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23 Feb 2007 : Column 967W—continued
The longest waiting times to be seen by an educational psychologist are for non-statutory stage 3 referrals and are as follows:
| Library Board | Waiting Time |
Employment: Private Sector
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many private sector jobs were created in Northern Ireland between 2001 and 2006; and how many were in the (a) Belfast travel to work area and (b) rest of Northern Ireland. [122692]
Maria Eagle: Information on the number of jobs created is not available. However, figures from the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) can be used to estimate the net change in employee job levels in the private sector at the Northern Ireland level between 2001 and 2006. The number of employee jobs in the private sector in Northern Ireland at September 2001 and September 2006 is shown in the table as follows. This data are not available by travel-to-work area.
| Number of private sector employee jobs in Northern Ireland 2001 and 2006 | |
| Private sector jobs | |
| Note: Figures are not seasonally adjusted and are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Quarterly Employment Survey, DETI. | |
Foreign Investment
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps Invest Northern Ireland is taking to ensure that the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington during July is utilised to secure an increase in potential inward investor visits to all parts of Northern Ireland. [122691]
Maria Eagle: This Festival provides a useful platform to showcase Northern Ireland positively as a strategic investment and trade partner for US corporations wishing to establish and grow their presence in Europe and for Northern Ireland companies seeking new US business alliances. Invest NI in association with the Rediscover Northern Ireland initiative and the Smithsonian programme is arranging a series of investment and trade events running from March to July 2007 in Washington DC, with the objective of encouraging an increased level of inward activity into Northern Ireland by potential investors from the United States.
Pensions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement. [113811]
Mr. Hain: The 10 highest paid members of NIO are the senior management team and are members of the Departmental Board. Pension details are disclosed in the Remuneration Report that forms part of the Department’s Resource Accounts, a copy of which can be obtained from the Library and is available at:
www.nio.gov.uk.
Home Department
Antisocial Behaviour Orders
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an individual support order a compulsory component of each antisocial behaviour order served on an individual over the age of 17. [121914]
Mr. McNulty: Individual support orders are currently available for people under the age of 18. This is in recognition of the particular problems young people face in understanding and changing their behaviour. For people aged 18 and over served with an antisocial behaviour order the court may make an Intervention Order if it considers the cause of the antisocial behaviour to be drug-related.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been imposed in 2007 in (a) England, (b) Greater London and (c) Havering. [122499]
Mr. McNulty: Antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) data are currently available to 31 December 2005. A table giving the number of ASBOs issued annually, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, by the local government authority area in which prohibitions have been imposed, can be found on the Crime Reduction website at www.crimereduction. gov.uk.
Business Improvement Districts
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether representatives of his Department's premises in London N1 will be voting in favour of the introduction of a business improvement district in the area. [119665]
John Reid: The Home Office supports the aims of business improvement districts, particularly to cut crime and protect the public, and will give sympathetic consideration to supporting the proposed scheme in London N1.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines have been issued to managers of his Department's buildings on business improvement districts. [119667]
John Reid: Proposals for business improvement districts are considered on their merits on a case by case basis. So far the Department has given support to several individual schemes in view of the potential benefits in reducing crime and improving community safety and subject to consideration of any additional costs that may arise from increased business rates for its accommodation.
Community Policing
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2007, Official Report, column 515W, on community policing, to whom the term others refers in relation to neighbourhood policing teams. [121781]
Mr. Coaker: Tackling the public’s community safety concerns is not solely a policing issue; neighbourhood policing teams must work with other community safety partners in order to tackle local issues effectively.
It is for the chief constable of each force to determine, based on an assessment of local circumstances and concerns, the appropriate mix of police officers, police community support officers and other partners in each neighbourhood policing team, but non-police members might include, for example, neighbourhood managers and wardens, housing managers, youth workers and representatives of the voluntary and community sectors.
Crime
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department has taken to encourage local authorities to consider the implications of each of their activities for crime and disorder as per section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. [121758]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office is committed to ensuring that all responsible authorities implement Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act (1998). In relation to local authorities, the current Audit Commission process looks at how well local councils deliver their services under the comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). Inspections of English district and top tier councils include community safety with a specific focus on section 17 compliance.
The introductions of statutory national standards for all crime and disorder reduction partnerships later this year will further support partners meet their requirements under section 17.
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to implement section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998; and what role those provisions have in relation to his Department’s Respect Plan. [121759]
Mr. McNulty: The Government introduced section 17 as part of the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, which was supported by guidance designed to assist partnership members implement section 17 remit at local level. It has been kept under review since its inception; the bodies covered by section 17 were extended by the Police Reform Act 2002, and the scope of activities covered by section 17 were extended by the Police and Justice Act (2006) to include antisocial behaviour.
This inclusion will assist in delivering the Governments Respect programme which aims to ensure that a range of local agencies, including local authorities, tackle antisocial behaviour and its causes.
The response to section 17 duties is therefore the heart of an effective response local response to the Respect programme.
Drugs: Havering
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-related offences were committed in 2006 in the London borough of Havering. [122501]
Mr. Coaker: Data collected centrally on recorded crime do not identify whether offences (other than drug offences) are drug related. The recorded crime series does include the number of specific drug offences. There were 505 recorded drug offences in Havering in 2005-06, the latest year for which data are available.
Electronic Surveillance
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests his Department has received from intercept checks on telephone and e-mail in each of the last 11 years. [122702]
John Reid: The available information is contained in the annual reports of the Interception of Communications Commissioner, copies of which are in the Library of the House. The Interception of Communication Commissioner’s most recent report, for 2005, was published on 19 February 2007.
Identity Cards
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what methods employers will be expected to use to verify the identity of workers holding a biometric immigration document. [119611]
John Reid: Employers who wish to gain a statutory defence against prosecution for employing an illegal worker are expected to undertake document checks to ensure that the individual is authorised to take the employment in question. This requirement will continue under civil penalties (on which we will be consulting prior to implementation later this year). An Employer Verification Service, to run through an existing telephone helpline, will be piloted in March this year and rolled out after a successful pilot. We intend rolling out an enhanced service over the next few years.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what services and information will be accessible to identity card holders online with the use of the identity registration number and the personal identification number. [119612]
John Reid: Design work with potential users of the identity verification service remains ongoing. As such, it is not possible to state which services and information will be available online to ID card holders through the use of a personal identification number at this time.
Naltrexone
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what extent the drug naltrexone is used (a) in connection with probationary release of recidivist addict offenders and (b) to keep prisoners clean of opiates while they are in custody. [118714]
John Reid: Naltrexone is available in many prisons. It is generally prescribed prior to release for drug-free offenders who wish to have additional prescribed support to help prevent their relapsing to opiate use.
This intervention is provided in conjunction with a community service which is willing to continue the prescription post-release. A national framework for continuity of care, comprising throughcare and aftercare has been set up together with The Home Office Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) and other key partners, National Treatment Agency, NOMS (including Prison service and Probation). This sets out arrangements for continuity of care for Criminal Justice Intervention Teams(CJITs) who deliver DIP in the community, the CARATs teams in prisons, offender managers and treatment providers.
Depending on assessed clinical need, Naltrexone can be prescribed on a voluntary basis to offenders under statutory supervision post-release as part of a relapse prevention plan. However, data on the extent of its use is not collected centrally.
Naltrexone may be also prescribed at any point in a prisoner's custody, to provide a similar pharmacological protection in prison.
North Wales Police Authority
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total budget of the North Wales Police Authority was in (a) cash and (b) real terms in each of the last 20 years. [118185]
Mr. McNulty: The available information is set out in the following table.
Prior to 1995-96 budgets for shire districts were the responsibility of county councils and are not readily available. In April 1995 new police authorities were set up in the shire areas taking all responsibilities from county councils.
| North Wales Police Authority budgets 1995-96 to 2006-07 | ||
| £ million | ||
| Budget requirement | Real terms | |
| (1) In April 1995 new police authorities were set up in the shire areas taking all policing responsibilities away from county councils. (2) 2005-06 figures are not directly comparable with 2006-07 due to the transfer of pensions and security arrangements from general grant to specific grants in 2006-07. (3) Real terms at 2005-06 prices using GDP deflator at 21 December 2006. Source: Welsh Assembly Government | ||
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