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Prisoners: Licence Conditions
Baroness Buscombe asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The total prison population of England and Wales who were recalled from licence was 4,095 at week ending 11 November 2005, as recorded on the central Prison Service IT system. As at 31 October 2005, Scotland had 393 prisoners either recalled from licence or recalled under Section 17 of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993. Northern Ireland had 17 prisoners who were recalled either from life licence or other licences under the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 as at 14 November 2005.
Prisoners: Mental Health
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Prison Service expects that local National Health Service mental health trusts will provide the relevant services to meet the mental health needs of people held in custody; and [HL2050]
Who is responsible for responding to the mental health needs of prisoners and for providing treatment. [HL2053]
Lord Warner: Primary care trust responsibility for commissioning healthcare services for the public prisons in England started in April 2004 and will be complete by April 2006. The trusts may commission mental health services from a range of providers, chief of which are the mental health trusts. Primary care trusts and prisons collaborate to determine need. Arrangements for the provision of healthcare, including mental health care, in the contracted prisons are made through appropriate commissioning arrangements. Primary care trusts were allocated funding for mental health in-reach teams in the public and contracted sector prisons.
Lord Ouseley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What percentage of the ethnic minority prison population have some form of mental health needs. [HL2052]
Lord Warner: In 1997, the Office for National Statistics undertook a survey of mental ill health in the prison population of England and Wales. The report of that survey, Psychiatric morbidity amongst prisoners in England and Wales (1998), a copy of which is available in the Library, included a range of information on the prevalence of specific mental health problems in black and minority ethnic prisoners.
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Road Traffic Accidents: Alcohol
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many alcohol-related (a) road accidents and (b) deaths in Wales there were in 1950; 1960; 1970; 1980; 1990; 1995; 2000; and 2003. [HL2337]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The estimated number of personal injury road traffic accidents involving illegal alcohol levels, and the estimated number of resultant fatalities in Wales for the years 1979 to 2003, are shown in the table. The total number of fatalities resulting from road accidents in Wales for these years is also shown.
The information requested is not available for years prior to 1979.
Schools: Admissions
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, under new proposals for education in England, secondary schools will be able to determine their own admissions policy. [HL2330]
Lord Adonis: Foundation and voluntary aided schools are currently able to set their own admission arrangements. The proposals in the schools White Paper will make it easier for schools to acquire foundation status and will enable all schools to become self-governing trust schools. Trust schools will be able to set their own admission arrangements, but like foundation and voluntary aided schools, must comply with admissions legislation and have regard to the school admissions code of practice. The schools adjudicator will continue to consider objections about
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arrangements that fail to have regard to the advice given in the code or that do not work in the interests of local parents and children. Where such objections are upheld, the decisions are binding.
Social Housing
Lord Dubs asked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of social housing built in London in each of the past eight years has three or more bedrooms. [HL2322]
Baroness Andrews: Information is readily available only for 2004–05, in which year the proportion of registered social landlord completions of homes of three or more bedrooms for social renting funded with Housing Corporation grant was 32 per cent. Information for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
St Helena
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
(a) When they expect to publish the results of the tourism strategy report for St Helena; (b) what is the planned timescale for developing the island's tourism potential before the completion of the new airport; and (c) when they expect to appoint a project manager to oversee construction of the airport. [HL2093]
Baroness Amos: Consultants engaged to update St Helena's tourism strategy visited the island during September and October this year. Their final report will be published once a tourism strategy has been agreed by the St Helena Government. That is likely to be in the first half of 2006.
The pace at which new tourism facilities can be developed will largely be dictated by the private sector, and both the St Helena Government and DfID are aware of the lead times that are required. However, it is important that policy guides investment and that St Helena learns from the good practice elsewhere. DfID is therefore supporting the development of an appropriate investment policy for St Helena that will be attractive to potential investors and safeguard the island's interests. We expect it to be in place in the first half of 2006, allowing St Helena to enter negotiations with potential investors.
DfID aims to establish a project management unit on St Helena in mid-2006. In the mean time, DfID has appointed a project manager in its overseas territories department, supported by the full-time access manager in St Helena and appropriate technical assistance, to take forward the procurement phase of the project.
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Terrorism Act 2000
Lord Morris of Aberavon asked Her Majesty's Government:
Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We are continually reviewing the powers in the Act. They are thoroughly reviewed by an independent reviewer, currently Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, to ensure that they are necessary, proportionate and used appropriately by the police.
Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 gives the police power to arrest anyone reasonably suspected of being a terrorist or having committed certain offences under the Act. The decision to arrest a person under the Act may be the result of an intelligence-led operation or the result of an officer's judgment in circumstances where he feels an arrest is appropriate.
Statistics on arrests made under the Terrorism Act are published on the Home Office website. Many offences relating to terrorist activity, such as explosives, firearms or fraud offences, are dealt with under general criminal legislation. Therefore, not all individuals arrested under the Terrorism Act will necessarily be charged with offences under terrorism legislation. Under the Act, the Secretary of State is required to place a report on the operation of the whole Act before Parliament at least once every 12 months. The use of police powers is an operational matter for chief constables. We have always maintained that counter-terrorism powers need to be used sensitively, and it is particularly important that chief constables are able to demonstrate that they are exercised fairly and proportionately.
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