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Rackspace

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what correspondence his Department had with foreign government agencies prior to the seizure of web servers from the office of Rackspace on 7 October. [197784]

Caroline Flint: Home Office officials did not enter into any correspondence with foreign government agencies in this matter prior to 7 October.

Sex Abuse Investigations

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the implications of offering anonymity to teachers accused of sexual abuse until a decision has been made by the court. [197446]

Paul Goggins: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave her on 1 July 2004, Official Report, column 394W.

Speeding Fines

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average revenue received by the Metropolitan police for speeding fines imposed by them was in each of the last three years. [197719]

Caroline Flint: Fines are imposed by courts, not by the police, and the police receive no revenue from them.

Speeding offences are also dealt with by fixed penalty notice. Fixed penalty income usually goes to the Consolidated Fund. Under the provisions of the national safety camera programme, however, local partnerships of police, magistrates courts and local authorities can net off as much income from fixed penalties resulting from camera enforcement as is needed to meet the approved costs of such enforcement. Income cannot be netted off for other purposes. The London Partnership, of which the Metropolitan police are part, was established in 2002. In its first year, it netted off approved costs of £4,549,380.

Street Crime

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what use has been made of the power of courts in 10 street crime force areas to remand young offenders aged 12 to 16 years into secure accommodation. [193582]

Paul Goggins: Between 22 April 2002 (when the relevant powers were extended to include those with a repeat offending history) and 22 October 2004 1,133 young defendants aged 12–16 were remanded to local authority secure accommodation in the 10 street crime areas.

Student Visas

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend the number of hours a student from overseas in the United Kingdom on a visa is able to work; and if he will make a statement. [193491]

 
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Mr. Browne: No. Overseas students are already allowed to take part-time employment during term time up to a maximum of 20 hours per week. They are also allowed to work full-time during vacation periods. This follows the general principle which traditionally allows students to take employment that is incidental to study and to supplement their income. It strikes a sensible balance between the permitted number of working hours and the minimum of 15 hours of organised daytime study required by the Immigration Rules. There are no plans to change this.

Styal Prison Deaths

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman into deaths at Styal Prison. [150724]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 26 January 2004]: I commissioned the Prison and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) to investigate the circumstances and events of the death of Julie Walsh at Her Majesty's Prison Styal on 12 August 2003 and to examine the death in the context of five previous deaths. On 23 January I issued a statement summarising the main findings of the report and the action that the Prison Service is taking to prevent a recurrence.

I have asked the PRO to prepare an abridged version of the report for publication omitting personal and sensitive information which, if published, would add unnecessarily to the distress of the bereaved families. In recognition of the public interest in the report I intend to seek the agreement of the Coroner before publication in order to ensure that he is content that the five outstanding inquests will not be prejudiced.

Sustainable Energy (CHP Provisions) Order

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake to comply with the Sustainable Energy (CHP Provisions) Order 2003. [194435]

Fiona Mactaggart: At present the Home Office has no Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants on its office estate. There is one pilot CHP unit at a Young Offender's Institute.

We are working towards the target set under the Framework for Sustainable Development of sourcing at least 15 per cent. of electricity from good quality CHP by 2010. As an initial step we will look at setting up a procurement standard for CHP in conjunction with the Office for Government Commerce. Work has also been commissioned to explore the possibility of introducing more CHP units within the Prison Service estate.

Tampere Agenda/Outcomes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the main targets for the Tampere 2 Agenda are. [193131]

Caroline Flint: The main objectives for the Tampere 2 Agenda, now to be called the "The Hague Programme", is to add value to the efforts of member states to tackle cross-border crime, asylum abuse and illegal
 
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immigration. We aim to do this through development of practical measures aimed at improving co-operation between member states on access to justice, strengthening external borders, fighting organised cross-border crime and combating terrorism. We welcome measures to; improve intelligence-led policing; strengthen the EU's border controls; develop minimum security standards in passports/ID cards including use of biometric identifiers; and incorporation of JHA issues into the European Union's external priorities, in particular re-admission and returns.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of (a) the reaction to the outcome of Tampere 1 in (i) Poland, (ii) Hungary, (iii) Slovenia, (iv) Slovakia, (v) Czech Republic, (vi) Estonia, (vii) Latvia, (viii) Lithuania, (ix) Cyprus and (x) Malta; and (b) how Tampere 2 has been received in each country. [193132]

Caroline Flint: The Secretary of State for the Home Department has noted that the 10 member states have applied those measures adopted under the Tampere 1 agenda (the Tampere Programme) as part of their accession to the European Union acquis.

These 10 member states have been full participants in discussions on the Tampere 2 programme (The Hague Programme) but it has not yet been agreed. The Government has kept in contact with all member states, including the 10 referred to, during discussions on the Hague Programme. Like other member states they have key interests in The Hague proposals, which in many cases align with those of the UK.

TETRA Radiation

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government plans to commission further research programmes on the effects on human health of exposure to TETRA radiation modulated at approximately 16Hz, using human volunteer studies. [192891]

Caroline Flint: We have commissioned a number of research projects to study the effects of TETRA emissions on human health, some of which use human volunteers. Earlier this year, as part of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme, we commissioned the University of Bradford to carry out a study into possible non-linear and demodulation mechanisms in biological tissue. We will commission further studies as necessary as part of our ongoing research programme.

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation exercises have taken place with police officers regarding the use of TETRA headsets. [192892]

Caroline Flint: The police service has been fully involved in the review of radio communications that lead to the adoption of the new TETRA Airwave radio system. Deployment of police equipment is for individual forces to decide on.

The Police Federation supports the new system, and is keen to see realised the benefits to officer safety from the clearer signals, better coverage and enhanced safety features that Airwave offers.
 
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Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research his Department has commissioned on the health issues surrounding the TETRA system. [196067]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 4 November 2004]: We have a wide programme of research in place on the health and safety aspects of TETRA. Recently we have, as part of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme, commissioned the University of Bradford to carry out a study into possible non-linear and demodulation mechanisms in biological tissue.

Further research is under consideration. Details of any additional research will be placed on the Home Office website as soon as they are available.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation he has had with the Police Federation on the use of radios linked to the TETRA system by police officers. [196068]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 4 November 2004]: The police service was involved in the decision to adopt Airwave, the new police radio system that uses TETRA technology.

The Police Federation supports the introduction of Airwave, and is keen to realise the benefits to officer safety from the clearer signals, fuller coverage and enhanced security features Airwave provides.

The Police Federation has been, and continues to be, involved in the implementation of the Home Office's programme of research into the health and safety aspects of TETRA technology.

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