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Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the regulations on making gating orders under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 will come into force; and if he will make a statement. [57828]

 
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Hazel Blears: The new powers will come into force on 1 April 2006. Upon commencement the Regulations will be accompanied by guidance which will enable them to be used immediately by practitioners.

This new provision gives local authorities a much wider power for suspending highways so that a council can effectively deal with crime and antisocial behaviour in these instances.

Computer Games

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many computer games have been banned from import in each year since 1997; and what the reason was in each case; [57066]

(2) what steps he is taking to stop the import of child pornography in computer games and animation. [57083]

James Purnell: I have been asked to reply.

None. Every computer game to be made available in the UK which features gross violence and/or material of a sexual nature must be submitted to the British Board of Film Classification. All videos and cinema films, including animation, are submitted. The BBFC bases its decisions on a set of guidelines which take into account the law, including the Protection of Children Act 1978. The BBFC would not countenance giving a classification to any game or animation which contained child pornography.

Supplying a video or such a game without classification is a breach of the Video Recordings Act 1984, and punishable by up to two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. Supplying a video or a BBFC classified game to someone who does not meet the age requirement is also an offence and punishable by up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

Importing any pornographic material involving children is, of course, illegal, and subject to action by either the Police and/or HM Revenue and Customs.

Criminal Justice Act

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the likely effect on custody plus orders in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 on sentences (a) given by the courts and (b) served by prisoners. [57113]

Fiona Mactaggart: Sentences of custody plus will comprise a short custodial term (2–13 weeks) followed by a minimum of six months on licence. The custodial period will be served in full (less remand time allowed and home detention curfew). Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for the courts. For planning purposes, the impact of custody plus has been assessed under the broad assumption that the majority of those currently getting a custodial sentence of less than 12 months and half of those currently getting a custodial sentence of exactly 12 months will get this sentence. (For those currently getting very short custodial sentences (less than a month) it has been assumed that about half will get a community order or a suspended sentence order.) The distribution of the custodial element of the custody plus sentence has been assumed to follow a similar distribution to that of the sentences it replaces but within the two-13 week band.
 
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These estimates have been made for internal planning purposes and do not constrain the discretion of sentencers in any way.

Driving Offences (Mobile Phones)

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices have been issued for offences involving using hand-held mobile telephones when driving a motor vehicle in the (a) South Wales, (b) Gwent, (c) North Wales and (d) Dyfed Powys police force areas. [57569]

Paul Goggins: The new offence of driving while using a hand held mobile telephone was introduced from 1 December 2003. Available information for 2003 (latest available) shows no fixed penalty notices were issued for the offence by South Wales, Gwent, North Wales and Dyfed Powys police force areas.

2004 data will be available end of March 2006.

Use of a hands free mobile phone is not part of the new offence.

Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2006, Official Report, column 813W, on the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund, whether faith organisations can apply to the three funds to which the answer refers. [58693]

Paul Goggins: Any Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisation, including faith based ones, who can satisfy the appropriate criteria, are eligible to apply for funding from the Home Office Change-Up, Future Builders and Russell Commission programmes. Applications for funding to support proselytising activity are however ineligible.

Gun Crime

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to the answer to Question 54474 of 7 March 2006, on gun crime, how many gun crimes were recorded in each London borough in each year since the launch of Operation Trident; and what the percentage change was in each year; [57352]

(2) pursuant to Question 54474, how many gun related incidents there were in each London borough in each year since 1999. [57543]

Hazel Blears: The Home Office does not collect this information centrally. The figures provided as examples, quoted in the reply to Question 54474 on 2 March 2006, Official Report, column 957W, were Metropolitan police figures. Further details are available on the website of the Metropolitan police at www.met.police.uk/crimefigures/.

HMP Norwich

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he has taken to improve the performance of HMP Norwich since the last report by HM inspector of prisons; and if he will make a statement. [58218]

 
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Fiona Mactaggart: An action plan has been produced in response to each of the recommendations made by the chief inspector in her report published in August 2005. Significant improvements have been made. Examples are a substantial re-ordering of the accommodation in the prison, a safer environment for vulnerable prisoners, the opening of a first-night centre, and refurbishment of health care accommodation. There has also been significant work on training for the prevention of self-inflicted deaths and self-harm.

Illegal Immigrants

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants are in prison. [57126]

Fiona Mactaggart: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Peak District National Park

Ms Angela C. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that the police give greater priority to tackling crimes against wildlife in the Peak District national park. [57159]

Hazel Blears: The deployment of police officers in each force area is an operational matter for the chief officer concerned, based on operational priorities. All police forces have a policy for dealing with wildlife crime. The enforcement capability of officers on the ground is supported by the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime; a multi-agency body comprising representatives of all the organisations involved in wildlife law enforcement in the UK.

Peterborough City Council

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of additional police (a) officers, (b) support staff and (c) stations that will be required as a result of the planned expansion of housing in the Peterborough city council area. [58150]

Hazel Blears: The Government are strongly committed to the principle that infrastructure should be sufficient to support growth in housing. The police funding formula takes account of the relative needs of policing across England and Wales. It is for the chief constable of Cambridgeshire, in consultation with the police authority, to determine how many officers and staff are deployed in an area and whether there is a need for additional police facilities in that area.

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