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13 May 2004 : Column 566W—continued

Brain Fingerprinting

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 5 May 2004, Official Report, column 1541W, on brain fingerprinting, if he will evaluate the effectiveness of brain fingerprinting technologies that monitor the involuntary electrical waves emitted by the brain. [172049]

Ms Blears: There are no plans at present for the Home Office to evaluate brain fingerprinting technologies. However claims about the effectiveness of this technology will be considered in the Police Science and Technology Strategy Group with a view to deciding whether any research should be considered.

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 5 April with regard to Mrs. Rahmat Bibi. [171780]

 
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Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 12 May 2004.

Crime

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in (a) overall recorded crime, (b) recorded violent crime, (c) burglaries and (d) vehicle thefts in Oldham, West and Royton has been since 1997. [170954]

Ms Blears: The information requested is not available centrally.

Oldham West and Royton comes within the Oldham Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Data at CDRP level has only been published from 1999–2000 onwards. Detailed statistics at CDRP level are available for 2002–03 on the new Home Office website: http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk

Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in (a) overall recorded crime, (b) recorded violent crime, (c) burglaries and (d) vehicle thefts in South Ribble has been since 1997. [171658]

Ms Blears: The information requested is not available centrally.

South Ribble is a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Data at CDRP level has   only been published from 199902000 onwards. Detailed statistics at CDRP level are available for 2002–03 on the new Home Office website: http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk

Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change since 1997 is in West Lancashire in (a) overall recorded crime, (b) violent crime, (c) burglaries and (d) vehicle thefts. [171722]

Mr. Blunkett: The information requested is not available centrally.

West Lancashire is a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Data at CDRP level has only been published from 1999–2000 onwards. Detailed statistics at CDRP level are available for 2002–03 on the new Home Office website: http://www.crimestatistics. org.uk

Crimes Against Business

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the prosecutions brought as a result of National Criminal Intelligence Service operations in the last 10 years related to crimes against business. [172287]

Ms Blears: Prosecutions brought as a result of National Criminal Intelligence Service operations cannot be identified in the court proceedings statistics collected centrally.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on which dates he met small and medium sized enterprises and manufacturers to discuss crimes against business in (a) 2001, (b) 2002, (c) 2003 and (d) 2004. [172413]

 
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Ms Blears: My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, Junior Ministers and officials in the Home Office have many meetings with small and medium sized enterprises and manufacturers to discuss a range of business crime issues.

Recently we have established a Small Business Forum with members from a wide range of organisations to hear at first hand the particular crime problems small and medium sized enterprises face, and to develop and implement practical and effective measures to reduce those crimes.

Departmental Response Times

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of (a) Written Answers, (b) replies to hon. Members' written correspondence and (c) public correspondence with his Department was (i) seen and (ii) cleared by special advisers before being published in 2003–04. [170530]

Mr. Blunkett: Special Advisers in this Department have access to material produced by permanent civil servants in accordance with paragraph 14e of the "Model Contract for Special Advisers". Ministers approve answers to all Parliamentary Questions and replies to hon. Members' written correspondence. They also approve replies to public correspondence except that dealt with directly by permanent civil servants.

Entry Clearance Standards

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Statement of 30 March, Official Report, column 1433, on entry clearance standards, whether (a) the hotline and (b) the website he announced has been set up. [172439]

Mr. Browne: I can confirm that the telephone hotline and website have been set up as announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 30 March 2004, Official Report, column 1433.

Hirst v. UK

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take in response to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Hirst v. United Kingdom concerning a violation of Article 3 Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. [172394]

Mr. Leslie: I have been asked to reply.

The Government have noted the judgment and intends to request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in accordance with Article 43 of the Convention.

Identity Cards

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many biometric identifiers will be used on national identity cards. [170261]

Mr. Browne: There has been no firm decision made on how many biometric identifiers will be used on the identity card.
 
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These decisions will be made in the light of work under way on the feasibility of different technologies and the design of processes around identity enrolment and verification.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the relationship between the proposed National Identity Register and the proposed population register. [170343]

Mr. Browne: Legislation on Identity Cards—A Consultation (CM 6178) explains that the National Identity Register and the population register are separate but complementary proposals. The Home Office is working closely with the Registrar-General for England and Wales on the development of the two proposals.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) preparatory work and (b) testing he is planning to assess the (i) requirements for the design of identity cards and (ii) arrangements for application. [170348]

Mr. Browne: Over recent months the Home Office has been in wide ranging discussions with both the public and private sectors about their potential requirements for the ID cards scheme. As explained in CM 6178—Legislation on Identity Cards— A Consultation, this will now be followed by a programme definition phase. We intend to undertake volume testing from 2007 that will cover the end to end process.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the application process for identity cards will be (a) monitored and (b) assessed. [170349]

Mr. Browne: Legislation on Identity Cards— A Consultation (CM 6178) invites views on the governance options of the scheme.

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for    the Home Department what alternative eye technologies his Department investigated before concluding that the iris should form the basis for an identity card. [170552]

Mr. Browne: Both retina and iris recognition were considered by the National Physical Laboratory in their evaluation of biometric technologies. It has not yet been decided that iris recognition will be used in the identity card scheme. The feasibility of using iris recognition for identity cards is under investigation.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which companies are being considered as potential suppliers of systems for issuing identity cards. [170814]

Mr. Browne: The Home Office has not yet made any decision about which companies would be considered potential suppliers of systems for ID Cards.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the categories of private sector organisations that will be able to apply for accreditation to access the National Identity Register under the Draft Identity Card Bill; and whether this includes overseas (a) private sector organisations and (b) governments. [173010]

 
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Mr. Browne: No decisions have yet been taken on the precise arrangements for accreditation of businesses or    other organisations seeking verification of an individual's identity from the National Identity Register.

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