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Criminal Records Bureau
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what other Home Office contracts have been awarded to the company providing the Criminal Records since 1997 and were completed to (a) time and (b) budget. [17746]
Mr. Denham: Information available for other contracts awarded to Capita by my Department since 1997, which were completed (a) on time and (b) on budget, is as follows:
| Year | Company | Contract |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Capita(13) | Designing and Managing Building Projects |
| 1998–99 | Capita EC | Environment/Space Planning |
| 1998 | Capita Business Service | Recruitment of General Managers |
| 1998 | Capita Training | Conferences and Training |
| 1999 | Capita Business Service | Consultancy Support |
| 1999 | Capita Business Service | Productions of Purchase Manual |
| 1999 | Capita Business Service | Efficiency Review |
| 2000 | Capita Business Service | HMP Blakenhurst Bid Team |
| 2000–01 | Capita Business Service | Quantum Project |
(13) Advisory contracts for which Capita was not the prime contractor
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on progress with the Criminal Records Bureau; [17745]
- (2) what is the (a) original and (b) latest (i) completion date and (ii) cost for the Criminal Records Bureau. [17747]
Mr. Denham: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell) on 26 October 2001, Official Report, column 449W.
It has always been the intention that the Criminal Records Bureau should be self-financing by means of the charges that it makes for the Disclosures that it produces.
29 Nov 2001 : Column: 1127W
Motorways
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask chief constables in England and Wales for a report on the effectiveness of Regulation 12 of the Motorway Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982, as amended, in their county areas. [17410]
Mr. Denham: The enforcement of motorway regulations is an operational matter for chief officers of police. I understand from the Association of Chief Police Officers that they consider that the prohibition of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) and coaches from the outside lane of motorways enhances traffic flow and affords other drivers some degree of protection from large vehicles. Most HGV drivers observe the prohibition, although a small minority exercise poor lane discipline which can cause annoyance to other motorists. There is, however, little evidence to suggest that this is a significant problem, and we do not consider that a review of the regulation is necessary at this time.
29 Nov 2001 : Column: 1128W
Thames Valley Police
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded crimes per 1,000 population there were in each of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in the Thames Valley police area in the last year for which figures are available. [18649]
Mr. Denham: Details of recorded crime figures for violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary in a dwelling, theft of a motor vehicle and theft from a vehicle are collected centrally for each Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) in England and Wales. The most recent information is available in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin number 12–01, entitled 'Recorded Crime: England and Wales, 12 months to March 2001', published on 19 July 2001. The details for Thames Valley CDRPs are given in the table.
| Violence against the person | Sexual offences | Robbery | Burglary dwelling | Theft of a motor vehicle | Theft from a vehicle | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aylesbury Vale | 6.3 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 12.9 |
| Bracknell Forest | 6.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 11.0 |
| Cherwell | 6.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 9.1 |
| Chiltern | 3.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 7.6 |
| Milton Keynes | 10.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 5.8 | 7.4 | 11.6 |
| Oxford | 13.2 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 10.8 | 8.6 | 17.3 |
| Reading | 10.8 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 12.8 | 11.6 | 25.4 |
| Slough | 11.1 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 12.4 | 10.1 | 40.3 |
| South Bucks | 4.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 13.0 | 6.9 | 30.6 |
| South Oxfordshire | 4.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 9.5 |
| Vale of White Horse | 4.9 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| West Berkshire | 4.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 10.3 |
| West Oxfordshire | 3.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 5.6 |
| Windsor & Maidenhead | 8.3 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 7.1 | 4.9 | 23.9 |
| Wokingham | 3.1 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 5.6 | 3.4 | 12.4 |
| Wycombe | 6.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 7.4 | 5.5 | 12.1 |
Note:
Crime rates based on resident population may give a misleading impression in areas where numbers of non-residents, such as commuters and visitors, are significant.
Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures will be available to public authorities to protect the academic confidentiality of information contained in project licences held under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 after the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is implemented. [18297]
Angela Eagle: The Freedom of Information Act 2000 covers a wide range of public authorities including public sector academic institutions. The right of access will apply to information held by such institutions subject to the conditions and exemptions set out in the Act.
Section 41 of the Act exempts as a class information obtained from any other person if its disclosure would constitute a breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person. Other exemptions in the Act which may be relevant to applications to academic institutions for information relating to project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 relate to personal information the disclosure of which would contravene the data protection principles set out in the Data Protection Act 1998 (section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act); and commercial interests (section 43).
It is impossible to judge hypothetically what would or would not be disclosed, as all requests under Freedom of Information will be assessed on a case by case basis. But the Government believe that the Act achieves a proper balance between the right to know, the right to privacy and the preservation of confidentiality where disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.
The timetable for the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act was recently announced. Implementation will be in stages with the duties on public authorities to apply Publication Schemes—details of the information they will provide pro-actively—being introduced first. This will be staggered for different parts of the public sector. The individual right of access will follow in January 2005.
29 Nov 2001 : Column: 1129W
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Departmental Expenditure Limits
Mrs. Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans she has to change the (a) resource departmental expenditure limit and (b) administration costs limit for her Department in 2001–02. [19950]
Clare Short: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate the Department for International Development Departmental Expenditure Limit for 2001–02 will be increased from £3,114,570,000 to £3,127,152,749. The Administration Cost Limit will increase from £67,246,000 to £67,561,000. Within this DEL change, the impact on resources and capital are as set out in the table.
| Resources | Capital | |
|---|---|---|
| Change | 12,582,749 | — |
| New DEL | 3,127,152,749 | — |
| Of which: | ||
| Voted | 2,450,932,749 | — |
| Non-voted | 676,220,000 | — |
The change in the resource element of the DEL arises from:
A transfer of £22,656,813 from DFID's non-voted Departmental Unallocated Provision (DUP) to the Ministry of Defence for Conflict Prevention in sub-Saharan Africa;
A transfer of £4,435,438 from DFID's non-voted DUP to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for Conflict Prevention in sub-Saharan Africa;
A transfer of £8,900,000 from the FCO to DFID for Global Conflict Prevention;
A transfer of £100,000 from DFID's non-voted DUP to the Cabinet Office (SIA) for Conflict Prevention in sub-Saharan Africa;
A transfer of £15,000,000 from the Reserve in support of a new International Monetary Fund Poverty Reduction Growth Facility for Pakistan;
A transfer of £15,000,000 from the Reserve in support of humanitarian relief in Afghanistan;
A transfer of £570,000 from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for a contribution to the refurbishment of BHC Lusaka;
A transfer of £10,000 to the Home Office for DFID's contribution to the "Groupe d'etats Contre la Corruption" (GRECO);
A transfer of £510,000 from the Cabinet Office for the Civil Service Modernisation Fund;
A transfer of £195,000 to the Cabinet Office for funding of Fast Stream Recruitment.
The increase will be met by inter-departmental transfers or from the DEL Reserve and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
29 Nov 2001 : Column: 1130W
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