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HOME DEPARTMENT
Operation CARE
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what claims for compensation his Department has received from individuals in relation to Operation CARE. [100236]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Victims of sexual and physical abuse as children can claim compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
The Authority advise that they cannot isolate cases that are attributable to Operation CARE.
Pre-inquest Disclosure
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the compliance by the Metropolitan Police with his Department's circular on pre-inquest disclosure to families of persons who have died in police custody in (a) the Roger Sylvester case and (b) other cases; and if he will make a statement. [100846]
Mr. Charles Clarke: No general assessment of compliance has yet been made. The circular was issued on 28 April 1999 and it remains our intention to review the implementation of the guidance after it has been in operation for a year.
My understanding from the information available to me is that the Metropolitan Police are complying with the circular. The Crown Prosecution Service is considering whether criminal proceedings relating to the death of Mr. Sylvester are appropriate. The circular states that
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disclosure should not take place until either the Crown Prosecution Service has advised against a prosecution of proceedings are complete.
Mr. Key:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of convictions in 1998 of motorists charged with driving while under the influence of (a) alcohol and (b) drugs; and if he will make a statement. [101097]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
It is not possible in the statistics held centrally to distinguish between convictions for driving while under the influence of drugs and convictions for drinking under the influence of alcohol because the charge does not distinguish which of the two is involved.
Figures of convictions for motoring offences in 1998 have not yet been published, but provisional figures show that some 93,000 convictions for driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs were recorded in England and Wales, some 7 per cent. lower than the previous year.
Figures from the Forensic Science Service, however, show that 1,779 blood samples were analysed by them on behalf of the police service in England and Wales during 1998-99, following charges under Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, approximately 90 per cent. of which were found to contain one or more drugs (although it is known that some police forces may have submitted blood samples for analysis elsewhere).
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers served in Merseyside Police for each year since 1994 to date; and what is the current number of serving officers. [101038]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Information on police numbers is collected twice a year (March and September). The figures for September 1999 are not yet available. The information requested for each year since 1994 is set out in the table.
| Year (as at 31 March) | Police officer numbers |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 4,693 |
| 1995 | 4,659 |
| 1996 | 4,411 |
| 1997 | 4,230 |
| 1998 | 4,216 |
| 1999 | 4,211 |
Cyclists (Fines)
Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many on-the-spot fines for cycling on the pavement have been issued by each police force since the scheme was introduced. [100902]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information is not yet available.
Each police force has been asked to monitor the new fixed penalty provisions which came into force on 1 August 1999, but the figures are not likely to be available until early in the new year.
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Mr. Stunell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what quantitative assessment he has made of the levels of efficiency of individual police forces, and of the differential impact of his proposed 2 per cent. efficiency savings on their operational capacity; and if he will make a statement. [101114]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Home Office uses a number of different measures to assess police performance. There is no agreed formula for measuring police efficiency, although work on measuring comparative efficiency is being carried out locally to meet the requirements of Best Value. In addition, the Public Service Productivity Panel is assessing tools for measuring efficiency to assist Police Authorities in meeting their Best Value duties.
The efficiency targets set by the Government require each force to plan efficiency gains to equal to at least 2 per cent. of non-revenue expenditure for reinvestment in front line policing. Each force will retain any cash savings for use in improving their service to the public. The overall impact will be to make efficiency gains worth £440 million available for police operations between 1999 and 2002. The differential impact for each force will depend on the strength of the efficiency plan.
Mr. Stunell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on numbers of (a) total employees, (b) uniformed officers and (c) civilian staff of his planned 2 per cent. efficiency reduction for 2000-01 in respect of the (i) Greater Manchester, (ii) Cheshire, (iii) Merseyside and (iv) Lancashire police; and if he will make a statement. [101116]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
This Government's Comprehensive Spending Review has set the police a 2 per cent. year on year efficiency target from April 1999. This is not a reduction in police funding--the resources released by efficiency gains will be reinvested in frontline policing.
As in 1999-2000, each police authority has been asked to produce an efficiency plan for the year 2000-01 detailing how this 2 per cent. efficiency target can be reached, and how cashable savings will be reinvested to provide a better public service.
The impact of efficiency plans on numbers of employees, whether police officers or civilians, is a matter for police authorities and chief officers to determine. We expect efficiency plans to be submitted to the Home Office by April 2000, and until they have been finalised I can make no assessment.
Mr. Stunell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take into account the efficiency levels of police forces when assessing bids from them for the additional special funding for front-line officers; and if he will make a statement. [101115]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
One of the "gateway" criteria against which bids will be assessed is that forces are on target to meet the 2 per cent. efficiency gains for 1999-2000 as required by the Government Comprehensive Spending Review.
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Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons aged (a) 10, (b) 11, (c) 12, (d) 13, (e) 14, (f) 15, (g) 16, (h) 17 and (i) 18 years have been (i) cautioned and (ii) convicted for (1) possession of and (2) supply of (y) Class A and (z) Class B illegal drugs in each of the last 10 years. [101369]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Crausby:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many custodial sentences were implemented by courts in Bolton for crimes relating to domestic disputes in each of the last 10 years. [101316]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
It is not possible to identify cases relating to domestic disputes from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database since it does not hold information on the circumstances behind individual offences.
Ms Atherton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) illegal and (b) legally-held handguns have been handed in since the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 came into force; [101156]
(3) how much has been paid in compensation to gun-owners for the surrender of handguns to the police since the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 came into force. [101199]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Just over 162,000 handguns were surrendered to the police under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Acts 1997. Records are not held centrally of those illegally or legally held firearms, including any handguns, which might have been handed in to the police for other reasons.
The ban on handguns was a direct response to the tragic shootings at Dunblane Primary School in March 1996, which were carried out with legally held handguns. It did not purport to solve the more general problem of armed crime, the vast majority of which is carried out using illegally held firearms. Nevertheless, the ban has removed one potential source of handguns for criminal use: in 1997, 305 handguns were stolen or otherwise misappropriated, mostly from private homes.
As at 30 November, a total of just over £89 million had been paid in compensation to those individuals who surrendered firearms and ancillary equipment under the terms of the 1997 Acts. The final figure is currently forecast to be approximately £90.2 million.
Ms Atherton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to (a) detect and (b) confiscate illegally held handguns. [101157]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The decision of smuggled handguns is the responsibility of Her Majesty's Customs, and the recovery of those in criminal use is the individual responsibility of every Constabulary. Intelligence led
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operations are used by the police to recover firearms from criminals, and Firearms Inquiry Units operated by the police concentrate on the licensing and administration of legitimate firearms to prevent legally held firearms being diverted into the criminal market. Additionally, the National Crime Squad and metropolitan forces run proactive operations against criminal sources that supply illegal handguns. The Association of Chief Police Officers two sub-committees, Criminal Use of Firearms and the Administration of Firearms and Explosives Licensing are also revising strategies to enhance the detection of illegally held firearms in criminal use.
In addition to these measures, the Government are pursuing a number of initiatives aimed at supporting police and Customs target and detect illegal activity as and when it occurs. These include:
(2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the ban on privately-held handguns in reducing the level of gun-related crime in the United Kingdom; [101165]
The creation of a strategic threat assessment of the firearm situation in England and Wales by the National Criminal Intelligence Service;
a request by the Home Office for the Firearms Consultative Committee to look into the criminal misuse of firearms; and
the negotiation by the Home Office, internationally, a draft United Nations Protocol against the illicit manufacture of and trafficking in firearms and, within the European Union, action to review the European Union Firearms Directive with the emphasis on preventing illicit trafficking.
Once detected, all illegally held handguns are confiscated by police and Customs and, to ensure they never re-enter the market, the weapons are smelted. In 1998, Customs detected less than 200 firearms being smuggled into the United Kingdom, and collectively the police submitted to the Forensic Science Service fewer than 1,000 illegally held firearms recovered used in crime.
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