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UN Charter on the Rights of the Child
Mr. Alan Duncan: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions (a) he and (b) other Ministers have had with the United States Administration about ratification of the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child. [210289]
The Prime Minister:
The United States signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 16 February 1995. The current Administration has made clear that it does not intend to ratify it. Neither I nor other Ministers have raised the Convention with our US counterparts. We have regularly supported EU-sponsored resolutions on the Rights of the Child at the UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights.
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HOME DEPARTMENT
Angela Cannings
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason Angela Cannings was refused (a) compensation and (b) an ex gratia payment for wrongful conviction and imprisonment; and if he will make a statement. [208513]
Paul Goggins: Angela Cannings did not meet the criteria set out within the provisions of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 for a statutory payment of compensation for her wrongful conviction. Nor did she meet the criteria for an ex gratia payment of compensation under the terms of the then Home Secretary's statement to the House of Commons on 29 November 1985, Official Report, columns 691–92.
Antisocial Behaviour
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the effect of having separate definitions of antisocial behaviour in the Housing Act 1996 and the Crime and Disorder Act 1999. [204534]
Ms Blears: Antisocial behaviour is defined in the Part 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 for the purposes of seeking Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) as behaviour that is likely to cause alarm, harassment or distress. For the purposes of seeking a Housing Injunction under Section 153A of the Housing Act 1996 antisocial behaviour is defined as conduct which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance. It is important to note that both definitions relate specifically to these legislative measures and are not to be taken as general definitions of what constitutes anti-social behaviour.
Both definitions are wide enough to encompass most practitioners own understanding of antisocial behaviour and are designed to ensure that these legislative measures can be applied to tackle a broad range of antisocial conduct.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines his Department has given to agencies on assessing whether behaviour is anti-social. [204536]
Ms Blears:
While there are no fixed guidelines the key to categorising behaviour as antisocial must be in consideration of its impact on others. The term 'antisocial behaviour' includes a variety of behaviour covering a whole complex of selfish and unacceptable activity that can blight the quality of community life. Other terms such as 'nuisance', 'neighbour disputes' and 'disorder' are also used to describe some of this behaviour. A legal definition of behaving in an antisocial manner is found in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, this
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definition is used in relation to anti-social behaviour orders. The definition of antisocial behaviour being
"that is to say in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as himself".
Many agencies tackling antisocial behaviour have adopted this definition for more general purposes.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures he has in place to keep track of people waiting for asylum applications to be processed. [209366]
Mr. Browne: As part of the initial screening process asylum seekers are required to provide proof of residence at a particular address. Residence at that address is then made a condition of their temporary admission into the United Kingdom, to which other conditions may be added, principally a requirement that the asylum seeker reports regularly to the Immigration Service (IS) at a dedicated reporting centre or local police station. Verification of the place of residence occurs during reporting. In addition, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) make regular checks, including personal visits, to ensure that individuals still reside at the recorded address.
IND maintains a central database containing the information supplied, which is also included in the individual Home Office (HO) file. All applicants, and their representatives, are informed of the obligation to notify the HO of any subsequent change of address throughout the asylum process. This may be done either in writing or in person to the nearest IS reporting centre or local enforcement office.
Bobbybanks
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Department will respond to the proposal from Wirral police force for Bobbybanks. [208427]
Ms Blears [holding answer 17 January 2005]: Merseyside police forwarded a paper entitled "Policing the Demographic Trough—The Policing Bank Concept", to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) on 2 February 2004. A reply was sent by HMIC on 11 March 2004.
Burglary (London)
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many burglaries there were in each London borough in (a) each year since 2001 and (b) each month to date in 2004. [205075]
Ms Blears:
The information requested has been supplied by the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and is contained in the table.
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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.
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