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19 Jun 2009 : Column 534W—continued
Tranquillisers
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2009, Official Report, columns 1229-30W, on tranquillisers, what measures his Department intends to take to reduce the level of tranquilliser prescribing. [278060]
Gillian Merron:
We expect individual prescribers to ensure that tranquilisers are prescribed appropriately depending on the individual needs of patients. In
exercising their professional and clinical judgment, prescribers should consider available guidance and best practice.
The Department issued advice in 1994 and 1999 warning doctors of the dangers of benzodiazepine dependence. The Chief Medical Officer issued further advice in 2004 reminding doctors that benzodiazepines should be prescribed only for short periods. This advice is reiterated in the British National Formulary which is issued to prescribers every six months. Copies are available from:
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what results from prescribed medication withdrawal treatments have been reported by the NHS in respect of treatments provided by (a) David McKeown, Belfast and (b) the tranquilliser withdrawal clinic in Oldham in the last two years. [279386]
Gillian Merron: The Department does not hold information about the results from the prescribed medication withdrawal treatment reported by the Oldham withdrawal service, however local information held can be made available by contacting Oldham primary care trust directly.
Any results from work by David McKeown in Belfast, would not be reported to this Department.
Home Department
DNA: Databases
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding his Department has allocated in respect of the (a) capital and (b) running costs of the national DNA database. [271365]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The National DNA Database (NDNAD) was established in 1995, when responsibility for the operational management of the NDNAD rested with the Forensic Science Service (FSS) on behalf of the police service. No central records of costs relating to the maintenance of the NDNAD are held prior to 2002, as cost data was incorporated in other costs incurred by the FSS.
In December 2005 the FSS was vested as a Government Owned Company and responsibility for the NDNAD transferred from the FSS to the Home Office. On 1 April 2007 responsibility for the NDNAD transferred from the Home Office to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA).
The costs relating to the maintenance of the NDNAD from 2002-09 are given in the following tables. The costs from 2006-07 are higher than for previous years, because of the complete separation of costs from the FSS, and because the increase in the number of forensic suppliers requires additional resources for accreditation and continuous monitoring. In addition, the costs for 2008-09 include the costs of transferring the physical operation and maintenance of the NDNAD from the FSS to the NPIA (“NDNAD Transition”).
It is not possible to break these figures down into capital and running costs.
| Table 1 | ||||
| £ | ||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
Forensic Science Service: Chorley
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 8 June 2009, Official Report, columns 21-22WS, on the Forensic Science Service, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed restructuring of the Forensic Science Service on employees of the service based in Chorley; and what arrangements he plans to make to retain the skills of employees at the service’s laboratory in Chorley. [281135]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 18 June 2009]: All proposals relating to the restructuring of the Forensic Science Service (FSS) are subject to collective consultation with staff and staff representatives which was launched on 8 June 2009. It must be emphasised that no decisions have been made at this stage, however scientific excellence will remain at the centre of all the FSS and there are no circumstances under which the FSS would consider jeopardising the quality standards and scientific integrity that lie at the heart of organisation.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 8 June 2009, Officia l Report, columns 21-22WS, on the Forensic Science Service, what account this proposed restructuring of the Forensic Science Service has taken of the relationship between forensic science research at the University of Central Lancashire and the activities of the service (a) in Chorley and (b) elsewhere; what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the proposed restructuring on recruitment to the service from the University of Central Lancashire; and if he will publish the approved business plan for the proposed restructuring. [281137]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 18 June 2009]: The University of Central Lancashire’s (UCLAN) forensic science research team does not conduct any research on behalf of the Forensic Science Service (FSS). In recent months, the FSS and UCLAN have started to discuss the potential opportunity for the FSS to offer student placements. However, these discussions are in their early stages and no formal arrangements have been made at this point in time.
There are no plans to publish the Forensic Science Service Business Plan on the grounds of commercial sensitivity.
Fraud: Forgery
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported instances of (a) fraud and (b) forgery there have been in each year since 1997. [280669]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Detailed statistics on recorded fraud and forgery offences from 1997 onwards are published in Table 2.04 of ‘Crime in England and Wales 2007-08’. A copy of the table can be accessed at:
The Fraud Act 2006 came into force on 15 January 2007 and re-defined offences in the fraud and forgery offence group. At the same time, the counting of cheque and credit card fraud changed from a ‘per fraudulent transaction’ to a ‘per account’ basis. These counting rule changes have significantly reduced both the bureaucracy on the police together with the overall total of fraud and forgery offences recorded by them.
For these reasons, the annual Home Office publication ‘Crime in England and Wales’ focuses on fraud and forgery offences identified by organisations within the industry such as APACS (the UK payments association).
Human Trafficking: Children
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to tackle child trafficking in the UK. [280707]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Government's strategy for tackling child trafficking is in its Action Plan, published in March 2007 and up-dated in July 2008. A copy can be found at:
Racially Aggravated Offences
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racially-motivated crimes were recorded in each police force area in (a) each year from 1997-98 to 2002-03 and (b) 2008-09. [280855]
Mr. Alan Campbell:
The information on police recorded crime covers some categories of offence that are deemed to be racially or religiously aggravated. Racially aggravated offences were added to the recorded crime statistics
series in April 1999 and religiously aggravated offences were added in April 2002. It is not possible to separately identify those offences of a racial nature from those of a religious nature.
Data for 1999-2000 to 2002-03 is given in the following table. Data for 2008-09 will be published on 16 July 2009.
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