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Official Hospitality

Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on official hospitality by his Department and all associated agencies in the financial year 1995-96. [28572]

Mr. Howard: The provisional figure for expenditure on official hospitality by my Department and its executive agencies in the financial year 1995-96 is £32,331. This differs from the projected budget of £60,570 given in my reply of 18 December, Official Report, column 969, principally because of a significant reduction in forecast expenditure on hospitality by the Forensic Science Service executive agency.

9 May 1996 : Column: 250

"Wheelclamping on Private Land"

Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he published "Wheelclamping on Private Land"; when the consultation period ended; and when he intends to bring forward proposals to deal with the issue. [28413]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 8 May 1996]: The consultation paper "Wheelclamping on Private Land" was published on 23 February 1993, with a request for response by 31 May 1993. The consultation exercise produced a great deal of useful information but no consensus about a solution. We are considering what action, if any, should be taken to regulate this activity.

Clear-up and Conviction Rates

Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the conviction rates in cases involving a plea of not guilty for each police authority in each of the last five years in (i) violent crime, (ii) car crime, and (iii) other serious crime; and if he will make a statement. [28228]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 8 May 1996]: Information regarding plea data is not available.

Mr. Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on conviction rates across England and Wales. [28234]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 8 May 1996]: Information is published annually in the Command Paper "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales" on the number of prosecutions and convictions, from which the conviction rate can be calculated. Copies of the Command Paper are in the Library.

Mr. Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the (a) crime clear-up and (b) conviction rates for each police authority area in each of the last five years in (i) violent crime, (ii) car crime, and (iii) other serious crime; and if he will make a statement. [28229]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 8 May 1996]: The available information is given in the following tables. Information on conviction rates for 1995 will not be available until the autumn.

9 May 1996 : Column: 249

Table 1: Clear-up rates for violent crime(21) by police force area 1991-95

Police force area	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Avon and Somerset	70	65	65	71	75
Bedfordshire	62	62	60	61	57
Cambridgeshire	80	77	77	77	73
Cheshire	89	84	84	86	86
Cleveland	74	71	71	64	68
Cumbria	86	85	90	85	88
Derbyshire	82	82	81	81	76
Devon and Cornwall	82	57	77	77	77
Dorset	83	77	85	78	85
Durham	83	85	83	86	83
Essex	75	75	76	77	74
Gloucestershire	81	74	69	77	75
Greater Manchester	65	63	58	59	53
Hampshire	78	78	78	76	78
Hertfordshire	87	73	71	75	77
Humberside	74	67	62	63	66
Kent	73	76	75	79	80
Lancashire	80	75	76	74	72
Leicestershire	74	73	71	74	75
Lincolnshire	93	83	84	83	87
City of London	66	43	38	66	62
Merseyside	58	56	56	55	57
Metropolitan Police	46	44	47	50	48
Norfolk	83	82	79	83	74
Northamptonshire	75	79	81	88	79
Northumbria	71	65	68	67	64
North Yorkshire	88	91	86	79	80
Nottinghamshire	71	68	68	67	72
South Yorkshire	79	79	69	74	71
Staffordshire	83	83	79	84	83
Suffolk	83	87	80	88	86
Surrey	77	72	75	83	80
Sussex	65	70	65	62	73
Thames Valley	69	68	73	69	72
Warwickshire	77	80	78	82	81
West Mercia	87	85	84	82	79
West Midlands	65	60	55	51	45
West Yorkshire	74	77	68	70	68
Wiltshire	(22)104	94	94	94	91
Dyfed-Powys	91	94	96	96	94
Gwent	90	91	91	91	92
North Wales	90	89	90	90	89
South Wales	83	82	81	73	74
England and Wales	68	66	65	66	65

(21) Includes the notifiable offence groups of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.

(22) Offences cleared up in current year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year.

9 May 1996 : Column: 251

9 May 1996 : Column: 251

9 May 1996 : Column: 252

Table 2: Clear-up rates for vehicle crime(23) by police force area 1991-95

Police force area	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Avon and Somerset	14	7	7	10	9
Bedfordshire	10	10	10	13	11
Cambridgeshire	32	14	13	13	7
Cheshire	27	15	12	13	12
Cleveland	32	27	24	12	14
Cumbria	27	21	22	26	28
Derbyshire	16	12	10	11	8
Devon and Cornwall	16	8	12	14	13
Dorset	39	16	15	14	10
Durham	18	19	17	18	19
Essex	25	16	20	26	21
Gloucestershire	16	12	8	9	13
Greater Manchester	31	29	29	27	17
Hampshire	16	14	12	13	13
Hertfordshire	23	17	14	13	20
Humberside	23	16	9	8	9
Kent	10	13	13	14	10
Lancashire	36	25	26	22	23
Leicestershire	22	24	22	23	18
Lincolnshire	34	26	26	22	28
City of London	11	7	13	21	9
Merseyside	42	43	34	25	15
Metropolitan Police	6	6	5	8	10
Norfolk	34	26	17	22	19
Northamptonshire	30	28	19	21	19
Northumbria	34	8	11	16	16
North Yorkshire	24	19	17	13	10
Nottinghamshire	17	16	21	22	12
South Yorkshire	31	18	11	14	14
Staffordshire	31	24	23	23	22
Suffolk	24	20	15	17	15
Surrey	14	15	10	16	23
Sussex	9	9	10	10	17
Thames Valley	12	11	12	13	15
Warwickshire	15	15	13	13	16
West Mercia	26	25	18	19	13
West Midlands	26	22	21	19	18
West Yorkshire	22	18	9	10	11
Wiltshire	23	19	16	18	14
Dyfed-Powys	45	37	35	38	42
Gwent	33	23	29	29	29
North Wales	25	21	25	24	18
South Wales	26	26	24	18	26
England and Wales	21	17	15	16	15

(23) Includes the notifiable offences of theft from a vehicle, theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and aggravated vehicle taking.

9 May 1996 : Column: 253

Table 3: Clear-up rates for other serious crime(24) by police force area 1991-95

Police force area	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
Avon and Somerset	25	19	19	22	25
Bedfordshire	22	22	23	23	25
Cambridgeshire	34	28	26	24	20
Cheshire	43	31	28	32	34
Cleveland	31	31	26	20	26
Cumbria	42	39	40	36	39
Derbyshire	28	22	20	21	21
Devon and Cornwall	30	19	27	28	29
Dorset	40	35	36	33	30
Durham	32	31	32	33	31
Essex	31	31	34	37	34
Gloucestershire	41	27	23	27	28
Greater Manchester	37	37	35	35	25
Hampshire	30	27	27	28	29
Hertfordshire	35	26	22	26	28
Humberside	31	22	16	17	19
Kent	26	29	27	30	29
Lancashire	40	40	38	36	37
Leicestershire	28	29	27	28	29
Lincolnshire	45	39	36	31	37
City of London	20	21	22	26	24
Merseyside	44	41	39	34	28
Metropolitan Police	18	17	18	24	24
Norfolk	35	34	29	35	32
Northamptonshire	28	27	27	30	28
Northumbria	34	18	20	22	23
North Yorkshire	37	34	32	26	25
Nottinghamshire	27	26	29	26	22
South Yorkshire	35	27	21	25	25
Staffordshire	35	28	27	28	30
Suffolk	38	40	39	35	35
Surrey	23	21	20	30	29
Sussex	25	26	27	27	28
Thames Valley	24	21	23	24	24
Warwickshire	26	24	22	26	25
West Mercia	35	34	29	29	30
West Midlands	30	26	27	25	25
West Yorkshire	27	25	19	21	22
Wiltshire	40	37	36	36	32
Dyfed-Powys	46	51	48	49	54
Gwent	48	47	46	49	52
North Wales	35	32	34	38	32
South Wales	27	28	26	23	26
England and Wales	30	27	26	27	27

(24) All notifiable offences excluding violent crime, vehicle crime and criminal damage under £20.

9 May 1996 : Column: 253

Table 4: Conviction rates for indictable violent crime(25) offences by police force area 1990-94

Police force area	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Avon and Somerset	52	47	40	38	40
Bedfordshire	51	45	41	38	44
Cambridgeshire	58	54	54	52	45
Cheshire	71	67	62	63	63
Cleveland	63	55	49	45	45
Cumbria	71	69	65	62	60
Derbyshire	68	61	57	52	44
Devon and Cornwall	77	65	67	57	52
Dorset	63	54	55	60	51
Durham	53	54	52	54	54
Essex	60	52	47	49	42
Gloucestershire	66	53	54	48	48
Greater Manchester	64	60	54	54	49
Hampshire	66	60	56	55	54
Hertfordshire	66	52	41	41	38
Humberside	68	67	67	61	61
Kent	79	75	68	59	56
Lancashire	69	64	66	54	56
Leicestershire	66	62	56	50	43
Lincolnshire	69	58	63	56	61
City of London	57	57	50	56	51
Merseyside	48	42	38	39	35
Metropolitan Police	62	55	49	38	40
Norfolk	68	72	75	66	71
Northamptonshire	57	49	49	43	36
Northumbria	58	56	52	51	51
North Yorkshire	69	59	59	57	55
Nottinghamshire	59	51	49	44	36
South Yorkshire	64	59	56	54	51
Staffordshire	53	53	47	45	46
Suffolk	65	65	58	61	55
Surrey	62	55	49	46	45
Sussex	61	57	50	51	47
Thames Valley	62	53	55	51	45
Warwickshire	75	74	68	64	60
West Mercia	69	67	58	59	55
West Midlands	62	56	51	51	51
West Yorkshire	68	60	54	54	48
Wiltshire	66	63	57	51	49
Dyfed-Powys	56	54	52	44	40
Gwent	56	54	56	47	53
North Wales	71	68	57	57	54
South Wales	56	54	46	48	44
England and Wales	62	57	53	49	47

(25) Includes the indictable offence groups of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.

Indictable offences only have been used as nearest equivalent to notifiable offences.

9 May 1996 : Column: 255

9 May 1996 : Column: 255

9 May 1996 : Column: 256

Table 5: Conviction rates for indictable vehicle crime(26) offences by police force area 1990-94

Police force area	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Avon and Somerset	57	54	50	50	62
Bedfordshire	65	50	62	39	54
Cambridgeshire	58	62	53	53	39
Cheshire	73	63	53	69	66
Cleveland	61	57	50	58	50
Cumbria	77	61	60	73	70
Derbyshire	56	59	57	56	60
Devon and Cornwall	82	67	63	65	62
Dorset	65	68	59	55	70
Durham	63	49	51	52	50
Essex	64	59	54	47	54
Gloucestershire	66	64	51	53	57
Greater Manchester	80	69	62	74	57
Hampshire	71	66	63	63	65
Hertfordshire	67	65	53	50	48
Humberside	77	73	64	67	72
Kent	79	74	75	71	67
Lancashire	76	72	74	67	64
Leicestershire	72	60	58	55	53
Lincolnshire	81	81	69	68	71
City of London	67	(27)106	35	100	62
Merseyside	36	41	42	59	56
Metropolitan Police	69	63	58	61	64
Norfolk	83	82	80	68	89
Northamptonshire	62	58	50	57	62
Northumbria	61	54	54	62	57
North Yorkshire	75	58	64	58	67
Nottinghamshire	62	53	52	55	60
South Yorkshire	68	72	64	65	63
Staffordshire	49	52	41	57	64
Suffolk	78	69	57	74	71
Surrey	57	55	50	60	51
Sussex	74	63	61	56	62
Thames Valley	67	51	55	58	63
Warwickshire	82	60	54	47	53
West Mercia	61	57	56	52	58
West Midlands	53	47	44	53	52
West Yorkshire	64	62	55	57	54
Wiltshire	81	66	76	82	74
Dyfed-Powys	78	62	47	61	54
Gwent	65	55	54	54	50
North Wales	82	79	62	64	66
South Wales	57	59	49	63	60
England and Wales	66	61	56	60	59

(26) Includes the indictable offences of theft from a vehicle, theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and aggravated vehicle taking.

(27) Will include persons proceeded against in earlier years or for other offences.

9 May 1996 : Column: 257

9 May 1996 : Column: 257

9 May 1996 : Column: 258

Table 6: Conviction rates for indictable other serious crime(28) offences by police force area 1990-94

Police force area	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Avon and Somerset	69	68	67	60	60
Bedfordshire	67	66	64	61	64
Cambridgeshire	77	72	73	69	64
Cheshire	81	75	75	76	76
Cleveland	74	67	64	63	67
Cumbria	82	78	76	75	75
Derbyshire	77	70	70	67	68
Devon and Cornwall	83	74	74	72	68
Dorset	76	70	69	73	68
Durham	69	65	66	67	66
Essex	72	65	67	66	65
Gloucestershire	68	71	67	66	67
Greater Manchester	82	82	79	81	71
Hampshire	75	71	72	69	71
Hertfordshire	78	67	64	65	63
Humberside	80	78	76	75	75
Kent	86	90	85	81	82
Lancashire	76	77	79	71	71
Leicestershire	72	69	68	63	61
Lincolnshire	80	71	77	75	78
City of London	69	68	61	66	65
Merseyside	71	69	65	68	64
Metropolitan Police	84	78	75	68	68
Norfolk	88	83	86	87	88
Northamptonshire	71	69	63	65	62
Northumbria	74	68	67	67	63
North Yorkshire	76	71	68	71	71
Nottinghamshire	73	67	67	66	66
South Yorkshire	77	74	70	70	68
Staffordshire	71	70	68	66	65
Suffolk	78	74	72	71	71
Surrey	72	70	67	67	66
Sussex	76	72	73	70	69
Thames Valley	74	68	66	65	62
Warwickshire	84	79	69	69	68
West Mercia	77	77	73	71	69
West Midlands	74	68	63	63	63
West Yorkshire	75	72	66	63	63
Wiltshire	77	74	74	75	74
Dyfed-Powys	70	68	66	67	60
Gwent	70	68	72	66	69
North Wales	81	83	70	70	72
South Wales	70	69	66	66	66
England and Wales	77	73	71	69	68

(28) Includes the indictable offences excluding violent and car crime offences as in tables above.

Indictable offences only have been used as nearest equivalent to notifiable offences.

9 May 1996 : Column: 257

9 May 1996 : Column: 257

Mr. Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his definitions of (a) crime clear-up rates and (b) conviction rates. [28230]

9 May 1996 : Column: 258

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 8 May 1996]: The clear-up rate is the number of offences cleared up as a percentage of the number of offences recorded, excluding

9 May 1996 : Column: 259

offences of criminal damage value £20 and under. The conviction rate is the number of convictions at all courts as a percentage of prosecutions.

Mr. Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the changes made to the crime clear-up rates statistical methodology over the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [28238]

Mr. Maclean [holding answer 8 May 1996]: There have ben no changes to the statistical methodology for clear-up rates. Since 1994, the Home Office has adopted the Audit Commission definitions of primary and secondary clear-ups, but this has no effect on the number of offences cleared up or on the overall clear-up rate. The definitions are given in note 4 of Home Office statistical bulletin 3/96, a copy of which is available in the Library.

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