| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1184W—continued
Strip Searches
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many children have been forcibly strip searched in each of the juvenile prisons in (a) 2003 and (b) 2002; and for what reason; [140160]
-
(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance issued to governors of prisons holding juvenile prisoners on their strip searching. [140161]
Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1185W
Terrorism
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stop and searches under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 have been carried out since demonstrations began at RAF Fairford; what the charges against those arrested were; and how many have resulted in successful prosecutions. [139088]
Ms Blears: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has received on the number of successful prosecutions to date of those involved in the 11 September terrorist attacks. [140014]
Mr. Blunkett: I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Violent Partner Register
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the proposed register of violent partners will be administered; and if he will make a statement. [136393]
Ms Blears: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Visa Charges
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the statement by the Under-Secretary of State of 22 October 2003, Official Report, column. 313WH, on visa charges, which representatives of (a) schools and (b) universities were consulted on plans to increase visa charges for overseas students; and whether the Department for Education and Skills made representations on the issue to his Department. [134908]
Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Work Permits
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits in each month since January 2001 were (a) applied for and (b) granted. [139974]
Beverley Hughes: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Young Offenders
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders in young offender institutions are in overcrowded cells. [135866]
Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many youth offenders in each of the last five years have been transferred to another penal institution during the last three months of their sentence. [139060]
Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1186W
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many girls aged under 25 are serving sentences in each (a) prison, (b) young offender institution and (c) local authority secure unit. [139136]
Paul Goggins: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders from Wales were in penal institutions in (a) Wales and (b) England at the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by institution; and what plans he has to accommodate more youth offenders from Wales in Wales. [139591]
Paul Goggins: I will write to my right hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children in Feltham Young Offenders Institution have been placed in the segregation unit since January; and for how long. [140162]
Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children in Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institution have been placed in the segregation unit since January; and for how long. [140163]
Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people from each local unitary authority in Wales were in young offenders' institutions in each of the past 20 years. [140436]
Paul Goggins: I will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
WALES
Bechtel
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel in each year after 1997 by the Welsh Office, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [137734]
Mr. Touhig: The Wales Office was established in 1999. Bechtel have not been contracted to carry out any consultancy work for the Wales Office since then.
There are no records of Bechtel carrying out any work for the Welsh Office between 1997 and 1999.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel for agencies responsible to his Department or its predecessor in year since 1997, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [138061]
Mr. Touhig: The Wales Office was established in 1999. It has no agencies.
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1187W
There are no records of Bechtel carrying out any work for agencies of the Welsh Office between 1997 and 1999.
Burglary
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the level of burglary was in Wales in 1997; what it was in 2002; and if he will make a statement. [139293]
Mr. Touhig: The number of burglary offences recorded in 1997 was 46,445. In 2002–03, it was 36,848.
There was a change in the counting rules for recorded crime from 1998, which had the effect of increasing the number of crimes counted, and therefore, the number of offences are not directly comparable.
Drug Abuse
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on his co-ordinated plans with the Welsh Assembly to tackle drug abuse in Wales. [139294]
Mr. Touhig: I have met ministerial colleagues, both in Westminster and the Assembly, to discuss tackling substance misuse.
The Drug Strategy, "Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain", was introduced in 1998. Following a review in 2002, it was built on and adapted with the launch of an Updated Strategy, which is widely available, including on the Home Office website.
The Assembly has responsibility for many areas of tackling substance misuse in Wales, for example, the provision of treatment for those with substance misuse problems. The Assembly Strategy for Wales, "Tackling Substance Misuse in Wales: A Partnership Approach", is widely available, including on the National Assembly for Wales' website.
Examination Results
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the average grade at (a) GCSE and (b) A-level in Wales was in 2002; and what the results were in England. [139592]
Mr. Touhig: Provisional statistical information on GCSE and A-level results in Wales for 2002 are available in the National Assembly's Statistics Wales Release SDR 55/2003.
DfES provides statistical information for GCSE and A-level results in England in a similar form in their release SFR 30/2003.
Both releases are available in the library of the House of Commons.
Free Prescriptions
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list those medical conditions which allow free prescriptions to be claimed. [135258]
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1188W
Mr. Touhig: This information is available in the leaflet HC11—Help with Health Costs, which states that free NHS prescriptions can be claimed by those who have a valid medical certificate issued because of the following conditions:
- Permanent fistula (including caecostomy, colostomy, ileostomy or laryngostomy) requiring continuous surgical dressing or an appliance
Forms of hypoadrenalism (including Addison's disease) for which specific substitution therapy is essential
Diabetes insipidus and other forms of hypopituitarism
Diabetes mellitus except where treatment is by diet alone
Hypoparathyroidism
Myasthenia gravis
Myxoedema (Hypothyroidism) or other conditions where supplemental thyroid hormone is necessary.
Epilepsy requiring continuous anti-convulsive therapy
A continuing physical disability which prevents the patient leaving his residence except with the help of another person.
Mr. Touhig: The information is given in the following table:
| Free of charge | Charged | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98(9) | 32.2 | 4.4 |
| 1998–99(9) | 33.1 | 4.5 |
| 2001–02 | 38.0 | 5.1 |
| 2002–03 | 40.4 | 5.3 |
(9) Estimate based on a 5 per cent. sample.
Data for 1999–2000 is not available. Data for 1997–99 relates to the responsibility of the former Welsh Office, while the figures since then are the responsibility of the National Assembly for Wales.
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many free prescriptions to the chronically ill were issued in each year since 1997. [135289]
Mr. Touhig: Information collected centrally for the National Assembly for Wales on prescriptions exempt from charge in Wales relates only to those conditions which are medically exempt. As prescription items dispensed for other chronic conditions are not identified separately it is not possible to give an overall figure.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |