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22 Mar 2004 : Column 538W—continued
Sentencing Guidelines
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he will ensure that victims' views are taken into account by the criminal justice system when he sets sentencing guidelines. [162517]
Paul Goggins: The Criminal Justice Act 2003 established the Sentencing Guidelines Council to provide sentencing guidelines for all courts. The Council includes four non-judicial members, one of whom must have experience of "the promotion of the welfare of the victims of crime". Teresa Reynolds from Victim Support has been appointed to fulfil this role.
The victim Personal Statement scheme, introduced in October 2001, provided victims with the opportunity to explain the full extent of the consideration to the contents of the statement when sentencing an offender, although the opinion of the victim as to the specific sentence will not be taken into account.
In cases where the offender is given a life sentence for murder, the family of the victim have the opportunity to make personal statements, which should be taken into account by the courts when setting the minimum term to be served.
Sex Offences (Peterborough)
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on how decisions are taken to allocate those accused of sex offences to the bail hostel in Peterborough. [162539]
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Paul Goggins: In common with all 100 approved probation and bail hostels, Peterborough Approved Premises accepts a range of residents, including those on bail or convicted of sexual offences. The decision to admit anyone to an approved premises is only taken after careful consideration of the risks. This includes the risk to the local community. If any of the risk is assessed as too high then no place is offered. Even if a place is offered by the approved premises, this decision then has to be endorsed by the court, a prison governor or the Parole Board.
Young Offenders
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of young offenders has been diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the last five years. [157478]
Paul Goggins: We do not have this information at national level but a number of steps are being taken to understand and provide access to treatment for this condition. Research on prevalence and effective practice is being conducted at six sites; youth offending teams have health workers who assess and make referrals, with the support of a specialist mental health screening tool; the Youth Justice Board has issued guidance on mental health practice and is developing training for Youth Offending Teams. The Youth Justice Board, Department of Health and Prison Service are working jointly on improving access to health services within the youth justice system.
DEFENCE
Anti-anthrax Vaccines
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department has carried out on the health effects of anti-anthrax vaccines given to military personnel and medical auxiliaries involved in (a) Operation Granby in the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991 and (b) Operation Telic in Iraq in 2003. [160856]
Mr. Caplin: No research has been carried out specifically on the possible adverse health effects of the anthrax vaccine given to personnel involved in Operation Granby or Operation Telic.
However, the results of a research project on the safety of the anthrax vaccine in randomly selected military personnel due to be deployed on Operation Bolton were published in the journal, "Vaccine", in 2003 (Vaccine vol.21 2003 pp 1348–13 54). The study was funded by the Ministry of Defence, but the MOD had no editorial input into its conduct, methodology, or findings. No serious side effects were observed, and the study concluded that the modest incidence of side effects supported the stance that the anthrax vaccination is safe.
Arctic Campaign Veterans
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will introduce a medal for those servicemen who served on the Arctic convoys to Russia during the Second World War. [162159]
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Mr. Caplin: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 1 March 2004, Official Report, columns 595–96, to my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, North (Mr. Allen).
Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle; and when he expects this vehicle to enter service. [160809]
Mr. Ingram: No decisions have yet been made on the numbers and types of vehicles required for the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle role, nor have final decisions been taken on the procurement route to be adopted. Consequently, overall programme costs are not certain at this time. The in-service date for this project will not be set until the programme passes its main gate.
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the procurement of the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle; and when he expects to make a decision on the awarding of the contract. [160810]
Mr. Ingram: A preliminary assessment has been made of the options to meet the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle requirement, including the feasibility of converting surplus Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicles to this role. There are no plans for early contract award.
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the role of the proposed Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle will be. [160812]
Mr. Ingram: It is planned that Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle (ABSV) will be employed as a support vehicle within armoured battlegroups, where its use alongside Warrior and Challenger 2 will improve the coherence of, and ease support to, those fighting units. Potential roles for the ABSV include armoured personnel carrier, ambulance, and command vehicles.
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect the proposed future rapid effects system has had on the future requirement for the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle. [160813]
Mr. Ingram: The Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) programme has had no significant impact upon the requirement for the Armoured Battlegroup Support Vehicle (ABSV). It is intended that FRES will be employed primarily within future medium weight forces, while ABSV will be employed primarily within the existing heavy force.
Budget Holders
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list his Department's top level budget holders and their related management groups for the financial years (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [161121]
Mr. Hoon: The Management Grouping structure for the financial years 2002–03 and 2003–04 are as follows.
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