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13 Jun 2005 : Column 149W—continued
Biometric Passports
Lynne Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of recording, matching and storing face, fingerprint
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and iris biometric information for biometric passports; and what methodology he used in making this estimate. [1783]
Mr. McNulty: The UK Passport service is planning to commence the introduction of the new design passport with a single facial biometric in this financial year in line with international standards. The average unit costs for first generation biometric passports with a facial biometric chip were published in the UK Passport Service Corporate and Business Plans 2005–2010. The average unit cost per passport in 2006–07 is estimated to be £67.93.The Regulatory Impact Assessment published along side the Identity Cards Bill on 25 May 2005 contains the latest cost estimates for the next generation of biometric passports and ID Cards, incorporating iris and fingerprints as well as the facial biometric. The current best estimate for the total average annual running costs for issuing second generation biometric passports and ID Cards to UK nationals from 2008, is estimated at £584 million. Around 70 per cent. of these costs would be incurred in issuing second generation biometric passports alone. The costs were calculated in accordance with Government accounting guidelines and Office of Government Commerce best practice.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to merge the Cambridgeshire Constabulary with another force; and if he will make a statement. [2777]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 9 June 2005]: At the Association of Chief Police Officers' conference on 19 May, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary made it clear that he did not believe that the current structure of 43 forces was the most efficient and effective arrangement for organising policing in England and Wales. He also made clear that he had no blueprint for force amalgamations, but that the initiative for such amalgamations should ideally be driven locally. To inform the way forward, my right hon. Friend has commissioned Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to examine the issue of force structures. As well as looking at the case for structural changes, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary will also be examining the case for greater collaboration and co-operation between forces.
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government has completed legally-binding agreements for the supply of goods and services in respect of (a) identity cards and (b) the National Identity Register. [2779]
Mr. McNulty
[holding answer 9 June 2005]: The Government has not completed any legally binding agreements for the supply of goods and services in respect of either the Identity Cards themselves or the National Identity Register. Clause 42 of the Identity Cards Bill authorises the expenses of the Secretary of State in connection with the carrying out of his functions under this Act, to be paid out of money provided by Parliament. Consequently the Secretary of State cannot enter into such legally binding agreements until the Bill has completed the parliamentary process and has received Royal Assent.
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Children (School Hours Arrests)
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many excluded children were arrested during school hours in each of the last five years; [2216]
(2) how many children subject to antisocial behaviourorders had been permanently excluded from school. [2217]
Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available centrally. Information on arrests collected centrally is based on persons arrested for notifiable" offences by age, sex and ethnicity and does not identify the circumstances of individuals arrested.
Information on antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) collected and collated by the Home Office for statistical purposes identifies the age and sex of ASBO recipients but does not identify their personal circumstances.
Correspondence
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 28 February from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford regarding Mrs. L. Broderick and the petition that was enclosed. [1052]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 26 May 2005]: There is no record of the hon. Member's letter having been received in the Home Office. He has now sent a copy, and I will respond shortly. The petition was received and has been noted.
Court Orders
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) parenting contracts, (b) parenting orders, (c) acceptable behaviour contracts and (d) antisocial behaviour orders were issued in each local authority area in County Durham in (i) 2003 and (ii) 2004. [1591]
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Hazel Blears: The Youth Justice Board collects the numbers of parenting contracts, parenting orders and other voluntary parenting interventions by youth offending team ("YOT") area rather than local authority area. The Durham YOT area covers County Durham.
The statutory powers in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 for YOTs to enter into parenting contracts commenced on 27 February 2004.18 parenting contracts were entered into in the Durham YOT area between 1 April and 31 December 2004. YOTs can intervene with parents on a voluntary basis without a parenting contract. There were 20 such interventions in the area in 2003 and 30 in 2004.
The number of parenting orders in the Durham YOT area is shown in Table one. These all relate to crime or antisocial behaviour by the child. No parenting orders were made in the area during 2003 and 2004 in respect of offences under the Education Act 1996 or on application by the education authority under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.
The number of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs") made in the Wessex area is not known as this information is not collected centrally.
A recent survey carried out by the Home Office and sent to all Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships estimated that 5383 ABCs were made between October 2003 and September 2004.
The Home Office collects the number of antisocial behaviour orders by local authority area and the latest available information is provided in Table two.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 4 |
| 2004 | 22 |
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) parenting contracts, (b) parenting orders, (c) other voluntary parenting interventions, (d) acceptable behaviour contracts and (e) antisocial behaviour orders were issued in (i) each local authority area in Hampshire, (ii) Portsmouth and (iii) Southampton in (A) 2003 and (B) 2004. [1311]
Hazel Blears
[holding answer 6 June 2005]: The Youth Justice Board collects the numbers of parenting contracts, parenting orders and other voluntary parenting interventions by youth offending team (YOT) area rather than local authority area. Wessex YOT includes Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton. The number of parenting orders shown in Table 1 also includes orders made in respect of offences under the Education Act 1996 or, since commencement of the powers in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 on application by the education authority, which are described as Educational".
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The statutory powers in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 for YOTs to enter into parenting contracts commenced on 27 February 2004. No such contracts were entered into by YOTs in the Wessex YOT area.
The number of other voluntary parenting interventions made in the area is shown in table 2.The number of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs") made is not known as this information is not collected centrally.
A recent survey carried out by the Home Office and sent to all Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships estimated that 5,383 ABCs were made between October 2003 and September 2004.
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The Home Office collects the number of antisocial behaviour orders by local authority area and the latest available information is provided in table 3.
| 2003 | 2004 | |
|---|---|---|
| YOTs | 56 | 99 |
| Educational | 11 | 15 |
| Total | 67 | 114 |
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 60 |
| 2004 | 177 |
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