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15 Mar 2004 : Column 123W—continued
Working Time Directive
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of the European working time directive on the number of hours a trainee surgeon will complete between senior house officer grade and obtaining a consultant post; and if he will make a statement. [160659]
Mr. Hutton: The minimum length of time for each higher specialist training programme is governed by the European Specialist Medical Qualifications Order 1995. These minima are expressed in terms of years rather than hours. The shortest minimum is three years and the longest five. Training in the United Kingdom complies with them in all cases and exceeds them significantly in many instances.
We have in place 20 European working time directive pilot projects, four hospital at night pilots, as well as a significant development programme linked to reform of postgraduate medical training. A vital element of this on-going work is to assess the inter-relationship between implementation of the directive and current proposals to reform medical training to ensure that it is better managed, structured and able to respond to the needs of patients and the service.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Sentencing
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the reasons for changes in average sentence lengths since 1991. [158736]
Paul Goggins: The average length of sentence passed in a magistrates' court increased from 2.9 months in 1991 to 3.1 months in 2002, the last year for which information is available.
The average length of sentence passed in the Crown Court increased from 18.3 months in 1991 to 25.9 months in 2002.
While it is for the courts to determine the sentence passed in individual cases the Government believes that prison should be reserved for serious, dangerous and seriously persistent offenders.
It is the role of the recently appointed Sentencing Guidelines Council to publish robust and comprehensive sentencing guidelines to assist the courts in their task of ensuring consistent and just disposals in all cases.
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Asylum and Immigration
Mr. Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the vacancy rate in accommodation contracted for by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) was on the latest date for which figures are available, distinguishing between direct contracts and contracts placed with agencies such as local authorities, broken down by local authority area where NASS has such contracts. [157043]
Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the format requested. With the reduction in the number of asylum applicants, work is underway to reduce the number of unoccupied places and further information will be provided about that in due course.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring of returned unsuccessful asylum applicants is undertaken by UK representatives in (a) Congo, (b) Ivory Coast and (c) Cameroon; and if he will make a statement on his assessment of the safety of those individuals. [153940]
Beverley Hughes: All asylum (and human rights) claims are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 United Nations' Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Should a Claim be refused and any appeal before the independent Immigration Appellate Authority be unsuccessful, it means that for that individual it is safe to return.
In making decisions about removing failed asylum seekers, the Home Office takes full account of up to date information from a wide range of sources about the situation in the country of origin. These sources include intergovernmental organisations (such as the UN), governmental sources (including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and human rights organisations (for example Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch).
If an individual asylum seeker establishes a need for international protection they would not be returned.
Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated annual cost to Manchester City Council is of the implementation of the provisions within the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill as they affect local authorities. [159423]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 8 March 2004]: Measures in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill are designed to reduce abuse of the United Kingdom asylum system. We would therefore expect implementation of its provisions to reduce costs for central and local government in the long-term. Concerns have been raised over the potential impact of clause 8 of the Bill which proposes to withdraw support from failed asylum-seeking families if they refuse to co-operate with efforts to return them home. If, by putting themselves in this position, parents put their children at risk, it would be for the local authority to decide how the interests of their children should be protected under existing child protection legislation. The Bill does not change the grounds on which children may be taken into care. We do not believe that many, if any, parents would put their children in this position. We have made clear
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that local authorities would be reimbursed for costs incurred if a child did require assistance from a local authority as a consequence of the withdrawal of support.
Bail (Offences)
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to prevent offences being committed by individuals released on bail. [156340]
Paul Goggins: The Government are determined to ensure that the courts give proper and careful consideration before exercising their discretion to grant bail where defendants who are already on bail commit an offence. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 provides that a defendant who applies for bail in respect of an offence that appears to have been committed while he was on bail for another offence may not be granted bail unless the court is satisfied that there is no significant risk of his offending again.
Coroners
Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether coroners have powers to prevent burials taking place in private land. [159969]
Paul Goggins: Coroners do not have specific powers that allow them to prevent burials taking place in private land.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the hon. Member for Walsall, North's letter of 3 February regarding a constituent, Home Office ref. PO1274/4. [159634]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 8 March 2004]: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 10 March 2004.
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 26 January from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. Abdo. [159985]
Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 9 March 2004.
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 26 January from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. A. Mboob. [159986]
Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 4 March 2004.
Prosecutions (Romford/Havering)
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful criminal prosecutions were brought for crimes perpetrated in the Romford area of the London borough of Havering during (a) 1995, (b) 1997, (c) 1999, (d) 2001 and (e) 2003; [157010]
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- (2) how many criminal charges were pressed for crimes perpetrated in the Romford area of the London borough of Havering during (a) 1995, (b) 1997, (c) 1999, (d) 2001 and (e) 2003. [157011]
Paul Goggins: The available information is contained in the table and relates to (a) defendants convicted and (b) defendants not convicted in the Havering Petty Sessional Area, the magistrates court within which sits at Romford, in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2002.
Statistics of defendants charged with offences are not collected centrally.
| Defendants convicted | Defendants not convicted(28) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 4,101 | 1,243 |
| 1997 | 3,711 | 965 |
| 1999 | 3,695 | 933 |
| 2001 | 3,112 | 970 |
| 2002 | 4,973 | 1,239 |
(28) Includes defendants whose proceedings were discontinued, those discharged under Sec 6 MCA 1980, and those whose charges were withdrawn or dismissed.
Statistics for 2003 will available in the autumn.
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