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6 Feb 2006 : Column 946W—continued
National Offender Management Service
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the indicative budget is for each of the regional offender managers to procure prison places for 2006–07. [44879]
Fiona Mactaggart: It is not currently intended to give regional offender managers budget delegation to procure prison places in 2006–07.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether service level agreements for prison places with regional offender managers will include the provision of increased funding for prison governors for prison populations above the certified normal accommodation at each establishment. [44946]
Fiona Mactaggart: The service level agreements between Regional Offender Managers and Prison Service Area Managers cover the provision of prison places up to operational capacity of each prison. Should the prison population change significantly, there is provision for the renegotiation of the SLAs.
Offenders (Immigration Status)
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what records are kept of the immigration status of those convicted of crimes in the UK; and whether these records are available to the public. [47161]
Hazel Blears:
It is not possible to identify the immigration status of offenders on the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform as the individual circumstances of offenders is not collected.
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Offenders' Children
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners serving custodial sentences in prisons and young offenders' institutions in England and Wales have dependent children. [41595]
Fiona Mactaggart: There is no routinely collected data on the number of prisoners in custody who have children, but Home Office Research Study 208 found that 66 per cent. of female prisoners had dependent children under the age of 18. Of those with children, 34 per cent. had pre-school children aged under five and a further 40 per cent. had children aged from five to 10.
Parenting Orders
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parenting orders have been issued since 1999 where (a) a child safety order has been made, (b) an antisocial behaviour order has been made, (c) a sex offender order has been made in respect of a child or young person and (d) a child or young person has been convicted of an offence. [42147]
Fiona Mactaggart: Parenting orders were piloted between 30 September 1998 and 31 March 2000 during which period 284 parenting orders were made. Information was collected on 279 of these parenting orders of which 174 were made during criminal proceedings for offences committed by the child or young person; 103 in relation to the non attendance of children at school and two in relation to child safety orders. There were 686 parenting orders made with other civil orders between April 2000 and 31 March 2004 but the information collected by the Youth Justice Board over that period did not show whether these other civil orders were child safety orders, antisocial behaviour orders or sex-offender orders. The Youth Justice Board recorded 64 parenting orders made with antisocial behaviour orders between April 2004 and 30 September 2005 but none with child safety or sex offender orders. Between April 2000 and 30 September 2005, the Youth Justice Board recorded 4,429 parenting orders where the child or young person had been convicted of an offence and a further 249 made in connection with a referral order.
Passport Service
Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Passport Service's proposed Oban office will first open for interviews; and for how many hours each week it will open for interviews. [47793]
Andy Burnham:
It is not yet possible to announce locations for the offices being established to carry out interviews of adult first time passport applicants because procurement negotiations are still in progress and the availability of premises has not been confirmed. The intention is for all offices to open in the last quarter of this year. The number of hours each will open will vary and will be determined by the number of interview appointments to be accommodated. All offices will be open on Saturdays.
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John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passport photographs of under-5 year olds were rejected in December 2005. [46854]
Andy Burnham: For the five week period commencing 28 November 2005, 2,918 photographs for children aged five and under were rejected. This equates to around 7 per cent. of all applications from children aged under six.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to allow passport application and renewal forms to be issued through small post offices. [46952]
Andy Burnham: There is currently a network of 2,513 post office branches that offer the passport application Check and Send service and therefore hold passport application packs. Of these branches 1,082 are post office sub branches.
Police
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his proposals to restructure the police force in North Yorkshire. [34646]
Hazel Blears: Further to my written ministerial statement of 11 November, I would like to state that based upon feedback given on 9 November to forces and authorities, they are further developing their options for change. For the Yorkshire and Humber region, two options of those submitted were assessed as meeting the criteria and these are, (1) a single regional strategic force option and (2) two strategic forces, North Yorkshire merging with West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire merging with Humberside. I made it clear that police authorities including North Yorkshire, are free to submit options other than ones we have commented on if they wish to, making a compelling case for these by 23 December. No decisions will be made until after the consultation process has run its course.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Written Statement of 5 December 2005, Official Report, columns 68–79WS, on police authorities in England and Wales (grant allocations), what his Department's definition of a neighbourhood is. [36349]
Hazel Blears: The Government are committed to ensuring that every neighbourhood will have a dedicated neighbourhood policing team by 2008. The size of the neighbourhood which is served by this team will vary from area to area: a neighbourhood" to an inner-city resident will be very different from what it means to someone living in a predominantly rural area. Typically though, it is likely that a neighbourhood will cover one or two council wards. What is really important is that residents will know the names of their local officers see them on the street and have their phone numbers and email addresses.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Lancashire police force has a policy of attending every reported crime. [45152]
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Hazel Blears: The chief constable is responsible for the day to day operational management of the force. You may therefore wish to redirect your query to him.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2006, Official Report, columns 2032–2033W, on police, what the job description is of the National Bureaucracy Adviser; what annual budget has been allocated for her work; and if he will make a statement. [47292]
Hazel Blears: The job description of the National Bureaucracy Adviser includes:
visiting forces and, in particular, operational officers and police staff, to raise awareness of the reducing bureaucracy agenda;
obtaining solutions which would reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and challenging, where necessary, existing practices and assumptions;
identifying and disseminating 'quick wins' to forces which specifically impact on operational policing;
acting as a national advisor to all forces on effectively tackling bureaucratic burdens on operational police officers;
creating a network of lead officers within forces on the reducing bureaucracy agenda and, through this, encouraging the exchange of ideas and good practice which impact on operational policing; and
engaging in follow-up visits to forces to check progress and provide more assistance where appropriate.
The budget allocated for her work allows for her salary and travel expenses.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress the Police Service has made in achieving diversity targets on recruiting and retaining (a) female officers and (b) officers from ethnic minority backgrounds in the last three years for which figures are available. [44836]
Hazel Blears: The Police Service continues to make steady progress towards the 2009 Race Equality Employment Targets. In 2003, BME representation was 2.9 per cent. In 2004 it was 3.3 per cent. and in 2005 it was 3.5 per cent. Although the number of minority ethnic police officers narrowly missed the 2004 milestone of 4 per cent., further measures are being put in place to ensure that numbers continue to rise steadily and that the Police Service meets the 2009 target of 7 per cent. The retention rate for minority ethnic officers compared with white officers is very similar over comparable length of service periods after the first two years point. In the first six months of service however, minority ethnic officers are leaving at a greater rate than white officers (12.6 per cent. of BME officers compared to 7.6 per cent. of white officers) although the wastage rate is lower than in previous years. The wastage rate for officers with six months to two years' service has increased for both groups. No targets have been set for the recruitment and retention of women.
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when West Yorkshire constabulary will get its own anti-terrorist unit. [43413]
Hazel Blears:
West Yorkshire police is in the process of establishing its own Counter Terrorism Support Unit (CTSU). The CTSU will be a dedicated team of specialist detectives and staff, who will investigate terrorists and
6 Feb 2006 : Column 950W
terrorist offences. A number of West Yorkshire officers/staff have begun a training programme in conjunction with the Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch to ensure complete interoperability of systems and processes to support joint investigations in West Yorkshire and other forces.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total police funding allocated to each London borough is for the next three years, broken down by (a) staff and (b) non-staff funding; and if he will make a statement. [43593]
Hazel Blears: The Government allocates funding to police authorities as a whole. The distribution of resources for policing in each London borough is a matter for the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis.
The Metropolitan Police Authority has yet to set its budget for 2006–07 and beyond.
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of (a) the cost of each of the police force amalgamations and (b) the total cost of the police amalgamations proposed in his statement of 11 November 2005. [47318]
Hazel Blears: We are currently working to determine the viability of the options. This includes detailed analysis of the financial implications both for set-up costs and future benefits.
A Working Group led by my Department with participation from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Welsh Assembly Government, Her Majesty's Treasury and police representative bodies has been established to examine the financial aspects of reorganisation, including the impact of restructuring on budgets, grant and council tax.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will rank each basic command unit in each English police force by sanctioned detection rate for the most recent reporting period; and if he will make a statement. [45592]
Hazel Blears: Sanction detections rates by basic command units (BCUs) for the financial year 2004–05; tables are available in the Library. These rates are shown in alphabetical order by police force. The home office does not rank BCUs by sanction detection rate performance.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received representations from the European Commission in respect of the restructuring of police forces in England and Wales. [40968]
Hazel Blears: No. The Home Office has not received any representations from the European Commission regarding police force restructuring in England and Wales.
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will allow further time for consultation on the future of policing in Bedfordshire and the East of England. [41482]
6 Feb 2006 : Column 951W
Hazel Blears: Forces and authorities have had the opportunity to consult with relevant stakeholders since the process began in September 2005. In recognition of the challenging timescale for developing options for change force and authorities have been given the opportunity to further refine their business cases during January 2006.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the police force restructuring proposals on the recorded levels of crime in the year after they are introduced for each constabulary in England and Wales. [35294]
Hazel Blears:
The Government's Spending Review 2004 Public Service Agreements set a target to reduce crime by 15 per cent., and further in high crime areas, by 2007–08. We remain committed to delivering those reductions in crime and any objectives beyond this
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period will arise out of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. Force restructuring is intended to improve the capacity and capability of forces in England and Wales to provide an effective service, to ensure that every force is well equipped to deliver effective protective services, as well as effective policing at the neighbourhood level.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many helicopters owned, used or hired by the police were in use over East Yorkshire on (a) 21 and (b) 22 January; and what the reason was in each case. [46741]
Hazel Blears: The Humberside Police Air Support Unit made a number of flights over East Yorkshire on 21 and 22 January. The times and reasons for the flights are shown in the following table.
Additionally, West Yorkshire Police Air Support Unit made one flight over the East Yorkshire area, also shown in the table.
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the private finance projects in place in each police force in England and Wales; and what is (a) the cost and (b) the duration of each. [47317]
Hazel Blears: The following list shows all grant supported police private finance initiative (PFI) projects which are operational or under construction. Information is not held on any PFI projects developed without grant support.
Note:
PFI credits are the assumed capital component of the project, on which annual revenue support grant is paid.
6 Feb 2006 : Column 953W
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police authorities did not respond to the consultation on restructuring before 23 December 2005 deadline; [44280]
(2) how many police authorities submitted (a) business plans and (b) implementation plans for restructuring forces on or before 23 December 2005 deadline. [44281]
Hazel Blears: 42 of 43 police forces and authorities responded to the consultation deadline of 23 December 2005 with the exception of the Metropolitan Police for whom a later deadline was agreed to take account of the separate reviews of British Transport Police by Department of Transport and of fraud by the Attorney General. The responses received did not necessarily constitute full business cases. Rather, they set out the force and authority's response to the recommendations in HMIC's report, Closing the Gap".
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Government will fund the initial start-up costs of merging Bedfordshire Police with other forces. [46786]
Hazel Blears: We are currently working to determine the viability of the options for reorganisation. This includes detailed analysis of the financial implications for set up costs and for future costs and benefits.
We are also working with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Welsh Assembly Government, HM Treasury and police representative bodies in examining the financial aspects of reorganisation, including the impact of restructuring on budgets, grant and council tax. I announced details of the provisional police funding settlement for 2006–07 and 2007–08 on 5 December and capital grant allocations on 13 January. I have set aside £50 million capital grant for 2006–07 and £75 million for 2007–08 to address prospective force amalgamations.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the number of officers Bedfordshire police will have if the reorganisation costs of a merger are not borne by central Government and police precepts are capped at 5 per cent. [46787]
Hazel Blears:
No decisions have been made about the future structure of policing in Bedfordshire.
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We are currently working to determine the viability of the options. This includes detailed analysis of the financial implications both for set up costs and future benefits. Budget management for any reorganised police area will be a matter for the new police authority and the chief officer, who will be responsible for prioritising local needs.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the costs of new (a) names and (b) insignia for police forces following amalgamation; and if he will make a statement. [47211]
Hazel Blears: No decisions have been made about the future structure of police forces in England and Wales.
We are currently working to determine the viability of the options. This includes detailed analysis of the financial implications both for set up costs and future benefits. It would be premature to comment further until this analysis has been completed.
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the basis is of the estimate of potential savings in paragraph 6.30 of the report of Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, Closing the Gap; and if he will publish the relevant calculations. [47310]
Hazel Blears: The relevant calculations can be found in Appendix I (Summary of potential costs and savings associated with Merging Police Forces; pg 108) of the Closing the Gap Report.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what funding his Department has paid to the Metropolitan police for the operations of (a) S012 and (b) S013 in each year since 1997; [44707]
(2) what the budget for Special Branch was in each police force in each year since 1997; [44710]
(3) what funding was provided by his Department for the Special Branch National Training Unit in each year since 1997; and what his Department's projected funding is for (a) 2006–07 and (b) 2007–08; [44712]
(4) what funding the Metropolitan Police Special Branch Surveillance Unit received in each year since 1997. [44714]
6 Feb 2006 : Column 955W
Hazel Blears: This information is not held centrally. There is no Special Branch National Training Unit. Training for Special Branch Officers is co-ordinated through the Metropolitan Police Service but with contributions from other police forces.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations in (a) Westmorland and Lonsdale and (b) Cumbria have been closed in each of the last five years. [45814]
Hazel Blears: No police stations have been closed in Westmorland and Lonsdale in the last five years. The change in the number of police stations in Cumbria in each of the last five years is set out in the following table.
| Cumbria police stations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Opened | Closed | Total | |
| March 2000 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| March 2001 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| March 2002 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| March 2003 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| March 2004 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| March 2005 | 3 | 1 | 26 |
| Total | 5 | 3 | +2 |
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