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16 Jan 2006 : Column 1114W—continued
Forensic Science Service
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role the Forensic Science Service (FSS) had in the decision to award the contract to supply drugs testing equipment to the police to Cozart Bioscience Ltd.; and what assessment he has made of the link between the privatised arm of the FSS and Cozart Bioscience. [40343]
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Paul Goggins: The Forensic Science Service's (FSS) role in the decision to award the contract to supply drugs testing equipment to Cozart Bioscience Ltd. was limited to the provision of impartial, expert scientific and technical advice to the Home Office's Drug Interventions Programme (DIP). This was in order to evaluate the products from all companies arising from a tender issued by the DIP via an advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Union in 2003 for the supply of drugs testing equipment for police forces to use in custody suites.
The FSS does not have a privatised arm and, having been incorporated as a Government owned company on 5 December 2005, remains a public authority. However, it has a commercial collaboration arrangement in place with Cozart, which is managed by a distinct unit within the FSS that is completely separate and has no connection with any activities relating to the FSS' role in the provision of impartial expert and technical advice, performance testing, quality assurance and independent evaluation of test kits and equipment to the Home Office. The Department is satisfied that ethical walls have been established within the FSS to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to prevent the disclosure of any information relating to the DIP, and commercial or otherwise technical data between the different areas of the organisation concerned.
Homophobic Crime
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated relating to homophobic crime; [28328]
(2) what guidelines for police forces his Department has published on (a) homophobic-related crime and (b) racially motivated crime; [28329]
(3) what recent discussions he has had on homophobic crime; and if he will make a statement; [28330]
(4) what duty is placed on police forces to (a) collect and (b) publish statistics related to reported incidences of homophobic crime. [28331]
Paul Goggins: The Metropolitan Police Service conducted a six-month study Understanding and Responding to Hate Crime" which analysed hate crime incidents, including homophobic crime reported in that period. However, the Home Office has not commissioned any research on homophobic crime. Similarly a number of discussions have been held with stakeholders. These are being used in developing policy to tackle hate crime more effectively including homophobic crimes.
In May this year the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Home Office jointly published a hate crime manual, 'Hate Crime: Delivering a Quality Service'. This builds on the code of practice on reporting and recording racists incidents published and distributed in 2000.
At present no duty is placed on police forces to collect or publish incidents of hate crime.
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Humberside Police
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State forthe Home Department what assessment he has made of the burden of paperwork faced by Humberside police. [39417]
Hazel Blears: The National Bureaucracy Adviser provides practical assistance to all forces, including Humberside, in the timely and effective implementation of their work on reducing bureaucratic burdens on police officers. This includes visiting forces to spread good practice; challenging, where necessary, existing practices; and driving force-led reductions in bureaucracy. We have made good progress in reducing the bureaucratic burdens on police officers by cutting nearly 9,000 unnecessary forms; civilianising posts; rolling out the penalty notice for disorder scheme; and ensuring that forces have the best scientific and technological support like video identity parades and electronic fingerprinting so that officers spend more time in communities tackling crime and antisocial behaviour and reassuring the public.
Identity Cards
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department estimates the cost to public funds of introducing identity cards will be by 2012. [41785]
Andy Burnham: The average annual running costs are estimated as £584 million for issuing passports and identity cards to UK nationals.
We expect that any integration costs for other Government Departments will not be significant before 2012, as they will want to see the identity cards scheme achieve significant coverage before investing in readers and other equipment.
Identity Fraud
Dr. Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of identity fraud by applicants using a deceased person's details for a new passport have taken place in each of the last five years; and at what cost to his Department. [41049]
Andy Burnham: The figures for the number of passport applications detected by the UK Passport Service in which a deceased person's details have been used are as follows.
| Number of applications | |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 214 |
| 2002 | 288 |
| 2003 | 173 |
| 2004 | 171 |
| 2005 | 81 |
The cost to my Department of detecting these cases is contained within the overall cost of processing a passport application, through examination and fraud investigation techniques which are covered by the passport fee.
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Dr. Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many instances of identity fraud by applicants using false address details for a new passport have taken place in each of the last five years; and at what cost to his Department. [41050]
Andy Burnham: Figures relating to the number of fraudulent passport applications detected in which a false address is given are not routinely collated by the UK Passport Service and are not therefore available.
The cost to my Department of detecting these cases is contained within the overall cost of processing a passport application, through examination and fraud investigation techniques which are covered by the passport fee.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff work on the hotline for hon. Members at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [40388]
Mr. McNulty: In 2005–06 the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's (IND) MPs' Hotline is funded for 20 posts. Four of these posts are currently vacant but should be filled early in 2006 through an internal selection process.
London Bombings
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to extend changes made to the criminal injuries compensation scheme to the victims of the 7 July bombings. [39532]
Fiona Mactaggart: The question of making any scheme changes retrospective was addressed in the Home Office consultation paper 'Rebuilding Lives: supporting victims of crime' published on 7 December 2005. The relevant passage, at page 19, reads:
We recognise that changes to the scheme mean that some cases would be dealt with differently in future and that some applicants who have already received their compensation would have received more under a new scheme. However, we do not believe that it would be fair or workable to apply changes
- retrospectively. Changes also need to be approved by Parliament, which could mean that it could be at least a year before any changes could come into effect. We would welcome views on whether changes to the scheme should apply from the date of the incident or the date of the application.
Potential applicants to the scheme should not alter their decision on whether or when to apply to the scheme as a result of anything in this paper."
The full text of the consultation document can be found on the Home Office website through http://www.cjsonline.gov.uk/the_cjs/whats_new/news-3258.html.
London County Council (General Powers) Act
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) males and (b) females were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted during 2004 of an offence under section 20(1) of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1954. [40978]
Hazel Blears: Persons proceeded against and found guilty at the magistrates courts of offences under section 20(1) of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1954 cannot be separately identified on the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform as they form part of a miscellaneous group which cannot be analysed.
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