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6 Oct 2003 : Column 1251W—continued

Shop Workers (Violence)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers on its campaign to try to prevent violence against shop workers. [130580]

Ms Blears: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has accepted an invitation from the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) to attend

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the launch of their "National Respect for Shop Workers" day which took place on 17 September 2003. Separate meetings are being held by Home Office Ministers with USDAW representatives.

The Government are very grateful to USDAW for the work it has undertaken to raise awareness of this issue. We fully understand the detrimental effect crime against business has throughout the community and the damaging effect on people's lives, their businesses and their families. Any form of violence is totally unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

Somali Community

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what organisations representing the Somali community he has met in development of his Department's multi-ethnic policies. [129742]

Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 15 September 2003]: A number of organisation representing the Somali community have met officials at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate or participated in Home Office research projects relating to asylum seekers and refugee integration.

Stewart Report

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account he took of the recommendation of the Stewart Report that amplitude modulation around 16 Hz should be avoided in the commissioning of the new police TETRA telecommunications systems; and what assessment he has made of the implications of the information available on potential health problems arising from this system for the continued use of the system. [129765]

Ms Blears: The Stewart report stated that "as a precautionary measure, amplitude modulation around 16 Hz should be avoided, if possible, in future developments in signal coding". TETRA technology was already well established at the time the Stewart report was published.

Expert advice was sought from the National Radiological Protection Board's independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR). The AGNIR experts concluded that it was unlikely that the special features of TETRA technology could pose a risk to health.

In addition, as recommended by AGNIR, the Home Office has set up an extensive research programme on the potential health effects of TETRA. All results to date confirm that TETRA technology is safe. Further information is available on the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/tetra.html).

Street Crime Courts

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the establishment of designated street crime courts. [130513]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

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The Street Crime Initiative (SCI) was a co-ordinated inter-departmental and inter-agency response to escalating robbery figures early in 2002. The 70 designated courts were part of the contribution which the Court Service provided to the SCI.

The 26 Crown Courts and 44 magistrates courts have been collecting and providing data to the Department on a monthly basis and the monitoring of the throughput of cases continues. Street crime cases are not fast tracked but special attention is given to them to avoid unnecessary delay. The latest data presented to the Prime Minster's Street Crime Action Group Meeting in July revealed that street crime cases were disposed of, on average, within 135 days, compared to 178 days in respect of non-street crime cases proceeding in the same courts. All courts were well within the Department for Constitutional Affairs' target for the Crown Court, which is that 78 per cent. of cases sent to them should be listed within 182 days.

Vehicle Crime

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress in meeting his target to reduce vehicle crime by 30 per cent. by 2004. [130489]

Ms Blears: We have made significant progress towards meeting our target of reducing vehicle crime by 30 per cent. between 1999 and 2004. British Crime Survey estimates based on interviews in the year ended March 2003 (published in July 2003) show 2,366,000 vehicle crimes. This is a reduction of 576,000 offences (20 per cent.) against the 1999 baseline of 2,942,000 offences (published as British Crime Survey 2000).

We recognise the importance of driving down vehicle crime still further, and a wide range of work is in progress to this end.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the national publicity campaign to highlight how to avoid becoming a victim of vehicle crime. [130508]

Ms Blears: The campaign, which is now in its fourth year, continues to achieve its objectives of successfully getting across to motorists key car crime prevention messages and engaging "brand partners" (that is, private companies and other organisations) to amplify those messages to their customers and staff.

Research shows that 84 per cent. of those sampled recognised the vehicle crime prevention advertising when prompted and, of these, 88 per cent. claimed they made sure that nothing was left on view when they parked in a public place. These are very high rates. In addition, 19 "brand partners" have joined the campaign, undertaking marketing activity to a value of over £3.2 million and extending the reach of the campaign to an equivalent audience of 35 million people.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evaluation has been made of the impact of the pilot exercises, using the DVLA database to communicate car crime prevention measures. [130509]

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Ms Blears: The initiative was piloted in parts of Bristol, Coventry and Middlesbrough local authority areas for 12 weeks from 28 October 2002. Vehicle crime figures for the precise areas covered by the pilots are not available. But figures for larger areas covering central Bristol and Middlesbrough showed reductions of 22 per cent. and 23 per cent. respectively in the period November 2002-January 2003 when the pilots were running. Coventry's vehicle crime figures showed no change.

Recipients of car crime prevention advice in the pilots were sent questionnaires seeking their views on the exercise. A total of 627 recipients responded and 95 per cent. of the responses were supportive. The Association of Chief Police Officers, the Local Government Association and the three local authorities involved all thought the initiative was worthwhile and should be expanded.

Voluntary Community Activities

Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of (a) the number of people engaged in voluntary community activities and (b) the total number of man hours of voluntary community service delivered in each of the last seven years. [130702]

Fiona Mactaggart: The information is as follows:

(a) The 2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey, published on 16 September 2003, provides the following information on "voluntary and community activities", which include civic participation, informal volunteering, and formal volunteering. In the last 12 months 38 per cent. of people aged 16 and over in England and Wales engaged in civic participation (e.g. signing a petition, contacting public officials or elected representatives, attending a public meeting or rally or taking part in a public meeting or protest). This is equivalent to 15.9 million people. In the last 12 months 67 per cent. of people aged 16 and over in England and Wales volunteered informally (as individuals) at least once. This is equivalent to approximately 27.8 million people. In the last 12 months 39 per cent. of people aged 16 and over in England and Wales volunteered formally (through groups, clubs and organisations) at least once. This is equivalent to approximately 16.2 million people.

(b) The 2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey shows that in 2001 the contribution of people aged 16 and over who volunteered informally at least once in the last 12 months in England and Wales totalled approximately 1.8 billion hours. The contribution of people aged 16 and over who volunteered formally at least once in the last 12 months in England and Wales totalled approximately 1.7 billion hours.

These data are only available for 2001. Results from the 2003 Home Office Citizenship Survey will be available during 2004. Separate data, collected as part of the 1997 National Survey of Volunteering is not directly comparable to the findings of the 2001 Home Office Citizenship Survey.

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West Mercia Constabulary

Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what total funding for West Mercia police was per head of population in each year since 1997 from (a) Government grant and (b) precept. [127586]

Ms Blears: The funding of the police authority net budget per head of population in each year since 1997 from (a) Government grant and (b) precept was as follows:

£

	Total funding per head of population from
	(a) Government grant	(b) Precept
1996–97	79.88	15.38
1997–98	81.53	17.45
1998–99	81.49	18.57
1999–2000	85.48	20.52
2000–01	91.09	26.13
2001–02	94.09	27.62
2002–03	97.42	37.50
2003–04	100.79	42.88

Note:

Funding includes Home Office police grant and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) revenue support grant and national non domestic rates and Standard Standing Assessment (SSA) reduction grant, Crime Fighting Fund, Rural Grant, Airwave, Basic Command Unit (BCD) funding, Community Support Officer funding, special priority payments, DMA Expansion programme and capital grant.

Sources:

1. For population data (and police grant in 1993–94 and 1994–95) is the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy police statistics (Actuals to 2001–02 and Estimates 2002–03). Figures for 2003–04 are not yet available so the estimated population figure for 2002–03 has been used.

2. For precept information is the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) community support officers, (b) street wardens and (c) neighbourhood wardens there are in (i) West Mercia constabulary and (ii) The Wrekin. [127830]

Ms Blears: West Mercia Constabulary has recruited 10 Community Support Officers (CSOs) to date which are fully funded by the Home Office. By the end of this financial year, they will have recruited a further 45 CSOs, of which 30 are part-funded by the Home Office.

The Wrekin is to be allocated 21 of the new CSOs of which six will be fully funded by Wrekin council and two by Wrekin Housing Trust.

In the area covered by West Mercia Constabulary there are two Street Warden schemes with seven wardens between them and one Neighbourhood Warden scheme with two wardens. Of these nine wardens, two are deployed as Street Wardens in the Wrekin.

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