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Criminal Records Bureau
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 28 January 2000, Official Report, column 362W, on the Criminal Records Bureau, if he will name the shortlisted bidders invited to take part in the technical design study for the Criminal Records Bureau. [109441]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Following evaluation of the six bids received, the following three bidders have been shortlisted and invited to take part in a technical design study:
Capita Business Services
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
e.CRES, a consortium led by SERCO.
Homicide Weapons
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by type the weapons used in homicides in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which records are available. [109327]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The following table gives the information requested in relation to firearms for England and Wales:
| 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shotgun: | |||||
| Long barrelled | 22 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 3 |
| Sawn Off | 14 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 7 |
| Handgun | 25 | 39 | 30 | 39 | 28 |
| Rifle | 5 | 2 | -- | 3 | 4 |
| Air weapon | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Other (including type not known) | -- | -- | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 66 | 70 | 49 | 59 | 44 |
Information on other types of weapon used in homicides, such as sharp and blunt instruments, is published in Chapter 4 of Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, a copy of which is in the Library. (Figures on
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 410W
homicides by shooting contained in Chapter 4 will differ from the figures shown mainly because they are based on currently rather than initially recorded homicides).
Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective Secretaries of State.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of firearms offences in the UK in each of the last five years for which records are available. [109341]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The following table gives the information requested for England and Wales:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 13,167 |
| 1995 | 13,434 |
| 1996 | 13,876 |
| 1997 | 12,410 |
| 1998 | (24)13,671 |
(24) Changes in the counting rules and coverage of recorded crime took place from 1 April 1998, and there may be some discontinuity in this figure
Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective Secretaries of State.
Murders
Mr. Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out, on a comparable basis, the number of murders recorded in the United Kingdom in each of the past 30 years. [109364]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The available information relates to initially recorded offences of homicide (murder, manslaughter and infanticide) in England and Wales and is given in the table. Those offences subsequently decided at court to be murder are also shown.
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 411W
| Initially recorded homicides | Offences decided at court to be murder | |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 395 | 69 |
| 1970 | 396 | 91 |
| 1971 | 459 | 86 |
| 1972 | 480 | 88 |
| 1973 | 465 | 81 |
| 1974 | 599 | 154 |
| 1975 | 508 | 97 |
| 1976 | 565 | 102 |
| 1977 | 484 | 112 |
| 1978 | 535 | 123 |
| 1979 | 629 | 160 |
| 1980 | 621 | 126 |
| 1981 | 556 | 148 |
| 1982 | 618 | 160 |
| 1983 | 552 | 152 |
| 1984 | 619 | 165 |
| 1985 | 625 | 166 |
| 1986 | 660 | 202 |
| 1987 | 686 | 195 |
| 1988 | 645 | 172 |
| 1989 | 626 | 177 |
| 1990 | 662 | 174 |
| 1991 | 725 | 181 |
| 1992 | 681 | 189 |
| 1993 | 675 | 209 |
| 1994 | 727 | 215 |
| 1995 | 753 | 238 |
| 1996 | 680 | 216 |
| 1997-98 | 748 | (25)-- |
| 1998-99 | 750 | (25)-- |
(25) Not applicable
The initially recorded figure includes all homicides because when an offence is discovered and recorded by the police, it is not generally known whether an offence of murder, manslaughter or infanticide has been committed.
Figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland are matter for the respective Secretaries of State.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department has made on consideration of the inter-departmental working party report on corporate liability. [109371]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
We are continuing to consider the conclusions of the inter-departmental working group of officials which has been examining the recommendations made in the Law Commission's report no. 237 "Legislating the Criminal Code: Involuntary Manslaughter". The Law Commission's report included a recommendation that there should be a new offence of corporate killing.
We are consulting our colleagues on how to take the matter forward and expect to publish our conclusions for consultation.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in England and Wales are freemasons. [109440]
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 412W
Mr. Charles Clarke:
There is no requirement for this information to be provided by police officers. Most forces in England and Wales are compiling statistics of freemasonry membership among officers and civilian staff from information provided on a voluntary basis, and the following figures are currently available for 26 forces. Of the 38,875 individuals who made returns, 417 indicated that they were freemasons.
Mr. Swayne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to establish a private security industry authority. [109361]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Our White Paper, "The Government's Proposals for Regulation of the Private Security Industry in England and Wales", published last year set out plans to establish an authority to be responsible for maintaining and improving standards within the industry, and for licensing people employed in the industry. We intend to introduce legislation as soon as Parliamentary time permits.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long, on average, he has taken to scrutinise each warrant issued under the Interception of Communications Act 1985. [110041]
Mr. Straw:
I consider very carefully each application for a warrant submitted to me under the Interception of Communications Act 1985. The average time taken for this scrutiny, depends on the complexity of the application. An average would not be meaningful. The Interception of Communications Commissioner, currently Lord Nolan, stated in his annual report for 1998 that he had found no case where I had issued or renewed a warrant without adequate justification.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for West Chelmsford will receive substantive replies to his letters concerning his constituents (a) Mr. A. Camp, written on 2 September 1999, (b) Mr. Sobarten, written on 29 September 1999, (c) Mr. S. Tennant, written on 2 September 1999 and (d) Mr. J. M. Braouli, written on 4 August 1999. [109738]
Mrs. Roche:
I wrote to the hon. Member about Mr. Camp's case on 11 February 2000. I wrote about Mr. Tennant's case on 10 November 1999 and 14 February 2000, and about Mr. Braouli's case on 14 February 2000. We have no record of correspondence from the hon. Member about Mr. Sobarten. I assume the hon. Member is referring to his letter of 29 December about Mr. Sisawo Jobarteh to which I replied on 14 February 2000. I am extremely sorry for the delays in replying.
Mr. Paice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire's letter on behalf of a constituent, Mrs. Anna Newton, which was acknowledged by his Office on 2 November 1999 (Reference 21142/99); and what steps he is taking to improve the timeliness of replies from his Office. [110140]
14 Feb 2000 : Column: 413W
Mrs. Roche:
I replied to the hon. Member on 14 February 2000.
Every effort is made to provide timely answers to letters sent to Ministers. Unfortunately, as in the present case, delays sometimes occur. I have reminded my officials of the need to ensure that the required priority is given to dealing with ministerial correspondence.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from Somalia have entered the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, indicating the number who are (a) asylum seekers, (b) dependants seeking family reunion, and (c) visitors; and of those how many have been (i) accepted, (ii) informed and are appealing and (iii) refused and removed. [109489]
Mrs. Roche:
The available information is given in the tables.
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999(26) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total admissions(27) | 5,720 | 5,560 | 4,490 | 4,900 | 1,460 |
| Of which: | |||||
| Visitors | 1,820 | 1,470 | 1,470 | 1,780 | 870 |
| Dependants(28) | 350 | 280 | 270 | 390 | 110 |
| Passengers refused and removed | 63 | 76 | 99 | 190 | 99 |
(26) January to June only.
(27) Persons, including port asylum seekers, given leave to enter. Excludes persons given temporary admission.
(28) Family members coming for settlement.
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998(31) | 1999(31) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications received | 3,465 | 1,780 | 2,730 | 4,685 | 7,495 |
| Total decisions | 2,400 | 3,835 | 2,305 | 2,805 | (32)80 |
| Of which: | |||||
| Granted asylum | 10 | 15 | 985 | 2,330 | 20 |
| Not recognised as a refugee but granted ELR | 2,205 | 3,580 | 1,015 | 375 | (33)20 |
| Refused asylum and ELR | 185 | 235 | 305 | 100 | 40 |
| Appeals sent to the IAA (adjudicators) | 165 | 110 | 30 | 15 | (34)-- |
| Removals and voluntary departure (58), (59) | 20 | 40 | 50 | 35 | (34)-- |
(29) Excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
(30) Includes voluntary departures up to and including notification of the decision on the asylum application for port applicants. Includes only those voluntary departures taking place after the initiation of enforcement action for in-country applicants.
(31) Provisional data.
(32) January to May only.
(33) Includes 15 cases decided under pragmatic measures aimed at reducing the pre-1996 Act asylum backlog.
(34) Not available.
(35) 1998 figure is estimated.
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