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1 Sept 2004 : Column 840W—continued

Age Cards

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the (a) availability and (b) misuse of fake proof of age cards; and if he will make a statement. [181503]

Mr. Browne: We have been working closely with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) on the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) which aims to ensure that different proof of age schemes comply with common standards. This is indicated by displaying the PASS holographic logo on the card. Through the BRC and other groups we encourage retailers to accept only PASS compliant cards. A person using a fake proof of age card commits an offence if it is used to deceive.

In the longer term, the introduction of ID cards will also provide retailers with a single, clear and highly reliable means of verifying proof of age.

Alcohol Promotions

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ban (a) happy hours and (b) one-price-for-all-you-can-drink promotions in pubs. [184807]

Ms Blears: We are currently having discussions with the industry around the development of the social responsibility scheme for alcohol retailers. This was one of the recommendations contained in the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England, published by the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit on 15 March 2004. Alcohol retailers will be encouraged to sign up to the scheme which will include a commitment from pubs and clubs to clamp down on irresponsible promotions.
 
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The scheme will be voluntary, but we will be assessing its effectiveness early in the next parliament. If the impact is not as we would expect, we will look to further measures, including the possibility of legislation.

Animal Research

Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officer hours were spent by the Cambridgeshire police force in tackling criminal activity linked to animal rights extremism in each year since 1999. [185073]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 19 July 2004]: Information on police hours spent tackling criminal activity linked to animal rights extremism is not collected centrally.

However, Cambridgshire Constabulary tell me that since 1 January 2000 they have spent a total of 35,569 days or 357,548 hours on the response to activities of animal rights protestors.

Anti-terrorism

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has collated about the number of arrests under the anti-terrorism legislation over the last 12 months; how many led to (a) charges and (b) release; and if he will make a statement. [184737]

Ms Blears: Due to the method by which Terrorism Act arrests are recorded, figures for the requested period are not available. The closest period we can compile is 11 March 2003 to 30 June 2004. For this period, 274 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000. 46 of these were charged under the Act. The remainder were either released without charge, bailed to return, cautioned, charged under other legislation or dealt with under immigration or mental health legislation.

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the reasons were for the arrests of seven people in Greater Manchester and three others in other parts of England on 19 April under terrorism legislation; and if he will make a statement. [185091]

Ms Blears [holding answer 21 July 2004]: This was an intelligence-led operation and the police would have been failing in their duty if they did not act on any available information and investigate its veracity.

The police decided not to press charges and all the suspects were released without charge.

Appeals Processing

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the appeal in the case of NA, reference D1038877, was received by (a) the Home Office and (b) the Appeals Processing Centre; and when he expects the Appeals Processing Centre to pass it to the Independent Appellate Authority. [184965]

Mr. Browne [holding answer 22 July 2004]: This appeal was received by the Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Directorate Appeals Processing Centre, on 18 May 2004. The appeal has been processed and was forwarded to the Immigration Appellate Authority on 19 July 2004.
 
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Burglaries

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many three strike rule burglaries there were in the last year for which figures are available; how many resulted in a prison sentence; and what the average period was prior to remission. [182911]

Paul Goggins: The number of persons sentenced in 2002 under the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 has been published in Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2002, Table 4G. The corresponding average sentence imposed by the courts is three years.

CCTV (Tamworth)

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much public money has been spent on CCTV cameras in Tamworth constituency since 1995–96. [185833]

Ms Blears: Since 1996 the Home Office has provided Tamworth borough council with £382,000 for close circuit television schemes.

Allocation of that funding locally is a matter for Tamworth borough council and the Staffordshire police.

Community Sentences

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the success rate of community sentences. [182284]

Mr. Browne: Data on breach rules are published in Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2002.

Community Support Officers

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) community support officers and (b) community wardens there are in each police authority area in Wales; and what the projected change in numbers is over the next four years [186098]

Mr. Browne: At the end of June this year the number of Community Support Officers (CSOs) on patrol in each police authority area in Wales and new ones successfully bid for in the recent third round of funding was as follows:

Force	CSOs already on patrol	Additional CSOs for 2004–05
Dyfed-Powys	4	6
Gwent	48	10
North Wales	8	25
South Wales	50	5

The new Neighbourhood Policing Fund will support the recruitment of 20,000 extra Community Support Officers and wardens by 2008.

Community or Neighbourhood wardens are not employed by police authorities but by organisations such as local authorities or housing associations. Information on their numbers is not held centrally.
 
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Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer question number 163249 regarding computer misuse in his Department, tabled by the hon. Member for Northavon on 18 March. [183207]

Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 12 July 2004]: I replied to the hon. Member on 22 July 2004, Official Report, column 578W.

Contingency Planning

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on emergency planning arrangements in the UK. [184906]

Ms Blears [holding answer 20 July 2004]: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary makes regular statements to the House on emergency planning arrangements in the UK. The last such statement was made on 25 February 2004, Official Report, column 41WS, and these issues were addressed in the Intelligence Security Commission (ISC) debate on 8 July and extensively in a joint evidence session the Home Secretary gave to a special joint meeting of the Home Affairs and Defence Select Committees.

In addition, the 2004 Spending Review (Cm6237) set out details of the significant new investment that the Government have made in this field.

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