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29 Feb 2008 : Column 1966W—continued
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recorded level of rural crime was in each of the last five years; and what steps are being taken to combat rural crime. [187563]
Mr. Coaker: The available information is given in the following table. Offences recorded by the police in rural police force areas fell by 9 per cent. between 2002-03 and 2006-07.
The Home Office has undertaken a number of actions which directly benefit rural communities. These include:
Establishing farm, horse, country and poacher watch schemes
Introducing measures to increase the number of special constables many of whom volunteer in rural police forces. As at 31 March 2007, the figures were at a high of 14,021 which were in part as a result of Specials Capacity Building funding.
| Total offences recorded by the police in rural police force areas | |
| Financial year | Number of offences |
| Note: The defining of rural police force areas within England and Wales has been taken in accordance with the ACORN (“A Classification Of Residential Neighbourhoods”) guidance as published in the Statistical Bulletin 01/02 “Rural Crime England and Wales”. The data covers 13 forces which ACORN defines as either ‘Most Rural’ (Dyfed-Powys, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and North Wales) or ‘Less Rural’ (Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall, Durham, Gloucestershire, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Mercia and Wiltshire). | |
Illegal Immigrants: Ukraine
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in (a) Ukraine, (b) Belarus and (c) Moldova on combating illegal migration and human trafficking. [190588]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 February 2008, Official Report, column 1660W.
Immigration Controls
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to improve the UK’s immigration system since 1997. [190538]
Mr. Byrne: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement by the Home Secretary on 20 February 2008, Official Report, column 351, in which she outlines both the substantial progress that has been made in improving our immigration system and the Government’s plans for the next phase of immigration reform—a new deal for citizenship.
Immigration: Children
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to her written ministerial statement of 31 January 2008, Official Report, columns 28-9WS, on care for children in the immigration system, how many unaccompanied asylum seeking children looked after by local authorities will be included in the specialist network; and what estimate she has made of how many each authority can be expected to look after when the special network is set up. [184735]
Mr. Byrne: The proposed reforms will focus on unaccompanied asylum seeking children who arrive in the United Kingdom after the commencement of the new support arrangements. The proportion of the group that we place in the specialist network and the number that each authority can take is likely to vary from region to region and will depend on the outcome of discussions now underway with local authorities.
Migration Advisory Committee
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will include a representative of the British Chinese community on (a) the Migration Advisory Committee and (b) the Migration Impact Forum; and if she will make a statement. [184739]
Mr. Byrne: There is no representative from that or any other community grouping on either body and no plan to appoint representatives at this time.
The Migration Advisory Committee is an independent non-statutory non-departmental public body which will advise Government on where in the economy migration can sensibly fill skills gaps. It is a small committee whose members have been selected through open competition because of their knowledge and expertise. The only exception is that there is one ex officio member from the Sector Skills Development Agency, in recognition of the important link between migration and skills issues.
The purpose of the Migration Impacts Forum is to provide a forum for regular and organised dialogue with frontline professionals outside central Government, focused on the wider impacts associated with migration
experienced by local areas. Membership of the MIF includes representatives from local authorities, voluntary and public sectors, the CBI and the TUC.
Both committees welcome representations from community groups.
Health
Autism
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will allocate funds to research into the number of adults with autism; [187193]
(2) what assessment he has made of the barriers to adults with autism to public services; [187194]
(3) what steps he is taking to improve the capacity of his Department to meet the needs of people with autism; [187195]
(4) if he will issue guidance to local authorities on reducing barriers to adults with autism to public services. [187196]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department will be taking forward discussions with autism stakeholder organisations on future research.
This work is being supported by the Department’s recently appointed specialist adviser on autism whose role is to advise the Department and improve its capacity to meet the needs of people with autism.
“Better services for people with an autistic spectrum disorder: A note clarifying current Government policy and describing good practice” was published on 16 November 2006. A copy is available in the Library. This document clarifies the nature and intent of existing Government policy as it relates to adults with an autistic spectrum disorder. It is intended to encourage people in the social care and health field to develop local agendas for action.
Breast Cancer: Lancashire
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many breast cancer screenings there were in Lancashire in each of the last five years. [190614]
Ann Keen: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 February 2008, Official Report, column 1444W.
Breast Cancer: Screening
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to increase take-up of breast screening in prisons; [190842]
(2) what percentage of female prisoners eligible for breast screening have been screened in the last three years. [190844]
Mr. Bradshaw: Information on the percentage of female prisoners eligible for breast screening is not held centrally.
Commissioning responsibility for prison health services transferred to national health service primary care trusts (PCTs) in 2006. PCTs must now aim to
provide health service of an equivalent range and quality to prisoners in their areas. All women prisoners over the age of 50 are therefore entitled to a mammogram.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of regional variations in take-up of breast cancer screening in each of the last three years; [190843]
(2) what percentage of women eligible to receive breast cancer screening have been screened in the last three years in England. [190845]
Ann Keen: The following table shows both the number of eligible women screened in the last three years and the regional variation of breast screening coverage.
It is for strategic health authorities (SHAs) working in partnership with their primary care trusts, local screening services and stakeholders to provide appropriate screening services for their local populations.
We are aware of the regional variations of breast screening coverage and Professor Mike Richards, National Cancer Director, has written to the chief executives of all 10 SHAs in England highlighting the future challenges facing breast screening and the importance of maintaining the 36-month screening interval.
| Breast screening programme: coverage of women aged 53-64 by SHA( 1) , at 31 March 2005 to 2007 | ||||||||||
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | ||||||||
| Eligible population( 2) | Number of women screened | Coverage( 3) (Percentage) | Eligible population( 2) | Number of women screened | Coverage( 3) (Percentage) | Eligible population( 2) | Number of women screened | Coverage( 3) (Percentage) | ||
| (1) Historic data have been mapped to the current SHA structure. (2) This is the number of women in the registered population less those recorded as ineligible. (3) Less than three years since last test. Notes: 1. The coverage of the breast screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible that have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous three years. Coverage of the screening programme is best assessed using the 53-64 age group as women may be first called at any time between their 50th and 53rd birthdays. 2. The breast screening programme covers women aged 50-64 but it was extended to invite women aged 65-70 in April 2001. 3. The last unit began inviting women aged 65-70 in April 2006 and full coverage should be achieved by 2008-09. Source: KC63, the Information Centre for health and social care. | ||||||||||
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