| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Foot and Mouth
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much of the cost to the economy of foot and mouth disease has been incurred in (a) Scotland and (b) Dumfries and Galloway. [19985]
Mrs. Liddell [holding answer 3 December 2001]: In March 2001, the Scottish Executive formed an Economic Impact Assessment Group to collect evidence for decisions on relief and recovery measures following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.
A reliable assessment of the final cost of the foot and mouth disease cannot be made until the Impact Assessment Group, in collaboration with Whitehall and the other devolved Administrations, completes its assessment, in summer next year.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Communications Data
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests last year there were by the Metropolitan Police of (a) British Telecom and (b)
6 Dec 2001 : Column: 475W
other private sector communications organisations for information in respect of communications traffic data. [20446]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 4 December 2001]: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that between November 2000 and November 2001 the Metropolitan Police Service made an estimated (a) 10,500 requests of British Telecom and (b) 13,000 of other private sector communications organisations.
Firearms
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegally-held firearms were (a) recovered other than by seizure and (b) seized by police forces, in each year since 1990. [20540]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 4 December 2001]: Information about illegal firearms seized by police forces is not collected centrally. During the firearms amnesty in 1996, nearly 23,000 firearms were surrendered to the police, but not all of these would have been illegally held.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend the scope of section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968 to include airguns. [20447]
Mr. Denham: High powered air rifles (those with a muzzle energy greater than twelve foot pounds) are already subject to the control of section 1 of the Act. High powered air pistols (those with a muzzle energy greater than six foot pounds) are prohibited under the terms of section 5(1)(aba).
The Government do not believe that a certification regime for low powered air weapons would be justified. It would be costly to introduce, would be cumbersome to operate and would impose a considerable administrative burden on already stretched police firearms licensing departments.
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Tribunal
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) financial, (b) personal and (c) administrative resources are available to the regulation of investigatory powers tribunal to enable it to undertake its work. [20444]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 4 December 2001]: For the financial year 2000–02, £167,000 has been budgeted for the investigatory powers tribunal. This includes Secretariat staff salaries, fees and expenses for tribunal members and salary for one Commissioner. The Secretariat to the tribunal consists of few officials and a part-legally qualified Registrar.
Prisoner Data
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) men and (b) women in prison in England and Wales on 10 June in each of the past three years were jailed for (i) fine default and (ii) drug offences related to personal use. [20289]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 4 December 2001]: The information requested is given in the tables.
6 Dec 2001 : Column: 476W
The proportion of males and females in prisons in England and Wales who were jailed for fine default is as follows:
| As at 30 June | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000 | 2000 | |
| Proportion of Males | 0.16 | 0.14 | 0.07 |
| Proportion of females | 0.16 | 0.21 | 0.05 |
Information on drug offences is given for all types of drug offence. The proportion of males and females in prison in England and Wales who were sentenced for drug offences is as follows:
| As at 30 June | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
| Males | |||
| Unlawful Supply | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
| Possession with intent to supply | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| Possession | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
| Unlawful import/ export | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
| Other drug offences | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| All drug offences | 11.6 | 12.0 | 12.4 |
| Females | |||
| Unlawful supply | 5.8 | 6.9 | 7.0 |
| Possession with intent to supply | 4.9 | 4.7 | 5.2 |
| Possession | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| Unlawful import/ export | 15.1 | 15.1 | 16.7 |
| Other drug offences | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| All drug offences | 27.1 | 28.2 | 30.0 |
Downview Prison
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many occupants of Downview prison have been transferred (a) to more secure category prisons or (b) out of the south-east in the last 12 months. [20123]
Beverley Hughes: The exact information requested is not available. In preparation for the change of role of Downview to a women's prison, 340 male prisoners were moved from the establishment between 17 July and 1 September. No prisoners were moved out of the south-east, and none had their security category increased, as part of this process.
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rehabilitation and education programmes were being run at HMP Downview on 17 July; how many prisoners were on each programme; and where those prisoners completed their programmes. [19517]
Beverley Hughes: The available information will take some time to compile. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Electronic Tagging
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many electronically tagged offenders there are (a) in the UK, (b) within Teesside and (c) within Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency. [19970]
6 Dec 2001 : Column: 477W
Beverley Hughes: As at midnight on 30 November 2001, a total of 3,527 persons were electronically tagged in England and Wales. 28 were within Teesside, and five of these were within Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency.
Stalkers
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures have been taken in the past five years to strengthen the protection from stalkers available for women. [18668]
Mr. Keith Bradley [holding answer 28 November 2001]: The Protection from Harassment Act came into force in June 1997. The Act not only protects women from stalking, but all those subjected to repetitive and alarming or distressing behaviour, among others: children from bullies, victims of domestic violence and witnesses from intimidation.
Police Authorities (Civilian Staff)
Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civilian staff were employed by each police authority in England in each year since 1979 (a) in total and (b) per head of population. [15239]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is readily available only since 1989. A table has been placed in the Library which shows the answer in the form of population per officer.
Police Numbers
Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) operational police officers per head of population there are in each police authority in England. [15238]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is set out in the table in the form of population per police officer. Operational officers are defined by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary as any member of staff, including covert staff, whose primary role (ie over 50 per cent. of their time) is directly to deliver the overarching aims of the police service. To 'directly deliver', the role must involve routine and immediate interface (either face to face or by telephone) with the public, including covert operations; staff in such roles can be considered as front line service providers.
(10) Full time equivalents
(11) Figures for the City of London and Metropolitan police have been combined
Notes:
1. Population figures are as at mid 1999 and are provided by the Office for National Statistics
2. Police numbers figures are as at 31 March 2001 (Home Office Statistical Bulletin—Police Service Strength)
6 Dec 2001 : Column: 478W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |