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20 Jan 2003 : Column 8—continued
Rural Policing Fund
4. Mr. Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy): How many representations he has received on the allocation of rural funding to police forces in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [91425]
The Minister for Policing, Crime Reduction and Community Safety (Mr. John Denham): We received many responses to our consultation on the police funding formula last summer. As a result of that consultation, we decided to retain the rural policing fund, from which police authorities in sparsely populated areas will share £30 million. I have received three representations since we announced that decision.
Mr. Llwyd: I thank the Minister for that reply. However, does not the standstill budget allocated to semi-rural police forces such as that in north Wales ignore the current inflation rate and the fact that there is likely to be a huge increase in fuel costs before long? Along with the hike in insurance premiums recently, that means a real cut in funding. Will he reconsider the budget as it is creating difficulties for semi-rural police forces?
Mr. Denham: There is not a standstill budget in north Wales or anywhere else. There was a 4.6 per cent. increase in funding in north Wales through the police grant, and that is well ahead of inflation and ahead of the average for England and Wales as a whole. The hon. Gentleman's constituency has 137 more police officers today than it did in 1997.
Mr. Graham Allen (Nottingham, North): In the context of the Nottinghamshire police force, will my right hon. Friend take this first opportunity to associate himself with the views of Nottinghamshire Members of Parliament from all parties who have expressed their grief and, indeed, anger at the death on duty of a serving officer, PC Ged Walker, last week? It is a matter of great concern to members of the public and to people of all
political persuasions in Nottinghamshire that this should be the last incident of this sort. I hope that my right hon. Friend will take this opportunity to put his views on the record.
Mr. Denham: I am very pleased to join my hon. Friend and all Nottinghamshire Members of Parliament in paying tribute to PC Ged Walker, who was killed as a result of the serious head injuries sustained while being dragged along by a stolen car. His death underlines yet again the difficult and dangerous job that we ask our police officers to do for us. Our thoughts go to his family and to his friends.
Mr. James Paice (South-East Cambridgeshire): I associate the Opposition with the Minister's remarks.
Many forces who apply for, and some who receive, special rural funding moneys are not in the extremities of the British Isles but in the south-east. Is the Minister aware—I know that he is—of the serious problems facing many forces, including rural ones, as a result of their losing qualified and trained officers to the Metropolitan police force because of the higher salaries, travel allowances and so on that it can pay? Is it true that the Minister has recommended to some chief officers that they should use the special priority payments figure of 1 per cent. of payroll to pay some sort of allowance so as to retain officers? If that is the case, will he tell the House whether he has abandoned the idea of special priority payments? If it is not the case, can he tell the House what proposals he has to help to narrow the gap between the terms of employment offered by the Metropolitan police and by the other forces in thesouth-east who are suffering seriously from officers transferring to the Metropolitan police?
Mr. Denham: The House will understand why officers are being attracted to the Metropolitan police. In the past year and for the first time in many years, the Metropolitan police has been a net importer of police officers. Traditionally, the Met has recruited and exported police officers. One of the major reasons why the expansion in numbers in the Metropolitan police has taken place is its recruitment of additional officers, not least to strengthen its counter-terrorism service, which in practice provides a service across the country as a whole.
There are issues with a number of the south-east forces. I met chief constables and their representatives before Christmas and I am due to meet them again in the next couple of weeks when I expect to receive further proposals from them. There is nothing wrong with using special priority payments to assist with the retention of police officers, and the guidance and criteria published by the Police Negotiating Board made it clear that that was one of the factors to be taken into account.
Heroin-Misusing Offenders
5. John Mann (Bassetlaw): What assessment he has made of the likely impact of custody plus and custody minus sentences upon the reoffending levels of heroin-misusing offenders. [91426]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Hilary Benn): The new sentences of
custody plus and custody minus have been designed to enable courts to tailor sentencing decisions to the needs of the offender, including applying drugs treatment and rehabilitation requirements as appropriate.
John Mann : Does the Minister agree that a more detailed evaluation of success is possible if carried out on a geographically stable population of drug misusers?
Hilary Benn: I first pay tribute to my hon. Friend's work on this issue, which I know is greatly admired by Members on both sides of the House. I agree that if we are to assess the effectiveness of the vastly increased resources that we are going to put into drug treatment, about which we had a good debate a week ago today, it is important that we do so in all kinds of communities, including those such as my hon. Friend's, whose particular characteristics have given rise to his understandable concern.
Angela Watkinson (Upminster): Given the escalating number of heroin-using offenders, escalating demand for heroin treatment and the fact that the vast majority of heroin addicts started on cannabis, will the Home Secretary reconsider the relaxation of the law on cannabis?
Hilary Benn: No is what I would tell the hon. Lady, for the simple reason that that change has flowed from police practice over many years. Police officers say clearly in their advice to us that they wish to be able to concentrate on dealing with the most dangerous drugs, including heroin, to which she referred.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff, West): Does my hon. Friend concur with the proposition that effective probation services can help to reduce the reoffending rate of heroin users? Will he therefore undertake to investigate the proposed closure of the Lewis road probation service workshops in my constituency, as that service is valued locally?
Hilary Benn: I will gladly look into the details of the case that my hon. Friend has raised. On his general point, he is entirely right that the probation service has an important role to play, and is making a major contribution to the drug treatment and testing orders, which are proving to be successful.
Mr. Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield): The Minister will agree that many heroin users commit burglary to fund their addiction. In that context, the Home Secretary said in response to the further final clarification by the Lord Chief Justice on burglary sentences:
- "I am pleased he has clarified that, not least that those who have committed a multiplicity of crimes, including other crimes than burglary, will not simply be let off, nor will they in terms of second or subsequent offences, expect to get, albeit a tough community sentence, but instead to get custody, I think that is the right signal, and I'm very glad to have clarified that."
Hilary Benn: The Home Secretary meant precisely what the hon. Gentleman has read out. If he is having difficulty understanding my right hon. Friend's words, the position is simply this—my right hon. Friend, the
Lord Chief Justice in his clarification and others have said that repeat offenders who burgle for the first time should expect custody, because the public rightly will not understand or accept that repeat offenders who turn to burglary should expect to be treated in any other way.Travellers
6. Colin Burgon (Elmet): What measures he will take to simplify the procedure for the removal of travellers from unauthorised sites. [91427]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Michael Wills): We are introducing new powers of eviction to allow the police to take firm action against unauthorised encampments where local authorities have made adequate site provision without the preconditions in current legislation.
Colin Burgon : I thank the Minister for his reply. My question arose directly from my experiences of three visits by travellers to Allerton Bywater in my constituency, which caused great concern among local people. When the travellers finally departed, they left the place a tip. Will my hon. Friend make sure that the various organisations responsible for implementing the law are fully aware of their powers and use them effectively?
Mr. Wills: I am aware of the problems that my hon. Friend has had in his constituency, which are shared by many Members on both sides of the House and are precisely why we are introducing those new powers. We will make sure that they are widely publicised and used, because that sort of behaviour is intolerable and it will not be tolerated.
Dr. Julian Lewis (New Forest, East): I thank the Minister for his Department's willingness to meet the town clerk of Totton and Eling town council in my constituency who has been co-ordinating efforts to improve procedures for dealing with travellers in our part of Hampshire. As I understand it, the new powers that will be granted to make removal easier are contingent on the provision of sites for travellers by town councils. Will the Minister issue planning guidelines to adjust current restrictions on planning that make it difficult for town and parish councils to supply those sites, given normal restrictions on planning procedures; otherwise, with the best will in the world, councils may want to supply the sites, but be prevented from doing so by the restrictions on planning?
Mr. Wills: We will look at all those aspects, including the planning guidelines, in the light of experience. There are existing powers to deal with such encampments; the problem is that it is difficult to deal with them quickly enough. That is what the new powers will do. We need to provide somewhere for the unauthorised encampments to go; otherwise they will simply take the
problem somewhere else. That is why there is the link with local sites. We are providing extra funding. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minster is trying to find—
Mr. Wills: I am coming to that in a moment. The hon. Gentleman should be a little patient. We need to provide extra funding. The ODPM, which has responsibility for the matter, is doing that. We are determined to make the problem go away, and we will not rest until it does. I can assure the hon. Gentleman of that.
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