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Restorative Justice
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which police forces have made use of restorative justice interventions for young offenders; and in how many cases. [HL1422]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): Restorative justice interventions are used in a number of police forces but statistics on the number of forces and the number of cases are not held centrally.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What funding and measures are in place to promote the use of restorative justice in children's residential homes. [HL1424]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Lord Adonis): Children's homes are inspected against the National Minimum Standards (NMS) for Children's Homes which require that homes encourage acceptable behaviour and constructive staff response to inappropriate behaviour when it occurs. The NMS require that the consequences of unacceptable behaviour are clear to staff and children and that any measures applied are relevant to the incident and are reasonable. Homes use a range of interventions and responses to ensure that children's behaviour is properly managed. The Government fund the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care in order to promote effective practice in the sector. However, there are no dedicated national sources of funding specifically to promote restorative justice.
Roads: A1
Lord Jopling asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will set up an inquiry to examine whether delays in traffic on the A1 road, due to road works to the north of Grantham, could have been avoided by better planning. [HL1438]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Highways Agency will not be setting up an inquiry to examine whether delays in traffic on the A1 due to road works to the north of Grantham could have been avoided by better planning.
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The project has been subject to reviews before and during construction to ensure that delays on this route are minimised. Actions adopted by the project to minimise potential delays have included offline construction, minimising single lane contraflow and advance warning of planned works.
Roads: Litter
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the arrangements for the Highways Agency to monitor the amount of litter along motorways and trunk roads in the United Kingdom when the responsibility for litter-picking contracts has been delegated to local authorities. [HL1520]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Highways Agency is responsible for clearing litter from motorways and a small number of trunk roads in England. Their agents are contracted to remove litter from those roads as part of a rolling programme of litter clearance.
Local authorities clear litter from the majority of trunk roads in England. The Highways Agency encourages partnership working between its managing agents and local councils so that, wherever possible, litter picking, grass cutting and carriageway repairs can be co-ordinated to minimise disruption to the travelling public.
Route stewardship arrangements are in place to monitor the amount of litter on the motorway and trunk road network and particular “hot spots” are dealt with over and above routine litter picking.
Scotland and Wales have separate arrangements.
Schools: Free Meals
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families (Lord Adonis): Data on the receipt of free school meals is only available from 1989.
In 1989 the number of schoolchildren in maintained nursery and primary schools taking free school meals was 515,395, equivalent to 13 per cent (to the nearest whole number). The number of schoolchildren in maintained secondary schools taking free school meals was 235,270, equivalent to 8 per cent (to the nearest whole number). The number of schoolchildren in maintained special schools taking free school meals was 28,466, equivalent to 31 per cent (to the nearest whole number). The number of schoolchildren in all maintained schools taking free school meals was 781,362, equivalent to 11 per cent (to the nearest whole number).
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In 1995 the number of schoolchildren in maintained nursery and primary schools taking free school meals was 815,258, equivalent to 18.7 per cent.
The number of schoolchildren in maintained secondary schools taking free school meals was 387,554, equivalent to 13.0 per cent.
The number of schoolchildren in all special schools taking free school meals was 32,934, equivalent to 36.1 per cent.
In 2005 the number of schoolchildren in maintained nursery and primary schools known to be eligible for free school meals was 717,230, equivalent to 16.9 per cent.
The number of schoolchildren in maintained secondary schools known to be eligible for free school meals was 465,520, equivalent to 14.0 per cent.
The number of schoolchildren in all special schools known to be eligible for free school meals was 30,690, equivalent to 33.6 per cent.
The latest information on pupils eligible for free school meals can be found in tables 3a, 3b and 3c of the Statistical First Release Schools and Pupils in England, January 2007 (Final), which can be found at www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000744/index.shtml.
Vehicles: Electric Power
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proposals they have to ensure that all public buildings have facilities to recharge electrical powered vehicles. [HL1410]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given on 23 January (Official Report, col. WA54).
Young People: Custody
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many children under 15 were in custody in (a) young offender institutions; (b) secure children's homes; (c) secure training centres; and (d) private prisons on 1 January of each year between 2000 and 2008; and [HL1475]
How many young people aged 15 to 18 were in custody in (a) young offender institutions; (b) secure children's homes; (c) secure training centres; and (d) private prisons on 1 January of each year between 2000 and 2008. [HL1476]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The secure estate for children and young people holds children and young people up to and including the age of 17, as well as a small number of young people who reach 18 in the course of their sentences.
The table below, which contains information provided by the Youth Justice Board, shows the number of children aged under 13 and young people aged 15-17 held in young offender institutions (YOIs), secure training centres (STCs) and secure children's homes (SCHs) on 1 January in each year from 2001 onwards. The number of 18 year-olds held in juvenile young offender institutions is shown separately. There were no 18 year-olds in secure training centres or secure children's homes. Numbers in custody on 1 January 2000 are not available.
| Number of children under 15 in custody | ||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| Number of young people in the secure estate for children and young people | ||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| 1 15-17 year olds | ||||||||
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of young people under the age of 18 who are in custody receive individual therapy, counselling or support for drugs-related problems. [HL1479]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) funds a substance misuse service across the secure estate for children and young people. Those young people who have misused substances (about 7 per cent of those in custody) receive targeted support based on their level of need and the substances they have misused. Those young people (about 5 per cent) who require specialist treatment, such as those needing detoxification, receive individual specialist support from a range of providers, including healthcare.
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