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Asylum Seekers

John Robertson:: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how his Department keeps track of asylum seekers who are evicted by local authorities from National Asylum Support Service accommodation following refusal of an application for asylum. [171345]

Mr. Browne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) maintains databases containing address and other information for asylum seekers. This is also recorded in the individual Home Office file.

Applicants and their representatives are informed of their obligation to notify the Home Office of any subsequent change of address. This may be done either in person, at a designated Reporting Centre (RC), or by post to the Change of Address Team (CoAT), based in Croydon.

The Immigration Service (IS) has eleven designated reporting centres to assist in managing reporting regimes and, in addition, a person may be required to report to a police station. The reporting network will be further expanded by the development of Accommodation Centres and the establishment of additional RCs.

Commission for Racial Equality

Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Commission for Racial Equality Office in Leeds will close; and if he will make a statement. [170238]

Fiona Mactaggart: I understand from the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) that the lease on its Leeds office is due for renewal, but that an in-principle decision not to extend it has been taken in view of the likely expense involved in making the premises compliant with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act and in enhancing security measures to protect staff. It is therefore proposed that Leeds-based staff be transferred to the Manchester office in order to create a unified CRE presence in the north of England. The Commission is presently consulting its partners on this proposal.

Crime Statistics

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the crime figures, including figures for (a) dangerous crime and (b) drug-related offences, in the constituency of Edmonton in (i) 1991–92, (ii) 2001–02 and (iii) 2003. [169303]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 5 May 2004]: The constituency of Edmonton is within the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) for Enfield. 'Dangerous crime' is taken to mean violent crime. The available information therefore relates to offences of violent crime which is comprised of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. With regard to drug-related offences, the available data relates to the
 
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recorded offences of trafficking, possession and other drug offences. CDRP data for violent crime is only available from 1998–99, and for drug offences from 2002–03, and is quoted in the table.
Recorded offences in the Enfield Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership Area

	Violent crime	Drug offences
1991	n/a	n/a
2001–02	6,665	n/a
2002–03	6,964	746

Note:
Figures for 2002–03 will have been affected by the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard on 1 April 2002.

The total number of offences recorded in the Enfield Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership for 2002–03 is 30,042. Totals for earlier years are not available centrally. Detailed statistics for Enfield for 2002–03 (including quarterly data) are available on the new Home Office website at: www.crimestatistics.org.uk.

Criminal Justice

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for   the    Home Department whether changes to the(a) definition and (b) seriousness of due care in motoring offences are included in the existing proposals to reform the criminal justice system. [172789]

Caroline Flint: The Government are reviewing the existing framework of the criminal law concerning bad driving, particularly where death or injury results, in order to ensure that appropriate offences and penalties are put in place. This includes the offence of driving without due care and attention. We hope to publish a consultation paper in the near future detailing the options for change.

Cycling Offences

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he has given to chief constables concerning enforcement of the legislation relating to the riding of cycles (a) on pavements and (b) without lights during the hours of darkness. [172157]

Caroline Flint: Chief officers of police are best placed to assess the level, nature and cause of cycling offences locally and decide the response.

Police officers will take action as appropriate against cyclists whom they see breaking road traffic laws in the ways described. Forces also sometimes undertake short intensive campaigns to deal with persistent cycling offenders.

We have, to help the police with enforcement, given Community Support Officers the power to issue £30 fixed penalty notices for cycling inconsiderately or irresponsibly on the pavement.

Dungavel Removal Centre

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the   Home Department what discussions he has had with   Scottish Ministers on the expansion of Dungavel removal centre. [162630]

 
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Mr. Browne [holding answer 22 March 2004]: Officials met Andrew Kerr MSP on 13 March 2003. The discussion, which was wide ranging about the feasibility study we intended to make concerning the expansion of Dungavel, was a useful precursor to discussions with the local council.

Drugs

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what public funds were spent on tackling drug misuse in Wirral, South in (a) 1997–98 and (b) 2003–04. [172689]

 
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Caroline Flint: Breakdown of financial allocation to local constituencies is not available in the form requested as funding is allocated to Drug Action Team (DAT) area (Wirral DAT).

In 1997–98 funding available to the two main local drug treatment providers in the Wirral area totalled £610,452. This was prior to the formation of the National Drugs Strategy, and this figure has been provided from locally held information.

	Fund	Treatment provider	Budget headings	Amount (£)	Source of information
Wirral health authority	AID/HIV monies	Wirral West Cheshire partnership trust	Aids/HIV	39,137	PCT records
			Needle and Syringe Exchange	152,411
			Infection control nurse	12,304
			Drug Service budget	109,852
			Total	313,704
Wirral MBC Social Services Department	Social Services Grant	Arch Initiatives	SS Grant for counselling and support and residential services	296,748	Wirral MBC and Arch Initiatives
			Total	296,748

In 2003–04 the total drugs allocation was £5,265,567. In order to ensure consistency figures supplied are based on funding streams associated with the National Drug Strategy and are readily verifiable. These funding streams are specifically targeted at tackling the harm caused to individuals, families and communities by the misuse of drugs. Other mainstream funding is made available at a local level, this varies and both in amount and origin as a result it is not possible to provide robust financial information.
2003–04

	£
Partnership Capacity (DAT CAD and DAT DEV       and strategic grant)	80,328
Treatment Pooled Budget	4,299,273
Through Care After Care Pump Priming	35,000
Building Safer Communities(3)	362,745
Young people	488,221
Total	5,265,567

⁽³⁾ Contains non drug elements.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what investigations have been carried out by his Department on the reliability of the drugs tests currently available. [161181]

Caroline Flint: Drug testing technology and its reliability is kept under constant review by the Home Office due to its applicability to roadside impairment testing and its relevance in the workplace. The extent and definition of 'reliability' in these different settings is by nature of the criminal law different in each case.

Recently there has been research on the reliability of different methods of drug testing carried out by the Forensic Science Service (FSS) for the specific purpose of testing persons in custody suites to see if they have used drugs. The research used saliva as a point-of-contact using the Cozart RapiScan TM electronic test strip reader, one of few commercially available on-site testing kits for oral fluid (saliva). Overall, the results of this study revealed that saliva based testings are not reliable enough to evidence impairment for the purposes of charge for driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

In the workplace, the requirements of the criminal law do not have to be met and it is up to employers to decide what margin of proof is required to consider action against specific employees. Saliva, urine, hair analysis or blood tests may all be sufficiently reliable. The Home Office does provides guidance on the various types of tests available to any companies who seek advice, which suggests that some tests are more reliable than others.

In the July 2004, an independent inquiry report on drugs testing in the workplace will review some of the complex and wide reaching issues surrounding drug testing in the workplace including the reliability of different testing devices. The report will be the first attempt to give a full picture of drug testing in the workplace and will include recommendations to government, employers and other relevant bodies.

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the police have issued closure notices on premises they had reason to believe were being used for the production, supply or use of Class A drugs and causing serious nuisance or disturbance under powers contained in section 1 (11) of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. [169784]

Caroline Flint: The power to close premises has been widely welcomed and applauded by both the police who use it and the communities to whom its use has provided immediate relief from the blight of drug supply and use, and associated antisocial behaviour. This power provides a genuinely effective tool to tackle nightmare premises such as 'crack houses'. The power has been used at least 19 times in our Anti Social Behaviour Trailblazer sites alone since January and indications from discussions with the police and courts suggest that the power may have been used over 100 times in England and Wales.
 
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However, the numbers of closure notices issued by the   police are not recorded centrally as this data requirement would be an additional burden upon frontline police forces. We wish instead to record the number of closure orders issued by magistrates courts under section 2 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act. As this data becomes available this will allow for us to count how the power is being used nationally.

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