§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost is of an antisocial behaviour contract. [4295]
§ Mr. DenhamThe acceptable behaviour contract was devised by Islington Council and, following its successful use there, has now been adopted in many other regions. Each area runs the scheme autonomously, and no information on the cost of concluding contracts is held.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been obtained in each police division in England; and if he will make a statement. [4443]
§ Mr. DenhamAvailable information given in the table shows the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) made by age group of subject and police force area. As the table shows, ASBOs have been applied for successfully in many parts of the country.
651W
Antisocial behaviour orders made between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2001 by age group and police force area within England Number made from 1 June 2000 to 31 March 20011 Police force area Number made from 1 April 1999 to 31 May 20002 Age 10–17 Age 18+ Age unknown Total Total made from 1 April 1999 to31 March 2001 Surrey — — 1 — 1 1 Sussex 3 1 — — 1 4 Thames Valley 1 — — — — 1 Warwickshire — — 1 — 1 1 West Mercia 5 2 5 — 7 12 West Midlands 11 6 1 — 5 18 West Yorkshire 4 4 1 — 5 9 Wiltshire — 1 — — — — England 104 52 54 3 109 213 1Data collected centrally from Magistrates Courts Committees as from 1 June 2000 onwards 2Based on data collected from ACPO and GLA trawls covering period 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000. Information on the age of recipients not available. 3Includes City of London
§ Caroline FlintTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the implementation of antisocial behaviour orders; and what the key obstacles are to proceeding with the necessary court action. [4981]
§ Mr. DenhamOn 15 October 1999 the previous Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn (Mr. Straw), wrote to the chief executive of each local authority asking what could be learned from their experiences in using antisocial behaviour orders and the other measures in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 for combating unruly behaviour, and whether any good practice could be shared. As a result of the representations received a key issue for further guidance appeared to be better local inter-agency co-ordination.
The Home Office and the Local Government Association jointly held 10 regional seminars in March and April last year to help spread good practice in using antisocial behaviour orders. The seminars also served as a consultation exercise for the issue of a model agreement, or protocol, for effective local co-operation in tackling antisocial behaviour. This guidance was launched in June last year. Both the guidance and the seminars were well received, and indicated a widespread willingness to use antisocial behaviour orders.
We are currently conducting a comprehensive review of these orders, now that they have been two years in operation, to evaluate their effectiveness in dealing with antisocial behaviour and to identify best practice in how the legislation is being used. We expect the review to be completed later this year and we will consider the report carefully.