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7 Mar 2005 : Column 1600W—continued
Departmental Policies
Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Croydon Central constituency, the effects of changes to departmental policy since 1997 on the Croydon Central constituency. [219298]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Government has put in place policies in the areas of crime reduction, antisocial behaviour, policing and active communities that are yielding considerable benefits for the Croydon central constituency, as well as for all parts of the UK.
For example, between March 1997 and September 2004, the number of police officers in the Metropolitan Police Force increased by 3,434 from 26,677 to 30,111. The Government's introduction of community support officers (CSOs) in 2002 has put 1,889 CSOs on Metropolitan Police Force streets to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. Between 1997 and 2003–04, the Metropolitan Police Force Area has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 23 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of one per cent.
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The Metropolitan Police Service (MRS) will receive £1,927.8 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 5.81 per cent. (£105.8 million) over 2004–05. The MPS also gains around £4.2 million from the Amending Report for 2003–04, bringing the overall increase to 6.04 per cent. General grants funding to the MPS has increased by 28 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, the MPS will also receive around £207 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives and capital provision 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. Five CCTV projects in the Croydon CDRP area received a total of £964,986 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 Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £2.16 million has been allocated to Croydon CDRP under these initiatives. A further £2.5 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004–05 to the Home Office Regional Director in London 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 Croydon 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 Croydon a total of 27 antisocial behaviour orders have been issued as of 1 March 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
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in December 2002. (A copy of the Updated Drug Strategy 2002 is held in the Library.) Under this, the Government has 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. Croydon 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 Drug Interventions Programme. In 2003–04 the allocation for Croydon Drug Action Team amounted to £2.11 million, rising to £3.44 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Croydon central constituency can be obtained from the Croydon Drugs Action Team, for contact details see http://www.drugs.gov.uk/Links/DrugActionTeams
The Government is 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 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
Mr. Sedgemore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Haltemprice and Howden constituency, the effects on Haltemprice and Howden of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [216022]
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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 Haltemprice and Howden 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 Humberside police force increased by 186 from 2,045 to 2,231. Following the Government's introduction of Community Support Officers (CSOs) in 2002, Humberside is in the process of recruiting 22 CSOs to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour on Humberside streets. Between 1997 and 2003–04, Humberside has seen a reduction in recorded domestic burglary crimes of 27 per cent. and in recorded vehicle crimes of 18 per cent.
Humberside Police Force will receive £118.9 million in general grants for 2005–06, an increase of 3.75 per cent. (£4.3 million) over 2004–05. Humberside 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 £0.7 million less. Humberside also gains around £0.2 million from the Amending Report for 2003–04, bringing the overall increase to 3.95 per cent. General grants funding to Humberside has increased by 27 per cent. between 1997–98 and 2005–06. In addition to general grants, Humberside will also receive around £8 million in specific grants funding for targeted initiatives and capital provision 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. Five CCTV projects in the East Riding CDRP area (which includes the Haltemprice and Howden constituency) received a total of £467,568 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 Deprived Areas scheme and the Building Safer Communities Fund. Since 2001, a total of £1.05 million has been allocated to East Riding CDRP under these initiatives. A further £1.8 million has been provided over the two years 2003–04 and 2004/05 to the Home Office Regional Director in the Yorkshire and the Humber 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
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other Priority Offenders (PPO) scheme in East Riding of Yorkshire 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 East Riding of Yorkshire a total of 19 antisocial behaviour orders are currently issued (at 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, focussing 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. East Riding of Yorkshire 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 East Riding of Yorkshire Drug Action Team amounted to £1.3 million, rising to £1.8 million in 2004–05. Details of action taken to tackle drugs in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency can be obtained from the East Riding of Yorkshire 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 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
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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 atwww.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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