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Regional Assemblies

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received from organisations campaigning in (a) the North West, (b) the North East and (c) Yorkshire and Humberside in favour of an elected regional assembly for powers to be granted to those assemblies in addition to those set out in Your Region, Your Choice (Cm 5511). [151006]

Mr. Raynsford: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has received representations from Campaign for a North East Assembly, Campaign for Yorkshire, Copeland Liberal Democrats, Labour North West, Sheffield Hallam Liberal Democrats, North East and Yorkshire and Humber Liberal Democrats who have all expressed views that elected regional assemblies be given additional powers to those set out in the White Paper Your Region, Your Choice.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Motor Vehicle Recovery

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the statutory fee for the

28 Jan 2004 : Column 434W

recovery of a motor vehicle from a motorway was last reviewed; and what the policy of the Government are in relation to variations of the fee. [151248]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 27 January 2004]: The statutory fees for the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles from motorways or other roads were last increased in 1993. Any charges outside these fees are non-statutory and a matter for resolution between the parties concerned.

The Government believe that the statutory charges should be set at a level which is fair to all parties, including the motorist and vehicle recovery operators.

We are currently considering the level of the fees and how they should be applied in different circumstances.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what level of proof is required by magistrates courts before an application for an anti-social behaviour order can be granted. [150996]

Ms Blears: In the McCann case in October 2002 the Law Lords ruled that the equivalent of the criminal standard of proof, ie beyond reasonable doubt, should be applied in the interests of fairness and pragmatism to prove past acts of anti-social behaviour which are usually of a criminal or quasi-criminal nature. The necessity of a anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) for the protection of other persons from future anti-social acts remains an exercise of judgment not subject to a standard of proof.

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Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the success to date of anti-social behaviour orders in Gloucestershire. [150425]

Ms Blears: Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) are one of a number of methods being used in Gloucestershire as part of their local strategy to tackle anti-social behaviour. Local practitioners report that ASBOs have been successfully used alongside other tools—such as mediation and anti-social behaviour clauses in tenancy contracts—to reduce anti-social behaviour in the area and transform the behaviour of several perpetrators. Nine ASBOs were granted in Gloucestershire between April 1999 and September 2003.

As part of the Government's Together campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour, we will be doing more to improve the local response, this includes:

£75 million over three years to support the Government's action plan,

Funding for every Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership,

An ActionLine, Academy and website to help practitioners do more to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been put in place, broken down by (a) police authority and (b) local authority; and how many people have been charged with breaking anti-social behaviour order provisions. [151349]

Ms Blears [holding answer 27 January 2004]: Data on the number of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) granted, from 1 April 1999 up to 30 September 2003 (latest available) by Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCC) area, Crown Court circuit, and the county court group and by local authority area have been placed in the Library.

Information on the number of people charged is not collected centrally. From the Home Office Court Proceedings database, available information relating to breaches of ASBOs, covering the period 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2002, shows that the number of people who have been prosecuted for breaching an ASBO is 329, of which 305 were found guilty.

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anti-social behaviour orders have been (a) made and (b) breached in each police authority area; and if he will make a statement. [150426]

Ms Blears: Data on the number of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) made are reported to the Home Office on a quarterly basis by Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCC), and on a rolling basis by the Crown court (since 2 December 2002) and county courts (since 1 April 2003). Table A gives data on the number of ASBOs made, from 1 April 1999 up to 30 September 2003 (latest available), by MCC area, Crown court circuit, and county court group.

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The available information relating to breaches of ASBOs, covers the period 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2002. Table B gives data on the number of ASBOs made, and the number breached, within this period.

Table A—Number of anti-social behaviour orders made, at all courts, as reported

Magistrates' Courts	Total ASBOson application/ conviction
MCC/Police force area
Avon & Somerset	45
Bedfordshire	16
Cambridgeshire	22
Cheshire	33
Cleveland	23
Cumbria	28
Derbyshire	21
Devon & Cornwall	18
Dorset	5
Durham	28
Essex	4
Gloucestershire	9
GLMCA/Metropolitan Police(16)	113
Greater Manchester	240
Hampshire	37
Hertfordshire	26
Humberside	19
Kent	42
Lancashire	56
Leicestershire	7
Lincolnshire	7
Merseyside	66
Norfolk	30
Northamptonshire	9
Northumbria	53
North Yorkshire	13
Nottinghamshire	26
South Yorkshire	44
Staffordshire	38
Suffolk	27
Surrey	10
Sussex	39
Thames Valley	21
Warwickshire	25
West Mercia	100
West Midlands	154
West Yorkshire	82
Wiltshire	3
England	1,539
Dyfed Powys	11
Gwent	8
North Wales	15
South Wales	25
Wales	59
England and Wales MCC/PFA	1,598
County Court Group (ASBOs on application)
London	1
Merseyside	1
England and Wales County Court Group	2
Crown Court Circuit
Midland	4
Northern	5
North Eastern	3
South Eastern	1
South Eastern Provincial	2
Western	7
Wales and Chester	1
England and Wales CC Circuits	23
Total all courts England and Wales	1,623

⁽¹⁶⁾ Including City of London

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Table B—The number of breaches⁽¹⁷⁾ of an anti-social behaviour order from 1 April 1999 to 30 September 2003, by MCC/Police Force Area, Crown Court

	Total ASBOs		Percentage
MCC/Police Force Area	Issued	Breached	total breached
Avon & Somerset	25	(18)7	28
Bedfordshire	8	6	75
Cambridgeshire	5	2	40
Cheshire	16	7	44
Cleveland	13	7	54
Cumbria	15	2	13
Derbyshire	15	9	60
Devon & Cornwall	11	4	36
Dorset	4	1	25
Durham	21	16	76
Essex	2	1	50
Gloucestershire	5	1	20
GLMCA/ Metropolitan Police(19)	51	(18)17	33
Greater Manchester	104	(18)30	29
Hampshire	15	3	20
Hertfordshire	16	(18)5	31
Humberside	16	5	31
Kent	36	3	8
Lancashire	23	10	43
Leicestershire	5	3	60
Lincolnshire	3	(18)1	33
Merseyside	32	6	19
Norfolk	19	(18)8	42
Northamptonshire	9	1	11
Northumbria	30	(18)11	37
North Yorkshire	7	(18)6	86
Nottinghamshire	16	8	50
South Yorkshire	24	(18)8	33
Staffordshire	22	6	27
Suffolk	9	1	11
Surrey	6	(18)3	50
Sussex	23	5	22
Thames Valley	14	2	14
Warwickshire	18	8	44
West Mercia	75	(18)25	33
West Midlands.	93	42	45
West Yorkshire	29	13	45
Wiltshire	1	1	100
England	836	294	35
Dyfed Powys	—	—	—
Gwent	4	3	75
North Wales	8	5	63
South Wales	7	3	43
Wales	19	11	58
Total England and Wales	855	305	36

⁽¹⁷⁾ Breaches are counted in this table on a persons basis; i.e. multiple breaches (occurring at the same time)

⁽¹⁸⁾ Includes breaches where the ASBO recipient was a juvenile

⁽¹⁹⁾ Including City of London

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