---

24 Feb 2003 : Column 318W—continued

Departmental Budget

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the principal components of the changes in the budget of the Home Office from 2002–03 to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [96901]

Mr. Blunkett: I refer the hon Member to chapter 10 of Her Majesty's Treasury publication "2002 Spending Review, New Public Spending Plans 2003—2006", Cm 5570, published in July 2002.

Departmental Consultations

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list consultations his Department has conducted since 1997; and when each consultation (a) opened and (b) closed. [97423]

Hilary Benn: The Home Department holds central records on issued consultations from 1997 for the Home Office, its non-departmental public bodies and agencies. Current consultation papers can be found on the website on http://www. homeoffice.gov.uk/consultations/consult papers.htm. Archived consultation papers can be found on http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/atoz/consuarchive.htm

Determining all the details requested in the question for the archived records would require access to records at a disproportionate cost. However, the online archive does contain details of the consultation period for most of the consultation documents listed.

In order to give the fullest reply I have listed the details available for 2001/2002 Home Office consultation exercises.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 319W

Title of consultation	Start date of consultation period	End date of consultation period
Animal (Scientific Procedures Act 1 986) Review of the Ethical Review Process	11/01/2001	23/03/2001
Animal Rights Extremism: Government strategy	28/03/2001	27/04/2001
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 New laws for a successful multi racial Britain	22/02/2001	15/05/2001
Proceeds of crime—consultation on draft legislation	05/03/2001	29/05/2001
The Law on Extradition—a review	12/03/2001	08/06/2001
Review of the Victim's Charter	27/02/2001	1 5/06/2001
Guidance on the use of an Intermediary under Section 29 Of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999	08/05/2001	29/06/2001
Funding Community Groups	03/05/2001	23/07/2001
Review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974	01/05/2001	31/07/2001
Justification for the use of X/Gamma radiation scanners by the Immigration Service for detecting people seeking to enter the UK illegally in vehicles and/or freight, by clandestine means	17/07/2001	27/08/2001
Extension of the Civil Penalty to rail freight shuttle wagons	18/07/2001	29/08/2001
Review of Part 1 of the Sex Offenders Act 1997	30/07/2001	19/10/2001
Making Punishment Work: Review of the Sentencing Framework for England and Wales	05/07/2001	31/10/2001
Assessing Communications Data Draft Code of Practice	13/08/2001	02/11/2001
Immigration and Nationality Directorate Review of Family Visitor Appeals	29/10/2001	14/12/2001
Ratification of the EU Driving Disqualification Convention	25/09/2001	18/12/2001
Fees for the removal and storage of vehicles, Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984	16/11/01	28/12/01
Improving the planning of young people substance misuse services	01/11/01	31/12/01
Policing a New Century: a Blueprint for reform White Paper Consultation	05/12/01	21/01/02
Revising the definition of categories of deaths of members of the public during or following police contact	14/12/2001	31/01/2002
Police and Criminal Evidence Act—(PACE Code A)	11/03/2002	19/02/2002
The Motor Salvage Operators Regulations 2002. (Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001)	04/01/2002	01/03/2002
Secure Borders, Safe Haven White Paper Consultation	07/02/2002	21/03/2002
Extension of controlled drugs licensing	11/02/2002	01/05/2002
Proposed changes to the Misuse of Drugs legislation	04/03/2002	1 7/05/2002
Review of Crime Reduction Training	04/03/2002	27/05/2002
Review on Work Permit Policy on Recruitment and Employment Agencies and Contractors	18/03/2002	14/06/2002
Charging for the consideration of Work Permit applications in Great Britain	15/04/2002	05/07/2002
Merger of CDRPs and DATs	03/05/02	26/07/02
Police and Criminal Evidence Act Consultation on Code of Practice (Code B-E)	12/06/02	16/08/02
Working Holidaymaker Scheme	29/05/02	23/08/02
Review of Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme	03/06/02	23/08/02
Breaking the Circle: a report of the review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act	17/07/02	1 3/09/02
Criminal Justice System White Paper: Justice for All (Joint exercise with other Departments)	1 7/07/02	09/10/02
Criminal Justice White Paper Proposals on jury exemptions and excusals (Partial) Regulatory Impact Assessment	25/09/02	24/10/02
Connecting Communities Race Equality Grant programme future funding	31/07/02	25/10/02
Protocol to the Convention on mutual assistance in criminal matters between member states of the EU	09/08/02	01/11/02
Proceeds of Crime Act Section 292 -Code of practice for search powers regarding recovery of criminal proceeds	23/08/02	15/11/02
Proceeds of Crime Act—Part 7 Section 339 Money Laundering	23/08/02	15/11/02
Fundamental review of death certification and the Coroner services in England Wales and Northern Ireland	09/08/02	22/11/02
Code of Practice issued under Section 377 of the Proceeds of Crime Bill	14/10/02	03/01/03
Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud	03/07/02	31/01/03
Implementation of juxtaposed controls at Calais	20/11/02	07/02/03
Supply of specific items of drugs paraphernalia to drug users	18/11/02	14/02/03

Domestic Violence

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has separate strategies for tackling domestic violence against (a) men and (b) women; and if he will make a statement. [96380]

Mr. Denham: The Government's policies are designed to ensure thatvictims of domestic violence receive help and support irrespective of gender, whilst recognising that this is a crime which predominantly affects women. Women are more likely to experience such violence over a lifetime, more likely to experience repeat victimisation, more likely to be injured and seek medical help, and more likely to experience frightening threats. Ministers have therefore emphasised that all forms of domestic violence are unacceptable and must be recognised and treated seriously, but have retained the policy focus on domestic violence against women, and children affected

24 Feb 2003 : Column 320W

by domestic violence. This focus for the immediate future was agreed by the Ministerial group on Domestic Violence.

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics his Department has collated on the extent of domestic violence against (a) men and (b) women; and if he will make a statement. [96381]

Mr. Denham: Domestic violence is not separately identified in recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office.

The British Crime Survey (BCS) provides information on the number of incidents of domestic violence in England and Wales. It estimated that there were 122,000 incidents of domestic violence against men and 514,000 incidents against women in interviews in 2001/2.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 321W

The BCS figures are derived from a sample and so are subject to sampling error. Moreover, the BCS is carried out by face-to-face interviews and some respondents may be unwilling to reveal experience of domestic violence to interviewers. The 1996 BCS included a self-completion component on domestic violence to encourage disclosure. Results were published in Home Office Research Study No. 191—copies are available in the Library. This more confidential approach to measurement revealed that the proportion of women that were victims of domestic assault in the last year was over three times higher than in the main BCS. It found that six per cent of women and five per cent of men had been threatened or assaulted by a current or former partner in the last year.

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research his Department has commissioned on domestic violence suffered by (a) men and (b) women; and if he will make a statement. [96382]

Mr. Denham: Research commissioned by the Home Office is listed. The number of men included in samples is usually too small for any meaningful analysis to be conducted.

Findings from the British Crime Survey Inter-Personal Violence Module. A specialist self-completion module was included on the national British Crime Survey in 2001 to measure the prevalence and extent of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault and stalking. The questions were addressed to both men and women. The findings from this survey will be reported in the summer of 2003.

Preventing Repeated Domestic Violence: A Demonstration Project on Merseyside, Police Research Group Crime Prevention Series, Paper 49, 1994 by Sam Lloyd, Graham Farrell and Ken Pease: an evaluation of a police led intervention to reduce repeated calls to the police.

Preventing Domestic Violence to Women, Police Research Group, Crime Prevention Unit Series, Paper 48, 1994 by Rebecca Morley and Audrey Mullender: a literature review on how to deal effectively, with incidents of Domestic Violence.

Policing Domestic Violence: Effective Organisational Structures, Police Research Series Paper TOO, 1998 by Joyce Plotnikoff and Richard Woolfson.

Domestic Violence: Findings from a new British Crime Survey self completion questionnaire. Home Office Research Study 191, 1999 by Catriona Mirrlees-Black. This provides data from the 1996 Domestic Violence self completion module.

Domestic Violence Matters: an evaluation of a development project. Home Office Research Study, 193, 1999 by Liz Kelly: an evaluation of an intervention by two civilian crisis workers based in a police station to look at effective ways of providing crisis support and advice to victims of Domestic Violence who have reported incidents to the police.

Arresting Evidence: Domestic Violence and Repeat Victimisation. Police Research Series, Paper 104, 1999 by Jalna Hanmer, Sue Griffiths and David Jerwood: an evaluation of a police-led intervention to explore the

24 Feb 2003 : Column 322W

effectiveness of the police using repeat victimisation as a way of effectively prioritising cases and allocating resources.

Reducing Domestic Violence: What Works? Briefing Notes: Policing and Reducing Crime Unit, Crime Reduction Research Series, 2000: a series of literature reviews on which approaches and interventions are effective in reducing incidents of domestic violence in a number of different settings.

Crime Reduction Programme: Reducing Violence against Women Initiative (VAWI) is part of the national evidence-led Crime Reduction Programme which funds and independently evaluates multi-agency interventions to find out which approaches and policies are effective in reducing crime. Some 34 victim focused projects were funded as part of the Violence Against Women Initiative (25 specifically addressing domestic Violence) in July 2000, and these projects are still being evaluated to assess their impact and cost. Findings are due to be reported later this year.

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the timetable is for the Green Paper on domestic violence. [97614]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 13 February 2003]: The consultation paper, setting out proposals to prevent domestic violence, deal with perpetrators and provide increased support to victims, will be published by Summer 2003. It will aim to generate a comprehensive response from the public, voluntary sector and others, to ensure the widest possible agreement on what needs to be done to prevent and deal with domestic violence.

---