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9 Mar 2004 : Column 1470W—continued

TETRA Masts

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with O2 Airwave on the effect on television reception in the vicinity of TETRA masts following their switching on in (a) Bognor Regis, (b) Chichester, (c) Littlehampton and (d) Worthing. [158544]

Ms Blears: The Home Office has had no discussions with O2 Airwave on the potential effects of TETRA masts on TV reception. This is a matter for Ofcom, which is the regulatory authority on radio licensing and advises the public on interference problems.

Vehicle Cruise Events

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is issued by his Department to chief constables on policing vehicle cruise events. [159162]

Caroline Flint: I recognise the problems that vehicle cruise events can generate and welcome the consideration given to the issue last year by the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) Road Policing Operations Forum. The ACPO policy is now to:

encourage forces to work on understanding the website community through which illegal cruising events are organised;

apply robust public order tactics to constrain the activity of any illegal cruises, including via the arrest of attendees causing a public nuisance and the seizure of their vehicles;

support pro-actively alternative functions organised in accordance with local authority requirements for a public event; and,

meet organisers of illegal cruises who are keen to move their hobby into a legal arena.

I am pleased that police forces are now adopting this policy. With effect from 1 January 2003, we have given police forces a power under the Police Reform Act to seize vehicles being driven either off-road without authority or on-road carelessly or inconsiderately, and in such a way as to cause alarm, distress or annoyance. We issued guidance at the time on this new provision, which a number of forces are using to tackle cruises.

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the law relating to vehicle cruise events. [159163]

Caroline Flint: We believe the existing law is sufficient to deal with the problems to which vehicle cruise events give rise. We gave the police on 1 January 2003 new powers under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles being used anti-socially. I know that a number of forces have been successfully using these to deal with the problems caused by cruises.

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to police authorities on monitoring of vehicle cruise events advertised on the internet. [159164]

Caroline Flint: I am aware that there has over several years been a developing youth culture of attending vehicle cruises. The activity has over 200 websites dedicated to it in the UK. I support the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) policy to encourage forces to work on understanding the website community through which cruising events are organised.

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Vulnerable Prisoners

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what lessons have been learnt from the internal inquiries into serious incidents of self-harm by prisoners on the prevention of recurrences. [155245]

Paul Goggins: Serious incidents of self-harm are investigated at senior managers' discretion to identify the cause and lessons to be learned. Preventing recurrence is tackled at the individual level through care plans and case reviews.

In 2003, 30 in-depth interviews were carried out with prisoners who had survived a severe self-harm incident requiring resuscitation or treatment in outside hospital. The findings included: the importance of staff talking and listening to prisoners, proactive care for prisoners who feel unable to ask for help; increased in- cell and out-of cell 'distraction' activities; specialist support for prisoners with a history of abuse; flexible peer support; and reliable delivery of medication for mental health problems. This learning has informed a number of initiatives: quotes from the interviews in the development of Key Messages cards, posters and an information booklet for prison staff; the training of new prison officers; and development of the second phase suicide prevention strategy planned to be introduced soon.

More accurate self-harm data recorded since December 2002 is enabling closer analysis of trends at local, area and national levels. A number of intervention strategies have been introduced into establishments for people who self-harm. These include counselling, support groups, and specialised psychological interventions. A network of establishments has been set up to develop interventions, facilitate evaluation and share good practice, and an information booklet for staff on working with prisoners who self-harm has been circulated to establishments. A guidance document for managing and caring for prisoners who self-harm is being prepared.

Work Permits

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were issued in each of the last five years. [157456]

Beverley Hughes: The number of work permits issued in each of the last five calendar years is given in the table.

	Number issued
1999	60,743
2000	88,651
2001	120,823
2002	136,151
2003	145,351

Young Offenders

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which bodies are used to provide education within young offenders institutions. [158734]

Paul Goggins: 28 contractors currency provide Learning and skills for young offenders, most of which are colleges of further education. Young Offenders also benefit from the involvement of a wide range of

9 Mar 2004 : Column 1472W

voluntary and community organisations in learning activities. Some of these, such as the Prisoners' Education Trust, provide financial support for distance learning. Others, such as the YMCA, Clean Break Theatre Company and Writers in Prison Network are directly involved in providing learning services.

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the latest figure is of the cost per week of detaining a person in custody in a young offenders institution. [159510]

Paul Goggins: The average weekly cost of keeping someone in establishments categorised as young offender institutes during the financial year 2002–03 was £535.

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average sentence served within young offenders institutions was in each year since 1997. [158732]

Paul Goggins: Table 3.14 of 'Prison Statistics England and Wales 2002' gives the average time served in prison under sentence by young offenders discharged from determinate sentences on completion of sentence or on licence, for the period 1997–2002. A copy of this publication is available in the House of Commons Library.

TREASURY

Asthma

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths were caused by asthma in each year since 1 January 1996; and how many were caused by sudden onset attacks, broken down by (a) age, (b) sex and (c) health authority. [159784]

Ruth Kelly [holding answer 8 March 2004]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Cheryl Gillan dated 9 March 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many deaths were caused by asthma in each year since 1st January 1996; and how many were caused by sudden onset attacks, broken down by (a) age, (b) sex and (c) health authority.

Numbers of total asthma deaths in England and Wales by sex and five-year age groups are published annually by the Office for National Statistics in the series "DH2, Mortality Statistics, Cause" The latest publication is for 2002 and copies of this, and earlier volumes, are in the Library of the House.

Asthma deaths caused by sudden onset attacks cannot be separately identified.

I am placing four tables in the House of Commons Library, showing the numbers of deaths from asthma in Strategic Health Authorities in England and for Wales since 1996.

These tables respectively show the number of deaths for (a) men, (b) women, (c) persons aged under 65 and (d) persons aged 65 and over.

Census

Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the latest census was broken down by (a) ethnic origin, (b) age, (c) gender and (d) religion;

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how many constituents in the Rochdale constituency fall into each category (i) in absolute terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total population; and what plans he has to revise classification categories. [157505]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Lorna Fitzsimons, dated 9 March 2004:

As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how the latest census was broken down by (a) ethnic origin, (b) age, (c) gender and (d) religion; how many constituents in the Rochdale constituency fall into each category (i) in absolute terms and (ii) as a percentage of the total population; and what consideration he has given to revising existing classification categories. (157505)

The classifications used in the 2001 Census output for ethnic origin, gender and religion are shown in the attached tables. Age ranges are presented in a variety of ways across the prospectus of Census outputs. For Parliamentary Constituencies, data are presented in quinary (five-yearly) age groups.

The requested information for Rochdale Parliamentary constituency is published in the "Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies", and its accompanying CD, which includes both national and constituency level tables. A copy of this report is available in the House of Commons Library and is on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/cn 70.asp

The National Statistics website also includes profiles of each local authority area from the 2001 Census. Further detail on the population profile of Rochdale local authority, including age and gender breakdowns, is available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/pyramids/pages/00bq.asp A more general profile of the Rochdale local authority area, including information on ethnicity and religion, is available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/profiles/00bq.asp

Updated National Statistics guidelines on the measurement and collection of ethnicity data were published in January 2004 and are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ethnic group statistics

These guidelines were produced after consultation with relevant government departments and other organisations, including the Home Office and the Commission for Race Equality. They reflect the need for a balance between the prime requirement for comparability with the 2001 Census while, at the same time, acknowledging the fact that classifications are never set in stone. In particular, the perceptions and descriptions of ethnicity are constantly evolving and it is important that the guidance is periodically reviewed to ensure that it reflects these shifts. The ethnic group question and classification will be reviewed in time for the 2011 Census. This process is likely to begin in 2005.

Ethnic Group Classification

White

British

Irish

Other White

Mixed

White and Black Caribbean

White and Black African

White and Asian

Other Mixed

Asian or Asian British

Indian

Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Other Asian

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Black or Black British

Caribbean

African

Other Black

Chinese or other ethnic group

Chinese

Other Ethnic Group

Religion Classification

(People stating religion as:)

Christian

Buddhist

Hindu

Jewish

Muslim

Sikh

Other religions

No religion

Religion not stated

Gender Classification

Males

Females

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