| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
10 Jun 2004 : Column 517W—continued
Drugs
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug related offences there were in the Easington constituency in the last three years; and what the success rate for prosecution was. [170125]
Caroline Flint: Recorded crime figures, which are available at police force level and are used to measure trends in crime, include statistics on drugs offences, such as possession, and on property crimes, such as burglary. However they do not record whether the latter are related to an offender's drug habits. There are therefore no figures currently available for the proportion of crime in the Easington constituency which was connected to drug addiction, and what the success rate for prosecution was.
The Home Office sponsored New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) survey, which involved interviewing and drug testing those arrested by the police, provides an insight into the proportion of crimes that are drug related. However, this survey does not provide sub-national data and is also not nationally representative.
Data collected from 16 sites across England and Wales during 1999 to 2001, show that heroin and/or cocaine/crack users reported committing an average of 442 acquisitive crimes in the last 12 months. This figure is much higher than for non-drug users, who reported committing an average of 79 acquisitive crimes in the same period.
10 Jun 2004 : Column 518W
A comparison of the survey's findings from eight sites across the country visited in 1999 and 2002, indicate that there was no change in the proportion of arrestees testing positive for one or more of six illicit drugs. Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent.) of arrestees in each year tested positive for any drug.
Durham Jail
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths have taken place in Durham jail in each year since 1 January 1997; and how many of these were due to (a) suicide and (b) natural causes. [176667]
Paul Goggins: The information requested with respect to HMP Durham is included in the table:
| Number of self-inflicted deaths(21) | Number of deaths by natural/other causes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2 | 1 |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 |
| 1999 | 3 | 1 |
| 2000 | 1 | 3 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 6 | 0 |
| 2003 | 5 | 1 |
| 2004(22) | 2 | 1 |
(21) The Prison Service employs the term "self-inflicted death" rather than suicide. This includes all those deaths where it appears the person has acted intentionally to take his/her own life.
(22) To 27 May.
Central to the suicide prevention strategy I announced on 31 March is the need to reduce levels of distress in prisons and to promote the well being of all staff and prisoners. The strategy has strong support from partner agencies and external organisations, and is being developed in close partnership with the Department of Health.
Durham itself has a comprehensive local suicide and self-harm prevention policy, and an active Safer Prisons Team, which tackles the separate but related issues of suicide, self-harm, bullying and violence reduction. Durham has very strong links with its local Samaritans, who attend the prison at least once per week. They are involved in the selection, training and ongoing support of prisoner peer supporters ("Listeners"), who are a valued and well utilised resource at Durham.
Recognising the increased risk of suicide and self-harm in the early days of custody, Durham has a dedicated First Night Centre, which has strong input from healthcare, probation and detoxification staff. Durham also pioneered the "Meet and Greet" scheme, whereby prisoners, selected and trained by officers, offer information and support to new prisoners during Reception and their first night in custody. This scheme has now been extended across the Prison Service, and is known in other prisons as the "Insiders" scheme.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the refurbishment programme at Durham jail. [176668]
10 Jun 2004 : Column 519W
Paul Goggins: At Durham prison the Prison Service is delivering an £8.5 million refurbishment programme which comprises a general upgrade of the fabric, services, security and associated wing facilities for some 170 cells on D and E Wings. The Refurbishment commenced in March 2003 on D wing and is due to finish with E wing in May 2005.
EU Accession Nationals
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate how many (a) workers and (b) others from the new EU states have arrived in the UK since 1 May. [175441]
Mr. Browne: Since 1 May members of the EU accession countries are subject to the same immigration controls as citizens of other EU member states. We are therefore not able to say how many passengers arrived from EU accession countries or require every passenger to declare their purpose for coming to the UK. Data from the International Passenger Survey (IPS), showing the total number of visits by nationals of all the EU accession countries in May, will be available early in July. Data from the worker registration scheme will be available in due course.
Fruit Farming
Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign fruit pickers and agricultural workers he estimates came to work in the UK in each of the last three years. [175398]
Mr. Browne: Non-EU nationals working as seasonal fruit pickers in the UK come under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS).
The number of work cards issued to SAWS participants in the last three years were:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 23,329 |
| 2002 | 19,372 |
| 2001 | 15,258 |
Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has in place to monitor the work of agencies that provide foreign fruit pickers to farming businesses in the UK. [175414]
Mr. Browne: Non-EU nationals working as seasonal fruit pickers in the UK come under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS). The scheme is administered by nine organisations, known as Operators, under contract to the Home Office.
The contracts require Operators to document their relationship with any third party that they choose to work through, including agencies abroad. They must be satisfied of the professional conduct of such organisations.
10 Jun 2004 : Column 520W
The Home Office undertakes regular monitoring of all appointed Operators to ensure that there is full compliance with their contractual obligations.
Identity Cards
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Irish Government about his proposal to introduce identity cards. [175100]
Mr. Browne [holding answer 21 May 2004]: There have been contacts at official and at ministerial level since the publication of the "Next Steps" document in November 2003. These included meetings between my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and the Irish Minister of Justice. The Irish Government were informed of the publication of the draft Bill and consultation paper in April 2004.
Consultations are on-going between the two Administrations.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further assessment he has made of the implications of his plans to introduce identity cards for the common travel area between the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic since January. [175192]
Mr. Browne [holding answer 21 May 2004]: The principle of the Common Travel Area, which includes the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, will not be affected by the Government's proposals for an Identity Cards scheme.
Consultations will continue with the Irish Government on the implications of the identity cards scheme.
Judicial Review Cases
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent on the defence of judicial review cases which the Government (a) won and (b) lost in each year since 1997. [173301]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 19 May 2004]: The records of Home Office expenditure on judicial review cases do not indicate how much is attributable to cases which are won or lost. The amounts paid by the Home Office to the Treasury Solicitor for handling judicial review cases from May 1997 were as follows. The figures comprise Treasury Solicitor's charges and disbursements, including counsel's fees.
| Amount (£) | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 1,723,587 |
| 1998 | 4,392,654 |
| 1999 | 3,395,411 |
| 2000 | 4,979,425 |
| 2001 | 5,294,852 |
| 2002 | 5,920,377 |
| 2003 | 6,231,668 |
| 2004 | 2,695,265 |
| Total | 34,633,239 |
10 Jun 2004 : Column 521W
10 Jun 2004 : Column 523W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |