---

16 Sept 2003 : Column 660W—continued

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of anti-terrorism legislation against the protesters at the Excel Exhibition Centre in East London on 9 September. [129947]

Mr. Blunkett: I have called for an immediate report, to be with me by 18 September, into the use of Section 44 stop and search powers during the policing of the DSEi exhibition at the Excel Exhibition Centre in London.

It would be inappropriate to comment further until I have had an opportunity to consider the report.

Child Abuse

Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many England and Wales police forces have been involved in investigations into

16 Sept 2003 : Column 661W

allegations of child abuse in children's homes and other institutions in the past five years; and how many of these allegations relate to historical abuse. [128348]

Ms Blears: The information requested is not available centrally. The Home Office does not collect information on police investigations into allegations of child abuse in children's homes or similar institutions.

In its report on "The Conduct of Investigations Into Past Cases of Abuse in Children's Homes" in October 2002, the Home Affairs Committee noted that 34 police forces had conducted investigations, and that there had been a total of 226 charges relating to historical abuse. It did not record the number of allegations made.

Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken to revise the internal police handbook for senior investigating officers to set out the terms of an initial approach to potential witnesses in a child abuse case. [128350]

Ms Blears: I understand from the Association of Chief Police Officers that the team responsible for writing this handbook has been considering the recommendations of the Home Affairs Committee in its report on "The Conduct of Investigations into Past Cases of Abuse in Children's Homes", and the Government's response, and is expected to reach its conclusions before the end of the year.

Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will issue a code of practice for the audio and visual recording of police interviews with complainants and other significant witnesses in cases of historical child abuse; [128351]

(2) if the Government will issue guidelines to enforce recording of police interviews of complainant and other significant witnesses in home care abuse cases. [128392]

Ms Blears: There is no current code of practice which directs the police to record (either by audio or video) interviews with complainants or other significant witnesses, and we do not propose to introduce one.

Guidance entitled 'Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings' was issued to the police and other agencies involved in criminal proceedings in 2002, superseding the 'Memorandum of Good Practice on Video Recorded Interviews with Child Witnesses for Criminal Proceedings (1992)'. The guidance describes best practice procedures when interviewing vulnerable or intimidated witnesses, whether adults or children, to ensure that they are able to give their best evidence.

There may be clear advantages to both complainant and defendant if greater transparency were built into the process of obtaining evidence in historical abuse cases, and the Government will consider with the Association of Chief Police Officers how to take this forward.

Copies of 'Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings' have been placed in the Library.

Child Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what improvements to child protection measures have been instituted by police forces since the publication of the Laming Report. [129332]

16 Sept 2003 : Column 662W

Ms Blears [holding answer 11 September 2003]: The Government response to the Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report was published on 8 September as an annex to the Green Paper, "Every Child Matters". The response directly addresses the recommendations made by Lord Laming to the police and the Home Office.

One key improvement we have made is to issue revised guidance to the police on the appropriate use of police protection powers. The Home Office Circular for this purpose was published on 8 September and has been issued to all Chief Constables.

In the National Policing Plan 2003–06, we asked all police forces to address their child protection service as part of local policing plan priorities, and this was reflected in all plans received by the Home Office in March 2003.

In addition, we understand that the Association of Chief Police Officers has prepared draft standards for child protection policing. These will be produced by the National Centre of Policing Excellence by the end of 2003 as part of a manual of guidance.

Child Rescue Alert

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the findings of the pilot scheme into Child Rescue Alert carried out by Sussex Police. [127570]

Ms Blears: The findings of the pilot will not be published. However, they have informed the setting up of a national text messaging service by Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), which can be used to quickly alert the public in the event of child abductions.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on individual police forces entering into commercial contracts with private companies providing text messaging services for child abduction warning schemes as envisaged in the Child Rescue Alert Scheme in Sussex. [127571]

Ms Blears: The Vice Chair of the Information Management Communications Group of the Association of Chief Police Officers has written to all Chief Constables and Commissioners of Police advising them to first discuss any intention to enter into such commercial contracts with the E-policing Management Group and Police Information Technology Organisation.

I support the advice given in that letter.

Crime (Merseyside)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of recorded crime in Crosby in the last 12 months. [129471]

Ms Blears: Six categories of recorded crime at Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) and police Basic Command Unit (BCU) level have been collected and published for the period from 1 April 1999. These categories are listed in the table, with the number of crimes for the latest available year in the Sefton CDRP and BCU within which Crosby falls.

16 Sept 2003 : Column 663W

This data has been published on the Home Office Website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hosb703sup1.xls.

Recorded Crimes in Sefton CDRP/BCU area in year ending March 2003.

Offence category	Number of recorded crimes
Violence against the person	3,016
Sexual Offences	185
Robbery	334
Burglary in a dwelling	2,533
Theft of vehicle	1,542
Theft from vehicle	1,629

Merseyside adopted the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002, and so this will have affected the 2002/03 figures given above.

Police (Havering)

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent measures have been taken to cut crime rates in Romford by the Metropolitan police. [128376]

Ms Blears: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that the Borough Commander for Havering and his senior management team continue to police Havering borough using intelligence-led policing, focusing on crime hot spots within the borough. An example of one of these initiatives, which began on 5 September 2003, is an operation which targets street robbery, disorder and assault and involves the co-operation of Havering borough council and the British Transport Police. A further initiative has been introduced whereby one sergeant and seven constables patrol outside nightclubs in Romford on both Friday and Saturday nights to reduce disorder. The Metropolitan police believe that this has helped to reduce disorder and provide reassurance in the town centre.

Since 1 April this year, figures provided by the Metropolitan police indicate that total notifiable offences in Havering borough have been reduced by 4.3 per cent. and burglary has been reduced by 25.4 per cent.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he had with the Metropolitan police in the London borough of Havering in July. [128380]

Ms Blears: While I had no discussions with the Metropolitan police of the London borough of Havering in July, I did meet the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service on 16 July. This meeting was one of a series held throughout the year which focus on the whole of the Metropolitan police area.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Metropolitan Police in the London Borough of Havering during the past 12 months. [128403]

16 Sept 2003 : Column 664W

Ms Blears: I have had no meetings with the Metropolitan Police in the London Borough of Havering during the past 12 months. I have regular bilateral meetings with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

---