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24 Feb 2003 : Column 330W—continued

Prisoners (Foreign Nationals)

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women detained in prisons in England and Wales on 1 February were foreign nationals who had completed their prison sentence and were awaiting deportation from the United Kingdom. [97774]

Beverley Hughes: This information is not held centrally and would be available only at disproportionate cost.

Prisons Minister

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons the Prisons Minister has visited since his appointment. [97775]

Hilary Benn: The establishments I have visited since my appointment as Parliamentary Under Secretary for Community and Custodial Provision on 29 May 2002 are given in the table. Further visits will take place in due course.

	Date
Leeds	14 June 2002
Winchester	4 July 2002
Wormwood Scrubs	9 July 2002
Belmarsh	10 July 2002
Askham Grange	15 July 2002
Brixton	25 July 2002
Portland	27 August 2002
Weare	27 August 2002
Lewes	28 August 2002
Ashfiefd	29 August 2002
East Sutton Park	3 September 2002
Wayland	17 September 2002
Reading	20 September 2002
Feltham	23 September 2002
Holloway	23 September 2002
Wetherby	7 October 2002
Lincoln	24 October 2002
New Hall	15 November 2002
Feltham	26 November 2002
Leeds	24 January 2003
Wandsworth	29 January 2003

Retail Industry Crime

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 585W, on retail industry crime, how many small retail businesses in (a) Lancashire and (b) the North West of England have (i) applied for and

24 Feb 2003 : Column 331W

(ii) received a grant from the Government to improve security on their property; and when the new survey of crime affecting retail and manufacturing industry will be published. [97569]

Mr. Denham: Funding under the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas Initiative is allocated directly to regional Crime Reduction Directors, whose responsibility it is to distribute the money to Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) covering the lO per cent most deprived wards in the region. Proposals invited from CDRPs have to meet the scheme's strict criteria, and are worked up in close conjunction with the regional Crime Reduction Director, who submits them to me for approval. All proposals submitted to me in the first two years of the initiative have been approved without exception.

In the first year of the initiative (2001–02), over 80 small businesses in Lancashire benefited from funding of £73,234. In 2002–03, over 111 retailers and small businesses in the county stand to benefit from funding of £251,453.

For the North West of England, over 420 small businesses benefited from the 2001–02 allocation of £470,670, and over 1140 retailers and small businesses stand to benefit from the 2002–03 allocation of £942,209.

We expect the results of the new survey of crime affecting retail and manufacturing business, which my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in April last year, to be published in the summer.

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 585W, on retail industry crime, if the report on the consultation on the means of creating and maintaining effective partnerships to reduce opportunities for crime against business will be (a) published online and (b) placed in the Library. [97779]

Mr. Denham: The consultation period on the business crime consultation document closes on 28 February 2003. We hope to publish a report on the outcome in the summer. The report will be published on the Home Office website and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 14 January, Official Report, column 585W, on retail industry crime, what the average size is of a grant made available from the Government to businesses for improving the security of small retail businesses. [97780]

Mr. Denham: In the first year (2001–02) of the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas Initiative, the average grant made available was £1,074 per small retailer. In the second year (2002–03), this has increased to £1,272 per individual business.

Sickness Absence

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the rate of staff (a) absenteeism and (b) sickness was in his Department and each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year from 1990–91 to 2002–03; what the target set is for his Department; and if he will make a statement. [93502]

24 Feb 2003 : Column 332W

Mr. Blunkett: Information on absenteeism is not collected centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Information on Sickness Absence can be found in the annual report "analysis of sickness Absence in the Civil Service" published by the Cabinet Office. The average number of lost working days owing to sickness is as follows:

1997	11.4
1998	10.4
1999	11.1
2000	11.2
2001	8.0*

* This figure is currently being re-assessed and any corrections to the published figure for 2001 will be included in the 2002 report.

Figures for 1991–1996 are not available and figures for 2002 will be announced in due course.

The Home Office have introduced new guidelines, policies and procedures with a view to meeting its target to reducing sickness absence, published in its Service Delivery Agreements for April 2001 to March 2004.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days were lost due to sickness absence in the Department in 2002. [90533]

Mr. Blunkett: Information on Sickness Absence can be found in the annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" published by the Cabinet Office. The most recent report for the calendar year 2001 was announced by Ministerial Statement on 19 December 2002 and copies placed in the Library. The figures for 2002 will be announced in due course.

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many working days have been lost due to illness in his Department in (a) 2002 and (b) each of the preceding five years. [90974]

Mr. Blunkett: Information on Sickness Absence can be found in the annual report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" published by the Cabinet Office. The average number of working days lost owing to sickness is as follows:

1997	11.4
1998	10.4
1999	11.1
2000	11.2
2001	8.0*

The figures for 2002 are not yet available and will be announced in due course.

* This figure is currently being reassessed and any correction to the published figure for 2001 will be included in the 2002 Report.

Special Advisers and Press Officers

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) special advisers and (b) press officers have been employed by his Department in each year from 1994–95 to 2002–03; and at what cost in each year. [92444]

24 Feb 2003 : Column 333W

Mr. Blunkett: With regards to Special Advisers I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 31 January 2003, Official Report, column 1056W. Press officer numbers are listed in the following table:

Year	Number of press officers	Cost £ thousand
1996–97	16	369,000
1997–98	13	332,000
1998–99	13	329,000
1999–2000	16	345,000
2000–01	31	863,000
2001–02*	35	1 million
2002–03	37

Staff numbers for the press office increased when a Newsdesk was established in 2000. This was one of the recommendations from the independent external consultants who carried out a review of the structure and operation of the press office in 1999. One of the benefits of has been that media calls to the press office are being answered within four rings 90 per cent of the time. Previously there were occasions when up to 40 per cent of media calls were lost.

Information prior to 1996/97 was not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

* The Prison Service press office joined the Home Office in May 2001

Terrorist Attacks

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on (a) the stock of equipment and (b) its whereabouts to deal with an NBC terrorist attack in (i) London and (ii) East Sussex; and what plans he has to increase this stock. [96253]

Mr. Blunkett: The Government are taking precautions to ensure that emergency services, local authorities and Government Departments and agencies are prepared to respond to a Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) incident and that the emergency services have the right equipment and stocks.

The National Health Service (NHS) has increased its preparedness and nationally has 360 mobile decontamination units sent to key points around the country for use by Ambulance Service and hospital Accident and Emergency Departments. 7,250 personal protection suits have been distributed to key health workers. 2,350 police officers have been trained and equipped to deal with CBRN incidents and this programme is continuing.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 334W

It has been agreed that fire fighters will work alongside ambulance services by decontaminating people at a CBRN incident and £56 million has been allocated by the Government to buy equipment to do this in 2003.

Medical countermeasures are also stockpiled in strategic locations.

I cannot give details of the location of this equipment and stocks, as this information would self-evidently be of use to terrorists.

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