§ Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) staffing and (b) cost changes have been over the last two years of the units headed by the crime reduction advisers based in regional Government Offices; and what measurable benefits have accrued from the increases. [163328]
§ Mr. Blunkett: The Home Office transferred 169 staff to the Government Offices (GO) in June 2002 to work on the Crime Reduction agenda, along with funding of £6.104 million. This included 24 research staff who remained on the Home Office payroll but who were co-located in the GOs. The staffing levels have remained the same in 2003–04, though the funding increased to £8.143 million to reflect the full year's cost.
1107WCrime reduction teams in the nine Government Offices are focused on improving the performance of poor performing Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and those with the highest crime rates. They are working closely with these partnerships to identify their strengths and weaknesses across a range of competencies and to develop and implement improvement plans. The deployment of researchers and analysts in each region has also allowed the crime teams to support and develop partnership; more effectively.