| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
HOME DEPARTMENT
Closed Circuit Television
17. Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications he has received for portable (a) closed circuit and (b) open circuit TV units in the last year; and how many have secured grant aid from his Department. [108251]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Under the first round of the Crime Reduction Programme Closed Circuit Television Initiative, 45 proposals were solely for portable or mobile CCTV schemes, although many of the 748 outline applications received contained a mobile element. Applications for open circuit systems are outside the scope of the CCTV Initiative.
So far, we have awarded £627,000 to seven proposals for mobile systems. A further 16 proposals for mobile schemes to a potential value of £2.3 million are currently under further consideration.
Further bids for mobile systems can be submitted under the next phase of CCTV funding, details of which will be announced in the near future.
39. Mr. Crausby:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications he has received for portable CCTV units in the past year; and how many have secured grant aid from the Home Office. [108273]
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 401W
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Under the first round of the Crime Reduction Programme Closed Circuit Television Initiative, 45 proposals were solely for portable or mobile CCTV schemes, although many of the 748 outline applications received contained a mobile element.
So far, we have awarded £627,000 to seven proposals for mobile systems. A further 16 proposals for mobile schemes to a potential value of £2.3 million are currently under further consideration.
Further bids for mobile systems can be submitted under the next phase of CCTV funding, details of which will be announced in the near future.
18. Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has in respect of fighting crime in Sussex; and if he will make a statement. [108252]
Mr. Boateng:
The Government issued in November our strategy for reducing crime. One of the key elements in this is ensuring that the local crime and disorder reduction partnerships--in Sussex as elsewhere--perform to their maximum potential.
19. Mr. Hawkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide extra resources for Surrey police to reflect increases in crime and in their responsibilities. [108253]
Mr. Boateng:
Funding for Surrey Police in 2000-01 will increase by 22.7 per cent. to £112.8 million. This large increase takes account of the expansion of the Surrey police area as a result of the boundary changes with the Metropolitan police in April. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 9 February the allocation of funding under the Crime Fighting Fund for the recruitment of extra police officers over and above the number that would otherwise have been recruited over three years. Surrey police will receive funding to enable in total 78 extra officers to be recruited.
20. Mr. Jack:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has carried out into the effectiveness of community beat officers in preventing crime. [108254]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
While there has been no Home Office research solely addressing the effectiveness of community beat officers in preventing crime, research has demonstrated the important role that community beat officers can play in fighting crime, whether by identifying and tackling local crime problems, providing intelligence, or combating fear of crime. Further, the contribution of community beat officers will be an important factor in some of the projects being funded under the crime reduction programme.
21. Mr. Caplin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in agreeing the operational guidelines with the Association of Chief Constables to deal with unauthorised camping. [108255]
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 402W
Mr. Straw:
Following consultation with the Government, revised operational guidelines on police powers to deal with unauthorised camping were approved by the Association of Chief Police Officers' Council on 28 April 1999 and issued to forces in early May. I have, however, commissioned a review of the joint Home Office/Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' guidance on managing unauthorised camping, in order to ensure that problems associated with these encampments are being tackled as effectively as possible.
27. Dr. Iddon:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made in agreeing the operational guidelines with the Association of Chief Constables to deal with unauthorised camping. [108261]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Following consultation with the Government, revised operational guidelines on police powers to deal with unauthorised camping were approved by the Association of Chief Police Officers' Council on 28 April 1999 and issued to forces in early May. We are, however, commissioning a review of the joint Home Office/Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions' guidance on managing unauthorised camping, in order to ensure that problems associated with these encampments are being tackled as effectively as possible.
23. Mr. Corbett:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many lorries have been stopped by the police which contained clandestine immigrants in the last six months. [108257]
Mrs. Roche:
The police do not keep records of that information. However, I can tell my hon. Friend that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's records show that 11,500 clandestine illegal entrants to the United Kingdom were identified between July and December 1999.
24. Mr. McWalter:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of councils have used their powers to impose anti-social behaviour orders. [108258]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Anti-social behaviour orders are imposed by the courts upon application by either the local authority or the police. Information about the number of orders which have been granted is not held centrally, but we believe that about 20-25 are currently in force, involving about 15 different areas.
25. Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will support initiatives by which prisons develop links with schools. [108259]
Mr. Boateng:
The new draft National Standards for prisoners under 18-years-old require prisons to develop links with the home education authority.
The Prison Service is happy to co-operate with targeted crime reduction activities where these are developed with the police and others locally.
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 403W
26. Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Department for Education and Employment about ensuring that schools are fully involved in local partnerships to combat crime and disorder. [108260]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Schools are designated as bodies which must co-operate with partnerships in the development and implementation of local crime and disorder reduction strategies. One of the strands of the Crime Reduction Programme is an investment of £12 million in projects designed to combat truancy and exclusions.
28. Mr. Peter Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the amount of purposeful activity undertaken by prisoners. [108262]
Mr. Boateng:
During the period April 1999 to December 1999 the average amount of purposeful activity undertaken by prisoners was 23.0 hours per prisoner per week.
These data are provisional and subject to validation by prisons.
29. Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contribution neighbourhood watch schemes can make to his objective of crime reduction under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. [108263]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Community involvement is essential if we are to achieve our aim of creating a safe, just and tolerant society. Neighbourhood Watch is a successful example of community involvement with around 155,000 schemes covering 5.5 million households. That is why the Government required the crime and disorder reduction partnerships to invite Neighbourhood Watch to participate in their work.
30. Mr. Gordon Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what minimum arrangements for social, welfare and cultural support he will require from agencies and local authority consortia wishing to place asylum seekers before agreeing to their dispersal. [108264]
Mrs. Roche:
Contracts with providers for accommodation specify that the provider will facilitate access for asylum seekers to health and education services. The need for wider social and welfare provision to be available will be taken into account in discussion with local authorities about appropriate cluster areas for asylum seekers.
Voluntary sector bodies funded under Section 111 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 will be required to provide a range of services as part of the one stop services for asylum seekers envisaged under the new asylum support scheme.
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 404W
33. Miss Kirkbride:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government have to restrict the number of asylum seekers entering the United Kingdom. [108267]
Mrs. Roche:
The Government will continue to honour their obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees to consider all applications for asylum made in the United Kingdom or at our ports. But we are taking tough measures to curb abuse of the asylum process. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 introduces fundamental changes, including measures to discourage unfounded asylum applications, while continuing to provide protection for those who need it.
34. Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the dispersal of asylum seekers. [108268]
Mrs. Roche:
I and my officials have received numerous representations concerning the dispersal of asylum seekers, in response to proposals which we published last year as part of our consultation process. Some have been from voluntary bodies and local authorities by way of formal response to the original Asylum Seeker Support document published in March last year and to the consultation document on the regulations for the scheme published last November. Others have been received in the form of letters to Ministers from Members of Parliament, voluntary bodies and local authorities.
The representations have been concerned with a range of matters including the minimum standards of accommodation to be provided to asylum seekers and access to legal representatives in dispersal areas.
The National Asylum Support Service has also been in extensive talks with the Local Government Association about the operation of the dispersal scheme.
37. Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average length of time for applications from asylum seekers (a) with children and (b) without children to be decided in the last month for which figures are available. [108271]
Mrs. Roche:
Of the total asylum decisions made in December 1999, the average length of time since the application had been made was 13 months. A breakdown for asylum seekers with and without children is not available in this format. Of families with children who applied for asylum in November 1999, most had a decision made on their application within two months.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |