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14 Nov 2005 : Column 987W—continued
Party Conferences
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on publicly-funded security measures in the current year's (a) Labour party conference, (b) Conservative party conference and (c) Liberal Democrat party conference. [19015]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I have approved special police grants of up to £3.692 million for Sussex police and up to £1.4 million for Lancashire constabulary, as a contribution to the additional costs incurred in policing this year's Labour party and Conservative party conferences.
Any other security costs incurred cannot be disclosed in line with the standard policy not to release these.
Passports
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what compensation is available to foreign nationals whose passports or identity cards have been lost by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [18971]
Mr. McNulty: Where the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has lost passports or other valuable documents belonging to applicants, we will offer an ex-gratia payment for the cost of replacing the documents and any additional costs associated with their replacement or arising from the loss of the documents. We would also consider whether it was appropriate to offer a consolatory payment for any distress or inconvenience caused by the loss of the documents.
Police
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police (a) handguns and (b) rifles went missing in the UK during the last year for which figures are available; and how many were recovered in the same period. [25864]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 7 November 2005]: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many IT systems for recording and collating information are deployed by police forces in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [26405]
Hazel Blears:
The Home Department together with the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) as part of the Police Science and Technology Strategy have developed a Police Technology Database (PTD) to allow for the sharing of information on IT projects and programmes across the criminal justice community. Presently PITO have developed and
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provided at least 10 national IT systems for recording and collating information to police forces in England and Wales.
Decisions relating to the development and deployment of IT systems for recording and collating information are based on local operational needs of the individual forces.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on advertising for the recruitment of police officers for each of the last 10 years. [26448]
Hazel Blears: Home Office spend on police recruitment advertising including regulars and special constables for each of the last 10 years (there was no spend in 1995–96) is as follows.
| Spend | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 1,765,748 |
| 1997–98 | 370, 049 |
| 1998–99 | 315,261 |
| 1999–2000 | 845,771 |
| 2000–01 | 6,020,844 |
| 2001–02 | 5,917,686 |
| 2002–03 | 4,360,476 |
| 2003–04 | 4,169,590 |
| 2004–05 | 1,885,559 |
Police Employees (Muslim Women)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Muslim women are employed by police forces in England as (a) police officers and (b) civilian employees. [26835]
Hazel Blears: This information is not collected centrally.
Prisons
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to tackle the incidence of escapes from Springhill prison. [25851]
Fiona Mactaggart: Given that there is no physical security to prevent prisoners leaving Springhill, prisoners abscond rather than escape from the open estate. In the last three years the trend for absconds from Springhill has reduced significantly. During 2003–04, 64 prisoners absconded, during 2004–05 42 prisoners absconded and so far this year 28 prisoners have absconded.
During the last two years, management at Springhill has taken a number of measures to seek to reduce absconds. For instance, all prisoners are seen on induction by a governor who warns them about the implications of absconding. In addition, a protocol has been introduced with Thames Valley Police to prosecute through the courts all prisoners who abscond. Moreover, significant improvements have been made to the regime with the opening of a job club and two vocational learning centres offering industrial based qualifications in computing and bricklaying. Vocational qualifications have been introduced in catering and horticulture.
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John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received regarding the granting of open conditions to unsuitable prisoners. [25858]
Fiona Mactaggart: There are approximately 5,000 prisoners held in open conditions or resettlement prisons where a significant number of prisoners spend time outside the prison. To establish what representations there have been would therefore involve disproportionate cost. Prisoners are moved to open conditions only after a rigorous risk assessment, which determines whether a prisoner is suitable for open conditions.
Private Members' Bills
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions since 1997 Ministers from his Department (a) authorised parliamentary counsel to assist in preparing amendments to private Members' Bills on behalf of other private Members and (b) authorised officials to instruct parliamentary counsel to prepare amendments which were subsequently passed to private Members. [20092]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is not collected.
Road Safety
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unpaid speeding fines in Hertfordshire are owed by people who are not British citizens. [25748]
Paul Goggins: Information is not collected centrally on the nationality of offenders who are given speeding fines.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many road safety violations by (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic heavy goods vehicles in England and Wales were recorded by the police in (i) 2002, (ii) 2003 and (iii) 2004. [25133]
Paul Goggins: Information collected by my Department on motoring offences recorded by the police does not distinguish between the characteristics of the vehicles involved.
Sex Offenders
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what punishments are available for serious sex offenders. [25263]
Paul Goggins: The punishments available for serious sexual offences are set out in the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
They include the possibility of life imprisonment for the offences of rape, rape of a child under 13 and assault by penetration; up to 14 years imprisonment for sexual activity with a child and trafficking for sexual exploitation; and up to 10 years for meeting a child following sexual grooming and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
The Act can be accessed through www.ospi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/20030042.htm
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Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sex offenders have been in prison in each year since 1997. [25264]
Fiona Mactaggart: The requested information for England and Wales is given in the following table, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system.
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