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Criminal Records Bureau
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress being made on the establishment of the Criminal Records Bureau. [106528]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd, West (Mr. Thomas) on 16 December 1999, Official Report, columns 271-72W. Since that time, following evaluation of the bids received from potential private sector partners, we have shortlisted three bidders who have been invited to take part in a technical design study in the spring.
Domestic Violence
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of violent crimes, in the most recently published figures, were crimes of domestic violence. [106779]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is not available. Recorded crime figures are based on the legal definition of offences. The relationship of the victim and any alleged offender is not recorded.
In the 1998 British Crime Survey, it was estimated that 25 per cent. of the violent offences it addressed were domestic in nature. The most detailed information on domestic violence, collected in the 1996 British Crime Survey, is given in the Home Office Research Study No. 191 called "Domestic Violence: Findings from a new British Crime Survey self-completion questionnaire", which was published in 1999.
Police Force (Wales)
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the increase was in the number of police officers in Wales from 1998 to 1999. [106854]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The number of police officers in the police service in Wales increased between March 1998 and March 1999 by 29 to 6,646.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase (a) funding for the Police Service and (b) the number of police officers in Wales in the next 12 months. [106870]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Under the spending plans of the Government and the National Assembly for Wales, funding of the police service in Wales is set to increase
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by 2.6 per cent., or £9.3 million in 2000-01. It is for the individual chief constables and their police authorities to determine staffing levels within the resources available.
Police forces in Wales are eligible to bid for a share of the crime fighting fund to recruit 5,000 police officers over and above the number they would otherwise have recruited over the next three years. All four forces have submitted applications. They will be informed of our decision in the next few weeks.
Mr. Gerrard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many contracts for the provision of accommodation for asylum seekers after 1 April have been entered into by his Department; how many units of accommodation each will contract provide; and what are the estimated costs of each unit of accommodation so provided. [106687]
Mrs. Roche:
No contracts have yet been signed for the provision of accommodation. Contract negotiations are currently being conducted and should be concluded shortly.
Mr. Mudie:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the visitor's right of appeal on the refusal of entry will be reinstated. [106781]
Mrs. Roche:
We are committed to restoring a right of appeal to family visitors who have been refused entry clearance. Part IV of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 enables us to do this. We will be bringing Part IV into effect on 2 October 2000, the day on which the Human Rights Act 1998 comes into force.
Mr. Pickles:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were in (a) 1998, (b) 1993 and (c) 1988 under Regulation 103 of the Motor Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 relating to obstruction of a footpath by a motor vehicle; and what the breakdown was in each year by police authority in England. [106570]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
This offence cannot be distinguished from other offences of obstruction, waiting and parking in the statistics collected centrally.
Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further information he requires concerning the Enderby Leisure Centre CCTV proposal before he makes a final decision on the bid, and when he will make a final decision. [106478]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Home Office has asked the crime and disorder partnership responsible for the Enderby Leisure Centre Closed Circuit Television bid to provide further information relating to the proposed operational and technical requirements for the system and the need for an adequate code of practice to govern its use. We will work closely with the partnership to resolve these issues as quickly as possible once the required information has been provided.
28 Jan 2000 : Column: 364W
Mr. Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to allow the employment of au pairs from Lithuania; and if he will make a statement. [106475]
Mrs. Roche:
No. There are no plans at present to extend the au pair scheme under the Immigration Rules to Lithuania, or to any other country.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in the Colchester Police Division in September each year from 1995 to 1999; and if he will make a statement. [106557]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The information available, which is set out in the table, has been provided by the Chief Constable of Essex. The force is not able to provide figures for 1995 and 1996.
| Year (as at 1 September) | Number of police officers |
|---|---|
| 1995 | n/a |
| 1996 | n/a |
| 1997 | 190 |
| 1998 | 180 |
| 1999 | 180 |
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers there were in the Essex police force in each year from 1985 to 1999, giving figures on a quarterly basis from 1995 onwards; and if he will make a statement. [106548]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information available is set out in the table. Since 1995, police numbers have been collected only twice a year--in March and September--so as to reduce administrative burdens on the police.
| Number of officers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | As at 31 March | As at 30 September |
| 1985 | 2,650 | -- |
| 1986 | 2,666 | -- |
| 1987 | 2,723 | -- |
| 1988 | 2,728 | -- |
| 1989 | 2,754 | -- |
| 1990 | 2,822 | -- |
| 1991 | 2,889 | -- |
| 1992 | 2,898 | -- |
| 1993 | 2,936 | -- |
| 1994 | 2,937 | -- |
| 1995 | 2,921 | 2,897 |
| 1996 | 2,884 | 2,927 |
| 1997 | 2,961 | 2,944 |
| 1998 | 2,929 | 2,903 |
| 1999 | 2,891 | (1)-- |
(1) Not yet available
28 Jan 2000 : Column: 365W
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional police officers he will agree can be added to his Department's authorised number employed by the Essex Police Authority as a result of the transfer on 1 April to the Essex Police Authority of that part of Essex currently policed by the Metropolitan Police. [106550]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Each police force in England and Wales has a "notional establishment" of police officers for the purposes of allocating 10 per cent. of the police grant (most of the grant is allocated according to a needs-based funding formula). For the purposes of allocating the police grant in 2000-01, the notional establishment of Essex police was increased by 137 to take account of the enlargement of the Essex police area as a result of the change to the boundary of the Metropolitan police district on April 2000. This followed consultation with Essex police, Essex Police Authority and the Metropolitan police.
The actual numbers of police officers in the Essex police area following the boundary change will be a matter for the Chief Constable on the basis of the resources made available to him.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Metropolitan Police budget will be reduced from 1 April when that part of the County of Essex currently policed by the Metropolitan Police is transferred to the Essex Police Authority. [106547]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Funding for the Metropolitan Police in 2000-01 will reduce by around £5.9 million over 1999-2000 levels to reflect the boundary change with Essex Police Authorities.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Metropolitan Police officers will transfer to the Essex Police Authority from 1 April when that part of the County of Essex currently policed by the Metropolitan Police is transferred to the Essex Police Authority; how many will stay with the Metropolitan Police; and how many will retire. [106549]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner tells me that there is no fixed allocation of Metropolitan Police Officers to the area that is to be transferred from the Metropolitan Police District to Essex Police Authority from 1 April. As a result of the boundary change, 10 Metropolitan Police Officers will transfer to the Essex Police before 1 April and four afterwards.
In addition, 32 Metropolitan Police Officers are expected to be seconded to Essex Police on 1 April for up to 18 months, after which they will return to duties in the Metropolitan Police District. No Metropolitan Police officer is expected to retire as a consequence of the boundary change.
Mr. Bob Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional funding he will give to Essex Police Authority in 2000-01 to police that part of the county which from 1 April is transferred from the Metropolitan police; and if this figure, indexed accordingly, will be built into the authority's base figure in future years. [106546]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The proposed funding allocation for the Essex Police Authority in 2000-01 will increase by 7.2 per cent., or £11.8 million, over 1999-2000 levels
28 Jan 2000 : Column: 366W
to £174.8 million. This increase is significantly above the national average increase of 2.8 per cent. as it takes into account the enlargement of the Essex police area as a result of the boundary changes with the Metropolitan police from 1 April 2000.
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