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23 Feb 2005 : Column 740W—continued
Sexual Assault Referral Centres
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sexual assault referral centres are now functional in England and Wales; where they are situated; and how many are funded (a) wholly and (b) partly by (i) primary care trusts, (ii) strategic health authorities and (iii) local police forces. [215571]
Paul Goggins: There are 13 Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) now functional in England and Wales, listed in the table. There are other examples of work between police and health services to provide services to victims of sexual assault that do not refer to themselves as 'SARCs', for example the STAR service in West Yorkshire. It should be noted that levels of service offered by the 13 SARCs vary.
The table shows the funding arrangements for existing SARCs. SARC funding arrangements are negotiated at a local level. The majority of SARCs are jointly funded by local police forces and primary care trusts. Strategic health authorities do not have responsibility for allocation of funding.
All percentages are approximate. Where information about exact funding contributions has not been available, the sources of funding are given.
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Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which sexual assault referral centres employ forensic nurses. [215575]
Paul Goggins: St. Mary's Centre in Manchester has employed a forensic nurse since March 2001, initially funded as a two-year pilot project by the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme. We do not know of any other Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) which employ forensic nurses at the present time, but are aware of plans in some centres to develop the use of forensic nurses to undertake forensic examinations of service users reporting rape or sexual assault.
Staff Custody Officers
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training arrangements are proposed for designated officers to act as staff custody officers in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill. [215293]
Ms Blears: The training arrangements for the post of custody officer will be identical to those undertaken by a police sergeant fulfilling the role.
Although Centrex have developed a national training programme for custody officers there is no formal qualification required before a police officer can take on the role of custody sergeant. It will remain a matter for individual force policy on training required before the appointment of police officers and police staff to this role.
National Occupational Standards for the Police Sector developed by Skills for Justice set out the competencies and skills required for authorising and managing police detention and form an Integrated Competency Framework. In terms of the custody officer, the competency framework focuses on the key
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areas of making detention decisions; managing the detention of individuals; and authorising and reviewing continued detention.
In addition, further work is under way with stakeholders and the National Centre for Policing Excellence on developing guidance on how these standards are to be achieved. This will be issued for consultation later this year and published in January 2006. Combined with the competency framework, we will have in place definitive standards for both police and police staff employed in the custody suite
Stolen Property
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants from his Department have (a) faced disciplinary proceedings as a result of allegations of theft, (b) been charged with theft and (c) been dismissed following theft allegations in each year since 1997. [206401]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office and its Agencies currently have no records of disciplinary action taken relating to theft according to the central database set up in 2000–01. Figures recorded before the establishment of the database could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Student Visa Charges
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to increase overseas student visa charges. [213699]
Mr. Browne: I refer my hon. Friend to my statement of 7 February 2005, Official Report, column 69WS.
Violent Crime (Northumbria)
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent offences involving
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(a) violence against the person, (b) sexual offences and (c) robbery there were in each basic command unit of Northumbria police force area in (i) 2002–03 and (ii)2003–04. [216485]
Ms Blears: The information requested is available on the Home Office website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/bcu2.xls
Departmental Policies
Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Worcester constituency, the effects on Worcester of changes to his Department's policy since 1997. [213481]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Government have put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Worcester constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
For example, between March 1997 and March 2004, the number of police officers in the West Mercia Police Force increased by 325 from 2,040 to 2,365. The Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002 has put 67 CSOs on West Mercia streets to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. Between 1997 and 2003–04, West Mercia has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 10 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 36 per cent.
West Mercia Police Force is receiving £111.8 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 3.75 per cent. (£4.1 million) over this year. West Mercia benefits from the decision to provide a funding floor of 3.75 per cent. If the funding formula had been strictly applied, the Force would have received £2.5 million less. General grants funding to West Mercia has increased by 27 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, West Mercia will also receive around £10 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives in 2005–06. The distribution of resources locally is a matter for the Police Authority and the Chief Constable.
As crime prevention requires action across communities, every area has had a local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) since 1998 which brings together the police, health services, drugs agencies and council and community representatives to decide how to prevent and deter crime and antisocial behaviour.
The Crime Reduction Programme (CRP) was a pioneering Government intervention programme which ran for three years from April 1999 in England and Wales and took an evidence-based approach to crime reduction. Grants of over £340 million were allocated to over 1,470 projects, including CCTV, under 20 initiatives that formed part of the programme. One CCTV project in the Worcester CDRP area received a total of £643,832 from the CRP.
Since 2001, successive initiatives have provided direct funding to each of the 376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These initiatives include Communities Against Drugs, the Safer Communities Initiative, the Small Retailers in
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Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £446,583 has been allocated to the Worcester CDRP under these initiatives. A further £2.03 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the West Midlands for CDRP capacity building across the region.
It is estimated that out of a million active offenders, 100,000 have three or more convictions and are responsible for half of all crime. There is a Prolific and other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in Worcester set up to target those offenders who cause a disproportionate amount of crime, disorder and antisocial behaviour in the community.
The Government's Crime Reduction Website provides further information on the work being done to reduce crime across the country, including information about action and results in local areas. It is available at http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
New legislation has given local agencies a raft of powers, from antisocial behaviour orders to local dispersal orders and crack house closure powers, to work with local people to tackle antisocial behaviour and nuisance. In Worcester a total of 28 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of 9 February 2005. Local contacts for tackling antisocial behaviour can be found on http://www.together.gov.uk/authority.asp.
Tackling Drug Misuse is a priority of this Government and its policy is set out in the 10-year National Drug Strategy launched in 1998 and updated in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government have invested substantially in measures to reduce the harms caused by illegal drugs, focusing on the four strands of:
Direct annual funding nationally to tackle drug misuse amounted to £1,244 million in 2003–04, rising to £1,344 million in 2004–05. Worcestershire has seen a significant increase in direct funding for tackling drugs, in particular for drug treatment services and the throughcare and aftercare elements of the Drugs Intervention Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Worcestershire Drug Action Team amounted to £2.5 million, rising to £1.5 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Worcester constituency can be obtained from the Worcestershire Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams.
The Government are working to ensure that citizens, communities and the voluntary sector are more fully engaged in tackling social problems, and there is more equality of opportunity and respect for people of all races and religions. Active community participation in England has increased by 1.5 million people between 2001 and 2003. Charities have been supported more effectively, and £125 million is being invested across the country through the 'futurebuilders' fund in voluntary and community organisations that help provide valuable public services. Advice on ways to engage local
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people in helping their communities is available on the Active Citizenship Centre website http://www.active-citizen.org.uk.
This year, 2005, is the year of the volunteer which is being delivered by the Home Office in partnership with Community Service Volunteers and Volunteering England. This will include a whole range of events in local communities across the country that aim to celebrate the contribution which volunteers make to the quality of people's lives, and encourage more people to volunteer. We are particularly keen to encourage young people, black and minority ethnic groups, those with no qualifications and disabled people to get involved. More details can be found at www.yearofthevolunteer.org .
Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in the Home Office Annual Report and in the Strategic Plan for 2004–08, available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk.
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