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11 Mar 2004 : Column 1671W—continued
Litter Abatement Orders (Merseyside)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions
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local authorities in Merseyside have issued a litter abatement order to landowners in each of the last five years. [159598]
Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Principle Litter Authorities can serve litter abatement notices" on the occupier of land or, if unoccupied, on the owner of the land. "Litter abatement orders" can be served by a magistrates' court should any person be aggrieved by the defacement of litter or refuse on relevant land and highways make a complaint.
The information collected by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs indicates that Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St. Helens or Wirral local authorities have not issued any litter abatement notices to landowners during the last five years.
Looked-After Children
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many looked-after children aged 10 or over were cautioned or convicted for an offence in each year since 1994; and what the figures were for all children. [158068]
Paul Goggins: Figures on looked after children aged 10 or over who were convicted or subject to a final warning or reprimand have been collected annually since 2000 for those children who have been continuously looked after for at least 12 months. These figures, provided by the Department for Education and Skills, cover England only, and are shown in the following table:
| Number of looked after children aged 10 or older at 30 September | of which: Number convicted or subject to a final warning or reprimand during the year | |
|---|---|---|
| Number | ||
| 2000 | 25,700 | 2,800 |
| 2001 | 27,000 | 2,800 |
| 2002 | 28,200 | 2,700 |
| Percentage | ||
| 2000 | — | 10.8 |
| 2001 | — | 10.4 |
| 2002 | — | 9.7 |
(27) Numbers shown are rounded to the nearest 100.
National figures for 2003 are due to be published in April.
Similar information for Wales is not available
The following table shows the number of all children found guilty or cautioned (given reprimands or final warnings from June 2000) in England and Wales:
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| Children cautioned | Children found guilty | Total | Proportion of total children in age group (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 124,654 | 62,062 | 186,716 | 3.8 |
| 1995 | 120,561 | 67,864 | 188,425 | 3.7 |
| 1996 | 113,065 | 74,675 | 187,740 | 3.6 |
| 1997 | 104,520 | 79,151 | 183,671 | 3.5 |
| 1998 | 109,725 | 86,506 | 196,231 | 3.7 |
| 1999 | 103,978 | 90,280 | 194,258 | 3.7 |
| 2000 | 97,541 | 91,423 | 188,964 | 3.5 |
| 2001 | 98,042 | 95,530 | 193,572 | 3.6 |
| 2002 | 86,589 | 94,546 | 181,135 | 3.3 |
(28) These data are on the principal offence basis
Statistics for 2003 for England and Wales will be published in the autumn.
No Fixed Abode
Mr. McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of whether the monetary grant made available for prisoners on release from custodial sentence offering no fixed abode as an address acts as an incentive to give no fixed abode as their address; and whether paedophiles giving no fixed abode on release avoid immediate listing on the Register of Sex Offenders. [157995]
Paul Goggins: A higher rate of discharge grant is paid to prisoners on release only if there is a need to seek, obtain and pay for accommodation. It is only paid to prisoners with no accommodation arranged in advance if this arises through no fault of the prisoner.
The Prison Service undertook a large-scale survey in March and April 2003 of sentenced prisoners nearing release. 29 per cent. said they did not have accommodation arranged on release, compared to 33 per cent. in a similar survey undertaken in November and December 2001.
Registered sex offenders are subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 1997. They are required to provide the police with their home address within three days of their release from prison. Where an offender does not have a home address (which is his sole or main residence in the UK), he is required to provide the police with an address of premises in the UK which he regularly visits.
Oakington Immigration Centre
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost of policing arising from (a) the activity at, and (b) escapes from the immigration centre at Oakington, Cambridgeshire. [157353]
Ms Blears: The Chief Constable has informed me that the costs of policing activity incurred by the force over the period 1 January 2002 to 1 March 2004 was:
- (a) £950 for responding to 83 calls to assist at the Oakington immigration centre.
- (b) £3,250 to deal with 31 incidents involving escapees from the centre.
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Operation Artemis
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the police of Operation Artemis. [160086]
Caroline Flint: There was no cost to the police from Operation Artemis. Operation Artemis was a French-led European Union operation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to support the United Nations Mission present in the country and to provide a secure environment under which the interim administration could function.
It was deployed for a short period from June 2003 until 15 September 2003 and was a military mission with no civilian police involvement.
Police Officers
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in each (a) London borough and (b) Metropolitan police division in each year since 1992, in terms of (i) budgeted establishment and (ii) officers in post. [158839]
Ms Blears: The deployment of officers to territorial divisions is an operational matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Sir John Stevens). The information requested has been provided by the Commissioner in tabular form. Table 1 sets out the position in the MRS between 1992 and 1998. Table 2 continues with figures for a revised structure in 1999 and 2000. Table 3 sets out the position following the boundary changes on 1 April 2000. These tables have been placed in the Library.
The structure of Metropolitan Police territorial divisions and Borough Operational Command Units over the period 1992 to 2003 has changed. Figures are not therefore strictly comparable year on year as a result of boundary and organisational changes in the Metropolitan Police Service (MRS). In particular organisational changes were made following boundary changes on 1 April 2000 with the Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey forces. The current territorial areas, introduced in 2000, are not therefore compatible with the previous force structure.
Prisons
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether all prisons issue prisoners with a plastic sack marked HM Prison Service to contain their belongings on discharge; and what assessment he has made of alternatives to this practice. [156033]
Paul Goggins: Plastic sacks stamped with the Prison Service logo are used to store prisoners' property while they are in custody. The Prison Service has made it clear that their use for prisoners' property on discharge is not acceptable. Since October 2002 the Prison Service has made available to prisons plain nylon barrel bags for use for prisoners' property on discharge. These have been well received by prisoners and staff.
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Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the average weekly hours of purposeful activity in (a) privately run prisons and (b) state run prisons; and if he will make a statement. [156829]
Paul Goggins: During this financial year, to the end of January prisoners undertook an average of 23 hours of purposeful activity per week in public sector prisons and 26.3 hours in contracted out prisons.
- Note:
- These figures are provisional and have been taken from establishment purposeful activity returns for the financial year 2003 to present.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are housed in modular temporary units, broken down by prisons. [159278]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 5 March 2004]: The number of prisoners accommodated in Modular Temporary Units (MTUs) is not held centrally. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1431 for the capacity of MTUs across the prison estate, broken down by establishment.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sites are being assessed as potential new sites for prisons. [159279]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 5 March 2004]: The Prison Service is actively seeking potential sites suitable for the development of prison establishments. The details of any individual sites cannot be disclosed for commercial reasons.
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