| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
12 Sept 2005 : Column 2635W—continued
Proceeds of Crime
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money seized as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was invested in local police forces in each year of its operation; and if he will make a statement. [16288]
Paul Goggins: A total of £13 million of recovered criminal assets was returned to the police under the asset recovery incentivisation scheme which came into operation in 2004–05. The amount of money each police force received under the scheme is set out in the table.
12 Sept 2005 : Column 2636W
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much money has been seized as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (a) in total and (b) from drug-related cases in (i) Huddersfield, (ii)Yorkshire and (iii) England. [16286]
Paul Goggins: Information is not available in the form requested. The total value of assets recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and earlier legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was £54.5 million in 2003–04 and £84.4 million in 2004–05. The total value of confiscation orders obtained by police forces in Yorkshire and in England under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and earlier legislation is set out in the table.
In addition, the total value of cash seized by police forces in Yorkshire and in England under the 2002 Act and subsequently forfeited by Order of the Courts is as also set out in the table.
Information on the value of confiscation orders and cash forfeiture orders obtained by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is not available by region.
Programme of Action
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made towards the implementation of the Government's Programme of Action in response to the Insurance Cover Working Group report on Research into Insurance Cover for the voluntary and community sector in England; how many times the Insurance Cover Working Group has met since the publication of the Programme of Action; and what plans the group has for further meetings. [16214]
12 Sept 2005 : Column 2637W
Paul Goggins: The Insurance Cover Working Group (ICWG) published a paper entitled Programme of Action on 16 July 2004 and has met twice since then to monitor progress (in October 2004 and April 2005).
Following the publication of the Programme of Action, the ICWG noted that work has continued across Government and elsewhere to address many of the points it highlighted. The Department of Work and Pensions has completed its work of the employers' compulsory liability insurance; the Office of Fair Trading has published a second review into liability insurance; and the Department of Constitutional Affairs has set up a ministerial steering group with a civil service action group to address the so-called compensation culture", following the work of the better regulation task force.
To complement these initiatives, the Home Office has commissioned Volunteering England to lead on an integrated programme of work to address issues to do with risk and insurance in the volunteering sector. This is a 12-month programme of work funded through the ChangeUp programme. The objectives are to enhance and disseminate good practice and to contribute to wider debates on risk and insurance. Detailed recommendations are expected in early 2006 following research and consultation with stakeholders.
The final meeting of the ICWG is scheduled for September 2005, after which it will be disbanded as the work of the group is subsumed into the programme of work being undertaken by Volunteering England.
Project Iris
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the recognition failure rate is of scans carried out in the pilot project Project Iris; [11849]
(2) what the reliability levels are of the scanning unit deployed in the 10 locations where Project Iris is being piloted. [11850]
Mr. McNulty: The IRIS operational pilot went live in two locations at Heathrow Terminal two and Terminal four on 20 June 2005. The technology is based on taking a photograph of the iris pattern, which is the most personally distinct feature on the human body (even identical twins have different iris patterns), and converting it to a digital code.
The prime contractor for IRIS, SAGEM SA part of the SAFRAN group, are contractually obliged to meet the following biometric rates:
No biometric is 100 per cent. foolproof and biometrics do not have set error rates. The likelihood of errors is determined by the whole system and measures put in place throughout the whole process. Iris recognition has been chosen as the biometric for the IRIS scheme because it outperforms all other biometrics in terms of security, speed and accuracy. We are working with our supplier to ensure that all system error rates will be negligible and will not affect the integrity of the immigration control.
12 Sept 2005 : Column 2638W
The pilot will be evaluated prior to commencing roll-out to eight other airport terminals from October 2005. Iris recognition is a method of securely recognising someone by the pattern of their iris.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables are employed in (a) England and Wales and (b) Essex, broken down by police division; what estimate he has made of the future employment levels of special constables; and if he will make a statement. [14140]
Paul Goggins: As at 31 March 2005, there were 11,918 special constables in England and Wales and 363 in Essex. The National Policing Plan 2005–08 has a target of achieving up to 14,000 special constables by 2006–07.
The number of specials by basic command units and central services is expected to be available in autumn 2005.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |