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2 Apr 2003 : Column 752W—continued
Correspondence
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter dated 19 February from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding his constituent Mr. N. Stagg of Turriff. [105139]
Beverley Hughes: The reply to the hon. Member was sent by my noble Friend (Lord Filkin) on 27 March.
Criminal Records Checks
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend Criminal Records Bureau checks to those who are associated with companies providing (a) services and (b) accommodation to vulnerable people. [105307]
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Hilary Benn: All posts or positions which fall within the scope of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 are eligible for a Standard Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau. Those which are also within the terms of section 115 of the Police Act 1997 are eligible for an enhanced disclosure. Providers and managers of, for example, children's homes, adult care homes, domiciliary care agencies and nurses agencies are amongst those which are subject to such checks on a mandatory basis under relevant regulations.
Employees of companies providing services or accommodation to vulnerable people who are not covered by the exceptions order will be eligible for a basic disclosure. Priority is being given to ensuring that the demand for standard and enhanced disclosures is fully met, but the aim is to introduce basic disclosures as soon as practicable.
Departmental Telephone Directory
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the most recent internal telephone directory for the Department was published; how often it is updated; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [102029]
Beverley Hughes: The internal phone directory of the Home Department is only available electronically and is updated on a daily basis. It is not published and is for internal use within the Department.
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Domestic Violence
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the report on the inter-personal violence module included in the 2001 British Crime Survey on domestic violence will be published. [106255]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 1 April 2003]: The 2001 British Crime Survey (BCS) contained an inter-personal violence self-completion module, designed to estimate the extent of domestic violence, sexual victimisation and stalking.
Analysis of data from this module is under way, and we hope to publish the results this summer.
Drug Dependency (Prisoners)
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer to the honourable Member for Tunbridge Wells of 24 February, Official Report, column 110W, on drug dependency (prisoners), if he will list the drugs recorded by mandatory drugs testing in prisons over the time period referred to. [105675]
Hilary Benn: The percentage of positive random mandatory drug tests for prisons in England and Wales broken down by drug group over the time period requested are set out in the following table.
| Financial Year | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | |
| Total (%)(11) | 24.4 | 20.8 | 18.3 | 14.2 | 12.4 | 11.6 |
| Cannabis | 20.2 | 17.2 | 14.5 | 10.4 | 7.5 | 6.8 |
| Opiates | 5.5 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
| Cocaine | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Benzodiazepines | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Methadone | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Amphetamines | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Barbiturates | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Buprenorphine(12) | 1.2 | 1.2 | ||||
(11) These figures reflect overall misuse—e.g. single positive test may comprise multiple drug positives reflecting poly drug use.
(12) Buprenorphine testing is conducted only in the North East and Yorkshire areas.
English Civil War Pamphlets
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what cataloguing of his Department's collection of English Civil War pamphlets has taken place; and whether such a catalogue will be made available to the public. [106488]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 1 April 2003]: None of the English Civil War pamphlets in the Home Office Library's collection have been catalogued by the Library staff.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions have taken place in the last two years concerning the future of his Department's collection of Civil War pamphlets; and if he will make a statement. [106489]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 1 April 2003]: Staff in The Home Department's Library have held internal discussions relating to the future of the Department's collection of Civil War pamphlets. These discussions formed part of the Library's continual review of its collections and holdings and identified the need to investigate a more secure home for this collection where improved public access can be granted.
Mr. Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements exist to permit public access to his Department's collection of English Civil War pamphlets. [106490]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 1 April 2003]: There is no general public access to the Home Office Library where this material is held. Bona fide researchers are permitted access by prior appointment only to refer to material not available elsewhere.
Mr. Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what English Civil War pamphlets are held by his Department; and how many of these are unique. [106491]
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Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 1 April 2003]: The collection of English Civil War pamphlets held in the Home Department's Library consists of over 900 items bound into 17 volumes. The Library has not compiled a catalogue of these individual items.
It follows that it has not been possible to determine which items are unique. To do so would also require access to a range of specialist catalogues that the Library does not hold.
Experience Corps
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inquiries he has received from residents of the Buckingham constituency about setting up Experience Corps in the last 12 months. [104690]
Beverley Hughes: The Home Office is not aware of any enquiries from residents of the Buckingham constituency about setting up theExperience Corps. However, the Experience Corps operates on a regional basis and there have been 14,053 enquiries to their west region, which includes Buckingham, in the 12 months ending 24 March 2003.
Helplines
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 11 February, Official Report, columns 719–20, on telephone helplines, how many calls were made to those helplines charged at national and premium rates in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by each telephone number; and what the average duration of the calls was. [105889]
Beverley Hughes: This information is not kept and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Police Service
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues about the police services that exist separate to the police services of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. [106474]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Home Office does not have lead responsibility for the police services that exist separate to the regular police forces of England and Wales. However, wherever there are issues that impact either on the relationship between such non-Home Office police forces and the regular police forces in England and Wales, or on policing generally, the Home Office will discuss these issues with the relevant lead department to endeavour to deliver the best joined-up policing on the ground.
The Home Office has had recent significant discussions with the Department for Transport on building on the already close operational integration between the British Transport Police (BTP) and the Metropolitan Police Service, in particular with regards to BTP's contribution to the Street Crime Initiative in London. The Home Office has also supported the Department for Transport's proposals to modernise the BTP in the current Railways and Transport Safety Bill,
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and the Department for Trade and Industry's similar proposals for the UK Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the (a) training, (b) ethical and (c) professional standards that apply to the police forces which exist outside the regular police service. [106475]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Home Department does not have lead responsibility for the police forces that exist outside of the regular police service. Lead responsibility resides with the relevant Government Department. I will continue to support and assist my ministerial colleagues with responsibility for forces which exist outside the regular police service, in all of their efforts to ensure that such forces meet the training, ethical and professional standards appropriate to their policing role.
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