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6 Dec 2005 : Column 1108W—continued

Motor Vehicle-related Accidents/Deaths

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to propose changes to the law relating to penalties for those responsible for motor vehicle related (a) accidents and (b) deaths. [32296]

Fiona Mactaggart: Following consultation on road traffic offences involving bad driving earlier this year the Government are taking forward a number of measures. These include two new offences where a death has occurred: a new offence of causing death by careless driving, with a maximum of five years imprisonment; a new offence dealing with death resulting from illegal (disqualified, unlicensed and uninsured) driving, with a maximum penalty of two years.

These measures were tabled by the Government as amendments to the Road Safety Bill currently before Parliament and included in the Bill at Lords Report on 22 November. The Government are not recommending any statutory changes in relation to bad driving that causes injury. The consultation proposed that the courts should be under a statutory responsibility to take account of non-fatal injuries when sentencing. This proposal received some support but some respondents thought it was unnecessary and that this is already done in practice in England and Wales.

The Government agree that requiring sentencers to take appropriate account of these factors in sentencing is an issue better dealt with by the Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Sentencing Commission for Scotland rather than through legislation.

Muttahida Quami

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the activities of the Muttahida Quami movement in the United Kingdom. [27692]

Mr. Charles Clarke: We do not comment on operational matters nor do we comment on any decisions whether to proscribe or deproscribe organisations
 
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Nursery Bullying Study (Leak Inquiry)

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will hold an inquiry into the leak of the study proposing that nursery staff should identify children aged three and four who bully other children as being at risk of growing up criminals; and for what reason he will not publish the leaked study referred to on page 20 of The Times on Monday 13 June. [5035]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 15 June 2005]: The study on nursery staff and bullying children was more than a year old and could have been leaked at any time during the previous twelve months. Previous leak inquiries have identified the source of other similar leaks over that period. The Secretary of State has therefore decided that a separate leak inquiry is not required in this instance.

I will not publish the leaked report referred to on page 20 of The Times on Monday 13 June 2005 because, in order to fully protect the ability of officials to formulate clear and well considered policy recommendations, it would not be in the public interest to do so. We do however propose to release a factual synthesis of crime patterns and reduction measures analysis in the new year which will provide a more up to date picture than is currently available.

Police

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have a policy of visiting every crime. [34498]

Hazel Blears: Attendance policy in respect of visiting every crime is essentially an operational matter for chief officers and police authorities to determine.

This information is not therefore collected centrally.

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department has made towards light touch inspection of high performing police services. [13580]

Hazel Blears: HM Inspectorate of Constabulary has conducted a comprehensive scrutiny of core policing activities, known as baseline assessment. The results were published in October, with each activity graded as excellent, good, fair or poor.

HMIC will now use this baseline assessment to identify high performing forces—ie those with a majority of excellent or good and no poor grades—which will benefit from significant inspection freedoms. Instead of inspecting these forces across the board, HMIC will rely upon a significant degree of self-assessment and will limit its scrutiny to core governance issues—leadership, diversity and integrity—and those areas of greatest threat and vulnerability. Other forces will be subject to more inspection attention but this will be risk-based, focusing on activities attracting a poor grading and, as above, those activities that are high risk such as child protection, the management of dangerous sex offenders, civil contingencies and major crime.

The inspection effort will also take into account the fact that forces/police authorities are engaged in a significant exercise to reconfigure policing for the 21st century. HMIC will support the process by advising on how
 
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current high levels of performance can be maintained, and by ensuring that forces go into new merged arrangements, where appropriate, with a clear balance sheet" of their respective strengths and weaknesses. HMIs' assessments of force leadership will specifically address the chief officers' change management capabilities.

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) role and (b) composition of the police authority will be in the proposed strategic police forces. [34617]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 5 December 2005]: We continue to see a vital role for police authorities in setting priorities for strategic police forces and in holding the chief officer to account for the delivery of an efficient, effective and responsive policing service. Under the provisions of the Police Act 1996, any order amalgamating police force areas would provide for the establishment of a police authority for the new force.

As now, the authority would comprise a mix of councillors, magistrates and independent members. The White Paper Building Communities, Beating Crime" set out proposals for strengthening the role and composition of police authorities, including by widening the skills and experience of the membership by removing the separate category of magistrate members.

Politically Exposed Persons

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate the National Criminal Intelligence Service has made of the value of assets held by foreign politically exposed persons in the UK. [34014]

Mr. Charles Clarke: No estimate has been made as the National Criminal Intelligence Service only receives and assesses suspicious activity reports of money laundering.

It would not be appropriate to comment on intelligence assessments carried out by NCIS.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many bank or building society accounts held by politically exposed persons in the UK are being monitored by law enforcement agencies; and how much money is held in these accounts. [34015]

Mr. Charles Clarke: This information is not held centrally. The National Criminal Intelligence Service does not have the powers to monitor bank or building society accounts. This is a function of individual law enforcement agencies.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons on the list of foreign politically exposed persons which has been circulated to financial institutions in the UK come from (a) Africa, (b) the Middle East, (c) Russia, (d) Europe, (e) Asia, (f) North America, (g) Central and Southern America and (h) other countries. [34016]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Government have not circulated a list of foreign politically exposed persons to financial institutions in the UK.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2005, Official Report, column 2322W, on politically exposed persons, if he will list the countries of origin of the persons about whom the suspicious activity
 
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reports refer; and what the total value was of transactions made by the persons to which the suspicious activity reports refer. [34017]

Mr. Charles Clarke: It would not be appropriate to comment on current intelligence assessments, or amounts of funds concerned, in view of the risk of prejudicing the outcome of any investigations.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 47W, on politically exposed persons, how many of the suspicious activity reports received by the National Criminal Intelligence Service relating to foreign politically exposed persons have been forwarded to other law enforcement agencies; and if he will list the law enforcement agencies to which they have been sent. [34851]

Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 5 December 2005]: This information is not available. It would be disproportionate to try to compile the details requested as the information is now made available to law enforcement agencies online.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, column 47W, on politically exposed persons, which Government Departments or agencies submitted the suspicious activity reports which refer to corrupt activity overseas. [34852]

Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 5 December 2005]: It would not be appropriate to comment on those suspicious activity reports, regardless of source, which indicate corrupt activity and are possibly under investigation.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigations into the proceeds of corruption held by foreign politically exposed persons in the UK have been initiated by (a) the Metropolitan police, (b) the City of London police, (c) the Serious Fraud Office and (d) other regional police forces. [34853]

Mr. Charles Clarke [holding answer 5 December 2005]: This information is not available. These are operational matters for law enforcement agencies. It would not be appropriate to comment on any current investigations, in view of the risk of prejudicing the outcome.

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