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HOME DEPARTMENT
Firearms
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearms have been misappropriated over the last five years from (a) the police, (b) the Ministry of Defence police, (c) the Atomic Energy Authority police and (d) the armed forces. [108825]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Information on the misappropriation of firearms from the police service is not collected centrally, but inquiries of 41 police forces in
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England, Wales and Scotland indicate that firearms have been misappropriated from the police in only one incident over the past five years.
On 24 January 1997, an MP5 carbine was misappropriated when the police vehicle in which it was carried was hi-jacked by armed criminals. The vehicle and the weapon were recovered two days later.
No firearms are recorded as having been misappropriated from the Ministry of Defence police or the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary during the period concerned.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further restrictions he will place on the sale and possession of swords and bayonets. [108755]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
It is an offence under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 for any person to have with them an offensive weapon in a public place, including private premises to which the public have access. In addition the Criminal Justice Act 1988 banned the manufacture, sale and importation of 14 bladed, pointed and other offensive weapons in addition to flick knives and gravity knives, the sale of which was already banned under the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959.
We are currently considering the appropriateness and feasibility of amending this legislation.
Mr. Sanders:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the total number of asylum seekers registering in each EU country (a) in the last 10 years, (b) in each of those years and (c) in total for each country ranked by number of asylum seekers per 1,000 of population. [109182]
Mrs. Roche:
Information on asylum applications received by each European Union country is collated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The annual figures for 1990 to 1999 for each European Union country are given in table 1.
Table 2 shows the number of asylum applications per 1,000 of population within each European Union country.
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| Countries | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | Grand total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany(4)(1) | 193,100 | 256,100 | 438,200 | 322,600 | 127,200 | 127,900 | 116,400 | 104,400 | 98,600 | 95,300 | 1,879,800 |
| United Kingdom(5) | 26,200 | 44,800 | 24,600 | 22,400 | 32,800 | 44,000 | 29,600 | 32,500 | 46,000 | 71,200 | 374,100 |
| Netherlands | 21,200 | 21,600 | 20,400 | 35,400 | 52,600 | 29,300 | 22,200 | 34,400 | 45,200 | 39,300 | 321,600 |
| France(5) | 54,800 | 47,400 | 28,900 | 27,600 | 26,000 | 20,200 | 17,400 | 21,400 | 22,400 | 30,100 | 296,200 |
| Sweden | 29,400 | 27,400 | 84,000 | 37,600 | 18,600 | 9,100 | 5,800 | 9,700 | 12,800 | 11,200 | 245,600 |
| Belgium(5) | 13,000 | 15,200 | 17,700 | 26,900 | 14,400 | 11,400 | 12,400 | 11,800 | 22,000 | 35,800 | 180,600 |
| Austria | 22,800 | 27,300 | 16,200 | 4,800 | 5,100 | 5,900 | 7,000 | 6,700 | 13,800 | 20,100 | 129,700 |
| Spain | 8,700 | 8,100 | 11,700 | 12,600 | 12,000 | 5,700 | 4,700 | 5,000 | 6,700 | 7,100 | 82,300 |
| Denmark | 5,300 | 4,600 | 13,900 | 14,400 | 6,700 | 5,100 | 5,900 | 5,100 | 5,700 | 6,500 | 73,200 |
| Italy | 4,800 | 26,500 | 6,000 | 1,700 | 1,800 | 1,700 | 700 | 1,900 | 7,100 | n/a | 52,200 |
| Greece | 6,200 | 2,700 | 1,900 | 800 | 1,300 | 1,300 | 1,600 | 4,400 | 3,000 | n/a | 23,200 |
| Ireland | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | 100 | 400 | 400 | 1,200 | 3,900 | 4,600 | 7,700 | 18,300 |
| Finland(3) | 2,700 | 2,100 | 3,600 | 2,000 | 800 | 900 | 700 | 1,000 | 1,300 | 2,800 | 17,900 |
| Luxembourg | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | (6)-- | 400 | 300 | 400 | 1,700 | 2,900 | 5,700 |
| Portugal | 100 | 300 | 700 | 2,100 | 800 | 500 | 300 | 300 | 300 | n/a | 5,400 |
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| Countries | Asylum applications in 1999 | Estimated population in 1998 | Asylum seekers per 1,000 of population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | 2,900 | 430,000 | 6.79 |
| Belgium(5) | 35,800 | 10,141,000 | 3.53 |
| Netherlands | 39,300 | 15,678,000 | 2.51 |
| Austria | 20,100 | 8,140,000 | 2.47 |
| Ireland | 7,700 | 3,681,000 | 2.10 |
| Sweden | 11,200 | 8,875,000 | 1.27 |
| Denmark | 6,500 | 5,270,000 | 1.23 |
| UK(5) | 71,200 | 58,649,000 | 1.21 |
| Germany(4)(1) | 95,300 | 82,133,000 | 1.16 |
| Finland(3) | 2,800 | 5,154,000 | 0.55 |
| France(5) | 30,100 | 58,683,000 | 0.51 |
| Italy | 13,900 | 57,369,000 | 0.24 |
| Spain | 7,100 | 39,628,000 | 0.24 |
(3) Includes a government estimate for December 1999.
(4) "New" applications only, that is, excluding applications which are "re-opened".
(5) Applications exclude some or all dependants.
(6) Indicates that value is zero, rounded to zero, or not applicable. Data refer to the number of persons unless otherwise stated.
Notes:
1. Applications rounded to the nearest 100.
2. Estimated population in 1998 rounded to the nearest 1,000, 1999 population not yet available.
3. n/a indicates not available.
4. The figures for Greece, Italy and Portugal are unavailable.
Source:
UNHCR and The Home Office.
Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has taken to ensure that current overstayers will not lose the right to a suspensive appeal against a decision to remove them taken after 1 October. [109670]
Mrs. Roche: I refer my hon. Friend, to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard) on 9 February 2000, Official Report, column 167W.
Sexual Offences
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Sex Offences review will report; when the consultation period will commence; and when consequent legislation will be introduced. [109091]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Sex Offences Review hopes to report to Ministers in the spring. Its proposals will be published for consultation in the summer. The timing of any subsequent legislation has yet to be decided.
Racial Harassment
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were reported to the police alleging racial harassment in (a) Cleveland, (b) Northern Region and (c) the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and how many in each category resulted in a conviction. [109459]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The number of alleged racial harassment cases reported to the police is not available. The number of offences of racially aggravated harassment recorded by the police in the six months ending September 1999 is given in the table. This offence has been recorded separately by the police since 1 April 1999.
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| Number | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland | 5 |
| North East Government Region | 110 |
| England and Wales | 5,385 |
No details of the convictions for this offence are currently available for this time period.
Child Abuse
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were reported to the police alleging child abuse in (a) Cleveland, (b) Northern Region and (c) the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and how many in each category resulted in a conviction. [109460]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The number of alleged child abuse cases reported to the police is not available. Recorded crime data do not give information about victims unless this is implicit in the description of the offence. The offences of gross indecency with a child, unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 13, and unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 are the only sexual offences recorded which explicitly involve children as victims. Offences of violence against the person which explicitly involve children as victims include cruelty to and neglect of children, abandoning a child under two years, and child abduction. There are many other violent and sexual offences which could involve children as victims. Cruelty to and neglect of children has been a recorded crime since 1 April 1998. The recorded crime figures for the other five offences given, and cruelty to and neglect of children, are as follows:
| Year ending | Cleveland | North East Government Region | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1997 | 19 | 119 | 3,080 |
| March 1998 | 23 | 106 | 2,999 |
| March 1999(7) | 12 | 129 | 3,125 |
| Cruelty to and neglect of children | |||
| March 1999(7) | 8 | 89 | 2,300 |
(7)Compiled under the revised counting rules in force from 1 April 1998.
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| North East Government Region | 25 | 28 | 46 |
| England and Wales | 475 | 451 | 546 |
The number of persons convicted for cruelty to or neglect of children from 1996 to 1998 (calendar years) are as follows:
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| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| North East Government Region | 19 | 21 | 14 |
| England and Wales | 293 | 390 | 390 |
Domestic Violence
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases were reported to the police alleging domestic violence in (a) Cleveland, (b) Northern Region and (c) the United Kingdom in each of the last three years; and how many in each category resulted in a conviction. [109461]
Mr. Boateng:
"Domestic violence" is not a specific offence, but a means of describing a number of offences when committed in particular circumstances. This means that the available information is derived not from the usual recorded crime statistics but from specific returns
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submitted by police forces in England and Wales to Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary. The figures are set out in the table.
The definition of domestic violence used for these returns was:
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"Any form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse which takes place within the context of a close relationship. In most cases, the relationship will be between partners, married, co-habiting or otherwise; or ex-partners".
Unfortunately, this definition was interpreted in differing ways by different police forces, for instance because some forces included child abuse. This prevented proper statistical comparisons or a clear understanding of what the returns indicated. From 1 April 1999, the definition of domestic violence for the purpose of statistical returns to Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary has been:
"The term 'domestic violence' shall be understood to mean any violence between current or former partners in an intimate relationship, wherever and whenever the violence occurs. The violence may include physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse".
Domestic Violence--Incidents Domestic Violence--Persons Arrested
1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99
Avon and Somerset 2,058 2,483 4,791 741 873 1995
Bedfordshire 4,470 n/a 4,923 210 n/a 269
Cambridgeshire 700 995 1,113 213 834 929
Cheshire 7,516 8,997 9,503 1,609 1,593 1,481
City of London 12 33 83 1 n/a 2
Cleveland 4,566 4,580 4,818 1,028 870 843
Cumbria 2,845 2,875 3,268 634 885 921
Derbyshire 10,672 11,574 12,585 1,433 1,751 1,666
Devon and Cornwall 2,796 3,278 3,453 1,143 1,405 1,423
Dorset 1,637 1,716 2,116 319 286 362
Durham 2,190 2,174 1,930 676 687 587
Dyfed-Powys 1,507 1,524 2,106 431 515 662
Essex 7,635 8,780 10,850 1,817 1,957 2,262
Gloucestershire 6,278 1,309 1,421 726 685 990
Greater Manchester 50,792 56,762 56,203 5,830 6,577 6,752
Gwent 7,000 4,458 4,250 514 901 889
Hampshire 5,791 7,424 3,128 690 1,162 1,765
Hertfordshire 4,676 4,258 6,363 604 418 809
Humberside 1,111 1,187 1,148 982 1054 1,009
Kent 7,155 7,966 9,605 1,995 2,762 2,902
Lancashire 6,216 5,760 6,778 1,847 1,615 1,922
Leicestershire 6,015 2,632 7,246 1,027 573 1,591
Lincolnshire n/a n/a 1,519 n/a n/a 331
Merseyside 18,112 16,864 20,612 2,297 2,315 2,497
Metropolitan police 15,650 14,403 41,531 1,743 0 5,310
Norfolk n/a 4,517 4,973 n/a n/a 1,041
North Wales 5,802 5,387 4,305 864 996 3,916
North Yorkshire n/a 399 4,024 n/a 243 551
Northamptonshire 2,638 2,401 2,620 623 582 611
Northumbria 12,749 13,154 14,442 2,361 2,253 2,082
Nottinghamshire 3,248 3,397 3,803 1,471 1,432 1,473
South Wales 6,759 9,791 7,252 1,412 1,989 1,963
South Yorkshire 950 168 12,209 108 154 999
Staffordshire 1,744 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Suffolk 1,225 1,683 1,962 517 608 640
Surrey 1,217 1,308 1,653 460 400 463
Sussex 5,795 6,910 8,174 1,480 1,491 1,749
Thames Valley n/a 9,904 10,885 n/a 2,082 2,340
Warwickshire 493 485 2,500 389 388 500
West Mercia 1,867 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
West Midlands 14,011 16,538 20,217 2,280 3,615 5,409
West Yorkshire 18,304 22,191 23,658 4,567 5,986 6,469
Wiltshire 423 5,952 7,563 366 1,244 1,307
Provincial Total 238,975 263,514 310,052 43,665 53,181 66,372
England and Wales Total 254,625 277,917 351,583 45,408 53,181 71,682
NE Region 19,505 19,908 21,290 4,065 3810 3,512
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