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3 Nov 2003 : Column 445W—continued
Prisoners
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are held (a) over 50 miles and (b) over 100 miles from their committal court town. [133395]
Paul Goggins: An individual prisoners' court details are recorded to show first court appearance, committal, remand, conviction or sentencing. Information specifically on committal court details could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
As at 30 September 2003, the latest date for which information is available, details of all types of court information, including committal, remand, convicting and sentencing, were available for 71,089 prisoners, or 96 per cent. of the total prison population of 73,741 on that day. This information is shown in the following table.
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| Number of prisoners | As a percentageof the total population(35) | |
|---|---|---|
| Held under 50 miles from their court town | 44,955 | 63 |
| Held between 50 and 100 miles from their court town | 15,254 | 22 |
| Held over 100 miles from their court town | 10,880 | 15 |
| Total | 71,089 | 100 |
(35) Based on the 96 per cent. of the population for which court data is available
Private Office Costs
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the running costs have been of ministers' private offices in his Department in each year since 1997. [123104]
Mr. Blunkett: Running costs for my department, Ministers' offices, the Private Office Management Support Unit and Parliamentary Secretariat for each year from 1997 were as follows:
| Year | Pay costs | Other running costs |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1,551,644 | 572,622 |
| 1998–99 | 1,566,018 | 1,202,633 |
| 1999–2000 | 1,619,459 | 791,588 |
| 2000–01 | 1,223,794 | 841,809 |
| 2001–02 | 1,643,622 | 943,022 |
The running costs for the whole of Private Office—including non Ministerial Offices—in 2001–02 was £4,492,704 and in 2002–03 was £5,176,925. Changes in financial recording systems from 2001 mean that it is no longer possible, without disproportionate cost, to separate the cost of Ministerial from non-Ministerial offices. Consequently this figure is not directly comparable with those provided prior to 2001–02, which did not include the cost of the offices of the Permanent Secretary, the Director General, Resources and Performance, Special Advisers, as well as the Typing Centre and the Ministerial Briefing Unit, which was largely created by bringing together existing staff in other Directorates. The figure for 2002–03 also includes office running costs for an additional Minister.
Probation Service
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders under the supervision of the Probation Service are categorised as (a) low, (b) medium or (c) high risk. [133972]
Paul Goggins: Information about risk of harm is collected through the Offender Assessment System (OASys) that is being implemented in the National Probation Service and the Prison Service. We currently have standardised information in a comparable format from some 5,000 OASys assessments in four probation areas. Analysis of this data produces the percentages for the level of risk of harm shown in the table.
Until next summer, when we will have data from all 42 probation areas, we will not know whether this profile reflects the pattern across the National Probation
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Service. Until then we will not be able to say with confidence how many offenders under probation supervision fall into each risk of harm category.
| Level of risk of harm | Percentage of offenders based on data from four areas |
|---|---|
| Very high | 0.4 |
| High | 6.5 |
| Medium | 25.1 |
| Low | 68.0 |
| Total | 100 |
Silverlands
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated open market value of Silverlands, Chertsey was (a) at 30 June 2001 and (b) after the completion of refurbishment works in summer 2002; what the open market value is now; and what the total cost of works carried out to the property since 30 June 2001 is. [131504]
Fiona Mactaggart: Prior to the start of the conversion works in July 2001, Silverlands was valued by the district valuer at an open market value of £2.3 million.
The last district valuer valuation of June 2002 contained an open market value, following conversion works, between £3.25 and £3.5 million.
The Department of Health has not undertaken any subsequent valuations on this property.
The total cost of works carried out to the property since June 2002 is minimal.
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average monthly cost of (a) maintenance and (b) security of Silverlands, Chertsey was to government departments in the last five years. [131505]
Fiona Mactaggart: There was nil expenditure for the Home Department except for the period between September 2001 and June 2002, in which a total of £3.7million was spent on the Silverlands refurbishment project, of which approximately £2.8million related to maintenance and £0.9million to security. The average costs of the project were:
- (a) maintenance: £280,000 per month
- (b) security: £90,000 per month.
All figures are inclusive of VAT.
The final account and retention release, and associated fees, are still outstanding on the project. These are currently estimated at about £320,000.
In addition to the above, the Department of Health has advised us that:
- (a) maintenance cost prior to and after refurbishment has been minimal
- (b) the following has been spent on security per month:
- August 1999 to December 2001—Average £10,000
- July to October 2002—£55,000
- October2002 to June 2003—£22,000
- June 2003 onwards £13,000
This averages £15,795 per month.
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Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to date is to (a) his Department and (b) the Department of Health of (i) building works and (ii) security provision at Silverlands, Chertsey. [131506]
Fiona Mactaggart: The cost to the Home Department of the refurbishment works to date is £3.7 million of which £2.8 million related to (i) maintenance and £0.9 million related to (ii) security. The final account and retention release, and associated fees, are still outstanding on the project. These are currently estimated at about £320,000. These figures are inclusive of VAT.
In addition to the above the Department of Health has advised us that (i) building works has been minimal and (ii) security provision at Silverlands, Chertsey, to date has cost £695,000.
Terrestrial Trunked Radio System
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Ms Walley) of 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 462W, on the Terrestrial Trunked Radio System, what reports he has received from police officers of ill health effects which they attribute to TETRA. [134738]
Ms Blears: The Home Office has received no reports from police officers of ill-health effects which they attribute to TETRA. We were however made aware by representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Police Federation that some early users of the system were concerned about potential health effects of the TETRA technology. We have addressed these concerns by taking independent expert advice and setting up a long-term research programme. The experts concluded that it was unlikely that TETRA technology could pose a risk to health, and this has been confirmed by the research results to date. More information can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/tetra.html.
Violent Crime (Easington)
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes occurred in the Easington sub division of the Durham County Police Authority in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002; and if he will make a statement. [134651]
Ms Blears: Numbers of violent crimes which occurred in Easington are recorded and published at Basic Command Unit (BCU) level. Violent crime is comprised of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. The requested information is given in the table.
| Crimes recorded | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Violence againstthe person | Sexual offences | Robbery | |
| 1999–2000 | 729 | 48 | 21 |
| 2000–01 | 629 | 35 | 22 |
| 2001–02 | 820 | 39 | 35 |
| 2002–03 | 1,095 | 33 | 51 |
The National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) was introduced across England and Wales in April 2002. Some police forces adopted the Standard prior to this date. Durham police force introduced the Standard in January 2002. Broadly, the NCRS had the effect of increasing the number of crimes recorded by the police. Therefore, following the introduction of the Standard, numbers of recorded crimes are not directly comparable with previous years.
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