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13 Dec 2005 : Column 1909W—continued
Breastfeeding
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given to police officers on their response to public complaints against women breastfeeding in public. [35256]
Hazel Blears: This is an operational matter for chief officers to determine.
Building Safer Communities Fund
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the Building Safer Communities Fund funding stream from the Government Office for London was made available to the London borough of Croydon in 2004–05. [34981]
Hazel Blears: The Government Office for London was allocated a total of £12,705,385 from the Building Safer Communities Fund in 2004–05, £474,652 of which was made available to the London borough of Croydon. This included a £25,000 grant towards the cost of an antisocial behaviour co-ordinator.
Cannabis Possession
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average cost of arresting and charging people for cannabis possession in the last 12 months. [33644]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is not held centrally.
Commission for Integration
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the HomeDepartment pursuant to the answer of 29 November 2005, Official Report, column 430W, on the Commission for Integration, which faith leaders and key stakeholders were contacted by him on 21 September 2005; and what assessment he has made of the responses he has received. [37009]
Paul Goggins: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary wrote to the following faith leaders and key stakeholders on 21 September 2005:
The Home Secretary is giving careful consideration to all the views he has received and to nominations for membership of the Commission.
The Home Secretary considers it very important that he gets the shape of the Commission right from the outset and is thinking very carefully about its direction. He hopes to be in a position to make an announcement on the way ahead soon.
Crime Statistics
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the most recent crime figures are for England and Wales according to (a) the British Crime Survey and (b) recorded crime statistics, broken down by (i) constabulary, (ii) region and (iii) basic command unit. [35454]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 7 December 2005]: The most recent crime figures broken down by police force area and region were published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin number 11/05, 'Crime in England and Wales 2004/2005'. This can be found on the website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm. Online, the Bulletin has accompanying tables which give recorded crime by basic command unit (BCD). The British Crime Survey does not provide data at BCU level.
Criminal Records Bureau Checks
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of criminal record checks were completed within (a) one month, (b) two months, (c) three months, (d) six months and (e) one year in (i) 2005–06 and (ii) 2004. [34639]
Andy Burnham: Information is not available to answer the question in the format requested. The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) reports its performance separately against Standard and Enhanced Disclosures on a monthly and rolling 12 month basis. The Published Service Standard (PSS) for Standard Disclosures is to complete 93 per cent. within two weeks and 90 per cent. of Enhanced Disclosures within four weeks measured from when the CRB receives a fully completed application to the date of issue of the Disclosure.
Over the last period for which information is available, from 1 November to 30 November 2005, the performance against PSS for Standard Disclosures is 99.4 per cent. and 85.1 per cent. for Enhanced Disclosures. For the equivalent period last year, the figures are 93.5 per cent. for Standard Disclosures and 89.1 per cent. for Enhanced. The PSS for Standard Disclosures was revised in April 2005 from 90 per cent. within two weeks to 93 per cent. within two weeks.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how priorities are determined in making criminal records checks; what priority schools have; and whether a distinction is made between different types of school. [34640]
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Andy Burnham: Disclosure applications are processed with equal priority. No school or other type of education establishment or organisation receives priority over another.
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average the Metropolitan police took to process Criminal Records Bureau checks in the last period for which figures are available. [34576]
Hazel Blears [holding answer 6 December 2005]: The Metropolitan Police Service is currently taking on average 26.16 days to process Disclosures. This figure may be compared against the average time taken by the Metropolitan Police Service to process a Disclosure application during the last year, which was over 33 days.
The Metropolitan police have made a number of changes to their IT systems recently which has led to significant and ongoing improvements in the time they are taking to deal with Disclosures referred to them by the Criminal Records Bureau.
Crystal Meth
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the (a) use of and (b) supply of and the risks for recreational drug users from crystal meth. [37014]
Paul Goggins: The use and supply of methylamphetamine in the United Kingdom is estimated to be very low based on the number and size of seizures. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) published a report on methylamphetamine on 17 November 2005; they recognised the potentially serious harms of taking methylamphetamine to the individual but the overall risk to users remained low given the very limited prevalence. The ACMD also recommended the development of an early warning system centred on ensuring those agencies collecting data on illicit drugs make the distinction between amphetamine and methylamphetamine when recording data. The ACMD recommended the closer monitoring of certain sub groupssuch as clubbers who are more likely to use methylamphetamine and agreed the subject of methylamphetamine should be a standing agenda item at the ACMD Technical Committee. It was also recommended action should be taken to impose tighter controls on methylamphetamine's precursors to prevent the spread of its misuse. The Government have accepted all the ACMD's recommendations. The ACMD undertook to provide an update to its advice in 12 month's time.
Drugs (Recreational Use)
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to monitor the prevalence of recreational use of drugs, with particular reference to methamphetamine; and if he will make a statement. [32866]
Paul Goggins:
The British Crime Survey (BCS) is the chief monitoring tool used by the Home Office to measure the prevalence of controlled drugs. The BCS does not currently differentiate between methylamphetamine use and amphetamines in general. The prevalence of methylamphetamine in the United Kingdom is estimated to be very low based on the number and size of seizures.
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The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) published a report on methylamphetamine on 17 November 2005 which included recommendations regarding the development of an early warning system centred on ensuring those agencies that collect data on illicit drugs to make the distinction between amphetamine and methylamphetamine when recording data. The ACMD recommended the closer monitoring of certain sub groups such as clubbers, who are more likely to use methylamphetamine, and that the subject of methylamphetamine should be a standing agenda item at the ACMD technical committee meetings.
The Government have accepted all the ACMD's recommendations, including taking preventative action to impose tight controls on methylamphetamine precursor chemicals. The ACMD undertook to provide an update to its advice in 12 months' time.
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