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2 Jul 2003 : Column 327W—continued
Pathfinder Programmes
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when probation areas will be (a) able to get accreditation for domestic violence offender programmes and (b) eligible for funding. [122289]
Paul Goggins: The National Probation Service is developing two programmes for domestic violence offenders. One of them will be submitted for accreditation to the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel in October. If it gains accredited status it will be made available nationally, though the timing of implementation is still under consideration. The Panel will also be asked to comment on the other programme but this will require further work before it is ready to be formally submitted for accreditation.
Once the domestic violence programmes have been accredited and implemented areas will be able to count them towards the Probation Service Delivery Agreement for programme completion which attracts funding from the National Probation Directorate.
Priority Alert Scheme
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many subscribers use the City of London and Metropolitan Police Priority Alert Scheme; what the cost to (a) subscribers and (b) operators is; how many messages were issued in each case of the last five years; and for what purposes. [114720]
Keith Hill: I have been asked to reply.
In the Capital, the City of London and Metropolitan police's Priority Alert scheme now has in excess of 2,000 subscribers from London businesses. Each member pays £15 per month to subscribe a pager to receive information through the scheme. The police themselves incur no direct costs as the operators of the scheme.
Over the last five years, the Priority Alert scheme has sent over 1.8 million messages to its subscribers. The
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primary use of the system is associated with warning those subscribers of suspicious situations, potential terrorist activity and potential or actual demonstrations.
Rape Helpline
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will establish a 24-hour helpline for victims of rape. [121101]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 30 June 2003]: The Home Office is considering ways in which further support can be provided to victims of sexual crime. A national helpline for victims of rape is one of the possibilities under consideration.
The Home Office will consider this and other possibilities with the Department of Health and other interested Government Departments. Our conclusions on how best to take these complex issues forward will be made known as soon as possible.
Remand Prisoners
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female remand prisoners were subsequently (i) acquitted and (ii) sentenced to a non-custodial penalty in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [121964]
Paul Goggins: It is not possible to give a numerical breakdown based on the data received on remands. A number of police forces either do not supply remand data or provide remand data that are incomplete. In particular, the number remanded into custody is believed to be under-recorded. However, the data received can be used to derive estimates of the proportions of male and female remand prisoners who were subsequently either acquitted or sentenced to a non-custodial penalty. The attached table shows figures on this basis for 2001.
| Final court outcome(26) | Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acquitted etc | 21 | 21 | |
| Convicted: of which: | 78 | 78 | |
| Discharge Fine | 3 | 5 | |
| 4 | 5 | ||
| Community sentence(27) | 13 | 19 | |
| Fully suspended sentence | — | — | |
| Immediate custody(28) | 51 | 42 | |
| Otherwise dealt with(29) | 7 | 7 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
(24) Includes persons remanded in custody by magistrates during proceedings or on committal.
(25) The estimated percentages given above may not add to the total due to rounding.
(26) Includes estimated outcome at the Crown Court for those committed for trial or sentence.
(27) Includes community rehabilitation orders, supervision orders, community punishment orders, attendance centre orders, community punishment and rehabilitation orders, curfew orders, reparartion orders, action plan orders and drug treatment and testing orders.
(28) Includes detention in a young offender institution and unsuspended imprisonment.
(29) Includes compensation, hospital or guardianship order under Mental Health Act 1983, police cells, recognizance and other.
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Sentencing
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were sentenced by the courts in 2002, broken down by (a) type of disposal and (b) category of offence. [121963]
Paul Goggins: Court proceedings statistics for 2002 will be published in December 2003.
Victim Support
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what funding he has provided for Victim Support in England in each of the last six years; [117115]
- (2) what funding he has provided for the Witness Service in each of the last six years; [117116]
(3) what representations he has received on the funding of Witness Support Services in England; and if he will make a statement. [117117]
Paul Goggins: Home Office grant to local victim support schemes and witness services in England and Wales is channelled through the Victim Support National Office. The National Office currently retains some 12½ per cent. of the grant for central support and member services, and allocates the rest to local schemes and witness services. From October 2003, Victim Support will allocate the grant progressively according to a new funding formula, based on potential workload. This will ensure a more equitable distribution of the available grant to local schemes and witness services.
| Financial year | Total Home Office grant to Victim Support | Grant allocated to the Witness Service by Victim Support |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 12.682 | n/a |
| 1998–99 | 12.682 | n/a |
| 1 999–2000 | 17.500 | n/a |
| 2000–01 | 18.550 | 3.859 |
| 2001–02 | 25.050 | 7.427 |
| 2002–03 | 29.300 | (30)(4.606) |
(30) First six months of the financial year only
Some 20 Members have made representations about the level of Home Office funding for Victim Support in the current financial year—which has been further increased by 2.4 per cent. to £30 million. There have been no representations specifically about the funding of the Witness Service.
Young Offenders
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were placed in intensive supervision and surveillance programmes by police authorities in the last year for which figures are available. [121871]
Paul Goggins: The number of young offenders who have started on the scheme between 1 June 2002 and 31 May 2003 is set out in descending order. In some of the areas the scheme has been available only partway through that period.
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| Police force area | Number of young offenders started on the scheme |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan | 589 |
| Greater Manchester | 423 |
| West Yorkshire | 281 |
| West Midlands | 232 |
| Merseyside | 196 |
| Northumbria | 183 |
| Staffordshire | 155 |
| South Wales | 151 |
| Lancashire | 141 |
| South Yorkshire | 126 |
| Cleveland | 121 |
| Nottinghamshire | 121 |
| Kent | 77 |
| Durham | 72 |
| Hampshire | 72 |
| Leicestershire | 69 |
| Gwent | 63 |
| Avon and Somerset | 62 |
| North Yorkshire | 59 |
| Thames Valley | 59 |
| North Wales | 55 |
| Cambridgeshire | 53 |
| Suffolk | 48 |
| West Mercia | 45 |
| Bedfordshire | 30 |
Youth Courts
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time is from offence to completion in the youth courts for those defendants not identified as persistent young offenders. [121962]
Paul Goggins: The average time from offence to completion in the youth courts for those defendants not identified as persistent young offenders was 95 days in 2002.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Agriculture
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people are employed (a) directly and (b) indirectly in the agricultural industry in each constituency in Northern Ireland. [122552]
Mr. Pearson: The information is as follows:
(a) The numbers employed directly on farms in each constituency are in the following table.
Note:
These figures include farmers, partners, spouses, family and hired workers, whether full-time, part-time or employed on a casual or seasonal basis.
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(b) Details of indirect employment are not available except at Northern Ireland level. Employment in the food and drinks processing sector was estimated as 18,300 persons in 2001 and a further 4,400 persons were estimated to be employed in the agricultural supply sector.
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