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Criminal Offences
Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 5 February (WA 114), whether they will arrange to keep a central register of all new criminal offences and those offences which have been repealed.[HL1545]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Government have no plans to keep such a register.
Prisoners: Dental Services
Lord Colwyn asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many prisoners in English prisons received dental treatment in 2003.[HL1566]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: This information is not currently available in the form requested but should become available from 1 April 2004 under new monitoring arrangements introduced under the Strategy for Modernising Dental Services for Prisoners in England (April 2003).
Sentencing
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they last issued guidance concerning prisoners and sentences; whether this included remands in custody and the appropriate use of non-custodial sentences; and whether they will urgently consider new guidance; and[HL1569]
When they last issued guidance to the courts concerning prisoners and sentences; whether this included remands in custody and the appropriate use of non-custodial sentences; and whether they will consider issuing new guidance.[HL1672]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Government do not issue guidelines to courts on sentencing. However, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 set up the Sentencing Guidelines Council to produce sentencing guidelines for all courts and one of its first tasks will be to produce guidelines on the new generic community sentence.
Ministers made it clear in Reducing Crime—Changing Lives that they wish to see intensive community programmes replace ineffective short custodial sentences.
The reforms introduced through the Criminal Justice Act 2003 are designed to deliver greater consistency in sentencing, to provide robust alternatives to custody where appropriate and more effective delivery of interventions to reduce reoffending.
Community Service Orders
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will give, for each of the most recent 10 years, the number of persons who on conviction were sentenced to community service; and what is the total number of hours of community service which were awarded in each of those years.[HL1594]
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: England and Wales
The available information, from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database is given in the table. It shows the number of persons sentenced to community punishment orders imposed by courts in England and Wales, and the total hours of community punishment awarded for each of the years 1993 to 2002.
Persons sentenced to community punishment orders 1 and total number of hours of community punishment imposed by all courts in England and Wales, 1993 to 2002.
| Year | Persons sentenced to community punishment(1) | Total number of hours awarded(1) |
| 1993 | 56,901 | 6,546,406 |
| 1994 | 61,868 | 7,092,492 |
| 1995 | 62,896 | 7,509,162 |
| 1996 | 63,195 | 6,762,468 |
| 1997 | 66,583 | 7,129,626 |
| 1998 | 69,749 | 7,373,633 |
| 1999 | 70,330 | 7,358,844 |
| 2000 | 69,224 | 7,200,420 |
| 2001 | 64,426 | 6,830,099 |
| 2002 | 66,275 | 6,964,449 |
(1) Persons sentenced to community punishment orders and community punishment and rehabilitation orders (community service orders and combination orders prior to April 2000). The number of hours includes those awarded for community punishment orders and also for the community punishment component of community punishment and rehabilitation orders. Data are on the principal offence basis.
Statistics for 2003 will be published in the Autumn of 2004.
Northern Ireland
The available information, from the Northern Ireland Office Court Proceedings data sets, showing the number of persons sentenced to community service orders and combination orders imposed by courts in
Northern Ireland, and the total hours of community punishment awarded for each of the years 1993 to 2001 (2002 information is currently not available), is as follows:
Persons sentenced to community service orders and combination orders and total number of hours of community punishment imposed by all courts in Northern Ireland, 1993 to 2001.
(2) The number of hours includes those awarded for community service orders and also for the community service component of combination orders. Number of hours associated with the community service order aspect of combination orders in 2000 (55 cases) and 2001 (29 cases) is not available. Data are on the principal offence basis.
Statistics for 2002 will be published in June 2004.
Scotland
The available information, from the Scottish Executive Justice Department's Court Proceedings database, showing the number of persons sentenced in courts in Scotland to community service or probation with a condition of unpaid work, and the total hours of community service for each of the years 1993 to 2002, is as follows:
Persons sentenced to community service and total number of hours of community service imposed by all courts in Scotland, 1993 to 2002. 1
(1)Includes persons sentenced to community service and to probation with a requirement of unpaid work. The number of hours includes those awards for the former, and also for the community service component of the latter.
(2)Includes a number of cases each year where the number of hours of community service imposed is not known.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The average weekly cost per prisoner during the financial year 2002–03 was £697. The average cost of an offender completing 40 hours of community service in the calendar year for 2002 was £706.
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Health professionals from the accession states who wish to find jobs in the UK are very welcome to work here. Nationals of the eight central and eastern European acceding states who find and take up work on or after 1 May will simply need to apply immediately to the Home Office to be registered as a worker. Guidance on the scheme will be made available to employers and accession country nationals.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Locally collated management information shows that the 10 originating airports from which the highest number of cases of undocumented arrivals in the United Kingdom occurred in 2003 were as follows:
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: People who sexually abuse children are often found to be in possession of indecent images of children. There is evidence to suggest that child pornography can be used in an attempt to legitimise their sexual activities with children and to "groom" or encourage compliance from their victims. However, we are not currently aware of any evidence to support a direct causal link between access to child pornography and the commission of sexual offences against children.
Year Persons sentenced to community punishment Total number of hours awarded(1)
1993 584 86,109
1994 610 88,454
1995 607 88,792
1996 645 87,754
1997 598 80,205
1998 706 86,451
1999 715 91,234
2000 810 96,395
2001 661 66,491
Year Total(2)> Total hours of community service
1993 5,632 737,530
1994 6,196 852,548
1995 6,609 917,207
1996 7,016 997,187
1997 7,153 1,068,187
1998 6,631 989,089
1999 6,206 925,750
2000 6,051 898,874
2001 6,325 946,282
2002 6,348 954,481
Whether they will indicate the average cost per week of keeping a person serving a custodial sentence in prison and the average cost of supervising and administering 40 hours of community service.[HL1595]
Whether the recruitment of health professionals from new European Union member states will be affected by the Government's proposals regarding the migration of workers from those member states after 1 May; and, if so, how.[HL1616]
Whether they will list in order of volume, for the latest year for which data are available, the 10 originating airports from which the highest number of cases of undocumented arrivals in the United Kingdom occurred.[HL1649]
1. Johannesburg
2. Paris
3. Amsterdam
4. Moscow
5. Brussels
6. Dubai
7. Athens
11 Mar 2004 : Column WA191
8. Madrid
9. Freetown
10. Lagos
What correlations they have found between individuals with access to child pornography and offences of sexual abuse of children, whether in the United Kingdom or overseas.[HL1675]
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