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1 Jul 2003 : Column 245W—continued
Anti-social Behaviour Orders
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued in North Yorkshire in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [121352]
Ms Blears: Information held centrally up to 31 May 2000 is for the number of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued within England and Wales by police force area only. From 1 June 2000 official statistics on the number of ASBOs issued and refused within England and Wales are based on quarterly returns from Magistrates Courts Committees (MCCs).
Information is given in the table on the number of notifications, as reported to the Home Office, of ASBOs issued in North Yorkshire from 1 April 1999 up to 30 November 2002 (latest available).
We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under reported in returns made by magistrates courts and are considering how reporting can be improved.
| 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000(5) | 4 |
| 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2000 | 0 |
| 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 | 7 |
| 1 January 2002 to 30 November 2002(6) | 0 |
| Total | 11 |
(5) Data available by police force area only
(6) Latest available. Following implementation of the Police Reform Act (2 December 2002), data for December 2002 will be incorporated into the first quarter 2003 data.
Asylum Accommodation Centres
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress made in securing planning permission for each of the planned asylum accommodation centres. [121958]
Beverley Hughes: Planning inquiries for the sites identified at DSDC Bicester and the former RAF Newton concluded on 3 March and 2 May 2003 respectively. We await decisions on these sites from my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister (John Prescott).
Asylum Seekers
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many asylum claims from claimants living in the Redcar constituency have been refused since May 2002; and in how many cases deportation is pending; [121829]
- (2) how many asylum refusals (a) in Redcar and (b) in England have resulted in deportations since May 2002. [121830]
Beverley Hughes: Information on the numbers of refusals at initial decision, cases for which deportation is pending and removals relating to persons living in particular areas of the UK is not available. Deportations are a specific subset of removals alongside persons subject to administrative removal, removal due to illegal entry action or those refused entry at port and
1 Jul 2003 : Column 246W
subsequently removed. The requested information, for cases where the information is available, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases of asylum refusals (a) in Redcar and (b) in England no further action has been taken but all benefits to the asylum seeker have been stopped since May 2002. [121831]
Beverley Hughes: Information on initial decision and appeal outcomes relating to persons in particular areas of the UK is currently unavailable.
Information on the number of applications for the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) support and the numbers of asylum seekers currently being supported by NASS can be found on the web site http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Burglary (Health Impact)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's research report on the impact of burglary on the health of older people in sheltered accommodation. [122669]
Ms Blears [holding answer 30 June 2003]: We are publishing a report, entitled "Experiences of older burglary victims", on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website, together with a related report, "Distraction burglary among older adults and minority ethnic communities". Copies will be placed in the Library.
The recommendations from the two studies cover three main areas: raising awareness of the crime of distraction burglary and how to prevent it, among both older people and professionals working with them; reducing vulnerability; and reducing the impact once a crime has occurred. They are highly relevant to practitioners and voluntary groups working with older burglary victims and vulnerable groups, and officials will be discussing them with a range of interested organisations, including Help the Aged and Age Concern, through the Home Office Distraction Burglary Task Force.
Cannabis
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the reclassification of cannabis will be completed; and why this measure will not be introduced in July. [121865]
Caroline Flint: Subject to Parliamentary approval, cannabis will be reclassified to Class C under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as soon as some related provisions in the Criminal Justice Bill currently before Parliament are brought into force. The related provisions introduce a power of arrest for the possession of Class C drugs and increase the penalties for trafficking Class C drugs. It is not expected that the Bill will receive the Royal Assent before the autumn, and the reclassification of cannabis will take effect as soon as practicable thereafter.
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Closed Circuit Television
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's assessment is of the impact of closed circuit television cameras on crime. [121303]
Ms Blears: Police operational experience and various other research studies show that CCTV has considerable crime reduction and detection potential, particularly when used as part of a wider strategy.
To help ensure maximum impact and sustainability of CCTV, a £1.5 million Home Office funded national evaluation programme is being carried out by the Scarman Centre, University of Leicester, on 15 approved CCTV Initiative schemes.
The final evaluation report will not be published until 2004, but interim reports will be available before then. The first—providing guidance for practitioners on implementation of CCTV schemes—is available on the crime reduction website, www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
Early findings from a number of Home Office funded schemes are very encouraging:
- Alhambra Shopping Centre, Barnsley:
Retail property crime dropped by 35 per cent. in the first two years after launch in 1999.
Firthmoor Estate, Darlington:
Statistics from the police show that crime was reduced by 44 per cent. during the first year that CCTV was in operation.
Criminal Records Bureau
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the categories of applications from Essex for search by the Criminal Records Bureau in respect of (a) foster care and adoption, (b) teaching staff and (c) schools non-teaching staff. [118750]
Paul Goggins: The information sought by the hon. Member is not available in the format requested. There are no IT procedures at present to differentiate between the categories of applicants within the occupations requested. There is no requirement to provide data on an occupation-specific basis, as each application is treated equally, and the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) do not prioritise by occupation type.
Drugs Seizures
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much illegal drugs were seized by the police during the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost was of such operations. [122013]
Caroline Flint: It is not possible to separate out the cost of seizing illegal drugs from police expenditure data available centrally.
Numbers of drug seizures and quantities seized by police in the United Kingdom during 2001are shown in the table. The data are taken from Home Office Findings 202 "Seizures of drugs in the UK 2001". This is available on the RDS website, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r202.pdf, and in the Library.
1 Jul 2003 : Column 248W
| Drug class and type | Number of seizures | Quantity (kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | ||
| Cocaine | 5,470 | 1,024.5 |
| Crack | 3,645 | 33.7 |
| Heroin | 18,075 | 2,801.6 |
| LSD | 166 | 9.41 |
| Ecstasy-type | 10,322 | 2,349.61 |
| Methadone | 1,067 | 114.6 |
| All Class A | 36,083 | -3 |
| Class B | ||
| Amphetamines | 6,725 | 1,089.1 |
| Cannabis (herbal) | 29,974 | 7,243.1 |
| Cannabis plants | 1,874 | 71,491.2 |
| Cannabis resin | 62,873 | 22,518.3 |
| All Class B | 95,471 | -3 |
| Class C | ||
| Benzodiazepines (exc. Temazepan) | 1,664 | 10.2 |
| Temazepan | 443 | 1.1 |
| Anabolic steroids | 93 | 1.3 |
| All Class C | 2,180 | -3 |
| Total seizures | 125,912 | -3 |
Notes:
1. Thousands of doses/tablets.
2. Number of plants.
3. It is not meaningful to calculate total drug weights, as measures other than kilograms are used for quantities of LSD, Ecstasy-type drugs and Cannabis plants (see notes 1,2).
Source:
Home Office Findings 202 "Seizures of drugs in the UK 2001"
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