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24 Jun 2004 : Column 1504W—continued
Body Armour
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he has received regarding (a) the extent of injury sustained by a person wearing body armour to specification (i) HGIA and (ii) HGI when hit by standard ammunition fired by short-barrelled hand guns and (b) the likely period of disablement and inability to work consequent on such injury. [179781]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 21 June 2004]: Comparing two identical shots at the same position on the same person, the injury to the person wearing the HG1A armour is likely to show more severe bruising and trauma.
It is impossible to predict the exact nature and extent of an injury as this will depend on a number of factors such as the position of the shot and the build and physical condition of the person wearing this armour.
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken with or on behalf of police forces to obtain compensation for forces provided with body armour to specification HGIA instead of HGI as ordered. [179782]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 21 June 2004]: This is a matter that the forces themselves have taken up with the manufacturer. I understand that the manufacturer has offered free upgrades to restore the armour to its original specification to all forces involved.
Cannabis
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for a review of the effect of the reclassification of cannabis. [178505]
Caroline Flint:
The Government reclassified cannabis as a Class C drug earlier this year following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, to allow
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the police to focus on Class A drugs which do the most harm. The Home Office is working closely with police forces to monitor the policing of drug offences since cannabis was reclassified and early figures are encouraging. As more robust data becomes available a more thorough assessment of the impact of reclassification will be undertaken.
Coroner's Court (North Yorkshire)
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the work of the coroner's court in North Yorkshire. [163621]
Paul Goggins: There are two coroner's districts within the county of North Yorkshire. York unitary authority, which was formally within that county, has its own coroner. I recently wrote to the hon. Member about a constituency case involving the latter and have asked officials to explore issues relating to that case. I have no current plans to make a statement.
Coroners
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what role the Government have in setting limits or determining the appropriate charge to be levied by Her Majesty's Coroners upon bereaved relatives and other interested parties in payment for photocopying of documents and statements to be disclosed under Rule 37 of the Coroners Act 1988; when the level of the charge was last reviewed; and what relief is available for individuals on low incomes; [179513]
(2) if he will take into account (a) transparency in the inquest process and (b) access for those with limited means when determining the appropriate charge to be levied by Her Majesty's Coroners upon (i) bereaved relatives and (ii) other interested parties in payment for photocopying of documents and statements to be disclosed under Rule 37 of the Coroners Act 1988. [179806]
Paul Goggins: The Government prescribe the fees payable to coroners for supplying copies of inquisitions, depositions, post mortem examination reports or other documents relating to an inquest. These fees are set out in the Coroner's Records (Fees for Copies) Rules 2002 and followed discussions on the appropriate level with the Coroners Society. Coroners have powers to waive any fee in cases of hardship and have been advised that no charge can be made in respect of providing a copy of any document where an inquest has not been held.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter of 4 May from the hon. Member for Walsall, North regarding a constituent, ref 5120/4. [177874]
Mr. Browne [holding answer 10 June 2004]: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 24 June 2004.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when officials at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to letters from the hon. Member for Vauxhall dated 25 March and 20 May about a constituent, reference number O165652. [178741]
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Mr. Browne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to my hon. Friend on 11 June 2004.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when officials at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to a letter from the hon. Member for Vauxhall dated 4 March about a constituent, reference number B508994. [178742]
Mr. Browne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to my hon. Friend on 17 June.
Criminal Prosecutions (Merseyside)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful criminal prosecutions were brought for crimes perpetrated in each Merseyside constituency in each of the last three years; and how many criminal charges were pressed for crimes perpetrated in Crosby in each of the last three years. [177849]
Paul Goggins: Information on criminal prosecutions for crimes perpetrated in particular areas is not available; rather, the information relates to offenders prosecuted in particular areas.
Nor are statistics of defendants charged with offences collected centrally. It is also not possible to break down the court proceedings data collected centrally to constituency level (because constituencies do not coincide with petty sessional areas).
The following table, however, gives the number of defendants (a) convicted and (b) not convicted in the Merseyside police force area as a whole.
| Defendants convicted | Defendants not convicted(5) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 40,375 | 15,704 |
| 2001 | 41,372 | 16,120 |
| 2002 | 44,126 | 13,240 |
(5) Includes defendants whose proceedings were discontinued, those discharged under Sec 6 MCA 1980, and those whose charges were withdrawn, dismissed or acquitted.
Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn.
Cycling
Mr. Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given by his Department to police forces in England and Wales about the enforcement of legislation which prohibits cycling on footpaths. [178309]
Caroline Flint: Chief officers of police are best placed to assess the level, nature and causes of cycling offences locally and decide the response.
Police officers will take action as appropriate against cyclists whom they see breaking the law in this way. Forces also sometimes undertake short, intensive campaigns to deal with persistent cycling offenders.
To help enforcement we have given community support officers the power to issue £30 fixed penalty notices for cycling inconsiderately or on the pavement
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Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will encourage pedestrians who are knocked over by cyclists on footpaths and pavements to report the incident to the police. [178776]
Caroline Flint: Cycling on the footpath is an offence under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835. The police will enforce the offence as appropriate. As with other offending we would encourage members of the public to give evidence of specific problems and of particularly dangerous behaviour to the police. This will help ensure that the police target their responses effectively.
Departmental Press Officers
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers were employed in his Department in each year from 1990–91 to 2003–04; what the total cost was in each year; and if he will make a statement. [162848]
Fiona Mactaggart: Records of numbers and costs before 1996–97 have not been kept.
Press office numbers and costs for the following years are outlined as follows:
| Numbers | Cost (£) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 16 | 369,000 |
| 1997–98 | 13 | 332,000 |
| 1998–1999 | 13 | 329,000 |
| 1999–2000 | 16 | 345,000 |
| 2000–01 | (6)31 | 863,000 |
| 2001–02 | (7)35 | 1 million |
| 2002–03 | 39 | 1.7 million |
| 2003–04 | 39 | 1.9 million |
(6) Expansion of the Home Office press office followed an external consultant's review of its staffing and operation in 1999 and recommended the creation of the Newsdesk so as to better meet the demands of the media. This improved efficiency from "losing' in excess of 20 per cent. of the calls pre expansion, to a position where from June 2003 to June 2004 91.8 per cent. of the 67,070 press calls received by the Newsdesk were answered.
(7) The Home Office press office and the prison service press office merged in May 2001.
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