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Asylum Seekers
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compliance of his Department's policy in respect of the
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detention of asylum seekers convicted of using false documents with the terms of article 31 of the UN convention relating to the status of refugees; and if he will make a statement. [20277]
Mr. Kirkhope:
It is for the prosecuting authorities to decide whether to prosecute a person for using false documents. The prosecution of people who have not sought asylum in the United Kingdom, but have attempted to enter or leave the country using false documents, is not a breach of article 31 of the United Nations convention. Any subsequent application for asylum in the United Kingdom would be determined on its individual merits. Detention solely under Immigration Act powers would be authorised only if there were good grounds for believing that the person would not comply with the terms of temporary admission.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to open a new detention centre for asylum seekers at Dover; and if he will make a statement. [20278]
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Mr. Kirkhope:
We are examining the case for seeking to locate an immigration detention centre in the Dover area, but no firm proposals have yet been developed.
Mr. Michael Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each police
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authority in England and Wales the number of (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff employed (i) in 1979, (ii) in 1990 and (iii) at the latest available date. [20649]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 17 March 1997]: The information requested is given in the table.
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(1) Excludes traffic wardens.
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Mr. Michael Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each police authority the number and percentage of people arrested who were released after receiving a police caution in (a) 1990, (b) 1994 and (c) the latest available date. [20529]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 17 March 1997]: Detailed data on the number of people arrested are not collected centrally.
Information available on the number of people cautioned by police force area is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary
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Tables, Volume 3". Table S3.7(A) in the 1990 and 1994 editions and table S3.6(A) in the 1995 volume contain that information.
Copies are available in the Library.
Mr. Michael Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each (a) magistrates court and (b) Crown court the percentage of defendants acquitted in (i) 1990, (ii) 1994 and (iii) the latest available date. [20530]
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Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 17 March 1997]: Readily available information is published annually in "Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, Supplementary Tables".
Magistrates court data for individual petty sessional divisions can be found in the 1990 volume 5, table S5.1 and in volume 4, table S4.1, of the 1994 and 1995 editions.
Data for individual Crown court centres are published in the 1990 volume 3, table S3.6(A) and in volume 2, table S2.3, of the 1994 and 1995 editions.
Copies are available in the Library.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the annual additional costs of police time arising out of CSA decisions; and if he will make a statement. [20172]
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Mr. Maclean:
This information is not collected centrally. The cost of specific activities and operations carried out by the police is a matter for chief officers. The Government would not collect data of this kind unless there was a specific and justifiable need to do so.
Mr. Michael Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each police authority in England and Wales the number, and percentage, of people arrested for possession of cannabis who were (a) cautioned, (b) tried in a magistrates court and (c) tried in a higher court in (i) 1990, (ii) 1994 and (iii) the latest available date. [20528]
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 17 March 1997]: Detailed data on the number of people arrested are not collected centrally.
Information available on the number of people cautioned, proceeded against at magistrates courts and tried at the Crown court for 1994 and 1995 by police force area is given in the tables. Comparable 1990 data for offences of possession of a controlled drug do not distinguish the type of drug.
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(2) Includes those who were committed for trial at the Crown Court.
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