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Immigration Appeals

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration appeal cases processed by the Appeals Processing Centre are awaiting despatch to the Immigration Appellate Authority. [161976]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 16 March 2004]: Figures at the end of February showed that there were approximately 2,000 entry clearance cases and 2,000 in country immigration cases which had been processed by the Appeals Processing Centre and were awaiting despatch to the Immigration Appellate Authority.

Computer Misuse Act

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ask the Sentencing Guidelines Council to frame guidelines in relation to the Computer Misuse Act 1990. [162413]

Caroline Flint: The Sentencing Guidelines Council was created by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and has a key role to play in improving consistency in sentencing. It will in due course consider guidelines in respect of all criminal offences.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent (a) representations he has received and (b) discussions he has had regarding (i) judicial awareness of and (ii) sentencing guidelines in relation to the Computer Misuse Act 1990; and if he will make a statement. [162415]

Caroline Flint: We have not received any representations nor had any discussions with the judiciary in relation to the Computer Misuse Act 1990. However, changes will be made to section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to increase the penalty threshold, to allow for the effective punishment of all acts undertaken by hackers and others in committing this offence. This and other changes to the Act will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows.

Offender Management

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to produce a project initiation document in respect of the National Offender Management Service. [160894]

Paul Goggins: Establishing the National Offender Management Service will include a number of projects. Those individual projects will follow standard government project management procedures.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the management of the female prison estate under the National Offender Management Service arrangements. [161162]

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Paul Goggins: The structure of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is yet to be finalised. The implementation team are considering a range of issues including the management of the female prison estate within NOMS.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish a project initiation document in respect of the National Offender Management Service; when he intends to appoint a project manager; and what the delivery date will be. [161163]

Paul Goggins: Establishing the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will include a number of projects. Those individual projects will follow standard government project management procedures.

Eithne Wallis, former Director General of the National Probation Service, was appointed as change manager on 6 January. She is responsible for the implementation of the National Offender Management Service. A Programme Team to assist with the development of NOMS is being assembled. The National Offender Management Service will come into being on 1 June 2004 and it is anticipated that it will have become fully functional by 2008–09.

Mr. David: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with (a) employees and trade unions and (b) hon. Members about the new National Offender Management Service. [161218]

Paul Goggins: The document "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives" sets out the Governments initial response to the review of correctional services carried out by Patrick Carter.

The Home Secretary continues to seek views from key stakeholders on a number of issues raised in that document relating to the effective management of offenders. We are currently considering initial responses.

Prisons

Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers left prison service employment within (a) six months, (b) one year and (c) two years of becoming an officer in each of the last five years. [160746]

Paul Goggins: Between 1 August 2000 and 31 December 2003, 4,763 new prison officers were recruited (including existing staff who converted to the prison officer grade).

Information on the number of prison officers who left the service in this period during their first two years of service is given in the table. The figures include resignations and dismissals.

	Left within six months of appointment	Left between six and 1 2 months of appointment	Left between one and two years of appointment
August to December 2000	11	12	24
2001	21	25	82
2002	46	25	36
2003	87	77	63

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Information is not held centrally for staff that left the Service prior to August 2000 and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the (a) certified normal accommodation and (b) number of prisoners held in each prison establishment was on 31 December for each of the past five years; [160470]

(2) what new accommodation has been provided at each prison establishment in each of the last five years; and how this new accommodation has affected the certified normal accommodation of each establishment. [160471]

Paul Goggins: The Certified Normal Accommodation and total population of each prison in England and Wales on 31 December of each of the past five years will be placed in the Library.

Quashed Convictions

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many quashed convictions arose from the work of (a) the Criminal Cases Review Commission between 1997 and 2003 and (b) the comparable Home Office unit in the period between 1991 and 1997; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for differences between the two figures. [159663]

Paul Goggins: By 31 March 2003, referrals from the Criminal Cases Review Commission had resulted in 77 convictions being quashed.

Between January 1991 and March 1997, 54 convictions that had been referred to the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary were quashed (this includes one case where only two of several counts were overturned).

The Criminal Appeal Act 1995 introduced changes that make a direct comparison impossible. The major difference was the introduction of a court appeal process for summary offences. As the Home Secretary could refer only convictions for indictable offences in England and Wales back to the Court of Appeal, C3 Division of Criminal Department's work also included considering the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy to free applicants from the consequences of wrongful conviction for summary offences. The Commission's 77 convictions quashed include six from Northern Ireland. The Commission has greater powers to obtain documents etc. than the Secretary of State had, and has more staff than were available in C3 Division.

Racial Harassment

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers preventing racial harassment have been introduced since 1997; and how many times these powers have been used in Crosby. [160549]

Fiona Mactaggart: Prior to 1997 the Race Relations Act (RRA) 1976 already prohibited discrimination on racial grounds. The RRA did not specifically refer to harassment, but it was clear from case law that racial harassment was a type of detriment capable of amounting to the kind of less favourable treatment prohibited by the Act.

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As part of its fulfilment of its obligations under the EC Race Directive the UK amended the Race Relations Act 1976 (by virtue of the Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment) Regulations 2003) so as to make it unlawful to harass a person, on grounds of race or ethnic or national origins, in the areas of activity covered by the 1976 Act.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 created new and separate offences where the offences of causing fear and violence or of causing harassment, alarm or distress under the Public Order Act 1986, or the offences of harassment or putting in fear of violence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 were racially aggravated.

Figures for the number of prosecutions in Crosby for this type of offence are not centrally available. Merseyside Police figures for racially aggravated harassment offences (published by the Home Office under the requirements of S95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991) show a total of 434 recorded offences of this type over the period 1999/2000 to 2001/02.

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