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10 Jul 2003 : Column 967W—continued
Knife Attacks
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knife attacks were reported in (a) the UK and (b) Sefton in each of the past 10 years; and how many of these attacks were fatal. [124108]
Ms Blears: Details of homicides held centrally relate to England and Wales only and are not collected by local authority area. The number of homicides committed using a sharp instrument, in each of the past 10 years, are given in the table.
(12) As at 8 October 2002; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.
(13) Figures are on a calendar year basis from 1992 to 1997, and thereafter on a financial year basis (12 months to March).
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Numbers of other knife attacks are not collected separately by the Home Office.
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.
Passports
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the number of days on average it takes to (a) process a new passport application by post and (b) renew a passport by post; and if he will make a statement. [123580]
Beverley Hughes: In the week ending 6 July the average processing time for a single straightforward, properly completed application made by post was five days for a new passport and four days for a renewal. It is not possible to state the average time for processing non-straightforward applications as this depends on the time it takes to resolve queries on these applications.
Police
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers per head of population were employed in Cornwall in each of the last 10 years. [124447]
Ms Blears: Information for the last 10 years is only available at force level and is provided on the basis of the number of police officers per 100,000 population.
| As at 31 March | Number of police officers per 100,000 population(14) |
|---|---|
| 1993 | 191.4 |
| 1994 | 190.9 |
| 1995 | 187.7 |
| 1996 | 188.1 |
| 1997 | 185.7 |
| 1998 | 192.0 |
| 1999 | 186.1 |
| 2000 | 182.3 |
| 2001 | 186.9 |
| 2002 | 192.4 |
(14) Population figures are provided by the Office for National Statistics. Comparisons for number of police officers to 100,000 population can be found in Home Office Statistical Bulletins, Police Strength for England and Wales, covering each year 1998 to 2002
By 30 September 2002 Devon and Cornwall police had 3,145 offices, a record number. The latest figure for civilian staff is 1,639 at 31 March 2002.
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Policing
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he has made to the structure of policing to improve responsiveness in the event of a serious terrorist incident; and if he will make a statement. [121966]
Ms Blears: In consultation with the police service and other agencies local, regional and national structures have, and are being, developed and strengthened in the light of the developing terrorist threat. A particularly important example of our strengthening these arrangements is the regional and national co-ordination of Special Branch work.
Each police force in England and Wales has at least one Counter Terrorism Security Advisor (CTSA), to advise in such matters.
Sefton
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which wards and programmes within Sefton have benefited from (a) CCTV programmes, (b) the target policing initiative and (c) violence against women. [124389]
Ms Blears: The following four CCTV schemes in the Sefton constituency received funding under the Crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative:
- Crosby town centre (£108,6710), South Road, Waterloo (£185,487), Bootle town centre (£132,623) and Southport town centre (£169,525).
WALES
Departmental Running Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the running costs in 2002 were of (a) his Ministers' private offices, separately identifying expenditure on staff, and (b) his Department. [105993]
Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave him on 15 April 2002, Official Report, column 750W.
The Wales Office Report 2003 was published in May 2003 as Cm 5928 and is available in the Library.
Private Office Costs
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what have been the running costs of Ministers' private offices in his Department in each year since 1997. [123107]
Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 15 April 2002, Official Report, column 750W.
The most recent Wales Office Departmental Report was published in May 2003 as Cm 5928 and is available in the Library.
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Student Finance
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans he has to meet Secretaries of the National Assembly for Wales to discuss student funding. [124656]
Mr. Hain: I am in close and regular contact with the Assembly First Minister, the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and Cabinet colleagues about the possibility of transferring a range of functions in respect of student funding to the Assembly. The matter is still under active consideration at both ministerial and official level, and it is important to ensure that all the options, costs, implications and risks are fully considered.
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS
Dioceses (Financial Performance)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners pursuant to his answer of 7 July 2003, Official Report, column 585W, on the financial performance of dioceses, whether the information received by the Archbishops' Council is published for comparative purposes. [124801]
Mr. Bell: The Archbishops' Council from time to time publishes documents containing some comparative data for all dioceses and I am sending the hon. Gentleman copies of two recent publications.
Dioceses' Income
Mr. Burstow: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what proportion of each diocese's income is represented by payments made by the Church Commissioners. [124800]
Mr. Bell: In 2001, the most recent year for which figures for total Church expenditure are available, the commissioners paid 19 per cent. of the Church's overall running costs. This included full responsibility for meeting the cost of clergy pensions arising from service up to the end of 1997. Such expenditure is paid direct to pensioners, not through dioceses, and we do not keep a record of the proportion of each diocese's total income which comes from the commissioners.
However, details of how the commissioners' funds are used to support the Church's ministry around the country can be found in the General Synod document which I made available to the hon. Gentleman.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much attendance allowance has been withheld from pensioners in self-funded care homes in Scotland since the introduction of free personal care in Scotland. [122293]
Maria Eagle: Since 1 July 2002, 1,793 care home residents in Scotland have lost their entitlement to attendance allowance because their personal care costs
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are met by their local authority under the "free personal care" arrangements made by the Scottish Executive. The loss of entitlement to attendance allowance in these circumstances follows the normal social security benefit rules to prevent duplicate provision from public funds for the same purpose (following the same principle, receipt of free nursing care, irrespective of the setting in which it is provided, does not affect the payment of attendance allowance). Information is not routinely collected about the precise period covered by the loss of entitlement to payments in individual cases, or about the weekly amount paid before that loss of entitlement, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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