---

26 Jan 2004 : Column 218W—continued

Miscarriages of Justice

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which unit in his Department dealt with reviewing alleged miscarriages of justice before the establishment of the Criminal Cases Review Commission; how many applications the unit received in each of the last five years for which figures are available; how many cases were referred to the appropriate court of appeal; and how many sentences were (a) reduced and (b) quashed as a result of referral in each of the last 10 years for which the unit operated. [143482]

Paul Goggins: C3 was the unit responsible for reviewing alleged miscarriages of justice before the establishment of the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 1997.

Figures for the number of applications to C3 are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, it is recorded that

"the figure for 1992 was 790 of which 634 involved a custodial sentence".

Figures relating to referrals of convictions are only readily available from 1989 onwards and referrals of sentences from 1990. The convictions referred to the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal by the Home Secretary from 1990 to the establishment of the Criminal Cases Review Commission and their outcomes are as follows:

	Convictions referred	Convictions upheld	Convictions quashed
1989	6	0	6
1990	20	0	20
1991	12	0	12
1992	13	4	9
1993	10	4	6
1994	12	7	5
1995	17	7	(57)10
1996	12	2	10
1997(58)	3	1	2

⁽⁵⁷⁾ Includes one case where only two of several counts were overturned.

⁽⁵⁸⁾ January to March only.

26 Jan 2004 : Column 219W

In addition the Home Secretary referred sentences back to the Court of Appeal as follows:

	Sentences referred
1990	3
1991	8
1992	1
1993	0
1994	3
1995	2
1996	7
1997(59)	0

⁽⁵⁹⁾ January to March only.

However, the information available on their outcomes is uncertain and could be verified only at disproportionate cost.

Multi-agency Public Protection

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders are covered by the multi-agency public protection arrangements; what proportion of these are (a) registered sex offenders, (b) other sexual offenders or (c) violent offenders; and how many are considered to pose a high risk to the public. [143390]

Paul Goggins: The total number of offenders falling within the remit of the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) in the reporting period 2002–03 was 52,809. 41 per cent. were registered sex offenders; 56 per cent. were violent offenders and other sexual offenders; and 3 per cent. were other offenders who fall into neither of the first two categories but who pose a risk of serious harm. In 2002–03, 2,843 MAPPA offenders were referred to a multi-agency public protection panel because they posed the highest risk of harm and/or because the management of those risks was particularly difficult.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have been referred to a multi-agency public protection panel in the last 12 months. [143391]

Paul Goggins: In the reporting year 2002–03, 2,843 offenders subject to the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) were referred to a multi-agency public protection panel.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders subject to the multi-agency public protection arrangements are under covert surveillance; and what estimate he has made of the cost per day of such surveillance. [143392]

Paul Goggins: Covert surveillance includes a range of monitoring activities which can vary greatly in scale and duration. No record of the number of surveillance

26 Jan 2004 : Column 220W

operations on Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) offenders is kept; and because of the broad range of this type of activity no generalised estimate of cost has been made.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the performance of multi-agency public protection panels. [145271]

Paul Goggins: Two pieces of research into the multi-agency public protection arrangements (the MAPPA) are being conducted and will report next autumn. One will evaluate the effectiveness of the statutory framework of the MAPPA; the other will analyse the offenders referred to the multi-agency public protection panels and will identify good practice.

In addition, the publication of an annual report on the MAPPA by each area of England and Wales provides a regular review of this important area of work. My written statement to the House on 15 September 2003 announcing the publication of these reports, indicated that the MAPPA have made a significant contribution to improving public protection.

There is a further requirement where the court is considering making a Detention and Training Order on an offender below the age of 15: the court must additionally be satisfied that the young person is a persistent offender. (The Detention and Training Order is the standard order for offenders under 18 who are sentenced to custody).

National Offenders Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff employed by the 42 probation areas in England and Wales will be transferred to the National Offenders Management Service Regional Structure; and what their duties will be. [147660]

Paul Goggins: In the short term probation staff will continue to be employed by their probation board. It is too early to say how many staff will be needed in the new structure.

Individual probation areas will continue to function as they are for the moment. However, as the new organisation develops, offender managers from the National Offender Management Service will assume end to end responsibility for offenders and will contract with providers of services from the public, private and voluntary sector. We have not as yet finalised our view as to the future of the 42 boards within this framework. My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary has, therefore, specifically sought the views of key stakeholders.

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps will be taken to ensure that there will not be an increase in the administrative demands on front-line staff following the creation of the National Offenders Management Service; and if he will make a statement. [148165]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 19 January 2004]: The Government are committed to the reduction of unnecessary bureaucracy, particularly in regard to demands on front-line staff. The National Offender

26 Jan 2004 : Column 221W

Management Service implementation team will seek to reduce the administrative demands on front-line staff wherever possible.

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is his intention that local probation areas will become an integral arm of the National Offenders Management Service and retain operational freedom; and if he will make a statement. [148166]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 19 January 2004]: Individual probation areas will continue to function as they are for the moment. As the new organisation develops, offender managers from the National Offender Management Service will assume end-to-end responsibility for offenders and will contract with providers of services from the public, private and voluntary sector. We have not as yet finalised our view as to the future of the 42 boards within this framework. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has, therefore, specifically sought the views of key stakeholders.

National Probation Service

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many posts are vacant in the National Probation Service; for how long these posts have been vacant; what the average length of time taken to fill vacant posts was in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [145287]

Paul Goggins: The information requested is as follows:

The total number of vacant posts within the National Probation Service as at 30 June 2003 was 1,059.9 full time equivalent, which equates to 5.61 per cent. of the total workforce and is based on agreed funded establishments as at the 1 April 2003.

The National Probation Directorate (NPD) does not collect information on the length of time for which posts remain vacant nor on the average length of time taken to fill vacant posts. The management of the recruitment process is the responsibility of each individual area and as such, will be influenced by area service-delivery priorities and external forces such as the local labour market.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the probation areas in England and Wales will receive less in real terms under the financial settlement for 2004–05, after central recharging and performance-linked penalties are taken into account. [141802]

Paul Goggins: A final decision about the budget for the National Probation Service has not yet been made. The gross domestic product (GDP) deflator set by the Treasury is 2.5 per cent. for 2004–05. It is not expected that any probation areas will have an increase in their main resource allocation of less than the GDP deflator, after central recharging (outside the control of the local area) and performance-linked penalties are taken into account.

26 Jan 2004 : Column 222W

---