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21 Dec 2004 : Column 1549W—continued
Ministerial Cars
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list occasions since 1 January 2002 when he has authorised his official car to be used to transport unauthorised personnel; and if he will estimate the cost to the public purse. [205944]
Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 20 December 2004]: I have not used my official car to transport unauthorised personnel on any occasion. The last Home Secretary has said that he only authorised the transport of people in his car on journeys which were being undertaken in any event for purposes for which his official car is provided.
Missing Persons Helpline
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet the case management and IT staff costs of the National Missing Persons Helpline to implement from 17 January 2005 the National Agreement for sharing of information on missing people with all UK police forces. [205489]
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Ms Blears: The Home Office has committed to provide the National Missing Persons Helpline with 120,000 to fund the costs associated with the implementation of the National Agreement until the end of March 2005. This will enable the first phase of the implementation of the National Agreement to take place.
The Home Office has been considering with the National Missing Persons Helpline a range of potential sources of sustainability funding for the National Agreement beyond March 2005.
Police
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effects of the changes in the regime for local authority funding on the ability of Kent police to meet their crime reduction target; and if he will make a statement. [203022]
Ms Blears: Government general grants for police authorities are based on a formula assessment of relative need and on local resources. Kent Police Authority continues to be protected by the grant damping mechanism that limits the impact of year on year changes. It has gained £14.7 million in 2004–05 and under the provisional grant settlement is provided with £11.5 million in 2005–06.
The Police Performance Monitoring report for 2003–04, published in September 2004, looks at performance over six domains of policing. This report shows that performance in Kent is generally improving and is above that of its Most Similar Forces for the domains of Reducing Crime and Investigating Crime. Overall target crime levels fell by 6.0 per cent. Domestic burglary fell by 1.9 per cent., vehicle crime by 7.6 per cent. and robbery by 5.6 per cent.
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David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pieces of guidance have been sent to (a) police forces and (b) police authorities in each year since 1997; and how many pages each piece of guidance contained. [205332]
Ms Blears: This information is not kept centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost to police authorities is in this financial year of increased British Medical Association(recommended charges for police surgeons. [199407]
Ms Blears: I understand the matter is still under consideration by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Forensic Medical Examiners. I have made no estimate of the cost to police authorities of an increase in charges.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 30 November 2004, Official Report, column 50W, on what dates representatives of the Home Office met key stakeholders to discuss the future of the police training centre at Bruche; who was present at each of these meetings; and what options for the future of the Bruche centre were considered. [203733]
Ms Blears [holding answer 9 December 2004]: Under the modernisation of probationer training, various options for the national implementation of the modernised probationer training programme have been discussed throughout 2004. The Head of Police Training and Development in the Home Office has been the lead official in most of these discussions, which have also involved the former and current Chief Executives of CENTREX, several members of CENTREX's Senior Management Team, the Association of Chief Police Officers, various representatives of the Association of Police Authorities, and others.
The national implementation of the new probationer training programme will necessarily be linked to the cessation of current Foundation Training provision at CENTREX regional training centres, and there will be implications for the future of CENTREX's estate. However, the precise nature of these implications is a matter for the CENTREX Board and Senior Management Team, and no firm decisions regarding the future of the Bruche centre itself have yet been made.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents there were involving police vehicles in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland in the last year for which figures are available. [204824]
Ms Blears: Figures on the number of accidents involving police vehicles are not published centrally.
Property Searches (Terrorism Legislation)
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of anti-terrorism legislation to search properties in Rusholme and Moss Side in December. [205365]
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Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 16 December 2004]: Greater Manchester Police have informed me that on the night of Monday 29 December a man was arrested by traffic police for a routine traffic matter and was charged with several motoring offences. A search of a vehicle was carried out to confirm his identity in line with usual procedures. As a result of items found in the car, police then obtained warrants under the Terrorism Act 2000 for three addresses—one in Cheetham Hill, one in Moss Side and one in Rusholme.
All three addresses were searched by police officers and, as a result of inquiries, five people were arrested under Immigration legislation and detained pending inquiries by the Immigration Service.
Inquiries are now concluded and we are satisfied that no terrorist related offences have been committed.
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions anti-terrorism legislation has been used to (a) stop and arrest individuals and (b) search premises; on how many of these occasions charges ensued; and on how many occasions charges under anti-terrorism legislation were brought. [205366]
Ms Blears [holding answer 16 December 2004]: For the financial year 2003–04, there were 25,692 searches made under section 44(1), Terrorism Act 2000, with 373 resultant arrests; and 8,106 searches under section 44(2), with 118 resultant arrests. Stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act are should not be evaluated using arrest statistics. The powers are used by police in areas potentially targeted by terrorists to prevent and deter attacks
Further details are available in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 18/04 "Arrests for Notifiable Offences and the Operation of Certain Powers under PACE, England and Wales 2003/04" which is published by Research Development and Statistics (RDS) on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk/rds/
Statistics on arrests and charges from 11 September 2001 until 30 September 2004 under the Terrorism Act 2000 are available on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk/terrorism/. (These are compiled from recent police records and are therefore subject to change as cases go through the system.)
Police records show that from 11 September 2001 until 30 September 2004, 664 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000.
118 of these were charged under the Act. Of these, 44 were also charged with offences under other legislation.
135 were charged under other legislation. This includes charges for terrorist offences that are already covered in general criminal law such as murder, grievous bodily harm and use of firearms or explosives.
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17 Individuals have been convicted of offences under the Terrorism Act Records on the number of searches of premises and resultant charges are not collated centrally.
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