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19 Sept 2002 : Column 17W—continued
Silverlands, Chertsey
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements are in place to
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recover his Department's investment in the refurbishment of Silverlands, near Chertsey, from the Department of Health. [73649]
Beverley Hughes: The Home Office is in discussions with the Department of Health about recovering funds expended on Silverlands and this will take into account the increase in the value of the property.
West Midlands Police Service
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been given to the West Midlands Police Service by his Department in each of the last eight years. [18912]
Mr. John Denham: The amount of money allocated to the West Midlands Police Authority is as follows:
| Home Office Police grant | Revenue support grant (1) | National non domestic rates (1) | Home Office Crime Fighting Fund | Total | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £million | £million | £million | £million | £million | per cent. | |
| 1995–1996 | 163.2 | 83.2 | 49.5 | 0 | 295.9 | 6.2 |
| 1996–1997 | 172.3 | 83.2 | 54.4 | 0 | 309.9 | 4.7 |
| 1997–1998 | 175.3 | 90.0 | 52.0 | 0 | 317.3 | 2.4 |
| 1998–1999 | 190.2 | 93.5 | 51.4 | 0 | 335.1 | 5.6 |
| 1999–2000 | 191.3 | 95.9 | 55.0 | 0 | 342.2 | 2.1 |
| 2000–2001 | 198.1 | 94.2 | 60.8 | 2.8 | 355.9 | 4.0 |
| 2001–2002 (2) | 205.6 | 101.3 | 60.3 | 7.7 | 374.9 | 5.3 |
| 2002–2003 (2) | 206.2 | 96.9 | 65.2 | 11.8 | 380.1 | 3.8 |
(1) Police Authorities receive National Non Domestic Rates and Revenue Support Grant from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
(2) The figures for 2002–03 are not directly comparable with 2001–02. The National Crime Squad/National Criminal Intelligence Service are now funded centrally, rather than through police authorities. On a like-for-like basis the comparable total for 2001–02 would have been £366.2 million. The year on year percentage change in 2002–03 is calculated on the like-for-like basis.
In addition, the following grants have also been made:
Under present arrangements, capital grant is paid to police authorities. Grant also continues to be paid towards the annual loan charges on capital sums borrowed under earlier grant rules.
| Year | Capital grant (£million) | Loan charges grant (£million) |
|---|---|---|
| 1995–1996 | 6.1 | 0.6 |
| 1996–1997 | 4.8 | 1.4 |
| 1997–1998 | 4.5 | 1.6 |
| 1998–1999 | 3.9 | 1.1 |
| 1999–2000 | 3.9 | 1.0 |
| 2000–2001 | 4.3 | 1.0 |
| 2001–2002 | 4.1 | 0.6 |
| 2002–2003 | 4.4 | 0.6 |
| Purpose | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–1998 | Police Firearms grant | 70,126 |
| 1998–1999 | Police Firearms grant | 19,246 |
| 1998–1999 | Riot damages policing | 75,000 |
| 1998–1999 | G8 Summit policing | 1,143,000 |
| 1999–2000 | Beacon scheme | 99,800 |
| 2000–2001 | Combating robbery | 3,300,000 |
| 2000–2001 | DNA Expansion Programme | 420,000 |
| 2000–2001 | Execution of warrants | 236,757 |
| 2000–2001 | Fuel Distribution Emergency | 1,141,350 |
| 2000–2001 | NATO Conference | 100,000 |
| 2001–2002 | National Intelligence Model | 276,573 |
| 2001–2002 | DNA Expansion Programme | 3,059,498 |
| 2002–2003 | DNA Expansion Programme | 4,719,520* |
| 2002–2003 | Special grant to tackle street crime | 1,880,000** |
*Estimate at this stage and not yet paid.
**Capital grant of £240,000 and revenue grant of £820,000 for first half year was paid on 31 July 2002. The balance will be paid later in the year.
Crime Reduction Programme
Under the Crime Reduction Programme over £26.7 million has been allocated since 1999 for projects in the West Midlands under the Reducing Burglary Initiative (£3.466 million), Targeted Policing Initiative (£1.754 million), Partnership Development Fund (£3.869 million), Domestic Violence Initiative (£1.2 million), Working in Schools Initiative (£2.4 million), CCTV Initiative (£14 million) and the Prostitution Initiative (£0.076 million).
Non-Lethal Weapons
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the non-lethal weapons approved for use by police forces. [20538]
Mr. Denham: Police forces have CS incapacitant spray, a variety of truncheons and the L21A1 baton round to use as less lethal options. These have all been extensively tested. The Police Reform Act 2002 introduces powers to enable the Secretary of State to make regulations to ensure that forces only use equipment that has been approved.
19 Sept 2002 : Column 19W
Dr. Ali Dizaei
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will (a) estimate the cost of the investigation and (b) list the original reasons for the investigation given to the media, into Dr. Ali Dizaei; and if he will make a statement. (25133)
Mr. Denham: I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 19 July 2001 relating to the costs of the investigation. The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that the Metropolitan Police briefing to the media on 18 January 2001 said that Superintendent Dizaei had been suspended from duty on a significant number of counts of misconduct, following information received relating to a range of alleged disciplinary and criminal issues that covered matters of dishonesty, attempting to pervert the course of justice, personal misconduct and integrity.
Following Superintendent Dizaei's appearance at Bow Street Magistrates' Court on 28 January proceedings commenced and, as such, sub judice applies.
Retail Crime
Mr. Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the correlation between (a) retail crime and street crime and (b) retail crime and drug abuse. [53501]
Mr. Denham: Research carried out by the Home Department about the correlation between crime against retailers and street crime offences has been based on interviews with 1,884 prisoners in custody, carried out in February and March 2000. The full results of this survey are expected to be published later this year.
In a study carried out in London, Liverpool, Nottingham and Sunderland in 1998–99, 64 per cent. of those arrested for theft from shops tested positive for opiates (including heroin) and 41 per cent. tested positive for cocaine. When interviewed, 85 per cent. of those arrested for shop theft reported using heroin or cocaine in the previous year.
In a study carried out on behalf of the Drug Prevention Advisory Service between October 2000 and March 2001, 23 per cent. of the 19,190 arrestees who sought advice on drug or alcohol addiction had been arrested for shop theft. Similarly, 38 per cent. of those who sought advice admitted shop theft to be a main source of income, whilst 48 per cent. admitted shop theft in the previous 30 days.
The survey of crime affecting retailers and manufacturers announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 23 April, the results of which should be available next spring, will also provide up to date information about crimes against retailers.
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to address the problem of violence against shop staff. [71220]
Mr. Denham: The Home Office is working with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to raise awareness of the need to tackle work related violence as part of the Health and Safety Commission's three-year programme of work (2000–03) to help reduce the incidence of work-related violence. The HSE published "Work-related violence: managing the risk in smaller businesses" on
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9 July 2002. The publication includes 10 case studies on reducing risk of violence to staff. The HSE has also published specific guidance for the retail sector "Preventing Violence to Retail Staff". "Don't Discount Crime", a new user-friendly crime reduction guide for retailers became available in May 2002. This is being circulated among their members by retail trade organisations (including the British Retail Consortium), who were actively involved in deciding its content and design. It is of particular relevance to small retailers and includes basic guidance on what steps to take to reduce crime as well as what to do in crime situations.
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 14 May 2002, Official Report, column 605W, on retail crime, to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Mr. Lepper), if he will list for each regional crime reduction director, the annual budget for crime reduction in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [71305]
Mr. Denham: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave the hon Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 22 July 2002, Official Report, column 863W.
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what study has been made of the link between alcohol and drug-related violent crime against retail staff. [71219]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: No study has been undertaken to look specifically at the link between alcohol and drug related violent crime against retail staff. However, we are aware from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) ninth annual survey published this year of their concerns about the level of crime affecting retailers and the concerns they have that this is being driven by theft by drug and alcohol abusers. We are carrying out a commercial crime victimisation study of retail and manufacturing sectors later this year (the first for ten years). This will give a firm basis for identifying the main crime problems affecting business and give valuable indicators of the best ways to tackle these issues.
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