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Type 45s

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what delays there have been to the Type 45 programme; and what the in-service date is for the first of the class. [135393]

Mr. Ingram: The currently approved in-service date (ISD) is November 2007 but this has always been challenging. Full production of the first of class started a few months behind the original schedule and the programme is currently under review. Any change will be announced when that work is complete, later this year.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's assessment is of the threat to the United Kingdom and its interests from ballistic missiles in the aftermath of the Iraq war; and if he will make a statement. [133720]

Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the Ministry of Defence paper, "Missile Defence, a Public Discussion Paper", which was published in December 2002. A copy is available in the Library of the House. It is also available at: www.mod.uk

Since that assessment was published, coalition operations in Iraq have successfully removed the threat of ballistic missiles that were held by, or under development by, the former Iraqi regime.

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HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department will take to encourage social landlords to take more enforcement measures against anti-social tenants; and what assessment he has made of the implications for the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan of the awarding of costs against the housing association in the case THCH v. Mr. Joseph Loomes. [134580]

Keith Hill: I have been asked to reply.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is extending the range of tools that social landlords can use to tackle anti-social behaviour. These include broadening the range of landlords who can take out injunctions against tenants who behave in an anti-social manner, introducing a power for social landlords to demote secure and assured tenants to a less favourable form of tenancy, and generally ensuring that the responses to anti-social behaviour are appropriately focused on the needs of the community. In addition, social landlords will be required to prepare and publish policies and procedures in relation to anti-social behaviour, which will be available to tenants and other residents.

It is the responsibility of social landlords to ensure that they use the appropriate enforcement measure to address the variety of anti-social behaviour cases that may arise. However, the general purpose of the measures in the Anti-social Behaviour Bill is to encourage and facilitate social landlords taking a more active approach in their dealings with anti-social behaviour.

The definition of anti-social behaviour used in Part 2 of the Anti-social Behaviour Bill refers to conduct which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance rather than behaviour which has actually caused nuisance or annoyance to named individuals. This makes it clear that landlords can use evidence from people other than the direct victims of the behaviour in proceedings for injunctions or demotion orders. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister hopes that this will encourage more social landlords to be proactive in their management of such behaviour, for example by using professional witnesses in situations where individual victims are too scared or intimidated to give evidence.

Regarding the specific case mentioned, it does not have any significant implications for the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan, as the judgment is specific to that case. However, the broadening of injunctive powers included within the Anti-social Behaviour Bill mentioned earlier should make it easier for registered social landlords, including Tower Hamlets Community Homes, to undertake successful court action.

Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from (a) the Durham constabulary, (b) the Local Government Association and (c) other interested parties concerning problems in obtaining anti-social behaviour orders. [134650]

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Ms Blears: I am not aware that any representations from Durham constabulary regarding problems with Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) have been received. We work closely with the Local Government Association and other interested parties concerning ASBOs.

Legislative changes were introduced by the Police Reform Act 2002 to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ASBOs in response to problems identified by the Home Office review of ASBOs published in April 2002. These changes were accompanied by Home Office guidance on both ASBOs and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) which was distributed to local authorities and police in November 2002.

The Anti-social Behaviour Bill builds on these improvements. The ASBO measures respond to the experiences of relevant authorities and the needs of witnesses and victims and are intended to close loopholes, making ASBOs more easily obtainable for all cases where they would be appropriate.

The Home Office is also setting up an action line, website and training academy which will provide support for agencies to enable them to use the full range of interventions for tackling anti-social behaviour.

Child Abuse

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Government will adopt the recommendation of the Home Affairs Committee that the statutory reporting restrictions, which preserve the anonymity of victims of sexual offences, are extended to persons accused of historical child abuse. [128358]

Paul Goggins: The Government believes that there should be no change in the law relating to anonymity. In our view, informed and strengthened guidance to the police and the media is preferable to any change in legislation. The Police Code of Conduct provides that information which comes into the possession of the police should be treated as confidential. It should not be used for personal benefit and neither should it be divulged to other parties except in the proper course of police duty. Unauthorised disclosure of information on a suspect by a police officer is likely to be considered a breach of this Code. Such a breach would mean that an officer's conduct had not met the appropriate standard for the purposes of the Police (Conduct) Regulations, and disciplinary proceedings might commence. An officer could face dismissal or even prosecution, depending on the circumstances of the case.

We have reached an agreement with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that it will amend its media and disciplinary guidelines to all forces to give greater prominence to the rules that govern the release of information about anyone suspected of, but not yet charged with, an offence. We are working to ensure that the guidelines are consistently and robustly enforced. Similarly, Ministers are in discussion with media representatives to assess how unhelpful or intrusive reporting of such cases can be avoided with a view to amending and strengthening the Press Complaints Commission's Code of Practice. An officer could face dismissal or even prosecution, depending on the circumstances of the case. We have reached an

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agreement with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that it will amend its media and disciplinary guidelines to all forces to give greater prominence to the rules that govern the release of information about anyone suspected of, but not yet charged with, an offence. We are working to ensure that the guidelines are consistently and robustly enforced. Similarly, Ministers are in discussion with media representatives to assess how unhelpful or intrusive reporting of such cases can be avoided with a view to amending and strengthening the Press Complaints Commission's Code of Practice.

Closed Circuit Television

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding is available to finance the introduction of CCTV cameras in (a) schools and (b) town centres; and if he will make a statement. [134595]

Ms Blears [holding answer 27 October 2003]: The Crime Reduction Programme Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Initiative funded 684 CCTV schemes across England and Wales. The main areas covered by these schemes were town centres/shopping centres, car parks, residential areas, community shopping areas, hospitals, and rail stations.

Under the Small Retailers in Deprived Areas (SRDA) Initiative, £15 million was provided to improve security of small retailers, including the provision of CCTV where appropriate. In year one of the initiative (2001–02) approximately 50 per cent. of the projects involved the installation or upgrading of CCTV in either individual shop units or covering shopping parades or precincts. In year two (2002–03) it rose to almost 70 per cent. and in year three (2003–04) it is 63 per cent.

Both the CCTV and SRDA Initiatives are fully committed and drawing to a close. Future CCTV schemes can be financed through the Building Safer Communities (BSC) Fund, which is used to strategically tackle local crime reduction priorities through a number of interventions including CCTV. For 2003–04 the fund provided local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships with £72.3million.

Section 5 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 requires the responsible authorities of the CDRP to work in co-operation with other bodies, including education, in completing a crime and disorder audit and strategy. This engagement should ensure access to funding if it is considered a priority for the area. The CDRP can then consider whether installing CCTV cameras in schools and town centres fits with its local priorities.

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