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8 May 2008 : Column 1092W—continued
Travelling People: Council Tax
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2008, Official Report, column 1903W, on travelling people: council tax, whether traveller camps which occupy land which they do not own or have permission to occupy, and which do not having planning permission for occupation, are valued for council tax or business rates by the Valuation Office Agency. [203159]
John Healey: A clearly defined pitch for a caravan which is a person's sole or main residence will be liable for council tax whether the basis for the occupation is legal or not.
Valuation Office: Digital Mapping
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 21 April 2008, Official Report, column 1397W., on digital mapping, what role the Valuation Office Agency has in the development of Digital National Framework. [202955]
Mr. Dhanda: The Valuation Office Agency no longer plays an active role in the development of the Digital National Framework and are correspondence members only.
Valuation: ICT
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local billing authorities in England communicate property amendments to the Valuation Office Agency through (a) the Valuebill interface and (b) electronic billing authority reports. [203066]
John Healey: None, other than by electronic billing authority reports (eBARs).
Between 1 January and 31 December 2007, 148 local authorities in England submitted eBARs to the Valuation Office Agency.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the Valuation Office Agency's targets are for local authority take-up of (a) the Valuebill interface and (b) electronic billing authority reports. [203067]
John Healey: The Valuation Office Agency encourages all authorities to use these facilities but the decision whether to do so rests with them.
Waste Management: Audit
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what account of joint waste authority status will be taken by the Audit Commission in conducting comprehensive area assessments. [203037]
John Healey: Comprehensive area assessment (CAA) will assess the prospects for improving priority outcomes in each area. The effectiveness of joint working between local partners to achieve this improvement will be an important part of this assessment, but CAA will not be prescriptive about the particular arrangements for joint working. An adverse judgment under CAA would result if the inspectorates were not satisfied that outcomes will improve. The existence or otherwise of joint arrangements for a particular service would not automatically result in such a judgment being ‘marked down’.
Home Department
Alcoholic Drinks: Crime
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the Government has taken to reduce crime related to drunkenness. [186847]
Mr. Coaker
[holding answer 18 February 2008]: The Government take the issue of crime and antisocial behaviour committed by individuals when drunk very seriously. The Government have taken a number of actions in order to combat this, including introducing the Tackling Violent Crime Programme (TVCP) which was launched in November 2004. Additionally, local areas are now required to address alcohol-related issues within their Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) strategies. The Government have produced guidance to assist local areas in producing their strategies,
and the Government offices for the regions are coordinating this requirement within their specific region. The Government have also recently published ‘A practical guide for dealing with alcohol related problems’ which is aimed at local alcohol practitioners and gives advice about the tools and powers available to tackle alcohol related crime.
The Government are working to improve the way alcohol related offenders are dealt with in custody and in the community. The National Offender Management Service is taking this work forward which includes; the publication of an alcohol pack for offenders under probation supervision, disseminating across the National Probation Service learning points from alcohol best practice projects, as well as work to develop two alcohol treatment programmes for prisons.
Additionally, the Government have funded four alcohol arrest referral pilots. These schemes aim to offer custody based interventions from a trained worker in order to reduce re-offending. These pilots will be rolled out to 10 new areas, which will ensure that the under 18's will also benefit from these interventions.
Cannabis
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of cannabis users were classed as regular users (a) in each year since 1996 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available. [201691]
Mr. Coaker: The British crime survey (BCS) only collects information about frequent drug use among young people aged 16 to 24 years. Questions on frequency of use in the last year were first asked in the 2002-03 BCS.
Table 1 provides trend data between the 2002-03 and 2006-07 BCS for the proportion of cannabis users aged 16 to 24 years who reported to using cannabis frequently (more than once a month) in the previous year. The latest figures show that there was a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of 16 to 24-year-old cannabis users who report being a frequent user between the 2002-03 and 2006-07 BCS (from 46.1 per cent. to 37.0 per cent.).
| Table 1: Frequent use in the last year among 16 to 24-year-old cannabis users, 2002-03 to 2006-07 | ||
| Percentage | ||
| Used more than once a month | Unweighted base | |
| Source: British crime survey (BCS). | ||
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people arrested by officers of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre since establishment have been (a) charged, (b) tried and (c) found guilty; and what the (i) sentence and (ii) earliest date for parole was in each case. [204071]
Mr. Coaker: The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) is the lead agency for the co-ordination of UK policing response to the threat of child sexual exploitation, particularly within the online or mobile environments. CEOP works to support police, child protection and education agencies locally and internationally to better protect children and young people from this threat.
Since its launch in April 2006, 207 children have been safeguarded from sexual abuse either directly or indirectly as the result of CEOP activity.
As of 31 March 2008, in 176 cases involving the arrests of individuals, where CEOP provided operational support to UK police forces and where feedback was received from those police forces, 60 individuals where charged with various offences, 10 were cautioned, 63 cases are ongoing, and in 43, no further action was taken.
Responsibility for and information pertaining to the investigation, prosecution, trial and post-conviction management of any individual dealt with as a result of information, intelligence or operational support provided by CEOP lies with the relevant police force or criminal justice agency concerned.
Cocaine
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of cocaine powder users were classed as regular users (a) in each year since 1996 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available. [201692]
Mr. Coaker: The British Crime Survey (BCS) only collects information about frequent drug use among young people aged 16 to 24 years. Questions on frequency of use in the last year were first asked in the 2002-03 BCS.
The following table provides trend data between the 2002-03 and 2006-07 BCS for the proportion of cocaine powder users aged 16 to 24 years who reported to using cocaine frequently (more than once a month) in the previous year. The latest figures show that
although there was an increase in the proportion of 16 to 24-year-old cocaine powder users who report being a frequent user between the 2002-03 and 2006-07 BCS (from 18.9 to 25.6) this was not statistically significant as these estimates are based on small samples and subject to large margins of error. Larger differences are required to detect statistically significant changes over time.
| Frequent use in the last year among 16 to 24-year-old cocaine powder users, 2002-03 to 2006-07 BCS | ||
| Percentage | ||
| More than once a month | Unweighted base | |
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many 16 to 24-year-olds were reported to have taken any form of cocaine in each year since 1996; [201693]
(2) what estimate she has made of the number of 16 to 59-year-olds who have used any form of cocaine in each year since 1996. [201694]
Mr. Coaker: The British Crime Survey (BCS) routinely provides information about the numbers and proportions of people who have used drugs ever, in the last year and in the last month.
Tables 1 and 2 provide trends, where available, of the estimated number of 16 to 24-year-olds and 16 to 59-year-olds respectively, who have used any form of cocaine in the last year.
These estimates are based on small samples and subject to large margins of error, as indicated in the tables.
Trends in the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds and 16 to 59 year olds who have used any form of cocaine are also included and show an increase in use among both age groups between the 1996 and 2006-07 BCS.
| Table 1 Estimates of numbers and prevalence of 16 to 24-year-olds who have used any form of cocaine in the last year. 1996 to 2006-07 BC S | ||||||
| Best estimate | Lower estimate | Higher estimate | % of 16 to 24 year olds | Statistically significant change 1996 | Unweighted base | |
| Notes: 1. The values are derived by adding or subtracting the confidence interval around the 2006-07 sample best estimates. Lower and higher estimates are based on 95 per cent. confidence intervals (calculated using a logit transformation where proportions were less than 0.2 or greater than 0.8). 2. The figures are calculated using population estimates provided by the Government Actuary's Department. | ||||||
Table 1: Estimates of numbers and prevalence of 16 to 59-year-olds who have used any form of cocaine in the last year. 1996 to 2006/07 BCS
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