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Police Buildings
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the maintenance costs of police buildings and the projected costs of repairs in 2000-01 and 2001-02. [111482]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the Audit Commission, in their report "Action Stations--improving the management of the police estate", published in March 1999, stated that in the two thirds of forces able to estimate the expenditure required to bring existing buildings up to a satisfactory state of repair, the maintenance backlog amounted to £205 million.
Crime Tackling Priorities
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the priorities which have been set for tackling different categories of crime in England and Wales. [111480]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
We have made it clear that our priorities are to reduce domestic burglary, vehicle crime, and violent crime.
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Mr. Heald:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when the first assessment of police forces' progress against the crime reduction targets for vehicle crime and burglary will be completed; and if it will be published; [111478]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Each police authority's Best Value Performance Plan will be audited each year between 1 April and 30 June. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary will then undertake a series of risk based inspections, an important element of which will be an assessment of the progress a police authority has made towards meeting its five year crime reduction targets. Where targets are not being met, this will have a direct bearing on the appropriate level of inspection.
The recorded crime figures will continue to be published every six months at both police force and Basic Command Unit level. The next publication will be July 2000. These figures will continue to give the public valuable information about how successful their local police have been in reducing crime and what progress has been made towards meeting their crime reduction targets.
Mr. Heald:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many public relations and/or marketing consultants were engaged by each police force in 1997, 1998 and 1999; [111511]
(3) how many press officers were employed in each police force area in 1997, 1998 and 1999. [111512]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hunter:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff left the Hampshire constabulary in each year since 1991-92. [111300]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The available information is set out in the table. Information on wastage of civilian staff is not centrally collected.
(2) what mechanisms are in place to assess police forces' progress against the crime reduction targets for vehicle crime and burglary. [111479]
(2) if he will estimate the number of police officers who currently spend more than 90 per cent. of their working time collating and producing statistics; [111453]
| Year | Officer wastage |
|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 161 |
| 1992-93 | 147 |
| 1993-94 | 150 |
| 1994-95 | 164 |
| 1995-96 | 159 |
| 1996-97 | 142 |
| 1997-98 | 157 |
| 1998-99 | 137 |
| 1999-2000(30) | 111 |
(30) Wastage figures for 1999-2000 are for the first six months only (March to September 1999)
28 Feb 2000 : Column: 127W
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff there were in the establishment of the Hampshire constabulary in each year since 1991-92. [111299]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Information on police force establishments after March 1995 is not available. Under legislation passed by the previous Government in 1994, police officer establishments for each force, set by Government, were abolished from April 1995. It became the responsibility of individual chief constables to determine the number of police offices in their force within the available resources. The Home Office has never set establishments for civilian support staff.
| Year (as at 31 March) | Establishment | Police officer strength | Civilian support staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | 3,202 | 3,211 | 1,051.5 |
| 1992-93 | 3,269 | 3,275 | 1,077.5 |
| 1993-94 | 3,269 | 3,270 | 1,151 |
| 1994-95 | 3,269 | 3,256 | 1,230.5 |
| 1995-96 | n/a | 3,347.1 | 1,323 |
| 1996-97 | n/a | 3,451.7 | 1,315.6 |
| 1997-98 | n/a | 3,489.5 | 1,330.9 |
| 1998-99 | n/a | 3,473.4 | 1,380.7 |
| 1999-2000 (as at 30 September) | n/a | 3,410.8 | 1,402.7 |
Immigration Rules
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to the Immigration Service about the interpretation and enforcement of Rule 57(6) of the Immigration Rules following the Government's decision to allow students from outside the European Economic Area to work in this country without a student work permit. [111440]
Mrs. Roche: The Immigration Service has been informed of the range of part-time work a student may take without the need for Job Centre approval. There has been no change to the enforcement of paragraph 57(vi) of the Immigration Rules.
West Mercia Police
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each year since 1992 for the Shrewsbury division of West Mercia police (a) the number of notifiable offences, (b) clear-up rates and (c) the number of police officers; and if he will make a statement. [111445]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The total of notifiable offences and clear ups, and numbers of officers, are not collected centrally below police force area level. Details of the numbers of a restricted range of offences for basic command units, including Shrewsbury, for the six month period ended September 1999 are available in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin on recorded crime, issue 1/00, published on 18 January, which is available in the Library.
28 Feb 2000 : Column: 128W
Dan Norris:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures the Government are taking to prevent child pornography being placed on the Internet; [111268]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
We have very strict legislation against child pornography which applies equally to material placed on the Internet as to material in other forms. Under the Protection of Children Act 1978, the United Kingdom has an absolute prohibition on the production, circulation and possession with a view to distribution of any indecent photograph of a child under 16. These offences carry a maximum sentence of three years' imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both. The simple possession of an indecent photograph of a child is also an offence under Section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and carries a sentence of six months' imprisonment. Section 84 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 updated these controls to include indecent computer-generated photographs of children and they have been successfully applied to child pornography transmitted over the Internet.
We are determined to ensure that there are effective measures against child pornography. We support the work of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) which passes to the police details of potentially unlawful material brought to their attention by members of the public via a specially established hotline. If the originators of the material are abroad, the Foundation passes the report to the National Criminal Intelligence Service who liaise with the enforcement agencies of the countries concerned. The IWF took action on 1,126 reports of alleged child pornography in 1999.
The Government also fully support international initiatives in the Council of Europe and the G8 to combat criminal misuse of the Internet.
Ms Shipley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost is of a drug treatment and testing order per offender; and what the average cost is of a custodial sentence in such cases. [111660]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The estimated average cost of a drug treatment and testing order per offender is approximately £6,000. The cost of custody for all offenders, including drug misusers, will depend on the length of their sentences. The average annual cost of custody for all prisoners in 1998-99 was £25,096 per place.
(2) what penalties are in place to deter people from publishing child pornography on the Internet; and what further measures are planned. [111269]
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