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Dr. Bassam Odeh

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a decision will be made on the status of Dr. Bassam Odeh (Home Office reference A574053) following his successful appeal on 29 January. [189142]

Mr. Browne: A decision has been made to grant Dr. Odeh refugee status in the United Kingdom. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate is currently in the process of issuing the necessary status papers.

Drug Treatment

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the tender document for drug rehabilitation services in the Prison Service reference ST04589/659/1; and for what reason it was changed; [188607]

(2) what consultation he has undertaken with those who have provided drugs services in prisons on the new tender process. [188608]

Paul Goggins: The tender documents set out the basis for delivery of drug treatment in prisons. Changes have been made to reflect developments in drug treatment policy and to bring greater clarity around service delivery standards, pricing and performance.

There has been extensive consultation on the new tender process with those who currently provide drug treatment services in prisons. This has included two national conferences for providers and a number of one-to-one discussions.
 
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English Language Tests

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will report progress in (a) developing criteria for English language tests for new entrants, (b) delivering English language tests and (c) exemption from tests of entrants from traditionally English-speaking countries. [188232]

Mr. Browne: From 28 July 2004, the standard of knowledge of English required of naturalisation applicants has been defined as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Entry 3. Applicants can demonstrate this by submitting with their application an ESOL certificate, an alternative qualification for learners of English of an equivalent or higher level, or an educational qualification that could have been obtained only by someone with good English.

Naturalisation applicants from traditionally English-speaking countries are not exempted from this requirement. They should either produce an appropriate educational qualification—one which could have been obtained only by someone with good English—or seek certification from a "designated person" that they have a knowledge of English to the level reasonably to be expected of a person of full age and capacity whose native language is English. At present, only Notaries are designated but further groups are being considered.

European Borders Agency

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the decision of the United Kingdom to accept limited participation in the European Borders Agency, without Gibraltar; and for what reason the United Kingdom's full participation was rejected by the EU. [188482]

Mr. Browne [holding answer 14 September 2004]: Operational co-operation in the Agency is important to the UK, as an effectively managed external border is in the interests of all Member States. We therefore took an active role in negotiations to ensure that provision was made for involving the UK in the Agency's activities.

The UK is not participating in the adoption of the Border Agency Regulation because the Council took the view that the UK could not opt in under the Title IV Protocol, because the regulation builds on the external border provisions of the Schengen acquis, in which the UK does not participate. Accordingly the UK has no vote on adoption. The UK disagrees with this interpretation and with the express exclusion of Gibraltar.

The UK does not participate in the external border provisions of the Schengen acquis, because we believe it necessary to retain the right to carry out our own frontier controls.

Excessive Drinking

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the impact of initiatives by the licensed trade to curb excessive drinking. [189129]

Ms Blears: The Interim Analytical Report, which led to the publication of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England in March this year highlighted some good initiatives undertaken by the alcohol
 
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industry collectively and individually but found that good practice was sporadic and unco-ordinated. One of the recommendations in the Strategy was for Government to develop a social responsibility scheme together with the industry. We are working closely with industry representatives to take this recommendation forward.

The Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign that has been running this summer saw concerted activity by police and partners to tackle alcohol related violence and disorder and target under age and binge drinking. The results of the campaign highlight the need for more to be done on the part of the industry.

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the costs involved in policing alcohol-related anti-social behaviour in (a) England and Wales, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Leeds in the last year for which figures are available. [189130]

Ms Blears: Police authority accounts are not kept in a form which would make it possible to identify the costs of policing alcohol related anti-social behaviour, and there is no specific grant made available to forces to deal directly with the problems associated with excessive drinking. It is for individual police forces to decide how they allocate their resources to tackle their crime and disorder priorities.

The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England, published on March 15 this year estimates that alcohol-related crime and disorder costs taxpayers up to £7.3 billion a year.

False Passports

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bogus passports were recovered in police operations in the last year for which figures are available. [187061]

Mr. Browne: The information requested is not available as the number of bogus passports recovered is not collated centrally.

Identity Cards

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the performance milestones in the contract for the design and structure of an identity card. [188704]

Mr. Browne: No contracts have been let for the design and structure of the identity card.

Immigration and Asylum Events

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many events the Home Office has organised for public organisations on immigration and asylum since 2003. [189978]

Mr. Browne: The Home Office organises a range of events concerning asylum and immigration, which involve other organisations from outside Government and within. However, details of these are not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
 
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Managed Migration Department

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people work at the Managed Migration Department. [189932]

Mr. Browne: As of 30 June 2004, there were 2,286 permanent staff employed in the Managed Migration Directorate (2,096.9 full-time equivalent).

National Offender Management Scheme

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has held with (a) county probation officers and (b) criminal justice boards on the National Offender Management Scheme. [168308]

Paul Goggins: All probation staff have been given the opportunity to comment on both written consultation documents issued since January 2004. Additionally the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service has conducted 10 regional meetings involving over 3,000 staff from the probation and prison service.

Local criminal justice boards have also been offered opportunities to comment on the written consultation documents and their responses made up just under 10 per cent. of those received to the second exercise.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long stakeholders have been given to respond to the paper on the structure of the National Offender Management Service. [176675]

Paul Goggins: There have been two formal written consultation documents issued since January 2004. "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives" was published in January 2004 with a deadline for response of 4 March. The consultation paper on the organisational design was issued in May with a deadline of 30 June for response. In both instances submissions were received and accepted beyond these dates and included in the analysis of responses. In accordance with the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Consultation a summary analysis and response is being prepared and will be issued by the Government shortly.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with the major providers of drugs services to jails in England and Wales concerning the introduction of the National Offender Management Service. [181827]

Paul Goggins: There have been two formal written consultations on the introduction of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and a number of the major providers of drug services have taken the opportunity to contribute. These responses have been analysed and used as the basis for informing policy developments. The providers of drugs services are important partners within NOMS and the National Offender Manager met representatives of drug service agencies in September. A new unit reporting to the National Offender Manager has been established to oversee relationships with the voluntary sector.

Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what way the creation of regional offender managers within the National Offender Management Service will contribute towards reducing the prison population. [189090]

 
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Paul Goggins [holding answer 16 September 2004]: The Regional Offender Managers will play a pivotal role in reforming the delivery of correctional services, the principal aim of which is to reduce re-offending. Key features of these reforms are the development of end-to-end management of offenders and a greater use of effective community sentences in place of short-term imprisonment.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how regional offender managers in the National Offender Management Service structure will hold probation areas to account for their performance. [190115]

Paul Goggins: The Regional Offender Managers (ROMS) will hold probation areas to account through service level agreements, which will be based on existing standards and key performance targets.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what budgets regional offender managers will have for (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06. [190116]

Paul Goggins: The budgets for Regional Offender Manager in full for 2005–06 will be determined in light of the development of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the overall budget for NOMS in 2005–06.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the timetable is for the introduction of market testing of prison establishments under the National Offender Management Service. [168425]

Paul Goggins: An announcement about the Market Testing of prison establishments will be made in due course.

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether each Governor will be responsible for setting charges for prisoner places for their own establishment under the new structure for the National Offender Management Service; [168833]

(2) who will be responsible for setting the cost to regional offender managers for places in (a) public and (b) privately run prisons under the new National Offender Management Service structure. [168834]

Paul Goggins: A pricing and charging mechanism for prisoner places is currently being considered as part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Change Programme. Any mechanism will be agreed by the Chief Executive of NOMS and approved by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to (a) privatise and (b) open to contestability a (i) probation area and (ii) National Offender Management Service region. [188538]

Paul Goggins: There are no plans to privatise any part of the National Offender Management Service, or its regions or probation areas.

We are considering how we might open up probation services to contestability but no decisions have yet been made on the scope or extent of this.
 
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Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he expects contestability in the National Offender Management Service to achieve more effective service delivery. [188539]

Paul Goggins: In the report "Managing Offenders-Reducing Crime" Lord Carter emphasised that service delivery can be further improved through greater use of competition from private and voluntary sectors. We accept this advice and said so in our response "Reducing Crime—Changing Lives".

We want the most cost effective custodial and community sentences no matter who delivers them. Contestability ensures value for money, with the optimum combination of cost, quality and effectiveness delivered through competition and partnership arrangements between and within the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how probation boards under the National Offender Management Service structure will extend their commissioning functions. [188540]

Paul Goggins: Under existing legislation, Probation Boards have the power to commission all the services of their probation area.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how regional offender managers with the National Offender Management Service will achieve greater innovation within the prison and probation services. [188541]

Paul Goggins: Regional Offender Managers will play a key role in reforming the delivery of correctional services and implementing the new sentencing framework.

The Regional Offender Managers will steer the development of the core offender management function and contestability. These changes require effective working between the prison and probation services, and wider co-ordination above Probation Board level in order to ensure nation-wide consistency and accountability in our approach to reducing re-offending.

Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will have the authority to move a prisoner to another prison once a place has been purchased by a regional offender manager under the new structure for the National Offender Management Service. [168784]

Paul Goggins: Prisoners move between establishments for a variety of different reasons. Decisions to transfer prisoners will be a matter for the Regional Offender Manager, advised by the Offender Manager, Population Management Unit and others.

Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it will be the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service to set the cost that can be charged for a prison place at each establishment. [168786]

Paul Goggins: A pricing and charging mechanism for prisoner places is currently being considered as part of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS)
 
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Change Programme. Any mechanism will be agreed by the Chief Executive of NOMS and approved by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.

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