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20 Apr 2006 : Column 808W—continued

Motoring Offences

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of (a) males and (b) females who have received a fixed penalty for committing an offence under Section 14(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (a) once, (b) twice, (c) three times and (d) four times and over; and if he will make a statement. [64024]

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available.

National Offender Management Service

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the lines of accountability are under the National Offender Management Service in Wales for the delivery of the reducing reoffending action plan. [49058]

Fiona Mactaggart: The reducing reoffending action plan applies to England but the principles and broad approach to reducing reoffending is taken into account in 'Joining Together in Wales: an Adult and Young People's Strategy to Reduce Re-offending'. The strategy was published jointly between the Welsh Assembly Government and the Home Office and, following the outcome of the consultation, there will be a joint action plan to reflect the roles and responsibilities in Wales of the Welsh Assembly Government and the National Offender Management Service.

Otley Police Station

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what guidance he has given to West Yorkshire police on the provision of 24-hour helpdesk services at Otley police station; [64406]

(2) what assessment he has made of the effects that the proposed closure of the 24-hour helpdesk at Otley police station will have on the residents of Otley, with particular reference to those without adequate access to public transport necessary to reach easily the nearest police station. [64408]

Hazel Blears: The management of the police estate and allocation of resources are matters for each police authority and the chief officer, who are responsible for assessing local needs. The ownership of police stations is vested in the local police authority, not the Home Office. Their use is a matter for local decisions.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors underlay the decision to close the 24-hour helpdesk at Otley police station. [64407]

Hazel Blears: The management of the police estate and allocation of resources are matters for each police authority and the chief officer, who are responsible for assessing local needs. The ownership of police stations is vested in the local police authority, not the Home Office.
 
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Their use and disposal are a matter for local decisions. West Yorkshire police have informed me that research has been commissioned to investigate the number of visitors attending every front counter help desk in their force area. Decisions to close helpdesks or reduce hours of opening have been taken after consideration of the results of this research.

Prisons

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 October 2005, Official Report, column 490W, on the Prison Service, what proportion of the prison population has no recorded religious beliefs; and how many prisons have a multi-faith chaplaincy team that (a) includes and (b) does not include a representative of non-religious beliefs. [64076]

Fiona Mactaggart: At the end of February 2006, 32 per cent. of prisoners in prison establishments in England and Wales were recorded as having no religious affiliation. Chaplaincy teams include chaplains from a range of faith traditions depending on need and local circumstances. They would not normally include a representative of non religious beliefs. Chaplaincy teams provide pastoral support to prisoners and staff of all faiths, and none. Prisons provide a range of other support services and activities for those who do not wish to avail themselves of chaplaincy services.

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 8 July 2005, Official Report, column 557W, on prison food, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that only halal meat is served to Muslim prisoners in all Prison Service establishments. [64077]

Fiona Mactaggart: Prisons are required to offer a multi-choice menu. When a halal meat or poultry menu is offered, an alternative non-halal meat or poultry choice must be provided and clearly identified on a published menu.

Probation Service

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been made about (a) Essex and (b) Southend probation services in each year since 1997; and how many of those complaints have been upheld in each year. [48870]

Fiona Mactaggart: A National Complaints Procedure, agreed by the Secretary of State, enables local probation areas to handle complaints. Unresolved local complaints are escalated to the independent Prison and Probation Ombudsman. The following table lists complaints made against Essex Probation and the number upheld in each year from 2001. Information is not available for the Southend probation service.

The following table shows the numbers of complaints received in total by Essex probation area since 1 September 2001 for each completed time period. The figures contain both formal and informal complaints. The number upheld column refers to the number of complaints where the area has accepted validity in the complaint and action has been taken. The following figures are not comparable to the figures collected by the independent Prison and Probation Ombudsman.
 
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	Number received	Number upheld
September 2001-March 2002	8	1
April 2002-March 2003	23	2
April 2003-December 2003	24	2
January 2004-December 2004	21	3
January 2005-December 2005	13	2

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in (a) England and Wales and (b) Lancashire were returned to prison after violating their probation conditions in each year since 2000. [61330]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 27 March 2006]: The table shows the number of recalls to custody for the whole of England and Wales, for each fiscal year since 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2005. The figures include recalls of those released on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme. The information is not broken down by county and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

	Total number of recalls
2000–01	3,182
2001–02	5,086
2002–03	8,388
2003–04	11,215
2004–05	11,081

Schools (Sexual Harassment)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sexual harassment cases have been recorded in secondary schools in (a) Romford, (b) Havering, (c) Greater London and (d) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years. [62979]

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.

The Department for Education and Skills does not record the information that you have requested.

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many protests have been granted permission by the police under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 since it came into force. [64833]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Commissioner of the Metropolis is responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the force. I have passed your question to him and asked him to respond to you directly. I will arrange for a copy of the reply to be placed in the House Library.

Vandalism

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of vandalism were reported in (a) Southend and (b) Essex in each year since 1990. [64365]

Hazel Blears: The requested information is given in the tables. Offences of vandalism are recorded within the criminal damage group classification. Crime statistics
 
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for Southend are recorded at Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) level; and for the offence of criminal damage are available from 2000–01 to 2004–05.
Table 1: Recorded offences of criminal damage—1990 to 1997 Number

Period	Southend CDRP	Essex police force area
1990	—	14,265
1991	—	15,631
1992	—	16,959
1993	—	17,293
1994	—	17,968
1995	—	18,286
1996	—	20,381
1997	—	18,845

Note:
The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the revised counting rules for recorded crime, which came into effect on 1 April 1998. Therefore, these figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.




Table 2: Recorded offences of criminal damage—1998–99 to 2001–02 Number

Period	Southend CDRP	Essex police force area
1998–99	—	18,834
1999–2000	—	21,766
2000–01	3,277	24,673
2001–02	3,267	26,990

Note:
The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.




Table 3: Recorded offences of criminal damage—2002–03 to 2004–05 Number

Period	Southend CDRP	Essex police force area
2002–03	3,598	30,337
2003–04	4,210	34,253
2004–05	4,308	32,406

Note:
The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.

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