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Police Vehicles

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police vehicles there were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) police authority area and (b) manufacturer. [139054]

Ms Blears: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Policing Costs

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is issued to police forces in relation to negotiating contributions from the organisers of (a) football matches and (b) other public events towards the costs of policing those events. [138498]

Ms Blears: Section 25 of the Police Act 1996 enables Chief Officers of Police to provide special police services upon request and in return for payment at a rate set by the police authority.

Home Office guidance is that where the police charge for special services arrangements should be made for full recovery of costs. Home Office circular 34/2000 deals specifically with charging for policing football matches and offers guidance on the calculation of full costs.

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to make football clubs responsible for a greater proportion of the costs of policing football matches. [138548]

Ms Blears: Section 25 of the Police Act 1996 enables chief officers of police to provide special police services upon request and in return for payment at a rate set by the police authority.

We appreciate that policing football raises particular issues about resources and deployment which is why a working group, involving the police, police authorities, football authorities and others was set up to consider these matters.

The group has met on a number of occasions but has not concluded its deliberations. It would be premature to speculate on the outcome but a final or interim report will be sought early next year.

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Pupil Visa Charges

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will initiate a review of the introduction of visa charges on pupils from overseas attending United Kingdom boarding schools which provides an opportunity for consultation with schools affected. [133072]

Beverley Hughes: The level of charges are set under Treasury rules to recover the full costs associated with delivering the service. Under these rules, there is a requirement for an annual fee review with which the Home Office will comply. My officials are looking at a number of issues for the future including fee structures, the possibility of differential charging and how to further improve the service.

I cannot, of course, guarantee the outcome of the fee review. However, the hon. Gentleman has my assurance that Home Office officials will engage with the DfES, British Council, UKCOSA and others to ensure that the education sector's representations are taken into account.

The principle behind charging is to ensure that those who use the service pay rather than the general taxpayer.

Racism

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racist incidents were reported to the police in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years. [138400]

Ms Blears: Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 requires the Secretary of State to publish such information as he considers expedient in order to enable those involved in the criminal justice system to become aware of the financial implications of their decisions, or to avoid discrimination on grounds of race, sex or any other improper grounds.

The number of racist incidents both 'reported' to and 'recorded' by the police in England and Wales since 1991 and published under section 95, can be seen in the following table.

	Total
1991	7,882
1992	7,734
1993–94	11,006
1994–95	11,878
1995–96	12,222
1996–97	13,151
1997–98	23,049
1998–99	23,049
1999–2000	47,814
2000–01	53,092
2001–02	54,351

We believe that the sharp rise in incidents recorded by the police reflects better recording and greater confidence of communities in reporting incidents.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department are

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taking to ensure consistency in using the Regulations of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 across all Government Departments. [136132]

Caroline Flint: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has issued statutory Codes of Practice relating to the exercise and performance of powers and duties under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. Subject to the approval of Parliament, new and revised codes will be issued. These codes, together with provision of advice from independent Commissioners and the delivery of training and seminars, support consistency in the use of powers under the Act.

Independent Commissioners, who are appointed by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, are under a statutory duty to keep under review the exercise and performance of the powers and duties conferred or imposed on public authorities by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. The Commissioners' role includes, where necessary or appropriate, ensuring consistency in the application of the Act's provisions or the interpretation of the statutory Codes of Practice.

The Government are committed to ensuring that the relevant Commissioners have the necessary resources to carry out effective oversight of public authorities' use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Road Traffic Regulations(Police Confiscation Powers)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the police have used their new power to confiscate vehicles that persistently infringe road traffic regulations or are used off-road causing public annoyance in (a) Crosby and (b) England. [137824]

Caroline Flint: The new powers given to the police by the Police Reform Act 2002 relate to offences under sections three and 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Those offences cover driving on-road without due care and attention and driving off-road without authority. As from January 2003, where a vehicle committing one of these offences is being driven in such a way that it is causing or is likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public, a constable in uniform is empowered to stop and seize it. Unless a warning has been given previously, the police are required where practical to warn the person before seizing the vehicle, so that its anti-social use can be stopped.

The new power came into effect at the start of the year and its effective use is being developed. Figures for the number of vehicles that have so far been seized under this legislation are not collected centrally. I understand, however, from the Merseyside Police that as at 10 November, 14 warnings had been issued and one vehicle had been seized in Crosby.

Road Traffic Speeds

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what help he will give chief constables to reduce illegal speeding. [139039]

Caroline Flint: The National Safety Camera Scheme the Government have introduced enables local partnerships to net off money from fixed penalties for

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speeding offences detected by camera to fund camera enforcement. The Scheme has been shown to be effective in reducing speed related death and injury and in the National Policing Plan we have encouraged all forces to support it. All forces will be fully participating in the scheme by the middle of next year.

Secondment

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from science and technology backgrounds have been seconded into the Civil Service in his Department in each of the last five years for which data are available. [138628]

Fiona Mactaggart: Secondments are part of the Interchange initiative, which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the Civil Service and other organisations—public, private and voluntary. Interchange provides opportunities for civil servants to learn new skills, widen their experience and develop ideas, it also brings in skills and experiences from other sectors. 198 staff were seconded into the Home Office during the period 1 April 1998 to 31 March 2003. The Home Office records data on inward secondees according to their originating sector, but it does not specifically collate data on secondees with a science and technology background.

The annual number of inward secondments to the Home Office from outside the Civil Service was:

Year
1998–99	25
1999–2000	30
2000–2001	21
2001–2002	44
2002–2003	78

Terrorism Act

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 4 November 2003, Official Report, column 575W, on the Terrorism Act, if he will break down the number of stop and searches under section 44 (1) and section 44 (2) of the Terrorism Act 2000 by (a) ethnicity and (b) gender in each year. [139267]

Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 17 November 2003]: The data collected on stops and searches made under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 is not automatically cross-referenced with data on the ethnicity and gender of those stopped. This information could be collated and verified only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for authorisations under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 have been received from (a) Avon and Somerset, (b) Merseyside, (c) West Midlands, (d) South Wales and (e) Northumbria police forces. [138507]

Mr. Blunkett: The applications received from the listed forces for the authorisation of section 44 powers are as follows.

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Listed forces	Applications
Avon and Somerset Police	3
Merseyside Police	7
West Midlands	19
South Wales Police	17
Northumbria Police	2

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