If he will make a statement on progress made in combating racism in the police force. [99676]

Many recommendations of the Macpherson report about racism in the police service have already been implemented, in line with the action plan that I published in March. The promised Bill to extend the scope of the Race Relations Act 1976 in respect of the police and other public authorities was published last Friday. New disciplinary procedures and a code of conduct came into effect in April, making racist language or behaviour a breach of the code. Also in April, I set targets for the recruitment, retention and progression of minority ethnic police officers. In addition, a nationally co-ordinated and funded programme of race awareness training is now under way in police forces.

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that response. Will he say how many prosecutions for racially motivated offences have been commenced under the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998?

The latest provisional information shows that there have been 99 convictions for the racially aggravated offences provided for under the 1998 Act. Although that is 99 offences too many, in one sense the fact that the prosecutions have taken place shows the importance of making such offences subject to the law.

Does the Home Secretary recall that, in one of his first speeches after his appointment as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Sir Paul Condon condemned racism outright? Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that, in the almost seven years that he has been Commissioner, Sir Paul has put that approach into practice, with the result that there is now far less racism in the Metropolitan police than formerly? As Sir Paul nears retirement, would not this be a good opportunity to congratulate him on what he has done to improve race relations in the metropolis?

I am delighted to join the hon. Gentleman in extending those congratulations to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, whose record on tackling racism is consistent with his broader record of reducing crime in London very significantly during his period in office. It should also be put on record that, even before I introduced the targets for improving the recruitment and retention of black and Asian officers in the police, the Metropolitan police service under Sir Paul's stewardship had made considerable progress in that direction.

If he will make a statement about reform of electoral procedure and voting systems. [99677]

The Representation of the People Bill, which will modernise our electoral procedures, received its Second Reading last Tuesday.

Does my hon. Friend recall the representations that I made to him earlier this year, in which I drew attention to the fact that the British National party had submitted false European election nomination forms? In that way, because it could claim that it was fielding the requisite number of candidates, it was able to ensure that its disgusting and racist views could be broadcast on national television. How will the newly published Representation of the People Bill deal with that tactic? Does my hon. Friend plan to allow a longer period in which nomination papers can be checked to prevent such abuses?

We want to ensure that those who nominate candidates for electoral office are properly registered on the electoral register. The Representation of the People Bill will help in that regard. We also want to ensure that people who have the opportunity to use valuable national television and media time to put forward their political views comply properly with the law, and that they are not among those who incite racial hatred.

Will the Minister name another democratic country in which the electoral procedure and voting system in the second Chamber is effectively the patronage of the Prime Minister?

In asking about another country, I suspect that the hon. Gentleman is implying that that is what happens here. It is not quite like that. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman needs a lesson on the British constitution: the procedure does not work as he described.

Does my hon. Friend accept that the provisions in the Representation of the People Bill for a rolling register and postal voting on demand amount to a huge step forward? However, will he give further consideration to the suggestion that people who are vulnerable to domestic violence should be able to register anonymously on all published registers?

One of our concerns has been that the addresses of victims of domestic violence, and others, are widely available because they are on the electoral register. We are examining ways in which we can enable such people to be properly registered to vote, while ensuring that their names and addresses cannot be sold without their consent. In the past, such information has been disseminated by means of a CD-ROM given away free with a magazine, which meant that anyone wanting to find out where another person was could do so easily. The concerns expressed by my hon. Friend are very real, and I hope that we will be able to discuss them when the Bill is considered in Committee. In due course, I hope that the legislation will offer at least some protection for people in those circumstances.

In his reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers), the Minister said "It is not quite like that". If so, can he confirm that the millennium peers of whom we have heard will be appointed by the Appointments Commission, and will not be personally appointed by the Prime Minister?

For 18 years, the hon. Gentleman and his Conservative colleagues were quite happy to appoint various people to the House of Lords with no complaint about the process. By raising the matter only when a Labour Government are committed to modernising the constitution, they merely draw attention to their failure to do anything during those 18 years.

How much the Government are investing in programmes to provide constructive regimes for prisoners. [99678]

The Government have a clear commitment to develop constructive regimes that reduce the risk of reoffending. The comprehensive spending review settlement included an additional £660 million for the Prison Service, a substantial part of which—£226 million—is for such regimes, including drugs, education and offending behaviour programmes.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that welcome reply. He will be aware that Reading young offenders institution was recently commended by the inspectorate for its work in education and for having a midwife on site to assist young male inmates with parenting education. Will he join me in congratulating the YOI on that work?

I certainly congratulate Reading YOI on its work, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the care and attention that she has given to it. The CSR allocated £200,000 to the budget in her area, and that will allow the introduction over the next year of expanded educational provision, an enhanced thinking skills course, counselling, advice, referral, assessment and throughcare support—or CARATS counselling—and a detox unit as part of a drugs strategy. The appointment of a voluntary drugs testing officer, increased time for probation bail information and capital funding for two safe cells to help to reduce suicides in custody will also make an appreciable difference to the safety of those held at Reading. Importantly, all that will also contribute to reducing the risk of reoffending. Protecting the public is what our policy is all about.

Will the Minister acknowledge that, according to the most recent Prison Service annual report, purposeful activity has declined to less than 23 hours a week on average, the lowest level since 1991?

I can assure the right hon. Lady that we have put in place a target for 1999–2000 of 24 hours a prisoner a week, and we are well on the way to achieving that goal. This Government, rather than her own, have put moneys into constructive activity in prisons. This Government, rather than hers, have placed a real emphasis on protecting the public. We shall be remembered for that, rather than for justifying chaining pregnant women to their beds.

The right hon. Gentleman says that he has a target of 24 hours a week, which may be some improvement on the current 22.8 hours a week. Will he acknowledge, however, that it does not begin to match the 26 hours a week that we achieved in 1994–95?

Year in and year out, the provision made for prisoners held under the Conservative Government failed to address the basic levels of numeracy and literacy that determine whether prisoners get jobs when they are released. We inherited a situation in which the literacy and numeracy skills of 60 per cent. of prisoners disqualified them from more than 90 per cent. of all jobs. We intend to address that situation. The Conservatives had 18 years in which do so. They did not do it, but we will.

May I therefore deduce from the Minister's two answers that, yes, purposeful activity is indeed at its lowest level since 1991, and that, yes, the target is two hours lower than the one we achieved during our term in Government?

rose—

I am glad of the Minister's eagerness, but would he answer one more question? If purposeful activity currently fills 22.8 hours a week, it follows that most prisoners spend an average of only four hours a day in purposeful activity. This is not a trick question, and I do not require an answer to the decimal point, but can the Minister tell me roughly what percentage of the convicted population manages more than six hours a day?

If the right hon. Lady wants an accurate answer, she will understand that I shall write to her and give her an accurate answer—to the lowest percentage decimal point. However, in the meantime, she will understand, from my answers to her questions, that we are on the job that she palpably failed to address. Labour is delivering; she failed to do so. The public were put at risk; we are protecting the public.

Although I recognise the importance that my right hon. Friend puts on numeracy and literacy, will he undertake to review the fact that arrangements are currently not in place so that the relatively small number of long-term prisoners who have passed Open university degrees in prison can pursue postgraduate studies? They are unable to do so not through lack of facilities, but because of the lack of financial resources available to each governor. Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that those prisoners who can show the way in such study will not only benefit themselves, but will offer an example of leadership to many other prisoners? Will he consider the matter as there is currently a deficiency?

I would be only too happy to look at the matter and, indeed, to meet my hon. Friend if that would be of assistance.

Given the revelation by the former Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, now the Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the hon. Member for Knowsley, North and Sefton, East (Mr. Howarth), in a written answer in July 1999 to my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), that prisoners will have manufactured 260,000 pairs of slippers between March 1997 and March 2000, will the Minister tell the House what assessment he and his right hon. and hon. Friends have made of the job opportunities to which that collective manufacture has led, or will lead?

Two hundred and sixty thousand pairs of slippers, but not one of them fitted the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe).

How much money the Government are investing nationally in CCTV systems. [99679]

Under the crime reduction programme closed circuit television initiative, we are investing £153 million over three years in new or extended CCTV systems in England and Wales. A further £13 million has been allocated to Scotland and £4 million to Northern Ireland. In England and Wales, we expect to allocate about £68 million to schemes during the current financial year, with the balance to be allocated in years two and three.

I thank the Minister for that reply. He will be aware that, under the crime and disorder partnership, Tendring district council has put in a bid for a self-contained mobile CCTV scheme. If the bid is successful, the council expects to reduce repeat victimisation by 30 per cent., by reducing criminal damage by 100 incidents a year, and car crime by 80 incidents a year. The scheme would then be extended from towns to rural areas. Will my hon. Friend assure me that he will give the scheme his personal careful consideration? Will he also tell the House when he expects to announce further successful bids for such schemes?

I can assure my hon. Friend that I will give the matter my close personal attention. I congratulate the Tendring crime and disorder partnership on its bid for £36,000 and the potential total capital of about £120,000. That application was one of 373 bids shortlisted to prepare final proposals. As I said earlier, the results are due to be announced in mid-January.

I am sure that the Minister will be aware of the great success of the CCTV scheme in cutting both crime and vandalism in the centre of Bromsgrove. Of course, we have the previous Conservative Government to thank for their generosity in promoting that scheme. May I implore the Labour Government to be equally generous to the people of Bromsgrove? The district council has proposed the extension of the scheme to the shopping and village areas; that would enhance the benefits of the scheme—lowering vandalism and making Bromsgrove a safer place. I implore the Minister to consider that—especially in the light of the West Mercia police force budget and the reduction in the number of constables on the streets. If we cannot have constables to police our streets, perhaps we can have CCTV instead.

The hon. Lady will be aware that the Government have allocated £170 million to CCTV compared with less than £39 million invested under the previous Government. I shall carefully consider the Bromsgrove scheme. I am not sure whether it is one of the 373 bids made so far, but it will be closely considered.

What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that that valuable capital programme is backed by current spending? There is a growing suspicion that, in many cases, CCTV systems do not contain film, are not continually monitored and that the deterrent effect on vandals and graffiti artists is being dissipated.

I should be interested to hear specific examples of that. The schemes that I have seen have been very successful. They have demonstrated substantial revenue savings—for example, on insurance and maintenance—and they have deterred crime in the way with which the hon. Gentleman is familiar. I am not aware of general unreadiness to put revenue funding into such schemes, but, if the hon. Gentleman has specific examples of that, I shall be glad to consider them.

What assessment he has made of the level of overcrowding in Norwich prison. [99680]

The operational capacity for Norwich prison is 744. The highest population at Norwich over the last six months was on 19 September, when 725 prisoners were in custody. The average population at Norwich during the current financial year has been 698.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that a good general definition of overcrowding in prisons would be two prisoners in a cell designed for one? Would he further correlate the figures for overcrowding with the high suicide rates in prisons—for example, there have been 19 suicides in Norwich in the past few years? Finally, has he plans to emulate the judge in North Carolina who paraded prisoners down Main street with a placard round their necks stating what their indiscretions had been? We can think of some people in this country who might fall into that category.

That is a very interesting suggestion and one that I should be only too happy to discuss with my hon. Friend if he wishes to introduce the North Carolina example in Norwich. It is important to recognise that prison governors have a responsibility to assess what is a safe number to hold in a particular jail and they do that by considering issues such as ventilation, light and space as well as design. In Norwich, that number has been assessed as 744 and the prison population is currently below that capacity.

If he will make it his policy to increase the number of special constables. [99681]

Yes, it is. Special constables are an excellent example of the police and the public working together to tackle crime. The Government strongly support the efforts of police forces to recruit more special constables. A special constables week was held in January 1999 during which many events were held by forces around the country.

If all that is true, why has the number of special constables decreased by 3,000 since the general election? If the Minister wants to avoid the charge that he is simply tough on crime-fighters rather than tough on crime, will he think of some truly imaginative ways of increasing recruitment—for example, by giving special constables the same terms, conditions and pay that people in the Territorial Army receive?

We believe that the main reason for the decline in numbers has been the higher recruiting standards that are now used for special constables. Those higher standards reflect the fact that special constables are being trained and deployed in a wider variety of duties than before, including more so-called front-line duties. The recruiting criteria are now very similar to those used for regular officers, so many applicants who previously would have been accepted in the special constabulary are now being rejected.

Does my hon. Friend agree that it was the previous Government who handed over responsibility for police figures to chief constables, and that no Government, not even a Conservative Government, could at this time guarantee the numbers of police available and operative in any town or city?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that point, which is entirely accurate. Legislation passed in 1994 by the previous Government removed from the Home Secretary the power to specify police numbers throughout the country.

The Conservative party applauds the excellent work of special constables, but does not the Minister recognise that any extra help from specials will not plug the massive hole in front-line policing, which as today's BBC survey has revealed, consists of 3,000 unfilled posts? The pattern across the country is becoming depressingly familiar: retired officers are not replaced; vacant posts are unfilled; and recruitment plans are postponed or frozen—all to save money from overstretched budgets. What a contrast that is to the 16,000 extra police officers recruited under the Conservatives. When will the Minister face up to what everyone else in the police service can see is the worst crisis in police manpower since Labour was last in office?

The most significant event to address that issue in recent months was my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's statement that we would be providing 5,000 extra police officers over and above the levels previously indicated. As the hon. Gentleman will know, last Thursday, we published guidance on that in which we specifically state the means by which police authorities can apply for those resources and ensure, as they could not under the previous Government's proposals, that they are used for police numbers. That is action that the Government are taking to address those issues.

What steps his Department is taking to combat racism in the public sector. [99683]

We have now published a Bill to bring all the public sector, including the police, within race relations legislation. Last week, we also published an equality statement that set race equality within a wider strategy to ensure that the public sector promotes equality and leads by example.

I thank the Minister for that welcome reply. As he will know, the case of a constituent of mine has recently given me cause to look in depth at the role of race and racism in our mental health service. I was shocked to discover that everything from the first diagnosis to drug administration and the control and restraint methods employed can be directly or indirectly affected by racism. What reassurances can my hon. Friend give to the thousands of black and Asian men and women in the mental health system that racism will be tackled by the race relations Bill, which was recently announced in the Queen's Speech?

The Bill covers mental health patients in the same way that it covers others. Direct discrimination and victimisation of a mentally ill patient by any specified public authority in the performance of its functions, which are currently covered by the Race Relations Act 1976, will become unlawful. Discrimination against mentally ill patients in sectors already covered by the Act, such as the provision of goods, facilities and services, will of course remain unlawful.

Have the Government reached a final conclusion on the proposal from the Commission for Racial Equality that the burden of proof should be reversed in cases of alleged racial discrimination? Does not the Minister agree that to implement such a proposal would risk severely damaging, not improving, race relations in this country?

We will obviously take account of what the hon. Gentleman has said in reaching our conclusions. We have considered the third review of race relations legislation by the Commission for Racial Equality. It contains several proposals that we strongly support, and we are still considering other proposals, including the one referred to by the hon. Gentleman. In due course, we shall introduce our proposals on how to proceed. The key point is that the House should take a lead, both with the Bill that will shortly come before the House and with later legislation, to ensure that we create a successful, multi-racial society in Britain.

Is the Minister aware that, although welcome, the Bill's limited proposals will not necessarily tackle institutionalised racism—so powerfully identified by the Macpherson report—in some of our public services, especially the police? Has he considered whether ensuring that public services generally have the duty to promote good race relations which we have already given to the Greater London Authority might result in a better piece of legislation?

I do not agree that the Bill will not tackle some of the issues of institutional racism identified by the Macpherson report: the Bill is a direct response to it. However, I agree that we should consider imposing a statutory duty on public authorities to promote race equality. Indeed, last week, we announced that, in due course and when parliamentary time allows, we shall ensure that public authorities have a duty to promote race equality.

What assessment he has made of the impact on police numbers in Lancashire of his projected financial allocations to the county's force for 2000–01. [99684]

The provisional funding allocation for the Lancashire police authority for 2000–01 is £185.3 million. That is an increase of 3.9 per cent., which is more than the average increase for England and Wales of 2.8 per cent. Within the overall budget set by the police authority, it is for the chief officer to determine staffing levels.

I am grateful to the Home Secretary for his response, as is the Lancashire force for the additional money it is to receive for next year. However, as a Lancashire Member of Parliament, the right hon. Gentleman will be aware that the additional money will barely cover the additional costs—increases in pay, prices and the police pension fund—that the force has to bear. There is no guarantee that the crime-fighting fund will provide Lancashire with guaranteed extra resources to expand the force and recruit new officers. In the light of that financial position, will the right hon. Gentleman spell out to his home force how it is to recruit additional police officers to carry out its duties?

I will take lectures on resources for the police service from almost anyone other than those who supported the previous Administration and who now support the current Opposition Front-Bench team. I remind the right hon. Gentleman that he cannot say one thing in Lancashire and another down here. He and his right hon. and hon. Friends on the Front Bench have criticised and damned our spending as reckless, but they speak with a forked tongue on the issue of police funding.

"An increase of 4 per cent. is more than we expected and should be sufficient to match anticipated increases in pay and inflation. It should also help us to maintain police officer numbers."

Although the figures show a small real-terms cash increase for Lancashire police, next year, the people of London and of Gloucestershire face a cut for the fourth year in a row—

Order. I respectfully draw the hon. Gentleman's attention to the fact that the question is about police numbers in Lancashire. Therefore, he must speak only about Lancashire, not about other areas.

It was just how I started. Although there is to be an increase for Lancashire police for the coming year, there are many other forces that will not receive that increase and, indeed, some that will experience a fourth cut in four years. Given that the Police Federation estimates that the crime-fighting fund will not even replace countrywide—

In Lancashire.

In Lancashire and countrywide, those who are retiring will not be replaced. Will the Home Secretary make sure that the Government concentrate less on ending the north-south divide and more on ending the divide between what they promise and what they do?

I do not require the Home Secretary to answer a question which is not related to the Question on the Order Paper. The Question is about Lancashire. We shall move on.

What consultations he has held with the Magistrates Association on the implementation of the orders made available by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. [99685]

We have consulted extensively with the Magistrates Association and individual magistrates on the implementation, in particular, of the youth justice provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Courts are participating in the pilots of the Act's new measures, to identify effective practice ahead of national implementation. As at 31 October, mainly but not exclusively in the pilot areas, I am pleased to tell the House that there have been 5,000 reprimands issued, 2,500 final warnings, 900 reparation orders, 533 action plan orders, 178 parenting orders, 10 anti-social behaviour orders and two child safety orders.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree with me that it is essential that we encourage magistrates, the police and local authorities to consider making anti-social behaviour orders, as they provide one of the only ways of solving many of the problems that my constituents face in areas such as Pollards Hill?

Yes, the introduction of anti-social behaviour orders was not only widely welcomed but widely requested by the police and by local authorities of all political persuasions. The effectiveness of the orders, where they have been used, is striking. I quote:

"We should not underestimate too the deterrent effect of the new powers on the behaviour of others, and their potential to develop safer communities."

Given that the Crime and Disorder Act was one of the Government's flagship Bills, will the Home Secretary tell us why, on the Jimmy Young show recently, he was forced to admit that he might have to consider amendments to the Act because only 10 anti-social behaviour orders and two child curfew orders have been made? Is that an example of an Act working properly to reduce crime?

The Act is indeed one of the Government's major flagships. I repeatedly meet police officers of every rank who say of the Act that it is the most welcome piece of legislation that they have been asked to implement in the whole of their careers.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in my constituency so far one anti-social behaviour order has been implemented? When I first discovered that, I was somewhat disappointed that more use had not been made of a very important measure. However, wider research, confirmed by my right hon. Friend's answer, shows that my constituency is somewhat in the vanguard. When I discussed the matter with my local police and the local authority, I found that they were keen to use the orders but had not always found the other bodies and agencies involved as helpful as they might have been. Will my right hon. Friend pursue that with those other bodies? The one order that has been implemented is extremely successful and is widely supported by the public. That is the way people want us to go.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. We are doing everything that we can to encourage local authorities, magistrates and the police service to follow the example of the authorities in my hon. Friend's constituency in Derbyshire—and in Blackburn as well—where the obtaining of anti-social behaviour orders has proved extremely effective. I have asked my noble Friend Lord Warner, who is also chair of the Youth Justice Board, to take a particular interest in the problems faced by some authorities in seeking such orders.

How many local child curfew orders have been issued under the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. [99686]

None yet. It is for local authorities to decide whether to apply for confirmation of a local child curfew scheme, in the light of their work on wider crime and disorder strategies.

Does the Minister agree that the Government's child curfew orders have been exposed as a gimmick? They did nothing in my constituency, in Shoreham and Worthing, to counter 13, 14 or 15-year-old hooligans spraying graffiti and smashing up town centres, especially following the reduction of police numbers in the county by 161. If it is true that the Home Secretary is to have another go less than a year on, and that he plans to amend the Crime and Disorder Act, will the Minister acknowledge that getting tough on youth crime requires more than soundbites and pledge cards?

That was a fine soundbite. I do not accept that the orders are a gimmick. I must put the hon. Gentleman straight. Local child curfew orders were an additional measure to counteract public misbehaviour by children under 10, not to deal with the 13, 14 and 15-year-olds to whom the hon. Gentleman referred. Child curfew orders are one of the range of measures available to crime reduction partnerships under the Crime and Disorder Act. The range of orders being taken up and used, as my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary outlined, demonstrates that the partnerships have been a tremendous success in achieving co-ordination and in deterring people from activities in which they might otherwise have engaged. The hon. Gentleman should sort out whether he is for or against legislating to prevent anti-social behaviour.

The provision for child curfews under the Crime and Disorder Act has been warmly welcomed by both police and constituents in my area. The curfews depend, of course, on successful partnerships being built up. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary referred to initiatives to find out whether problems are occurring in partnerships, but could not a more proactive approach be taken to circulate local authorities and perhaps Members of Parliament with examples of the successful working of partnerships, so that we can take forward such measures in our areas?

What my hon. Friend suggests is welcome and correct. That was one of the proposals that we set out in our crime reduction paper, published last week. We acknowledged the truth of what my hon. Friend says: we need to do more proactively in relation to local partnerships, and give examples of draft protocols, guidelines, training, best practice and so on, to ensure that the measures available are taken up in the most effective way.

What steps the Government are taking to ensure that (a) children and (b) other members of the public are protected from sex offenders. [99687]

The Government are committed to protecting children and others from sex offenders. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 contained strong additional safeguards in the new sex offender orders and extended supervision provisions. This Session, as part of the crime and public protection Bill, we are bringing forward proposals for a scheme to prevent unsuitable people, including sex offenders, from working with children.

I welcome the measures that my right hon. Friend outlined to give priority to public protection from sex offenders—in sharp contrast to the Opposition, who did not consider the issue sufficiently serious to include it among their so-called guarantees. Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is still considerable concern about the low number of prosecutions of sex offenders in cases in which the victims are children of five and under or adults with mental incapacities? What additional protections does he propose to introduce to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are protected?

My hon. Friend has a track record of concern and action in relation to the protection of very young children from such sex predators. We look to the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to provide a range of additional safeguards for children and young people, to ensure that the court has the opportunity to receive the best evidence from them. It is vital that the courts, the Crown Prosecution Service and Victim Support work together to ensure that those wicked people are brought to justice and that our children are properly protected.

What measures he is taking to reduce police response times in rural areas. [99688]

The Government place great emphasis on improving police response times to emergency calls. At present, individual forces set their targets. The Association of Chief Police Officers is considering whether to move to a maximum 20-minute target time for all rural forces across the country. The current target time in Cheshire is 15 minutes, which is already ahead of that target. We intend to drive down the response time through the use of improved technology and more police officers, as we have already outlined.

As the Minister knows, police response times take, on average, twice as long in rural areas as in urban areas. That, coupled with the closure of police stations in rural areas, exacerbates rural dwellers' increasing sense of insecurity and desperation. Why do not the Home Secretary and the Minister implement the recommendations of the Home Office report on rural police funding? Does the Minister agree that his decision is yet another example of the Government's antagonism towards those who live in rural areas?

That is nonsense, although I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his first contribution to Home Office questions. The facts for the Cheshire police are clear: they received an increase of £4.7 million—a 4.1 per cent. increase, which is well above the national average—and 28 extra officers. The force numbers are therefore increasing.

My hon. Friend may not be aware that there has been a sudden spate in rural areas of thefts of such expensive items as 4x4s and tractors. That causes alarm. However, my hon. Friend may also like to acknowledge that those in the rural area around Nantwich, especially the officers at Nantwich police station, are doing a tremendous job which is greatly appreciated by those who are most affected. When I accidentally set off the alarms in a Cheshire county council library on Saturday, the police responded at twice the speed of the relevant private security firm.

I might have known that my hon. Friend was precisely the sort of dangerous, anti-social element that the Government are trying to tackle—in several different contexts. I am grateful for her contribution. In many parts of the country, the farm watch initiatives, which cover some of the farm equipment that my hon. Friend mentioned, have been effective. They are another consequence of effective local crime reduction partnerships.

Is not the problem the fact that patrolling in rural areas is virtually non-existent, and that the thin blue line has become extremely thin in much of rural Britain? Given the problems that we have already discussed, such as difficulties in recruiting, training, equipping and retaining special constables, would it not be an idea to examine the policy on fire brigades, which is covered by the other half of the Home Office operation, and consider retained constables?

I do not accept for a moment what the hon. Gentleman says about patrolling in rural areas, but I accept that there is a lot of interest in rural neighbourhood special constables or retained constables, and those issues are worth pursuing. Some rural forces have a strong local special constable presence, which is an example that we are looking at carefully across the country; and my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State and I are carefully considering ways in which not only the fire service but the ambulance service can work with the police to ensure that there is a strong community safety element in rural areas.

If he will list the anti-social behaviour orders (a) granted by the courts and (b) currently applied for. [99689]

Information on the number of anti-social behaviour orders granted or in progress is not held centrally, but I am aware of 10 ASBOs made to date. Orders have been granted in north Somerset—which my hon. Friends will be grateful to hear is a Conservative council area—Liverpool, Derbyshire, Redditch, Camden, Blackburn, Coventry and Waveney. They are a new weapon to help the police and local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour in the community. We are giving more impetus to that work, and are setting up an action group to achieve that and to ensure that the police and local authorities have the confidence to take action quickly and efficiently.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Is he aware that some of the delay involved in serving anti-social behaviour orders arises from difficulties with establishing the requisite evidence, either because the complaints are not sufficiently specific or because of intimidation or improvements in behaviour when inquiries are known to be afoot? Will he consider ways in which those difficulties might be overcome?

Certainly I will. As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary said earlier, we are learning how best to address the evidential issues. We are considering ideas such as the use of portable videos in particular areas to strengthen the evidential basis of action, and we are talking to local authorities and police across the country to learn from their experience how we can give better guidance to ensure that there is much higher take-up of ASBOs. I hope that all Members of the House will encourage their local authorities and police to take up ASBOs in the most effective way.

The Minister may read out a list of individual local authorities that have made orders, but is not the reality that pitifully few have been issued? Does he not recall that the Government promised that this measure was their way of addressing disorder in estates up and down the country? Should he not accept that the courts, the police and the local authorities have found the orders difficult to operate? Would not it be sensible to invite Lord Warner, as part of the review that the Home Secretary has announced, to consider the legal character of the orders? Instead of blaming civil rights lawyers, local authorities and Uncle Tom Cobbleigh and all, the Government should look at the nature of the orders, because that is where the defects arise. They will have to accept responsibility for that deficiency.

I have already said, as has my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, that we intend to provide much stronger guidance, stronger guidelines and better protocols to address those issues. I am acutely conscious that Hertsmere is not one of the authorities that have so far issued an ASBO, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman has been doing his best to persuade it and local police to use one in his constituency.

What steps are being taken to investigate British Stasi spies, information about whom has been discovered in the Berlin Stasi archive. [99692]

As part of its remit under the Security Service Act 1989, the Security Service has investigated, and continues to investigate, British citizens and some others recorded in the East German intelligence service's records as having worked for the Stasi. Those investigations were, and are, handled in the same way as other similar investigations.

I thank the Home Secretary for that reply, but unfortunately it does not accord with the information at my disposal on this matter, which I first raised in the House more than a month ago. My information is that the Berlin archive of the Stasi has not been visited by investigators from this country; Dr. Anthony Glees, the senior lecturer who discovered in that archive the detailed material incriminating Dr. Robin Pearson, the would-be university recruiter for the Stasi, has still not been interviewed by the police or the Security Service; and, as far as is known, the material that was given to the BBC, which formed the basis of the programme that brought this matter to public attention, has still not been examined. Is he assuring the House that that material has already been examined? If not, when will it be examined?

The House will understand that I cannot speak about the information available to the hon. Gentleman, but only about that available to me.

A poor substitute.

If this will reassure the hon. Gentleman—[Interruption.]

Order. I am afraid I heard that aside rather later than the rest of the House.

I will not attempt to follow that, Madam Speaker.

What measures he proposes to increase the confidence of the public and the courts in the use of community sentences. [99693]

The public need to be satisfied that community sentences are effective and properly enforced. We are improving the quality and effectiveness of probation service work through the "what works" initiative, and we are tightening enforcement procedures through work with the Association of Chief Officers of Probation and through more rigorous national standards.

Given that reconviction rates following the imposition of custodial sentences are about the same as reconviction rates following the imposition of community sentences, does my right hon. Friend believe that the courts have got the balance of sentencing about right, or does he think that community sentences should be used more regularly by the courts?

It is important to examine those statistics with great care, because they are compiled on a different basis. We are determined to ensure that community and custodial sentences are better informed as to content, and that the protection of the public lies at the heart of both.

If he will make a statement on the level of activity of crime and disorder partnerships. [99694]

The crime and disorder reduction partnerships brought into being by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 published their strategies on 1 April 1999 and are currently implementing them. We recently published a crime reduction strategy, which includes measures to support and develop partnerships' effectiveness.

Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming the establishment of many partnerships around the country? That shows the Government's commitment to getting all parts of our communities working together to tackle crime and disorder. Will he congratulate Sandwell metropolitan borough council in my constituency, where two anti-burglary initiatives have produced a significant reduction in domestic burglary rates in recent months? I hope that he and his colleagues will look favourably on a bid by the Halesowen Highfields estate for CCTV, so that it, too, may benefit from a reduction in crime.

I join my hon. Friend in welcoming the work that is being done in Sandwell. I also agree with her that the work of crime and disorder reduction partnerships is enormously important. It will be one of the most significant contributions that there has been to tackling the problems of crime and disorder in this country. On the CCTV application, she will already have heard in earlier questions that we are putting a considerable amount of funding into that, and all applications will be considered.

When Oakington detention centre will be opened. [99696]

We are aiming to open the centre early in the new year, but it is likely to take a few months to build up to full capacity.

I thank the Minister for that answer. What details about the administration of the Oakington detention centre will be made public, and how many people will be detained in it throughout its life? Does she accept that many people in this country and in other parts of the world find it fundamentally disgraceful that this country still imprisons a large number of asylum seekers? Ours is the only country in Europe routinely to hold asylum seekers in detention.

I totally agree with my hon. Friend. We detain about 1 per cent. of asylum seekers. The centre will have the capacity to take up to 400 people, but we expect to build it up gradually. It will be a reception facility that will process straightforward applications—we are talking about a seven-day period. The question that my hon. Friend must ask himself is how European Union countries deal with unfounded asylum cases, because they all face that problem. We must have this system in place to deal properly with genuine refugees and to progress their cases.

How many information technology projects currently being implemented, for which his Department is responsible, are behind schedule. [99697]

The hon. Gentleman has raised an enormously important issue. Eleven of the 17 major projects currently under way are expected to complete, or did complete, later than the date originally estimated. Timetables and milestones are kept continually under review. Currently, following updated reviews, all Home Office information technology projects are on target.

I thank the Minister for his answer, but the situation is a bit of a shambles, and it is costing the country a lot of money. In a week during when we shall discuss the Freedom of Information Bill, would it not be appropriate for the Minister to place in the Library the terms of the contracts and the penalties payable by the IT companies, so that we can all see what the Government are doing on our behalf?

We have said that we will seek to be as open as possible in regard to the contracts that have already been signed. As the hon. Gentleman will appreciate, they were signed on the basis of certain conditions and criteria, and obviously we shall be bound by the contracts that currently exist; but as we have said, our policy will be to be as open as we can in making available the contents of future contracts.