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Builders' Tools

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is given by (a) his Department and (b) the police to builders to secure their materials, tools and properties they are working on to avoid crime; and if he will make a statement. [66774]

Hazel Blears: Although the Home Office does not offer specific crime prevention advice to builders, it has, in partnership with the business community and police, produced crime prevention advice tailored for all businesses. Guidance such as Your business: Keep crime out of it" and Putting Crime Out Of Business" give practical information to help businesses identify security risks and take measures to reduce crime. They are available on the crime reduction website (http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/businesscrimeminisite01.htm) and include advice on the safe storage of building materials and security of buildings.

General crime prevention advice is also available from the police on individual force websites and more detailed crime prevention advice can be obtained by visiting local police stations.

Charities

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those who responded to the consultation on financial thresholds for charities to register with the Charity Commission; and how many of those supported (a) a £10,000 and (b) a £5,000 threshold. [66760]

Paul Goggins: The review Private Action, Public Benefit" (Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, 2002) proposed a group of measures to change the registration rules for small charities. An analysis of the response to public consultation on that group of measures can be found in Charities and Not-for-Profits: A Modern Legal Framework" (Home Office, 2003).

The Government undertook—House of Lords], 28 June 2005, Official Report, column 231—to review, with full public consultation, all the financial thresholds for charities a year after Royal Assent of the Charities Bill which is now before Parliament.

Changes to the levels of financial thresholds can be made by statutory instrument.

Child Trafficking

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2006, Official Report, column 1160W, on child trafficking, where the figures relating to the numbers of children smuggled into the UK are held. [65986]

Mr. McNulty: The specific information requested is not kept centrally and no reliable statistical information on the potential numbers of children being smuggled to the United Kingdom is available.

Citizen's Arrests

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizen's arrests were made in England and Wales in the last two years for
 
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which figures are available; and in which areas the (a) highest and (b) lowest number of such arrests were recorded. [65106]

Hazel Blears: The information requested is not available centrally.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review current reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to the detention of under 18-year-olds. [64937]

Mr. McNulty: The United Kingdom has two reservations to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, relating to: (i) immigration and nationality, and (ii) children mixing with adults in custodial institutions.

Regarding children mixing with adults: we have made great progress in achieving separation of under and over-18s in custody, for example by placing girls under 17 in non-Prison Service accommodation and by providing new, special units for 17-year-old girls., We will therefore be considering whether there is a continuing need for the Reservation against Article 37(c) of the Convention; and this review is due to begin shortly.

Correspondence

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Parliamentary Business Unit of the Immigration and Nationality Department will respond to the letters of (a) 20 January 2006 and (b) 28 February 2006 from the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West with regard to his constituent Ms Osibanja Reagan, Home Office reference number O182493. [64413]

Mr. McNulty: The Immigration and nationality directorate replied to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West on 25 April 2006.

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the immigration and nationality directorate will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Warley of 18 January 2006 on behalf of Miss Bloomfield of Oldbury. [66063]

Mr. McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the right hon. Member on 25 April 2006.

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the immigration and nationality directorate will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Warley of 17 January on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. McLeish of Oldbury. [66065]

Mr. McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the right hon. Member for Warley on 26 April 2006.

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to the immigration and nationality directorate of 6 February 2006 from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, on behalf of Sumithra Wickramage (Home Office Reference W227390/3, Acknowledgement Reference B3928/6). [66152]

 
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Mr. McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on 26 April 2006.

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, of 30 January 2006 about Markland Gray (Home Office Reference G1052868, Acknowledgement Reference B2826/6). [66153]

Mr. McNulty: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood on 26 April 2006.

Departmental Publications

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which division in his Department was responsible for the commission, design and production of the process flow-charts distributed to hon. Members about the nationality application process, the family indefinite leave to remain exercise, and the work permits UK application process; what the total cost was of the design and production of the flow-charts; to which budget the design and production of the flow-charts were allocated; what total number of man-hours was spent on the design and production of the flow-charts; how many copies of the flow-charts have been produced; and to whom they have been distributed. [65075]

Mr. McNulty: The process flow-charts were commissioned by the Change and Reform Directorate of the immigration and nationality directorate. They were drafted and designed by IND staff; 700 copies of each of the three maps were printed by an outside supplier at a total cost of £702 . This cost was met by the Change and Reform Directorate budget. In total, approximately 16 man-hours were spent on the design and development of the three maps. A copy of each map was distributed to every member of the House on the 6 April 2006.

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has considered producing flow-charts that describe the decision process for the (a) nationality application process, (b) family indefinite leave to remain exercise and (c) work permits UK application process. [65076]

Mr. McNulty: The production of these flow-charts has been considered. The three flow charts that describe the nationality application process, the 'Family Indefinite Leave to Remain Exercise and the Work Permits UK' application process have been produced and a copy of each has been distributed to every Member of the House.

DNA Database

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2006, to Question 49933, how many people who were under the age of 18 years at the time they were arrested and had a DNA sample taken up to and including 1 December 2005 were subsequently not charged or cautioned for any offence. [49028]

 
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Hazel Blears: On one December 2005, there were 24,168 persons on the National DNA Database who were under 18 years of age at the time they were arrested and had a DNA sample taken and who were still under 18 on one December 2005 who were subsequently not charged or cautioned for any offence.

There were around 27,000 persons on the National DNA Database who were under 18 years of age at the time they were arrested and had a DNA sample taken but who had attained the age of 18 by one December 2005 who were subsequently not charged or cautioned for any offence.

These figures were obtained from data extracted from the Police National Computer (PNC) since they are not available from the National DNA Database.

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make estimates of the number of (a) juveniles, (b) women and (c) members of ethnic minorities who will be registered on the national DNA database by 1 January 2010; and if he will make a statement. [66383]

Andy Burnham: We currently have no plans to estimate the future composition of the National DNA Database by age, gender or ethnicity. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware from my answer to his earlier question (41099) that forecasts are made of the overall growth rate and total number of people on the Database. Information is currently being collected from police forces on the use made of DNA for crime detection during the financial year April 2005 to March 2006. When the new data are available, the forecast will be reviewed. It is expected this will be in July 2006.

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