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15 Nov 2004 : Column 1134W—continued
Probation Boards
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to change the statutory requirements for probation boards in England and Wales in relation to (a) appointing a treasurer and (b) the Audit Commission's external audit of accounts. [193185]
Paul Goggins: We have no plan to change the statutory requirements for the Probation Boards in England and Wales in relation to the appointment of treasurers. The audit of probation Boards and the role of the Audit Commission is being discussed as we work to ensure that the audit arrangements are as efficient and effective as possible.
Probation Service
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on future funding of the Probation Service. [196704]
Paul Goggins: Future funding of the Probation Service remains subject to the normal spending review and the Home Office departmental planning round processes.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce regional pay scales for the probation service; and whether he intends to consult the relevant trade unions on the issue. [196998]
Paul Goggins: I have no plans at present to introduce regional pay scales in the national probation service (NPS). Region pay may be one of the issues covered in the ongoing discussions between the Employers' and Side of the NPS National Negotiating Committee (NNC) the trade unions in relation to new pay and grading arrangements.
We already pay allowances to staff working in high cost areas such as central London and the south east of England.
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Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the 2004 pay offer to probation service staff includes (a) pay progression and (b) increments; and whether (i) pay progression and (ii) increments have been included in previous annual pay settlements. [196999]
Paul Goggins: At a meeting of the National Negotiating Council (NNC) for the national probation service on 5 October 2004 the employers made a formal offer of a 2.7 per cent. revalorisation of salaries to all staff covered by NNC terms and conditions of service. Separately, on 1 April 2004, incremental progression of up to 3 per cent. was paid to the majority of staff in the service.
The total cost, including the incremental progression element, is 4.2 per cent. which, if accepted by the trade union side, would be one of the highest public sector pay awards this year.
This two-stage approach follows the same pattern as in previous years.
Public Service Agreement 3
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he will introduce to fulfil Public Service Agreement 3 which aims to increase the number of crimes for which an offender is brought to justice by 1.25 million by 2007–08. [196592]
Paul Goggins: The Public Service Agreement (PSA) target is to bring 1.25 million offences to justice in the year to April 2008. A range of actions is being taken to improve the performance of the criminal justice agencies in order to meet this target, in particular by:
We aim to increase the sanction detection rate from 19 per cent. to at least 25 per cent. by 2008. All police forces have been made aware of the detection rate improvement required by their Local Criminal Justice Board's current target for offences brought to justice.
The initiative to put Crown Prosecutors into police stations in order to provide early advice and guidance to the police on charging is being extended. By September, the charging initiative was operating in 361 of 373 sites, and the more extensive Statutory Charging Scheme arrangements were operating in 118 of those 361 sites. The new charging arrangements are already delivering considerable benefits, with prosecutors working closely with police to build robust cases for prosecution and helping to narrow the justice gap.
The Effective Trial Management Programme (ETMP) case management changes have already had a demonstrable impact on reducing ineffective trial rates in the Crown court and magistrates courts. We aim to reduce ineffective trials from 24 per cent. to 17per cent. in the Crown courts, and from 31 per cent. to 23 per cent. in the magistrates courts by March 2006. Latest performance information shows that we are on course to meet these targets.
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Early indications are that the five pilot sites for the 'No Witness No Justice' programme (Gwent, North Wales, Essex, South Yorkshire and the West Midlands) are continuing to show improvements in the number of witnesses attending court.
Finally, a Performance Action Team has been set up, comprising central Performance Advisors, local practitioners, consultants and central PSA delivery teams. It is providing co-ordinated assistance across the Criminal Justice System targets to areas in need of support.
Rape Support Centres
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centres have closed in (a) each of the last three years and (b) this year. [191878]
Paul Goggins: The Home Office does not collect this information. We are aware of reports that some centres have had to close or reduce service availability due to financial constraints. We are making available £4 million of additional funding over two years to support and develop a range of services for victims of sexual crime, including those provided by rape and sexual assault crisis/support centres.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his plans are for setting up the National Rape Crisis Helpline. [191879]
Paul Goggins: We have considered the findings and recommendations of an independent scoping study which looked at options for establishing a helpline service and involved key stakeholder groups. We have recently approved proposals for the helpline structure, service scope, and recommended core client groups. We are looking further at what information services may be required to support the helpline and will be developing a procurement strategy to enable us to select an appropriate service provider. While preparatory work on the helpline continues, our immediate priority is to support the development of a range of good quality, sustainable local services which will support the helpline and are critical to its success.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure that abuse survivor groups and sexual abuse support centres are in place to provide counselling to clients referred to them by the National Rape Crisis Helpline. [191880]
Paul Goggins: We are providing an additional £4 million over two years to support the development of services for victims of sexual crime. Many of the services will support the helpline when it is opened. Some of the extra funding is being used to extend the network of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) and some will be made available to develop a range of sustainable local services—often provided by voluntary and community sector organisations. We will be publishing further information and inviting applications shortly.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with colleagues in the Department of Health on the problems and needs of survivors of rape and sexual abuse. [191881]
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Paul Goggins: We have established good links between the two Departments on these issues. A joint working group of Home Office and Department of Health officials has been set up to oversee the strengthening and extension of the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARCs) network in England and Wales. The development of SARCs has been discussed by the Interdepartmental Ministerial Group on Sexual Offending, which is chaired by the Home Office and includes a representative from the Department of Health. Officials are also working closely with Department of Health colleagues on plans to map and further develop non-statutory community-based services and to produce service guidelines in this area.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the planned National Rape Crisis Helpline will be available to adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. [191882]
Paul Goggins: Yes. Although we have used the working title of a National Rape Helpline, evidence from the scoping study suggests very strongly that the helpline will need to cater for a wider group of core service users, including adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations he has made into possible links between adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and the victims of rape. [191883]
Paul Goggins: The Home Office has not commissioned any work in this area.
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