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Offences (DNA)
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what class of offences DNA samples are (a) taken and (b) held even where prosecution does not proceed. [52942]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 26 April 2002]: Under the provisions of section 63 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), the police may taken non-intimate DNA samples from all those charged with, informed they will be reported for, or convicted of a recordable offence.
The police may also take a non-intimate sample from those suspected of a recordable offence where there were grounds for believing the sample will tend to confirm or disprove the suspect's involvement.
Samples can be taken with consent in any case.
Pursuant to section 64A of PACE samples may be retained in all cases, even following acquittal or a decision to drop a prosecution, except where the sample was taken as part of a mass screening process and the individual does not consent to the retention of the sample. Retained samples can only be used for purposes related to the prevention or detection of crime, the investigation of an offence or the conduct of a prosecution.
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Press Subscriptions
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the newspapers subscribed to (a) Monday to Saturday and (b) on Sunday by his Department, stating for each subscription (i) the number of copies taken, and (ii) the annual cost. [52837]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 26 April 2002]: Communication Directorate purchases newspapers for its use and for some other parts of the Home Office. The totals for these are shown in the tables.
Information is not held centrally on the purchase and cost of newspapers for the Department as a whole.
A breakdown of the newspaper subscriptions and the total expenditure on this basis could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the magazines and periodicals subscribed to by his Department, stating for each subscription (i) the number of copies taken, and (ii) the annual cost. [52838]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 26 April 2002]: Communication Directorate purchases magazines and periodicals for its use and for some other parts of the Home Office. The total for 2001–02 was £59,000.
Information is not held centrally on the purchase and cost of magazines and periodicals for the Department as a whole.
A breakdown of the subscriptions to magazines and periodicals and the total expenditure on this basis could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Police Pensions
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of each police authority's total budget was accounted for by police pensions in the financial years (a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000, (c) 2000–01 and (d) 2001–02; and whether he is undertaking a review of police pensions. [51485]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 April 2002]: Figures for police pensions as a proportion of net expenditure are set out in the table.
As we made clear in our White Paper 'Policing a New Century: A Blueprint for Reform', we are aware of the need of police authorities and officers for a system which brings greater clarity about pensions obligations on individual police forces. The Home Office and Treasury are reviewing the options for a revised system which would bring this about.
Source:
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police statistics [Actuals] 1998/99–1999/2000 and [Estimates] 2000/01–2001/02. An actual net pensions figure for Leicestershire was not available in 1998–99 so the figure from the Police statistics Estimates 1998–99 has been used.
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Operation Antler
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost in each year, to (a) his Department and (b) Wiltshire Constabulary of Operation Antler, including salary and support costs; and how many officers have worked on the case in each year. [52413]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 April 2002]: The chief constable informs me that Wiltshire Police Authority salary and support costs for Operation Antler, since it commenced in August 1999, have been as follows:
| Year | £ |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 223,457 |
| 2000–01 | 715,823 |
| 2001–02(31) | 742,002 |
| Total | 1,681,282 |
(31) To February 2002. Figures to the end of March are not yet available.
A special grant in relation to the additional costs of the Porton Down investigation was made by the Home Office to Wiltshire Constabulary in August 2000 for £870,000.
I understand from the force that to March 2000 there were 14 staff on the investigation (10 Wiltshire police officers, two Wiltshire support staff and two Ministry of Defence (MOD) police officers); at its peak from January 2001 there were 26 staff (14 Wiltshire police officers, five Wiltshire support staff, two MOD police officers and five military investigators). The current staffing level is 18 (10 Wiltshire police officers, six Wiltshire support staff, one MOD police officer and one military investigator).
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