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| Note: Expenditure excludes paper, computer consumables and office supplies |
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total value is of (a) catering and (b) entertainment contracts let by his Department; and what value of such contracts has been let in each nation and region of the UK, including London. [37481]
John Reid: Catering services for staff in the Department's official staff restaurants are provided by the Department's facilities management contractors. The costs of meals and refreshments provided to staff are recovered through sales.
The total costs of catering, other than catering services for staff, and entertainment (including refreshments at meetings, working lunches and hospitality) for the Home Office in 2004-05 was £1,484,967. Working lunches and refreshments are offered as a normal courtesy to visitors or made available to facilitate the efficient management of meetings.
Expenditure figures for each nation and region of the UK are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Diabetic Drivers
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide high-energy glucose tablets to police officers to enable them to assist diabetic drivers; when he will make such provision; what estimate he has made of the cost; and if he will make a statement. [71553]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 18 May 2006]: Provision of such items is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police. The responsibility for managing their diabetes and driving safely rests firmly with individual drivers. On issuing licences to insulin-treated drivers, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency advises them by letter that they should make sure they have an emergency supply of carbohydrate-like glucose tablets in their car.
Domestic Violence
Ms Diana R. Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government have to improve the services offered to women seeking refuge from domestic violence in Kingston upon Hull, North. [69777]
Mr. Byrne: The provision for women seeking refuge for Kingston upon Hull North is the provision for Hull.
Hull had one of the first Women's Aid refuges (1972) and a purpose built hostel was opened in 1976 which is owned by North British Housing. The rent is paid by Hull city council via Supporting People monies which also provide the workers within the refuge.
There are currently 18 bed spaces within a dedicated refuge facility and protected houses scheme. In addition to this there is the ‘own home initiative’ where the victim and family have a choice to remain in their family home with extra security measures put in place. The manager from Women’s Aid is currently on a secondment to manage the new Hull Domestic Abuse Partnership (DAP) which is working to improve the services to victims of domestic violence.
Hull DAP is a multi-agency team including police officers, a health practitioner, a social worker and a housing support worker. The team works within the same office to provide a one stop service for women in the city seeking refuge from domestic violence.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of reported cases of domestic violence in (a) England, (b) each English region and (c) the Tees Valley involved (i) women in a same-sex relationship, (ii) men in a same-sex relationship and (iii) children in each year since 1997. [71082]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office does not collect this information.
Drug or Alcohol Rehabilitation Courses
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders took part in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation course in 2005-06 as an alternative to a custodial sentence. [69361]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The National Probation Service has available two substance misuse offending behaviour programmes: Addressing Substance Related Offending (ASRO) and the Offender Substance Abuse Programme (OSAP) and the Drink Impaired Drivers (DID) programme. The number of offenders who started on the ASRO, OSAP or DID programmes last year as a requirement of a community sentence or as a condition of a licence upon release from custody is shown in the following table.
It is not possible to say how many of these offenders on community sentences were considered by the courts for a custodial sentence.
| Programme type | Number of commencements( 1) |
| (1 )January to December 2005. |
Electoral Fraud
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted of electoral fraud in each of the last 10 years. [70062]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of people convicted for electoral fraud offences under the Representation of the People Act 1983, in England and Wales, 1995-2004 are shown in the table.
Data for 2005 will be available in the autumn.
| Number of defendants convicted of electoral fraud under the Representation of the People Act 1983,1995 - 2004, England and Wales | |||
| Defendants | |||
| Bribery, treating and undue influence | Personation | Total | |
| Note: Figures are for principal offences. Source: Court Proceedings Database, Office for Criminal Justice Reform |
Electronic Monitoring
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the (a) electronic tagging and (b) satellite tracking of offenders. [58274]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Since 1999, over 250,000 people have been subject to electronic tagging, in the vast majority of cases without incident. It is an effective means of monitoring compliance with curfew requirements, and is an integral part of our strategy for managing offenders in the community.
Pilots of satellite tracking have been operating in Greater Manchester, Hampshire and the West Midlands since September 2004, and are currently being evaluated by an external research team. Over 400 offenders, mostly prolific offenders, have been tracked in the pilots so far.
Firearms
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what types of firearms are permitted for use by those who work in the agricultural industry; and if he will make a statement. [71740]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 15 May 2006]: There are no specified types of firearm for use by people in the agricultural industry. In applying to the police for a
firearms certificate, they will need to establish a good reason for possessing each individual firearm they wish to possess. In the case of somebody wishing to possess a shot gun, the police will not grant a certificate if they are satisfied that the applicant does not have a good reason for having one or would represent a danger to public safety or to the peace.
Fireworks
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalty notices have been issued to (a) males and (b) females in relation to
the illegal use of fireworks in (i) Southend and (ii) Essex since the relevant legislation was introduced. [62873]
Mr. Byrne: Data from the Penalty Notices for Disorder database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of males and females issued with penalty notices for fireworks in Essex police force area 2004, as well as provisional data for 2005, are provided in the following table.
It is not possible to identify the number of penalty notices issued in Southend as the data are broken down by police force area only and are not available at that level of detail.
| Number of penalty notices for disorder issued for fireworks offences, by sex, Essex police force area, 2004 and 2005( 1) | ||||
| Throwing fireworks | Breach of fireworks curfew | Possession of a Category 4 firework | Possession by an under-18-year-old of adult firework | |
| (1 )Provisional data. Source: RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform. |
Foreign Prisoners
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whose responsibility it is to ensure that the Prison Service communicates with the Immigration and Nationality Directorate about foreign nationals leaving prison. [67456]
Mr. Sutcliffe: It is the responsibility of governors and directors, as set out in Prisoner Service Order 4630, to ensure that procedures are in place within their establishment to inform the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of all the foreign national prisoners held within their prison. I have placed a copy of the Order in the House of Commons Library.
Gurkhas
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis the UK has refused to grant indefinite leave to enter the UK to Gurkha personnel who had completed over four years of Crown service prior to 1 July 1997. [72136]
Mr. McNulty: 1 July 1997 represents the date that the Brigade of Gurkhas moved their headquarters from Hong Kong to the UK. Indefinite leave (settlement) is normally granted on the basis of residence in the UK. Therefore, in order to remain consistent with other settlement categories in the Immigration Rules, it was considered appropriate to enable all those discharged on or after 1 July 1997 to be able to apply for settlement in the UK.
However, in respect of applications from former Gurkhas discharged before 1 July 1997, and who would have developed close physical ties with the UK through being posted here, visa issuing posts abroad, in appropriate cases, can exercise discretion outside the Immigration Rules to grant indefinite leave to enter the UK.
Hand Guns
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to publish a list of those categories of people that have lawful access to hand guns. [72760]
Mr. Byrne: The possession of all types of firearms is governed by the provisions of the Firearms Acts. Comprehensive guidance has already been published and is available on the Home Office website under Firearms Law.
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