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Probation Services

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes), of 20 October 2003, Official Report,

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column 416W, on probation services, what steps he is taking to avoid an overspend in the probation budget. [138531]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Profiting from Crime

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to amend the law so that current and former criminals cannot profit from their crimes by (a) selling recorded or written material relating to their crimes and (b) engaging in speaking events regarding their crime. [136929]

Ms Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Pupil Visa Charges

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what form of consultation was undertaken by his Department on the planned introduction of visa charges for overseas school pupils attending United Kingdom schools. [133073]

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Racial Crime

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of crimes committed in (a) England and (b) Wales in each year since 1997 were racially motivated; what steps he is taking to reduce these figures; and if he will make a statement. [133187]

Ms Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Rap Music

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent meetings he has held with producers of rap music records; and what the outcome was of those meetings. [136247]

Ms Blears: I will write to my right hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Rape

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug rapes were reported in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) the first half of 2003, broken down by sex of victim. [129670]

Caroline Flint: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women reported rape by their husband or partner in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003. [138175]

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

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Recorded Crime

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the number and proportion of recorded crimes for which an offender was brought to justice changed in 2001–02. [130485]

Ms Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Sex Offenders Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will set out in descending order how many (a) registered sex offenders and (b) registered sex offenders per 100,000 population there were in each local authority. [133051]

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to provide further assistance to police in (a) checking details of individuals on the Register of Sexual Offenders and (b) undertaking risk assessments of those individuals; and if he will make a statement. [138047]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of those on the sex offenders register have been convicted of a further offence following registration. [139257]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Offender Rehabilitation

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to introduce legislation to amend the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. [138480]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Released Prisoners (London)

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released from prison in London in the last 12 months; and how many are estimated to have (a) mental health and (b) drug or alcohol problems. [139233]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Road Safety

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what standard of accuracy speed cameras work. [138947]

Caroline Flint: Until July 2003, the standard to which speed cameras were required to operate was a positive error of no more than 3mph up to 100mph, and 3 per cent. above 100mph. The negative error was not greater than 5mph or 10 per cent. above 50mph. From July 2003, in line with European standards, new speed cameras will be required to be accurate to ±2mph up to

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66mph and ±3 per cent. above 66mph. This has not yet been implemented for existing cameras, but we consider that all cameras are in fact already accurate to this level.

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what help he gives to chief constables to publish speed messages. [139037]

Caroline Flint: Publicity on this issue is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport. We recognise that speeding contributes to accidents and that encouraging drivers to slow down can help effect a reduction in the number of accidents. We have made clear in the National Policing Plan our conviction that the National Safety Camera Scheme is effective in reducing speed-related death and injury and our encouragement for all police forces to support it.

Schools (Violence)

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the Government are taking to support teachers and school staff in their work to prevent (a) violence and (b) crime in schools. [138749]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The great majority of schools are orderly places and serious violence is rare. However, we are determined to raise standards of behaviour and security further. We are therefore investing an average of £156 million annually over the next three years in a wide-ranging programme to improve behaviour and attendance in schools. This includes better training for school staff in managing pupil behaviour; support for pupils at risk of becoming involved in crime; and closer working between police and schools, with some officers based in schools in over 50 local education authority areas. We are currently running conferences to help schools combat bullying. We are also making schools more secure; we have legislated against offensive weapons and trespass and published a legal toolkit for dealing with aggressive intruders; we have supported security measures through the Standards Fund and Capital Modernisation Fund, and we are giving school security priority in credit approvals for local authority capital investment.

Sentencing

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the sentences available to judges following a conviction for throwing missiles from bridges over motorways and trunk roads. [138881]

Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve public understanding of (a) sentencing policy and practice and (b) community service. [139230]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Sexual Offences

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the most recent rates of

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(a) prosecution and (b) conviction are for rape and sexual assault in police areas which (i) have and (ii) do not have sexual assault referral centres. [110722]

Ms Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of offenders likely to be caught under the internet grooming provision of the Sexual Offences Bill. [139219]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) charged, (c) convicted and (d) sentenced to immediate custody in the course of Operation Ore; how many cases are being investigated; and if he will make a statement. [139220]

Ms Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a code of practice will accompany the Sexual Offences Bill. [137813]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he will publish guidelines for the Sexual Offences Bill; and what plans he has to consult on these guidelines. [137841]

Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the NGOs to whom the parliamentary under secretary expressed appreciation for the work they had done on the issue of consensual sexual activity short of penetrative sex between under 16s; and whether these NGOs will be directly involved in compiling the Crown Prosecution Service guidance on this issue. [138206]

Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.

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