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10 Oct 2005 : Column 168W—continued

Extended Licensing Hours

17. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the law and order implications of extended licensing hours. [16793]

Hazel Blears: The Government believes that the current licensing regime exacerbates crime and disorder by encouraging people to drink as much as possible before last orders and forcing large numbers of people on to the streets at exactly the same time. Licensing reforms will put an end to this practice and give licensing authorities the power to impose flexible licensing sanctions to address specific problems as well as additional powers for the police.

Asylum Seekers

18. Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the process for removing failed asylum seeker families. [16794]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The process for removing failed asylum seeking families varies depending upon the individual circumstances of each case. Once all appeal
 
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rights have been exhausted, a family is expected to make immediate arrangements to leave and is made aware of its liability to be removed if it fails to do so voluntarily.

Welsh Police Forces

19. Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with (a) police authorities in Wales and (b) the Police Federation in Wales on the possible amalgamation of police forces. [16795]

20. Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will conduct a review of the structure of police forces in England and Wales. [16796]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I and my officials have had several recent discussions with police authority chairs, including chairs of police authorities in Wales, on the issue of restructuring. I have invited the Association of Police Authorities, which represents police authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to be members of a steering group that will oversee the process.

We will maintain a regular dialogue with the police staff associations including the Police Federation of England and Wales, all of which will be invited to participate in this process as part of a stakeholder group.

Intercept Information

21. Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy on the use of intercept information in criminal proceedings. [16797]

Mr. Charles Clarke: As I said in a written statement to the House on 26 January this year, the Government continues to keep this issue under review.

Work is currently under way to examine the impact that imminent changes to communications technology will have on our interception capabilities and the implications of this for evidential use of intercept.

At the same time, we are examining whether a pre-trial sift procedure, as recommended by the noble Lord Newton, could provide the sort of protection that would be needed in order to use sensitive material in criminal proceedings.

I will report on the conclusions of the work in both these areas in the new year.

Police

22. Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent guidance his Department has issued on the amount of time spent by police officers on the beat. [16798]

Hazel Blears: We have not issued guidance on the deployment of officers to beat duties as this is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police.

In line with the efficiency strategy for the police service we expect the service to increase time spent on front-line policing to around 72 per cent. by March 2008. This would be a gain equivalent to more than 12,000 extra officers over the next three years.
 
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Immigration and Nationality Directorate

23. Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [16799]

Mr. McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate continues to make good progress in delivering its PSA and other business targets.

Work to implement the Government's five-year asylum and immigration strategy is well under way in consultation with a range of stakeholders. The strategy will enable us to develop a simpler, clearer, tighter system which will lead to further improvements in performance.

Operation Minstead

24. Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the techniques used in Operation Minstead by the Metropolitan police to obtain voluntary DNA samples from black men in south London. [16800]

Hazel Blears: Operation Minstead is a large scale investigation by the Metropolitan police into a series of rapes and attempted rapes on elderly women in south London. The first offence was in 1992. A further 97 offences are being investigated, the most recent of which was in February 2005. The elderly traumatised victims have been able to provide some information to the police about the offender. The investigation has been under way for several years, but no-one has yet been caught and charged.

This is an operational policing matter for the Metropolitan Police Service. No formal assessment has been made by the Home Office of the techniques used in any aspect of the investigation.

We understand from the Metropolitan police that three reviews of Operation Minstead have been conducted by the MPS Murder Review Group to ensure procedural good practice. The MPS has also advised that the arrest policy was in accordance with Association of Chief Police Officers good practice guidance and had been checked with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Under-age Drinking

25. Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent the sale of alcohol to people aged under 16 years. [16801]

Paul Goggins: It is illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under 18 and police and other partners use a range of powers to help prevent the sale of alcohol to those who are under-age. From next month the penalties for those convicted of selling to underage drinkers will be raised significantly. The Government are also introducing in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill, a new power to close down licensed premises for up to 48 hours for selling alcohol to under 18's.
 
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Advertising Expenditure

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total advertising expenditure of his Department was in 2004–05. [12061]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The amount spent by the Home Office on advertising in 2004–05 was £10.2 million. Information campaigns included Acquisitive Crime, Drugs, Child Protection, Police Recruitment, Guns and Domestic Violence.

Antisocial Behaviour Unit

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was claimed in (a) taxi fares and (b) hotel bills by the head of the antisocial behaviour unit in the last financial year. [16032]

Mr. Charles Clarke: We are unable to obtain this information without incurring disproportionate costs.

Anti-terrorism Laws

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many individuals have been issued with (a) derogatory and (b) non-derogatory control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005; and how many of these had restrictions or prohibitions made in respect of their (i) place of residence and (ii) movements in and around the United Kingdom; [12701]

(2) how many individuals have been arrested and detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 where he is seeking a derogatory control order; and for how many of these control orders have been issued. [12702]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I refer the right hon. Member to my statement of 16 June 2005, Official Report, column 23WS when I made my first three-monthly report to Parliament on the exercise of control order powers.

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