§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports he has received about the contribution made by(a) social services departments, (b) health authorities and (c) local education authorities to meetings of crime reduction partnerships; and if he will make a statement. [114364]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Crime and Disorder Act 1998 requires the council and police in every area to work in partnership with a wide range of other agencies, including health authorities, to develop and implement a strategy to reduce crime and disorder in the area. The Act required the first strategies to be in place by April 1999.
The essence of these arrangements is that different agencies should work together in a single partnership and together contribute to the common goal of reducing crime and maintaining safety and good order. We have not called for reports on the contributions made by any specific services, although the Report of the Statutory Partnership Task Force last year drew attention in the course of its survey of a representative sample of 12 partnerships to particular instances of the contributions made by, for example, health and education services.