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11 Jul 2005 : Column 787W—continued

Victims of Crime

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people of school age have been the victims of crime in (a) Southend, West constituency, (b) Essex, (c) Greater London and (d) England and Wales in the last five years for which figures are available. [10517]

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally. Apart from specific sexual offences, it is not possible to identify the age of the victim in the recorded crime statistics.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the victims of serious crime can take to prevent the perpetrators of such crimes from coming near their homes while on (a) temporary release, (b) conditional release and (c) permanent release. [3564]

Fiona Mactaggart: The national probation service has a statutory duty to work with victims of sexual or violent offences where the offender receives a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. This duty was conferred under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and is soon to be extended, under the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004, to the victims of mentally disordered offenders.

Victims are provided with a single point of contact with the probation service, through Victim Liaison Officers (VLOs), from whom they can receive information about key stages in an offender's sentence, such as temporary leave and release on licence.

Many victims of serious crime will have concerns about an offender approaching them or their home once released from prison. The victim contact scheme provides an opportunity for victims to request that
 
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conditions be attached to an offender's licence on conditional release. These conditions may specify, for example, that the offender is not allowed to have any contact with the victim and may establish exclusion zones into which the offender is not allowed, such as the areas around the victim's house or place of work. Victims who have concerns about the risk posed to them by an offender on either temporary or conditional release can discuss their concerns with the VLO who can use this information in reports to the prison governor or Parole Board.

When an offender is released on licence, he/she will be subject to supervision by the probation service. During the period of the licence, the VLO will maintain contact with a victim and the victim's family. If victims have concerns about the offender breaching conditions not to contact them or entering an exclusion zone, they should inform the VLO who will in turn notify the offender's supervising officer. If the concerns are substantiated, the offender will either be warned about his/her behaviour, or recalled to custody if it is thought he/she presents an unacceptable risk of harm to the public and there is evidence he/she has breached the licence conditions.

Worker Registration Scheme

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government have commissioned research into the efficiency of the worker registration scheme; and how many people have registered with the scheme since 1 May 2004, broken down by country. [6909]

Mr. McNulty: No research into the efficiency of the scheme has yet been commissioned. The scheme will be reviewed after two years of its operation.

Young Offenders

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial penalties have been imposed on the contractors for (a) Hassockfield, (b) Medway, (c) Rainsbrook and (d) Oakhill secure training centres in each financial year that each centre has been operating; and what the reasons were for each such penalty. [8954]

Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 4 July 2005]: The financial penalties imposed on secure training centre contractors are set out in the following tables:
Financial penalties(74) imposed on secure training centre contractorsRainsbrook secure training centre
£

Liquidated damages for late opening of centreNon-availability
of places
Performance points(75)
1999–2000155,152.000.000.00
2000–010.000.000.00
2001–020.000.000.00
2002–030.000.000.00
2003–040.000.000.00
2004–050.00333.130.00









 
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Hassockfield secure training centre
£

Liquidated damages for late opening of centreNon-availability
of places
Performance points(75)
1999–200035,759.2010,014.87738.03
2000–010.0014,788.626,933.38
2001–020.006,337.980.00
2002–030.000.000.00
2003–040.000.00606.06
2004–050.000.000.00

Medway secure training centre
£

Liquidated damages for late opening of centreNon-availability
of places
Performance points(75)
1998–990.00605,99043,290
1999–20000.0087,75917,812
2000–010.000.000.00
2001–020.00114,2380.00
2002–030.0036,3595,416
2003–040.000.0054,000.32
2004–050.000.0037,085

Oakhill secure training centre
£

Liquidated damages for late opening of centreNon-availability
of places
Performance points(75)
1998–99n/an/an/a
1999–2000n/an/an/a
2000–01n/an/an/a
2001–02n/an/an/a
2002–03n/an/an/a
2003–04n/an/an/a
2004–05311,994.80572,119.840




n/a=not available
(74)All figures are exclusive of VAT
(75)Performance points are awarded for failure to deliver specific services.



 
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Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what fees are paid by the Youth Justice Board for a bed in (a) a local authority secure children's home, (b) secure training centre and (c) a Young Offenders Institution. [8955]

Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 4 July 2005]: The latest average daily costs per place calculated by the Youth Justice Board are as follows: young offender institution–£138; secure training centre–£396; and local authority secure children's home–£526. These are average costs. Actual payments vary according to a range of factors, including occupancy levels at establishments and regional variations.

Young People (Secure Training Centres)

Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the young people admitted from each secure training centre to hospital in each of the last four years had been involved in incidents in which restraint techniques were used on them during (a) the previous 24 hours and (b) the previous week. [1566]

Fiona Mactaggart: The figures in the following table are based on information supplied by the secure training centre operators.
Admissions to hospital of secure training centre trainees following restraint during (a) previous 24 hours (b) previous week

2001
2002
2003
2004
1 January-27 May 2005
STC(a)(b)(a)(b)(a)(b)(a)(b)(a)(b)
Medway0000001000
Rainsbrook(76)0101000000
Hassockfield0000010100
Oakhill(77)0000


(76)Rainsbrook 2004 figures do not include Gareth Myatt, who was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital following a restraint incident on 19 April.
(77)Oakhill opened 19 August 2004


Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions young people have been admitted to hospital from each secure training centre in each of the last four years. [1567]

Fiona Mactaggart: The figures in the following table are based on information supplied by the secure training centre operators.
Admissions to hospital of secure training centre trainees 2001–05

STCMedwayRainsbrookHassockfieldOakhill(78)
2001220
2002241
2003231
20043(79)520
1 January-27 May 2005
2
100


(78)Oakhill opened 19 August 2004
(79)Rainsbrook 2004 figures do not include Gareth Myatt, who was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital following a restraint incident on 19 April.



 
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Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the young people admitted to hospital from each secure training centre in each of the last four years were admitted due to (a) illness and (b) non-accidental injuries. [1568]

Fiona Mactaggart: The figures in the following table are based on information supplied by the secure training centre operators.
Admissions to hospital 2001–05

STCMedwayRainsbrookHassockfieldOakhill(80)
Due to illness
2001210
2002121
2003120
2004(81)2410
Up to 27 May 2005(82)2100
Due to non accidental injuries
2001010
2002100
2003100
20041000
Up to 27 May 20050000


(80)Oakhill opened 19 August 2004.
(81)Includes one termination of pregnancy.
(82)Includes one termination of pregnancy.



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