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8 Mar 2005 : Column 1699W—continued
Royal Family
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is his policy that exemption from registration should be granted for members of the royal family if compulsory registration were to be introduced. [218248]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Should compulsory registration for ID cards be introduced under the terms of the Identity Cards Bill currently before Parliament, Her Majesty the Queen would be exempt as the Bill is not binding on the Crown. Clause 41 of the Bill allows for exemptions and exceptions to be made in any order requiring compulsory registration. No decisions have yet been taken on what exemptions and exceptions may apply. Prior to any order requiring compulsory registration, people will register with the scheme when applying for documents such as passports which will be designated under powers contained within the Identity Cards Bill. Members of the royal family other than Her Majesty the Queen hold passports and would therefore join the scheme in the same way as members of the public.
Sham Marriages
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suspected sham marriages have been reported to his Department by registrars in each month since 1997; how many prosecutions have been brought; how many convictions have been obtained; and what penalties have been imposed. [214320]
Mr. Browne: Information is only available since section 24 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 came into force requiring registrars to report suspicious marriages to the Immigration and Nationality Department (IND). In the last four years, IND has received the following number of reports:
Since April 2002, over 110 individuals have been charged with a range of offences, including perjury, deception and conspiracy to defraud the Secretary of State. Data are not collected centrally on the number of prosecutions and convictions. There were at least 32 convictions last year in London and we understand that, where convictions have been obtained, sentences have ranged from six to 24 months.
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Targets
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many targets have been set in each year since 1997 by the Department; and, of these, which have been (a) met, (b) nearly met, (c) not met, (d) changed and (e) dropped. [215794]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer to the answer given by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Public Service Agreement target to reduce vehicle crime by 30 per cent. from 1998–99 levels by 2004 was met. [219101]
Ms Blears: The latest annual British Crime Survey estimates for 2003–04 (published in July 2004) show a 30 per cent. reduction in vehicle crime against the baseline of 1999 (British Crime Survey 2000). We will know whether this target has been met when the British Crime Survey estimates for 2004–05 are published in July 2005.
Terrorism
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to combat the terrorist threat posed by United Kingdom citizens. [216549]
Mr. Charles Clarke: With the exception of the powers in Part 4 of the Anti- Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, which are immigration powers applicable to foreign nationals, counter terrorism measures are aimed at terrorists, whatever their background, section of society or nationality they may come from.
The Home Office provides the law-enforcement and security agencies with the powers and funding they need to do their job. There are two main pieces of legislation which they use to fight terrorism: the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 These Acts deliver UK-wide legislation that is effective in countering the threat we face from terrorism.The legislation includes measures to outlaw membership, support and fundraising for terrorist groups, seizure of terrorist cash and property, the creation of offences specific to terrorism at home and abroad, and special powers for terrorist investigations.
The Home Secretary introduced on 22 February a Bill—The Prevention of Terrorism Bill which contains new proposals for preventative control orders which are intended to disrupt and restrict individual's involvement in terrorist related activities. We are also looking at the scope for new terrorist related offences and other measures to bring suspected terrorists to justice. My hope is that we will be able to bring further legislative proposals on this as soon as time allows.
The Government have provided resources to finance a 50 per cent. increase in the size of the Security Service over the next three years. The bulk of these extra resources will go into counter- terrorism work. In 2005–06 dedicated ring fenced counter terrorism funding for the police service in England and Wales, including the Metropolitan police service, will amount
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to £96 million revenue and £8 million capital. This is very nearly double the amount of the first dedicated counter-terrorism grants in 2002–03.
Combating the threat posed by terrorism does of course go beyond funding and legislation and it is important that we continue to build and develop partnerships at every level in accordance with our overall strategy—to prevent terrorism, to pursue terrorist networks, to protect the UK, its citizens and its critical infrastructure, and to plan for attacks in order to minimise their consequences. Our objective remains to reduce the threat from terrorism so that our people may continue to go about their business freely and with confidence.
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) British Retail Consortium and (b) the Institute of Grocery Distribution Emergency Planning Liaison Group have been invited to take part in terrorist incident response exercises; and if he will make a statement. [218697]
Ms Blears
[holding answer 1 March 2005]: The Home Office runs a national programme of Counter Terrorist exercises to test the UK's response to terrorist incidents. Participation in these exercises by Government Departments, agencies and associated bodies depends on the content of the scenario for each exercise. To date, the scenarios have not required participation by these bodies. However, the Government is holding discussions on protective security with both the IGD and BRC.
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Ticket Sales
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of convictions in 2004 for ticket touting at football matches. [220318]
Paul Goggins: Information from the Home Office court proceedings database shows that in 2003, 74 individuals were found guilty of ticket touting at football matches in accordance with section 166 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which makes it an offence for an unauthorized person to sell, or offer or expose for sale, a ticket for a designated football match in any public place or place to which the public has access or, in the course of a trade or business, in any other place".
Statistics on convictions for 2004 will be published this autumn.
Under-age Driving
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last reviewed penalties for under-age driving; and if he will make a statement. [219068]
Paul Goggins: The available information is contained in the table and gives the number of juveniles convicted of offences involving driving a motor vehicle in England and Wales, 2003.
Statistics on court proceedings for 2004 will be published in the autumn.
(21)These data are on the principal offence basis.
(22)Juveniles being between 10 and 17 years old.
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