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7 Jul 2003 : Column 637W—continued
Arson
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were found guilty of arson in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002. [120917]
Ms Blears: 1,500 persons were found guilty of arson in England and Wales in 2001.
Statistics for 2002 will be published in the autumn.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces in England and Wales have specialist units dealing with arson. [122589]
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Ms Blears: The required information is not available centrally.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people prosecuted for arson offences were (a) found guilty, (b) placed on probation, (c) fined, (d) made subject to a supervision order, community service order, combination order or curfew order, (e) given a suspended sentence, (f) given a conditional discharge, (g) given an absolute discharge and (h) given a custodial sentence in each year since 1997. [122590]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is contained in the table.
Statistics for 2002 will be published in the autumn.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000(34) | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Found guilty | 1,582 | 1,393 | 1,380 | 1,436 | 1,500 |
| Total sentenced | 1,574 | 1,338 | 1,373 | 1,420 | 1,480 |
| Breakdown of total sentenced | |||||
| Absolute discharge | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Conditional discharge | 204 | 128 | 138 | 108 | 95 |
| Fine | 163 | 36 | 29 | 29 | 36 |
| Probation order(35) | 227 | 224 | 212 | 197 | 190 |
| Supervision order, community service order(36), combination order(37) and curfew order | 319 | 311 | 342 | 326 | 319 |
| Fully suspended sentence | 20 | 29 | 17 | 21 | 16 |
| Immediate custody | 485 | 479 | 512 | 512 | 533 |
| Other community orders(38) and otherwise dealt with | 151 | 128 | 122 | 222 | 287 |
(33) These data are on the principal offence basis.
(34) Staffordshire Police were only able to supply a sample of data for magistrates' courts proceedings covering one full week in each quarter for 2000. Estimates based on this sample are included in the figures, as they are considered sufficiently robust at this high level of analysis.
(35) Community rehabilitation order from 1 April 2001.
(36) Community punishment order from 1 April 2001.
(37) Community punishment and rehabilitation order from 1 April 2001.
(38) Attendance centre order, reparation order, action plan order and drug treatment and testing order.
Cyprus
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence Her Majesty's Government will require from a Turkish Cypriot to prove EU citizenship when visiting the UK, after Cyprus accedes to the EU.[R] [123188]
Beverley Hughes: Cypriot nationals will have the same free movement rights as existing EU nationals from their accession to the EU.
EC law provides that EU member states shall admit an EU national on production of his valid passport or identity card. The UK would therefore expect Cypriot nationals to carry their passports or identity cards when visiting the UK. However, in very exceptional circumstances, such as if an EU national has lost his passport while travelling, the UK may admit EU nationals who can prove their nationality and identity by other means.
Departmental Ministers
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Ministers there were in his Department in each year since 1996. [120994]
Mr. Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) on 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 661W.
Departmental Report
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is indicated by related administration cost receipts in Table 5, page 173 of the Home Office Annual Departmental Report 2003. [123354]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 3 July 2003]: Administration cost receipts in Table 5, page 173 of the Home Office Annual Departmental Report 2002 arise from the following main headings:
- fees from passports;
fees for disclosures given by the Criminal Records Bureau;
receipts from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and for the services of Home Office immigration staff; and
receipts in the Prison Service for providing services to the Department of Education and Skills and places and regimes in the juvenile estate for the Youth Justice Board.
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Firearms
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions are placed on manufacturers' sales of sporting firearms from mainland United Kingdom to Northern Ireland. [123235]
Ms Blears [holding answer 3 July 2003]: Under the terms of the Firearms (Removal to Northern Ireland) Order 1990, the removal of firearms or ammunition from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is prohibited unless the removal is authorised by the chief officer of police for the area from which they are to be removed and by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The Order applies only to section 1 firearms and ammunition and not to shotguns. We are presently reviewing these procedures.
Licence Plate Cloning
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of vehicle licence plate cloning have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted in the last 12 months. [122621]
Ms Blears: Information collected centrally on the Home Office Court Proceedings database does not separately identify offences involving the supply or use of fraudulent vehicle registration marks.
Mayor of London
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times he and his predecessors met the Mayor of London in official meetings at the Department in each of the past three years. [122143]
Mr. Blunkett: I have met the Mayor of London on a number of occasions. As with previous Administrations, it is not Government practice to provide details of all such meetings, under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Mobile Phone Crime
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for offences under the Mobile Telephones (Re-programming) Act 2002; and what penalties were imposed on those convicted. [121960]
Ms Blears: The information requested is not available through our formal statistical channels. Court proceedings for offences under the Mobile Telephone (Re-programming) Act 2002 only became identifiable in the statistics collected centrally in January 2003. Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn of 2004.
The Home Office and police forces have been monitoring offences under the Act, and know of three prosecutions and convictions under the Act to date. The sentences in these three cases were a conditional discharge, a community punishment order and a fine, and a conditional discharge and a fine.
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National Security
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures are being taken to monitor domestic internet sites for potential threats to national security; and what resources are being devoted to this task; [121641]
- (2) what measures are being taken to monitor UK internet sites for potential threats to national security. [122220]
Mr. Blunkett: I am sure my hon. Friend understands it is not possible to comment on matters of national security.
Operation Icebolt
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report on the (a) cost and (b) outcome of Durham and Cleveland Police's Operation Icebolt; and if he will make a statement. [121884]
Mr. Blunkett: Operation Icebolt was an anti-terrorist operation conducted by Durham and Cleveland Police Forces in co-operation with the Metropolitan Police in January 2002, and has been concluded. It is longstanding Government policy not to comment publicly on the details of anti-terrorist operations.
Pathfinder Programmes
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the pilot areas for pathfinder programmes for convicted domestic violence offenders. [121946]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 26 June 2003]: Both the Prison and the Probation service are piloting programmes for domestic violence offenders.
The Probation pilots are in west Yorkshire and London. The Prison service pilots are in Her Majesty's Prison Manchester and Her Majesty's Prison Acklington.
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