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Merseyside Police

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions Merseyside Police has arrested an individual for carrying an air weapon or imitation firearm in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse since the inception of this power. [165922]

Ms Blears: Information on arrests collected centrally is based on persons arrested for "notifiable" offences by main offence group and police force area only. The information does not identify individual offences.
 
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National Offender Management Service

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish a Gateway Zero Report in respect of the National Offender Management Service in accordance with Office of Government Commerce procedures. [161166]

Paul Goggins: The implementation of the National Offender Management Service is subject to the Gateway reporting process. In keeping with normal practice, it is not intended to publish the gateway Zero Report.

Police

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those police forces in England and Wales who have spent money on radio advertising in each of the past five years for which figures are available; and if he will give the reasons for such expenditure in each case. [165421]

Ms Blears [holding answer 19 April 2004]: The Home Office has run central radio recruitment campaigns, but any money spent on advertising by individual forces is allocated by individual forces themselves, so the Home Office would not hold this information.

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason police forces including Thames Valley Police are investing in separate mobile data systems running on public access bearer networks to deliver data services alongside the airwave system. [166524]

Ms Blears: Airwave has the capacity to deliver voice and data services simultaneously. The voice network is now nearly complete and implementation of national mobile data applications such as access on the move to the Police National Computer is underway. A number forces are exploring alternative mobile data options to meet specific local requirements.

Prisons

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons are for the   operating loss arising from Contract Services workshops in prisons. [164409]

Paul Goggins: It is not realistic for Contract Services workshop activities to break even. To cover all costs, including staffing would involve making charges that the market would be unlikely to bear.

Contract Services workshops employ some 4,000 prisoners. The difference between income received and the full cost of running contract services workshops represents the investment made in providing purposeful activity for large numbers of prisoners. Contract Services activities account for some 5,000,000 hours of purposeful activity a year.

Prisons (Alcohol Testing) Act

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many authorisations have been made under the Prisons (Alcohol Testing) Act 1997; and how many tests have been carried out. [163335]

 
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Paul Goggins: Section 16B of the Prisons Act 1952, (which was inserted by the Prisons (Alcohol Testing) Act 1997) empowers a prison officer, in accordance with prison rules, to request a prisoner to provide a breath sample for the purpose of alcohol testing, in those prisons in which the Governor has authorised such action.

Amendments are to be made to prison rules shortly to    provide appropriate disciplinary offences. No authorisations have yet been made under section 16B, and therefore no tests under this power have been carried out.

Public Bodies

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) resource budget, (b) administration costs and (c) staff numbers were for 2003 of the (i) Community Development Foundation, (ii) Advisory Board on Restricted Patients, (iii) Poisons Board, (iv) Technical Advisory Board, (v) Insurance Cover Working Group, (vi) Ministerial Advisory Group on Retail Crime, (vii) Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team and (viii) Review of the Law Relating to Bribery and Corruption. [164020]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Community Development Foundation (CDF) is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) and, for the financial year 2003–04, had:

an estimated resource budget of £902,000;

estimated administrative costs of £755,000; and

average staff numbers of 46.7 full-time equivalents.

Advisory NDPBs do not have a resource budget. Their secretariat and administration costs are borne by the Department. Members of the Board are public appointees and are remunerated accordingly.

The Advisory Board for Restricted Patients has not met since 2001;

The Poisons Board has not met for the last 12 years; and

The Technical Advisory Board has no resource budget. The Home Office provides secretariat and administrative support. The Board consists of 13 members including a Chairman. All Board members are public appointees and work on a part-time basis. The Chairman's remuneration is £400 per day plus expenses and other members receive expenses only.

Ad hoc advisory groups and reviews are essentially Home Office working groups. They do not have a resource budget or permanent staff.

The Insurance Cover Working Group (ICWG) is a Home Office working group, which meets three times a year. During the Financial Year 2003–04, the ICWG incurred an estimated administration cost of £1,206.

The Ministerial Advisory Group on Retail Crime is no longer operating and did not meet during the Financial Year 2003–04.

The Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team (VCRAT) meets three times a year and, for the Financial Year 2003–04, incurred an estimated administration cost of £5,113.

The Review of the Law Relating to Bribery and Corruption has not met since June 2000.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the requirements are on officials in his
 
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Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials. [164708]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Civil Service Management Code sets out the requirement for civil servants declaring any conflict of interest. The Home Office monitor declarations of interest annually, by written request. Replies are then kept in a register. All new senior staff are made aware on appointment of their duty to declare any conflicts of interest.

Sentencing (Magistrates Courts)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to magistrates courts about sentencing in respect of (a) antisocial behaviour and (b) youth street crime; and if he will make a statement. [165388]

Ms Blears: The Government recognise that breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) is a serious offence and should be treated as such by the court. We are aware that there have been some problems relating to inconsistent sentences for breach of ASBOs and this is something we are continuing to work on. In January 2004 the Magistrates Association for the first time produced sentencing guidelines for the offence of a breach of an ASBO which recognise the seriousness of the offence and direct the court to consider the impact of the offence on victims. The guideline is: "Is it so serious that only custody is appropriate?"

The Anti-Social Behaviour Unit will continue to work with the relevant Government Departments and with local practitioners, the Crown Prosecution Service and the courts to improve consistency in the courts' response to antisocial behaviour. Part of this is to ensure that in every case the courts have the right information available on which to base their decisions, including understanding the effect of anti-social behaviour on victims, witnesses and the wider community.

The Magistrates Association has issued sentencing guidelines to the magistrates courts, which cover the range of criminal offences dealt with by those courts. The Sentencing Guidelines Council, which was established by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, will in future set sentencing guidelines for the range of criminal offences, covering all criminal courts.

The Judicial Studies Board has issued training and guidance to magistrates, and at the start of the Street Crime Initiative, the then Lord Chancellor wrote to the Chairmen of all Panels, including the Youth Panels of magistrates' courts, detailing the changes in powers to remand youth defendants. The Lord Chief Justice has handed down a relevant judgment relating to street robbery in R v. Lobban & Sawyers and R v. Q [2002] 2 Cr App R (S) 274.

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