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24 Feb 2003 : Column 326W—continued

Neighbourhood Wardens

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Neighbourhood Wardens Initiative schemes have been established in England and Wales since 2000; where such schemes have been in operation; and how many people are employed as neighbourhood wardens. [98186]

Mrs. Roche: I have been asked to reply.

Since 2000, 207 Neighbourhood Warden schemes have become active. We are currently bringing forward a further 38 schemes. Employment figures for these schemes stand at a total of 1,464 wardens.

There are 245 wardens schemes distributed across the following regions:

East of England	17
East Midlands	12
North-West	49
London	43
West Midlands	29
Yorkshire and Humber	24
South West	16
South East	29
North East	21
Wales	5

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been undertaken to assess whether Neighbourhood Warden Initiative schemes (a) have reduced crime, (b) have provided public reassurance and (c) are an effective deterrent to anti-social behaviour; and if he will make a statement. [98187]

Mrs. Roche: I have been asked to reply.

The research of the Neighbourhood Warden schemes funded by my department began in 2001 and involves a series of national and local quantitative surveys as well as in-depth qualitative investigations into case study areas. The evaluation of Neighbourhood Wardens is ongoing. Evaluation of the Street Warden programme, is in its early stages and interim reports are not yet available.

Copies of the 'Neighbourhood Wardens Scheme Evaluation Case Studies—Preliminary Report' and the 'Implications Paper' have been placed in the library of the House. The indications from these and other interim reports are that warden schemes are contributing to a reduction in levels of crime, provide public reassurance and are effective in deterring anti-social behaviour.

Non-Custodial Sentences

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research his Department has undertaken into public opinion on community based alternatives to prison. [98192]

Hilary Benn: A public perception survey of the Probation Service was commissioned by the National Probation Directorate from Mori Social Research Institute. This primarily related to those community sentences which are the responsibility of the Probation Service. It reported on public awareness and the perceived effectiveness of the service in its various roles.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 327W

The results and report, "Perceptions of the National Probation Service", were circulated within the National Probation Service in September 2002. It is available to download from the probation pages of the Home Office website, and I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library.

Online Sales/Purchases

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) products, (b) goods and (c) services were (i) bought and (ii) sold online by his Department in each of the last five years. [97437]

Beverley Hughes: The Home Department has not sold any goods or services on line in the past five years. The department has however purchased low value items on line during 2002 which are as follows:

Goods	Services
Stationery and office consumables	Training courses
IT consumables	Temporary staff
Publications

Police Numbers (Nottinghamshire)

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in the Nottinghamshire Constabulary in each year since 1997; and how many there will be in each year for which projections are available. [98325]

Mr. Denham: Information on police strength for Nottinghamshire Police is set out in the table.

Year (as at 31 March)	Police Officer Numbers	Civilian Support Staff Numbers
1997	2,323	1,003
1998	2,323	987
1999	2,225	1,039
2000	2,204	1,024
2001	2,212	1,039
2002	2,330	1,087

Under the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) recruitment initiative Nottinghamshire Police have been allocated an additional 157 recruits over and above the force's previous recruitment plans for the three years to March 2003. Funding for these officers will continue in 2003–04. The CFF will continue in 2003/04 and we will fund 75 per cent of the cost of new recruits through CFF rather than 100 per cent as in the past three years. Nottinghamshire Police Authority has been allocated £96,000 which on the basis of 75 per cent funding should be sufficient for the force to recruit a further 17 police officers through this fund.

Apart from ring-fenced provision for a particular purpose, such as the Crime Fighting Fund, decisions about the police budget and the allocation of resources, including numbers of officers, are matters for the Nottinghamshire Police Authority and the Chief Constable (Stephen Green QPM). It is therefore not possible to provide estimates of Nottinghamshire's police strength in future years.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 328W

Police Officers (Sickness)

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average number of working days lost through sickness among police officers in England was in 2002, broken down by (a) constabulary, (b) rank and (c) gender. [96744]

Mr. Denham: The average number of days lost through sickness absence for police officers in England and Wales for the year 2001–02, (the latest figures that are available) is 11.5. The national average for male and female officers is 11 days and 15 days respectively. Broken down by constabulary, the average number of days lost through sickness absence per officer are:

Force	Average days per officer	Per Male Officer	Per Female Officer
Avon and Somerset	13.0	13	14
Bedfordshire	9.5	8	15
Cambridgeshire	12.0	10	15
Cheshire	13.8	13	16
City of London	12.1	10	20
Cleveland	12.2	11	19
Cumbria	13.4	13	15
Derbyshire	11.5	11	15
Devon and Cornwall	10.4	9	14
Dorset	10.0	9	17
Durham	11.1	10	16
Dyfed-Powys	10.5	10	10
Essex	11.2	11	15
Gloucestershire	10.7	10	14
Greater Manchester	12.7	N/A	N/A
Gwent	15.6	14	21
Hampshire	11.1	10	14
Hertfordshire	11.9	11	16
Humberside	8.6	8	9
Kent	11.1	10	17
Lancashire	11.6	11	15
Leicestershire	12.2	11	20
Lincolnshire	12.0	11	16
Merseyside	12.6	12	20
Metropolitan Police	10.4	10	15
Norfolk	12.2	12	15
Northamptonshire	8.5	8	10
Northumbria	9.0	9	11
North Wales	10.5	10	11
North Yorkshire	9.9	10	10
Nottinghamshire	11.4	11	15
South Wales	12.7	12	15
South Yorkshire	11.6	11	12
Staffordshire	14.3	13	20
Suffolk	9.0	8	13
Surrey	10.9	10	15
Sussex	11.1	11	14
Thames Valley	11.4	10	17
Warwickshire	10.9	10	16
West Mercia	13.2	12	18
West Midlands	13.1	12	16
West Yorkshire	13.4	13	17
Wiltshire	13.2	12	17

(Figures published in the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) Annual Report published on 19 December 2002)

One of the aims of the Strategy for a Healthy Police Service, published in October 2002, is to identify and address the disparity in levels of sickness absence between different groups within the police service.

Sickness absence data are not collected by rank.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 329W

Police Recruits(Compulsory Freemasonry Declaration)

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on inserting compulsory disclosure of membership of the Freemasons in the contracts of new police recruits. [97185]

Mr. Denham: A scheme of voluntary registration was introduced in 1999. We continue to review its effectiveness—there are no current proposals for compulsory disclosure.

Prison Sniffer Dogs

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision in prisons of sniffer dogs for the purpose of preventing drug use. [98521]

Hilary Benn: The availability of specialist drug dogs within the Prison Service has increased significantly following investment from the Comprehensive Spending Review 1997 and Spending Review 2000. All prisons now have access to both active and passive drug dogs. There are currently 261 active drug dogs and 212 passive drug dogs deployed across the Prison Service.

Prisoners (Escort Services)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to reduce (a) delays and (b) late arrivals of prisoners from court; what steps are being taken to improve the information received by prisons from escort contractors; and what assessment has been made of potential benefits of placing the responsibility for escort services on the Prison Service. [93329]

Hilary Benn: The delivery of prisoners to court on time has been affected by the recent increase in the prison population. The Prison Service is trying in a number of ways to improve performance and service delivery.

A recent pilot exercise at Pentonville prison streamlined the escort contractor's work so as to prioritise the delivery of prisoners to court, according to the needs and timings of court business; this resulted in an 11 per cent. improvement in performance in London. The pilot may be extended across the wider Prison Service estate, subject to further findings.

The number of courts linked to the video link system is also increasing, with 123 magistrates' courts and one crown court currently using the service. A further 30 crown courts are to receive video link equipment by the end of August 2003, with funding currently being sought for a further 50 crown courts to be linked to the system. This use of the video links system between courts and prisons, which results in a decrease in the number of prisoners having to attend court in person, should help to release contractors' resources and so reduce delays in the movement of prisoners.

The Prison Service is also reviewing the internal working practices of some of those prisons that serve the courts to see if a closer correlation between those arrangements and court business hours could be achieved.

24 Feb 2003 : Column 330W

The contracting out of prisoner escort arrangements has offered better value for money, a reduction in the number of escapes and has freed up prison officers to concentrate on their core duties. A recent Prison Service review confirmed that the service should continue to be contracted out. It also concluded that existing contracts, which are planned to become operational in 2004, should be replaced with more flexible ones to allow the Prison Service to respond more quickly to future business needs. The Prison Service is developing this approach and, together with the relevant agencies in the criminal justice system, is considering how all involved can work together to improve the service.

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