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10 Jul 2003 : Column 963W—continued
HOME DEPARTMENT
Antisocial Behaviour
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been issued since their introduction. [124145]
Ms Blears: Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) were introduced from 1 April 1999. The provisional number of notifications received by the Home Office of ASBOs granted within England and Wales, up to 31 March 2003 (latest available), is 1,096.
We are aware that the numbers of ASBOs made nationally have been consistently under-reported in returns made by magistrates courts. A recent reconciliation exercise with the police identified a further 125 ASBOs, for the period 1 October 2001 to 31 December 2002, which had not been reported by the courts. The figure quoted above includes these orders.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department has taken to widen the NIA grants available to destitute asylum seekers in order to ease removal procedures. [124056]
Beverley Hughes: The Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP) is available to all nationalities throughout the asylum process including those who have received a negative decision on their asylum claim and are awaiting appeal. It is also open to those who have been granted time limited leave to enter or remain.
VARRP aims to secure the dignified, safe and sustainable return of those who wish to leave the United Kingdom voluntarily. The International Organization for Migration, which runs this programme on behalf of the Home Office, will assist the returnee prior to departure with counselling and independent advice. They will also help with travel arrangements, tickets etc.
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On arrival to the returnees' country of origin they will receive reintegration assistance worth approximately £500 (not cash). This assistance includes help with initial housing and access to employment, training, education and health facilities.
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to reinstate embarkation controls at UK borders in order to facilitate the assessment of members of failed asylum seekers who remain in the country. [124064]
Beverley Hughes: We are keeping the option for embarkation controls under review, taking into account cost, the move towards capturing details of arriving and embarking passengers electronically and our current capability to conduct random, short-term embarkation controls if necessary. Targeted embarkation exercises have already been undertaken and, subject to operational priorities, we plan to undertake further special exercises to help estimate the number of failed asylum seekers leaving the United Kingdom voluntarily.
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what enquiries he has made of local estate agents at Lee-on-the-Solent concerning the impact on house prices of the announcement that the Daedalus site was being considered as a possible location for an accommodation centre for asylum seekers. [124079]
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will assess the impact of the implementation of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 on his policy of dispersing asylum seekers throughout the UK; how many asylum seekers have been dispersed since section 55 was implemented; when he will publish his revised guidelines on the implementation of section 55; and if he will make a statement. [124116]
Beverley Hughes: The impact of section 55 on the dispersal of asylum seekers throughout the United Kingdom has been monitored since its implementation on 8 January 2003.
The number of dispersals per month/quarter is not available. However, the assumption can be made that the majority of cases applying for accommodation support will be dispersed. The number of applications for National Asylum Support Service (NASS) accommodation during the first quarter of 2003 was 7,990 and the corresponding number for the fourth quarter of 2002 was 10,410.
Information on applications for NASS support is published in the quarterly asylum statistics available from the Library, and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
The next publication will be available at the end of August 2003.
The guidance for NASS caseworkers on section 55 was revised and reissued on 11 April 2003 following the Court of Appeal judgment on 18 March 2003 and is being kept under review.
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CCTV
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on CCTV programmes administered by the Government Office for the North West. [124390]
Ms Blears: A potential £170 million will be spent funding 684 CCTV schemes across England and Wales under the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative.
The Government Office for the North West received funding of £22,800,000 for 95 CCTV schemes. All schemes are now operational, apart from the Liverpool Citysafe scheme which is due for completion in late summer 2003. A full list of these schemes is available on the crime reduction website at: http://www. crimereduction.gov.uk/cctvminisite1.htm.
Funding for a range of crime reduction interventions, including CCTV, is currently available to local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships under the Building Safer Communities fund.
Domestic Violence
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the money being invested in new refuge accommodation over the next three years will be made available in Northern Ireland for those fleeing domestic violence. [123457]
Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
The money announced by the Home Secretary for investment in new refuge accommodation over the next three years is to be used to provide units of accommodation in all regions of England. None of this money will be allocated to Northern Ireland.
However, as indicated in the Northern Ireland Office press release of 19 June 2003, welcoming the Home Office consultation paper, "Safety and Justice: The Government's Proposals on Domestic Violence", a parallel Northern Ireland consultation paper on domestic violence has been commissioned and the issue of refuge accommodation in Northern Ireland will be considered in that context.
EU Committees
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials in the Department serve on EU committees or working parties. [116095]
Caroline Flint: Membership of EU committees, working parties and working groups is not fixed. The number of officials who attend such meetings on behalf of the Department will therefore vary at any given time, with the most appropriate policy officials attending depending on the subject matter under consideration. On average, however, the Department will not send more than two officials to such meetings.
Firearms
Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were killed by a firearm in (a) the UK and (b) Sefton in each of the past 10 years. [124109]
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Ms Blears: The number of homicides committed using firearms in England and Wales in the last 10 years are given in the table.
| Number of firearm homicides(11) | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 56 |
| 1993 | 74 |
| 1994 | 66 |
| 1995 | 70 |
| 1996 | 49 |
| 1997 | 59 |
| 1997–98 | 54 |
| 1998–99 | 49 |
| 1999–2000 | 62 |
| 2000–01 | 73 |
| 2001–02 | 97 |
(11) Figures are on a calendar year basis from 1992 to 1997, and thereafter on a financial year basis (12 months to March).
Numbers of other firearm deaths are not collected by the Home Office.
Numbers of firearm offences are not available centrally by local authority area.
Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Fireworks
Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued in each police authority area for offences in connection with fireworks in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [124113]
Ms Blears: Penalty notices for 11 disorder offences, including that of throwing fireworks in the street, are being piloted in four police areas: West Midlands, Essex, North Wales and the Croydon division of the Metropolitan police. In the light of early findings, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 14 May 2003 that the penalty notice for disorder scheme will be rolled out nationally. Detailed data on the numbers of penalty notices issued will be included in the evaluation report on the pilots, which will be published.
Gun Crime
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to reduce the incidence of gun crime across the UK. [124413]
Caroline Flint: The recent increases in the number of gun crime offences are unacceptable and the Government are therefore taking a wide range of action to reduce this.
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- Proposing a mandatory, minimum 5-year sentence for those convicted, on indictment, of possessing prohibited firearms;
Proposing to ban the carrying of replicas or air weapons in a public place without reasonable excuse;
Proposing to raise the age limit for owning an air weapon from 14 to 17 and restricting their use without adult supervision as 77 per cent. of airgun crimes are criminal damage;
Proposing a ban on the sale, manufacture and import of tandem air cartridge systems, and the licensing of those already held as they can be readily converted into lethal firearms;
Publishing a new strategy for witnesses to increase the numbers of people who come forward when they witness a crime;
The national firearms amnesty, held during April, in which over 43,000 weapons and 1 million rounds of ammunition were handed in.
We look forward, among other things, to working with the Disarm Trust which will support the victims of, and communities working against, gun crime. We will be looking to support community groups in other ways.
The police have established dedicated teams, such as Operation Trident in London and Operation Stealth in Nottingham, working against particular groups of criminals involved in armed violence. Many of these Operations have forged good links with the communities they serve by establishing Independent Advisory Groups, made up of members of the local community.
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