House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 10 Mar 2003 (pt 18)

10 Mar 2003 : Column 67W—continued

Chorley Hospital

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking with the Department of Health to provide more resources to Chorley Hospital in order to cope with the number of prisoners being treated at the hospital. [99909]

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.

Responsibility for meeting the costs of prisoners' medical treatment in hospital lies entirely with the national health service. Allocations made to primary care trusts include provision for the costs of such services.

Clearsprings Management

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the work Clearsprings Management Ltd. undertakes for the National Asylum Support Service; [100842]

Beverley Hughes: Clearsprings Management Ltd. has a contract with the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) to provide accommodation for destitute asylum seekers. As part of the contract, Clearsprings Management Ltd. is required to respect a confidentiality clause. This is primarily to protect the identities and location of asylum seekers accommodated within their properties. To enable it to comply with the terms of its contract with NASS, Clearsprings Management Ltd. would need to ensure that its contracts with subcontractors also included a confidentiality clause.

Correspondence

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer the letter dated 13 December 2002, from the hon. Member for Totnes, concerning the status of Mr. Fahrettin Yalcin of Brixham, Devon, which was transferred to his Department from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for reply; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in replying. [101771]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 7 March 2003]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 6 March.

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of (a) 13 November 2002, reference 22406/2 and (b) 26 September 2002, reference 19999/2; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the delay in replying. [96152]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 10 February 2003]: The information is as follows:

(a) I wrote to the hon. Member on 4 March in response to his letter of 13 November 2002.

(b) My noble Friend Lord Filkin, responded to the hon. Member's letter of 26 September on 11 February 2003.

10 Mar 2003 : Column 68W

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 23 December 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Ahmed. [98962]

Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 20 February 2003.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will reply to the letter to him dated 20 December 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Mark Kissingu; [100686]

Mr. Blunkett : I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 6 March 2003.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for what reasons he has not replied to the letter to him dated 23 December 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Lutfi; [100688]

Mr. Blunkett : I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 7 March 2003.

Criminal Records Bureau

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the inquiry headed by Patrick Carter into the Criminal Records Bureau cost. [100165]

Hilary Benn [holding answer 6 March 2003]: The estimate cost of the independent review of the Criminal Records Bureau is £585,000. This includes the costs of various consultancies in support of the review.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the vetting of nannies by the Criminal Records Bureau. [99552]

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.

Child care workers operating in child care settings regulated by Ofsted or the National Care Standards Commission are vetted through the Criminal Records Bureau. Nannies or other child care workers who care for children in the child's own home are not regulated by Ofsted, and therefore, are not vetted by the Criminal Records Bureau.

However, parents wanting to secure a nanny who has been vetted by the Bureau can go to a registered agency offering to supply such a nanny.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many volunteers have requested checks through the Criminal Records Bureau; how many have been processed; and when he expects the backlog to be cleared to meet the processing time target. [99651]

10 Mar 2003 : Column 69W

Hilary Benn: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has received 160,000 applications from people in the voluntary sector. To date 135,000 have been processed and a percentage of the outstanding applications are under three weeks old.

The latest figures show that 51,857 of all the applications being processed are older than three weeks, that is to say, outside the published service standard of three weeks. This figure does not include incomplete or incorrect applications that have had to be sent back to the customer before they can be processed.

I am unable to confirm exactly when the backlog of outstanding applications will be cleared. It is, however, falling steadily and equates to less than two weeks' output. When compared against the number of outstanding applications in October 2002, 115,483, and the last week in January 2003, 62,687, there has been a steady improvement in performance.

Emergency Planning

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent guidance on emergency planning has been issued to local authorities. [102134]

Mr. Alexander: I have been asked to reply.

The most recent guidance issued to local authorities, emergency services and other responding agencies on emergency planning was 'The Decontamination of people exposed to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) substances or material: Strategic National Guidance'. Its publication was announced in a Written Ministerial Statement by the Minister of State for the Home Department, on 3 February 2003, Official Report, column 3WS.

'Dealing with Disaster' (3rd Edition) is currently being revised and will be published by the middle of this year. This forms the core guidance to local authorities and other responders for emergency planning and response to all types of emergencies.

Guidance on the 'Response to the deliberate release of chemicals and biological agents: guidance to local authorities' was issued in October 2001 by the Cabinet Office. This is currently being updated by the Home Office and will be re-issued in the next two months.

Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to make available to the public an information booklet for emergency planning in the event of a terrorist attack; and if he will make a statement. [99112]

Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 25 February 2003]: The Government keeps under constant review its arrangements to ensure that the public has the best possible advice about the threat in the United Kingdom. Any general advice has to be carefully considered, to ensure that it is neither too vague nor too comprehensive to be useful, given the many different forms that threat may conceivably take. We already publish information on the current security position on the Government's emergency planning website, www.ukresilience.info, together with practical advice as and when necessary in connection with specific alerts, for example handling suspect packages. That site contains a wide range of emergency planning

10 Mar 2003 : Column 70W

information and links to other United Kingdom government department sites and related sites around the world, which interested members of the public can explore in depth. The Government will ensure that the advice which it provides strikes the right balance between keeping the public informed and not provoking unnecessary anxiety.

I also announced to the House on 3 March, a new website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism to ensure the public has more access to information about terrorism and how best to protect themselves.

Illegal Meat Imports

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted in the last 12 months for illegal importation of meat products in their personal luggage on arrival at UK airports. [100782]

Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.

Figures on prosecutions for the illegal importation of meat are not collected centrally. Responsibility for prosecutions lies with local authorities. We are, however, aware of one successful prosecution last year, brought by Crawley borough council in July 2002. The Corporation of London Port Health Authority issued six cautions in October 2002.

A decision to bring a prosecution before the courts is a matter for the enforcement authority. They would take a number of factors into account, including the weight of evidence to prove intent to break the laws in question, and the ability to bring the offender before the British courts. These criteria may not be easy to satisfy in the case of air passengers bringing in meat illegally, especially where small quantities are seized.

In many cases, other penalties may be more appropriate. Seizures are confiscated and destroyed. We have been working with the Home Office to add details of repeat offenders to the warning index used by immigration officers.

Next Section

Index

Home Page