| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
2 Jun 2008 : Column 652W—continued
The figures are taken from annual volumes of the publication “Offender Management Caseload Statistics” (previously “Prison Statistics England and Wales”). Figures on sex offenders for 2004 were provided by My hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr. Sutcliffe) to the hon. Member for Taunton (Mr. Browne) on 15 May 2007, Official Report, columns 686-87W. Copies of these publications are available from the House of Commons Library and at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonand probation.htm
Since March 2001 offenders required to register under the Sex Offenders Act 1997 (now replaced by part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003) have been statutorily excluded from HDC. Prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences that are not subject to registration are presumed unsuitable for HDC unless there are exceptional circumstances.
As noted in the footnote to published tables, the reasons for recall from home detention curfew are sometimes presented as the reason for the original imprisonment. Further investigations suggest that around 5 per cent. of offence types recorded do not relate to the offence for which they were sentenced and subsequently released on home detention curfew, but relate to offences committed after release from prison and before the licence expiry date for their sentence.
These figures 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.
Terrorism: Prisoner Releases
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners serving a determinate sentence for a terrorism offence were released at the half-way point of their custodial sentence in the latest period for which figures are available. [200236]
Mr. Straw: All offenders who receive a standard determinate sentence are automatically released at the halfway point of their sentence and remain under licence, subject to recall if they breach licence conditions, for the remainder of their sentence, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Offenders who receive an indeterminate or extended sentence for a sexual or violent offence, are not automatically released, although an extended sentence prisoner may be released at the halfway point upon the Parole Board's discretion.
I am unaware of any proposals which have been put before either House by any member during proceedings on the Terrorism Act 2000, the Criminal Justice Act 2003, or other relevant Bills for there to be different and specific arrangements relating to the release of those convicted of terrorist related offences and sentencers are fully aware of the release arrangements when they hand down a sentence for any offence.
The Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's office are currently working with the National Coordinator for Terrorist Investigations to improve the quality of data on conviction under terrorist legislation and those under other legislation but following a terrorist investigation. As soon as this is complete a statistical bulletin to cover information on arrests and convictions will be published.
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2008, Official Report, column 158, how many prisoners convicted of terrorist offences and serving a determinate sentence under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will be automatically released after serving half of their sentence. [203701]
Mr. Straw: All offenders who receive a standard determinate sentence are automatically released at the halfway point of their sentence and remain under licence, subject to recall if they breach licence conditions, for the remainder of their sentence, under Criminal Justice Act 2003. Offenders who receive an indeterminate or extended sentence for a sexual or violent offence, are not automatically released, although an extended sentence prisoner may be released at the halfway point upon the Parole Board's discretion.
I am unaware of any proposals which have been put before either House by any member during proceedings on the Terrorism Act 2000, the Criminal Justice Act 2003, or other relevant Bills for there to be different and specific arrangements relating to the release of those convicted of terrorist related offences and sentencers are fully aware of the release arrangements when they hand down a sentence for any offence.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills) at Justice oral questions on 29 April that a wide range of offences are covered by the term terrorism. The most serious terrorists are generally sentenced to indeterminate sentences.
The Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Office are currently working with the National Coordinator for Terrorist Investigations to improve the quality of data on conviction under terrorist legislation and those under other legislation but following a terrorist investigation. As soon as this is complete a statistical bulletin to cover information on arrests and convictions will be published.
Terrorism: Sentencing
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people convicted of terrorism offences were given (a) determinate sentences, (b) indeterminate sentences for public protection and (c) life sentences, in each of the last five years. [200235]
Mr. Straw: The Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Office are currently working with the National Coordinator for Terrorist Investigations to improve the quality of data relating to those convicted under terrorist legislation and those convicted under other legislation but following a terrorist investigation. As soon as this is complete a statistical bulletin to cover information on arrests and convictions will be published.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Sir George Young: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to answer Question 203296 on possession actions by registered social landlords, tabled by the right hon. Member for North West Hampshire on 28 April 2008. [207829]
Bridget Prentice: I replied to the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire's question on 21 May 2008, Official Report, columns 319-20. I apologise for the delay.
Young Offenders: Alternatives to Prison
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost of imposition of a (a) community rehabilitation order, (b) supervision order, (c) community punishment order, (d) attendance centre order, (e) curfew order, (f) reparation order, (g) action plan order and (h) referral order on a young offender per offender in the latest period for which figures are available. [207800]
Mr. Hanson: This information is provided in the following table.
| Cost of community sentences for young people (per person) | |
| Order | £ |
| (1) Cost given is the cost of a 90 day electronically monitored curfew. This figure includes a fixed set-up cost and daily monitoring charge, and is an average of all types of adult and juvenile monitoring (there is little variation between the two). | |
International Development
Afghanistan
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many representatives of his Department are based in (a) Kabul, (b) Kandahar and (c) Lashkar Gah. [207785]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: For security reasons the Department for International Development (DFID) does not publish details on the number and location of staff. However, DFID Afghanistan staff are spread across three locations: Kabul, Lashkar Gah and London.
Afghanistan: Humanitarian Aid
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of attacks on UK aid workers which have taken place in Afghanistan in the most recent period for which figures are available. [206951]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
The Afghanistan NGO Security Office (ANSO) produces security reports aimed at the NGO community in Afghanistan that include details of security incidents involving NGOs. The reports do not disaggregate attacks by nationality. However, ANSO believes that no individual British aid worker has been involved in an attack by an armed
opposition group in Afghanistan over the last 12 months. The latest armed attack on a UK-based NGO was in November 2007.
Afghanistan: Overseas Aid
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department is providing to the construction of a new mosque in Musa Qala in Helmand Province. [207462]
Mr. Malik: The Department for International Development (DFID) is not providing any direct assistance to the construction of a new mosque in Musa Qala. The mosque is being delivered by the Government of Afghanistan's Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and Development with funding provided by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan and the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Lashkar Gah.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many contracts worth more than £10,000 his Department has entered into with non-governmental organisations for projects in Helmand Province. [207787]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has entered in to one contract with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) for a development project in Helmand. The NGO, which would prefer to remain nameless for security reasons, received a grant of £999,447 to support an agricultural development programme which began in August 2007. In addition, DFID funding is supporting through the Government of Afghanistan the Bangladeshi NGO BRAC, to undertake community development and microfinance projects in Helmand, and the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) to establish credit unions.
Burma: Storms
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that independent monitors are present in Burma to ensure that relief aid to Burma reaches its intended recipients; and if he will make a statement. [206766]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development’s (DFID) emergency aid to Burma is going only to the UN, Red Cross and NGOs with experience working in humanitarian crises and in Burma. We have confidence in the monitoring mechanisms these partners have in place to ensure that DFID’s emergency aid reaches its intended recipients. DFID maintains regular contact with the partners that it funds so that it is alerted as soon as possible to any problems they encounter with the delivery of aid. DFID is not channelling any assistance through the Government of Burma.
We have not had any confirmed reports of the diversion of aid. Our efforts are currently focussed on widening access for international aid workers which is a higher priority than getting access for monitors.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps the Government have taken to provide aid relief to the victims of Cyclone Nargis. [207421]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, the UK has already contributed £17 million for the humanitarian relief effort. This is being channelled through the UN, the Red Cross, and NGOs in Burma. We have logistics experts in Bangkok and Rangoon to help manage the delivery of relief supplies, as well as a six-person DFID emergency team deployed to Burma.
As part of this contribution, DFID has provided £5 million in logistical support and relief supplies and flat bottomed boats and engines to enable delivery of humanitarian assistance in the inland waters of the Irrawaddy Delta.
The Government have also had intensive diplomatic exchanges with key international partners, including Burma's regional friends such as China, India and Thailand, about what can be done to increase the delivery of international aid to victims of the cyclone and to persuade the Burmese authorities to allow greater access for humanitarian relief workers. We are strongly supportive of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) co-ordinating mechanism in Burma to distribute aid from the international community, agreed at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers meeting on 19 May. We are encouraging the development of practical arrangements for ASEAN countries to deliver relief supplies directly to the affected areas.
Climate Change
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the likely humanitarian implications of sea level rise as a result of the melting of Greenland ice. [207960]
Mr. Thomas: The precise interplay between climate change, sea level rises and the effect on vulnerable people has not been fully explored, but it is clear that sea level rises will have a huge impact. The nature of that impact will vary from place to place, but might include widespread loss of life, homes and livelihoods, and mass migration in small island states such as Vanuatu or low-lying areas of countries such as Bangladesh. Furthermore, as noted by the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, developing countries often lack the financial and other resources to protect or relocate people living in low-lying zones; this can make their populations far more vulnerable than people living in similar physical locations in developed countries.
Climate change—including climate change adaptation—is one of the central themes of the Department for International Development's (DFID) new five-year research strategy. Meanwhile, the UK Government are already funding work to help communities affected by sea-level rises. For example, in Bangladesh the £50 million DFID is providing over eight years to help poor households in the Chars region had included (as of January 2008) raising 43,500 homesteads above 1998 flood levels. Also, in India DFID is part-funding a study by the US-based Institute for Social and Economic
Transition, which is setting out strategies for responding to the risks associated with climate change in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
Departmental Aviation
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on (a) economy class, (b) business class and (c) first class air travel in the period 1st April 2007 to 17th March 2008. [196257]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
The Department for International Development's (DFID) expenditure on flights booked centrally for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 was £6,846,600, including economy class flights costing £1,254,979, business class flights costing £5,540,956 and first class flights costing
£50,664. We cannot without incurring disproportionate costs specify precise expenditure as at 17 March 2008.
All air travel is undertaken in compliance with DFID staff rules which preclude use of first class travel, except by Ministers, officials accompanying them, and the most senior members of the senior civil service.
Departmental Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 29 April 2008, Official Report, column 322W, on departmental public participation, what the (a) cost and (b) number of respondents was for each listed piece of work. [204081]
Gillian Merron: The information is as follows:
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |