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Correspondence

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the letter dated 31 January from Stoke-on-Trent Citizens Advice Bureau regarding Mr Andrey Lazaro. [220400]

Mr. Browne [holding answer 8 March 2005]: The Department replied to the Citizens Advice Bureau on 4 March.

Custody Officers

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the Runciman Royal Commission on Criminal Justice in relation to custody officers; and if he will make a statement. [210410]

Ms Blears: The Final Government Response published in June 1996, to the Report of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, accepted recommendations 43–52 of the Report that dealt with, among other things, the role of the custody officer and the use of civilians under the control of the custody officer.

The Report recommended that the latter should be explored further as the opportunity offers. That opportunity has been taken through the Workforce Modernisation Programme introduced following enactment of the Police Reform Act 2002. The Thematic Report on Workforce Modernisation published in July 2004 by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary recognised the benefits forces were achieving in this area. The Report proposed that police staff could perform the role of custody officer provided appropriate training and co-ordination was in place. That is why we are looking to carry out a pilot programme in a number
 
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of force areas for staff custody officers. This will look at processes around selection, training and practical application at the police station.

Deportations

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were deported from the UK in 2004. [220281]

Mr. Browne: Information on the number of people who were deported from the UK is published on an annual basis in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom".

64,390 persons were removed from the UK in 2003. This includes people who departed voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated, and those who departed under Assisted Voluntary Return programmes run by the International Organization for Migration. Provisional management information estimates that 480 of these people were removed as a result of deportation action.

Information on the total number of persons removed (and of those how many were deported) in 2004 will be published in the 2004 edition of this publication. This will be available in August from the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Detention Rates (Young Men)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the Audit Commission's findings relating to detention rates of young black and young white men. [219542]

Paul Goggins: The Home Office and the Youth Justice Board have studied the Audit Commission's report Youth Justice 2004. The Government responded to the Commission's main recommendations on 16 December.

The Youth Justice Board is putting in place a new performance indicator for Youth Offending Teams (Yots) from April 2005. Yots have been required to develop action plans by April 2005 to achieve equal treatment at the local level for comparable offences by different ethnic groups, including engaging sentencers in reviewing data.

Domestic Violence

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on links between drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence. [216333]

Ms Blears [holding answer 21 February 2005]: We recognise that there are clear links between alcohol use and domestic violence. Studies have shown that there are strong correlations between perpetrators of domestic violence and alcohol use. The British Crime Survey indicated that 32 per cent. of incidents of intimate partner violence were committed when the
 
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perpetrator was under the influence of alcohol (Mirlees-Black, 1999). However, it must be stated very strongly that alcohol is a trigger for domestic violence and not a cause.

In relation to drug use and domestic violence, research from other countries has highlighted that there are clear links. In the UK, research into the links between substance abuse and domestic violence was commissioned and then undertaken by the School of Health and Social Studies at the University of Warwick. The research is now complete and we expect the findings to be published in April.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times during the (a) Italian, (b) Irish and (c) Dutch presidency of the EU the Committee on the (i) system for comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of the Dublin Convention (Eurodac) and (ii) jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of paternal responsibility for children of both spouses and on the jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I and II) met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [218262]

Mr. Browne: The Committee established by Article 23 of the Eurodac Regulation 2725/2000 has not met, and there are no immediate plans for it to do so. Meetings of a Eurodac User Group took place in Brussels on 5 September 2003,17 February 2004 and 5 and 6 October 2004 to discuss operational and technical issues. Home Office officials represented the UK at these meetings.

There have been no meetings of either of the Committees relating to the Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I) or the Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and in matters of parental responsibility for children of both spouses (Brussels II) in the period requested.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to devolve responsibility for the aspects of immigration policy relating to the Fresh Talent initiative to the Scottish Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [219772]

Mr. Browne [holding answer 3 March 2005]: No. The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme will be delivered by my Department, through a change to the Immigration Rules, and administered by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. The Scottish Executive will monitor the impact of the scheme, which will be reviewed.
 
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Identity Theft

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been the victim of identity theft in the latest three years for which figures are available. [220263]

Mr. Browne: It is not a criminal offence for a person simply to use another identity. However, false identities are often used to facilitate other offences such as deception and money laundering.

The police do not generally record incidents of identity theft because prosecutions are recorded for the offences facilitated by false identities.

However, the 240 members of CIFAS, the UK's Fraud Prevention Service for the private sector (mainly financial services companies), identified 74,000 cases of identity and impersonation fraud in 2002, 101,000 in 2003 and 124,000 in 2004.

Illegal Immigrants (Albanians)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Albanian Government on illegal immigrants from that country who have entered the United Kingdom in each of the last three years. [219759]

Mr. Browne: Illegal immigration has been discussed at meetings between Home Office and Albanian Ministers on several occasions over the last three years.

My hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint), the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office met the Minister of Public Order, Igli Toska, in May 2004 to discuss organised immigration crime including human trafficking, and the Minster of Foreign Affairs Kastriot Islami in February 2004.

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