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13 Dec 2005 : Column 1933W—continued

Religious Cults

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received about the activities of religious cults, with particular reference to the School of Economic Science; how he plans to respond; and if he will make a statement. [19349]

Paul Goggins: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department considers the matter of cults operating in this country seriously and recently met with the Head of INFORM (Information Network Focusing on Religious Movements) to discuss a range of issues related to cults in the UK.

He has not had any recent representations from the School of Economic Science, but does share the concerns many people have on the activity of cults. He is keen to keep the situation under review.

Schedule 1 Offenders

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the number of Schedule 1 offenders who are at liberty. [32781]

Hazel Blears: A conviction or caution for an offence listed in Schedule 1 to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 triggers further assessments of risk, by agencies such as the police, probation and prison services and local authority social services, and is used to identify individuals who may pose a risk to children. Practitioners exercise their professional judgement in such assessments and appreciate that not all convicted or cautioned individuals will necessarily pose a continued risk to children and that there are cases where a person without a conviction or caution may pose such a risk.

The offences listed in Schedule 1 range from murder to any ... offence involving bodily injury to a child or young person". To calculate the number of people who have committed an offence involving bodily injury to a child or young person and who are currently living in the community could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
 
13 Dec 2005 : Column 1934W
 

Speed Cameras

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces use the LT1 20.20 mobile speed camera. [33682]

Paul Goggins: The LTI 20.20 speed enforcement device has been purchased by 50 forces in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research has been carried out on the impact of atmospheric conditions on the accuracy of speed cameras. [33683]

Paul Goggins: The laboratory and field testing undertaken prior to the type approval of speed enforcement equipment includes an assessment of performance across a wide range of relevant atmospheric conditions. The full range of tests are published in the various Speed meter Handbooks available from Home Office Scientific Development Branch website.

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prosecutions for motor speeding offences were discontinued for technicalities relating to the (a) placement and (b) operation of speed limit (i) signs and (ii) cameras in (A) 2003, (B) 2004 and (C) 2005. [33684]

Paul Goggins: This information is not collected centrally.

Stonehenge

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was to Wiltshire constabulary of policing the summer solstice celebrations at Stonehenge in each of the past five years. [34056]

Hazel Blears: The chief constable of Wiltshire constabulary is responsible for the operational management of the force. I will ensure that he receives a copy of the question and replies to you directly.

Strategic Police Forces

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the proposed strategic police forces will be made democratically accountable. [34616]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 5 December 2005]: We continue to see a vital role for police authorities in setting policing priorities for the force and holding the chief officer to account for the delivery of an efficient, effective and responsive policing service. To maintain democratic legitimacy, we envisage that the majority of police authority members will be local councillors, as now. We are considering options for strengthening the accountability arrangements at BCD level to ensure that local communities have a stronger voice in setting local policing priorities. A number of authorities are already piloting various models at this level. One model that seems promising is that of a local policing board. We will be exploring with the association of police authorities how such boards might operate and their relationship with crime and disorder reduction partnerships and local authority scrutiny committees. The establishment of such boards would not affect the current lines of managerial accountability within forces
 
13 Dec 2005 : Column 1935W
 

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the council tax contributions to the proposed strategic police forces will be calculated. [34618]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 5 December 2005]: The Government will be considering grant arrangements for police authorities in the light of changes to police authority boundaries and in the way the new larger authorities might operate.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Welsh Assembly Government, Her Majesty's Treasury and police representative bodies have been invited to
 
13 Dec 2005 : Column 1936W
 
participate in working up the financial aspects of reorganisation, including the impact of restructuring on budgets, grant and council tax.

Substance Abuse Offences

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 26 October 2005, Official Report, column 405W, on substance abuse offences, if he will provide (a) tables two and three to which he refers and (b) the relevant figures for 2004 for tables one to four. [33529]

Hazel Blears: The tables are now provided with the 2004 information incorporated.
Number of offenders found guilty for dangerous driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, by London borough, region and England, 1997–2003⁽⁵⁴⁾

Inner London magistrates courts	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
City of London Police
Guildhall Justice Rooms	411	281	225	156	147	208	207	148
Metropolitan Police
Bow Street	327	194	111	135	150	209	237	211
Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge	1,063	1,092	941	865	819	947	997	1,025
Greenwich and Woolwich	898	741	631	751	835	826	868	798
Highbury Corner	1,287	1,132	632	569	529	574	548	616
Horseferry Road	549	439	379	334	348	361	299	310
Marylebone	429	373	377	64	14	25	24	35
South Western	683	507	422	317	349	421	405	337
Thames	417	160	547	573	541	638	592	576
West London	384	361	289	517	569	619	590	569
Inner London Juvenile Courts	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Outer London boroughs
Metropolitan Police
Barking and Dagenham	187	236	243	252	253	358	368	302
Barnet	457	398	380	359	353	343	329	361
Bexley	273	234	241	217	290	325	249	261
Brent	569	518	434	449	445	484	516	447
Bromley	430	396	324	339	303	344	368	399
Croydon	618	507	463	462	427	470	423	437
Eating	654	485	335	538	496	723	544	581
Enfield	410	403	406	341	362	339	293	329
Haringey	395	382	307	292	367	419	397	475
Harrow	287	228	236	238	226	227	245	299
Havering	296	230	245	273	226	285	271	345
Hillingdon	400	417	403	371	340	430	435	500
Hounslow	483	451	375	349	273	345	283	352
Kingston-upon-Thames	264	297	266	293	261	263	233	299
Merton	348	235	259	266	241	251	263	314
Newham	556	426	371	356	347	438	476	514
Redbridge	421	343	330	297	307	298	323	366
Richmond upon Thames	271	224	235	283	204	312	283	270
Sutton	257	232	225	254	242	246	208	255
Waltham Forest	366	281	255	281	259	335	339	302
Total Metropolitan Police	13,983	11,922	10,662	10,635	10,376	11,855	11,406	11,885
Total Greater London	14,394	12,203	10,887	10,791	10,523	12,063	11,613	12,033
Regions
North East	3,985	3,740	3,821	3,976	3,913	4,032	4,177	4,366
North West	12,051	11,244	10,720	10,455	10,137	10,923	11,327	11,822
Yorkshire and Humberside	7,756	7,228	7,083	7,010	6,757	7,157	7,555	7,862
East Midlands	6,660	6,061	6,047	5,571	5,141	5,005	6,138	6,621
West Midlands	9,871	8,939	8,030	7,858	7,974	8,276	8,566	8,886
East of England	8,043	7,646	7,343	6,729	7,201	7,800	8,178	8,605
London(55)	15,205	12,937	11,525	10,959	10,521	12,066	11,613	12,040
South East	12,661	12,462	12,594	12,094	12,262	13,726	13,040	13,122
South West	7,563	7,321	7,250	6,819	6,948	7,206	7,697	7,662
Wales	5,464	5,496	5,092	5,275	5,255	5,242	5,491	5,611
England	83,795	77,578	74,413	71,471	70,854	76,191	78,291	80,986
England and Wales	89,259	83,074	79,505	76,746	76,109	81,433	83,782	86,597

⁽⁵⁴⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis.
⁽⁵⁵⁾ Includes a small number of defendants convicted in courts outside London.
Source:
RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform





 
13 Dec 2005 : Column 1937W
 

Number of offenders found guilty for drunkenness by London borough, region and England 1997–2003⁽⁵⁶⁾

Inner London magistrates courts	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
City of London Police
Guildhall Justice Rooms	1	—	1	5	—	—	—	2
Metropolitan Police
Bow Street	15	15	21	8	69	24	10	26
Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge	14	14	1	5	3	3	1	2
Greenwich and Woolwich	3	12	8	7	6	20	28	21
Highbury Corner	14	18	25	2	1	4	10	7
Horseferry Road	39	28	26	14	79	35	14	14
Marylebone	9	7	12	1	—	—	—	1
South Western	7	8	7	1	—	2	1	6
Thames	4	1	7	1	1	7	2	—
West London	187	120	66	66	29	45	38	24
Inner London Juvenile Courts	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Outer London boroughs
Metropolitan Police
Barking and Dagenham	—	—	—	—	3	2	2	—
Barnet	1	5	1	4	9	12	4	6
Bexley	2	—	—	2	2	—	5	2
Brent	36	45	37	19	3	10	12	4
Bromley	2	1	4	—	8	4	1	1
Croydon	7	33	14	7	11	10	3	3
Ealing	7	14	3	4	5	5	7	1
Enfield	4	—	2	1	1	1	2	—
Haringey	—	7	6	6	9	7	19	10
Harrow	1	4	7	2	5	1	6	3
Havering	—	—	—	—	5	10	1	1
Hillingdon	7	19	1	8	7	8	2	2
Hounslow	5	19	16	13	9	4	11	5
Kingston-upon-Thames	3	6	3	1	1	1	—	—
Merton	4	3	17	2	4	2	12	4
Newham	3	8	5	8	11	2	4	2
Redbridge	—	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
Richmond upon Thames	8	13	8	5	6	1	4	3
Sutton	2	—	2	1	5	7	10	10
Waltham Forest	3	2	4	1	1	—	—	—
Total Metropolitan Police	387	403	304	190	294	228	210	160
Total Greater London	388	403	305	195	294	228	210	162
Regions
North East	135	118	107	67	122	106	88	94
North West	387	393	314	344	264	262	149	106
Yorkshire and Humberside	191	232	214	262	221	202	222	166
East Midlands	108	135	116	119	89	107	78	64
West Midlands	240	208	162	67	92	109	123	132
East of England	496	583	507	399	332	264	293	242
London(57)	393	405	310	197	296	228	210	162
South East	938	1,106	866	684	629	541	486	418
South West	445	530	538	440	379	382	350	290
Wales	209	388	377	390	317	309	300	274
England	3,333	3,710	3,134	2,579	2,424	2,201	1,999	1,674
England and Wales	3,542	4,098	3,511	2,969	2,741	2,510	2,299	1,948

⁽⁵⁶⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis.
⁽⁵⁷⁾ Includes a small number of defendants convicted in courts outside London.
Source:
RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform





Number of offenders found guilty of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, by London borough, region and England, 1997–2003⁽⁵⁸⁾

Inner London magistrates courts	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
City of London Police
Guildhall Justice Rooms	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Metropolitan Police
Bow Street	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Greenwich and Woolwich	—	—	1	—	—	1	—	—
Highbury Corner	2	1	—	1	—	—	—	1
Horseferry Road	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Marylebone	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
South Western	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Thames	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
West London	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Inner London Juvenile Courts	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Outer London boroughs
Metropolitan Police
Barking and Dagenham	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Barnet	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
Bexley	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	—
Brent	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Bromley	—	—	—	1	—	—	—
Croydon	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Ealing	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Enfield	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Haringey	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Harrow	—	1	—	—	1	—	—	—
Havering	—	1	—	1	—	1	—	1
Hillingdon	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1
Hounslow	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
Kingston-upon-Thames	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Merton	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Newham	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Redbridge	—	—	—	1	2	—	—	—
Richmond upon Thames	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Sutton	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Waltham Forest	—	1	—	—	—	—	1	—
Total Metropolitan Police	4	7	1	4	3	2	4	7
Total Greater London	4	7	1	4	3	2	4	7
Regions
North East	5	2	2	4	1	2	2	2
North West	5	13	6	7	4	10	5	6
Yorkshire and Humberside	5	3	5	8	4	6	5	7
East Midlands	6	7	6	5	7	4	9	12
West Midlands	9	7	6	4	7	5	6	6
East of England London(59)	3 4	6 8	2 3	1 5	7 4	11 3	7 4	7 8
South East	11	10	8	8	8	14	9	7
South West	8	4	6	8	6	7	7	6
Wales	6	3	2	3	3	4	6	1
England	56	60	44	50	48	62	54	61
England and Wales	62	63	46	53	51	66	60	62

⁽⁵⁸⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis.
⁽⁵⁹⁾ Includes a small number of defendants convicted in courts outside London.
Source:
RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform





 
13 Dec 2005 : Column 1939W
 

Number of offenders found guilty for drunkenness, with aggravation, by London borough, region and England, 1997–2003⁽⁶⁰⁾

Inner London magistrates courts	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
City of London Police
Guildhall Justice Rooms	13	21	29	25	28	40	49	45
Metropolitan Police
Bow Street	98	118	127	99	238	628	573	160
Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge	21	44	41	42	24	46	73	32
Greenwich and Woolwich	42	36	44	33	37	125	86	37
Highbury Corner	78	72	91	46	23	38	113	67
Horseferry Road	85	119	119	100	144	265	255	176
Marylebone	27	22	52	3	2	3	2	1
South Western	28	23	28	22	22	24	30	13
Thames	22	14	24	38	25	34	41	23
West London	94	93	78	107	76	128	132	71
Inner London Juvenile Courts	—	1	—	1	—	—	—	—
Outer London boroughs
Metropolitan Police
Barking and Dagenham	11	8	11	12	10	17	30	9
Bamet	16	8	8	18	13	20	32	10
Bexley	18	17	24	18	11	27	77	34
Brent	52	80	34	35	18	23	35	22
Bromley	22	10	12	40	65	79	79	21
Croydon	32	38	23	44	92	79	34	30
Ealing	35	41	44	28	25	71	35	39
Enfield	7	14	5	7	18	6	9	9
Haringey	11	25	11	13	10	19	22	14
Harrow	14	13	11	9	15	20	15	13
Havering	12	24	27	19	60	78	65	36
Hillingdon	18	76	33	46	67	78	73	33
Hounslow	41	54	60	52	32	42	30	29
Kingston-upon-Thames	92	51	32	12	27	22	30	18
Merton	158	49	81	47	45	36	56	36
Newham	10	32	41	21	20	25	25	20
Redbridge	22	17	13	15	8	32	24	8
Richmond upon Thames	12	70	65	33	41	35	26	15
Sutton	63	43	30	60	58	58	80	25
Waltham Forest	9	17	9	6	1	5	10	8
Total Metropolitan Police	1,150	1,229	1,178	1,026	1,227	2,063	2,092	1,009
Total Greater London	1,163	1,250	1,207	1,051	1,255	2,103	2,141	1,054
Regions
North East	3,580	4,080	4,071	4,376	3,989	4,022	4,553	4,437
North West	5,821	6,006	5,422	5,215	5,110	5,249	5,174	3,130
Yorkshire and Humberside	2,771	2,709	2,884	2,683	2,318	2,240	2,670	1,625
East Midlands	1,122	1,279	1,179	1,050	1,077	1,141	1,233	960
West Midlands	1,820	1,737	1,373	1,246	1,116	1,061	1,029	1,128
East of England	1,274	1,302	1,447	1,448	1,477	1,539	1,434	1,138
London(61)	1,224	1,310	1,271	1,066	1,260	2,103	2,141	1,055
South East	3,116	3,564	3,468	3,304	3,253	3,369	3,661	2,791
South West	1,746	1,877	1,649	1,690	1,868	2,017	1,998	1,286
Wales	2,779	2,872	2,405	2,135	2,037	1,647	1,505	1,635
England	22,474	23,864	22,764	22,078	21,468	22,741	23,893	17,550
England and Wales	25,253	26,736	25,169	24,213	23,505	24,388	25,398	19,185

⁽⁶⁰⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis.
⁽⁶¹⁾ Includes a small number of defendants convicted in courts outside London.
Source:
RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform





 
13 Dec 2005 : Column 1941W
 

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