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29 Nov 2005 : Column 448W—continued
Hostage Taking
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) males and (b) females have been (i) charged and (ii) convicted in England and Wales in each year since 1984 of offences under section 1 of the Taking of Hostages Act 1982. [27141]
Paul Goggins: Statistics on the number of persons charged with an offence are not centrally collected.
Paper records from the Home Office Court Proceedings database show that between 1992 to 2003, nobody was convicted under section one of the Taking of Hostages Act 1982 in England and Wales. Paper records prior to 1992 are now no longer available.
Court statistics for 2004 will be available in late November.
Human Trafficking
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government will sign the Council of Europe Convention on trafficking in human beings. [31296]
Paul Goggins: The Government have not yet taken a decision on whether or not the United Kingdom (UK) will sign the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. While we support the aims of the Convention, there are provisions which present concerns for the UK and which remain under active consideration. We are assessing the level of risk associated with these provisions and considering actively how we might implement the Convention safely without placing more vulnerable people at risk.
The Government are committed to tackling trafficking in human beings, domestically and internationally, and has in place a multi-faceted strategy on trafficking in human beings. We are determined that the measures we take bring the criminals responsible for this serious organised crime to justice, protect the victims of trafficking, and do not undermine our ability to control our borders.
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Identity Cards Bill
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many copies of the Identity Cards Scheme DVD have been produced; and at what cost. [6925]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Ongoing engagement with stakeholders and research conducted with the general public showed an awareness of the Identity Cards Scheme, but a degree of misunderstanding about the details of the scheme and how Identity Cards would be used. It was decided to fund a DVD to help the Identity Cards Programme Team communicate the basic features of the scheme in a clear and concise way.
To date, 250 copies of the Identity Cards Scheme DVD have been produced. The total cost of producing the DVD and making 50 copies was £70,482.38 and the subsequent cost of producing another 200 copies was £1,410.59, a unit cost of £7.05. Total cost for 250 copies was £71,892.96 including VAT.
An extract from the DVD was made available fordownload on the Identity Cards website (www.identitycards.gov.uk) on 28 June 2005. From that date to 22 August 2005 the page had recorded 4,273 hits.
Illegal Sales
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many businesses were prosecuted for selling alcohol to youths under the age of 18 years in (a) England, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency in 2004–05; [26493]
(2) how many businesses were prosecuted for selling (a) tobacco products and (b) lottery tickets and scratch cards to under 16s in (i) England, (ii) the Tees Valley and (iii) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland in 2004–05. [26494]
Paul Goggins: Court statistics for 2004 will be available in late November.
The offence of selling alcohol to persons aged under 18 was added to the penalty notice for disorder scheme from 1 November 2004. Under the scheme the police may issue a fixed penalty notice to staff in licensed premises found to be selling alcohol to persons aged under 18 years. In 2004, 113 penalty notices were issued for this offence and provisional data for 2005 from January to September shows that 749 penalty notices were issued.
Ms Diana R. Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many businesses have been prosecuted for selling (a) tobacco products and (b) Lottery tickets and scratch cards to under-16s in Kingston upon Hull North in the past five years. [31397]
Fiona Mactaggart:
Information taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that between 2000 and 2004, there were no prosecutions of businesses at the magistrates courts in the Humberside police force area, for the sale of tobacco etc to persons under 16 nor under S13a National Lottery etc Act 1993.
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The Lottery operator is required to ensure sufficient controls are in place to prevent sales to under 16s. Examples include test purchasing programmes and retailer training and education. It will also remove the lottery terminal if a retailer is found to have made repeat sales to people under 16.
Court statistics for 2005 will be available autumn 2006.
Independent Custody Visitors
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what statistics he collects to monitor the work of independent custody visitors in each police authority area; and if he will make a statement. [30930]
Hazel Blears: Statistics to monitor the work of custody visitors in police authority areas are not collated centrally by the Home Office.
Independent custody visiting, formerly known as lay visiting, is a statutory responsibility placed on police authorities to appoint volunteer members of the community to make random, unannounced visits to police stations to check on the welfare of persons held in police detention, to ensure that their rights and entitlements are observed and that the conditions and facilities in which they are held are appropriate.
The process became statutory under the Police Reform Act of 2002 paragraph 51 and the Independent Custody Visitors codes of practice place obligations on police authorities (paragraphs 60–64 of the codes of practice) to record, publish information relating to visits and review performance at a local level.
Investigatory Powers Tribunal
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time spent by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in adjudicating a complaint was in the last period for which figures are available. [30555]
Hazel Blears: The time taken by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to investigate any individual complaint or claim depends on its complexity and the need to ensure that all the relevant information is available to the tribunal to consider and to make a reasoned determination.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are adopted by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal on receiving a complaint in order to ascertain whether it is a legitimate complaint. [30556]
Hazel Blears:
All complaints and human rights claims made to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal are initially scrutinised by the tribunal office staff. They will decide, if necessary after making any further inquiries, whether or not the complaint or human rights claim falls within the jurisdiction of the tribunal. If it does, the tribunal undertakes a full investigation. Otherwise, the papers are referred to the members of the tribunal for directions.
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Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the functions and procedures of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. [30557]
Hazel Blears: There are no plans to review the functions and procedures of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal at present.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public hearings the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has held since its inception. [30558]
Hazel Blears: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal was established on 2 October 2000 and has held oral hearings in three cases. Those hearings have taken place in both open and in camera" sessions.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has taken to publicise its functions. [30559]
Hazel Blears: The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has its own website giving information about the jurisdiction, the procedures and the members of the Tribunal, as well as information about how to make a complaint or a human rights claim to the Tribunal. The website can be found at:
The site is shortly to be updated with further information.
The Tribunal has also produced an information leaflet which, together with complaints and claim forms, is circulated to Citizens Advice Bureaux, public libraries and police stations. Copies are also available on request by writing to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, PO Box 33220, London SW1H 9ZQ.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State forthe Home Department how many complaints have been received by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in each calendar year since its inception; and how many were adjudicated on in each year, broken down by result. [30561]
Hazel Blears: This information is published each year in the Annual Reports of the Interception of Communications Commissioner and Intelligence Services Commissioner.
The published figures are as follows:
| Number of complaints received | Number of determinations given | Number carried forward to next year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 102 | 71 | 31 |
| 2002 | 130 | 94 | 67 |
| 2003 | 109 | 100 | 76 |
| 2004(53) | 90 | 115 | 51 |
(53) Last year for which published figures are available.
On no occasion from its inception on 2 October 2000 until 31 December 2004 did the Tribunal determine that there had been a contravention of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 or the Human Rights Act 1998.
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