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6 Dec 2006 : Column 502W—continued
Foreign Aid
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the Government expenditure was on (a) international development and (b) combating AIDS in developing countries in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 2005-06; and what the percentage change was in real terms in each figure over that period. [106388]
Mr. Thomas: Total UK gross public expenditure on development was £6,612 million in 2005-06 compared to £2,415 million in 1996-97. This represents a rise of 121 per cent. in real terms. The methodology for calculating AIDS expenditure is currently under review and expenditure figures will be announced shortly.
Home Department
Alcohol Sales
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the ban on alcohol sales to under 18-year-olds. [104595]
Mr. Coaker: The Licensing Act 2003 for the first time made it an offence to sell alcohol to people under 18 anywhere in England and Wales. Various representations have been made by the alcohol industry, the police, trading standards officers, Members of Parliament and members of the public on concerns they have regarding underage alcohol sales. This issue has also been discussed at ministerial meetings and through an Underage Sales Working Group.
Four Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns conducted over the past two years have included test purchasing as a tool to establish the progress that the alcohol industry has made in seeking to eliminate alcohol sales to minors. Intelligence-led test purchase campaigns also ensure that those who repeatedly break the law receive the appropriate penalty. Retailers have also been encouraged to ‘Challenge 21’ to prevent alcohol sales to minors, where any young person who appears to be under 21 is asked for a valid form of identification. We have also introduced a new offence under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 of persistently selling alcohol to children.
DNA Database
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have had profiles stored on the National DNA Database since 10 January 2006; how many profiles are stored on the National Database; and if he will make a statement. [107705]
Joan Ryan: Between 10 January and 30 November 2006, 698,649 subject profiles were loaded on the National DNA Database (NDNAD). It is estimated that this number of profiles relates to 621,798 individuals. (Some individuals have more than one profile on the NDNAD due to replicate sampling. For example, an individual arrested on more than one occasion may have a sample taken more than once because they have given a false name). At 30 November 2006, there were 4,280,379 subject profiles on the NDNAD which relate to an estimated 3,809,537 individuals.
Hague Conference on Private International Law
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis the Government’s decision to waive their opt out on Council Decision 2006/719/EC on the accession of the Community to the Hague Conference on Private International Law was made; and if he will make a statement. [104508]
Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
The United Kingdom has consistently supported the valuable work of the Hague Conference, a long established international organisation whose purpose is to work to unify the rules of private international law.
Under the Conference’s original statute only states were entitled to become parties to it. This did not cause any significant problems in practice or affect the position of the European Community itself in negotiations under Community law. However, the adoption of measures of Community law in the area of private international law led to increased co-operation between the member states of the Community in relation to the work of the Conference. The exclusion of the Community as a formal party to the Conference was therefore becoming increasingly anomalous.
In the light of these considerations and the desirability of supporting the full and constructive participation of the Community in the work of the Conference, the Government decided the United
Kingdom should opt in under our Protocol on Title IV measures to a proposal that the Community should support amendments to the statute allowing the Community to become a party to the Conference. A package of amendments to give effect to this proposal has now been ratified by the necessary two-thirds majority of the state parties to the Conference, including the United Kingdom.
Hampshire Probation Board
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his strategy is for ensuring that there is a smooth transition to the incoming Hampshire Probation Board in April 2007, with particular reference to (a) quality of service and (b) public protection; and if he will make a statement. [101900]
Mr. Sutcliffe: During the planning phase for the current board member and chair recruitment, the previous skills and competencies by which the existing Boards were recruited have been extensively rewritten with a view to making them more relevant to an environment of Public Value Partnerships and a mixed economy. It was against these skills and competencies that all candidates were assessed and ultimately short listed.
The revised competencies focus on skills acquired within public, private and not for profit organisations—people management, financial management, strategic management, operational management and corporate management.
All successful board chairs have been invited to attend a two day induction event on corporate governance on the 6 and 7 December 2006.
A number of day long training sessions on key issues affecting the work of the board chairs will be delivered on a monthly basis from February 2007. These events will include topics such as financial and resource management, performance management, public promotion of probation, public protection, budget management, etc. A major theme will be the transition from board to trust status and how probation will operate in this new environment. Chief Officers who are ex-officio members of boards are the accountable officers in terms of budgets and also have responsibility for all operational matters including public protection. The new board chairs have a key ambassadorial role for their board and this will be developed in the programme outlined above.
There are plans to organise an induction seminar and ongoing training events for new board members. This will be arranged in early-mid 2007. There will also be induction exercises at the local board and regional level
Identity and Passport Service
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Identity and Passport Service spent on sending officials Christmas cards in each of the last two years for which figures are available. [104646]
Joan Ryan: In 2005 the United Kingdom Passport Service spent £1,280 in total on Christmas cards. In 2006 the Identity and Passport Service will spend £1,030 in total on Christmas cards.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Identity and Passport Service spent on official entertaining in each of the last two years for which figures are available. [104647]
Joan Ryan: The Identity and Passport Service undertakes minimal official entertaining and this would be mainly limited to the provision of sandwich lunches to visitors to our facilities.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Identity and Passport Service spent on food and alcohol for its staff working out of office in each of the last two years for which figures are available. [104648]
Joan Ryan: The Identity and Passport Service provides subsistence to its staff who are required to work out of their normal base in line with Home Office travel and subsistence rules. In addition working lunches are provided in certain circumstances. The total amounts the Agency has spent in the last two years are as follows:
| £ | |
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas visits have been made by staff at the Identity and Passport Service in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what the total cost was of these visits. [104651]
Joan Ryan: Separate records on the number of overseas trips is not held separately, but the cost of overseas journeys undertaken by UK Passport Service staff are as follows:
| £ | |
Paedophiles
Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to ensure that victims of paedophiles have access to ongoing victim support services; and if he will make a statement. [105878]
Mr. Coaker: In 2007, as part of the Government’s Victims of Violence and Abuse Prevention Programme, we will be publishing National Service Guidelines on effective interventions to support child victims of sexual abuse and adult survivors of child sexual abuse. This builds on investment of £12 million this year in developing services for safeguarding children from abuse, including the continuing development of Sexual Assault Referral Centres for children.
This year we have also invested £1.25 million through the Victims Fund in voluntary and community services for victims of sexual violence and abuse, including services for children, and for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. At a local level, the co-ordination of work to safeguard children is the responsibility of Local Safeguarding Children Boards, which have been established in every local authority area. The provision of mental health services for children is the responsibility of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
Police Custody: Lincoln
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the conclusions were of the intermittent custody pilot scheme in Lincoln; and if he will make a statement. [106961]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 5 December 2006]: The intermittent custody pilot at Morton Hall in Lincoln was subject to an evaluation; the full report will be published on 7 December 2006.
Police Pay
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are to index-link pay for police officers. [106965]
Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement of 16 November 2006, Official Report, column 5WS.
Policing
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government expenditure on policing was in (a) England and Wales, (b) the North West, (c) Greater Manchester and (d) Manchester, Gorton constituency in (i) 1996-97 and (ii) 2005-06; and what the percentage change was in real terms for each figure over that period. [106382]
John Reid: The Government allocates funding to police authorities. The allocation of resources to Manchester Gorton is a matter for the chief constable and Greater Manchester police authority.
The information requested that is available is set out in the table.
Prison Service
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how complaints about the (a) fairness and (b) legality of treatment of those having dealings with the prison service are investigated. [104758]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Investigations into complaints are conducted in accordance with the requirements of Prison Service Order 1300—Investigations. It is for the appropriate manager to make a judgement of the seriousness and nature of the complaint in order to decide the level of the investigation, and who will carry it out.
Prisoners and Convicted Criminals
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of (a) prisoners and (b) convicted criminals in England and Wales are recorded as (i) white and (ii) black minority ethnic. [100695]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of white and black and minority ethnic prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales at the end of December 2005 is drawn from data held in the prison IT system and was published in table 2.11 of the Offender Management Caseload Statistics Quarterly Brief for October-December 2005 which can be found at the following website:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/omcsq405.pdf
Comparable information about convicted criminals is not available.
The figures provided in the publication referred to have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level.
Prisons
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been diagnosed with mental health disorders. [103624]
Mr. Sutcliffe: A survey, Psychiatric morbidity among prisoners in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics, 1988) showed that 90 per cent. of prisoners have at least one significant mental health problem, including personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse and drug dependence. A copy is available in the Library.
Mental health services for prisoners have been a key part of the government's recent reforms of health services for prisoners. The Department of Health is now investing nearly £20 million a year in NHS mental health in-reach services for prisoners. These are community mental health teams working within prisons and are now available in 102 prisons, with some 360 extra staff employed. Every prison in England and Wales has access to these services. Information on how many prisoners receive these services is not collected centrally.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate the reasons for the overspend in HMP Wymott’s budget. [107258]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Wymott is currently forecasting an overspend of £660,000. This largely consists of increased utility costs for gas and electricity, a centrally negotiated equal pay settlement, and an excessive number of bedwatches due to prisoners’ illnesses. The Prison Service is aware of this overspend and no investigation is warranted.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the extent to which prison officers on paid leave are carrying out bed watch duty and receiving payment for this duty; and if he will make a statement. [107259]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Payment is not made for bedwatch duty during paid leave, which for health and safety reasons is protected. If a bedwatch takes place, leave is cancelled and the shift re-instated and treated as if no leave had been booked.
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