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8 Feb 2005 : Column 1416W—continued
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr. Peter Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many departmental mobile telephones were used by (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department in each year since 1997, and at what cost; how many such telephones were lost or stolen in each year since 1997; and what the replacement costs were in each case. [202749]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 6 December 2005]: Detailed records on mobile telephony are not held centrally and in order to obtain the information required would incur disproportionate costs.
I can however provide information on mobile phones, associated equipment and call and access charges associated with mobile telephony procurement made by the Commercial Directorate (previously CAPU) since 1997 which is as follows.
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Notes:
On figures provided:
1.The figures represent expenditure incurred on behalf of the Home Department including IND (where available) by Commercial Directorate (previously CAPU) excluding Executive Agencies and NDPBs.
2.The figures supersede those provided in response to previous Parliamentary Questions regarding mobile telephony. The figures previously did not include call charging and access detail and were taken from a manual record system held by Commercial Directorate and not the central purchasing database.
Drugs
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are undertaking drug rehabilitation under drug treatment and testing orders. [211228]
Paul Goggins: There were eight, 404 Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) current in England and Wales at 30 November 2004.
It is a requirement of the DTTO that the offender submits to drug treatment during the whole of the order.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have failed to complete Drug Treatment and Testing Order programmes since they were introduced. [211232]
Paul Goggins: 14,109 Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) were not completed between October 2000, when the order was rolled-out to courts across England and Wales, and November 2004. Of these 8,340 were revoked because of a failure to comply with the order, 4, 285 for conviction of another offence(s) and 1,484 for other reasons (e.g. ill health, death of the offender, offender started employment, training or education).
The proportion of offenders successfully completing DTTOs is rising. A DTTO completion target for 2004–05 of 35 per cent. was introduced from April 2004. Performance against this target across the Probation Service for the period April to November 2004 was 34 per cent. compared with 30 per cent. in the two-year reconviction study of offenders in the three DTTO pilot areas.
Fear of Crime
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of links between media publications and fear ofcrime. [213352]
Ms Blears:
The 2002–03 British Crime Survey showed a relationship between newspaper readership and worry about types of crime. For example, reading tabloid newspapers regularly was a significant predictive factor of having a high level of worry about violent crime.
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Work continues in the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate to investigate the correlation between media reporting and fear of crime data within the British Crime Survey.
In addition, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships are encouraged to engage with their local media to promote balanced reporting of stories affecting local communities.
Fixed Penalty Notices
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices for public nuisance under chapter 1, part 1 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 have been issued by (a) Essex and (b) Southend community support officers in each year since their inception. [209476]
Ms Blears: It is not currently possible from the statistics collected centrally on penalty notices for disorder to distinguish those issued by community support officers from those issued by police officers. Action is being taken to provide such a distinction in the next few months.
57,607 (a provisional figure) penalty notices for disorder have been issued nationally during the calendar year 2004.
Futurebuilders fund
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the beneficiaries of the Futurebuilders scheme to date; [214709]
(2) how much has been awarded from the Futurebuilders fund; and how much is budgeted for distribution in the next five years. [214710]
Fiona Mactaggart
[holding answer 7 February 2005]:Futurebuilders will be announcing their first investments early this year. Further announcements of investment decisions will be made by Futurebuilders in due course.
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The Government funding allocated to Futurebuilders for 2004–05 was £57 million and will be £58 million for 2005–06. These sums are in addition to the £10 million which was allocated for 2003–04, at the start up of the project.
Ministers are currently considering budget allocations for 2006–07 and 2007–08 and a final decision will be announced in due course.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who initiated the Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration in Westminster Hall on 27 January; and if he will make a statement on the role played by the BBC in the arrangements. [212226]
Fiona Mactaggart: After consulting its steering group of interested parties and the BBC about an appropriate venue, the Home Office approached the relevant authorities for permission to use Westminster Hall.
Following the successful precedent of the first Holocaust Memorial Day event in 2001, which the BBC and Home Office jointly created and staged and the BBC televised, the Home Office decided to invite the BBC to fulfil the same role for the 60th Anniversary event. The BBC undertook the event production work on a cost only basis, producing the event to Home Office requirements, in consultation with the steering group and within BBC editorial guidelines.
Homicide
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to establish categories of homicide, other than justifiable homicide, that do not automatically carry a life sentence upon conviction; and if he will make a statement. [207245]
Paul Goggins: A review of the law of homicide was announced on 27 October 2004. The terms of reference for the review will be placed before the House shortly.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedure is followed on the discovery of victims of human trafficking; and if he will make a statement. [213567]
Mr. Browne: The United Kingdom Immigration Service has clearly defined practices for the identification and handling of victims of trafficking in human beings. Guidance on the procedure to be followed by immigration officers states that
It is important that immigration officers, who may be the first contact point for victims (especially child victims claiming asylum), provide full details on the victim along with any relevant intelligence information to Social Services Departments and to the police so that the victims can receive adequate protection".
A specialist pan-London Immigration Service unit leads on operations concerning the vice trade and works closely with the Metropolitan Police Service Central Clubs and Vice Unit, where officers are also experienced in working with victims. Smaller units with immigration officers who also receive training in the identification of victims of trafficking have also been established.
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Where individuals are arrested during the course of police or immigration operations, they are generally taken to a police station to be interviewed. The initial interview seeks to establish the individual's status and circumstances. During any initial police interview officers will seek to establish whether there may be other victims in need of protection.
Where a victim of trafficking is eligible for support through the POPPY Scheme, a referral is made and Immigration Service interviews are conducted on the premises of Eaves Housing for Women, the current service provider. While there is no requirement for a victim to speak to the police during the first four weeks on the POPPY Scheme, the victim may choose to do so. Information provided may add to the intelligence picture or provide a basis for further investigation.
Following the initial immigration service interview and any police interview, workers at the POPPY Scheme undertake a needs and risk assessment and develop a support package for each victim.
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