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Bail Hostels
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.
Domestic Violence
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths resulting from incidents of domestic violence have occurred in each (a) London borough and (b) constituency in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [82985]
Mr. McNulty: The following data from the Metropolitan Police Service (MRS) gives the total number of victims of homicide which were identified as domestic violence related in all London boroughs from 2001-02 to 2005-06. I will write to the hon. Member with the data broken down by London borough when we receive it from MRS. MRS do not collect data at constituency level.
| Number | |
MRS have attributed the increase in domestic violence related homicides from 2003-04 to the change in the force’s definition of domestic violence to the Association of Chief Police Officer’s definition which now includes family members (over 18) as well as partners and ex-partners.
Drink-driving
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that people charged of drink driving are tried soon after their arrest. [85898]
Mr.
Coaker: A charge of drink driving will be made on the
basis of results from an evidential breath test or from laboratory
analysis of a specimen of blood or urine. We have taken steps to speed
up this process by empowering the police to carry out evidential tests
at the roadside rather than at a police station. Work is currently
under way to enable suitable evidential equipment to be type approved
for use by the police.
Decisions as to prosecution and the subsequent timetabling of cases are
matters for the Crown Prosecution Service and HM Courts
Service.
Drug Intervention Programme
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases in the five pilot areas of the Drugs Intervention programme (a) handling stolen goods (b) attenuated acquisitive crime and (c) begging was the trigger for a drugs test in 2004-05. [26658]
Mr. Coaker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 March 2006, Official Report, column 811W.
Drugs
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-related offences were committed by 16 to 24 year olds in (a) rural and (b) non-rural areas in each year since 1997; what proportion each figure represents of all offences committed by 16 to 24 year olds in each year; and if he will make a statement. [85939]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally. The recorded crime statistics do not contain any information on the offender.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has conducted into the relationship between street prices of heroin and cocaine and the level of acquisitive crime; and if he will make a statement. [85417]
Mr. Coaker: In 2002 it was estimated that 50 per cent. of acquisitive crime was drug related. There has been no equivalent estimate subsequently.
Extradition
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for extradition from the US to the UK have been made in each of the last five years; and how many (a) were successful, (b) were unsuccessful and (c) remain outstanding. [85408]
Joan Ryan: Figures are given in the following table. Rather than use terms like “successful” with reference to extradition requests, we show the number of cases which have resulted in surrenders and the number which have closed for other reasons. The figure does not include requests to Ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland, who have devolved powers to make or grant requests.
| US requests to England and Wales 2001-05 | ||||
| Total | Surrenders | Closed without surrender | Outstanding from the year | |
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