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9 Mar 2004 : Column 1459W—continued
Coroners
Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance coroners are given on being sensitive to the families of the deceased in cases where an inquest many be necessary and on doing all that is reasonably practicable to meet the acute needs of the bereaved. [159968]
Paul Goggins: All those involved in the coroner and death certification system are expected to approach bereaved families and friends of the deceased in a sensitive manner. The Fundamental Review of Death Certification and Coroner Services, and the Shipman Inquiry both (laid before Parliament last year) recommended a more involved role for the family of the deceased. The Home Secretary and I are considering the recommendations set out in these and other reports and are deciding on a programme of reform which will include proposals to make the system more sensitive to the needs of the bereaved. We plan to publish a position paper shortly.
Corruption
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on (a) investigations and (b) prosecutions of individuals and companies for the offence of bribery of a foreign public official by the Metropolitan Police under (i) UK corruption laws and (ii) the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. [158308]
Paul Goggins: I am informed that the Metropolitan Police is currently investigating two allegations of bribery of a foreign public official. The Metropolitan Police is not responsible for the prosecution of offences.
There have been no prosecutions for the offence of bribery of a foreign public official since the enactment of part 12 of the ATCS Act which allows for extra-territorial jurisdiction over crimes of corruption committed abroad by UK nationals and incorporated bodies. The Home Office does not keep specific statistics on prosecutions of bribery of a foreign public official within the UK, although there is one reported case (R v. Raud 1989).
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the (a) the UK Central Authority, (b) the National Criminal Intelligence Service and (c) the Metropolitan Police have received
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a request from the (i) French authorities, (ii) US authorities and (iii) Nigerian authorities for assistance into investigations of allegations involving payments by the consortium TSKJ in connection with the Bonny Island liquified natural gas plant in Nigeria. [158312]
Caroline Flint: It is the Home Office's practice to treat letters of request for assistance in criminal matters from foreign governments confidentially, as communications between two countries. We are normally therefore unable to confirm or deny that we have received a request.
However, the United Kingdom remains committed to assisting its international partners in the fight against corruption and bribery wherever possible.
Disorder Penalties (Merseyside)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions Merseyside police have issued penalty notices for disorder to 16 to 17-year-olds. [159597]
Ms Blears: The penalty notice for disorder scheme is in the process of being rolled out to all police forces in England and Wales. It is expected to be in place nationally by 1 April. Merseyside police commenced issuing penalty notices for disorder with effect from 1 March. Data are not yet available on penalty notices issued.
Dog Theft
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he is taking (a) to establish the extent of the problem of stolen dogs and (b) to co-ordinate a national strategy for dealing with the problem; [158725]
- (2) what discussions his Department has had with (a) the police and (b) other countries concerning dog theft ; [158726]
(3) what plans he has to introduce a national dog register; [158727]
(4) what representations he has received concerning dog theft; and if he will make a statement; [158728]
(5) what steps he intends to take to ensure that instances of dog theft are properly investigated by the police; [158729]
(6) if he will introduce a time threshold after which a dog reported as being missing will be classified by police as stolen; [159493]
(7) if he will make it his policy to introduce passports for dogs travelling out of Britain to counter the problem of stolen dogs. [159494]
Ms Blears: There is no national strategy to counter dog theft. Where this emerges as a pressing local crime issue, it would be for the police, in consultation with the
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Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, to take appropriate action. Statistics on the kidnapping of dogs are not held centrally.
Driving Disqualification
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals in Greater London were disqualified from driving in each of the last 10 years. [158448]
Caroline Flint: Available information up to 2001, which has been taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database is given in the table. Information for 2002 will be available early in the spring.
| Year | Persons disqualified |
|---|---|
| 1992 | 20,900 |
| 1993 | 26,400 |
| 1993 | 30,000 |
| 1995 | 17,100 |
| 1996 | 26,800 |
| 1997 | 26,300 |
| 1998 | 23,100 |
| 1999 | 21,100 |
| 2000 | 19,800 |
| 2001 | 20,900 |
(13) Includes persons disqualified under s. 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (penalty points system).
Driving Standards
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) endorsements and (b) disqualifications were registered by the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency against holders of GB driving licences in each of the last five years. [159789]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 8 March 2004]: Information is not collected centrally on the number of endorsements and disqualifications issued against GB driving licence holders.
Available data, given in the tables, shows the number of fixed penalty notices issued for endorsable offences and the number of offences where endorsements without disqualifications and total disqualifications were imposed at all courts within England and Wales from 1997 to 2001.
| Type of action | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fixed penalty notices: issued for endorsable offences | Court proceedings (all courts): endorsements without disqualifications | |
| 1997 | 841,055 | 623,205 |
| 1998 | 902,640 | 622,734 |
| 1999 | 937,719 | 637,487 |
| 2000 | (14)1,101,490 | 626,317 |
| 2001 | 1,341,564 | 599,879 |
(14) Revised since publication of HOSB.
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| Number of offences where total disqualifications imposed | Persons disqualified under s.35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 (penalty point system) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 161,267 | 31,120 |
| 1998 | 157,963 | 23,865 |
| 1999 | 156,099 | 34,210 |
| 2000 | 153,293 | 33,554 |
| 2001 | 165,044 | 30,079 |
Drug Testing (Schools)
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the change in de-toxification and rehabilitation places which random drug testing in schools will require. [157818]
Caroline Flint: De-toxification and rehabilitation are appropriate only for those with established drug-dependency, which is very rare in young people of school age. It is therefore unlikely that random drug testing in schools will have a significant impact on demand for de-toxification and rehabilitation services.
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether random drug testing in schools requires the agreement of (a) local and (b) community police officers. [157819]
Caroline Flint: It will be for individual schools to decide upon the scope of drug testing, if any, and to decision what action to take if there has been a breach of school drug policy or of the law. Random drug testing in schools does not require the agreement of the police.
Information is available through Drugs: Guidance for Schools, which is being sent to schools on 9 March.
Drunk Driving
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drivers were found to be in excess of the legal alcohol limit in each year since 1997. [159045]
Caroline Flint: Available information from 1997 to 2001 on the number of drivers who have been found to be in excess of the legal alcohol limit is given in the table. Statistics collected centrally do not distinguish between positive and refused tests.
Information for 2002 will be available in the Spring.
| Number of positive or refused | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 103,500 |
| 1998 | 102,300 |
| 1999 | 94,100 |
| 2000 | 94,600 |
| 2001 | 99,500 |
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