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1 Nov 2006 : Column 501W—continued
Police
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the (a) legislation and (b) statutory instruments which regulate police discipline; what changes have been made to each since their enactment; what further amendments are planned; and if he will make a statement. [98281]
Mr. Coaker: The information is as follows:
(a) Police Act 1996 (1996 c.16) as amended by the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2001 and the Greater London Authority Act 1999
(b) Police Reform Act 2002 (2002 c.30) as amended by the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (main amendments relate to the introduction of the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the introduction of a new category of matter to be referred to the IPCC (alongside complaints and conduct matters) namely a death or serious injury matter. NB The amendments to secondary legislation are also largely consequential on these provisions.)
(a) Police (Conduct) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/645) as amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Consequential and Supplementary Amendments to Secondary Legislation) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/594)
(b) Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations 2004 (S.I. 2004/643) as amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Powers of Arrest) (Consequential Amendments) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3389), the Police (Complaints and Misconduct) Regulations (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/1406) and S.I. 2006/594 (see aforementioned for title)
(c) Police Appeals Tribunal Rules 1999 (S.I. 1999/818) as amended by S.I. 2006/594 (see aforementioned for title)
(d) Independent Police Complaints Commission (Transitional Provisions) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/671)
Work is currently in progress to reform the police disciplinary system. Any changes made will be regulated by legislation.
Prisoners (Food Allowance)
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is of the daily food allowance for prisoners in (a) prison cells and (b) police station cells; and when they were last increased. [98444]
Mr. Sutcliffe
[holding answer 31 October 2006]: There is no daily set allowance for prisoners' food. Governors are required to ensure that prisoners are provided with sufficient nutritional food. The average cost per prisoner per day over the year 2005-06 for public sector prisons in England and Wales was £1.93 (up 3.2 per cent. on the previous year). In the same
period the average cost for establishments operated by the contracted sector ranged from £2.10 to £3.07.
For prisoners held in police cells as part of Operation Safeguard, there is no daily food allowance. There is a recently agreed allowance of up to £12 per prisoner per night to cover the full cost of providing meals.
Public Order Act
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring his Department is undertaking of the extent to which section 5 of the Public Order Act is being applied consistently to religious communities by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. [97099]
Mr. Coaker: None. It is for the police and prosecuting authorities to decide whether an offence may have been committed in each individual case.
House of Commons Commission
Education Unit
Mr. Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps have been taken since June 2006 to expand the Education Unit's activities; and if he will make a statement. [97687]
Nick Harvey: The Parliamentary Education Unit has expanded its services to schools and young people in a number of areas since the summer. The main developments are as follows:
The unit's outreach officers are implementing their plan to establish working relationships with all LEAs by the end of 2007-08. Between January and September 2006 35 LEAs were visited. Where possible, corresponding constituency offices were also visited.
The unit has adopted a more varied and flexible programme of visits for young people and schools for the academic year 2006-07. These are designed to integrate with classroom work before and after the visit, and focus specifically on the work of Parliament. This new programme will double the number of young people who are able to participate in educational visits.
A new set of parliamentary educational films, entitled ‘You've Got the Power’, have been produced for primary and secondary schools. These films are supported by teacher and student workbooks, which are linked to the learning outcomes for the citizenship strand of the national curriculum. Packs containing the films and workbooks are available free on request to schools, with over 10,500 copies requested by teachers between July and September 2006.
New activities for students, with lesson plans for teachers, have been made available on the educational website, ‘Explore Parliament’, covering topics such as the importance of rules/laws, how legislation is passed, and the work of MPs.
The unit is working with the Hansard Society to produce a revised version of their ‘MPs in Schools’ pack and a new accompanying website in 2007, along with a series of workshops for Members and their staff to explore what more can be done to engage with young constituents.
The unit is organising a conference in November 2006 to share best practice for education staff from other parliaments and assemblies.
Scrutiny Unit
Mr. Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many people were employed by the Scrutiny Unit, in each year since its inception broken down by (a) age, (b) sex and (c) grade; and if he will make a statement. [97871]
Nick Harvey: The Scrutiny Unit was set up in the autumn of 2002 and did not reach full strength till late 2003. The unit comprises a mixture of permanent staff and people recruited from outside, either on secondment or on short-term contracts. Information on staffing is set out in the following tables. Information about age is summarised in broad age bands to protect the privacy of the individuals.
| Individual staff by sex and pay band | |||
| Male | Female | Total | |
| Age Ranges | ||||
| October 2006 | November 2005 | November 2004 | November 2003 | |
Mr. Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will list the (a) projects undertaken and (b) reports issued by the Scrutiny Unit in each Session since the Unit's inception; and if he will make a statement. [97872]
Nick Harvey: Major projects undertaken by the Scrutiny Unit in each session from 2002-03 to date (except where a particular session is indicated) have included:
Staffing of joint committees on draft bills (draft Civil Contingencies, Corruption and Mental Incapacity Bills 2002-03; draft Charities, Disability Discrimination, Gambling and Mental Health Bills 2003-04; draft Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill 2004-05; draft Legal Services Bill 2005-06).
Assisting select committees and the Joint Committee on Human Rights with the scrutiny of draft bills and associated Regulatory Impact Assessments (draft Electricity (Trading and Transmission), Gender Recognition and Housing Bills 2002-03; draft Animal Welfare, Criminal Defence Service, Regional Assemblies and School Transport Bills 2003-04; draft Natural Environment and Rural Communities Bill 2004-05; draft Corporate Manslaughter and Coroners Bills 2005-06).
Assisting all departmental select committees with scrutiny of Departmental Reports, Estimates and Supplementary Estimates and resource accounts, and advising on best practice on content of Departmental Reports and Estimates Memoranda.
Assisting select committees and the Joint Committee on Human Rights with committee inquiries (the work ranging from contributions to briefing to the carrying out of whole inquiries).
Supporting the Parliamentary Observer on the Financial Reporting Advisory Board (FRAB).
Conducting an inquiry into the financial and performance management of the Electoral Commission for the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission (session 2005-06).
Provision of training to Members, their staff and staff of both Houses on topics such as Estimates, Resource Accounts, Departmental Reports and Handling Statistics.
Scrutiny of draft bills sometimes continues from one session to another; the sessions given here are when scrutiny began.
The work undertaken by the Scrutiny Unit from its inception in November 2002 to the end of 2004 is described in appendices to the Liaison Committee's annual reports:
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