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Police Custody
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) fatalities and (b) suicides have taken place among those in police custody in each year since 1992. [68234]
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Mr. Denham: The Home Office publishes annual statistics of deaths in police custody or otherwise following contact with the police. Relevant figures derived from those statistics are shown in the following table. Statistics for 2001–02 are currently being finalised.
| Year | Total number of deaths in police custody | Deaths that occurred in police stations | Inquest verdicts of suicide | Inquest verdicts awaited |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 48 | 17 | 6 | 0 |
| 1993 | 31 | 16 | 4 | 0 |
| 1994 | 39 | 17 | 12 | 0 |
| 1995–96 | 50 | 22 | 12 | 0 |
| 1996–97 | 57 | 16 | 5 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | 69 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | 67 | 16 | 12 | 1 |
| 1999–2000 | 70 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| 2000–01 | 53 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
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Crime Fighting Fund
Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what level he plans to set the crime fighting fund in future years; and what plans he has to fund an increase in the number of police officers. [68040]
Mr. Denham: Under the Government's Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) recruitment initiative, forces have been allocated funding for 9,000 recruits over and above their previous recruitment plans for the three years to March 2003 which will ensure a total 130,000 officers by April 2003.
£454 million has been provided to cover the cost of officers recruited under the scheme during these three years. In addition, the Spending Review 2000 also provided £272 million for 2003–04 to meet the continuing cost of officers recruited under the CFF initiative.
Provision for funding CFF officers beyond 2003–04 is a matter for the current Spending Review. Further provision for the Crime Fighting Fund or other central government funding specifically to increase the number of police officers will be determined in the light of the outcome of the Spending Review 2002.
Police Authority Budgets
Phil Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what adjustments he proposes to make to the base budget of police authorities relating to funding for officers. [68039]
Mr. Denham: Total Standard Spending for police authorities will be determined in the light of the outcome of the Spending Review 2002. It is for police authorities to determine their own budgets in the light of funding available to them.
PC Taiwo Oduntan
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police service and inspectorate is reporting to him on the assault on British Transport police constable Taiwo Oduntan. [68074]
Mr. Denham: Sussex Police are investigating the matter on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Service, as agreed by the Police Complaints Authority. The Police Complaints Authority inform us that the agreed terms of reference are:
To investigate objectively and thoroughly the circumstances surrounding an incident that took place on 22 April 2002, when Taiwo Oduntan was arrested at his home address by officers of the Metropolitan Police Service, detained at Uxbridge Police Station, and suffered injuries;
To investigate specifically the allegation that the actions of the officers were racially motivated;
To take full account of the perspective of each party to the investigative process; and
To ensure that the investigation itself is non-discriminatory.
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Street Crime
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role Baroness Blackstone has in overseeing the street crime initiative of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary; and if he will make a statement. [67692]
Mr. Denham: The cross-government Street Crime Action Group, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister agreed that it would be helpful for each of the 10 street crime areas to be supported by a minister. As one of the sponsor ministers Baroness Blackstone is undertaking visits to Avon and Somerset to meet with and support local agencies, to promote a shared approach to tackling street crime at local level, and to identify any issues on which further action by government agencies would be helpful.
Illegal Working
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions for illegal working have taken place in the last 12 months; and with what results. [68644]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not available centrally, as illegal working is a circumstance rather than a specific offence and the Home Office Court Proceedings Database does not hold information on offence circumstances. However, in the year 2000, 32 persons were prosecuted under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. This section makes it an offence for employers knowingly or negligently to employ persons aged 16 or over who are subject to immigration control unless they fall into one of two categories. They must either have current and valid permission to be in the United Kingdom which does not prevent them taking the job in question, or they must fall into a category where such employment is otherwise allowed.
Information on the number of prosecutions in 2001 is due to be published in the Command Paper "Control of Immigration Statistics United Kingdom 2001" in late autumn of this year.
Heart Detector Machines
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time staff are employed at (a) Dover and (b) Folkestone to operate a heart detector machine. [68629]
Beverley Hughes: There are the equivalent of 68 immigration officers, based on the number of staff days worked in a typical week, deployed on freight searching duties at Dover. The officers operate the heartbeat detector as well as other methods for detecting clandestine illegal entrants, such as dogs and carbon dioxide detectors.
The heartbeat detector is not deployed at Folkestone. However the Immigration Service deploys 56 officers in the United Kingdom Control Zone at Coquelles to operate the heartbeat detector and other detection methods.
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Robbery
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost to public funds is of the failure to achieve the Public Service Agreement target to reduce robbery. [68777]
Mr. Denham: The Public Service Agreement target is to reduce robbery in the Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, West Midlands and Metropolitan Police Service areas by 14 per cent by 2005. The target is ongoing and the forces concerned are continuing to work towards its delivery.
Police Treatment of Detainees
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the PACE Code of Practice on police treatment of detainees will be issued for consultation; and how long the consultation will last. [68789]
Mr. Denham: A draft revised version of the Police and Criminal Evidence Code of Practice (PACE) Code of Practice C on the detention, treatment and questioning of persons by police officers was issued for consultation on 12 June 2002. The consultation period lasts until 16 August.
Domestic Violence
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of domestic violence have been prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last three years. [63585]
Solicitor-General: I have been asked to reply.
In 1999, the CPS prosecuted 6,404 cases of domestic violence. In 2000, the CPS prosecuted 7,680 cases of domestic violence. In 2001, the CPS prosecuted 7,996 cases of domestic violence. The figures include cases where a defendant agreed to be bound over and are based on the CPS monitoring system of annual 3-month snapshots carried out between 1999 and 2001.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Diplomatic Missions
Ms Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many serious offences were committed in 2001 by persons entitled to immunity by virtue of their employment by a diplomatic mission or an international organisation, and by their dependants. [70289]
Mr. Macshane: From a community of over 19,500 persons entitled to immunity, 21 serious offences, allegedly committed by such persons, were drawn to the attention of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2001. "Serious offences" are defined in accordance with the 1985 White Paper on Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges—i.e. as offences that would, in certain circumstances, carry a penalty of 12 months or more imprisonment.
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Non-Domestic Rates
Ms Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will name the diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom that owed more than £10,000 as at 5 April in respect of national non-domestic rates for office premises. [70290]
Mr. Macshane: Most diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom meet their obligations and pay the NNDR requested from them. However, as at 5 April 2002, the following missions owed over £10,000 in respect of NNDR:
| Country | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bulgaria | 117,511.13 |
| Iran | 97,352.55 |
| Sierra Leone | 48,274.76 |
| Algeria | 43,194.62 |
| Mozambique | 31,116.14 |
| Cameroon | 27,646.19 |
| Uganda | 24,760.37 |
| Bangladesh | 20,636.91 |
| Syria | 20,004.66 |
| Zambia | 19,276.56 |
| Senegal | 14,600,98 |
| Jordan | 13,154.29 |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 12,066.16 |
| Total | 489,595.32 |
Eleven additional diplomatic missions who each owe more than £10,000 in respect of NNDR have made arrangements with the Valuation Office Agency to clear their outstanding debts have not been included in the list. These eleven missions owe £729,731.66. The total amount outstanding from all missions, therefore, is £1,219,326.98.
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