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12 Jun 2006 : Column 1035W—continued
Life Sentences
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people sentenced to life imprisonment since 2000 have been released from prison; and what the reasons were each prisoner was released. [74170]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information recorded on the prison IT system as at May 2006 shows that 53 life sentence prisoners who were sentenced from 2000 onwards have been released on licence. In one of these cases the prisoner was later recalled to custody and subsequently released for a second time.
The main criteria governing the release of the 53 lifers were that they had served the period of imprisonment necessary for the purposes of retribution and deterrence (the tariff) and that their risk to the public was acceptable. Since October 1992, the responsibility for the release of tariff expired life sentence prisoners has gradually transferred from the Home Secretary to the Parole Board.
In considering the possible release of any tariff expired life sentence prisoner, the Parole Board is required by statute to satisfy itself that
“it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined”.
Lobbying
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which foreign Governments and international organisations have made representations to his Department on potential changes to UK domestic law in each of the last five years; and what law was involved in each case. [74457]
Joan Ryan: Ministers and officials regularly discuss with foreign counterparts and international organisations, both bilaterally and in fora such as the EU, G8 and UN, a range of issues including proposals for legislation which would have implications for domestic law and policy. A list of all these meetings and their subject could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mobile Phones
Mark Tami:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were (a) charged with and (b) convicted of offences relating to
the theft of mobile phones in each of the last five years. [75561]
Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not possible to distinguish offences relating to the theft of mobile phones from other offences of theft in the court proceedings data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of mobile phones stolen from individuals by (a) street theft and (b) theft from premises in each of the last five years. [75562]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Parole Board
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the Parole Board have been a victim of crime; and if he will make a statement. [75410]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We do not routinely collect or disclose information about whether existing members of the Parole Board have been victims of crime. However, in the current round of recruitment of new members, we invited expressions of interest for appointment as independent members from those who had experience as a victim of crime or of victims’ issues.
Partners Against Crime Partnership
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2006, Official Report, column 2017W, on crime, what plans he has to extend the Partners Against Crime Partnership; and if he will make a statement. [74462]
Mr. McNulty: An evaluation of this initiative, which was set up in partnership by Dyfed-Powys police and the Post Office Ltd., is now complete. The scheme has been a resounding success in Dyfed-Powys police force, providing enhanced access to policing services in remote rural communities.
I understand that local expansion is already under way with further premises in north Pembrokeshire added to the scheme in April this year. Locally, there are discussions with Post Office Ltd. to expand the scheme wider, subject to funding and police force restructuring plans in Wales. I would add that any decision to extend the Partners Against Crime Partnership is for the local police and partners.
Party Conference Security
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the costs to public funds were of policing and general security for the (a) Labour, (b) Conservative and (c) Liberal Democrat party conferences in each year since 1992. [76087]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 8 June 2006]: The table shows the cost to public funds, in the form of special grant paid to police authorities, for policing party conferences in England and Wales. For security reasons, we do not disclose the other costs incurred.
| Year of party conference | Force | Amount of Government special grant (£ million) |
| (1 )No funding is provided for Liberal Democrat party conferences. | ||
Police
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many resignations and retirements of police officers from the Lancashire police force there have been in each year since 1997. [64122]
Mr. McNulty: Figures for the number of voluntary resignations by police officers are provided in the table. The data do not include officers who are dismissed or required to resign.
Figures for the numbers of ordinary and medical retirements by police officers are also provided in the table as follows.
| Total number of police officer voluntary resignations in Lancashire (1997-2005) | |
| As at 31 March | Voluntary resignations |
| Total number of police officer retirements in Lancashire (1997-2005) | |||
| Retirement | |||
| As at 31 March | Ordinary | Medical | Total |
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the total police staff hours, including uniformed staff and support staff, that will be spent on duties related to police reorganisation in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007. [68615]
Mr. McNulty: This information is not held centrally.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers from each police force have been caught drink driving in each of the last five years; and how many have been (a) prosecuted, (b) disciplined and (c) dismissed. [77429]
Mr. McNulty: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the costs of merging Lancashire and Cumbria constabularies; what estimate has been made of the likely savings; and if he will make a statement. [50142]
Mr. McNulty: It is estimated that set up costs totalling £22 million will be incurred during the year prior to merger and the first three years of operation. During the first five years of operation of the new force a net saving of £10 million is projected. The precise level of projected costs and savings is a matter for negotiations currently taking place.
The Government are committed to paying 100 per cent. of reasonable set-up revenue and capital costs of restructuring, net of reasonable savings.
Police Direct
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of Police Direct; and if he will make a statement. [75689]
Mr. McNulty: Police Direct is a public messaging service provided by Suffolk Constabulary to residents currently in the west Suffolk area. It is now being rolled out across all of Suffolk. It is also being trialled by Surrey police in the north-west Surrey area. Police Direct uses the Police Message Broadcasting facility which is part of the national Police Portal managed by the Police Information Technology Organisation. Day-to-day running of Police Direct is a matter for the Chief Constables of Suffolk and Surrey who are responsible for the operational management of their force.
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