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Asylum Seekers

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he issues to his officials in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate regarding treatment of foreign nationals who have been refused asylum in the UK but who are then denied entry into their country of origin. [210905]

Mr. Browne: Instructions to immigration officers are set out as operational best practice. In the circumstances set out above immigration officers will:

The IND continues to work closely with a number of countries of origin to secure returns arrangements. On a bilateral basis, these may be informal Memoranda of Understanding or formal readmission agreements. We also work within the framework of the ED to conclude EC Readmission Agreements.

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those detained under anti-terrorist measures (a) were seeking asylum at the time of their detention and (b) have subsequently claimed asylum. [213186]


 
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Mr. Browne [holding answer 1 February 2005]: Between 11 September 2001 and 31 December 2004, police and Home Office records show that a total of 717 people were detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Many have since been released. Of the 182 identified in Home Office records as having applied for asylum, 166 had claimed asylum prior to arrest, and 16 subsequently.

British Citizens Killed Abroad

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will extend Criminal Injuries Compensation Board payments to include British citizens who are killed abroad. [201746]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 6 December 2004]: The British Government are not liable for injuries caused to British Citizens by the criminal acts of others abroad.

European Council Directive 2004/80/EC of 29 April 2004 makes it clear that, within the European Union, responsibility for paying compensation to victims of violent intentional crime rests with the competent authority of the member state on whose territory the crime was committed. We believe that principle holds good in respect of crimes of violence committed in non-EU countries, and we have no plans to extend the territorial scope of the Great Britain Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

British nationals or residents injured abroad should accordingly look for compensation to the perpetrator, to whatever insurance arrangements they may have made, or to the State where the criminal injury occurred.

Burglary (Homeowners)

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been charged with offences arising from the defence of their home against a burglar or other intruder in each of the past five years; how many prosecutions were successful; how many persons were sentenced to a term of imprisonment; and how many convictions were subsequently overturned. [205260]

Paul Goggins: Statistics for persons charged with crimes are not collected centrally nor is it possible to identify those persons prosecuted for offences arising from the defence of their home, as the circumstances surrounding an offence are not collected centrally on the Home Office Court Proceedings database.

The Director of Public Prosecutions would look for clear evidence of excessive force before considering a prosecution. The Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers together issued guidance for householders on Tuesday 1 February, which explains in plain language the rights of a person if faced with an intruder.

Cash in Transit Vehicles

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the Government's strategy is for preventing attacks on cash in transit vehicles; [213592]
 
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(2) what assessment he has made of regional variations in police response times to cash in transit vehicle attacks; and what strategies he intends to put in place to reduce regional variations; [213593]

(3) what research has been carried out into how cash stolen in cash in transit attacks is used by organised crime. [213594]

(4) what the average sentence was for individuals convicted of cash in transit attacks in each of the last five years. [213595]

Ms Blears: The Home Office has been in discussion with the British Securities Industry Association and police to reduce cash-in- transit robberies. The industry has committed itself to tackling this crime through the spread of good practice and the use of technology to protect cash-in-transit deliveries, the industry is also working closely with the police to share intelligence relating to cash-in-transit robberies.

Statistics on police response times to cash-in-transit vehicle attacks and average sentences for individuals convicted of cash in transit attacks are not held centrally. We are not aware of any research into how cash stolen in cash-in-transit attacks is used.

CCTV

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide further funding for CCTV schemes in Lancashire. [213905]

Ms Blears: There are currently funds available under the Building Safer Communities Funds for a range of crime reduction initiatives. The Building Safer Communities fund is allocated by the Home Office to Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) to enable them to tackle local crime priorities through a number of interventions, including CCTV. For 2004–05 the Building Safer Communities fund has provided £74 million for Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. It is open to the CDRPs in Lancashire to decide whether they wish to include CCTV projects in their spending plans. In addition, the Basic Command Unit (BCU) Fund for police commanders may be used for CCTV provision if regarded as a priority locally.

Child Curfew Schemes

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child curfew schemes under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 have been established in each year since their introduction. [214067]

Ms Blears [holding answer 4 February 2005]: No applications have been received to establish a local child curfew scheme under section 14 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The powers contained in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 for the dispersal of groups and the removal of persons under 16 to their place of residence have been used to in preference to this power.
 
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Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter dated 11 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Pauline Clear. [212279]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 2 December 2004.

Curfew Orders

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many curfew orders with electronic monitoring were made by the courts in England and Wales in each of the last three financial years. [203828]

Paul Goggins: The total number of curfew orders with electronic monitoring made by the courts in each of the last three financial years was:
Financial yearOrders made
2001–026,900
2002–0311,342
2003–0418,296

Custody Plans/Prisoner Passports

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make it mandatory for all prisons to provide custody plans or prisoner passports; and if he will estimate the cost of doing so. [212152]

Paul Goggins: There are no plans to make it mandatory for prisons to provide custody plans or prisoner passports, which are mainly used for adults serving short sentences and focus on resettlement issues. No estimates of the cost of doing this have been made. Extending the OASys offender assessment system to short-term prisoners will be reviewed as part of the preparations for the introduction of Custody Plus, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.


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