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15 Nov 2004 : Column 1095W—continued
Badgers
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records he has of the number of incidents of mistreatment of badgers in England and Wales for each of the last 10 years. [193729]
Ms Blears: No records are collected centrally on the number of incidents of mistreatment of badgers.
Belmarsh Prison
Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place to monitor the mental health of prisoners held at Belmarsh Prison under anti-terrorism legislation; and on what dates he has received reports in the past two years. [193178]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 27 October 2004]: All prisoners arriving at Belmarsh prison, for whatever reason, receive a mental health assessment. Should this assessment give rise to any cause for concern, the prisoner is referred to mental health services. At any time while at Belmarsh, a prisoner may be referred to mental health services. Any member of staff or the prisoner himself can make a referral.
Mental health services were reviewed as part of the Commission for Health Improvement programme in February 2003.
The deputy director general recently commissioned the Department of Health to review the health care systems (including mental health) available to the detainees at Belmarsh prison. A team of independent health professionals undertook the review and
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concluded that the health care services available to the detainees were satisfactory and equitable to those available to other prisoners.
Mental health services are provided at Belmarsh by Oxleas NHS trust. These services have been awarded Beacon status as recognition of excellence.
Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will accede to the requests of prisoners being held at Belmarsh under anti- terrorism legislation for closer contact with their families. [193179]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 27 October 2004]: Detainees held under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, in common with other persons held at Belmarsh prison, are able to receive regular visits from their families and friends, in addition to being able to contact them by telephone and through correspondence. While any request received for additional contact will always be considered, this has to be in the context of the operational requirements of the prison and prison rules.
All those detained under part 4 of the ATCSA 2001 are free to leave the UK at any time.
Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received about the mental health of prisoners at Belmarsh Prison under anti-terrorism legislation; and if he will meet the medical advisers appointed by their solicitor. [193180]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 27 October 2004]: None. All prisoners at Belmarsh, including those detained under anti-terrorism legislation, have access to a full range of mental health facilities. Any concerns raised about the mental health of a particular person at Belmarsh should be directed to the health care staff, who will then be able to consider the matter and take appropriate action as necessary.
Bogus Colleges
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of bogus colleges have been made to him in the last 24 months; and how many such colleges have been closed. [193250]
Mr. Browne: Details of the number of bogus colleges reported, or the number closed, are not currently collated centrally. The DfES Register of Educational Establishments will be launched in January 2005. Immigration and Nationality Directorate officials have visited over 1,150 establishments of concern so far this year, of which about a quarter have been found to be bogus. All applications for leave to enter or remain as a student are checked against this information, and applications relating to colleges known to be bogus are refused.
Category A Prisoners
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many category (a) A, (b) B and (c) C prisoners there were in England (i) in 1990, (ii) in 1995, (iii) in 2000 and (iv) at the latest date for which figures are available. [196462]
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Paul Goggins: Information on the number of Category A, B and C prisoners, as recorded on the central prison IT system, is provided in the table. Information is not available for 1990 or 1995.
| Category A 1 | Category B | Category C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June 2000 | 925 | 7,700 | 26,100 |
| 30 September 2004 | 903 | 8,000 | 32,000 |
(50) Figures for category A prisoners have been supplied by NOMS colleagues, and comprise all prisoners with a category A classification, including those on remand or awaiting extradition. The 2004 figure is for 1 October
Child Pornography
Tom Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions for the (a) production
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and (b) distribution of child pornography there have been during the last 12 months. [195378]
Paul Goggins: Prosecutions for producing or distributing pornography are not directly identifiable on the Home Office Court Proceedings database. Prosecutions for distribution, possessing with a view to distribution, taking or making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children under the Protection of Children Act 1978 are recorded together in the Court Statistics. Simple possession is an offence under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and possessing obscene material for gain is an offence under the Obscene Publications Act 1959.
The available information relating to England and Wales in 2002 is shown in the table. Statistics for 2003 will be available later in November.
(51) These data are on the principal offence basis
Children (Court Appearances)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what special measures are available to support children who give evidence in court. [196636]
Paul Goggins: Witnesses aged under 17 at the time of hearing ("child witnesses") are eligible for special measures assistance to give their best evidence under the provisions of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.
A primary rule in the Act provides that child witnesses in certain categories of offence, including violence and sexual offences, ("child witnesses in need of special protection") are entitled to have a video recording admitted as their evidence in chief and otherwise to give their evidence via a live link unless the court decides that this would be against the interests of justice. For child witnesses in cases not involving one of these types of offence there is a presumption that these measures will be provided unless the court is satisfied that they would not maximise the quality of their evidence.
The introduction of special measures is being phased to enable evaluation of how they are working and to provide time for agencies to prepare for full implementation. The range of special measures which are currently available to child witnesses in criminal proceedings across England and Wales is summarised
Screens—to ensure that the witness does not see the defendant—available to child witnesses in the Crown Court and magistrates' courts.
Live link—allowing a witness to give evidence from outside the courtroom—available to child witnesses in the Crown Court and to child witnesses in need of special protection in magistrates' courts.
Evidence in private—clearing the court of most people (legal representatives and certain others must be allowed to stay)—available to child witnesses in the Crown Court and magistrates' courts
Removal of wigs and gowns—by judges, advocates etc—available to child witnesses in the Crown Court (not applicable to magistrates' courts).
Video recorded evidence in chief—allowing an interview with the witness, which has been video recorded before the trial, to be shown as the witness's evidence in chief—available to child witnesses in the Crown Court and child witnesses in need of special protection in magistrates' courts.
Intermediaries—allowing an approved intermediary to help a witness communicate with the police, legal representatives and the court—available to child witnesses in Crown Court and magistrates' courts in pilot areas, currently Merseyside, Thames Valley and West Midlands.
Aids to communication—allowing a witness to use communication aids such as a symbol book or alphabet boards—available to child witnesses in the Crown Court and magistrates' courts.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of children were offered the choice of giving evidence outside court in each year since 1997; and how many and what percentage accepted this offer. [196637]
The Solicitor-General:
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
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A Home Office Research study "Are special measures working? " published in June 2004 found that the offer of live link away from the courtroom for children had almost doubled since implementation of the section from 43 per cent. to 83 per cent. in 2004. It would therefore only be in exceptional circumstances or where the statutory criteria was not met that a child would give their evidence in a courtroom.
In July 2004, Baroness Scotland announced a review of the way in which children's evidence is taken and presented in criminal courts with the aim of enabling measures to be more tailored to the individual witnesses' needs. A multi agency steering group led by the Home Office is taking this forward.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many intermediaries whose job is to rephrase the court's questions to child-friendly language are employed within the criminal justice system. [196638]
Paul Goggins: The function of an intermediary in criminal proceedings is defined by section 29 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.
The use of intermediaries is currently being piloted to identify best practice in advance of full implementation. An Intermediary Register of trained experts has been established for the pilot. The Register currently contains details of 25 individuals whose area of expertise is mainly or wholly with children. An exercise to increase the number of registered intermediaries will be completed shortly.
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