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4 Mar 2004 : Column 1143W—continued
People Trafficking
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department has taken to combat trafficking of people into Britain from (a) China and (b) the Far East. [158327]
Beverley Hughes: The Government is committed to tackling the crime of human trafficking in all its guises, and operates an intelligence led approach to the policing of human trafficking. Reflex, a UK wide multi-agency taskforce to combat organised immigration crime,
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which includes people trafficking and smuggling, was established in 2000. At present, Reflex has a number of operations focused on disrupting organised Chinese, Far Eastern and other criminal gangs some of which involves close liaison with our European partners and source countries.
Police Incident (Manchester)
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the incident of alleged police brutality in Greater Manchester shown on television news in the week beginning on 16 February. [157303]
Ms Blears: The incident is being investigated by West Yorkshire Police, under the supervision of the Police Complaints Authority.
It would not be appropriate to comment on this case while the investigation is on-going.
Police Support Staff
John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the duties performed by police support staff; and if he will make a statement on their effectiveness in supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police. [157331]
Ms Blears: Police staff perform a valuable role in the policing of London. The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis informs me that as of the end of December 2003, there were 543 Traffic wardens, 1,157 community support officers and 11,772 other police staff working for the Metropolitan Police Service. They have a wide range of duties, with many of them in direct support of operational policing.
Registered Doorkeepers
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the areas in which the security industry regulations will be rolled out, broken down by date; how many persons are employed as doorkeepers in each area; how many places on courses designed to provide qualifications for registration there are; how many of these currently employed have already qualified for registration; and what contingency arrangements are in place to meet shortfalls in supply of registered doorkeepers. [157835]
Ms Blears [holding answer 1 March 2004]: The table details the rollout schedule for door supervisor licensing by the Security Industry Authority (SIA), along with estimated numbers of persons working as door supervisors.
| Region | Application Start Date | SIA licence required from | Estimated numberof door supervisors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 1 March 2004 | 4 June 2004 | 2,883 |
| South West | 1 June 2004 | 23 August 2004 | 7,742 |
| Wales | 14 June 2004 | 6 September 2004 | 4,380 |
| Midlands | 5 July 2004 | 18 October 2004 | 12,410 |
| North West | 9 August 2004 | 15 November 2004 | 10,589 |
| North East | 6 September 2004 | 13 December 2004 | 11,732 |
| East | 4 October 2004 | 3 January 2005 | 7,511 |
| South East | 25 October 2004 | 28 February 2005 | 19,366 |
| London | 3 January 2005 | 11 April 2005 | 11,272 |
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Information about the number of training places is not held centrally, however, the SIA has received assurances from the awarding bodies that there will be sufficient capacity to meet demand in any given region prior to the onset of licensing in that region.
As at 13 February 2004, 137 individuals have successfully completed the SIA approved training course in Hampshire and the Isle of White and it is estimated that a further 300 meet the SIA competency requirements by virtue of their existing recognised training qualifications. These figures are subject to constant change as the rollout progresses.
Responsibility for ensuring that there are sufficient door supervisors to meet demand lies with the leisure industry and door supervisor providers. Under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003, local authorities will be able to require that a specified number of SIA licensed door supervisors will be on duty at specified times as a condition of a premises licence. The SIA are continuing their communications campaigns to ensure the industry are aware of their responsibilities, and to encourage the highest level of participation in the scheme. With the SIA, we will monitor carefully the impact of licensing on the supply of door supervisors.
Speed Cameras
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fines were issued for speeding camera convictions in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough in each year since 1997. [158442]
Caroline Flint: Available information on the number of fixed penalties and court fines for the offence of 'speeding detected by camera' in the calendar years 1997 to 2001 is shown in the table for Greater London. It is not possible from the data collected centrally to identify each London Borough.
Information for 2002 will be available in the Spring.
(28) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999
(29) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and The Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.
(30) The Metropolitan and City of London police combined.
(31) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
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Telecommunications Masts
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the advice given in PPG8: Telecommunications, that where proposals to locate telecommunications masts meet with the standards of the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection, it should not be necessary for a local planning authority to consider further health effects of the proposal. [158274]
Keith Hill: I have been asked to reply.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister receives many representations on matters relating to the telecommunications industry. The information about representations and responses to such representations is not readily available in the breakdown requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Traffic Wardens
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many traffic wardens were operating in police authority areas in each of the last 15 years, listed in descending order according to the biggest disparity between the first and last year. [158072]
Caroline Flint: The number of traffic wardens employed by each of the police authorities in England and Wales for the last four years is given in the table, which also shows the percentage increase or decrease in numbers between the first and last years. Figures for the years prior to 1999–2000 are not recorded centrally.
Under the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1991, local authorities can apply for parking restrictions in their areas to be decriminalised and enforced by the authority under civil law. Many have now done so, and this has helped lead to a marked decline in traffic warden numbers.
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