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Ticket Touting

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been made in each of the last three years for ticket touting (a) in person, (b) through published advertisements, (c) via internet auction sites and (d) through other means; how many were successful in each case; what the average length of custodial sentence was in each case; and if he will make a statement. [164487]

Paul Goggins: Defendants proceeded against and those convicted of offences of ticket touting under section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 in England and Wales, 2000 to 2002, are shown in the table. No information is held centrally on the circumstances of each case. The offence is not one that attracts a custodial penalty.
Number of defendants⁽⁶²⁾ proceeded against and found guilty under section 116 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (ticket touting), England and Wales 2000 to 2002

	Defendants proceeded against	Defendants found guilty
2000	163	140
2001	126	94
2002	127	91

⁽⁶²⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis

Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn.

Transco

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the roll-out of the Transco model; and which other industries are training prisoners with a view to employing them on release; [164349]

(2) what the benefits to the Prison Service from the roll-out of the Transco model are. [164350]

Paul Goggins: The training provided by National Grid Transco is linked to job vacancies in the gas industry. The project is a good example of how employers and the Prison Service are able to collaborate to meet some of the staffing needs of business, while at the same time contributing to reduced re-offending by released prisoners.

National Grid Transco, with its main contractors, is training prisoners for employment as Gas Network Operatives. The programme is currently operating at Reading Young Offender Institution and Wymott prison. Prisoners from Rochester and Glen Parva Young Offender Institutions are being transferred to Reading to participate in the training.

By the end of 2003, 27 prisoners had completed National Vocational Qualifications to qualify as Gas Network Operatives. All 27 were offered jobs with National Grid Transco or one of its contractors and 24 are still in employment. Three have since re-offended and have returned to prison.

National Grid Transco is planning to expand the project to include a number of other establishments. They aim to train and assist into employment up to 250 prisoners a year from 2006. National Grid Transco is also encouraging other companies in the electricity, water, engineering and logistics sectors to adopt the same approach in working with the Prison Service.

Other industries involved in training prisoners with a view to employing them on release include construction, catering, car mechanics, sport and leisure, and transport.

Victim Support

Mr. Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the latest situation in relation to the funding of Victim Support. [164567]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 30 March 2004]: Since the start of the financial year 1997–98 the Home Office's funding of Victim Support has more than doubled, from £11.7 million to £30 million in 2003–04.
 
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No final decision has yet been made with regard to the level of Home Office funding for Victim Support for 2004–05.

Violence Against Women

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to commit resources to a UK national strategy as agreed in the Beijing Platform for Action to eliminate all forms of violence against women. [160913]

Paul Goggins: There are currently no plans to create a National Strategy on Violence Against Women and there is no requirement within the Beijing Platform for Action for us to do so. We are, however, developing a range of policies in this area:In June last year we published the consultation paper, "Safety and Justice", which set out the Government's strategy to tackle domestic violence in England and Wales. It set out proposals under three key headings: prevention; protection; and justice and support. And it included proposals for non-legislative as well as legislative measures, which now form part of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill, which was introduced into the House of Lords in December last year.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is investing £18.9 million this year in refuges in England, which will mean 273 units of new or improved accommodation over the next three years. There will be a further £7 to £9 million in each of the next two years.

The ODPM contributed £1 million over three years, matched by £1 million from Comic Relief, towards the development of a single national 24-hour freephone helpline for victims of domestic violence and the UK 'refuges online system', which provides immediate access to information on refuge accommodation and specialist services across the UK. These were launched in December last year. The Home Office is contributing £1 million towards promoting the new helpline.

On sexual offences, the Government are concerned about the low rate of convictions for reported rape. Issues surrounding consent are central to establishing whether a sexual offence has taken place. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduces a test of reasonableness into the law on consent. It applies largely to England and Wales.

We are also supporting the development of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCS) throughout England and Wales. SARCs are 'one stop' locations where victims of sexual assault can receive care and counselling while, at the same time, having the opportunity to assist the police investigation into alleged offences. SARCs will be considered as part of a wider strategy to improve services for victims of sexual offences. The Government are also considering options for the development of a national rape helpline. We are in discussion with the Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Office to consider how this will best serve victims of sexual offences nationally.

And finally, The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, implemented on 3 March this year, reinforces existing legislation criminalising the offence and increases the maximum penalty for performing and
 
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procuring female genital mutilation from five to 14 years imprisonment. It applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Women Offenders

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Women Offending Reduction Programme. [164372]

Paul Goggins: The significant increase in the female prison population, and the wider consequences of this in terms of disruption to their families, particularly their children, supports the need to respond specifically to the needs and characteristics of women offenders.

The Women's Offending Reduction Programme (The Programme), published on 11 March 2004, is a three-year programme of work that aims to promote a more specific and joined up response to the range of factors that have an impact on why women offend.

In order to reduce the number of women in custody and increase the potential for diversion the Programme will focus on improving sentencers' confidence in community disposals that offer appropriate packages and interventions and are better tailored to meet the particular needs of women offenders. The Programme includes, for example, the development of women specific community-based interventions such as the 'Real Women' offending behaviour programme.

Two key target groups are women with mental health problems and women with substance misuse problems. The Programme will operate in tandem with the Department of Health's Women's Mental Health Strategy and the National Drugs Strategy so that women offenders can access appropriate treatment in the community.

For women who do need to be held in custody, resettlement is a vital element of the Programme. More effective re-integration into the community for women prisoners on release should have a positive impact on re-offending rates. The implementation of the Women's Estate resettlement strategy will ensure that good family ties are maintained to minimise the impact on children separated from their mothers, and necessary local community links are made to meet the range of women's resettlement needs.

The Programme's priorities contribute to the wider Home Office aims of reducing offending and re-offending and will also reflect and support the objectives of the new National Offender Management Service that will come into operation in June 2004.

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