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Probation Service
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the National Probation Service will publish an annual report. [124963]
Paul Goggins: The National Probation Service for England and Wales (NPS) was established by the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and came into existence on 1 April 2001. The NPS consists of 42 Local Probation Boards and a central administrative function provided by the National Probation Directorate (NPD).
Although the NPS does not produce a single service-wide annual report, each of the 42 probation boards is required under the Act to submit after the end of each financial year ending 31 March an annual report to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on the discharge of its functions, including how it has performed against its key targets, and its audited accounts.
The NPS publishes consolidated accounts of the local probation boards annually.
The NFS also regularly publishes results on key performance and National Standards information, showing local probation board comparisons. These performance reports along with information for practitioners, sentencers, offenders and the general public are posted on the NPS website at
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www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk. The most recent performance report (Number 8) gives up to date performance figures for the conclusion of year 2002–03.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of offenders completed Probation Service accredited programmes in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [124964]
Paul Goggins: In 2001–02 the percentage of offenders completing Probation Service accredited programmes, as a proportion of starts, was 37 per cent. This figure reached 48 per cent. in 2002–03. These are the national figures and are subject to variation from area to area.
It should be noted that, due to the nature of accredited programmes, offenders who start a programme in a given year do not necessarily complete the programme in that year.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the number of staff employed by the National Probation Directorate. [124966]
Paul Goggins: The National Probation Service was started in 2001 and the National Probation Directorate is still developing as the Home Office Headquarters for the National Probation Service. There are plans to increase staffing levels by 70 by April 2005.
Proceeds of Crime Act
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total value of assets and illegal gains confiscated from criminals is since the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 came into effect. [126510]
Caroline Flint: The confiscation powers in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 are triggered by offences committed after the provisions were brought into force on 24 March 2003, so it will be a while before cases are dealt with by the Crown Court in numbers. To date, two confiscation orders with a value of £53,000 have been made against convicted offenders in England and Wales. The value of cash seizures made under the new provisions in the Act which came into effect on 30 December 2002, and which are not dependent upon a conviction, is £28.5 million. In addition, the Assets Recovery Agency has obtained freezing orders from the High Court in London and Belfast on five civil recovery cases with a total value of £5.9 million.
Psychics
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in the last five years the Metropolitan police have employed the services of a psychic in the course of a criminal investigation; and at what cost. [124985]
Ms Blears: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that the information requested is not held centrally. If a Senior Investigating Officer forms a professional opinion that the engagement of such a service may further a particular inquiry or provide support from a family liaison perspective, he or she is at liberty to make appropriate arrangements.
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Remand Prisoners
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been on remand awaiting trial for (a) 24 to 30 months, (b) 30 to 36 months and (c) more than 36 months; of those, what the longest time spent on remand in prison awaiting trial is; and if he will make a statement. [124971]
Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member.
Royal Security
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase security for members of the Royal family on public occasions. [125997]
Mr. Blunkett: As you will appreciate, it would not be appropriate for me to comment upon the detail of royal security on the grounds that to do so may compromise the safety of those for whom such measures have been implemented. However, I can assure you that royal security arrangements are under constant review.
Sexual Offences
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has conducted
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on the number of individuals convicted of sexual offences against children who were themselves abused as juveniles; and if he will publish the results. [124126]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 7 July 2003]: The Home Office has not conducted any research on the number of individuals convicted of sexual offences against children who were themselves abused as juveniles.
The most recently available Home Office statistics show that in 2001 there were 2,410 convictions for sexual offences against children where the age of the victim was identified by the offence. No information about the background of these offenders is collected.
A review of the literature on sex offending against children (Grubin; 1998) commissioned by the Home Office summarises academic research on the association between being a victim and becoming an abuser. This is available at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm.
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted for having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor in the last five years for which statistics are available. [124399]
Paul Goggins: The available information is contained in the table.
Statistics for 2002 will be published in the autumn.
| Offence | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000(97) | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buggery by a male of a male under 16 | 107 | 124 | 140 | 105 | 111 |
| Buggery by a male with a female under 16 | 35 | 19 | 23 | 28 | 9 |
| Rape of a female aged under 16 | 592 | 698 | 714 | 659 | 919 |
| Rape of a male aged under 16 | 45 | 49 | 63 | 68 | 107 |
| Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 13 | 40 | 40 | 32 | 40 | 53 |
| Unlawful sexual intercourse with girl under 16 | 153 | 171 | 169 | 167 | 177 |
| Incest with a girl under 13 | 14 | 17 | 12 | 18 | 14 |
(96) These data are on the principal offence basis.
(97) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost. [126664]
Mr. Blunkett: Between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003, Special Advisers have accompanied myself abroad on five occasions 1 at an average total cost of £3,831 2 for all involved in the trip. The countries visited were Luxembourg, France and Denmark.
In addition, one official visit was made by a Special Adviser to France in November 2002 at a total cost of £546.86.
All travel by Special Advisers is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Civil Service Management Code.
1 Special Advisers also accompanied the Home Secretary to the USA during the period end March 2002/early April 2003. Costs for this trip fall with the current financial year.
2 The average cost of all trips involved is high as an RAF flight booked for one trip fell through at the last moment and attendance was only possible through a more expensive last minute charter.
Tagged Offenders
Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of tagged offenders who committed offences outside their curfew in each of the last three years; and what estimate he has made of the incidence of offenders removing their tags in order to commit unmonitored offences. [124844]
Paul Goggins: The data required to answer this question is not centrally available.
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