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15 Mar 2004 : Column 139W—continued

Internet

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent the circulation of offensive material through the internet; and if he will make a statement. [157314]

Paul Goggins: We continue to seek ways to disrupt the circulation of obscene and other illegal material on the internet through the criminal law and by co-operation with the authorities in other countries such as the United States of America, and with industry partners.

Jim Stephens

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the application of Mr. Jim Stephens, Ref. 51178115, to remain in the United Kingdom to be determined. [159414]

Beverley Hughes: Mr. Stephens' appeal against the refusal of leave to remain in the United Kingdom was forwarded to the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) on 9 March. The IAA will notify Mr. Stephens of an appeal hearing date in due course.

Neighbourhood Watch Schemes

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) resident groups and (b) community watch schemes in preventing crime. [159667]

Ms Blears: There has been no formal Home Office assessment of the effectiveness of residents' groups and watch schemes in reducing crime, although some individual projects have been evaluated.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that both resident groups and community watch schemes are effective in bringing communities together to prevent crime and reduce fear of crime.

Tenants' and residents' groups are particularly successful at building community spirit and articulating local needs and concerns resulting in enhanced trust and co-operation with Police.

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Neighbourhood watch schemes are also regarded as one of the most effective examples in preventing crime and reducing the fear of crime. Over 155,000 Neighbourhood Watch schemes operate throughout the United Kingdom covering up to 27 per cent. of all households. 75 per cent. of the respondents to the 2000 British Crime Survey felt that Neighbourhood Watch schemes were effective in preventing crimes such as burglary.

The Home Office are in the process developing an Active Citizenship Centre, a virtual resource, to provide an overarching framework to assess systematically the evidence of the impact of citizens giving up their time to help their local community.

Prisoners (Accommodation on Release)

Mr. McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released from custodial sentence in the (a) most recent year for which figures are available, (b) previous three years and (c) previous five years; how many prisoners gave no fixed abode (NFA) as their address on release from custodial sentence; how many paedophiles were released from custodial sentence within these periods; and how many paedophiles gave NFA as their address within these periods on release from custodial sentence. [158064]

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of prisoners released from determinate sentences is given in the table.

Persons discharged from determinate sentences⁽³⁰⁾: 1998–2003

1998	84,693
1999	89,765
2000	89,154
2001	85,290
2002	88,330
2003	86,995

⁽³⁰⁾ Excludes discharges following recall after release on licence, civil prisoners and fine defaulters

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. These surveys did not look separately at prisoners convicted of sex offences. However, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) provide a framework within which different agencies work together to manage the risks posed by sex offenders living in the community, including those arising from the absence of stable accommodation. The resettlement of sex offenders posing a serious risk of harm to the public is jointly managed by the police and the National Probation Service within these arrangements.

Registered sex offenders are also 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 United Kingdom), he is required to provide the police with an address of premises in the UK that he regularly visits.

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Provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will formalise this multi-agency engagement by imposing a duty to co-operate with the MAPPA on a number of agencies, including local housing authorities and relevant registered social landlords.

National Offender Management Service

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the police (a) have been and (b) will be consulted about supervision arrangements under the proposed National Offender Management Service structure. [159813]

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) implementation team has had discussions with members of the Police Service regarding the proposed NOMS structure and this will continue. The Association of Chief Police Officers have also received copies of the "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives" document which sets out the Government's proposals for the reform of correctional services and sought views on implementation issues for the new National Offender Management Service.

Operation Safeguard

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost per prisoner per night of detention in a police cell under Operation Safeguard is, broken down by police force area. [160193]

Paul Goggins: There are currently no prisoners being held under Operation Safeguard in England and Wales, therefore there are no costs associated with the arrangement. For the average daily cost the last time Operation Safeguard was employed, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 December 2003, column 237W and 19 January 2004, column. 982W.

Persistent Offenders

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to reduce persistent offending through targeting prolific offenders in (a) Ribble Valley and Fulwood and (b) Lancashire in each of the last five years; and whether such schemes are being trialled. [156636]

Paul Goggins: There are a number of initiatives to tackle persistent offenders in Ribble Valley, Fulwood and throughout Lancashire, which support the aims of the national Persistent Offender Scheme.

One such initiative is Operation Outmost. This is a trial cross-border police operation involving staff from Lancashire, North Yorkshire and British Transport Police. It targets persistent offenders who operate in rural areas such as Ribble Valley.

The Preston Tower Project, which covers Fullwood, was launched in 2002. It is an initiative targeting prolific offenders with drug addiction. In the area covered by the project there has been a 19 per cent. reduction in burglary (dwellings) and a 42 per cent. reduction in

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vehicle crime in the last 11 months. Other areas of Lancashire already have or are developing similar projects.

The Jigsaw Project, is a resettlement project that engages with 100 persistent offenders in Lancashire aged between 18 and 20-years-old. The project aids resettlement by linking into local drug treatment services.

In October 2003, Lord Falconer launched the North West's Prisoner Resettlement Strategy. The central purpose of the Strategy, which concentrates on persistent offenders, is to reduce crime and prevent re-offending through a co-ordinated and integrated Resettlement and Rehabilitation Strategy. Preston City Council, which covers Fulwood, is engaged in this work along with Blackburn and Darwen Councils.

An Intensive Control and Change Programme (ICCP) targeting persistent offenders aged 18 to 20-year-olds is running throughout Lancashire. Offenders are tagged and undergo intensive supervision during the day. They are kept off the streets by an overnight curfew.

All the other schemes except Operation Outmost are fully operational.

Police Cells

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list police station cells which have been certified in the manner required by section 14 of the Prison Act 1952. [160699]

Paul Goggins: The requirement in the Prison Act 1952 for the certification of cells does not apply to police cells. Under section 6 of the Imprisonment (Temporary Provisions) Act 1980, persons who may lawfully be detained in penal institutions in England and Wales, may be detained in police cells under the custody of a constable.

Prison Buildings

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the value of prison buildings in central (a) London, (b) Liverpool, (c) Leeds, (d) Manchester, (e) Sheffield and (f) Birmingham; and if he will make a statement. [156705]

Paul Goggins: The value of prison buildings used in the accounts calculated on a depreciated replacement cost basis which does not necessarily represent their disposal value. On this basis the current values of prisons in central city areas are:

Prisons in central city areas

	£
London	281,846,103
Liverpool	36,258,996
Leeds	27,264,606
Manchester	95,164,527
Sheffield	none
Birmingham	58,721,713

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