffing grew from 5,658 in January 2000 to 10,135 in
April 2002. We have continued to run with vacancies in some areas
covered by agency staff, while recruiting. Nevertheless IND has
made great progress in achieving its aims; for example a record
number of decisions on both asylum and non-asylum applications,
as well as driving down the time taken to consider applications
for British citizenship.
Further expansion is planned for this year subject to affordability,
including a mix of national and regional recruitment to meet plans
for regionalisation in many areas of IND business.
59. Doubling the size of IND's staff from 4,779 in
April 1999 to 9,477 in 2001-02 is a significant feat. How much
has been spent on recruitment and training of the extra 4,700
staff? (page 195)
IND has spent around £6 million on the recruitment of
staff over the last two years. This is the direct external cost
for recruitment, not including administration costs such as Human
Resources Directorate staff costs.
The overall cost for training IND staff over the past two
years is approximately £12 million. The specific costs for
training new recruits is not kept separately but will contribute
a significant proportion of this cost.
60. Public appointments: which public appointments
paid at a rate of more than £10,000 per annum are due to
be filled in the next year? (page 196)
The table below lists those public appointments paid at a
rate of more than £10,000 pa which have been, or are due
to be, filled up to June 2003.
Executive NDPBs
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Name/Post | Length of term/date due
| Full/Part-time |
Chair |
| |
Sir Frederick Crawford* | 18 months from Jan 2002
| Part-time |
Members |
| |
Laurence Elks* | 5 years from Jan 2002
| Part-time |
Anthony Foster* | 5 years from Jan 2002
| Full-time |
Sukminder Singh CBE* | 5 years from Jan 2002
| Full-time |
Baden Skitt* | 5 years from Jan 2002
| Full-time |
Cmdr Mark Emerton | 5 years from June 2002
| Part-time |
Prof Michael Allen | 5 years from Sept 2002
| Full-time |
Air Vice Marshall John Weeden | 5 years from Sept 2002
| Part-time |
Independent Police Complaints Commission
| | |
Name/Post | Length of term/date due
| Full/Part-time |
Chair | By April 2003 for 5 years
| Full or Part-time |
10 Members | By April 2003 for 5 years
| Full and Part-time |
Police Complaints Authority
| | |
Name/Post | Length of term/date due
| Full/Part-time |
Chair |
| |
Alistair Graham* | Due to be reappointed from March 2003
to March 2004
| Full-time |
Deputy Chairs |
| |
Molly Meacher* | From Feb 2002 until resigned in April 2002
| Full-time |
Wendy Towers | From May 2002 until PCA wound up
| Full-time |
Ian Bynoe* | Due to be reappointed from March 2003
to March 2004
| Full-time |
Members |
| |
Mehmuda Mian* | Due to be reappointed from March 2003
to March 2004
| Full-time |
Duncan Gear* | Due to be reappointed from May 2003
to March 2004
| Full-time |
Anne Boustred* | Due to be reappointed from June 2003
to March 2004
| Full-time |
Service Authorities for the National Crime Squad and the National Criminal Intelligence Service
| | |
Name/Post | Length of term/date due
| Full/Part-time |
Chairman |
| |
David Lock | 2 years from April 2002
| Part-time |
Vice Chair | |
|
Paul Lever | 2 years from April 2002
| Full-time |
| | |
Tribunal NDPBs
Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel
Name/Post | Length of term/date due
| Full/Part-time |
Chair |
| |
Roger Goodier | 4 years from April 2002
| Part-time |
Deputy Chair |
| |
Mrs Suzan Matthews QC | 4 years from April 2002
| Part-time |
| | |
Other Public Bodies
Asylum Support Adjudicators
Name/Post | Length of term/date due
| Full/Part-time |
Adjudicators |
| |
David Saunders | 3 years from Jan 2002
| Part-time |
Ms Sally Verity-Smith | 3 years from Jan 2002
| Part-time |
3 Adjudicators | 3 yrs from April 2003
| Part-time |
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
| | |
Name/Post | Length of term/date due
| Full/Part-time |
Chief Inspector |
| |
Sir Keith Povey | 3 years from Jan 2002
| Full-time |
Inspectors |
| |
Sir Ronnie Flanagan | 3 yrs from April 2002
| Full-time |
Kate Flannery | 3 years from May 2002
| Full-time |
Kenneth Williams | 3 years from Sept 2002
| Full-time |
Local Probation Boards
|
| |
Name/Post | Length of term/date due
| Full/Part-time |
Chairs |
| |
Leslie Robinson | 3 years from Aug 2002
| Part-time |
Chair of Sussex | 2 years from April 2003
| Part-time |
Chair of Lancashire | Vacantdue to be filled this year
| Part-time |
*Reappointment |
| |
| | |
61. A written answer on 19 June 2002 (col 403W, Official
Report) lists land and property currently being offered for sale
by the Home Office. Why are so many assets being sold now? In
broad terms how much do you expect to raise? Will the receipts
go into the Home Office budget, in entirety?
The assets for disposal listed in the Parliamentary Question
referred to are mainly on the Prison and Probation estates.
The Prison Service has undertaken a Surplus Land Disposal
Programme over the last three years in line with HM Treasury guidance.
The sites that have been identified for disposal have been assessed
as having no potential for future development for operational
purposes, either because the surplus land is too small, or because
of likely difficulties in obtaining planning permission.
The National Probation Service is rationalising its property
portfolio and disposing of poor quality and unfit for purpose
buildings.
The only non-prison, non-probation site being disposed is
at Gringley. This follows problems obtaining planning permission
to convert the site to a Secure Training Centre.
In broad terms the combined value of these disposals is estimated
to be in the region of £30 million to £36 million. Agreement
has been given for the Prison Service and the National Probation
Service to keep the receipts from the sale of their properties
to help fund the prison building programme and the Probation Service's
capital property projects.
62. In the case of Mssrs Saadi, Maged and Mohammed
against the Home Secretary, regarding detention of asylum applicants
at the Oakington Reception Centre, the judgment delivered in September
2001 highlighted administrative flaws in the detention system.
What has been done to improve administrative problems highlighted
in this case?
The judgement delivered on 7 September 2001 by Justice Collins
was subsequently overturned in the Court of Appeal on 19 October.
The Court granted leave to appeal to the House of Lords which
heard these cases on 1st and 2nd May and judgement is awaited.
Justice Collins was critical that the form on which persons
are given reasons for detention had not been revised to include
reference to the reason for which applicants for asylum were being
detained at Oakington. We have subsequently amended the form,
which gives reasons for detention in response to this criticism
and we ensure that it is served appropriately in all Oakington
cases.
July 2002
1
According to ACPO, a police officer will not be fully effective
until s/he has been in post for two years (s/he will not be effective
in their first year and will be 50 per cent effective in their
second year). Back
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