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Police Funding

Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account (a) the present and (b) the planned future funding formulas for the police take of levels of unemployment; and if he will make a statement. [23114]

Mr. Maclean: Police funding is distributed by means of a population-based formula. In common with the formulae for other locally delivered services, the police funding formula also takes account of a number of socio-demographic variables including unemployment. In both 1995-96 and 1996-97, less than 1 per cent. of police funding will be redistributed on the basis of unemployment indicators.

Special Constables

Sir Michael Shersby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the number of special constables in each division; and how many hours have been worked by them each month during the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available. [23160]

Mr. Maclean: I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that it is not possible to break down the figures for hours worked into monthly periods. For April 1994 to March 1995, the latest period for which the total figure is available, special constables in the Metropolitan police worked a total of 407,102 hours. The number of special constables on each division is given in the table.

DivisionNumber of Specials
1 Area
Belgravia5
Notting Hill7
Brompton21
West End Central31
Charing Cross30
Paddington11
Marylebone11
Fulham10
Hammersmith27
Area Headquarters3
Total156
Male109
Female47
2 Area
Golders Green24
West Hendon29
Barnet and Hertsmere42
Wembley23
Kilburn15
Harrow59
Ealing29
Southall15
Tottenham17
Hornsey17
Islington16
Holloway16
Kentish Town14
Holborn13
Hampstead11
Area Headquarters2
Total342
Male229
Female113
3 Area
Enfield36
Edmonton45
Chingford31
Leyton22
Ilford40
Barkingside60
Stoke Newington11
Shoreditch and Hackney47
Limehouse16
Forest Gate24
Plaistow27
Havering56
Dagenham50
Bethnal Green32
Area Headquarters3
Total500
Male311
Female189
4 Area
Peckham11
Walworth8
Southwark8
Lewisham22
Catford15
Bromley and Orpington66
Greenwich29
Plumstead22
Bexleyheath54
Epsom and Sutton57
Croydon47
South Norwood33
Area Headquarters4
Total376
Male253
Female123
5 Area
Brixton7
Streatham42
Wimbledon40
Kingston58
Twickenham54
Hounslow28
Chiswick16
Spelthorne20
Heathrow19
Hillingdon49
Vauxhall19
Battersea24
Wandsworth36
Wapping22
Area Headquarters2
Total436
Male270
Female166
Plus one chief commandant and one deputy chief commandant based at New Scotland Yard.

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 112

Police Stations and Houses

Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police stations and (b) police houses, per police force there were in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [23113]

Mr. Maclean: Information on the number of police stations is not collected centrally. Information on police houses is available only for the last four years and is set out in the table. Further information on the number of police houses is published annually in "Police Statistics" by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, copies of which may be found in the Library.

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 111

Stock of police houses at 31 March 1992-1995

Police authoritiesTotal stock 31 March 1992Total stock 31 March 1993Total stock 31 March 1994Total stock 31 March 1995
Avon and Somerset361350346281
Bedfordshire115112107101
Cambridgeshire191250154150
Cheshire145144142141
City of London74736563
Cleveland8876
Cumbria223222239201
Derbyshire16914411992
Devon and Cornwall224206139106
Dorset181165159158
Durham78675347
Dyfed-Powys200197187178
Essex361350353347
Gloucestershire174171165150
Greater Manchester372357340308
Gwent68685244
Hampshire400385314267
Hertfordshire463446433423
Humberside135135125118
Kent484482479478
Lancashire276269256182
Leicestershire84837264
Lincolnshire13311810985
Merseyside1051018677
Norfolk86848181
Northamptonshire142137135121
Northumbria290289288287
North Wales348340276223
North Yorkshire352348286249
Nottinghamshire84767470
South Wales266255197153
South Yorkshire91877869
Staffordshire20617912073
Suffolk13912912296
Surrey453452455453
Sussex520517510507
Thames Valley612612611611
Warwickshire143122135133
West Mercia240206182151
West Midlands421416403399
West Yorkshire141135126109
Wiltshire163162123108
Metropolitan police2,6282,4032,1811,930
Total12,34811,85210,8849,890

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 113

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 113

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Mr. Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will write to police forces reminding them of the list he has already circulated, compiled by the British Veterinary Association and the Kennel Club, which provides the names of individuals with expert knowledge who may be well equipped to identify dogs which may be suspected as being covered by section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991; and what assessment he has made as to whether reference to such individuals could (a) save public money and (b) reduce distress. [24205]

Mr. Sackville: Guidance on the list of individuals prepared to give advice as to whether a particular dog appears likely to fall within section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was set out in the Home Office circular issued in February 1994 to all police forces in England and Wales. It remains extant and we have no evidence to suggest that police forces generally are unaware of the guidance contained in the circular.

Decisions from whom to seek advice in this regard is an operational decision for the chief officer of police. Clearly, the early identification of whether a dog is covered by section 1 of the 1991 Act should be of benefit to all concerned in a case.

Prisoners (Transfers)

Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will now review the

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 114

effectiveness of the transfer of the convicted prisoners treaty between the United Kingdom and Spain; [24387]

Miss Widdecombe: Her Majesty's Government are a party to two international agreements allowing for the repatriation of prisoners to serve their sentences in their own countries. The main international agreement is the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons, which was instituted in 1983. At present, there are some 31 other countries that conduct repatriation under this scheme.

There is also a Commonwealth scheme for the transfer of convicted offenders to which five other countries are signatories. The United Kingdom also has bilateral

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 115

agreements with Egypt and Thailand. The countries party to these agreements, and the dates on which they came into force for each country, are listed in the table.

Repatriation between the United Kingdom and Spain is governed by the Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons and its procedures. There are no plans to review these arrangements.

Council of Europe convention on the transfer of sentenced persons

StateCommencement
Austria1 January 1987
Bahamas1 March 1992
Belgium1 December 1990
Bulgaria1 October 1994
Canada1 September 1985
Croatia1 May 1995
Cyprus1 August 1986
Czech Republic1 March 1993
Denmark1 May 1987
Finland1 May 1987
France1 July 1985
Germany1 February 1992
Greece1 April 1988
Hungary1 November 1993
Iceland1 December 1993
Ireland1 November 1995
Italy1 October 1989
Luxembourg1 February 1988
Malta1 July 1991
Netherlands1 January 1988
Norway1 April 1993
Poland1 March 1995
Portugal1 October 1993
Slovak Republic1 January 1993
Slovenia1 January 1994
Spain1 July 1985
Sweden1 July 1985
Switzerland1 May 1988
Trinidad and Tobago1 July 1994
Turkey1 January 1988
Ukraine1 January 1996
USA1 July 1985

Commonwealth scheme for the transfer of convicted offenders

StateCommencement
CanadaSeptember 1993
MalawiAugust 1992
NigeriaAugust 1992
Trinidad and TobagoJuly 1993
ZimbabweDecember 1991

Bi-lateral agreements with the United Kingdom

StateCommencement
Egypt9 November 1995
ThailandJune 2 1991

The number of prisoners repatriated abroad and the number repatriated to this country in the last five years are given in the following tables.

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 116

Prisoners sentenced in the United Kingdom and transferred abroad
Total number of transfers over the past five years: 61

19911992199319941995
Austria--------1
Belgium155----
Canada--2----6
Cyprus------1--
France--------1
Gibraltar----2----
Holland48141
Italy--31----
Luxembourg1--------
Spain1------2
Sweden--------1
United States10--------
Total17189512

Prisoners sentenced abroad, transferred into the United Kingdom Total number(3) of transfers over the past five years: 53

199019911992199319941995
Belgium--1--------
Cyprus------11--
Czech Republic--------1--
Denmark----112--
Finland--1--11--
France--12------
Germany--------21
Holland--2--1--1
Spain--13------
Sweden----1--31
Switzerland----------1
Thailand------212
Trinidad and Tobago----------4
United States----256--
Total069111710

(3) Although the majority of those repatriated here are British citizens, the United Kingdom will accept non-citizens who have close family ties in this country and meet immigration requirements. Figures held centrally refer only to the total number of repatriations and do not distinguish between British citizens and non-citizens.


Dr. Hendron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners currently serving prison sentences in Great Britain have requested a transfer to prisons in Northern Ireland or the Irish Republic; [23543]

Miss Widdecombe: The policy governing the transfer of prisoners between United Kingdom jurisdictions, including those between England and Wales and Northern Ireland, was set out in a statement on 23 November 1992, Official Report, column 476.

Any request by a prisoner in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to be transferred to one of the other jurisdictions either permanently, to serve the rest of his or her sentence, or temporarily to foster family ties, will normally be approved, provided that (1) the prisoner would have at least six months left to serve in the receiving jurisdiction before his or her date of release at the time of making the request; (2) the prisoner was

2 Apr 1996 : Column: 117

ordinarily resident in the receiving jurisdiction prior to the current sentence; or his or her close family currently reside there and there are reasonable grounds for believing that it is the prisoner's firm intention to take up residence there on release or to receive visits; and (3) both Departments concerned are reasonably satisfied that the prisoner will not, if transferred, disrupt or attempt to disrupt any prison establishment, or otherwise pose an unacceptable risk to security. A request that does not meet these conditions may nevertheless be granted where there are strong compassionate or other compelling grounds for transfer.

A permanent transfer may, however, be refused if it is considered that the prisoner's crimes were so serious as to make it inappropriate that he or she should benefit from a substantial reduction in time left to serve, if that would be a consequence of transfer.

Requests will be considered on an individual basis. To facilitate the orderly movement of small numbers of prisoners between jurisdictions, the timing of each transfer will be subject to operational and security considerations in the sentencing and receiving jurisdictions.

Temporary transfer, where granted, may be for a period of up to 12 months, with requests for extensions of this period considered on a similar basis. Temporarily transferred prisoners will be expected to comply fully with such regime requirements as the receiving Secretary of State may stipulate. Failure to agree to do so either in making the request or after transfer will normally justify refusal of the request or the immediate return of the prisoner to the sentencing jurisdiction.

As of 27 March, 18 requests for transfer to Northern Ireland and 70 requests for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland made by prisoners in England and Wales were under consideration. In addition, three requests for transfer to Northern Ireland made by prisoners in Scotland were under consideration. No requests for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland have been made by prisoners in Scotland.


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