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15 Jul 2003 : Column 279W—continued
Police Vehicle Accidents
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) of 10 June 2003, Official Report, column 821W, on police vehicle accidents, how many road traffic accidents there were, broken down by category of incident, including accidents which did not involve another vehicle. [124994]
Ms Blears: Police force statistical returns do not separately identify police vehicle accidents by category of incident.
Policing
Mr. Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in post in Leicestershire Police Authority in (a) each year between 1991–92 and (b) the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [125256]
Ms Blears: The information is set out in the table.
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| At 31 March | Police strength | Civilian support staff strength |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1,845 | 676 |
| 1993 | 1,805 | 661 |
| 1994 | 1,825 | 646 |
| 1995 | 1,839 | 679 |
| 1996 | 1,908 | 667 |
| 1997 | 1,949 | 755 |
| 1998 | 1,983 | 774 |
| 1999 | 1,993 | 802 |
| 2000 | 1,993 | 805 |
| 2001 | 2,033 | 806 |
| 2002 | 2,100 | 816 |
| 2002 (30 September) | 2,086 | n/a |
Police officer strength in Leicestershire has increased by 137 since March 1997. This is an increase of seven per cent. and is significantly higher than the national increase for the same period of 3.4 per cent.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to create a separate police force for the city of Nottingham. [125154]
15 Jul 2003 : Column 281W
Ms Blears: The Secretary of State may make alterations to the boundaries of police areas by order under sections 32 to 34 of the Police Act 1996. He may only do so if he has either received a request to make alterations from the relevant police authority or authorities or if it seems to him that it is expedient to make changes in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness. I have received no such request from Nottinghamshire Police Authority nor am I aware of any evidence that indicates that the policing of either the city of Nottingham or the county of Nottinghamshire would be improved by creating a separate force for the city.
Robberies
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to revise his Department's target for the reduction of robberies. [124960]
Ms Blears: The national Public Service Agreement (PSA) target is to reduce robbery in the 10 street crime initiative areas by 14 per cent. from 1999–2000 to 2005, and maintain that level. The Government has no current plans to revise the target.
Rural Proofing
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the Chairman of the Countryside Agency to discuss rural proofing. [115580]
Fiona Mactaggart: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the. Member for Cardiff, South and Penarth (Alun Michael), on 12 June 2003, Official Report, Column 1017W. Ministers in the Home Office arrange meetings with Ministers in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and with the Chairman of the Countryside Agency (Ewen Cameron) at regular intervals to discuss rural affairs. At the last such meeting, on 3 February this year, Ewen Cameron, Alun Michael and my hon. Friend Bob Ainsworth met to discuss Home Office policy on rural affairs and rural proofing.
Savitaben Hasmukbhai Patel
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the case of Savitaben Hasmukbhai Patel born 12 July 1947, sent to the Integrated Casework Directorate in Liverpool on 28 May by recorded delivery (no. RE620118685GB); and when a decision will be made on the application. [122793]
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Beverley Hughes: The application was decided on 27 June.
Senior Departmental Posts
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many senior departmental posts were advertised in each year since June 1999; and how many of those were advertised in the Scottish press. [120667]
Fiona Mactaggart: Specific records of the number of posts advertised are not maintained by the Home Office. Following investigations we have been able to ascertain that two senior posts were advertised in 2000; three were advertised in 2001; three in 2002 and three have been advertised to date in 2003. The figures for 1999 are not available.
Posts are advertised in the British press. The Home Office, as a department whose functions are primarily England and Wales, has not advertised posts in newspapers or journals published only in Scotland.
Street Crime Initiative
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the cost of the street crime initiative. [124989]
Ms Blears: On 1 May 2002 my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced that £67 million had been allocated to tackle Street Crime in 2002–03. On 5 December 2002 the Home Secretary announced that a further £25 million would be provided in 2003–04 to support continued police operations against street crime.
In addition, a number of other funding streams and work programmes both within the Home Office and from other Government Departments, have contributed directly and indirectly to tackling street crime. Most of these programmes have, however, had broader agendas, and it is not possible therefore to attribute a precise cost to the street crime element.
Street Crime Initiative
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which sponsor ministers are attached to each of the 10 street crime areas; and when each minister visited his allocated area in the last six months. [124988]
Ms Blears: The information requested is included in the table:
15 Jul 2003 : Column 283W
Vehicle Crime
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to reduce vehicle crime. [125009]
Ms Blears: In September 1998, the Government announced a target to reduce vehicle crime by 30 per cent. over five years. The Vehicle Crime Reduction Action Team (VCRAT) was set up at the same time to develop and oversee the implementation of initiatives to meet this target. They published their strategy on 22 September 1999.
Their main proposals included improved security of new and used cars, improved car park security, better policing and community responses which targeted prolific offenders and crime hotspots, improved vehicle registration procedures, statutory regulation of the motor salvage industry and a publicity campaign to get vehicle crime prevention messages across to the public. Good progress is being made in implementing all these initiatives and some have been developed further. For example, work is in hand to make further improvements to vehicle registration procedures and we are working more closely with some local authorities and voluntary and community groups to get across vehicle crime prevention messages.
The latest published British Crime Survey shows that, from interviews in the year to December 2002, there were an estimated 2,306,000 vehicle crimes (i.e. thefts of or from vehicles or attempts). This is a reduction of 703,000 offences (23 per cent.) against the baseline of the British Crime Survey 2000 (which estimated crime in 1999).
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