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6 Jul 2005 : Column 545W—continued

Public Protection Panels

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Multi-agency Public Protection Panel Arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [4789]

Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 16 June 2005]: Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) are regularly reviewed at a local level by Strategic Management Boards (SMB), formed of senior staff from the Police, Probation and Prison Service. Since 2001–02, each SMB has produced an annual report on the MAPPA arrangements. These reports show that the arrangements have made a significant difference to the way the public is protected from the risks posed by sexual and violent offenders. I have also commissioned an independent study of MAPPA by De Montfort University, due to be published later this year, and a joint inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, starting in September. All of these reports will be made available in the Library once they are published.

Shooting

Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State (1) for the Home Department whether he plans to review the guidelines on the shooting of foxes and ground game at night; [6051]

(2) whether he plans to introduce an age limit for the shooting of foxes and ground game at night; [6054]

(3) what discussions he has had with the (a) British Association for Shooting and Conservation and (b) other shooting organisations about the guidelines relating to the shooting of foxes and ground game at night. [6052]

Hazel Blears: I understand that Defra has no plans to review the current policy on shooting of foxes and ground game at night. Consequently there has been no need to consult stakeholders. Under the provisions of the Firearms Act 1968 a person under 14 may not be granted a firearm certificate in any circumstances. A person between 14 and 17 may be granted a certificate in order to possess a firearm provided that the police are satisfied that the individual concerned is fit to possess the gun without being a danger to the public safety and
 
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has a good reason for possessing it. We are currently considering the many responses to the consultation paper we issued last year on how our firearms controls and laws might be revised.

South Wales Police

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers there are in South Wales Police H Division; and if he will make a statement. [9596]

Hazel Blears: The deployment of Community Support Officers (CSOs) is an operational matter for the Chief Constable (Barbara Wilding). The Home Office Police Service Strength Statistical Bulletin, which will be published later this month , will provide data on the number of (CSOs) in each police force at 31 March 2005. Information on Community Support Officer (CSO) strength is not collected at Basic Command Unit level.

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes there have been in police numbers in South Wales Police H Division since 1997. [9597]

Hazel Blears: Information on strength at basic Command Unit (BCU) level is collected annually and reflects the position at the end of March for each year. Information on BCU strength is only available from 2002 and is set out in the table. The deployment of officers to BCUs is a matter for the Chief Constable (Barbara Wilding) and within the H" Swansea Divison deployment of officers is a matter for the Divisional Commander.

Information on the number of police officers in BCUs for 31 March 2005 will be published later this month.
H" Swansea Division—Police Numbers 2002 to 2004

Year (as at 31 March)Number of Police Officers
2002(82)464
2003(83)500
2004(83)498


(82)HM Inspectorate of constabulary database
(83)Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate, Police Statistics


Stolen Cars

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of cars stolen in England and Wales for sale in foreign countries since 1990. [8463]

Hazel Blears: The recorded crime statistics do not have details of the number of cars stolen for sale in foreign countries.

Tetra

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police authorities are not using Tetra. [9116]

Hazel Blears: Airwave, the new police radio system, is now available to all 51 police forces in England, Wales and Scotland. Airwave currently has over 125,000 users, and is expected to be fully operational in most forces by the summer of 2006.
 
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Transsexual Prisoners

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department will publish guidelines on the treatment of transsexual prisoners. [4695]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Prison Service now hopes to publish these guidelines later this year.

Vehicle Registration/Taxation

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what range of penalties is available for conviction of individuals who fail to register their vehicles in their name. [9207]

Paul Goggins: Following summary conviction for failure to supply the correct details for registration, there is a possible maximum fine at level three on the standard scale (currently £1,000). Community rehabilitation and curfew orders are also available under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Using an incorrectly registered vehicle became a separate offence on 1 July, likewise with a maximum level three fine on summary conviction. A fixed penalty of £30 may also be offered.

Violent Crime Bill

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the provisions of the Violent Crime Bill relating to replica guns include the sale of (a) such guns and (b) plastic ammunition from catalogues from companies based (i) in the UK and (ii)abroad. [6032]

Hazel Blears: Clause 30 of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill makes it an offence to manufacture, sell or import a realistic imitation firearm whose appearance makes it indistinguishable, for all practical purposes, from a particular make or model of firearm or from a firearm falling within an existing category of firearm. The ban does not cover plastic ammunition. It will apply to all methods of sale. People who buy from companies based abroad will not be able to import their purchases.
 
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Volunteering

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many volunteers have been (a) recruited and (b) identified by the Experience Corps since its inception; and of those how many (a) have been actively volunteering as a result of being identified and (b) were already actively volunteering. [8710]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 4 July 2005]: The Experience Corps explicitly targeted individuals with little or no previous experience of volunteering. Whilst the Home Office has not continued to monitor volunteers within the Experience Corps, the organisation states that a significant number of these volunteers are still engaged in a range of volunteering opportunities.

Weapons (Possession/Amnesty)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people have been convicted of the possession of an illegal weapon in each London borough since 1996; [8516]

(2) how many people have been convicted of gun crimes in each year since 1997; [8520]

(3) how many people aged 14 to 24 years old havebeen convicted of carrying an illegal knife since 1997. [8546]

Hazel Blears: The information contained in the first table gives the number of offenders found guilty of Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse", by London borough, 1996 to 2003.

It is not possible to identify the number of offenders found guilty of gun crime as the individual circumstances of the offence are not collected.

The information contained in the second table gives the number of offenders aged 14 to 24, found guilty of having an article with a blade or point in a public place", England and Wales 1997 to 2003.

Statistics on court proceedings for 2004 will be published in the autumn.
Number of offenders(84)found guilty of possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse"(85), by police force area and magistrates court/London borough, 1996 to 2003

Magistrates courts/borough19961997199819992000200120022003
Inner London magistrates courts(86)
City of London Police
Guildhall Justice Rooms15835261510
Metropolitan Police
Bow Street5045402326254128
Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge6484818988123155118
Greenwich and Woolwich5458694457676963
Highbury Corner1151138949715210383
Horseferry Road3731492137375540
Marylebone403928222122
South Western3144332228515048
Thames373994879130141148
West London1539242839396350
Inner London Juvenile Courts(87)724
Outer London boroughs
Metropolitan Police
Barking and Dagenham1516221021334749
Barnet1813101418242627
Bexley1414211317102214
Brent2739264141505237
Bromley813141312253115
Croydon3258493338486645
Ealing3229272629394730
Enfield1224261315244245
Haringey3444362440507770
Harrow1314758301818
Havering81591517213331
Hillingdon2620262018254129
Hounslow926232325232321
Kingston-upon-Thames1220161514191818
Merton1629191112191512
Newham3631324137718689
Redbridge1822291517283744
Richmond upon Thames117377181310
Sutton912121112151318
Waltham Forest4333301730486934
Total Metropolitan Police9089758597138551,1451,4551,236
Total Greater London9239838627188571,1511,4701,246


(84)These data are on the principal offence basis.
(85)Includes possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises".
(86)Information held centrally does not allow a breakdown of cases by borough in the inner London area.
(87)Cases included with adult courts from 1998.



 
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Number of offenders(88)aged 14 to 24 years found guilty at all courts for having an article with a blade or point in a public place"(89), England and Wales 1997 to 2003

Found guilty
19971,607
19981,752
19991,622
20001,799
20012,388
20022,606
20032,552


(88)These data are on the principal offence basis.
(89)Includes: having an article with a blade or point on school premises"


Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many weapons have been handed in to police in the High Wycombe area under the recent amnesty; and if he will make a statement. [7602]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 27 June 2005]: The information requested is not collected centrally.


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