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1 Dec 2005 : Column 742W—continued
Criminal Offences
Simon Hughes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will list criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by the Department since May 1997, broken down by Act. [26705]
Ms Harman: The following primary legislation that falls under the current responsibilities of the Department for Constitutional Affairs has been passed since May 1997:
Franchise (Mobile Homes)
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what eligibility UK nationals with rights of residency in a mobile home for nine out of 12 months a year and a full-time address elsewhere in the UK have to vote in (a) general elections and (b) local elections in the UK in the constituency where the mobile home is located. [32869]
Ms Harman: A UK national must be resident at an address within an electoral area to be included in the relevant register of electors. Residence is not defined in law but it has been ruled by the courts to entail a considerable degree of permanence. In practice, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) normally require someone to be resident at an address for four to six months of the year in order for them to be included in the electoral register. Provided the mobile home was permanently sited in a particular location for at least six months of each year and the elector could satisfy the ERO responsible for the electoral area where it was sited that he or she was resident in that mobile home during that period it is likely that the elector would be included in the relevant electoral registers and would therefore be entitled to vote there in any general or local election.
Vehicle Details
Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what guidance her Department has provided to (a) the Department for Transport and (b) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in respect of the provision upon request by DVLA of vehicle owner details to private individuals and companies. [33696]
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Ms Harman: None. The Department for Constitutional Affairs' website provides information on the Data Protection Act 1998, with particular emphasis on the needs of the general public. It is the task of the Information Commissioner, as the independent regulator established under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, to issue guidance on the operation of the Act, to designate best practices for data controllers, and to consider particular data processing circumstances that raise compliance issues.
Voter Registration
Mr. Bone: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will introduce individual voter registration. [28304]
Ms Harman: The Electoral Administration Bill, currently before Parliament, includes provision for the collection of personal identifiers such as individual signatures and dates of birth at the point at which a person registers to vote.
In order that the effect of this policy may be tested in order to obtain evidence as to whether it should be implemented or not, the Bill provides for personal identifiers to be first piloted at a local level, with the results to be evaluated by the Electoral Commission.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were placed in each local authority area in Essex in each year since 1997. [29743]
Mr. McNulty: Information in respect of the number of persons dispersed to an area during a given year is not available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.
Information on the number of asylum seekers supported directly by NASS is published quarterly. The next publication covering the third quarter of 2005 (July to September) was made available on 22 November on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum-seekers deported from the UK in (a) 2000, (b) 2001, (c) 2002, (d) 2003, (e) 2004 and (f) 2005 were due to sit examinations for (i) GCSEs or (ii) A-levels in the year they were deported; and if he will make a statement. [29998]
Mr. McNulty: No information is available to the Home Office on asylum seekers who were due to sit GCSE or A-level exams in their year of removal.
Information on the removals of asylum applicants is published quarterly on the Home Office RDS website:
(15)Minors defined as under 18 on the date of their removal.
(16)For those where no date of birth is available.
Notes:
1.This is based on provisional management information.
2.The figures have been rounded to the nearest five and totals may not sum.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been returned to EU member states under the provisions of the Dublin II Regulation since it came into force on 1 September 2003. [31459]
Mr. McNulty: A total of approximately 2,600 failed asylum seekers (including dependants) have been returned under the provisions of the Dublin II Regulations between 1 September 2003 and 30 September 2005. These totals are based on internal management information. The regular asylum statistics are available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
Community Support Officers
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he plans to increase the number of police community support officers working in (a) Battle, (b) Etchingham, (c) Ticehurst and (d) Hurst Green in East Sussex; [32694]
(2) whether he plans to increase the number of community support police officers in Bexhill-on-Sea; and how many are working in the town. [32696]
Hazel Blears: We are making funding available to help increase the number of community support officers (CSOs) in England and Wales to 24,000 by 2008. This investment will help deliver our commitment that by 2008 every area in England and Wales will have access to a dedicated, visible, accessible and responsive neighbourhood policing team.
CSOs are employed by police authorities, and their deployment is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. At 30 June 2005 Sussex police had 237 CSOs of whom the Hastings and Rother Division, which includes Bexhill, had 36.
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