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7 Jul 2005 : Column 587W—continued
Social Care
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how pilot areas will be chosen to test the proposals for individual budgets for social care. [9441]
Mr. Byrne: The programme of individual budget pilots is still in the early stages of development. We are working closely with older people, disabled people, other users and stakeholders to establish an appropriate mechanism to test the individual budget model and select local authority areas for piloting. We anticipate that pilot areas will cover a range of geographical locations and local authority types. "Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People" also recommended working with organisations that are already making progress in this area.
South West London and St. George's Mental Health Trust
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many staff have been killed by residents of in-patient wards in South West London and St. George's Mental Health Trust in each of the last 10 years; [8633]
(2) what steps are being taken to ensure the safety of staff working in psychiatric hospitals in South West London and St. George's Mental Health Trust; [8634]
(3) which categories of staff within the South West London and St. George's Mental Health Trust have access to risk assessments of mental health in-patients. [8639]
Jane Kennedy: The South West London Strategic Health Authority has reported that one member of staff was killed by an in-patient of the trust in 2003. The trust has a number of measures in place to protect its staff, which include:
Reports of all incidents of violence to staff to the national health service security management service and active pursuit of prosecution. It has secured five convictions to date.
Staff are supported by a police liaison officer, an ex-policeman, who ensures prompt police response to trust concerns.
A zero tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol, as these are elements that contribute to violence and aggression.
All working areas have completed lone working assessments and have action plans in place to reduce the risk of working alone, both on trust sites and in the community.
There is a programme of new build to ensure that the buildings are fit for purpose and are safe for both patients and staff.
A leadership and development programme is under way for all ward managers, which includes improving the therapeutic environment of the wards; a poor therapeutic environment contributes to violence.
The trust took part in the Healthcare Commission national audit of violence and is implementing learning points from this work.
Robust inquiries are conducted into all serious incidents. Learning points are identified and where necessary support is given to particular wards where there may be patients with challenging behaviour.
Risk assessments are shared with members of the multidisciplinary team who directly care for the patient. They may also be shared on a need-to-know basis with other agencies, such as social care, the police and other trusts, following NHS information governance principles. In certain circumstances, risk assessments will also be shared with the patient's carers.
HOME OFFICE
Abandoned Vehicles
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions have resulted from proceedings against the individuals believed to have abandoned vehicles in each of the last five years, broken down by police authority area in England and Wales. [9242]
Paul Goggins: It is not possible, from the information held on the Home Office court proceedings database, to identify prosecutions for abandoning vehicles separately from other types of unauthorised dumping under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978.
Domestic Violence
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many calls have been received by the National Domestic Violence Helpline since its introduction; and what the cost of its operation has been. [9989]
Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
Statistics provided to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by Refuge and Women's Aid show that between its launch on 15 December 2003 and 31 May 2005, there have been 336,835 calls to the National Domestic Violence Helpline (0808 2000 247).
The Helpline is run in partnership between Refuge and Women's Aid. Figures on the cost of its operation are not centrally held.
Mobile Phones
Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to encourage compliance with the ban on the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving a motor vehicle on the public highway. [10451]
Paul Goggins: Enforcement of this new offence is an operational matter for chief officers of police. The likelihood of police detection is increased by the introduction of intercept teams linked to the operation of Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems, for which we announced funding of £15 million in November last year. A clause in the Road Safety Bill, currently before Parliament, aims to increase penalties by making the offence subject to endorsement of three penalty points and a £60 fixed penalty.
Passports
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each of the last
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12 months the average time a passport application took to be processed by the UK Passport Agency; and if he will make a statement. [6954]
Andy Burnham: The average processing times provided in the table relate to the time taken to issue single, straightforward, properly completed applications by the UK Passport Service for the last 12 months.
| Month | Average processing time |
|---|---|
| June | 5.5 |
| July | 5.5 |
| August | 6.0 |
| September | 5.0 |
| October | 4.0 |
| November | 3.0 |
| December | 3.5 |
| January | 3.5 |
| February | 4.5 |
| March | 4.5 |
| April | 4.5 |
| May | 5.0 |
Racial and Religious Hatred Bill
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effects on freedom of speech of the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill. [8071]
Paul Goggins: The only limitation placed on free speech by the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill is the prevention of words or material that stir up racial or religious hatred. The Government believe this is a proportionate measure, a view shared by the Joint Committee on Human Rights who, in their report on the proposed measures published in March 2005, accepted the existence of a serious, albeit limited, problem of incitement to hatred on religious grounds. The report considered that the measures proposed in the Bill were unlikely to give rise to any violation of the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Government are determined to preserve the right to engage in free and vigorous debate about religion, including the right to criticise religious beliefs and practices. This is an entirely different matter from inciting hatred of people because they belong to a particular religious group.
Sexual Offences Act
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what data his Department is collecting to evaluate the effectiveness of sections 15 and 123 to 129 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003; and when the first full year of data will be available. [8077]
Paul Goggins: In order to evaluate the effectiveness of sections 15 and 123 to 129 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, we are collecting statistical data relating to recorded crime, prosecutions and convictions, as well as evidence from statutory and non-statutory bodies who work within the field of sexual offending.
The recorded crime data relating to section 15 will be available from 21 July 2005, covering the period from 1 May 2004 until 31 March 2005. Information on the
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number of risk of sexual harm orders (sections 123 to 129) will be collected from the courts annually and the figures for 2004 will be available in the autumn of 2005.
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