§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Ribble Valley constituency, the effects on Ribble Valley of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [157845]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Home Office is working to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced, and the protection and security of the public are maintained. Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in Home Office Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report, "Home Office Annual Report 2000–2001", is available in the Library. Information on recorded crime and policing is also published. 'Recorded Crime England and Wales, 12 months to September 2000' and 'Police Service Strength England and Wales, 30 September 2000' can be found in the Library. The recorded crime statistics include information on recorded crime by Basic Command Unit and Crime and Disorder partnerships.
The impact of Home Office policies and actions is not normally examined by constituency and the statistics which the Department collects, such as recorded crime, cannot be matched in the way requested although set out are some examples relating to the Ribble Valley constituency or the immediate locality:
Youth Offending
One Intervention Scheme and one Bail Supervision Scheme are being funded by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) in Lancashire that includes coverage of the Ribble Valley. The Lancashire Restorative Justice Project has 137W been awarded a contribution of approximately £37,000. Youth Justice Mediation is a victim/offender mediation service provided by Blackpool borough and Lancashire county council's Youth Offending Teams who are working together to offer this service to children and young persons who offend and their victims and young offenders with the opportunity to communicate with one another in a safe environment in order that the offender may make amends for their inappropriate behaviour and assist the victim to come to terms with the harm they have suffered.
The Bail Support Scheme has been awarded £191,000 and the main objectives are to provide a practical alternative to magistrates' courts for remands to custody, secure accommodation remands to local authority accommodation.
More generally, all of the policies of the Home Office will impact on the residents of Ribble Valley to a greater or lesser extent. For example:
376 Crime and Disorder Reduction partnerships have been established;racial harassment and racially motivated crimes have been made criminal offences by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998;the asylum backlog has been cut from 103,495 at the end of January 2000 to 49,690 by the end of February 2001; andgood progress is being made in reducing the incidence of fire deaths in England and Wales. They have dropped from 605 in 1997 to 534 in 1999.Information on the Home Office and its policies is also published on its website www.homeoffice.gov.uk.