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9 Jan 2006 : Column 341W—continued
Sure Start
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding is being allocated to Sure Start in the Province in each of the next three years. [38618]
Mr. Woodward: The budget for Health and Personal Social Services includes £9.335million in 2006–07 for Sure Start rising to £9.615 million in 2007–08.
Sure Start is one of the possible recipients of additional funding from the Children and Young People's Package. A final decision on the allocation of this funding, which amounts to £28 million in 2006–07 and £33 million in 2007–08, has yet to be reached.
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Expenditure planning figures for 2008–09 will be arrived at as a result of the national 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.
Water Service
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many Water Service staff there were on 1 January (a) 2001 and (b) 2005, broken down by (i) grade and (ii) location; and how many are planned for 2007 in each case. [38484]
Mr. Woodward: The chief executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
Letter from Katharine Bryan, dated 21 December 2005:
Your recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about the number of Water Service staff there were on 1 January 2001 and 2005, broken down by grade and
- location, and how many are planned for 2007 in each case (38484). I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
The staff-in-post figures for 2001 and 2005 by grade and location are set out in the tables below. The figures show an overall reduction of 181 staff (8%). The reduction is relative of the impact of the Water Reform process which requires Water Service to produce overall efficiencies in running costs.
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Detailed planning for the achievement of efficiencies in 2007 is proceeding. It is not possible, at this stage, to give definitive numbers, grades or locations but a further reduction in numbers is planned.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Air Weapons
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange a general amnesty on all air weapons on a particular day when they could be handed in at police stations. [19734]
Hazel Blears: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 28 October 2005, Official Report, column 532W.
Possession of an air weapon is not an offence and so a general amnesty as such would not be appropriate. Individual police forces can, and do, encourage people to hand in unwanted air weapons, particularly when there is a problem of misuse in their force area. We are planning a knives amnesty in the new year and will consider whether it can be extended to cover the hand-in of other weapons including possibly airguns.
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many injuries were caused by air weapons in Hartlepool in the last year for which data is available. [38380]
Hazel Blears: Data collected centrally for recorded crime involving firearms in England and Wales is only available at police force level. Information for Hartlepool is therefore included in data for Cleveland police and is given in the table.
| Type of injury | Number of injuries |
|---|---|
| Fatal | 0 |
| Serious(66) | 4 |
| Slight | 38 |
(65) By the weapon being fired, used as a blunt instrument or in a threat.
(66) A serious injury is one which necessitated detention in hospital or involved fractures, concussion, severe or general shock, penetration by a bullet or multiple shot wounds.
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes involving the use of air weapons took place in Hartlepool in the last year for which information is available. [38381]
Hazel Blears: Data collected centrally for recorded crime involving firearms in England and Wales is only available at police force level. Information for Hartlepool is included in data from Cleveland police, who recorded 361 offences involving the use of air weapons in 2003–04.
Aircraft Arrests
Sir Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether UK police have authority to arrest individuals suspected of criminal
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offences who are on board aircraft which transit through UK (a) civilian airports and (b) military airfields. [33939]
Hazel Blears: In England and Wales, a constable may arrest a person without a warrant under section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984. Section 17 provides a constable with the power to enter and search any premises for the purpose of arresting a person for an arrestable offence. An aircraft falls within the definition of premises.
Similar provisions exist in Northern Ireland under Article 26 and Article 18 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989.
In Scotland, a constable may detain a person without a warrant under section 14 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 where he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person has committed or is committing an offence punishable by imprisonment. Section 14 does not contain any power to enter and search premises prior to detention without a warrant. If the police are satisfied that there is evidence that a person or persons have committed a crime, they can arrest them without warrant at common law where that is necessary in the interests of justice.
UK police do not have the authority to arrest if the aircraft in question is a military aircraft as this has special status in international law even when it is on the ground. The aircraft and anything inside remains the sovereign territory of the foreign military. This is a recognised principle of international law based on the doctrine of state immunity, where a state enjoys immunity in respect of itself and its property, from the jurisdiction of the courts of another state.
Airport Policing
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which airports are designated for police purposes; what the costs charged to the airport operators for policing were in each case in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [20379]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost of policing in each of the five largest airports which are not designated for police purposes in each of the past five years; [20380]
(3) if he will review the status of major airports which are not designated for police purposes; and if he will make a statement. [20381]
Hazel Blears: Details of the policing costs at individual airports, whether designated or not, are not held centrally. There are nine airports that are currently designated under the Aviation Security Act 1982. These are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick and Aberdeen.
The Department for Transport is leading a review of the designation process, but work on this has been suspended pending the outcome of a request for
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determination by the Secretary of State under the terms of the above Act. The review will resume once a determination has been made in this case.
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