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Solvent Abuse

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate the Prison Service has made of the number of serving offenders who have suffered from solvent abuse. [169062]

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service has no data on which to base any such estimate. Healthcare staff will manage any physical or psychological symptoms associated with solvent abuse. CARATs drug workers will address solvent abuse where it is part of polydrug-misuse.

The Substance Misuse Standard being developed by the Youth Justice Board will place a particular emphasis on solvent abuse, which tends to be more prevalent among younger people.
 
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Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much police authority funding has been granted to voluntary sector bodies to provide training in solvent abuse among children. [169067]

Ms Blears: This information is not held centrally.

Stop and Search

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2004, Official Report, column 328W, on stop and search, how many arrests resulted from the 56 searches conducted between 6 March and 27 April 2003 under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 in the vicinity of RAF Fairford. [166992]

Ms Blears: There were no results resulting from the 56 searches conducted between 6 March and 27 April 2003 made under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

Terrorism Arrests

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether those detained on 19 and 20 April in Manchester in connection with alleged terrorist activity are (a) linked to Al Muhajiroon and (b) Supporters of Sharia; and if he will make a statement. [167992]

Mr. Blunkett: You will be aware that the investigation involving those arrested on 19 April 2004 in Manchester, and in some cases re-arrested subsequently, is ongoing. Therefore it would be inappropriate for me to comment.

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the (a) nationalities and (b) immigration status were of people arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences in each of the last five years; [167960]

(2) how many people arrested under anti-terrorist legislation have been identified as illegal immigrants in each of the last five years; [167961]

(3) how many people arrested under anti-terrorist legislation in each of the last five years are current or former asylum seekers in the United Kingdom; [167962]

(4) how many people have been (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted under anti-terrorist legislation in each of the last five years, broken down by offence; [167963]

(5) how many people were arrested in November and December 2003 on suspicion of terrorist offences, broken down by offence; what their (a) nationalities and (b) immigration status are; and how many are current or former asylum seekers in the United Kingdom. [167967]

Mr. Blunkett: Information on nationality and immigration status can be a key part of the investigation of terrorist offences and the police and Immigration Service work closely together in these cases. I legislated in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 to make it easier to deport foreign nationals who have committed serious offences.
 
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This information is now being collated centrally for statistical purposes but is not available for the years listed by the right hon. Member. It would, however, be disproportionate to require the police and courts to obtain, verify and record this information in all cases.

The available evidence suggests that only a small number of foreign nationals, asylum seekers or refugees commit serious crimes.

We are currently awaiting a breakdown of the available figures on arrests, charges and convictions from the Metropolitan police. I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy in the Library once these have been received.

UK Border Controls

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether EU Directives prevent the UK from establishing UK border controls and customs points in other EU nation states. [169963]

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.

There is no EU Directive preventing the UK agreeing with another member state to carry out customs controls in their territory.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to staff UK customs points outside UK borders. [169964]

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.

UK Customs have only one staffed customs point outside the UK and that is at Coquelles in France dealing with Channel Tunnel shuttle traffic. There are no plans to operate customs points elsewhere outside the UK.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has held discussions with his counterparts in other countries (a) in the EU and (b) elsewhere with regard to mutual co-operation concerning the establishment of manned customs points for the UK outside UK borders. [169965]

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.

There have been no discussions regarding the establishment of staffed customs points outside UK borders.

Extremist Websites

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he plans to take to combat (a) recruitment and (b) fundraising through extremist and racist websites; and if he will make a statement. [168005]

Fiona Mactaggart: We have discussed these and attendant issues with the police, the Information Commission and the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), all of whom are aware of the kind of websites he describes.

It is already an offence to incite others to commit any criminal offence. Under the Public Order Act 1986, it is also an offence to use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or distribute material which is threatening or abusive so that another person believes
 
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that immediate unlawful violence will be used against them or they will be caused harassment, alarm or distress.

It is important that existing laws be used where breaches of the criminal law occur. Anyone with concerns should make them known to the relevant authorities and to the IWF.

We are currently working on an e-crime strategy which will include consideration of issues like these.

Young Offenders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders were given a custodial sentence by courts in Wales in each month since January 2003. [168207]

Paul Goggins: Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) young offenders and (b) juveniles were given a custodial sentence by courts in London in each month since January 2003. [168637]

Paul Goggins: Statistics on court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Policies (Sustainable Development)

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what steps he is taking to deliver sustainable development within Government; [165669]

(2) what progress has been made on his Department's Sustainable Development Strategy. [165670]

Mr. Pond: DWP is continuing to develop a Sustainable Development Strategy to support its Policy Statement. Details of the range of targets that the Department, including all of its agencies, are working to deliver are available to all staff via the Department's internal intranet.

DWP continues to publish specific target related strategies on its website, as targets within the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate are rolled out. A fully comprehensive strategy will be published once this process is complete. Progress on these targets and other related actions is, and will continue to be, published annually in the Department's Annual Sustainable Development Report.

The Department continues to make steady progress in the delivery of sustainable development. The two officials groups with responsibility for the delivery of the aims and objectives of the Department, as detailed within the DWP Sustainable Development Policy Statement, are continuing the work of fully embedding sustainability within processes across the whole range of businesses. Progress is again reported in the Department's Annual Sustainable Development Report.
 
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