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9 Sept 2003 : Column 367W—continued
Drugs
Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of property crime is attributable to the misuse of Class A drugs. [127672]
Caroline Flint: Recorded crime figures include statistics on drugs offences, such as possession, and on property crimes, such as burglary, but do not record whether the latter are related to an offender's drug habits.
However, the Home Office sponsored New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) research programme, which involved interviewing and drug testing those arrested by the police, provides an insight into the proportion of crimes that are drug related.
Analysis of the data from the first eight sites in the survey, collected during 1999–2000, shows that 65 per cent. of arrestees tested positive for one or more illegal drug, with up to 29 per cent. testing positive for opiates (including heroin) and/or cocaine (including crack). Whilst users of both heroin and cocaine/crack represent just under one quarter of all arrestees interviewed in NEW-ADAM, they were responsible for more than three fifths of all the illegal income reported.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were of people accused of possessing Class A drugs in the most recent year for which figures are available. [128126]
Caroline Flint: There were 17,634 prosecutions for Class A drug possession offences, and 12,388 convictions, in 2000 in England and Wales.
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the size of the illegal drugs market in the UK in (a) 1997, (b) 2001 and (c) the present day. [128125]
Caroline Flint: The Home Office has only produced one estimate of the size of the illegal drugs market in the UK. This was for 1998. The estimated quantity of drugs consumed over the course of a year was estimated at 566 thousand kilogrammes (this did not include ecstasy tablets, which are measured in tablets not weight. The estimated number of ecstasy tablets for the same period was 27,000). In total the estimated value of illegal drugs for that year was £6.6 billion.
Criminal Justice Bill
Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for making appropriate treatment more widely available for the purposes of clause 16 of the Criminal Justice Bill. [127673]
Caroline Flint: We are already significantly expanding drug treatment provision for those referred from both the Criminal Justice system (CJS) and other sources, as part of the Updated Drug Strategy.
Additional resources are being made available to fund this expansion. The National Pooled Treatment Budget for 2002–03 was £191 million. In 2003–04 it will increase by 23.5 per cent to £236 million and will continue to rise to £299 million by 2005–06.
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Subject to Royal Assent of the Criminal Justice Bill, the provisions under Clause 19 ("Drug users: restriction on bail", previously Clause 16) will be piloted in a limited number of areas initially, and will only be brought into force in a given area where appropriate assessment and treatment are available.
Police Custody
Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people detained by police were released within (a) 24 hours and (b) 36 hours in the last 12 months; [127668]
- (2) how many of those detained by police were released within (a) 24 hours and (b) 36 hours in the last year for which figures are available. [128622]
Ms Blears: Information is not collected centrally on the number of people detained under Part IV of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 and released within 24 hours. The number of persons detained for more than 24 hours and released without charge within 36 hours is as follows:
| Year | Total | Released within 36 hours(per cent.) | Detained under warrant of further detention | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 674 | 603 | (89) | 71 |
| 1998–99 | 710 | 650 | (92) | 60 |
| 1999–2000 | 570 | 505 | (89) | 65 |
| 2000–01 | 525 | 449 | (86) | 76 |
| 2001–02(8) | 505 | 453 | (90) | 52 |
(8) Figures amended since publication of 2001/02 Bulletin.
Source:
Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/02: Arrest for Notifiable Offences and the Operation of Certain Police Powers under PACE, England and Wales 2001/02.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Sao Tome and Principe
Angus Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how much aid is spent multilaterally by the Department in Sao Tome and Principe (a) through the EU and (b) through the UN; and if he will make a statement. [127261]
Hilary Benn: In 2002, the EC spent Euro2.768 million in Sao Tome and Principe. Out of this, Euro1.993 million came from the European Development Fund (EDF) and Euro0.775 million from the EC's External Relations budget.
DFID's share of the EDF in 2002 was about 12 per cent. and of the EC Budget about 19 per cent.
In 2001, the latest year for which figures are available, the UN spent US$ 1.7 million on Sao Tome and Principe. The amount contributed by DFID to Sao Tome and Principe through the UN during this year is not available, although our core contribution to the UN agencies contributing to this country in 2001 was some £45 million.
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LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Parliamentary Hours
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Leader of the House if he will make a statement on changes to the sitting hours of the House. [128480]
Mr. Hain: In October last year a majority of Members voted to alter the sitting hours so that the House now sits from 11.30 am on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Standing Orders were changed for the rest of this Parliament, which will allow us a sufficient period to make a considered judgment on the effect of the changes.
SCOTLAND
Darwin Mounds
1. Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on his participation in discussions with (a) the European Commission and (b) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the Darwin Mounds. [128443]
Mrs. McGuire: Discussions involving the Government, the Scottish Executive and the European Commission led to the announcement of an EU ban on seabed trawling in the Darwin Mounds area on 20 August. The Government are proposing the notification of the Darwin Mounds as a Special Area of Conservation in a consultation paper issued today.
Common Agricultural Policy
7. Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the effect the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy will have on Scotland. [128449]
Mrs. McGuire: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs made a statement on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy on 26 June. The agreement to which she referred is a good agreement for farmers, consumers and taxpayers and for the environment in the whole of the United Kingdom, including Scotland.
Post Office Accounts
9. Mr. MacDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which banks with branches in Scotland have made agreements with the Post Office to allow the bank's customers to access their bank accounts via their local post offices. [128451]
Mrs. McGuire: All of the leading UK banks have made their basic bank accounts accessible at post offices as a result of the Post Office's Universal Banking Project. Agreements to access existing bank accounts at the Post Office are a commercial decision for the banks.
Scottish Agriculture College
11. Mr. Savidge: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to discuss the future of the Scottish Agriculture College with the Scottish Executive. [128453]
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Mrs. McGuire: The future of the Scottish Agriculture College is a matter for the Scottish Executive.
Winter Fuel Payments
12. Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in Scotland will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments in 2003–04; and if he will make a statement. [128454]
Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is not available, however the number of people in Scotland who received the Winter Fuel Payment in 2002–03 is estimated to have been 1,009,090, made up of 430,665 men and 578,425 women.
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many pensioner households are receiving winter fuel allowance in (a) Scotland, (b) Glasgow and (c) Glasgow, Anniesland. [128450]
Mrs. McGuire: In 2002/2003, 679,710 households in Scotland, 62,805 in the Glasgow parliamentary constituencies and 8,170 in Glasgow, Anniesland constituency are estimated to have received the winter fuel payment.
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