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11 Mar 2003 : Column 198W—continued
Young Offenders
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people (a) are being (b) have been held in young offender institutions in each of the last five years. [95990]
Hilary Benn: The data requested is given in the table.
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| June 1998 | June 1999 | June 2000 | June 2001 | June 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young offender institutions | 5,614 | 5,170 | 5,251 | 5,340 | 5,518 |
| Juvenile institutions(4) | 1,661 | 1,641 | 1,847 | 2,768 | 2,991 |
| Total young people in all Prison Service establishments(5) | 11,550 | 11,293 | 11,231 | 11,054 | 11,610 |
(4) There were no female juvenile institutions prior to 2002.
(5) Young people are those under the age of 21. Those under the age of 18 are classified as juveniles, and those aged 18–20 are classified as young offenders.
Asylum Seekers
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local drop-in centres for asylum seekers there were in each of the last five years; and who provided the service. [102464]
Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the precise format requested. As part of the new support arrangements which came into force on 3 April 2000 the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has provided grant funding to six voluntary sector organisations to provide a network of one stop services for asylum seekers. The organisations are the Refugee Council; Refugee Action; Refugee Arrivals Project; Migrant Helpline; Welsh Refugee Council and Scottish Refugee Council. Between them they run 28 one stop services across the United Kingdom. We have no central record of other drop in centres which are not funded by NASS.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are residing in Coventry; and how many have been placed in Coventry in the last three months. [101665]
Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the form requested.
Information on the location of asylum seekers in the UK is currently linked to the support the asylum seeker receives. Asylum seekers in the UK either receive support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), local authorities or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), or are supporting themselves.
As at the end of December 2002, NASS was supporting 1,595 asylum seekers (including dependants) in accommodation in Coventry. A further 190 asylum seekers (including dependants) were receiving subsistence only support from NASS and were staying in Coventry. 1
From grant claims sent to the Home Office by local authorities, as at the end of December 2002, there were 35 single asylum seekers and 20 asylum seeker families being supported by local authorities in Coventry.
The number of asylum seekers dispersed by NASS to Coventry over the past three months is not available.
Statistics on the number of asylum seekers supported by NASS in each local authority are available on the Home Office's Immigration and Asylum Statistics website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
- 1 All figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
Aviation Security
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to
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the impact upon the Metropolitan Police Service of the potential use of hand-held surface to air missiles on aviation security. [100719]
Mr. Blunkett: Action has been taken to secure the critical ground around airports and full consideration is being given to the impact on the Police Service of this threat.
This is a sensitive issue, on which it is naturally important to avoid providing information which could be of assistance to terrorists.
Cannabis
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of (a) the amount of cannabis supplied and (b) the number of cannabis users in (i) the Ribble Valley and Fulwood, (ii) Lancashire, (iii) the North West of England, (iv) Wales and (v) England in each of the last six years. [100962]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: No estimates are currently available on the amount of cannabis supplied for the areas identified.
The British Crime Survey is able to provide estimates of the proportion of cannabis users in an area (aged between 16 and 59 years old). However, this information is available only at the regional or country level.
| 1996 | 1998 | 2000 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North West | 8.7 | 9.8 | 12.4 | 11.9 |
| England | 9.7 | 10.4 | 10.6 | 10.7 |
| Wales | 6.0 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 7.0 |
| England and Wales | 9.5 | 10.3 | 10.5 | 10.6 |
There was a statistically significant increase in last year use of cannabis in the North West between the 1996 and 2000 British Crime Survey. Similarly, there was a significant increase in last year use of cannabis in England between the 1996 and 2000 British Crime Survey. From the 1996 British Crime Survey to date, there has been no significant change in the proportion of people in Wales having used cannabis in the last year.
The 1998 British Crime Survey estimates that the proportion of 16 to 59 year olds using cannabis in the last year in the North West was statistically higher than in England (9.8 per cent. and 10.4 per cent. respectively). In all other years, there is no significant difference in the proportion of users.
Correspondence
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will reply to the
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letter to him dated 19 December 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Amir Chaudhry; [100689]
- (2) when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 19 December from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Amir Chaudhry. [102188]
Mr. Blunkett : A reply regarding this case was sent to my right hon. Friend's office on 11 March 2003.
Criminal Justice Bill
Mr. Marshall-Andrews: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a trial judge sitting alone under clauses 38 and 40 of the Criminal Justice Bill will consider evidence of allegations relating to jury tampering in the absence of the defendant. [102081]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 10 March 2003]: Evidence of allegations relating to jury tampering will be considered inter partes in accordance with standard practice. If, however, information relating to jury tampering is imparted to a judge on an ex parte public interest immunity application, it will be dealt with in accordance with current public interest immunity procedures.
Mr. Marshall-Andrews: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a successful application by the prosecution under clauses 38 and 40 of the Criminal Justice Bill will apply to all defendants tried on the same indictment. [102083]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 10 March 2003]: A successful application by the prosecution under clause 38, or a decision by a judge to discharge the jury and continue the trial sitting alone, or order a new trial without a jury under clause 40, would apply to all defendants tried on the same indictment. This would happen in all cases, subject to a successful application for severance of the indictment, which would be determined at the discretion of the judge.
Mr. Marshall-Andrews: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complex or lengthy trials, as defined by clause 37 of the Criminal Justice Bill, were tried by jury trial in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001; and how many were not serious fraud trials in each case. [102084]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 10 March 2003]: The Criminal Justice Bill makes provision, in clause 37, for the prosecution to apply for certain long or complex trials to be conducted without a jury. The circumstances under which a trial can be conducted without a jury under clause 37 are likely to apply to a range of offences. It is therefore not possible to supply the statistics requested. However, the Government do not expect there to be more than 15 to 20 such trials each year.
Mr. Marshall-Andrews: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a trial judge sitting alone under clause 37 of the Criminal Justice Bill will conduct applications relating to Public Interest Immunity in chambers in the absence of the defendant. [102082]
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Hilary Benn [holding answer 10 March 2003]: Applications for non-jury trials under clause 37 made on the basis of information imparted to the judge on an ex parte public interest immunity application will be made in accordance with current Public Interest Immunity procedures.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of real spending by his Department in each year from 1980–81 to 2005–06 (planned) at 2000–01 prices; and if he will make a statement. [99882]
Mr. Blunkett: The available information is set out in the following table.
Figures for spending before 1985–86 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
| Financial year | Expenditure(6) |
|---|---|
| 1985–86 | 4,958,000 |
| 1986–87 | 5,285,000 |
| 1987–88 | 5,565,849 |
| 1988–89 | 5,534,148 |
| 1989–90 | 5,869,193 |
| 1990–91 | 6,466,092 |
| 1991–92 | 6,946,235 |
| 1992–93 | 7,036,640 |
| 1993–94 | 7,036,242 |
| 1994–95 | 7,225,539 |
| 1995–96 | 7,280,656 |
| 1996–97 | 7,117,909 |
| 1997–98 | 7,221,273 |
| 1998–99 | 8,434,889 |
| 1999–2000 | 8,443,276 |
| 2000–01 | 9,345,305 |
| 2001–02 | 9,997,180 |
| 2002–03 | 11,331,924 |
| 2003–04 | 11,663,355 |
| 2004–05 | 11,622,541 |
| 2005–06 | 12,022,156 |
(6) At 2000–01 prices
The major reasons for the increases in expenditure since 1997–98 include:
Increased police numbers and increased funding in support services for the police, in particular the development of science and technology support.
Funding new services including: Youth Justice Board, Crime Reduction Programme, Electronic Monitoring, Criminal Justice Information Technology, Victim Support
and the Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses and the Home Office's contribution to the departmental cross cutting Criminal Justice System fund.
Transfer of asylum support and associated responsibilities from other Government Departments and the increase in asylum numbers in recent years.
Additional funding for improving conditions in prisons and development of programmes to reduce re-offending as well as the increase in the prison population.
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