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15 May 2006 : Column 724W—continued

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that the funding arrangements proposed for setting up the all-Wales police force meet the requirements of the local government finance acts. [67829]

Mr. Byrne: Any order made under section 32 of the Police Act 1996 amalgamating the four Welsh police forces would apply relevant local government finance acts to the combined police authority at the point at which it was established.

Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the size was of the Metropolitan police force before the British Transport police were brought into it. [68131]

Mr. Byrne: There has been no transfer of functions or staff from the British Transport police (BTP) to the Metropolitan Police Service.

Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers of the British Transport police are stationed within the area of North Wales police. [69432]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers of the British Transport police are regularly deployed on the Merseyrail rail network. [69434]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the North Wales police helicopter was launched for operational reasons in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [69369]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Prison Governor-Grade Promotion

Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State forthe Home Department how many (a) temporary and (b) permanent governor-grade promotions within the Prison Service are being funded by the (i) central budget and (ii) local establishment budget; on what basis the decision was taken in each case as to where the funding should come from; and if he will make a statement. [69415]


15 May 2006 : Column 725W

Mr. Sutcliffe: All governor grade promotions are paid for by Prison Service areas, heads of groups (outside of establishments) or by establishment budgets. There are no central budget arrangements for promotions of governor grades whether on a temporary or substantive basis.

Public Disorder

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Lancashire were given on the spot fines for being drunk and disorderly under age in the last 12 months. [66485]

Mr. Byrne: Provisional data from the Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that, in the Lancashire police force area in 2005, 410 penalty notices for disorder were issued to persons aged 16 and 17 for the offence of "being drunk and disorderly". This is the most recent 12-month period for which complete data are available. An additional 84 notices were issued to juveniles aged 14 and 15 as a part of the Juvenile PND pilot in Lancashire during the same period.

Public Service Agreements

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department is making towards the Spending Review 2004 Public Service Agreement Target 2, on crime and anti-social behaviour and the criminal justice system; and if he will make a statement. [67856]

Mr. Byrne: The spending review 2004 set the following Public Service Agreement Target (PSA) for the Home Department:

The former Home Secretary (Charles Clarke) published progress made against these targets in the Autumn Performance Report of December 2005 (CM6707), and the latest assessment of progress, in the Departmental Report for 2005-06 which will be published in May.

Sex Offenders

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are listed on the Register of Sex Offenders; and for how many such people a current residential address is not known to the police. [67661]

Mr. Coaker: As at 31 March 2005 (the latest point for which figures are available) there were 28,994 registered sex offenders in the community across England and Wales. One of the requirements of registration is that offenders notify to the police a home address and any other address where more than seven days a year are
15 May 2006 : Column 726W
spent, as well as any changes to this information. Moreover, if an offender claims to be homeless or otherwise of 'no fixed abode' then they must provide the address or location of a place in the UK where they can be regularly found. Failure to supply that information, or supplying false information, is an offence punishable by up to five year’s imprisonment.

Sex Tourism

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by his Department to prevent sex tourism by British citizens, with particular reference to that involving children. [68227]

Mr. Coaker: We have reduced the period of time that registered sex offenders are allowed to spend overseas without notifying the police. Now, all registered sex offenders are required to notify the police of any foreign travel of three days duration or more. The police will use that information to decide whether it is necessary to take any action to prevent travel. That action can include applying for foreign travel orders, which we introduced in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The orders can be sought where the police consider that the offender poses a risk of serious sexual harm to children under 16 in an overseas country.

Since 1997, we have been able to prosecute in the British courts those who have offended against children overseas. In brief, if an act is an offence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and constitutes an offence in the country where it was committed, then the offender can be convicted and punished for their crimes in this country on their return.

We are currently reviewing our policy and legislation relating to travelling sex offenders and will be examining whether the law needs to be strengthened further to better protect children overseas.

Speeding Offences

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether defendants charged with speeding offences face potentially higher fines if they choose to appear in court; and if he will make a statement. [68667]

Mr. Byrne: The maximum fine for a person convicted of speeding is set at level three, currently £1,000. The court will decide the exact amount, taking into account the offender's means and ability to pay. If the offender is offered and accepts a fixed penalty, this is set at £60.

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence defendants are entitled to receive in relation to penalties or prosecution for speeding offences; if he will take steps to include information which would enable the defendant to make a time over distance calculation of their speed; and if he will make a statement. [68673]


15 May 2006 : Column 727W

Mr. Byrne: Suspected offenders will be told that they or a vehicle of which they are the registered keeper have been detected committing a speeding offence. The provision of further information is a matter for individual chief officers of police. Some send a photograph of the vehicle with the notice of intended prosecution. Guidance from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is that the registered keeper or person named by the keeper as driver at the time of the alleged offence should be allowed to view photographic evidence on request. If a case went to court, the prosecution would have to furnish the evidence to support the proceedings and relevant material would be disclosed under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996.


15 May 2006 : Column 728W

Suicides/Infanticide

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) males and (b) females (i) were found guilty of and (ii) pleaded guilty to complicity in or assisting (A) a suicide and (B) infanticide in (1) Southend on Sea, (2) Essex, (3) the Metropolitan police area of London, (4) Hertfordshire and (5) England and Wales in each year since 1983. [64753]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested is provided in the following table.


15 May 2006 : Column 729W

15 May 2006 : Column 730W
Number of defendants convicted at the Crown court for 'Infanticide' and 'aiding suicide' in selected police force areas and England and Wales, 1983 to 2004( 1)
Metropolitan police Hertfordshire Essex Southend on Sea( 2) England and Wales
Guilty plea Conviction Guilty plea Conviction Guilty plea Conviction Guilty plea Conviction Guilty plea Conviction

Infanticide

1983

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

9

1984

1

1

—

1

—

—

—

—

1

7

1985

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

1986

—

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

9

1987

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

2

1988

—

—

—

—

1

1

—

—

4

4

1989

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

3

1990

—

2

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

1991

—

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

7

1992

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

5

1993

—

2

—

—

—

1

—

1

—

5

1994

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

1995

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

2

1996

2

2

—

—

—

—

—

—

4

4

1997

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

3

1998

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

2

1999

2

3

—

—

—

—

—

—

7

8

2000

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

2

2001

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

5

5

2002

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

2

2003

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

2004

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Aiding suicide

1983

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

3

1984

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

1985

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1986

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1987

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

1

1988

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

2

1989

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

5

5

1990

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

8

1991

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

1992

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

1993

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

1994

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

1995

—

—

1

1

—

—

—

—

1

2

1996

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

2

1997

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

4

4

1998

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

3

1999

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

1

2000

1

1

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

2

2001

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

2

2002

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

3

4

2003

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

2

2004

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

2

3

(1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis. (2) Shows the number of convictions which originated from South East Essex petty sessional area.

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