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1 Sept 2003 : Column 986W—continued
Mugging/Robbery Victims
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2003, Official Report, column 647W, on robbery/burglary victims, how many injuries were sustained in muggings and robberies in each year. [125796]
Ms Blears: Data on the number of injuries sustained in muggings and robberies in the specified years is not published. However, the British Crime Survey (BCS) is able to provide trend estimates of the number of incidents of mugging and robbery in England and Wales (Table A), additionally the BCS also collects information on the proportion of violent incidents involving injury (Table B). Violent incidents from the BCS can be classified into a violence typology comprising domestic, mugging, stranger and acquaintance incidents. Violent crime from the BCS can also be 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 BCS interviews. 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, nor those not living in private households.
| 1997 | 1999 | 2001–02 BCS interviews | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robbery | 339 | 413 | 362 |
| Mugging | 423 | 472 | 441 |
| Mugging | Robbery | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 2000 | 2001–02 | 2001–02 | |
| No physical injury | 57 | 71 | 70 | 63 |
| 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.
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Nadhmi Auchi
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 19 May 2003 to the Member for North Norfolk, Official Report, column 645W, if he will list those who made representations in this case, broken down by (a) hon. Members, (b) peers and (c) others. [117406]
Caroline Flint: I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 14 July 2003, Official Report, column 391W.
Oakington Immigration Reception Centre
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recommendations have been made by the Immigration Security advisers concerning security at the Oakington Immigration Reception Centre. [116100]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 5 June 2003]: The Immigration Service Operational Security advisers have recommended the perimeter security of the residential units be enhanced to ensure that detainees do not leave units without being observed.
They further recommended that staff patrol the perimeter of the establishment, with clear instructions of their role to prevent escapes from the establishment.
Both these recommendations have been accepted, and are in the process of being implemented.
Official Spelling
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that official (a) correspondence, (b) reports and (c) documentation from his office uses the English spelling of words where this differs from the US version. [118864]
Fiona Mactaggart: Great care is taken to ensure that all documentation produced by the Home Office, whether letters, reports, electronic communications or other material, is written clearly and correctly. However, the Department produces thousands of letters and publications a year and it is not practicable to ensure that the English spelling of words is used in every single item of correspondence.
The Cabinet Office has issued guidance for departments on the handling of ministerial and other correspondence which emphasises that appropriate arrangements should be in place to ensure that the quality of all replies is high. It has also issued guidance on Plain Written English.
Work is being undertaken in the Department to run Plain English workshops for staff which, will be reflected in future communications from the Department.
Operation Antler
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the outcome of Operation Antler. [125654]
Ms Blears: Under Operation Antler, Wiltshire constabulary have investigated the issues surrounding the Service Volunteer Programme at Porton Down in
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relation to experiments conducted into the use of chemical and biological agents during the period 1939 to 1989. The Crown Prosecution Service announced on 8 July 2003 that there should be no prosecution of any person for any criminal offences arising from evidence reviewed to date on allegations made about experiments carried out on human volunteers at Porton Down, Wiltshire from 1939 to 1989.
As inquiries continue in one further case it would be inappropriate for me to make a statement on the outcome of Operation Antler at this stage.
Overtime Payments
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on staff overtime in (a) the police service, (b) the Prison Service and (c) the Probation Service in the last five years for which figures are available. [124973]
Ms Blears: Figures for the amount spent on overtime in the police service are currently only available centrally for 2001–02 with a total UK spend of £400,392,000. This was made up of £319,620,000 for England and Wales, £26,097,000 for Scotland and £54,675,000 for Northern Ireland. Details of overtime payments for other years have not been aggregated.
Figures for overtime paid in the prison service are only available for the year 2002–03 when £12,878,000 was spent.
The figures for overtime paid by the National Probation Service are unavailable centrally, as the information is held on an individual basis by each of the 42 Probation Areas. An exercise to establish a central record is under way. I have asked for these overtime figures to be obtained for collation by officials in the National Probation Directorate. I will write to the hon. Member once I have this information.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Pudsey, on 2 May 2003, ref 116897. [125788]
Ms Blears: I apologise for the delay in replying. I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 15 July 2003, Official Report, column 278W.
Parole
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners have been denied parole in each of the last five years on the sole basis that they deny their guilt; if he will make it his policy to end this practice where risk of re-offending is deemed minimal; and if he will make a statement; [121626]
- (2) how many prisoners have been offered a place on a sex offender's training programme and declined to participate in each of the past five years; and what effect this has on a prisoner's privileges. [121627]
Paul Goggins: Information on the number of prisoners applying for parole and who deny their guilt is not centrally recorded by the Prison Service and to
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provide it would be at disproportionate cost. Since January 2003, however, the Parole Board has begun to collate this data and the results are likely to be published in its future annual reports.
There is no rule or policy which prevents a prisoner who denies his or her guilt from progressing through the system, or from being released on parole licence. Such prisoners may be granted parole if their risk is assessed as having been reduced to a level that is compatible with the protection of public safety.
Peace Watch
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost has been of the policing of the Peace Watch demonstration at Gate 10, RAF Fairford; what proportion of this cost was paid for from the Gloucestershire Constabulary budget; how many (a) demonstrators and (b) police were present on each day of the demonstration; and who authorised the notices warning of the authorisation of deadly force to be placed on fences at RAF Fairford. [124194]
Ms Blears: The Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary informs me that he is not able to identify separate costing for policing the Peace Watch demonstration at Gate 10. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has agreed to pay special grant towards the additional costs of policing operations at RAF Fairford.
I understand that for the duration of the Peace Camp there were between 20 and 30 demonstrators. As a general rule there was a unit of one sergeant and six constables in the vicinity of the Peace Camp. Under US service regulations it is normal procedure to place warning notices in particularly sensitive areas within military establishments. Thousands of these notices are used by US military forces around the world to delineate sensitive areas. The reference to the authorisation of deadly force, placed on internal fences only, did not intend to imply that any blanket pre-authorisation had been given.
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