| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
7 Sept 2004 : Column 965W—continued
Public Services Funding
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will identify for (a) his Department and (b) the agencies and task forces for which it is responsible each funding stream for public services in (i) the Isle of Thanet and (ii) Canterbury City local authority area. [181702]
Fiona Mactaggart: Home Office funding streams for the Kent area consist of the following:
General Police Grant
Capital Grant
Crime Fighting Fund
Rural Policing Fund
DNA Expansion Programme
Airwave
Basic Command Unit Fund
Community Support Officers
Special Priority Payments
South East Allowance
Building Safer Communities to CDRP partnership
Antisocial behaviour funding to CDRP partnership
Home Office Connecting Communities Project
Home Office Time Limited Development Fund
We do not hold information by local authority area, within each county.
Following the spending review, my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister have announced a new Safer and Stronger Communities Fund (White Paper "Confident Communities in a Secure Britain", published on 19 July 2004) which will bring together a number of funding streams for community safety and improving public spaces.
Alongside the intention to bring together a number of funding streams, the Home Office strategic plan intends to further promote local audits of priorities for community safety and the resources used to prevent and respond to crime and other issues. In particular, an assessment of resources and needs will be a feature of new local area agreements covering community safety, in areas in which these agreements will be developed. The Home Office is looking to build on the existing work of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Drug Action Teams who audit crime and drugs issues in local areas.
For reference, these are outlined on page 36 of the strategic plan.
7 Sept 2004 : Column 966W
Sellafield
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the off-site emergency plans, including evacuation plans, in place in West Cumbria for circumstances involving an accident or other incident resulting in a significant release of radioactivity from Sellafield. [187286]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
There are well tried and tested emergency plans to deal with a release of radioactive material from Sellafield's nuclear facilities. These plans are maintained under the licence condition arrangements for all such sites and have been reviewed and tested at regular intervals over many years. The off-site emergency plan, prepared by Cumbria county council in consultation with the emergency services and British Nuclear Group, has been published in accordance with the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001. The plan covers procedures, facilities and equipment, and includes evacuation arrangements. REPPIR is monitored and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive.
There is an ongoing programme of regular off-site exercises for civil nuclear installations such as Sellafield. These test the local off-site facility for each site, and involve a wide range of local and national agencies. The last such exercise at Sellafield was held on 24 September 2003 and this tested all aspects of Cumbria county council's off-site emergency plan which clearly covers evacuation aspects. The lessons of off-site nuclear exercises are taken forward locally through a standing local Emergency Planning Consultative Committee. Any issues of national relevance are taken forward through the Nuclear Emergency Planning Liaison Group, which is administered and chaired by DTI, and are fed as appropriate into central Government's contingency planning.
Travel Costs
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) its related agencies in each year since 1997. [183904]
Fiona Mactaggart: The information is set out in the following table:
7 Sept 2004 : Column 967W
The marked increases in travel costs since 2001 can be largely attributed to changes in strategy within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) where increased staff numbers and the need to travel as a result of new policy initiatives and targets for improved IND performance. Other contributing factors have been related to providing advice to the organisers of the 2002 Football World Cup in Japan and Euro 2004 in Portugal and the creation of new units to support the police reform agenda.
Criminal Records Bureau only commenced operations in 2000.
Employees of the National Probation Service are not civil servants and their costs have therefore not been included in the above.
Under-age Drinking
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will issue guidance to police forces that parents should, where possible, be informed when alcohol is removed from their children under the under-age drinking legislation; and if he will make a statement; [186474]
(2) if he will investigate the impact of requiring the police to inform schools or colleges when alcohol is removed from pupils under the under-age drinking legislation; and if he will make a statement; [186479]
(3) if he will issue guidance to the police that police schools liaison officers should be made aware of which pupils have had alcohol removed from them by the police under the under-age drinking legislation; and if he will make a statement. [186480]
Ms Blears:
There is no specific requirement for police forces to inform parents, schools or an education institute when alcohol is removed from children or pupils under the under-age drinking legislation. A decision to inform parents or an education institute is an operational matter for individual police forces. However, a child who commits an offence and is reported for the offence can be seen in the presence of his or her parent or a responsible adult.
7 Sept 2004 : Column 968W
Police forces would have their own arrangements for involving Social Services or an education institute if the child might be at risk. The role of the police school liaison officers in schools is a matter for the individual police force and the school.
There is a statutory requirement to educate children and young people about the effect of alcohol. All schools are encouraged to have systems in place to identify and support those young people for whom drugs (including alcohol) may be a problem. Where concerns have been raised schools can provide support either through the curriculum, pastoral system or through referral to more specialised agencies, perhaps co-ordinated through the Connexions Service.
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people were (a) cautioned and (b) found guilty of selling intoxicating liquor to a person aged under 18 in 2003; [184870]
(2) how many people were (a) cautioned and (b) found guilty under section 169 (2) of the Licensing Act 1964 in 2003. [184871]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 16 July 2004]: Figures for England and Wales 2002 show that 59 people were cautioned and 103 found guilty for "selling etc, intoxicating liquor to persons under 18 for consumption on the premises" (Licensing Act 1964, S169(1); Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983, schedule (section 3) para. 4(1).) and a further two cautioned for "wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to a person under 18" (Licensing Act 1964, section 181A as added by Licensing Act 1988, section 17). Those cautioned and found guilty under section 169(2) of the Licensing Act 1964 in 2002 were nine and 18 respectively.
Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |