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10 Nov 2008 : Column 875W—continued
Table 2 shows the same information for offenders aged between 18 and 20. Please not that offenders aged 18 or over are treated as adults, and therefore only offences with result in a conviction at court are counted as a reoffence. These data are therefore not directly comparable with the data for juveniles.
| Table 2 | ||||
| One year | ||||
| Age | Number of offenders releases from custody | Rate of reoffending (Percentage) | Number of offences per 100 offender | |
The latest reoffending statistics for juveniles, “Reoffending of juveniles: results from the 2006 cohort”, were published on 4 September 2008 and can be obtained from the Ministry of Justice website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/reoffending juveniles.htm
The latest reoffending statistics for adults, “Reoffending of adults: results from the 2006 cohort”, were published on the same date and can be obtained from:
Young Offender Institutions
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 3 November 2008, Official Report, column 229W, on young offender institutions, how much of the £32,799 figure was spent on (a) educational opportunities, (b) sport opportunities and (c) drug programmes on average. [234144]
Mr. Hanson: The average cost was of providing a place in a young offenders institution in the latest years for which figures are available (2001-08) was £32,799 and is split as follows:
| £ | |
Young Offender Institutions: Drugs
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether every young offender institution provides drug treatment for those who are sentenced and who seek such treatment. [234141]
Mr. Hanson: All young offender institutions (YOIs(1)) provide a comprehensive drug treatment framework, based on the National Treatment Agency’s revised Models of Care, to address the different needs of drug-misusers. The interventions available are designed to meet the needs of low, moderate and severe drug misusers—irrespective of age, gender or ethnicity.
clinical services (detoxification and/or maintenance prescribing)—available in all YOIs in England and Wales;
Counselling, assessment, referral, advice and throughcare services (CARATs)—available in all YOIs in England and Wales;
drug rehabilitation programmes:
The Short Duration Programme is available in six YOIs
P-ASRO (prisons addressing substance-related offending)—available in seven YOIs;
Young People’s Substance Misuse Service—a non-clinical service for those under the age of 18 in custody in England and Wales, combining education and prevention with treatment.
(1) The National Offender Management Service categorises establishments by their main role only. Establishments that have more than one role are placed in the category that represents the primary or dominant function of the prison. Some young offenders—including all young female prisoners—are held in separate young offender units in adult establishments. These offenders may have access to other drug rehabilitation programmes e.g. therapeutic communities in HMP Drake Hall.
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of young offenders left young offender institutions drug free in the latest period for which figures are available. [234145]
Mr. Hanson: The percentage of young offenders leaving prison drug free is not recorded.
The best measure of drug misuse in prison is the random Mandatory Drug Testing (rMDT) programme. In young offender institutions(1) the Random MDT positive rate has dropped 82 per cent. from 17.1 per cent. in 1996-97 to 3.0 per cent. in 2007-08.
(1) NOMS categorises establishments by their main role only. Establishments that have more than one role are placed in the category that represents the primary or dominant function of the prison.
Young Offenders
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons (a) between 16 and 18 and (b) between 18 and 21 years old are serving custodial sentences of (i) 12 weeks or less and (ii) 24 weeks or less. [234140]
Mr. Hanson: The following table gives the numbers of 16 to 17-year-olds and young adults serving sentences of three months or less and between three and six months as at the end of September 2008, the latest date for which the information is available, for all prison establishments in England and Wales.
| Three months or less( 1) | Greater than three and less than or equal to six months( 1) | |
| (1) This includes recalls, some of which have their sentence length overwritten with the length of recall. (2) Young adults are those aged 18-20 and those 21 year olds who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population. | ||
The figures do not include juveniles held in Secure Training Centres or Secure Children’s Homes.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Government has to review its (a) strategy and (b) goals in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [229384]
Bill Rammell: The Government’s Afghanistan Strategy, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 12 December 2007, remains under constant review to ensure it reflects the realities of the situation on the ground. The Prime Minster and the Secretaries of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, International Development, and Defence are kept regularly informed of progress in implementing strategy. There is also a formal review mechanism, which allows for a more detailed periodic assessment. The next detailed assessment is due before the end of this year.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests have been received from the United States administration for UK officials to contribute to the US review of its strategy and operations in Afghanistan; what approaches the Government has made to the US administration to offer a contribution to the review; which UK officials are involved in the review; and if he will make a statement. [232210]
Caroline Flint: As a key ally of the United States, the UK has been asked to provide assistance to a US led review of American defence and security policy regarding engagement in the greater middle east and central Asian area. Consequently, the Ministry Of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development have provided a combined team to contribute to this work. This team will provide expertise across a wide subject range and be fully embedded within the review process. The UK team consists of 17 people. They will be supported by a number of civil service, military and academic personnel who will remain in the UK.
Burma: Dams
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received on the construction of the Tamanthi dam in Burma; how many of these were in favour of construction; how many opposed construction on environmental grounds; and what representations he has made to the government of Burma as a result of such representations. [230020]
Bill Rammell: We have received no representations regarding the construction of the Tamanthi dam. We are, however, concerned by reports that the project is having a serious impact on local Kukis villagers, forcing people from their ancestral villages. We condemn all forced relocations and call for all displaced peoples to be provided with adequate humanitarian assistance. We will continue to monitor the dam's development.
The Tamanthi dam project has been co-developed with several countries' input. We press Burma's neighbours at all levels to use their links with the regime to encourage a peaceful transition to democracy.
Cameroon: Asylum
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he or his predecessor last discussed the issue of Cameroonian citizens seeking asylum in the UK with his Cameroonian counterpart. [228485]
Gillian Merron: Neither my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary nor his predecessor discussed the issue of Cameroonian citizens seeking asylum in the UK with the Cameroonian Foreign Minister. The last meeting between Foreign Office Ministers and representatives from Cameroon was on 3 July, when my noble Friend Lord Malloch-Brown met Prime Minister Inoni. Asylum was not discussed.
China
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department’s staff based in China work on UK trade promotion. [229257]
Bill Rammell: There are the equivalent of 71.34 full-time staff working on trade promotion at the British embassy in Beijing and the three consulates-general in mainland China. These include staff from the UK and China.
China: Human Rights
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department’s staff based in China work on human rights issues. [229258]
Bill Rammell: One diplomat and the equivalent of 1.5 locally employed staff work full-time on human rights issues at our embassy in Beijing. The ambassador, deputy head of mission, political counsellor and first secretary (internal) also make representations to the Chinese authorities on human rights issues. In addition, a number of staff based in our three consulates-general in mainland China, including the consuls-general themselves, also undertake work relevant to our governance agenda in China, and when needed raise human rights issues with the local authorities.
Colombia: Politics and Government
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what questions the Government plans to ask the Colombian government during Colombia’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN in December; and what criteria the Government will use to assess the accuracy of the Colombian government’s responses. [228278]
Gillian Merron: The Government’s questions for Colombia’s Universal Periodic Review session have yet to be finalised, but will reflect our main human rights concerns in Colombia. The areas that we are likely to address include the work of and risks faced by human rights defenders and civil society organisations, and concerns about impunity in Colombia, internal displacement and the activities of illegal armed groups. These themes have been identified in consultation with civil society organisations.
Colombia’s responses will be considered alongside the reporting and analysis of our embassy in Bogota, reports and views of Colombian and international civil society organisations, and reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Commonwealth: Politics and Government
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to improve the political and economic stability of Commonwealth countries. [227832]
Gillian Merron: The UK contributes extensive support to Commonwealth countries, to promote economic growth and political stability. The estimated total of UK bilateral and multilateral aid, including debt relief, to Commonwealth countries was £2.5 billion in financial year 2006-07.
The UK is also the largest contributor to the Commonwealth institutions, providing 30 per cent. of all funding. The Commonwealth Secretariat uses this funding to support governance, human rights, democracy, and economic programmes across the membership. And the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group deals with persistent and serious violations of the Harare Declaration, which lays down the Commonwealth’s fundamental democratic values.
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