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14 Jul 2005 : Column 1227W—continued

Rape Trials

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are for allowing out of court video taped cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses to be admitted into criminal trials. [603]

Fiona Mactaggart: The review of both this provision and a wider review of child evidence was launched by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 1 December 2004. The review group will report to Ministers in the summer.

Rec. 61 Form

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been stopped and issued with a Rec. 61 form by Haringey borough police since its inception, broken down by (a) ethnicity and (b) police station. [7421]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 27 June 2005]: The Home Office does not collect this data centrally. Information obtained from the Metropolitan police is
 
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that since one October 2004, when they implemented recommendation 61, there have been a total of 2,577 recorded stops in Haringey up to the end of May 2005. This is broken down as follows by ethnicity:
Number
White1,438
Black914
Asian112
Other79
N/R34

Safety Cameras

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been raised in fines from speed cameras in the county of Bedfordshire since 2000. [11022]

Paul Goggins: Information on the revenue raised from speed offences detected by camera is not available.

However the table shows, for the Bedfordshire police force area, the number of fixed penalties ordered to be paid and the number of court fines for such offences in the calendar years 2000 to 2003 (latest available).

Information for 2004 will be available early in 2006.

Not all fines and fixed penalties will have been paid.
Fixed penalty and court proceedings data for speeding offences detected by cameras1, 2 within the Bedfordshire police force area, 2000–03

Number of offences
Fixed penalties
Court proceedings(22)
Number of tickets(23)Estimated revenue(£) (24)Number of finesTotal amount of fine (£)Average fine (£)
200012,600597,50067169,400103
200110,800650,5001,022108,000106
2002(21)38,8002,325,50047353,900114
200365,9003,954,4001,316119,30091


(20) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and The Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.
(21) Bedfordshire police joined the Safety Camera Funding Scheme in 2002.
(22) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
(23) Only covers tickets paid where there is no further action.
(24) Estimate based on 40 fixed penalty charge to October 2000. Charge raised to 60 from November 2000.


Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many tickets issued following infringements caught on speed cameras have been challenged and upheld in each year since their introduction in (a) the constituency of Mid-Bedfordshire and (b) the county of Bedfordshire since 1997. [11023]

Paul Goggins: Information is not available centrally on the number of people prosecuted for speeding offences detected by camera who elect to challenge a fixed penalty notice.

Secure Training Centres

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the without-profit cost of one bed for one night in a secure training centre; and what cost, including VAT, is charged by contractors. [11694]

Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 12 July 2005]: Letting contracts for secure training centres involves an extensive competitive process to ensure value for money. Costs are benchmarked against a public sector comparator. The information requested relates to contracts with the secure training centre operators and is confidential.

Tetra

Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total value of the contract with O2 Airwave is to provide a Tetra telecommunications network for the emergency services. [11607]

Hazel Blears: O2 have been contracted to provide a radiocommunication system for the police service. The total forecast cost is £2.3 billion (at 1999 prices) over the life of the contract. Contracts for replacing the fire and ambulance service radiocommunications systems have not yet been placed.

Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what future performance-related payments are available to O2 Airwave in connection with the contract to provide a Tetra telecommunications network for the emergency services. [11608]


 
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Hazel Blears: O2 have been contracted to provide a radiocommunication system for the police service. There are no performance-related payments in the contract. Contracts for replacing the fire and ambulance services current radiocommunications systems have not yet been placed.

Under-age Drinking

Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sum in fines was imposed in 2003 for sales of alcohol to under 18s. [11830]

Hazel Blears: The sum of fines imposed in 2003 for sales of alcohol to under 18s was £89,385.

Women's Royal Voluntary Service

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish details of the arrangement with the Women's Royal Voluntary Service whereby, in return for a reduction in grant aid, the WRVS is given help with its property portfolio; and which properties are involved. [11786]

Paul Goggins: An independent review of Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) in 1997 identified that WRVS' financial dependence on Government and restrictions on its property holdings were major barriers to its goals of modernisation and independence.

To help achieve these goals it was agreed with WRVS that the grant-in-aid be reduced over 10 years to £1 million a year by 2007–08 and that the reversionary interest in the properties held on trust be transferred to WRVS absolutely. The property transfer was completed in 2004.

The Home Office dissolved the arrangement whereby the WRVS held properties on trust for the Home Secretary and transferred the Home Secretary's beneficial interest in the properties to WRVS (a list of properties is attached at Annex A, which has been placed in the Library). As a result, WRVS agreed to their grant-in-aid reduction. (The table, which has also been placed in the Library shows the Home Office grant-in-aid payments and planned payments from 1995 to 2008).

Young Offenders

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people of school age (a) found guilty of a crime and (b) placed in custody had a previous history of being in care in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each of the last five years. [10196]

Fiona Mactaggart: This information is not collected centrally.

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people of school age have died while in custody in (a) the North East and (b) England in each year since 1997; and how many died of self-inflicted injuries in each year. [10198]

Fiona Mactaggart: The following table gives details up to 31 December 2003. There were two deaths in custody in 2004 and one in 2005. One of the 2004 deaths
 
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related to an establishment in the North East. It would not be appropriate to assign a cause to these deaths until the inquests have taken place.
North East
England
Self inflictedOtherSelf inflictedOther
19970000
19980030
19990020
20000030
20010030
20020020
20030000
Total00130

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people of school age have been placed in custody 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. [10516]

Fiona Mactaggart: The available information relates to young people under 18 in: the East of England (figures for Southend West alone and Essex alone cannot be provided); Greater London; and England and Wales. It is shown in the following table. Figures are not available for the period before April 2000, when the Youth Justice Board assumed responsibility for the secure estate for young people.
Young people in custody

Year(25)East of EnglandGreater LondonEngland and Wales
2000(26)6031,0809,612
20018501,82813,436
20027692,25513,061
20038361,94012,201
20048822,11712,721
2005(27)4681,0696,608


(25) Table shows all episodes in custody that started within the year in question. In some cases the young person was sent to custody (on remand or under sentence) twice or more during the year.
(26) From April.
(27) Up to 11 July.


Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours on average were spent per week by prisoners at each young offender institution on (a) education and (b) sport in the last period for which figures are available. [2712]

Fiona Mactaggart: The following table shows the average number of hours that young offenders spent specifically on education in 2004–05. Information on time spent by young offenders in sport is not collected separately but is captured under the general heading of other purposeful activity".
Establishment nameEducation hours (weekly average)
Ashfield18.3
Aylesbury6.2
Brinsford11.3
Castington14.6
Coldingley11.6
Deerbolt12.3
Feltham10.6
Glen Parva6.4
Huntercombe13.4
Lancaster Farms14.0
Northallerton11.5
Onley10.2
Portland7.4
Reading8.1
Rochester9.1
Stoke Heath8.6
Swinfen Hall11.8
Thorn Cross (Open)19.6
Warren Hill14.4
Werrington21.9
Wetherby12.2
Young Offenders Estate Average12.1

 
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Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual support orders have been made for 10 to 17-year-olds under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 since the Act came into force. [9428]

Fiona Mactaggart: Seven Individual Support Orders (ISO) have been made since the provisions under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004.

We are keen to increase the take-up of ISOs. On 29 June we announced an additional £500,000 to be made available to the Youth Justice Board this financial year for ISOs.
 
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Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of children released from young offender institutions were provided with accommodation in the last year for which figures are available. [9653]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Youth Justice Board sets youth offending teams a key performance indicator of ensuring that all young people serving custodial sentences have suitable accommodation to go to on release.

Suitable accommodation" means accommodation which, so far as is reasonably practicable, meets the needs of the young person, including health needs and any arising from disability. The youth offending team should satisfy itself as to the character and suitability of the landlord or other provider; and, so far as is reasonably practicable, take into account the young person's wishes and feelings, and education, training or employment needs.

85.5 per cent. of young people who completed a custodial term in 2004–05 went to suitable accommodation on release.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2005, Official Report, columns 990–93W, if he will place in the Library a copy of the work published in November 2004 by the Public Policy Research Bureau for the Youth Justice Board. [9992]

Fiona Mactaggart: The report by the Public Policy Research Bureau on Safer Schools Partnerships was published on the Youth Justice Board website in November 2004. I am arranging for copies of the report to be placed in the Library.
 
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