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19 July 2006 : Column 537W—continued
Home Department
Alcohol-related Crime
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many alcohol-related crimes have (a) been reported and (b) resulted in convictions in Leicester, broken down by local government ward area in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [86371]
Mr. McNulty: From the information collected centrally, it is not possible to identify those offences which are alcohol-related. Such offences are not specifically defined by statute and details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in either the recorded crime or court proceedings data series.
Animal Welfare
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many White Papers were published by his Department in 2005; how many included an animal health or welfare component; and if he will make a statement. [68258]
Joan Ryan: My Department published 11 White Papers in the Command papers series during the calendar year 2005 and was lead author on two other jointly produced White Papers. A complete list of these has been provided to the Library .
Of these 13 White Papers one, Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals : Great Britain 2004, related to animal health or welfare.
Antisocial Behaviour Orders
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been (a) issued and (b) breached in each local authority area in each year since their introduction. [85406]
Mr. Sutcliffe:
A table giving the number of Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued annually, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, where prohibitions have been imposed in each local Government authority area, up to 30 September 2005
(latest available), can be found on the Crime Reduction website at: www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
ASBO breach data are available at criminal justice system area level only.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of people issued with antisocial behaviour orders have broken the terms of their conditions in each constituency in England since the scheme was introduced. [85514]
Mr. McNulty: The information is not available in the form requested.
Bail Applications/Bail Hostels
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases before Asylum and Immigration Tribunals applications were made for bail pending termination of the appeal in each of the last five years. [86062]
Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
Information shows that in each of the last five financial years the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) and its predecessor the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) received the following volume of bail applications:
| Number of applications | |
The AIT does not collate information on the volume of bail applications arising from particular appeal types nor the number of applications opposed by the Home Office. Such information could be obtained only by incurring disproportionate costs.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 6 July 2006, Official Report, column 1324W, on bail hostels, if he will take steps to ensure that the type of offences committed by offenders residing at an approved premises on a given date is collected centrally. [85345]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Consideration has been given on a number of occasions to the case for collecting centrally data on the type of offences committed by offenders residing at approved premises. Certain offenders are placed in approved premises, where they can be closely monitored by offender managers and by staff in approved premises. Since offenders are managed locally, it is appropriate that local offender managers should have comprehensive information on offenders, including the type of offence they have committed, it remains my view, therefore, that it is neither necessary, nor a prudent use of resources, for us to collect centrally data on the type of offence committed by residents in approved premises.
Chief Inspector of Prisons
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will (a) review his decision to abolish the post of Chief Inspector of Prisons and (b) retain the present incumbent in post. [85302]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Part 4 of the Police and Justice Bill, currently before Parliament, will replace the existing five Chief Inspectors for the justice sector (police, Crown Prosecution Service, courts administration, prisons and probation) with a single Chief Inspector for Justice, Community Safety and Custody. We consider this reform essential to reflect recent reforms in the services inspected and to provide an inspection regime that is able to look more effectively at the system as a whole, especially at the joins where activities of agencies interface.
We recognise the special nature and importance of prisons inspection in safeguarding human rights. We have therefore placed a special and separate duty on the new Chief Inspector to inspect prisons and other similar forms of custody and report to the responsible Ministers on the treatment of prisoners and the conditions in prisons. This duty continues and enhances the present statutory role of the Chief Inspector of Prisons.
Transitional arrangements will ensure that the new Chief Inspector will not take over the prisons inspection duty from the Chief Inspector of Prisons until Ministers are quite satisfied that he or she is ready to do so effectively. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has recently extended the appointment of the present Chief Inspector of Prisons until April 2008.
We have, however, acknowledged concerns raised by the Joint Committee on Human Rights and expect to table some amendments to the Bill to address them.
Commercial Vehicle Drivers
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions there were of and (b) fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers of commercial vehicles in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [85791]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 17 July 2006]: Information collected centrally by the Home Department on motoring offences does not distinguish between the characteristics of the vehicles involved.
Community Police Officers
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the initiative of distributing in areas of high crime key fobs bearing the name, photograph and contact details of community police officers; and if he will make a statement. [85959]
Mr. McNulty
[holding answer 18 July 2006]: The Home Office is committed to having neighbourhood policing teams embedded in every area in England and
Wales by April 2008. As part of this, every member of the community will know how to contact their local neighbourhood policing team—whether officer, PCSO or other staff—by phone or by e-mail.
How this commitment is delivered is an operational matter for chief constables; the Home Office does not therefore intend to prescribe how police forces should publicise the contact details of local neighbourhood policing officers. The important thing is that people know how to contact their local officers and that they can do it quickly and easily.
Community Support Officers
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of police community support officers in assisting regular police officers; and if he will make a statement. [86311]
Mr. McNulty: The effectiveness of police community support officers (PCSOs) is evaluated in “An Evaluation of the Impact of the National Reassurance Policing Programme” and “A National Evaluation of Community Support Officers” which were published on 26 January 2006. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
PCSOs are deployed with police officers in a team-based approach to deliver neighbourhood policing. They assist police officers and exercise their own role through regular patrolling, community engagement and tackling low-level crime and antisocial behaviour (ASB). This allows police officers to tackle more serious criminal behaviour. The evaluation shows that PCSOs have been well received by the public.
Consultants
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by (a) his Department and (b) the Identity and Passport Service on consultants working on (i) identity cards, (ii) e-passports and (iii) identity management in each of the last four years; and how much has been spent on each category in 2006-07. [85339]
Joan Ryan: Expenditure on consultancies by the Home Office and the United Kingdom Passport Service (up to 31 March 2006) and the Identity and Passport Service (from 1 April 2006) was as follows:
| £000 | ||
| Identity cards (includes identity management) | e-passports | |
Convictions
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people have been convicted of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in each constituency in England since the introduction of the Act; [85509]
(2) how many people have been convicted of common assault under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in each constituency in England since the introduction of the Act; [85510]
(3) how many people have been convicted of inflicting bodily injury under section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 in each constituency in England in the last 10 years; [85511]
(4) how many people have been convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 in each constituency in England in the last four years; [85515]
(5) how many people have been convicted of being drunk and disorderly in each constituency in England in each month of the last two years for which figures are available. [85517]
Mr. McNulty: It is not possible to identify the number of convictions for the offences specified, broken down by constituency area as the data are not centrally collected at that level of detail.
The offence of being drunk and disorderly can attract a Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND), however PND data are also not available at constituency level.
Criminal Records Bureau
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases the Criminal Records Bureau has wrongly reported that a person has a criminal record in each year since its inception; on how many occasions in each year such cases related to offences involving children, broken down by offence; and if he will make a statement. [81418]
Joan Ryan: I refer the hon. Member to my written answer of 28 June 2006, Official Report, column 507W.
Information is not available to provide the number of occasions in each year such cases involved children, broken down by offence. Such information could be provided only by conducting an individual case search against the Police National Computer (PNC) and at disproportionate cost.
Custody
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are taken to liaise with the families of children and young adults in custody in order to better assess their vulnerability and risk of self-harm or suicide. [86221]
Mr. Sutcliffe:
Under the Youth Justice Board's National Standards, youth offending teams have a duty
to involve parents in the completion of the ASSET assessment form and pre-sentence report that must be compiled on a young person under 18 who appears in court. If the young person is sentenced to custody, there is a requirement under the national standards for parents to be invited to participate in the training planning process. Establishments are also required to consult and inform parents during the young person's stay is custody.
The Prison Service requires that local suicide and self-harm prevention strategies should set out procedures relating to receiving, recording and passing information coming into the establishment from families, agencies and other parties outside the establishment who have a concern for a person in custody who may be at risk of suicide or self-harm. Prison Service staff are encouraged to involve families in the care planning of at-risk prisoners.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the approved methods of restraint are for children and young adults in custody; what safety instructions are issued to prison officers; how many incidents of harm resulting from unauthorised restraint have been recorded in the past five years; how many officers have been subject to disciplinary action arising from restraint incidents; and if he will review current practice. [86251]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The method of restraint authorised for use in young offender institutions is known as “Control and Restraint”. All prison officers receive initial training and annual refresher training in the use of Control and Restraint. The method of restraint approved for use in secure training centres is known as “Physical Control in Care”. Custody officers in secure training centres receive initial training and at least annual refresher training in these techniques. Secure children’s homes are responsible for commissioning their own physical restraint training; these methods are not subject to approval by the Secretary of State. Full information on the number of incidents of harm resulting from unauthorised restraint, and on officers subject to disciplinary action arising from restraint incidents, is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The Youth Justice Board has undertaken a wide-ranging review of behaviour management and the use of physical restraint. In February 2006, the board issued a Code of Practice on Managing Children and Young People’s Behaviour in the Secure Estate. All establishments have been assessed for performance against the code and have drawn up improvement plans. The board is closely monitoring compliance with the code. As part of its review, the board also reassessed the techniques approved for use in secure training centres and is piloting a modified system of Control and Restraint for use in young offender institutions for under 18-year-olds. The overall review is still in progress; the Youth Justice Board is currently working to improve the quality and range of data relating to behaviour management across the estate for children and young people.
Departmental Meetings
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings have been held between officials in his Department and (a) members of the National Assembly for Wales, (b) officials of the National Assembly for Wales, (c) members of the police authorities in Wales and (d) members of the police forces in Wales since 1 September 2005. [86164]
Mr. McNulty: Officials in the Home Office have held a number of discussions with representatives of Welsh police force, Welsh police authorities and the Welsh Assembly. The Head of Local Government Finance at the Welsh Assembly Government represented the Welsh Assembly Government on the Police Restructuring Finance Working Group.
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