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2 Nov 2005 : Column 1111W—continued
National Offender Management Service
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he plans to ensure that the introduction of the National Offender Management Service will achieve its aims of reducing reoffending and increasing public confidence. [16480]
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Fiona Mactaggart: The introduction of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is a major change initiative. The change programme creates the capability to reduce reoffending by:
introducing an offender management model to ensure effective end-to-end management of offenders from the beginning to the end of their sentence, both in custody and the community;
providing high quality and innovative offender management and interventions services for offenders through a mixed economy of public, private and voluntary sector providers; and
Successful delivery is being assured by the adoption of best practice programme management arrangements, including developing and tracking key indicators of delivery—as stated in the NOMS corporate plan.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the performance of the National Offender Management Service. [16986]
Fiona Mactaggart: An assessment of progress against Performance Targets as set out in the National Offender Management Service Business Plan is made on a regular basis. We are currently on course to meet most of these. Additionally, a bi-annual assessment of progress against Business Plan milestones is made; this is due later this month.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total expenditure on the National Offender Management Service was up to the end of September. [19222]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 18 October 2005]: The total expenditure on the National Offender Management Service for the current financial year, up to the end of September, is £1,912,966,000 resource and £136,995,000 capital. The figures for the month of September are provisional.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the business case for the National Offender Management Service will be published; and if he will make a statement. [22672]
Fiona Mactaggart: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) strategic business case was published on the NOMS website:
www.noms.homeoffice.gov.uk on 20 October.
The case for the establishment of NOMS was outlined in 'Managing Offenders Reducing Crime'. A separate detailed business case has taken time to prepare as NOMS is a complex and wide-ranging programme. The business case makes a detailed strategic case for change.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date the relevant Minister agreed the business case for the National Offender Management Service. [23268]
Fiona Mactaggart: Ministers have supported the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) in the development of the strategic business case and approved it prior to its publication. The NOMS strategic business case was published on the NOMS website www.noms.homeoffice.gov.uk on 20 October.
The case for the establishment of NOMS was outlined in 'Managing Offenders Reducing Crime'. A separate detailed business case has taken time to prepare as NOMS is a complex and wide-ranging programme. The business case makes a detailed strategic case for change.
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John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when (a) the business case and (b) gateway reviews in respect of a contestability within the National Offender Management Service will be published; and if he will place a copy in the Library when it is available. [23541]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding Answer 31 October 2005]: We have no plans to publish the gateway reviews of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) programme that have taken place. The strategic business case was published on the NOMS website (www.noms.homeoffice.gov.uk) on 20 October 2005. Since its publication was electronic, no copies have been placed in the Library.
Payroll Giving Grants Programme
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the information on the take up of the payroll giving grants programme will be available; and in what format it will be published. [21860]
Paul Goggins: The Institute of Fundraising will write to all MPs in January 2006 with a breakdown of the take up of payroll giving by constituency, copies of which will be placed in the Library.
Police
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many resignations and retirements of police officers from the Northamptonshire police there have been in each year since 1997. [22234]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 25 October 2005]: Figures for the number of voluntary resignations by police officers in Northamptonshire are provided in the table. Figures for the numbers of ordinary and medical retirements by police officers in Northamptonshire are also provided in the table.
| As at 31 March each year: | Voluntary resignations |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 13 |
| 1998 | 8 |
| 1999 | 23 |
| 2000 | 9 |
| 2001 | 10 |
| 2002 | 7 |
| 2003 | 11 |
| 2004 | 26 |
| 2005 | 29 |
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Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the effective rate of employer contributions is to final salary pension schemes in the public sector for police officers. [21571]
Hazel Blears: The police pension scheme is financed on a pay-as-you-go basis, which means that police forces pay the pensions of their former officers directly out of their operating account. Police forces do not pay employer contributions as such, but it is estimated that the notional employer contribution rate for the current Police Pension Scheme is 26.1 per cent.
Lynne Featherstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) police officers and (b) police sergeants there were on 1 January (i) 2002, (ii) 2003, (iii) 2004 and (iv) 2005, broken down by (A) London borough and (B) police authority; [17009]
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(2) how many police community support officers there were on 1January (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004 and (d) 2005, broken down by (i) London borough and (ii) police authority. [17010]
Hazel Blears: Information on the number of constables and sergeants for each police force in England and Wales for 31 March of each year requested (which is the nearest available date to January) is set out in Table A. Community Support Officers were introduced during 2002–03 and the first available information on their number is for 31 March 2003.
Table B sets out the total number of police officers and Community Support Officers for each London Borough Operational Command Unit (OCU). The data shows the total number of officers in each OCU: a breakdown by rank is not collected. Information on the number of Community Support Officers in London OCUs has only been collected since March 2005. In addition to London borough deployment, 456 CSOs are assigned to the Metropolitan Police Transport OCU, 40 to the Royal Parks OCU and 45 to SO18 (aviation security).
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(38) Police community Support Officer (PCSO) strength is only available from 31 March 2003. There may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.
(39) Some forces have revised their figures and totals may not agree with those previously published.
(40) Allocation of police officers to each London borough is substantially determined by the Metropolitan Police Service through the application of the force's resource allocation formula.
(41) CSO = Community Support Officer
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Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will rank police forces according to percentage of total strength that has been civilianised since 1995. [21454]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 24 October 2005]: The information requested is not collected. It is for chief officers of police and their police authorities to determine the mix of staff employed by a police force. The police service efficiency strategy expects the service to work towards increasing the amount of police officer time spent on front-line policing to around 72 per cent. by March 2008, from nearly 64 per cent. in March 2004. This equates to an extra 12,000 police officers being freed up from back-office tasks over the next three years.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many resignations from the police there have been in each year since 1997. [21847]
Hazel Blears: Figures for the numbers of voluntary resignations by both police officers and police staff are provided in the table. Increasing numbers of resignations are to be expected given the record growth in police service personnel numbers over the last five years.
(42) Totals exclude one force.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of (a) the compatibility of police computer systems and (b) the implications of computer system compatibility for force restructuring. [21888]
Hazel Blears:
The compatibility of police computer systems within each force is the responsibility of the chief constable and his police authority. National systems such as the police national computer operated op behalf of the service by the Police Information Technology Organisation are accessible by all forces.
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The IMPACT programme will provide business processes and systems which allow police forces to share and link operationally relevant information regardless of artificial boundaries between forces and systems. As part of developing options for change on restructuring, police forces/authorities are expected to consider and assess computer system compatibility across forces within their region.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effect of the age profile of Lancashire police on recruitment requirements for the force. [11645]
Hazel Blears: Individual forces carry out their own age profiling with a view to future recruitment needs.
Lancashire constabulary monitors the effect of the age profile of the organisation on the recruitment requirements for the force on a monthly basis. They currently have projections until 2011.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which police stations have held convicted prisoners for one night or more after sentencing in the past six months; and for those in respect of which proceedings have been completed (a) how many were so held, (b) what their sentence was and (c) for what crime they were convicted in each case; [20477]
(2) how many convicted prisoners have been held in police cells for one night or more after sentencing in the past six months. [20478]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 24 October 2005]: Since 1 April 2005 there has been a total of 645 prisoners held overnight in police accommodation. This includes both convicted and unconvicted prisoners. This is not a routine use and is an emergency measure only.
Details of police stations, whether proceedings have been completed, prisoner status, sentence and offence are not recorded centrally by the National Offender Management Service and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the starting salary of a new police officer was for each police force area in each of the last three years. [14018]
Hazel Blears
[holding answer 20 July 2005]: Starting pay for police constables in the last three years is set out in the table.
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In addition to their pay, officers in the Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police receive a London allowance of £4,338 for officers recruited on or after one September 1994 and who are not in receipt of a housing allowance. Officers in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Thames Valley who were recruited on or after 1 September and who are not in receipt of a housing allowance receive a South East allowance of £2,000 a year. Qualifying officers in Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Sussex receive a South East allowance of £1,000 a year.
(43) The pay of constables in the Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police is increased by London weighting.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he gives to police authorities on the purchase and hire of road vehicles. [20631]
Hazel Blears: The Government are determined to ensure that the police have adequate resources to play their key part in tackling crime and disorder and improving community safety.
Planning and management of police resources locally, including use of vehicles, are matters for each police authority and chief officer.
We have worked with the police service to develop national frameworks for the purchase of vehicles, under which forces are offered significant discounts on manufacturers' prices. These have been in place since 1992 and are regularly re-tendered. The arrangements are strongly encouraged by the Association of Chief Police Officers and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. The most recent version (spring 2005) have been designed to assist forces in rationalising the variety of models in use, to encourage standardisation and deliver further increases in value for money.
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