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Migrant Workers

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment his Department has made of the scale of hot bedding by migrant workers living in overcrowded and dangerous multi-occupancy housing. [182161]

Keith Hill: The Government is concerned about the abuse of workers by gangmasters, particularly in agriculture and related areas, and it therefore supported Jim Sheridan's Gangmasters (Licensing) Bill which successfully completed its passage through Parliament on 6 July and which will shortly receive Royal Assent.

In addition, the measures contained in the Housing Bill currently before Parliament will enable local authorities to license Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO). It will be an offence (subject to a fine of up to £20,000 on conviction) for a licence holder to permit an HMO to be occupied by more persons than for which it is licensed. Under Part 1 of the Bill, local authorities will also have a duty to take enforcement action in respect of any housing conditions which pose a serious threat to the health or safety of the residents of the property.

Neighbourhood Renewal

Mr. Drew: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) how many (a) neighbourhood wardens and (b) posts carrying out functions equivalent of those of
 
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neighbourhood wardens had been created by each local authority by 1 January; [181387]

(2) what financial support his Department has provided to assist the setting-up of neighbourhood wardens or their equivalent in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area. [181388]

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has funded Neighbourhood Warden Schemes since
 
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2000–01. £52.3 million has been provided to assist the setting up of warden schemes during the three-year period 2001–02 to 2003–04.

As of 1 January 2004 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has funded 1,454 Neighbourhood wardens in 243 schemes in England and Wales. The above funding is not recorded by local authority area. The following table provides details of funding by Government Office Region.
NWT funded wardens by GO Region

Government office region	Number of wardens	Number of schemes	2001–02 (£)	2002–03 (£)	2003–04 (£)	Total ODPM cost (£)
London	321	42	1,761,726	5,273,770	7,909,219	14,944,715
South West	97	16	789,616	763,199	1,319,986	2,872,801
South East	130	29	1,116,522	2,067,965	2,248,128	5,432,615
North West	293	49	1,708,263	3,165,904	3,753,241	8,627,408
North East	131	22	1,029,861	1,367,386	966,175	3,363,422
East Midlands	58	10	456,676	884,481	895,237	2,236,394
West Midlands	168	29	973,462	2,239,373	2,635,476	5,848,311
Yorkshire and the Humber	174	25	1,186,472	2,206,041	2,606,863	5,999,376
Eastern	66	17	582,807	1,038,931	945,377	2,567,115
Overall	1,438	239	9,605,405	19,007,050	23,279,702	51,892,157

Note:
This table does not include the £422,000 funding for the five Welsh Neighbourhood Warden Schemes (16 wardens) funded by NMWT.

The success of this pilot funding is reflected by the fact that 81 per cent. of the first round of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's warden schemes have been sustained through mainstream budgets or other funding streams. There is also a plethora of schemes run by local authorities, registered social landlords, voluntary groups, private security organisations, and others. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister estimates that there are about 250 warden schemes funded from outside budgets.

The Neighbourhood Renewal Unit also funds a number of schemes in NDC areas, 15 schemes in Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders and others through local NRF. Exact figures are being collected.

Regional Assemblies

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he plans to publish the draft Bill on the proposed regional assemblies. [181948]

Mr. Raynsford: The Government intends to publish its draft Bill on elected regional assemblies before the Parliamentary summer recess. The orders must be agreed first, because the referendums cannot occur without them, in which case there would be no need to publish a Bill for public information.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Fraud

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce legislation on a fraudulent trading offence for individuals as proposed in the Law Commission's Report Number 277; and if he will make a statement. [181706]

Paul Goggins: The Government published a Consultation Paper dealing with this and other proposals to reform the law of fraud on 17 May. I have asked for a copy to be sent to my hon. Friend. Comments are invited by 9 August.

Identity Cards

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safeguards are proposed to guard against discrimination against ethnic minorities in the identity card scheme. [177924]

Mr. Browne: The draft legislation and the administration of the scheme is bound by the Race Relations Act 1976, as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Therefore, the scheme must have due regard to the elimination of unlawful racial discrimination, the promotion of equal opportunities and good relations between people from different racial groups.

The identity cards scheme itself is non-discriminatory as it is intended to cover everyone in the United Kingdom for longer than a specified period (three months). The scheme will not, in general, require people to obtain a specific, additional document, as it will be designed to make use of existing documents that will be designated as identity cards. Most members of the identity cards "family" are likely to be enhanced versions of existing identity documents which are very widely held familiar documents that are already used as proof of identity.

The draft Bill makes no changes to police powers and there is a specific prohibition on introducing regulations which would require a card to be carried at all times. The police generally have no powers to require a person to provide them with information about their identity. Police already have the power to stop and search members of the public under a number of pieces of legislation. Following on from the Stephen Lawrence
 
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Inquiry Report the Home Office has already carried out a programme of research on stops and searches which identified a number of requirements to improve legitimacy in stop and search.

The education and training of police and public service administrators will be an important part of the implementation and development of the scheme.

The draft Bill specifies the information which may be recorded on the National Identity Register. It does not allow for the recording of ethnicity. The register will hold individuals' confirmed identity information securely and an audit of checks made of the register whether via an ID card or otherwise will be held on the database to comply with the Data Protection Act. Disclosure of the details of a person's entry on the register and audit log records will not be possible without his or her consent other than as authorised under specific provisions in the draft Bill. There will be strict controls and independent oversight of these arrangements. The draft Bill also provides for oversight of the practical operation of the procedures for disclosing personal information from the National Identity Register.

Immigration

Mr. Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the requirements for police registration in the Immigration Rules continue to apply to Taiwanese nationals. [183037]

Mr. Browne: No. As my predecessor, my right hon. friend, the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Beverley Hughes) explained in her reply to my hon. friend, the member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) of 4 February 2004, Official Report, column 982W, the police registration arrangements are a matter which is kept under review. Having reviewed this matter I have decided that the holders of passports issued by the Taiwanese authorities should no longer be routinely required to register with the police.

National Offender Management Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how disputes between recognised trade unions and the National Offender Management Service will be resolved. [178802]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 21 June 2004]: Trade Unions will continue to negotiate and seek resolution to any dispute by pursuing the matter with the Employing body. In the case of Prison Officers represented by the POA this would be the Prison Service, with existing procedures remaining in place. The unions recognised by the National Probation Service (Napo, UNISON and GMB-Scoop) would continue, as under existing procedures, to register a dispute with an individual Probation Board. A dispute which could not be resolved at the local level would be referred to the National Negotiating Council (NNC) and if the dispute could not be resolved within the NNC it might be referred to a third party (such as ACAS) for conciliation or arbitration.

While there are no immediate plans to change the existing procedures, we would, of course, consult on any future proposals to change them.
 
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