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Proscribed Terrorist Organisations
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria the Government use when placing groups on his Department's list of proscribed terrorist organisations. [66366]
Hazel Blears: The criteria for proscription are set out in section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000, as amended by section 21 of the Terrorism Act 2006. In reaching his decisions, the Secretary of State also takes into account a number of factors including:
The need to support other members of the international community in the global fight against terrorism.
Any decision by the Secretary of State to proscribe an organisation has to be endorsed by both Houses of Parliament.
Recidivism
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reinstate the public service agreement target to reduce reoffending by 5 per cent. [65619]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office remains committed to its spending review 2002 public service agreement target to reduce re-offending by 5 per cent. by 2006 and the spending review 2004 public service agreement standard to at least maintain it at this level thereafter.
The Home Office strategic plan published in July 2004 also set out our commitment to working towards a 10 per cent. reduction by the end of the decade.
The Home Office will agree its next set of public service agreements as part of the 2007 comprehensive spending review.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners were reconvicted within two years of leaving prison in the last period for which figures are available. [65620]
Fiona Mactaggart: The most recent information on the recidivism of adult prisoners is published in Reoffending of adults: results from the 2002 cohort". This is available online at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb2505.pdf. In particular, please see Table A.5 of that report.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make an annual oral statement to Parliament on progress made in implementing the National Action Plan to reduce reoffending; [65621]
(2) what the timetable is for delivery of the National Action Plan for reducing reoffending. [65803]
Fiona Mactaggart:
We published the National Action Plan in July 2004. It set out the key actions we would take to reduce reoffending over the next 15 months. In
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November 2005, the Government published a progress report setting out the considerable progress we had made in delivering the action plan.
This update on progress was published as part of a new document: The National Reducing Re-offending Delivery Plan. A copy of the Delivery Plan was placed in the Library of the House. This plan sets out the key actions the Government will take to reduce re-offending over the next 18 months. Regular reports on progress against delivery will be made available on the Home Office website. We have no plans to make an oral statement.
Remand
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will commission a comprehensive review of the role of remand in the criminal justice system. [65602]
Fiona Mactaggart:
Bail and remand is an area of work which is kept under continuous review, with the aim of ensuring that appropriate decisions are made in accordance with the Bail Act 1976, and to improve the processes which underpin the management of bail.
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We are working closely with criminal justice agencies and other stakeholders on a wide-ranging programme of work on bail and remand, directed by the National Criminal Justice Board and delivered at local level through the 42 Local Criminal Justice Boards. This programme focuses on supporting the remand decision-making process, through developing risk assessment tools and improving the information available to decision-makers; increasing first-time compliance with bail, for example through the use of telephone and text reminders and the greater use of sureties and securities; improving the management of bail through the use of inter-agency bail agreements; improving the enforcement of warrants when defendant fail to surrender to bail; and promoting the implementation of the Lord Chief Justice's Practice Direction on bail on dealing robustly with non-attendance.
Road Traffic Offences
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) males and (b) females convicted of an offence under section 14 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 have been fined the maximum amount in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, broken down by age. [64702]
Paul Goggins: Available information from 1995 to 2004 (latest available) is given in the table.
2005 data will be available early in 2007.
(18) L2 = £500 for offences under s. 14 Road Traffic Act 1988
(19) Seat belt offences.
(20) Ages 17 and 25 separate as they are used as a default age, at Youth and adult courts respectively, when date of birth not known.
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