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25 Jun 2003 : Column 863W—continued
HOME DEPARTMENT
Unpaid Fines
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total amount of unpaid fines imposed by magistrates courts was on 31 March. [120922]
Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs) have a responsibility for the collection of a range of debts imposed by the magistrates courts and the crown court. Debt collected includes not only fines but also fees, compensation, confiscation orders, legal aid contributions and some maintenance orders. It is not at present possible to separate fines from the total. The England and Wales closing arrears total at 31 March 2003 was £276,870,306.
Animal Welfare
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2003 from the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Todd), Official Report, column 1005W, on animal welfare, what research his Department has commissioned into the effectiveness of (a) the inter-departmental Concordat on Data Sharing and (b) measures in finding alternative methods of testing other than using animals; and if he will make a statement. [120445]
Caroline Flint: The inter-Departmental Concordat on Data Sharing was announced in August 2000. Its aims included minimising data requirements for animal tests as far as possible, encouraging data sharing between clients, wherever appropriate, and seeking to overcome any procedural and legal barriers to data sharing. As it has now been in place for almost three years, we are reviewing its effectiveness. Accordingly, my hon.
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Friend the Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth), invited ministerial colleagues to review implementation of the Concordat and provide views on how it might be up dated.
As to other measures, every year the Home Office makes available to the Animal Procedures Committee (APC) a budget for the development and promotion of the 3Rs—alternatives which replace animal use, reduce the number of animals used, or refine the procedures involved to minimise suffering. Details of completed research are published in the Annual Report of the Animal Procedures Committee, which is available from The Stationery Office and on the Committee's website. The amount being made available to the Committee for 2003–04 is £280,000.
In addition, the Home Office leads the inter-Departmental Group on the 3Rs, whose terms of reference are to improve the application of the 3Rs and promote research into alternatives, reducing the need for toxicity testing through better sharing of data, and encouraging the validation and acceptance of alternatives. The Group is currently preparing revised guidance on the conduct of regulatory toxicology and safety evaluation studies and, arising from the Government response to the House of Lords Select Committee on animals in scientific procedures, has also been tasked with exploring the scope for a United Kingdom Centre for research into the 3Rs.
We were also a co-sponsor of the fourth World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences held in New Orleans in August 2002, publish a number of guidance and best practice documents on the Home Office web site and contribute regularly to events and activities intended to develop or promote work relating to the 3Rs.
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Asylum Seekers
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people have applied for asylum in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997; [121158]
- (2) what the average length of time is for the processing of applications for asylum made in Northern Ireland. [121159]
Beverley Hughes: Information on asylum applications in Northern Ireland is unavailable. Asylum applications data are not available at regional level except by port of application. Similarly information on the average length of time of initial decisions is also unavailable. The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 8 April 2003, Official Report, column 201W, on asylum seekers, if he will list the figures given in that answer in respect of the financial year 2002–03; and what estimate he has made of the amounts in 2003–04. [120358]
Beverley Hughes: Provisional figures for 2002–03 are reproduced in the table. Figures for this financial year 2003–04 are not yet available.
| 2002–03 | |
|---|---|
| Local Authorities | 99 |
| Private sector (including non-profit making organisations) | 241 |
| Total | 340 |
Note:
All figures are provisional and rounded to nearest £ million
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who entered the UK on a temporary work visa in each of the last three years subsequently claimed asylum. [120915]
Beverley Hughes: It is not possible to say precisely how many people who entered the UK on a temporary work permit and then subsequently applied for asylum. However the numbers are likely to be small. The nationalities of most people granted work permits are generally different from the nationalities of asylum seekers. The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
Burglary
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average sentence, in months, was for (a) low level burglary and (b) standard burglary in each year from 1995 to 2002. [109583]
Paul Goggins: The available information, relating to the average custodial sentence length for persons sentenced for burglary and aggravated burglary in England and Wales, 1995 to 2001, is contained in the table.
Further details about offences of burglary are not collected centrally, so that offences of low level burglary cannot be distinguished from standard burglary.
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Statistics for 2002 will be published in the autumn.
| Average custodial sentence length (months) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary | Aggravated burglary | |||
| In a dwelling | Other than in a dwelling | In a dwelling | Other than in a dwelling | |
| 1995 | 13.2 | 8.0 | (24)44.9 | 27.1 |
| 1996 | 15.6 | 7.8 | 44.0 | 51.3 |
| 1997 | 18.1 | 8.4 | 45.5 | 30.7 |
| 1998 | 17.9 | 8.6 | 46.0 | 38.8 |
| 1999 | 18.3 | 7.9 | 45.5 | 39.2 |
| 2000 | 18.6 | 8.3 | 48.6 | 49.0 |
| 2001 | 19.7 | 8.4 | 50.2 | 40.9 |
(23) These data are on the principal offence basis
(24) Excludes one person sentenced to life
Care Home Owners
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that care home owners who had volunteered to participate in the Criminal Records Bureau and their staff pay the existing fees rather than the proposed increased rate. [119808]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 17 June 2003]: The new Disclosure fees will apply to all applications, for which a fee is payable, received by the Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) on or after 1 July. Volunteers will continue to receive free Disclosures. As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 5 June 2003, Official Report, column 27WS, subject to consultation, applications for Disclosures for existing care home staff (that is, staff who were in post just before 1 April 2002) will need to be submitted to the CRB between 1 October and 30 November 2003. The Care Homes Regulations 2001, which came into force on 1 April 2002, require new care home staff to obtain a disclosure before starting work.
Criminal Justice Bill
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many clauses were (a) fully, (b) partially and (c) not debated during the Committe Stage of the Criminal Justice Bill. [119582]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 16 June 2003]: The debate of the Criminal Justice Bill was programmed. Of the 280 clauses contained in the Bill as amended in Standing Committee B, 174 clauses were fully debated. To dispose of business to be concluded at the times specified in the programme motion 7 clauses were partially debated and 99 clause were not debated before the question that they be ordered to stand part of the Bill was put to the Committee.
Criminal Records Bureau
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of Criminal Records Bureau standard searches have been outstanding for (a) over two weeks, (b) over four weeks and (c) over 10 weeks. [118510]
Paul Goggins: The information sought by the honourable Member is not available in the format requested. There are no IT procedures at present to
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differentiate between the number of outstanding Standard disclosures and the number of outstanding Enhanced Disclosures. The following is a breakdown of the total number of outstanding Disclosures held by the Criminal Records Bureau, for the periods requested. These figures do not include those applications where individuals have been asked to provide further information.
- Over 2 weeks—12,981
Over 4 weeks—6,424
Over 10 weeks—12,612
Paul Goggins [holding answer 12 June 2003]: The Home Office is continuing to maintain close contact with the major stakeholders and key players to gauge the level of demand for the Disclosure service. Taking into account the introduction of checks on care workers, announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 5 June 2003, Official Report, column 27WS, the Criminal Record Bureau forecast demand for £2.6 million Disclosures in 2003/04.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the income through charging of the Criminal Records Bureau, (a) prior to the implementation of proposed measures and (b) subsequent to this. [119335]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 13 June 2003]: Since its launch on 11 March 2002, the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has generated the following income from Registration and Disclosure fees:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1.5 |
| 2002–03 | 18.3 |
The Bureau has forecasted that its anticipated income through charging will be:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 56.1 |
| 2004–05 | 86.6 |
As with all Government fees and charges, the CRB operates on a cost-recovery basis and the rules preclude the Bureau from making a profit. This principle, laid down in Section 2 of Her Majesty's Treasury's "The Fees and Charges Guide" states that charges should normally be set to recover the full cost of the service. In all years, the CRB's operating costs are projected to exceed its income.
The Government made it clear when the £12 fee for a criminal record Disclosure certificate was originally announced in 2001 that the intention was for the CRB eventually to become self-financing and that fee levels would be regularly reviewed.
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It should be noted that volunteers will continue to receive free Disclosures. The CRB issued 202,000 Disclosures to volunteers up to 31 March 2003. This represents a saving of over £2.4 million to the voluntary and community sector.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criminal records checks are carried out in respect of new personnel in each of the probation areas in England and Wales; and if these checks changed after the creation of the Criminal Records Bureau in April 2002. [119782]
Paul Goggins: Since the creation of the Criminal Records Bureau in April 2002, all new employees who have direct contact with offenders, including probation officers, probation service officers, prison staff (including admin and clerical staff) and hostel workers are checked through the Bureau.
Prior to this they were checked via the relevant police force for the Probation Area.
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