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22 Oct 2003 : Column 636W—continued
Young Voters
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what changes to the voting system are planned to encourage young people to vote. [133348]
Mr. Leslie: The Government are keen to encourage young people to participate in elections. My Department has contributed to the Children and Young People Unit's work in the Department for Education and Skills on the engagement of young people in democracy. We fully support the Electoral Commission's campaigns and competitions aimed specifically at young people and the addition of 'citizenship studies' to the school curriculum. All these developments recognise the importance and value of voting and aim to increase the interest, understanding and involvement of young people with democratic processes. The use of new technology to vote, as piloted in recent local elections, is also regarded as having particular appeal for younger voters.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what efforts are made to prepare a local population for the reception of dispersed asylum seekers in their area prior to arrival of the asylum seekers; and what guidance is given by his Department on this. [124117]
Beverley Hughes: The Home Office National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has systems in place to ensure local authorities and other agencies in an area to which asylum seekers are to be sent for the first time are fully consulted to minimise the risk of asylum seekers being placed inappropriately in an area.
However, I do not believe this is appropriate and in future NASS staff will be responsible for ensuring that consultation and a joint approach is developed at local level. Primarily, this will be achieved by the regionalisation of NASS, a process ensuring the successive devolution of NASS staff and functions to regional offices. This will enable the dialogue and joint work with regional consortia, local authorities other agencies and NASS to develop.
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Burglary
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the cost of burglary to (a) the commercial sector, (b) the public sector and (c) private individuals in each year between 1995 and 2002. [128546]
Ms Blears: The Home Office made estimates of the economic and social cost of crime in England and Wales in 1999–2000. Estimates were published in Home Office Research Study 217 (HORS 217), "The economic and social costs of crime". This study estimated that the average burglary in a dwelling costs society around £2,300 (including £830 in property stolen and damaged). The average burglary not in a dwelling costs society around £2,700 (including £1,200 in property stolen and damaged). It is currently not possible to make a distinction between public and commercial sector burglary in respect of costs.
These figures for numbers of burglaries recorded can be applied to the estimates of the average costs of burglaries presented in HORS 217. This gives total costs of recorded burglary as follows:
| Burglary and aggravated burglary in a dwelling | Burglary andaggravated burglary other than in a dwelling | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,480 | 1,609 |
| 1996 | 1,385 | 1,519 |
| 1997 | 1,194 | 1,339 |
| 1997–98 | 1,154 | 1,314 |
| 1998–99 | 1,088 | 1,293 |
| 1998–99 | 1,089 | 1,296 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,018 | 1,252 |
| 2000–01 | 927 | 1,169 |
| 2001–02 | 990 | 1,210 |
| 2002–03 | 1,007 | 1,219 |
However, these figures do not take into account those burglaries which are not reported to the police. The British Crime Survey (BCS) collects information on household burglaries which are both reported and not reported, and figures for numbers of household burglaries for the period 1995 to 2002–03 are reported in HOSB 07/03. These can be used to derive estimates for the total costs (in constant prices) of household burglary over this period are given in Table 2. The BCS does not provide information on burglaries in premises other than households.
| Burglaries | Total cost | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,743,000 | 4,009 |
| 1997 | 1,589,000 | 3,655 |
| 1999 | 1,261,000 | 2,900 |
| 2001–02 | 966,000 | 2,222 |
| 2002–03 | 974,000 | 2,240 |
22 Oct 2003 : Column 638W
Correspondence
Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used in deciding whether a detailed reply to letters from members of the public is appropriate. [132688]
Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 20 September 2003]: The Department follows the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, Second Edition (1997). The Code supports the policy of extending access to official information and responding to reasonable requests for information. The approach to the release of information in all cases is based upon the assumption that information should be released except where disclosure would not be in the public interest as specified in Part II of the Code. Where information cannot be provided under the terms of the Code an explanation will normally be given.
Responses are not sent to correspondence that is considered to be offensive. Examples of such letters include those that are gratuitously sexually explicit or threaten violence.
Interpreters
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is of (a) interpretation facilities and (b) interpreters to each (i) police force and (ii) probation service area. [132142]
Ms Blears: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Media Training
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was to his Department of media and voice training for ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [123131]
Fiona Mactaggart: Media training is available to Ministers and given to selected officials, mainly Prison Service Media Liaison Officers, immigration officers and senior appointees.
No Ministers or officials have been on training courses exclusively for the purpose of voice training. However one minor element of the Government's Centre for Management and Policy Studies' (CMPS) Creating Personal Impact course attended by senior officials does include an introduction to effective use of the voice. It is not possible to break down the cost of this element but since 1997 costs associated with the whole course total around £5,000.
Details and costs of all individual training courses are not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
Police Custody (Deaths)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths there have been of civilians while in police custody in police stations in (a) Southend-on-Sea and (b) Essex in each year since 2001. [132756]
22 Oct 2003 : Column 639W
Ms Blears: There have been no such deaths in police stations in Southend-on-Sea or any other part of Essex in the period referred to.
Prisoner Transportation
Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment of procedures ensuring the safety of prisoners travelling in police vans will be made by (a) his Department and (b) another regulatory body; [132224]
- (2) if he will issue guidance on the introduction of safety belts for prisoners in police security vans; [132225]
(3) if he will make a statement on recorded injuries to prisoners travelling in police vans in the past five years. [132226]
Ms Blears: Information is not collected centrally on injuries to people travelling in police vans. Cellular vehicles are not required to have seat belts but under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (as amended), all new vehicles built after 1 October 2001 require appropriate anchorage points. The Association of Chief Police Officers issues operational guidance on the use of protected police vehicles. The safety and transportation of people in police vehicles is a matter for the chief officer of police for that area.
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Terrorism Act
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when, and for what areas, he has signed authorisations for the use by the police of section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. [131584]
Ms Blears: The use of the section 44 Stop & Search power is authorised by a senior police officer of at least the rank of Assistant Chief Constable. The role of the Secretary of State is to confirm those authorisations.
Between 19 February 2001 and 30 September 2003 a total of 653 authorisations by a senior police officer under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 received confirmation from the Secretary of State. 583 of these relate to English police forces, and 70 to Welsh police forces.
It has been a longstanding policy of this and previous administrations not to comment on anti-terrorist operations. To provide a more detailed breakdown of the areas and times covered by Section 44 authorisations would put into the public domain, information that could prove valuable to terrorists.
Many forces run short term, localised operations for a variety of situations, that are supported by section 44 powers. These can include protective security operations for events or VIPs, intelligence gathering operations or measures taken in response to intelligence and threat assessments. To disclose detailed information on the times and locations of such operations could compromise their future effectiveness.