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20 Jun 2005 : Column 768W—continued
Israel
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has made to the Israeli authorities concerning the passage through the Separation Wall of farmers from the Jayyous area to their land. [4265]
Dr. Howells: I have been asked to reply.
While Israel has a legitimate right to defend itself against terrorist attacks, we consider that the construction of the barrier on occupied land is unlawful. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised his concerns about the route of the barrier with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom during his visit to Israel on 7 June.
Diplomats at the British Consulate General in Jerusalem monitor conditions in Jayyous, where the impact of the barrier on the local Palestinian population is especially severe. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv has made specific representations to the Israeli Government on the impact of its actions in this area.
Licensed Premises (Violent Crime)
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent offences committed in connection with licensed premises there were in each police area in each year from 1997; and if he will make a statement. [3047]
Hazel Blears: The available information is for 2002–03 and 2003–04 and is given in the table. Information for earlier years is not currently available.
These figures relate to violence recorded by the police rather than violence committed. Therefore they should not be taken as a complete illustration of the number of violent offences committed in connection with licensed premises.
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For example, in certain areas where alcohol-related violence is particularly prevalent, local police are more likely to police city centres on Friday and Saturday nights thus recording more incidents of violent offences committed in connection with licensed premises. If football-related violence is a problem, the choice to send police officers to the match will undoubtedly lead to more violent crime being recorded than if they did not attend. There are other examples, such as the pro-active policing of antisocial behaviour.
n/a=not available.
Magic Mushrooms
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the advice provided to him by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs in relation to the change in the law on magic mushrooms under the Drugs Act 2005. [4673]
Paul Goggins:
The Advisory Council was informed of the clarification of the law on magic mushrooms in a letter from the Home Office on 6 December 2004. The Chair of the Advisory Council, Sir Michael Rawlins
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wrote to me on 2 June setting out the Advisory Council's support for the measure. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
Missing Children
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were reported to the police as missing from home in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) region, (b) age and (c) gender. [2647]
Hazel Blears: The Home Office does not collect data on the number of children who go missing from home.
National Firearms Register
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when, and at what cost to public funds the National Firearms Register became operational; and if he will make a statement. [1583]
Hazel Blears: The Government remain fully committed to a National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS). The main purpose of pilot testing is to reveal any potential problems that may arise. Acceptance testing last summer did highlight a number of issues but a full investigation was launched immediately to resolve them and to re-instate the roll-out programme. The NFLMS is scheduled to start going live on 11 July 2005 and will be ready for forces to take once it has been successfully signed off.
The total cost of the project to date is in the region of £5.4 million.
Offences Against the Person Act
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, section16 (as amended), for repeated threats to kill in (a) 2002, (b) 2003 and (c) 2004. [1287]
Hazel Blears: The data contained in the table gives the number of defendants proceeded against for making threats to kill" under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, Section 16 (as amended), England and Wales 2002 to 2003.
Statistics on court proceedings for 2004 will be published in the autumn.
(19)These data are on the principal offence basis.
Overseas Corruption
Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the allegations of overseas corruption held by the National Criminal Intelligence Service come from (a) Africa, (b) Latin
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America, (c) the Caribbean, (d) the Middle East, (e) North Africa, (f) North America, (g) Central Asia, (h) South Asia, (i) Europe and (j) the Pacific. [4227]
Hazel Blears: The information is as follows:
| Number | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Africa | 15 |
| (b) | Latin America | 2 |
| (c) | The Caribbean | 2 |
| (d) | The Middle East | 5 |
| (e) | North Africa | 0 |
| (f) | North America | 3 |
| (g) | Central Asia | 0 |
| (h) | South Asia | 4 |
| (i) | Europe | 11 |
| (j) | The Pacific | 1 |
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many allegations are on the register of allegations of overseas corruption held by theNational Criminal Intelligence Service. [4228]
Hazel Blears: The National Criminal Intelligence Service currently has 44 referrals on the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act register.
Pedicabs/Rickshaws
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the police about parking and traffic offences committed by the riders of pedicabs or rickshaws. [3178]
Hazel Blears: I have held no discussions specifically on this issue.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the police about assaults committed by the riders of pedicabs or rickshaws. [3180]
Hazel Blears: I have had no discussions specifically on this issue. Investigation of offences is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) parking and (b) traffic offences have been committed by the riders of pedicabs and rickshaws in the last 12 months. [3181]
Paul Goggins: It is not possible to identify how many riders of pedicabs or rickshaws have been convicted of these offences from the data held on the Home Office Court Proceedings database, as this information is not centrally collected.
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