§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effect on the Nottingham, North constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [158855]
§ 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 371W 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 examples relating to the Nottingham, North constituency or the immediate locality:
Reducing Burglary Initiative (RBI)
Under round 1 of the RBI, Nottingham police, in partnership with Nottingham city council, were awarded £277,000 for a project in Top Valley and Bestwood Park. The main interventions include: repeat victims and vulnerable residents to receive burglar alarms; production of crime prevention leaflets; use of covert tracking devices and portable tracking unit; shared pathways and alleyways to be gated and increased lighting in the rear of houses and flats.
Under round 2 of the initiative, Nottinghamshire police, in partnership with Community Safety and Youth Justice Partnership, were awarded over £2 million for the whole of Nottingham. The main intervention proposed is a strategic bid that aims to tackle burglary across the whole area. It focuses on 10 communities with sets of police beats that have similar characteristics and applies to them the Deep model (diversion, education, enforcement and prevention).
Targeted Policing Initiative
Nottinghamshire police was awarded almost £1.2 million for a force wide project focusing on alcohol-related violence. The project strategy would be based on the SPEEDE response to tackling alcohol related violence. SPEEDE means support, prevention, education, enforcement, diversion and evaluation. £90,000 has also been awarded for a distraction burglary initiative covering eight Midlands police forces and their local authorities to develop, co-ordinate and manage a strategic plan to tackle burglary.
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
Nottingham city council was awarded approximately £227,000 under round 1 of the CCTV initiative for a scheme covering the residential areas of the Bulwell Hall Estate.
Youth Offending
Nottingham Youth Offending Team (YOT) covers the area of north Nottingham. The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is currently funding a Bail Support Scheme and two Intervention Schemes in Nottingham. Nottingham City Remand Strategy aims to provide full and comprehensive pre-court assessments and support services for 10 to 17-year-olds. It also aims to provide an effective remand management strategy which meets the needs of young people and their families while ensuring the protection of the public. The YJB have awarded a grant of approximately £572,000 towards this project.
372WNottingham Community Justice Project is targeted at young people aged 10 to 17-years-old, initially focusing on the pre-court interventions, namely reprimands and final warning stages, then developing to involve pre-crime, at risk and post-court interventions. This project complements the work of Nottinghamshire police, who currently uses restorative conferencing at the final warning stage in some parts of the county. This scheme has been awarded a YJB grant of approximately £170,000. The YJB is contributing approximately £72,000 towards a project entitled INTERVENE. This is a scheme that works with Afro-Caribbean young people, both at risk or serving any youth offending order. It offers mentoring by Afro-Caribbean mentors, including peer mentors. In addition to one to one support, it also offers group monitoring and cultural and personal development workshops with links to local industry.
Nottingham YOT was awarded a YJB grant of £145,000 in 1999–2000, of which £85,000 was for information technology, £10,000 for parenting, £30,000 for throughcare and £20,000 for minor equipment.
More generally, all of the policies of the Home Office will impact on the residents of Nottingham, North 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.