---

28 Jan 2004 : Column 437W—continued

Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 in tackling terrorism in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [145077]

Mr. Blunkett: I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 147WS. The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 has improved our ability to fight crime and terrorism in a number of ways. I have provided several examples of the Acts effectiveness as follows:

Under Disclosure of Information powers over 100 disclosures were provided to law enforcement agencies in relation to on-going terrorist investigations.

Terrorist cash has been seized on 18 occasions since the Act's introduction.

28 Jan 2004 : Column 438W

Several arrests and prosecutions have been made under the newly created offences of "withholding information relating to a terrorist act" and "Hoaxing".

24 individuals have been convicted under the newly created offence of "religiously aggravated crime".

A fuller and more detailed assessment of the improvements that Act has made will be made in the coming weeks when the Privy Council's report on Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 is debated in both Houses of Parliament.

Asylum and Immigration

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the basis was of his refusal to grant asylum to Shahir Patrolli, port reference number Man/02/176; and if he will make a statement; [144475]

(2) what evidential basis he stated in his refusal to grant asylum to Shahir Patrolli port reference number Man/02/176 that he was aware that no one from the Roma ethnic group lived at Suhodol; and if he will make a statement. [144476]

Beverley Hughes: I wrote to the hon Member on 27 January 2004.

Business Crime

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to require police authorities to provide him with statistics each year on the level of business crime in each area; and if he will make a statement. [150772]

Ms Blears: The Home Office currently publishes annual total crime statistics recorded by the police in England and Wales for the following offences specifically relating to business crime: robbery of business property, theft by an employee, theft from shops and theft of an automatic machine or meter. Statistics for these offences have not been published at police force area level. The most recent volume of recorded crime statistics was published in July 2003, in Statistical Bulletin 7/03, "Crime in England and Wales 2002/03", which is available via the Research Development Statistics (RDS) website. A copy of the Bulletin has been placed in the Library.

The business crime team within the Home Office has recently begun a process of examining how current information on business crime, including retail crime, can be enhanced. To this end, the Research, Development and Statistics Department have been approached to examine the feasibility of different options. This work is on-going.

However, in view of the complexity and range of crimes experienced by the business sector, it has rapidly become clear that no one single method of collecting data will provide a sufficiently complete picture. We are therefore considering how both police and survey data collection can be refined and extended to give us a more accurate and comprehensive overview of the crimes experienced by businesses.

28 Jan 2004 : Column 439W

Closed Circuit Television

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what grants are available for introducing CCTV into (a) villages and (b) rural railway stations. [151267]

Ms Blears: There are currently funds available for the installation of CCTV in all locations, including villages and rural railway stations, under the Building Safer Communities Fund. The Home Office allocates the Building Safer Communities Fund to Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to enable them to tackle local crime priorities through a number of interventions, including CCTV facilities. For 2003–04, the Building Safer Communities Fund has provided Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships with £72.3million.

Community Sentence Breaches

Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to amend the rules on evidence relating to magistrates courts cases involving breaches of anti-social behaviour orders to allow hearsay evidence to be heard. [150995]

Ms Blears: Breach of an anti-social behaviour order is a criminal offence and rules relating to criminal evidence apply as they do for other criminal offences. The basic rule is that hearsay evidence is not admissible in criminal proceedings unless the maker of the statement is unavailable or where business documents are involved. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 will change the rules relating to hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings to make it admissible in specified circumstances such as where it is in the interests of justice.

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him dated 10 November from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. S. Khan. [145963]

Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 27 January 2004.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will reply to the letter to him dated 10 November 2002 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Gohal Ali Khan; [147617]

(2) when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 10 November 2003 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Gohal Ali Khan. [149548]

Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 27 January 2004.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him dated 13 November 2003 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. E. Ebasani. [151233]

Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 23 January 2004.

28 Jan 2004 : Column 440W

Criminal Justice Boards

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from victim and witness services since the announcement of the transfer of funding to local criminal justice boards. [143645]

Paul Goggins: We are piloting the devolution of funding for the Witness Service to Local Criminal Justice Boards in four areas (Essex, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Surrey) from April 2004. The aim of the pilots is to improve local responsiveness to the needs of witnesses and accountability for services. We are working closely with the National Association of Victim Support Schemes and the local Victim Support schemes which run the Witness Service in the four areas on the detailed arrangements for the pilots.

In November, my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary met the Chief Executive of the National Association of Victim Support Schemes and the Chair of National Association's Board of Trustees to discuss their concerns about the proposal, and a similar meeting took place in July with Baroness Scotland of Asthal.

The Chief Executive of the National Association of Victim Support Schemes has also drawn these concerns to the attention of the Criminal Justice Council, which advises the National Criminal Justice Board.

The Home Office has received 15 representations from Victim Support schemes that are not involved in the pilot projects.

There is a range of views among local Victim Support Schemes and other practitioners about the proposal to devolve funding to Local Boards. The purpose of the pilot is to test whether devolution of funding results in more effective support and services for witnesses. The pilots will only be rolled out nationally if the evaluation demonstrates that the new arrangements are effective.

Criminal Records Bureau

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the number of employers who have decided not to employ someone as a result of a Criminal Records Bureau disclosure in the last five years; and what guidance is given to employers to ensure that such decisions are based on a fair assessment of the relevance of disclosed offences; [144963]

(2) what estimate he has made of the number of employees turned down for jobs following a Criminal Records Bureau check in the last five years. [144964]

Ms Blears [holding answer 18 December 2003]: There are no records available to indicate the number of employees that have been turned down for jobs following a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. Recruitment decisions are entirely a matter for the employer and the CRB would not normally comment on a person's suitability for a position. However, an independent survey has shown that, since the CRB launched its Disclosure service in March 2002, an estimated 18 per cent. of employers that have used the service have decided not to employ an individual as a consequence of conviction information or another matter contained in a Disclosure.

28 Jan 2004 : Column 441W

All recipients of Disclosure information issued by the CRB are subject to a Code of Practice, made under the Police Act 1997 and laid before Parliament. This makes it clear that no recipient of Disclosure information shall unfairly discriminate against the subject of the information on the basis of conviction or other details revealed. The ode requires job applicants to be advised that successful applicants will be required to request a Disclosure, but that a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to obtaining employment. The CRB has also produced other guidance, and has collaborated with and endorsed guidance produced by other bodies designed to help employers to arrive at fair and balanced recruitment decisions.

---