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4 July 2006 : Column 1062Wcontinued
Mr. Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 27 June 2006, Official Report, column 2013W.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time for an application for registration as a door supervisor with the Security Industry Authority to be processed has been since establishment of the authority. [66519]
Mr. Coaker: The SIA do not calculate average processing times. Some, such as those including overseas criminal records checks, unavoidably take a considerable time. The SIA have a published target of processing 80 per cent. of all applications within six weeks, measured from the date that a properly completed application enters the processing system to the date that a licence is issued. From April 2004 until August 2005 the SIA processed 62 per cent. within six weeks and 88 per cent. within nine weeks. Since September 2005, there has been a backlog of applications that have been waiting to enter the system. These have added an additional time of between two and four weeks to the process, so it is now taking up to 10 weeks to process most applications.
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it has taken on average to process an application for a door supervisors licence to the Security Industry Authority in the last 12 months. [81127]
Mr. Coaker: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) do not calculate the average processing times for applications. Some, such as those involving overseas criminal records checks, unavoidably take a considerable time. The SIA have a published target of processing 80 per cent. of all applications within six weeks, measured from the date that a properly completed application enters the processing system to the date that a licence is issued.
From April 2004 until August 2005 the SIA processed 62 per cent. within six weeks and 88 per cent. within nine weeks. Since September 2005, there has been a backlog of applications that have been waiting to enter the system. These have added an additional time of between two and four weeks to the process, so it is now taking up to 10 weeks to process most applications.
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when the Security Industry Authority will reinstate the online application facility; and what alternative methods have been put in place for urgent applications; [81128]
(2) for what reasons the Security Industry Authority has suspended the facility for making online applications for door supervisors licences. [81129]
Mr. Coaker: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has a number of methods of ordering application forms. Application forms are available from the SIA call centre, the bulk applications department (which was set up in 2005 to enable companies to order volumes of application forms), and via the SIA website. Due to a high volume of requests, most of which were duplicate requests, the website ordering system was temporarily suspended for one month from 24 May to 27 June. The SIA deals with all licences with the same level of urgency. Currently, the SIA have no plans to implement an applicant fast-tracking system.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what process is used to appoint members to the (a) Sentencing Guidelines Council and (b) Sentencing Advisory Panel; how vacancies are advertised in each case; and what criteria are used to assess candidates. [80355]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Under section 167 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, as amended by Schedule, Part 1, paragraph 357 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lord Chief Justice appoints the seven judicial members of the Sentencing Guidelines Council. The four non-judicial members of the Council are appointed by the Home Secretary after consultation with the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice. A person is eligible to be appointed as a judicial member if he is: a Lord Justice of Appeal; a judge of the High Court; a circuit judge; a district judge (magistrates courts); or a lay justice. The judicial members must include a circuit judge, a district judge and a lay judge. A non-judicial member is eligible if he has experience in one of more of the following areas: policing, criminal prosecution, criminal defence, and the promotion of the welfare of victims of crime.
The Lord Chief Justice nominated the President of the Queen's Bench Division, the Vice President of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division, the Chair of the Criminal Committee of the Judicial Studies Board, and the Senior District Judge (Chief Magistrate) to be members of the Council and these appointments were agreed. It was also agreed that the Director of Public Prosecutions would be the member with criminal prosecution experience. The two circuit judges, the lay magistrate and the other non-judicial members were appointed after open competition following advertisements in the national media, and through targeted advertisements in professional publications and websites, including those aimed at BME communities. All appointments were made in accordance with the rules of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) and an independent member sat on the interview panels.
Members of the Sentencing Advisory Panel are appointed by the Lord Chancellor following consultation with the Home Secretary and the Lord Chief Justice. Panel members are appointed following open competition and are drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds both from within and outside the criminal justice system. Panel members serve in a personal capacity, bringing the knowledge and experience they have gained in their professional and voluntary roles to bear on the issues under discussion. As with the appointed members of the Council, advertisements are widely placed and the recruitment process followed the OCPA procedures with an independent member sitting on the interview panels.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the priorities of his Department are for the UK Presidency of the EU. [26648]
Joan Ryan: Our JHA priorities for the UK's Presidency of the European Union were included in the White Paper on the Prospects for the European Union published on 30 June 2005. We also informed Parliament of our priorities during the course of the UK Presidency, in particular in relation to the JHA Councils on 13 July, 13-14 October and 1-2 December and the JHA Informal on 7-9 September.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the priorities of his Department are for the UK presidency of the G8. [26647]
Joan Ryan: Many of the priorities for the UK Presidency of the G8 related to the Secure and Facilitated Travel Initiative (SAFTI) a series of measures designed to improve travel security. By the end of our presidency, 20 SAFTI projects had been completed with four carrying into the Russian presidency. We also completed the International Child Sexual Exploitation Database Implementation Study, agreed a document setting out best practice in dealing with internet content, best practice for law enforcement and network providers on preventing and investigating various forms of electronic attack and organised a workshop in Nigeria dealing with the tracing and return of assets.
We also introduced a number of new initiatives, on the unlawful international supply of firearms for criminal use and in developing mechanisms to enable countries to share DNA data for intelligence purposes in the investigation of crime. At the ministerial meeting held in Sheffield in 2005 Ministers a greed to further work on biometrics, advanced passenger information, human trafficking, drug production in Afghanistan, internet crime and measures to tackle crime and corruption in Africa.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recorded level of violent crime was in Yeovil constituency in (a) 1996 to 1997 and (b) 2004-05. [82135]
Mr. McNulty: Yeovil comes within the South Somerset Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Partnerships were set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and data are only available from 1999-2000. There were 3,058 violent crimes recorded by the police in the South Somerset CDRP in 2004-05.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes were recorded in the Humberside Police Authority area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [82465]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is given in the tables.
Since 1997, there have been two major changes to the way in which crime is recorded. The effect of the change in counting rules in 1998 was to artificially increase recorded violent crime nationally by more than 80 per cent. while it is estimated that the effect of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002 caused a further 20 per cent. increase in recorded violent crime in its first year.
Table 1: Offences of violent crime recorded in Humberside1997 | |
Number of offences | |
Table 2: Offences of violent crime recorded in Humberside1998-99 to 2001-02 | |
Number of offences | |
Notes: 1. The coverage was extended and counting rules revised from 1998-99. Figures from that date are not directly comparable with those for 1997. 2. The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years. |
Table 3: Offences of violent crime recorded in Humberside2002-03 to 2004-05 | |
Number of offences | |
Note: The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years. |
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reverse the decline in family visits to inmates at young offender institutions. [81205]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Prisoners and young offenders have a statutory entitlement to domestic or social visits. In addition, many establishments offer extended or family visits. The frequency of these additional visits remains a matter for each establishment, taking account of resources and regime. Statistics on the number of visitors are not routinely collated so there is no recent evidence as to the overall level of take up. However, in order to support and encourage more visitors, the Assisted Prisons Visits Scheme, which provides financial assistance for visitors on a low income, was extended in 2004. Good Practice Guidelines have also recently been issued to enable prisons and YOIs to examine and improve the effectiveness of their visits arrangements.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ratio is of staff to individuals held in custody at (a) local authority secure units, (b) secure training centres and (c) young offenders' institutions. [79861]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 26 June 2006]: Staff to trainee ratios are difficult to calculate, for a variety of reasons. For example, some staff spend almost all their time dealing with trainees; others, for example support staff, will have less frequent contact. The following figures are indicative:
Secure children's homes: the number of staff supervising trainees varies between one member of staff to two children and six staff to eight children.
Secure training centres: the number of staff supervising trainees ranges between two staff to five to seven trainees and three staff to eight trainees. Other staff at the centre include custody officers to supervise visits, admissions and movements in the centre.
Young offender institutions: no simple ratio is available. On each wing, there are between 40 and 60 trainees, under the supervision of between three and six staff. In addition, there are teachers, learning support assistants and support staff.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his latest estimate is of the cost per year per inmate at (a) local authority secure units, (b) secure training centres and (c) young offenders' institutions. [79862]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales commissions and purchases places in the secure estate for children and young people. It estimates the annual cost per place in 2005-06 as follows:
£ | |
1 Includes value added tax. |
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