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7 Jul 2003 : Column 644W—continued
Police Radio Communications
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the Public Safety Radio Communications Project; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the operation of the system on the health of (a) the general public and (b) those using the system. [121942]
Ms Blears: The Public Safety Radio Communications Project is now known as Airwave and is currently being rolled out to all police forces in England, Wales and Scotland. The Airwave service is currently available to 14 forces and completion of the rollout is expected by mid-2005.
We have taken independent expert advice on the health and safety aspects of the TETRA technology used by Airwave. The experts concluded that the specific features of TETRA were unlikely to pose a risk to the health of either the public or those using the system.
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We have set up an extensive programme of work monitored by independent scientists to address remaining areas of uncertainty. This has confirmed that all Airwave equipment conforms to international health and safety regulations. No adverse health effects have been found so far. Regular updates are available on our website (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/tetra.html).
TETRA
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 462W, to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley), on TETRA, what funds have been allocated to the national health monitoring study of Airwave police users; and when he expects the study to report. [121852]
Ms Blears: £5 million has been allocated for the national health monitoring study of Airwave police users. This work includes two components: a long-term study to follow-up over 100,000 Airwave police users over 15 years, and a shorter-term detailed study of a small group of police officers. The detailed study will report after three years. The long-term study is statistical in nature and many years of data will be required to produce reliable results. An interim report will be available once five full years of data have been collected, some seven years from the start of the work. Regular updates on progress will be available on our website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/tetra.html.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many masts each of the police constabularies have in their area for use by the new TETRA system; how many new masts are required by each constabulary to ensure full service for the system; and what the anticipated date is by which each constabulary will have full coverage. [122147]
Ms Blears: Airwave is the new TETRA radio system for police forces in England, Wales and Scotland. The network is the responsibility of Airwave 02, the Private Finance Initiative partner for Airwave. It is estimated that around 3,000 masts will be required to provide coverage for Airwave across the country. Final figures for the number of new masts in each constabulary will not be available until the end of the rollout, as adjustments will continue to be made across the system in order to optimise coverage. Airwave is currently available to 14 forces and the rollout is expected to be complete by mid-2005.
Robbery/Burglary Victims
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of (a) serious injury and (b) death there have been involving victims of (i) robbery and (ii) burglary in each of the past five years. [122111]
Ms Blears: (a) Data on the number of cases of serious injury involving victims of (i) robbery and (ii) burglary are not held centrally. The British Crime Survey (BCS) collects some information on injuries sustained in violent incidents. Violent incidents from the BCS can be classified into a violence typology comprised of domestic, mugging, stranger and acquaintance incidents. Violent crime from the BCS can also be
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separated into robbery, wounding, common assault, and snatch theft. The information regarding injuries sustained for this latter breakdown is not published prior to 2001–02 BCSinterviews.
Mugging is a popular rather than a legal term, comprising robbery, attempted robbery and snatch theft from the person. The BCS does not cover incidents against those aged under 16 or those not living in private households. Available information is given in the following table.
| 1998 | 2000 | 2001–02 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minor bruise/black eye | 24 | 14 | 15 | 18 |
| Severe bruising | 14 | 12 | 17 | 21 |
| Scratches | 7 | 10 | 6 | 7 |
| Cuts | 12 | 4 | 11 | 13 |
| Broken bones | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Notes:1. Results for muggings should be treated with caution due to the small number of incidents.
2. More than one type of physical injury may have occurred.
3. More than one response was allowed.
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robbery | 23 | 28 | 23 | 23 | 37 |
| Burglary | 13 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 12 |
| Total | 36 | 41 | 32 | 26 | 49 |
Data as at 8 October 2002, figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information becomes available.
Security (Royal Palaces)
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of security at royal palaces; and if he will make a statement. [121918]
Mr. Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 867.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional security measures have been put in place at royal palaces at Windsor Castle since 21 June 2003. [121949]
Mr. Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to my statement to the House on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 867. As she will appreciate, I cannot comment on the detail of security measures in place at Windsor Castle or other royal palaces, as to do so may compromise the safety of those the measures are designed to protect.
Staff Numbers
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff the Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which the
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Department is responsible had in each year since 1997; and what the cost of those staff was in each of those years. [122253]
Fiona Mactaggart: Details of how many staff were in the Home Department and each agency and each non-departmental public body for which the Home Department is responsible, and their costs, are found in the annual Home Office Departmental Reports and in each individual body's annual report. All annual reports are presented to Parliament and copies are placed in the Library. The majority of the bodies have also posted recent annual reports on their websites.
Sunset Clauses
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause. [120840]
Fiona Mactaggart: The subject matter of much Home Office legislation is such that a sunset clause would be inappropriate. For example, the criminal law, rules on citizenship and immigration, the regulation of the police and the prisons are all topics on which it is unrealistic to believe that the controls can simply be abandoned. A sunset clause would just necessitate further legislation. Such a clause is included, however, in exceptional cases (such as in respect of some of the powers in the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001).
Under-age Drinking
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) retail outlets and (b) licensees were prosecuted for illegally providing alcohol to people aged under 18 during the last 12 months for which figures are available. [122011]
Ms Blears: 155 persons were proceeded against in England and Wales in 2001 for the offence of 'Selling etc, intoxicating liquor to persons under 18 for consumption on the premises'. It is not possible in the statistics collected centrally, however, to distinguish between retail outlets and licensees.
Statistics for 2002 will be available in December 2003.
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HEALTH
"Liberating the Talents"
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress made in implementing the recommendations in Liberating the Talents, published in 2002. [122458]
Mr. Hutton: Liberating the Talents provides a new framework for nursing in primary care to support the delivery of the NHS Plan. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to determine how they wish to implement the recommendations locally. PCTs are being supported by the Department to take forward Liberating the Talents through a range of work programmes. Workshops have been held in 26 of the 28 strategic health authorities for 290 PCTs, core elements of the framework have been included in the new general medical services contract and a guide one stablishing nurses with special interests has been published. The NHS University is piloting a learning programme to support nurses to provide first contact care, a new model of nurse-led managed care for patients at risk is being piloted in ten PCTs and we have set upinitiatives to support recruitment and retention of nurses in primary care.
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