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Extradition
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) British nationals and (b) Portuguese nationals have been extradited from the United Kingdom to stand trial in Portugal in each of the last five years; and how many have been extradited from Portugal to the United Kingdom. [89572]
Kate Hoey: The information requested is given in the table:
| Year | British nationals | Portuguese nationals | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | -- | 1 | 1 |
| 1995 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1996 | -- | -- | -- |
| 1997 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1998 | 1 | -- | 1 |
There have been no extraditions from Portugal to the United Kingdom in that period. Two requests for British nationals are under consideration from Portugal.
13 Jul 1999 : Column: 118
Mr. Howard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the outcome of the study of stop and search undertaken by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and referred to in his answer to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Singh) of 8 May 1998, Official Report, column 514; and if he will make a statement. [91180]
Kate Hoey:
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that the study of stop and search referred to in the reply given to my hon. Friend, the Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Singh) is currently being evaluated. An interim report should be produced by the end of July and the full evaluation will be published in September.
The Metropolitan Police have been examining stop and search since 1995, and between April 1998 and March 1999 undertook work under the guidance of the Home Office and subject to independent evaluation on seven pilot sites: Brixton, Kingston, Plumstead, Hounslow, Tottenham, Limehouse and Charing Cross. The aims of the pilots are to:
Mr. Howard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stop and search incidents took place in the Metropolitan Police district in 1998; if he will provide the ethnic breakdown of those stopped and searched; what proportion of such incidents resulted in (a) an arrest and (b) a charge, broken down by ethnic group; and if he will make a statement. [91087]
Kate Hoey:
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has provided the following summary of information on stop and search records for the financial year 1998-99. He informs me that the Metropolitan Police does not keep data on charges in the form requested.
13 Jul 1999 : Column: 117
improve the effective use of the tactic in tackling crime;
demonstrate to the public the contribution of the tactic to tackling crimes that concerns them;
ensure it is exercised fairly across all ethnic groups; and
ensure it is exercised in a way which minimises damage to community confidence.
I look forward to hearing the outcome of the study.
| White | Black | Asian | Other | Not recorded | Vehicles | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stolen property | 50,065 | 19,534 | 4,279 | 1,441 | 2,068 | 1,714 | 79,101 |
| Drugs | 86,941 | 35,423 | 17,240 | 2,380 | 3,534 | 2,187 | 147,705 |
| Firearms | 1,129 | 740 | 186 | 39 | 62 | 74 | 2,230 |
| Offensive weapons | 12,961 | 7,045 | 2,839 | 552 | 614 | 258 | 24,269 |
| Going equipped | 29,130 | 10,355 | 2,808 | 592 | 1,078 | 310 | 44,273 |
| Other | 1,806 | 783 | 275 | 36 | 137 | 120 | 3,157 |
| Total | 182,032 | 73,880 | 27,627 | 5,040 | 7,493 | 4,663 | 300,735 |
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| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| White | 12.7 |
| Black | 13.1 |
| Asian | 11.5 |
| Other | 14.0 |
| Not recorded | 11.9 |
| Vehicles | n/a |
| Total | 12.5 |
Operation Lancet
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the name and rank of each Cleveland police officer who has been served with a regulation 7 notice in the Operation Lancet investigation. [91014]
Mr. Boateng: Notices are issued under Regulation 7 of the Police (Discipline) Regulations 1985 to inform officers who are under investigation of the allegations or complaints which have been made against them and to give them the opportunity to make a statement. As these notices are issued on the basis of allegations, it would not be appropriate to provide the name and rank of officers who have received such a notice.
Electronic Tagging
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has undertaken of the risks faced by telecommunications engineers who install and maintain custodial electronic tagging and monitoring equipment. [91188]
Mr. George Howarth: No prisoner is allowed to participate in the Home Detention Curfew scheme (HDC) unless he or she satisfies both a prison service risk assessment and the strict eligibility criteria set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Prisoners are not released on HDC if the release would present an unacceptable risk to the victim or members of the public, or if they have a pattern of offending which indicates a likelihood of re-offending during the HDC period, or if they are considered unlikely to comply with the conditions of the curfew.
As to court-ordered curfews enforced by electronic monitoring, an assessment of the suitability of the sentence for an offender is carried out by the probation service as part of the pre-sentence report. This would include consideration of the same risk issues as outlined above in respect of HDC.
There is no reason to believe that telecommunications engineers are at risk from offenders subject to electronic monitoring.
13 Jul 1999 : Column: 120
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to encourage cinema owners to commit screen time to British films. [89409]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 2 July 1999]: The Government have no specific plans to ask cinema owners to commit screen time to British films. However, the recent Film Policy review identified a number of measures aimed at improving the performance and distribution of British films. Once established, the new Film Council will take forward this strategy.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how many British films financed in (i) 1996 and (ii) 1997 took advantage of capital gains tax reinvestment relief; what was the total value of equity investment in respect of these films; and what are the equivalent figures for the period since April 1998; [89413]
Janet Anderson
[holding answer 2 July 1999]: My Department has received representations from one promoter of a film investment scheme. The evaluation of specific tax-based schemes is a matter for the Inland Revenue.
The detailed information requested on capital gains tax reinvestment relief is not available. Figures for the period since April 1998 would be available only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 30 June 1999, Official Report, column 201, if he intends to publish the representations reporting the impact of the national minimum wage on activity holidays. [89956]
Janet Anderson:
I take a close interest in all matters of concern to the tourism industry, including activity holidays, but we have no plans to publish any representations that may be made to this Department on the impact of the National Minimum Wage. We would, in any case, pass any representations on to the Department of Trade and Industry, whose responsibility this matter is.
Publication of representations to the Low Pay Commission on the impact of National Minimum Wage is a matter for the Commission itself.
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Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many successful prosecutions took place for television licence evasion in the BB postcode area in each year since 1996. [90644]
Janet Anderson:
The number of convictions for television licence evasion in the BB postcode area during the period in question was:
(2) what representations he has received regarding the effect on the British film industry of merging capital gains tax reinvestment relief with the enterprise investment scheme. [89397]
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 1,414 |
| 1997-98 | 1,007 |
| 1998-99 | 934 |
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