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Crime Reduction Partnerships
26. Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on crime reduction partnerships. [5167]
Mr. Denham: Crime and disorder reduction partnerships lie at the heart of crime reduction and the effective development and implementation of local strategies by police, local authorities and other local groups to ensure a community-based approach to tackle local problems.
Police Numbers
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average number of police officers is per 10,000 of population in (a) England and (b) Cambridgeshire. [6171]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 16 October 2001]: The information requested is set out in the table.
| Cambridgeshire constabulary | England | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2001 | ||
| Police officers | (10)17.87 | 23.4 |
| Civilian support staff | (10)8.47 | 10.3 |
(10) Population figures are those for mid-1999, the latest available from the ONS.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many compensation payments the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has made for the loss of passports and original documents, and at what cost, in each of the past 10 years. [8069]
Angela Eagle: Details of compensation payments were not recorded centrally prior to April 2000.
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Records of compensation payments made in respect of claims against the Integrated Casework Directorate have been kept centrally since April 2000. In the financial year 2000–01, 410 claims were approved; £44,550 was paid in compensation. In the first six months of the current financial year, 214 claims have been approved and £68,165 has been paid. As there is a timelag of around two months between authorisation and payment, a number of claims agreed in 2000–01 will have been paid in the current financial year. Records of payments do not differentiate between claims in connection with lost passports and other claims arising from maladministration by the directorate but we estimate that around 85 per cent. relate to lost passports and associated costs such as travel expenses.
Asylum Seekers (Algeria)
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers have been returned to Algeria in each of the last 10 years; and what guidance he gives for returning Algerians to that country. [8074]
Angela Eagle: The requested information on the number of failed asylum seekers returned to Algeria in each of the last 10 years is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Available information on the number of Algerian nationals who were removed from the United Kingdom, having at some stage sought asylum, is shown in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 150 |
| 1996 | 200 |
| 1997 | 180 |
| 1998 | 80 |
| 1999 | 100 |
| 2000 | 80 |
Guidance on returning Algerians to Algeria takes account of objective country information and advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The country information sources are listed in the bibliography of the Algerian country assessment, a copy of which is in the Library and on the Home Office website. The policy to remove failed asylum seekers to Algeria if they have no other basis of stay in the United Kingdom is in line with that of other European countries.
Assets (Confiscation)
Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to take steps to confiscate the assets of serious criminals. [9152]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Last Thursday the House gave a First Reading to the Proceeds of Crime Bill, which sets out the Government's broad-based attack on those who seek to profit from the misery of others. I look forward to the views of my hon. Friend and other hon. Members when we debate the Second Reading of the Bill shortly.
Illegal Drugs
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment the NCIS has made
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about the effects of the action in Afghanistan on the UK market for illegal drugs; and if he will make a statement. [9465]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: NCIS has made no assessment but we are keeping the position under review.
Work Training and Job Kiosks
Phil Hope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons have work training and job kiosks; and what plans he has to extend these initiatives across the prison estate. [9143]
Beverley Hughes: Prisons provide prisoners with information from the Employment Service (ES) job-bank, by contacting ES Direct or by hard copies of vacancies sent/brought to prisons by ES staff working directly with the Prison Service. Information from the job-bank is obtained from the internet by Prison Service staff.
We are considering piloting a number of stand-alone job point kiosks in selected prisons which prisoners can use to access this information directly. We are also considering piloting the ES work train databases within some prisons which have well developed job clubs or pre-release programmes run by prison staff or a voluntary sector partner (with a phone line to ES Direct). If the results look promising, we will consider a wider roll-out across the prison estate.
Palestinian Mandate Refugees
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Palestinian mandate refugees and their descendants are living in the United Kingdom; and if he will bring forward proposals to give them permanent refugee status. [8119]
Angela Eagle: Palestinians are or can be protected or assisted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the near east (UNRWA), which is another agency of the United Nations. They do not therefore fall under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) mandate and are not recognised as mandate refugees. I understand there are no Palestinians therefore present in the United Kingdom as the result of an application made under the resettlement programme relating to mandate refugees.
Terrorists
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested or detained for questioning and subsequently released without charge in connection with the terrorist events of 11 September; and if he will make a statement. [8685]
Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 19 October 2001]: Following requests for information and assistance from the FBI six people were detained under the provisions of the Terrorism Act 2000. All were released without charge but one was immediately re-arrested under the terms of an extradition warrant. Since 11 September a further 17 people were detained under the provisions of the Act. All but one were released without charge.
The police and security services continue to monitor and assess any potential terrorist suspects, including any who are already in custody for other offences.
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Police Car Chases
Mr. Rendel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been involved in crashes while taking part in car chases, over the latest year for which figures are available. [8783]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 19 October 2001]: The latest figures available are for the 12 months from 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 and refer only to accidents involving police vehicles which were engaged in immediate/emergency response or pursuit at the time of the accident. During this period one officer was killed, 60 sustained serious injuries, and 1,018 were slightly injured. Figures are not held centrally on the number of police officers involved in emergency/pursuit accidents which did not result in a death or injury.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letters of 8 August and 18 September, ref 13889/1. [8738]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 19 October 2001]: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 22 October. I am sorry for the delay in replying.
Police Numbers (London)
Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the manpower level of police is in London; and if he will make a statement. [9154]
Mr. Denham: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that on 31 August the force had 25,514 officers. This is 636 more officers than in March 2001. In addition the force had 10,338 civilian support staff—298 more than in March 2001.
Pakistani Nationals
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Pakistani nationals holding UK visas have been refused entry to the UK since 11 September; and how many of these were refused at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick and (c) Manchester. [8196]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 18 October 2001]: I regret that the information requested is not currently published.
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