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15 Dec 2004 : Column 1162W—continued
Animal Experiments
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date the Animal Procedures Committee was informed that Imutran primates on moderate procedures had been found dead; and what form the communication took. [199892]
Caroline Flint: The specific information requested is not readily identifiable from Home Office records.
Antisocial Behaviour Orders
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) have been (a) applied for and (b) granted by the courts in Gloucestershire, broken down by local authority area, in each year that ASBOs have been in effect. [202657]
Ms Blears:
The available information is given in the following table.
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(18) From 1 April 1999 to 31 May 2000 data were collected by police force area on aggregate numbers only. During this period no ASBOs were reported to the Home Office for Gloucestershire.
(19) Only covers applications dealt with by 30 June 2004.
(20) Not applicable.
British Citizenship
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether an applicant for British citizenship serving abroad in the United Kingdom's armed forces may be disqualified in their application on the grounds of absence from the United Kingdom. [201515]
Mr. Browne: Under section 6(1) (section 6(2) if married to a British citizen) of the British Nationality Act 1981 applicants for naturalisation must meet a number of residence requirements which are detailed in schedule 1 to the Act.
The residence requirements include five years residence in the UK immediately prior to application (three years if married to a British citizen) and a mandatory requirement to have been physically present in the UK on the actual date five (or three) years prior to the date of application. There is no discretion to waive the requirement to have been physically present in the UK at the start of the five or three year qualifying period where an application is being made on the basis of residence.
These requirements have not been amended and have been applied consistently since the Act came into force on 1 January 1983.
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There is scope under the Act for Crown Service overseas, on the date of application for citizenship, to act as an alternative to the residence criteria outlined above. (This is set out in schedule 1 paragraph 1(3) to the Act). However, strict criteria are applied in such cases and very few applications are granted on this basis. Examples of cases that have been approved include those where the applicant had more than 20 years Crown Service with British embassies, at pro- and vice-consul level, and the application was supported by current and previous ambassadors.
In the light of the recent review into the Home Office immigration and naturalisation policy for Gurkhas, the policy for naturalisation for all servicemen has been changed. We will, generally, no longer naturalise a member of the armed forces while they are still in service. Once discharged ex-servicemen will be able to apply for naturalisation, subject to meeting the usual residence requirements. The new policy takes account of the potential high levels of absences that ex-servicemen may have and will enable these to be waived in most cases.
Our policy on applications made solely on the basis of overseas Crown Service has not changed as a result of the review, and we will continue to apply the same strict criteria in these cases.
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British Police (Iraq)
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British police officers are seconded to duty in Iraq; what their expected tour of duty is; and what arrangements have been made to cover their operational duties in the UK during their absence overseas. [202798]
Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 6 December 2004]: There are currently 40 serving and three retired UK civilian police officers seconded to Iraq, where they are working with the Iraqi Police Service in an advisory, training and mentoring capacity. These officers are from forces in England and Wales, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Ministry of Defence Police. The length of their deployments varies from six to 18 months.
All the serving officers are volunteers who have gone to Iraq with the consent of their chief constables, who will have been satisfied that their own operational policing requirements can be fully met during the officers' absence before agreeing to release them for overseas service.
Budd Inquiry
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will (a) print, (b) publish and (c) pay for the report to be produced by Sir Alan Budd on the conduct of the Home Secretary. [202633]
Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 6 December 2004]: Provided that Parliament is sitting, we expect the report to be printed and published by the Stationery Office under the authority of the House of Commons. The Home Office will pay for the printing of the report and for any copies it requires.
Crime Statistics
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the trends in burglary rates in Telford since 1997. [203726]
Ms Blears: Telford and Wrekin is a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Statistics at CDRP level have only been collected centrally since 1999–2000. The available information is for recorded offences of burglary in a dwelling and is given in the tables.
Note:
The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.
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| Period | Number of offences |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 1,250 |
| 2003–04 | 1,231 |
Note:
The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.
David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the trends in car crime in Telford since 1997. [203725]
Ms Blears: Telford and Wrekin is a crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) area. Statistics at CDRP level have only been collected centrally since 1999–2000. The available information is given in the following tables and shows that recorded offences of vehicle crime have fallen in each year since 1999–2000.
Note:
The data in this table are prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.
| Period | Number of offences |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 2,379 |
| 2003–04 | 2,335 |
Note:
The data in this table take account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.
Mr. Crausby: 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 Bolton, North-East has been since 1997. [203376]
Ms Blears: The information requested is not available centrally.
Bolton, North-East comes within the Bolton Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Data at CDRP level have only been published from 1999–2000 onwards. The latest figures for six key offences for 2003–04 can be found at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/cdrptabs.pdf.
More detailed statistics at CDRP level are available for 2002–03 on the new Home Office website: http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk.
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