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Criminal Records Bureau

The Minister for Crime Reduction, Policing and Community Safety (Ms Hazel Blears): I am pleased to announce that the Criminal Records Bureau annual report and accounts 2003–04 has been published today and I am pleased to say that copies of the report have been placed in the Library of the House.

Police (Firearms)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Caroline Flint): The statistics for 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 show that the number of police operations in which firearms were issued was 16,657. The number of times a conventional firearm was discharged by police was eight which covered four incidents. A baton round was discharged on 15 occasions and a Taser was fired on 13 occasions as less lethal alternatives to conventional firearms.

Armed response vehicles were deployed on 13,218 occasions and there were 6,099 authorised firearms officers in England and Wales.
 
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Full details are set out in the tables below:
Number of Operations in which Firearms were Authorised

	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Total	11,109	13,991	14,827	16,657
Avon & Somerset	65	195	262	311
Bedfordshire	294	237	301	442
Cambridgeshire	71	114	57	104
Cheshire	545	419	451	397
Cleveland	28	37	170	453
City of London	3	40	131	364
Cumbria	30	71	77	72
Derbyshire	167	275	401	369
Devon & Cornwall	151	101	96	112
Dorset	174	184	193	231
Durham	40	89	83	156
Essex	435	323	312	275
Gloucestershire	48	165	185	127
Gtr Manchester	357	580	518	507
Hampshire	114	198	162	208
Hertfordshire	86	112	172	195
Humberside	158	297	187	183
Kent	83	115	137	207
Lancashire	242	232	238	318
Leicestershire	217	300	268	295
Lincolnshire	336	477	392	386
Merseyside	825	1,020	628	751
Metropolitan	1,862	2,447	3,199	3,563
Norfolk	226	175	200	178
Northamptonshire	58	43	138	148
Northumbria	708	1,440	1,275	1,140
North Yorkshire	72	92	100	147
Nottinghamshire	233	384	452	459
South Yorkshire	127	258	463	484
Staffordshire	203	232	281	255
Suffolk	176	163	270	251
Surrey	221	245	247	203
Sussex	353	248	204	280
Thames Valley	153	179	167	195
Warwickshire	233	130	149	164
West Mercia	36	117	91	197
West Midlands	485	822	902	1,377
West Yorkshire	822	757	604	575
Wiltshire	66	45	58	63
Dyfed Powys	18	28	29	28
Gwent	30	20	37	40
North Wales	195	302	259	197
South Wales	363	283	281	250

Number of Authorised Firearms Offices (AFOs)

	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Total	6,064	5,776	5,763	6,096
Avon & Somerset	135	116	84	122
Bedfordshire	45	48	53	58
Cambridgeshire	73	56	71	60
Cheshire	74	81	89	75
Cleveland	75	85	80	95
City of London	74	73	72	86
Cumbria	94	92	87	89
Derbyshire	81	80	69	70
Devon & Cornwall	100	108	115	132
Dorset	67	57	59	60
Durham	101	86	102	97
Essex	195	180	184	186
Gloucestershire	72	71	80	82
Gtr Manchester	240	219	202	205
Hampshire	100	87	94	94
Hertfordshire	44	46	47	50
Humberside	102	96	96	96
Kent	136	113	93	90
Lancashire	132	138	129	122
Leicestershire	85	69	68	51
Lincolnshire	80	91	87	78
Merseyside	103	78	84	94
Metropolitan	1,940	1,805	1,823	2,060
Norfolk	114	104	109	114
Northamptonshire	77	51	56	52
Northumbria	109	125	99	90
North Yorkshire	66	66	64	60
Nottinghamshire	137	136	131	138
South Yorkshire	98	92	100	98
Staffordshire	67	71	63	67
Suffolk	90	90	80	96
Surrey	72	62	48	53
Sussex	118	120	141	134
Thames Valley	185	156	180	172
Warwickshire	45	50	51	46
West Mercia	130	125	131	139
West Midlands	83	111	110	124
West Yorkshire	117	116	132	140
Wiltshire	71	71	78	80
Dyfed Powys	61	77	62	58
Gwent	66	57	60	71
North Wales	67	83	75	73
South Wales	143	138	125	139

 
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Number of Operations Involving Armed ResponseVehicles (ARVs)

	2000–01	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04
Total	8,179	11,574	11,848	13,218
Avon & Somerset	56	173	215	249
Bedfordshire	253	172	269	414
Cambridgeshire	36	43	45	155
Cheshire	441	523	337	356
Cleveland	16	13	63	86
City of London	30	39	131	364
Cumbria	27	53	45	65
Derbyshire	152	253	363	312
Devon & Cornwall	121	76	32	94
Dorset	155	182	180	215
Durham	31	57	66	96
Essex	206	165	176	138
Gloucestershire	39	140	166	109
Gtr Manchester	302	528	406	440
Hampshire	84	116	108	128
Hertfordshire	65	81	129	157
Humberside	136	273	170	158
Kent	64	89	132	193
Lancashire	177	192	185	273
Leicestershire	195	292	232	269
Lincolnshire	324	470	367	355
Merseyside	75	974	547	687
Metropolitan	1,380	1,667	2,447	2,423
Norfolk	192	157	186	169
Northamptonshire	35	25	90	99
Northumbria	655	1,349	1,204	1,063
North Yorkshire	54	60	67	110
Nottinghamshire	207	333	397	404
South Yorkshire	103	221	280	322
Staffordshire	136	208	241	212
Suffolk	103	116	160	194
Surrey	192	225	240	190
Sussex	245	189	171	250
Thames Valley	108	174	167	179
Warwickshire	194	104	31	138
West Mercia	26	100	111	241
West Midlands	243	563	592	975
West Yorkshire	785	609	565	543
Wiltshire	48	43	39	28
Dyfed Powys	18	28	29	28
Gwent	17	16	16	23
North Wales	155	265	198	153
South Wales	298	218	253	161

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Domestic Dog and Cat Fur (Alleged Imports)

The Minister for Trade and Investment (Mr. Douglas Alexander): The Government promised to report back to both Houses 12 months from my predecessor's statement
 
27 Jan 2005 : Column 34WS
 
to the House on 28 January 2004, Official Report, columns 11–12WS on the alleged import of domestic cat and dog fur into the UK.

The Government understand the ethical abhorrence felt about this issue. Our priority remains to establish the facts about the extent of this alleged trade and to act in a measured way. To this end, we encouraged interested parties to come forward with hard evidence of such fur being on sale in the UK and we undertook work to establish a reliable scientific test to identify between different species of fur.

In July 2003 the Government invited interested parties to produce hard evidence of a problem in the UK, but to date there is no substantive evidence that such fur is entering the UK in significant and commercial quantities, if at all.

The Government have been working in parallel to establish a scientific test to make it possible to reliably ascertain what species of animal any given fur sample has come from. Such a test is essential to enable trading standards officers to address allegations of mislabelling arising under the existing Trade Descriptions Act and to help establish whether domestic cat and dog fur is on sale in the UK.

Last January we reported back on work commissioned on the mass spectrometry means of distinguishing the furs of domestic cat and dogs from that of other animal species. Scientific experts at the former Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC Ltd.) concluded that mass spectrometry was not yet sufficiently reliable.

The database of fur samples on which the mass spectrometry method relies, together with the search algorithms used in testing were improved in the year since the last tests were commissioned. On the basis of new tests commissioned in autumn 2004, LGC Ltd. has concluded that from this limited trial, the use MALDI TOF Mass Spectrometry to identify domestic dog and cat hair from other species is a viable option, although a question mark remains on identifying fur which has been chemically treated.

The UK keeps in touch with officials in several countries where the possible trade in domestic cat and dog fur is a concern, including the USA, Australia, France, Belgium and Sweden. We will be sharing our findings from the "mass spectrometry" trials with these governments and with all our European partners.

The Government position remains that without hard evidence of such imports at commercial levels to the UK, we will not consider legislation and that any action would be most effective if taken at EU level. The Government continue to welcome input and evidence from interested stakeholders and will continue to share information with other Governments, particularly those in Europe.

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