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19 Jul 2005 : Column 1621W—continued
Police (Sickness Absence)
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many days were lost through sick leave (a) per employee and (b) per officer in each police force in England and Wales in each year since 1997. [9590]
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Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on working days lost is published in Police Performance Monitoring Reports.
Data in these reports cover the period 2001–02 to 2003–04 and are available on the following website: http://www.policereform.gov.uk/psu/performance monitors.html.
Data for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 can be found in the 2000–01 report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary tables 10 and 11. This is available from the following: http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/hoffice/hc230/hmcreport.pdf.
Data prior to 1999–2000 are not available centrally.
Prisons
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have committed suicide in prison since 1 January, broken down by (a) prison, (b) offence and (c) length of sentence; and how many were (i) under 21 years, (ii) 21 to 40 years, (iii)40 to 60 years and (iv) over 60 years. [12090]
Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested with respect to apparently self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales, one January—end 11 July 2005 is shown in the following tables:
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Age Category | Number of apparently self-inflicted deaths |
|---|---|
| Under 21 years | 6 |
| 21 years-39 years | 26 |
| 40 years-59 years | 9 |
| Over 60 years | 2 |
| Total | 43 |
Prisons
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have taken place in the level of illegal drug use in each prison in England and Wales in each of the past 10 years. [10864]
Fiona Mactaggart: The best measure of changes in drug misuse in prisons is provided by the random mandatory drug testing programme. Yearly percentage positive rates for each prison for the past ten years will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many instances at each prison members of the Independent Monitoring Board have disagreed with the outcome of a review of continued segregation in a prison segregation unit in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [13391]
Fiona Mactaggart:
This information is not held centrally.
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Scanner Technology
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the contribution which QinetiQ's scanner technology could make to the anti-terrorism campaign. [12436]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Millimetre wave imaging is one of a number of technologies being evaluated by the police service and the Home Office Scientific Development Branch for detecting bombs and weapons carried under clothing. It relies on non-ionising radiation which is emitted by all objects in the environment or can be generated artificially (for indoor use).
The underlying technology was developed with UK Government funding and devices have been deployed experimentally at an airport and operationally at channel ports, where they are used to detect stowaways in vehicles. QinetiQ's latest system will be evaluated as soon as it is available, probably in early August. The new device is smaller than the stowaway detection system and is designed to inspect individuals or groups of people. The image shows the surface of the body and objects under the clothing and needs to be interpreted by a trained operator.
Millimetre wave imaging systems have clear capabilities in this area. However, like all explosives detection systems they need to be deployed as part of a planned security system which incorporates equipment, staff and procedures to interpret and deal with the information gathered by the equipment.
Sectors Based Scheme Review
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 23 June 2005, Official Report, column 47WS, on Sectors Based Scheme Review, how many work permits were issued under the scheme in respect of Bangladesh; how many persons named in work permits were granted entry clearance; how many appeals against refusals have been heard to date; how many were successful; what consultation with Bangladeshi stakeholders took place in reviewing the scheme; if he will publish the results of the review of the scheme; what evidence has been disclosed as to abuse of the scheme; and what proposals he has for a substitute for the scheme before a new points system is introduced. [12161]
Mr. McNulty: 8,761 Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) work permits have been issued to Bangladeshi nationals since the scheme was introduced on 31 May 2003, of which 8,157 were issued for work in the hospitality sector and 604 for the food manufacturing sector. To date, 3,023 Bangladeshi nationals issued with SBS permits have been granted entry clearance.
We are unable to provide figures as to how many appeals against refusals to grant entry clearance have been heard to date and how many were successful due to the disproportional cost that would be incurred in obtaining this information.
The recent review of the SBS involved both the distribution of a review questionnaire to employers in the sector to assess the effectiveness of the scheme, and face-to-face interviews with key representatives. Over 200 responses were received to the questionnaire from
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employers in the Indian restaurant trade, and a meeting at official level was held with the Bangladeshi Caterers Association on 29 September 2004.
The findings of the review of the Scheme, including evidence of abuse of the Scheme, were published on the Home Office website on 30 June 2005. The Government published its Five-Year Strategy for Asylum and Immigration on 7 February 2005.
This contained a commitment to phase out the existing low-skilled schemes, such as SBS, in light of the additional labour now accessible from the new accession states. The five year strategy contains a commitment to introduce small tightly managed quota based schemes, where there are identifiable needs that are not being met by workers from the expanded ED workforce. We will undertake further consultations with representatives from the hospitality sector in due course.
Secure Training Centres
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid by (a) his Department and (b) the Youth Justice Board to each of the contractors running secure training centres in each financial year of their operation. [10980]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 11 July 2005]: During the period for which information is available, the following sums were paid by the Youth Justice Board:
(48)Medway increased from 44 beds to 76 in November 2002
(49)Rainsbrook increased from 44 beds to 76 in June 2002
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