Written question asked by Mark Hoban (Conservative) on Monday, 12 November 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 14 November 2007. It was answered by Baroness Hughes of Stretford (Labour) on Tuesday, 20 November 2007 on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Respect Task Force

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the degree to which the Respect Task Force has met its objectives; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: I have been asked to reply.The Respect Task Force worked across Government and set out an ambitious programme of work to build a modern culture of respect, setting out its objectives in the Respect Action Plan published in January 2006.Through the Respect programme, we introduced new approaches to tackle the root causes of antisocial behaviour. Key commitments in the Government's Respect Action Plan have now been met and mainstreamed locally.Independent evaluation of the Government's strategy show that it is working well. The National Audit Office study (2006) showed that the powers available were successful at stopping antisocial behaviour. Public perceptions of antisocial behaviour being a problem locally are down as shown in the British Crime Survey and the Local Government User Satisfaction Survey 2006-07.The Government are committed to building on the excellent progress made across the country, working with local authorities and the police to tackle the problems on the ground but also to deal with the root causes through early intervention and prevention.

Secondary information