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28 Apr 2003 : Column 216W—continued
Fixed Penalties
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices have been issued under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835, in each year since 1 August 1999, broken down by (a) police and (b) local authority area. [108610]
Hilary Benn: The regular collection of data on fixed penalties for motoring offences does not identify separately offences peculiar to driving a motor vehicle on a footpath (section 72 of the Highways Act 1835), from other motoring offences of neglect of pedestrian rights. Fixed penalty data are not collected centrally on the number of pedal cyclists driving on a footpath (also under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835). Information by local authority is not collected centrally.
The table shows information collected as part of a special exercise conducted in 2001 on the number of fixed penalties issued by police force area, under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835, in 1999 and 2000 only.
| Cycling on thefootpath (pavement) | Driving on thefootpath (pavement) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police force area | 1999 | 2000 | 1999 | 2000 |
| Avon and Somerset | 19 | 34 | 16 | 42 |
| Bedfordshire | — | — | — | — |
| Cambridgeshire | (59)— | (59)— | (59)— | (59)— |
| Cheshire | 6 | 14 | 2 | 6 |
| Cleveland | 5 | 5 | — | — |
| Cumbria | 12 | 20 | 4 | 24 |
| Derbyshire | 3 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 28 | 34 | 4 | 43 |
| Dorset | 7 | 17 | 7 | 1 |
| Durham | 7 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| Essex | 76 | 55 | 5 | 7 |
| Gloucestershire | 25 | 47 | 6 | 4 |
| Greater Manchester | 38 | 78 | (60)— | (60)— |
| Hampshire | 52 | 52 | — | 4 |
| Hertfordshire | 11 | 6 | 3 | 13 |
| Humberside | 19 | 64 | 1 | 14 |
| Kent | 48 | 44 | 39 | 92 |
| Lancashire | 8 | 20 | 41 | 11 |
| Leicestershire | 13 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Lincolnshire | 15 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| London, City of | 10 | 3 | 10 | — |
| Merseyside | 18 | 20 | 5 | 7 |
| Metropolitan Police | 29 | 66 | 8 | 22 |
| Norfolk | (61)8 | 14 | (61)1 | 3 |
| Northamptonshire | 2 | 7 | — | — |
| Northumbria | 21 | 27 | 9 | 58 |
| North Yorkshire | 18 | 16 | 53 | 191 |
| Nottinghamshire | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| South Yorkshire | 11 | 34 | 61 | 111 |
| Staffordshire | (61)3 | 4 | (61)— | 5 |
| Suffolk | 53 | 30 | — | — |
| Surrey | 13 | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| Sussex | 15 | 9 | — | — |
| Thames Valley | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Warwickshire | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| West Mercia | 36 | 17 | 5 | 6 |
| West Midlands | 4 | 9 | 1 | 17 |
| West Yorkshire | (62)— | 2 | (62)2 | — |
| Wiltshire | 6 | 23 | 1 | 7 |
| Dyfed-Powys | 7 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Gwent | — | 1 | 1 | — |
| North Wales | (59)— | (63)1 | 34 | (63)1 |
| South Wales | 4 | 6 | 38 | 60 |
| Total (42 forces) | 665 | 821 | 377 | 788 |
(60) Included within cycling on the footway (pavement).
(61) October to December 1999 only.
(62) November and December 1999 only.
(63) October to December 2000 only.
28 Apr 2003 : Column 217W
Government Intelligence Agency Network
Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the (a) establishment and (b) functioning of the Government Intelligence Agency Network. [107296]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: It is understood that this question refers to the work being done to reduce crime.
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 established partnerships between the police, local authorities, probation service, health authorities, the voluntary sector, and local residents and businesses. These Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships now include other groups including police authorities.
These partnerships are working to reduce crime and disorder in their area by:
- consulting widely with communities to make sure that the partnership's perception matches that of local people, especially minority groups, such as members of ethnic minorities, young people or gay men and lesbians.
devising a strategy containing measures to tackle those priority problems. This is to include targets, and target owners for each of the priority areas.
Stemming from the strategy are various projects and schemes, some of which will be very local and some of which will be borough, area or even region-wide. Funding is provided to support this work. Over £3.2 million has been allocated to Northumbria for 2003–04 with £269,920 going to Gateshead Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and £226,489 to the Police Basic Command Units covering Washington and Gateshead East.
Police numbers have also increased. In September 2002 Northumbria had 329 more officers than in March 1997, an overall total of 4,006. This was a record number.
In addition to local initiatives there are also a number of national initiatives, which help to tackle local crime problems such as those on street crime, drugs including drug treatment and vehicle crime.
Greater Manchester Police Force
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps were taken to review the safety of convictions dependent upon the evidence of corrupt officers (a) following the 1977 report by Superintendent Topping into the Greater Manchester Police force and (b) following the Court of Appeal decision to quash the conviction of Mr. Robert Brown. [108210]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I am advised by Greater Manchester Police that the report of Superintendent Topping's investigation found no allegation or evidence to suggest that any of the officers who where subject to the investigation had falsified evidence to secure a
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conviction against any individual. Therefore no review of cases or prosecutions involving these officers was conducted. The Court of Appeal decision with regard to the conviction of Mr. Robert Brown does not change this position.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make the 1977 report of Superintendent Topping into the Greater Manchester police force more widely available to interested parties; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [108211]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I am advised by Greater Manchester Police that this report related to a two year investigation launched in 1979 into allegations of corruption involving detectives working from the Platt Lane police station. Any decisions regarding the report's disclosure are a matter for the Chief Constable but I understand that Greater Manchester Police have no plans to make it more widely available.
Money Laundering
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Failure to Disclose Money Laundering: Specified Training) Order. [109972]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The Home Office is working closely with representatives of the regulated sector on the effective implementation of the anti-money laundering regime introduced by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The implications of the Act for the regulated sector have been discussed extensively, but no representations have been made specifically about the money laundering training requirements.
Parenting Orders
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parenting orders have been made in (a) Derbyshire and (b) Amber Valley since they were introduced. [108735]
Hilary Benn: 28 parenting orders were made in Derbyshire between their introduction in April 2000 and 31 December 2002. The figures collected by the Youth Offending Team are not broken down by individual local authority area.
Part-time Workers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of the Part-time Workers Directive on staff in his Department. [109263]
Beverley Hughes: The Home Office is committed to helping its staff balance their home and work life. A range of flexible and alternative working patterns, including part-time working, provides staff with the opportunities to adapt their hours to suit their commitments outside the workplace.
The latest figures from the Equal pay Review 2003 show that 23 per cent. of staff in the non-Agency Home Office work part-time. Part time working in the Criminal Records Bureau and Forensic Science Service
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is seven per cent. and in the Prison Service averages at five per cent. The United Kingdom Passport and Records Agency has 27 per cent. of staff working part-time.
The impact of the Part Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 has not been assessed but many initiatives are in place to ensure that part-time staff are not treated less favourably than full time staff. Part-time staff have the same opportunities for career development, promotion and training. The great majority of posts within the Department are now advertised as open to part-time staff and the Home Office job share database was launched in September 2002 to facilitate an increase in more job share arrangements.
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