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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2600W—continued
National Casualty Helpline
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the price per minute is for the National Casualty Helpline; if he will make it his policy to ensure that future helplines are given a free phone number; and if he will make a statement. [12460]
Hazel Blears: When the Casualty Bureau was opened on 7 July, it was accessed through an 0870 number. The cost of those calls varied depending upon the caller's telephone service provider.
On 15 July, I announced an urgent review of the use of 0870 numbers in respect of the Casualty Bureau. That review has now taken place and, with immediate effect, the use of 0870 numbers will be discontinued in respect of Casualty Bureau access to the public. 0800 numbers will be made available as the main contact number between the Police Service Casualty Bureau and the public.
0800 freephone numbers are free at the point of use to landline customers. Mobile users are likely to be charged based upon their mobile tariff. 0800 numbers may not be accessed from overseas and an alternative 020 geographic number is therefore being provided primarily for the use of overseas callers. This number is also available to UK customers, including those using mobile phones who may find the charges lower than the standard rate for 0800.
National Offender Management Service
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the salary range will be for the new chief executive of the National Offender Management Service; [12025]
(2) what steps he has taken to recruit a replacement for the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service; and when he expects to make the new appointment; [12026]
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(3) where the position of the chief executive of the National Offender Management Service is to be advertised; when it will be advertised; and at what level. [15625]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The post of chief executive National Offender Management Service is being advertised internally within the Home Office and NHS. It has been placed within the senior civil service pay band three, salary range £93,139–132,586. Interviews are expected to begin in late September, and an appointment made as soon as possible thereafter.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been spent on the National Offender Management Service since its inception. [15622]
Fiona Mactaggart: The expenditure of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is contained in the following table. The table details expenditure from 1 June 2004, when NOMS came into being, until 30 June 2005, the most recent figures available.
| 13 months | ||
|---|---|---|
| Resource | Capital | |
| NOMS HQ | 343.9 | 150.3 |
| Prisons | 2,277.6 | 208.4 |
| NPS | 942.7 | 16.7 |
| Total | 3,564.2 | 375.4 |
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Home Office officials have been (a) seconded and (b) moved to the National Offender Management Service. [15623]
Fiona Mactaggart: The National Offender Management Service Headquarters (NOMS HQ) was set up in June 2004. It was formed initially from existing Home Office units and at present remains part of the core Home Office.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been (a) seconded and (b) recruited from outside his Department to the National Offender Management Service. [15626]
Fiona Mactaggart: The National Offender Management Service Headquarters (NOMS HQ) was set up in June 2004. It was formed initially from existing Home Office units. Since then a number of staff and functions have transferred in from the Prison Service HQ which is an Agency of the Home Office. There is only a minority of staff within NOMS HQ who have been recruited from outside the Department. In April 2005 a number of functions and staff were transferred to NOMS from the Prison Service and the National Probation Service, these included 44 staff seconded from the National Probation Service.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much has been spent to date on establishing regional offender managers as part of the National Offender Management Service. [16033]
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Fiona Mactaggart: As a result of recruiting the 10 regional offender managers from staff working in the National Offender Management Service there were no additional staff costs to NOMS in 2004–05. The budget for the regional offender managers in 2005–06 will be £5.4 million which will include the costs of additional support staff.
National Police Intelligence System
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment has been made of progress in developing a national police intelligence system; and if he will make a statement. [14034]
Paul Goggins: The development of a national IT system to support police intelligence in England and Wales was recommended by the Bichard inquiry in June 2004. The Government passed Sir Michael Bichard, who chaired the inquiry, a full progress report on 22 December 2004, detailing progress made in implementing all 31 recommendations. This was made public on 11 January 2005. In reply, he stated he was broadly content with the direction and pace of progress, including the development and implementation of the IMPACT programme, which will deliver the national IT programme.
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the national police intelligence system IMPACT is due to be completed; and whether a timeframe for its roll out has been agreed. [14035]
Paul Goggins: The programme will deliver, by the end of the year, a nominal index which police forces will be able to search to discover which other forces hold, on their local systems, information relating to a person under investigation or for vetting purposes.
The programme is also developing a longer term vision and strategy for a national IT system to support police information sharing, including the future of the police national computer.
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the business case for the development of the national police intelligence system IMPACT to be published. [14036]
Paul Goggins: An outline business case will be prepared in September. For commercial reasons, business cases are not released until all associated contractual activities are completed.
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to police forces in England and Wales on updating their IT systems pending the delivery of a national police intelligence system. [14037]
Paul Goggins:
The Home Office has issued no guidance to forces on updating their IT systems in the context of the IMPACT Programme, pending the outcome of the programme definition. The police service are closely involved in the programme, which reports to a board chaired by ACPO, though the programme has recently issued guidance on the need to extract nominal data from paper and unstructured force systems to enter onto the Criminal Records Bureau's I-PLX system. Guidance has also been issued on the need to develop a capability to extract data from force IT
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systems in common data format, in preparation for data sharing initiatives to be delivered in later stages of the programme.
Offenders
John Hemming:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people of each standard juvenile and adult age cohort were convicted of each of the standard offence categories for each year between
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1997 and 2005; and how many convicted offenders had previously been given a final warning or reprimand for (a) that same offence and (b) any other offence. [14892]
Paul Goggins: Information on the number of offenders convicted in England and Wales between 1997 and 2003 is given in the following tables.
Statistics for 2004 will be published in the autumn. It is not possible from the data held on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database to identify offenders previously given a reprimand or final warning.
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Note:
These data are on a principal offence basis.
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