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Policing (European Union)
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has undertaken on the relative levels and methods of policing in European Union countries; and if he will make a statement. [70321]
Mr. Boateng:
The Home Office Police Research Group carried out a major review of the size and structure of overseas police forces for the Sheehy Inquiry into Police Responsibilities and Rewards in 1993. The report "Approaches to Rank Structure and Pay in Police Forces: an International Survey" covered the size, rank and career structure, pay and retirement regulations in 14 countries, including many in the European Union. No research on the relative levels and methods of policing in European Union countries has been commissioned by the Home
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Office since, although we do maintain good links and regularly exchange information on policing with our European Union partners.
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each fire authority in the United Kingdom (a) the SSA per head of population and (b) the actual spending per head of population in each year from 1992 to date. [70268]
Mr. George Howarth:
Figures detailing the fire standard spending assessment per head for all local authorities in England, for the financial years 1992-93 to 1998-99, are available in the relevant Standard Spending Assessment (SSA) Handbook--copies of which are in the Library.
Figures for the 1999-2000 provisional fire standard spending assessment per head were given in an answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins) on 11 January 1999, Official Report, columns 87-88. The final figures, which show only minor differences, will be published in the SSA Handbook for 1999-2000 in due course.
In Wales, standard spending assessments are not identified by service block.
Tables have been placed in the Library which give the spending figures on the fire service in England and Wales for the years 1992-93 to 1997-98.
Financial provision for the fire services in Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.
Mr. Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will conduct research to assess the extent of criminal activity among those who have no income from social security benefits or from any other formal source. [70598]
Mr. Boateng:
The 1998-99 youth life styles survey examines rates of self-reported offending among young people aged between 12 and 30. A proportion of these will not be in education, employment or training and so will not have any formal source of income.
The Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate are currently conducting the survey. Information will be available later in 1999.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned into the effectiveness of CCTV in detecting crime. [70403]
Mr. Boateng:
The Home Office Police Research Group study "CCTV in Town Centres: Three Case Studies" has shown that closed circuit television (CCTV) can be effective in reducing crime and the fear of crime, when used as part of a wider strategy.
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The Home Office keeps under review the research literature on CCTV and we will be assessing the evaluations of effectiveness produced by the schemes which received funding under the CCTV Challenge Competition as they become available.
Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to encourage further investment in closed circuit television systems intended to reduce crime. [70751]
Mr. Boateng:
Over 170 closed circuit television (CCTV) schemes will receive funding this year under the CCTV Challenge scheme.
In addition, as part of the £250m crime reduction programme, at least £50m will be invested over the next three years in 500 local projects to tackle domestic burglary. The first 60 of these projects are currently being developed to start in April, and some may include CCTV as part of their approach.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to create a unit to respond to hon. Members inquiries at Liverpool IND. [70402]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
There are no proposals to create a Member of Parliament's inquiry unit at Liverpool Immigration and Nationality Directorate.
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been commissioned or evaluated by his Department on the development of techniques which would replace the use of animals in medical research; and if he will make a statement. [70666]
Mr. George Howarth:
Details of projects funded by the Home Office, and their results, are published in the annual reports of the Animal Procedures Committee, which are laid before Parliament as required by section 20(5) of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The Animal Procedures Committee advises on the sponsoring of work aimed at developing or promoting the use of alternatives which replace animal use, reduce the number of animals used or refine the procedures to minimise suffering. The budget for this has been increased by 42 per cent. to £259,000 in 1998-99.
Decisions are still to be made on the projects to fund in the next financial year.
This is not the only money spent by the Government on alternatives: other Departments also fund relevant work as an integral part of scientific research. Industry, too, spends millions of pounds each year on the search for and development of alternatives.
The United Kingdom Government continue to support the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods through contributions to the European Union. It is the Centre's task to monitor and co-ordinate research into alternatives and to develop the processes of validation.
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Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the re-offending rates of (i) persistent young offenders and (ii) all young offenders. [70614]
Mr. Boateng:
The Government have no information about re-offending rates. Information is available about re-conviction rates. Persistent young offenders (as defined in joint Home Office/Lord Chancellor's Department Circular "Measuring Performance to reduce delays in the youth court system") have not been routinely identified in the past in data used to produce re-conviction rates. Plans are in place to do so in future.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Disposal | Age at sentence 10-17 |
| Conditional discharge | 58 |
| Fine | 66 |
| CYP(48) supervision order | 79 |
| Probation | 87 |
| Community service order | 74 |
| Custodial sentence(49) | 81 |
| Attendance centre order | 72 |
(48) Children and Young Persons Act 1969
(49) Excludes detentions under section 53 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963
The Government have embarked upon a radical restructuring of the youth justice system, including reforms to the youth court and range of new sentencing options. The system as a whole has been given a new statutory aim--to prevent offending by children and young persons. The new court disposals that have been introduced, including the action plan and reparation orders and the new custodial sentence, the detention and training order will all have a clear focus on rehabilitation and preventing future offending and re-offending.
Young Offenders
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of implementing his target of halving the time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders. [70612]
Mr. Boateng: The pledge to halve the time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders is aimed at reducing unnecessary delay and improving efficiency. Experience in those areas running fast tracking schemes indicates that the initiatives are generally cost neutral and, in some cases, have already resulted in savings through increased efficiency.
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 introduced a range of measures which will help to deliver the pledge by strengthening the ability of the court to manage cases and making procedural changes to ensure delays are avoided. The costs or savings of these measures--which cover both youth and adult cases--will be assessed following the pilots which are now in progress.
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Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from (i) youth courts and (ii) other agencies about the implementation of fast-tracking for persistent young offenders. [70613]
Mr. Boateng:
We are in regular contact on this issue with practitioners from all of the youth justice agencies, including the courts, through correspondence and attendance at youth justice seminars and conferences. The responses to a Home Office survey of all youth court areas in England and Wales conducted in April 1998 indicated that 160 youth court areas now have a fast tracking scheme. A further survey this year has yet to be completed, but is already confirming that the number of schemes continues to grow.
Mr. Maclean:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown, for each of the last three years, of the sentencing decisions made in respect of (i) persistent young offenders and (ii) all young offenders. [70619]
Mr. Boateng:
The sentencing decisions in respect of persistent young offenders (as defined in joint Home Office/Lord Chancellor's Department Circular "Measuring Performance to reduce delays in the youth court system") have not been routinely identified in the past, but plans are in place to do so in future. Information is collected about all young people aged 10-17 sentenced for indictable offences by type of sentence or order. The following table contains a breakdown for each of the last three years for which figures are available.
| Persons/year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | |
| Total number of persons sentenced | 42,166 | 44,302 | 46,301 |
| Absolute or conditional discharge | 14,066 | 14,160 | 14,457 |
| Fine | 4,641 | 4,671 | 5,016 |
| Probation order | 1,594 | 1,879 | 1,996 |
| Supervision order | 8,064 | 8,539 | 8,728 |
| Community service order | 2,667 | 2,799 | 2,972 |
| Attendance centre order | 4,981 | 4,880 | 4,943 |
| Combination order | 775 | 1,020 | 1,279 |
| Curfew order | -- | 10 | 47 |
| Young offender institution | 4,326 | 4,979 | 5,358 |
| S53 CYP Act 1933 | 401 | 635 | 748 |
| Otherwise dealt with | 651 | 730 | 777 |
| Total immediate custody | 4,326 | 4,979 | 5,358 |
| Total community sentences | 18,081 | 19,127 | 19,945 |
Source:
CCJU (RDS) IOS110-99.xls
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