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15 Nov 2004 : Column 1137W—continued

Rapiscan Secure Apparatus

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what air kerma rate has been used to assess radiation doses associated with the use of the Rapiscan Secure 1000 apparatus. [188057]

Mr. Blunkett: The information sought is not in the public domain.

Reoffending

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets have been set for reducing reoffending. [196705]

Paul Goggins: The Home Office targets are as follows.

To reduce the rate of reconvictions by 5 per cent. for adult and young offenders by 2003–04 compared to a 1997 baseline (Home Office Public Service Agreement, 'Spending Review 2000: Public Service Agreements 2001–2004', published in July 2000 (CM4808)).

To reduce re-offending by 5 per cent. for young offenders and for adults sentenced to imprisonment or sentenced to community sentences by 2005–06 compared to a 2000 baseline (Home Office Public Service Agreement, published in the White Paper '2002 Spending Review, Public Service Agreements 2003–2006' in July 2002 (CM 5571)).
 
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The Home Office Strategic Plan for 2004–2008: Confident Communities in a Secure Britain, published in July 2004 (CM 6287), gives a commitment that re-offending rates will have fallen by 5 per cent. by 2007–08 working towards 10 per cent. by the end of the decade against a baseline of 2002–03.

Repeat Offenders

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his latest estimate is of the proportion of overall crime committed by the core group of repeat offenders; and if he will make a statement. [191311]

Paul Goggins: Analysis based on data from the Offenders Index suggests that 10 per cent. of active offenders accumulate at least 50 per cent. of standard list offences. This figure was published in "Criminal Justice: The Way Ahead" (2001).

Secure Training Centres

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions young people have been admitted to hospital from secure training centres in each of the last three years. [190310]

Paul Goggins: The figures supplied by secure training centre operators are as follows:

	Admissions to hospital for any reason
Secure training centre	2001	2002	2003
Medway	2	2	2
Rainsbrook	2	4	3
Hassockfield	0	0	1
Oakhill	n/a	n/a	n/a

Sentencing Guidelines Council

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Department's target is for the timescale from issue of draft guidelines by the Sentencing Guidelines Council to issue of the final guidelines to be taken into consideration by the courts. [195857]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 4 November 2004]: Once the Sentencing Guidelines Council issues a final guideline the courts must then have regard to it when sentencing offenders. Where the guideline deals with new legislation it will become applicable on commencement of the relevant provisions.

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors will be taken into consideration during scrutiny of (a) draft guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council in September 2004 and (b) future draft guidelines. [195859]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 4 November 2004]: In considering draft guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council we will have regard to our stated goal of reducing reoffending and our policy that custody should be used for the most serious, dangerous and seriously persistent offenders. Most other offenders will normally be punished more effectively in the community.
 
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Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what process of parliamentary scrutiny will occur prior to the issue of final guidelines by the Sentencing Guidelines Council. [195913]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 4 November 2004]: Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft guidelines issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council is undertaken by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

Sentencing Policy

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures (a) are in place and (b) will be introduced to encourage sentencers to make more use of fines. [196618]

Paul Goggins: The Government are committed to reinvigorating the fine to ensure it is a credible and effective penalty.

DCA is leading a major initiative to improve fine enforcement. This includes new enforcement powers in the Courts Act 2003, currently being piloted in six areas. Fine payments rates are already improving as a result of this effort. Performance in the first quarter of 2004 was 81 per cent. of monies due collected, up from 76 per cent. in the last quarter of 2003–04 and a significant improvement on the 69 per cent. baseline.

The Government have also accepted the proposal made in the Carter Report, "Managing Offenders, Reducing Crime", that there should be a day fine scheme. Such a scheme would link fines more closely to an offender's ability to pay so that fines should bear more equally on offenders of differing means. We are currently developing proposals, which will require primary legislation.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the conditional cautioning pilots. [196619]

Ms Blears: The Conditional Caution is a statutory disposal for offenders aged 18 and over and can be given only on the authority of the relevant prosecutor. The scheme was introduced by the Criminal Justice Act, 2003, and the relevant provisions commenced on 3 July 2004. The use of Conditional Cautions is governed by a Code of Practice (SI 2004/1683).

Although the provisions of the Act have been commenced for England and Wales, use of the Conditional Caution is limited to the areas specified in the schedule to the Director of Public Prosecution's Guidance on the Administration of Conditional Cautions. This guidance will be issued shortly under section 37A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, 1984. Custody Officers must comply with this guidance when deciding how to deal with an individual.

Implementation of the new provision will be phased and initially limited to the following areas:

Thames Valley;

Northumbria;

South Yorkshire;

Lancashire;

West Mercia; and

Avon and Somerset

 
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It is also anticipated that Conditional Cautions will be used in the Community Justice Centre in North Liverpool.

A significant amount of planning has already taken place in these areas and we expect the first schemes to be launched in November and December of this year. The use of Conditional Cautioning in these areas will be subject to a full evaluation, and all the documentation relating to Conditional Cautions will be reviewed prior to commencing national roll-out of the scheme, later in 2005.

Sex Abuse Cases/Investigations

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the changes to the operation instructions on disclosure in sex abuse cases. [191293]

Paul Goggins: As part of the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the Government are currently consulting on two codes of practice which are required to implement Part 5 of the Act on Disclosure. Full details of this consultation exercise may be found on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs3/cja_consultation.html. Changes to other operational guidance, the Attorney General's Guidelines on Disclosure and the CPS/ACPO Joint Operational Instructions on disclosure, will be made as appropriate to reflect the provisions of the 2003 Act. None of this guidance relates specifically to sex abuse cases.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines are in place to regulate trawling by the police in historical sex abuse investigations. [197442]

Paul Goggins: Guidance for police on appropriate techniques for investigating allegations of historical child abuse such as dip sampling is contained in "The Investigation of Historical/Institutional Child Abuse—Senior Investigating Officer's Handbook" produced by the Association of Chief Police Officers. This is currently being reviewed to ensure the guidance is kept up to date and includes lessons to be learnt from more recent cases.

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