| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
14 Dec 2005 : Column 2032W—continued
Immigration
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to decide the application by Shahid Hussain lodged in May 2004 for variation for leave to remain in the UK, reference LR1581008817. [33716]
Mr. McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate notified Mr Hussain of the decision in his case on 8 December 2005.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to decide the application of Robima Kouser, reference LK1600016626, for variation of leave to remain in the UK, lodged in May 2006. [33719]
Mr. McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate notified Mrs Kouser of the decision in her case on 9 December 2005.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the application of Nabila Bi Hussain (reference no. H110722T) lodged in May for indefinite leave to remain in the UK to be determined. [33727]
Mr. McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate notified Mrs Hussain of the outcome of her application on 8 December 2005.
Murder Sentences (Appeals)
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average cost of an appeal by an individual who pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence and then appealed against the sentence. [32471]
Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not available as costs for such particular types of appeal are not separated out.
Offender Rehabilitation
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list grants made to organisations in the Hampshire constabulary's area to promote rehabilitation of offenders in each of the last three years. [26197]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 9 November 2005]: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Parole Board
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases the Parole Board has processed in each month to date in 2005; and what the backlog of cases is. [32891]
Fiona Mactaggart:
The number of cases processed by the Parole Board each month for the period January 2005 to October 2005 is set out in the following table. The Parole Board does not have a backlog.
14 Dec 2005 : Column 2033W
| Total cases(14) | |
|---|---|
| January | 1,322 |
| February | 1,289 |
| March | 1,303 |
| April | 1,582 |
| May | 926 |
| June | 1,446 |
| July | 1,715 |
| August | 1,515 |
| September | 1,577 |
| October | 1,644 |
(14) The figures include both cases considered on the papers and cases where the prisoner has requested a review by means of an oral hearing.
Police
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the financial impact on policing in Brent of the Government's decision to pass costs from the security operations following the July bombings onto the Metropolitan Police. [35587]
Hazel Blears: We have made very clear that we would help the Metropolitan Police Authority with additional policing costs arising from the July bombings but that we would also expect the authority to contribute towards the costs. We made an initial payment of £10 million in October and in the light of costs incurred have now increased that to £30 million.
Operational policing decisions are a matter for the chief officer of police.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the (a) chief constable and (b) police authority in Hertfordshire about structural re-organisation. [31511]
Hazel Blears: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary wrote to all chief officers and chairs of police authorities in England and Wales on 22 September to set out his views on the development of options for force restructuring and to ask for proposals to be submitted to him by 23 December. Discussions with individual forces and authorities are ongoing at an official level.
Final reports from forces and authorities are expected by 23 December. However, ultimately it will be a matter for the police authorities to determine which options are included in their final submissions.
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors he took into account when limiting police forces in the West Midlands to two options for merger; and for what reasons West Mercia constabulary may not pursue other options. [30417]
Hazel Blears:
The options submitted to the Home Office at the end of October by all forces and authorities in the West Midlands were assessed according to the design criteria in my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's letter of 22 September. The options were also assessed in accordance with the overall position in the West Midlands region and the need to produce a credible landscape nationally. On this basis I provided
14 Dec 2005 : Column 2034W
the steer that the West Midlands regional force option and the two strategic force option were the most viable options for the region and should be progressed further. Feedback was provided to forces and authorities in the West Midlands region on the 9 November that the west midlands regional option and the two strategic force option (West Midlands police force/Warwickshire police force : Staffordshire police force/West Mercia police force) were the most suitable for progression based on the evidence submitted at that stage.
However, ultimately it is a matter for police authorities to decide which options are included in their final submissions on 23 December.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will postpone the reorganisation of police forces in Wales until the outcome in England has been assessed. [33178]
Hazel Blears: No. As England and Wales share a common criminal justice system and the new policing landscape has to be consistent with that, implementation of any police restructuring in Wales will be undertaken to the same timetable as that for England. We will continue to work closely with our Welsh parliamentary colleagues and our colleagues at the Welsh Assembly Government to ensure the particular needs of Wales are taken fully into account throughout.
Prisoners
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether prisoners on the basic level of the incentives and earned privileges scheme are entitled to a one-hour visit every two weeks; [32887]
(2) how many prisoners do not have access to a one-hour visit every two weeks. [32888]
Fiona Mactaggart: Convicted prisoners on the basic level of the incentives and earned privileges scheme should normally receive two visits, each for a minimum of one hour, every four weeks. Unconvicted prisoners on the scheme have more generous allowances. Statistics on take up and length of visits are not collected.
Reasonable Force
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the police and prosecutors' publication of a leaflet to combat confusion about current legislation on the use of reasonable force in protecting persons and their property. [35257]
Fiona Mactaggart:
300,000 of the leaflets were printed earlier this year, and distributed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). A further 500,000 have recently been printed and are being distributed through local Criminal Justice Boards and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships. In addition, the leaflet is available through the CPS and ACPO websites, with links on other websites including the Home Office website. Early informal feedback has been largely encouraging and the number of copies sought has been welcome.
14 Dec 2005 : Column 2035W
Road Traffic Offences
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for driving without due care and attention (a) in England, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) the Kettering constituency in each year since 1997. [36134]
Paul Goggins: Available information for England and within the Northamptonshire police force area from 1997 to 2003 (latest available) is given in the following tables.
It is not possible from data collected centrally to identify the constituency of Kettering within the geographical area covered by the Northamptonshire police force.
Data for 2004 will not be available until March 2006.
| Number of offences | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 60,961 |
| 1998 | 56,876 |
| 1999 | 51,455 |
| 2000 | 47,077 |
| 2001 | 43,614 |
| 2002 | 39,959 |
| 2003 | 37,719 |
(15) Offence under s.3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988
| Number of offences | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 482 |
| 1998 | 252 |
| 1999 | 290 |
| 2000 | 228 |
| 2001 | 84 |
| 2002 | 42 |
| 2003 | 227 |
(16) Offence under s.3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |