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19 Jun 2006 : Column 1666W—continued
| Immigration Removal Centre | Number of individuals on formal self-harm at risk | Number of incidents of self-harm requiring medical treatment |
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers who have been detained and subsequently granted temporary release have absconded in each of the past five years. [75788]
Mr. Byrne: This information could be published only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate has been made of the number of asylum seekers who have been (a) refused asylum and (b) removed from the United Kingdom in each year since 1999; and if he will make a statement [75919]
Mr. Byrne: Information on the refusal and removal of asylum seekers is published quarterly and annually. Copies are available from the Library of the House and on the Home Office research development and statistics directorate website at http://homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants were found at each of the main ports of entry to the United Kingdom in each year since 1998; and how many were found in total in each year. [76268]
Mr. Byrne: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much compensation was paid out to asylum seekers by the Government in each of the past five years. [74169]
Mr. Byrne: Compensation paid by the immigration and nationality directorate to asylum seekers is not separately identifiable from the total of compensation paid to all members of the public.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition
Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evaluation he has made of the effectiveness of automatic number plate recognition technology on the detection and prevention of crime. [76930]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office has made £32.5 million capital funding available to the Police Service over a two-year period (2005-07) for the development of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). This investment addresses the fight against serious and organised crime, terrorism, volume crime and road traffic offending.
The Home Office has commissioned an independent evaluation of the national roll out of ANPR that is due for publication shortly. The report covers a period when ANPR is being mainstreamed in all police forces within England and Wales. The evaluation is expected to show that benefits have accrued as forces gain experience of operating ANPR in conjunction with the National Intelligence Model to target the detection and prevention of crime. Evidence from the previous ‘Project Laser’ pilot evaluations concluded that officers involved in ANPR achieve more arrests and contribute more offences brought to justice than those involved in general policing.
The ANPR Evaluation Report is due for publication in July 2006 and will be circulated to ANPR stakeholders and a copy will be placed on the Home Office website. (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk)
Biological Diversity
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Minister in his Department is responsible for monitoring his Department's compliance with its duty under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in carrying out its functions; and if he will make a statement. [73942]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office has taken a number of steps to benefit biodiversity. A national Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) has been introduced across the public sector operated prisons estate, primarily an overarching document covering its designated sites, which encompass seven SSSIs, one NNR and RAMSAR site and a site within a National Park (HMP Dartmoor). There are now six individual designated sites which have their own BAPs, a further 11 locally biodiversity significant sites also have BAPs and a pilot scheme for eight inner-city/urban BAPs is being implemented. Further plans are now being incorporated that will see biodiversity management plans rolled out across the remaining public sector prison estate.
As well as a BAP network the public sector Prison Service has in place a Statement of Commitment for biodiversity and a Statement of Action for biodiversity which were signed by the director general Phil Weatley in March 2003. Also supporting this the Prison Service has set up a strategic biodiversity group which involves a "central partnership" incorporating representatives from English Nature, the Wildlife Trusts, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.
In support of this work the Prison Service has carried out biological surveys at 21 biodiversity significant sites to identify local flora and fauna for action. The service has now put in place over 43 habitat and species action plans involving over 20 separate lead partners.
In recognition of the work that has been carried out on the prison estate operated by the public sector, in 2005 the Prison Service won the Liveable City award for biodiversity. The Sustainable Development Commission has commended these examples of biodiversity good practice.
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department plans to take to monitor the extent to which public bodies which report to him comply, from October, with their duty to conserve biodiversity in exercising their functions, under section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. [74400]
Mr. Byrne: DEFRA is working with a wide range of partners to develop guidance for public bodies to support the implementation of this duty and will involve all relevant Departments on the development of guidance.
British Citizens (Overseas Convictions)
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British citizens convicted of imprisonable offences abroad were deported back to the UK in (a) 2003, (b) 2004 and (c) 2005. [76869]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 12 June 2006]: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate does not hold any records on the number of people convicted of imprisonable offences abroad who have been deported back to the UK. Anyone encountered by the Immigration Service being deported back to the UK is referred to the police.
Community Support Officers
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers have been recruited in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) Stroud in each year since the scheme was introduced. [77822]
Mr. McNulty: The following table gives details of the number of police community support officers (PCSOs) recruited by the Gloucestershire Constabulary in 2003-04 and 2004-05. Information for 2005-06 is currently being collected and validated. Recruitment information is available only at force level. The table also shows the number of PCSOs employed by the force and for the Cotswold and Stroud Division, of which Stroud is part.
| Police community support officers in Gloucestershire and Cotswold and Stroud Division( 1) | |||
| Number of PCSOs | |||
| As at 31 March | Number of PCSOs recruited | Gloucestershire | Cotswold and Stroud Division |
| (1) Police community support officers were introduced in 2002-03 by the Police Reform Act 2002. (2 )Not available. (3) Data on PCSOs in basic command units is collected annually and was collected for the first time in 2005 and is the position on 30 June. (4) Not currently available. | |||
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers there are in Lancashire. [76012]
Mr. McNulty:
As at 30 September 2005, there are 159 community support officers in Lancashire. The latest published figures may be found in the Home Office
Statistical Bulletin, Police Service Strength 30 September 2005. This is available on http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb0106.pdf.
Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to his predecessor dated 10 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, about Mr. Hamed Siddiqi. [75880]
Mr. Byrne: The immigration and nationality directorate wrote to my right hon. Friend on 24 February 2006.
Departmental Budget
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much of the budget for his Department remained unspent in the 2005-06 financial year. [72875]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office is still finalising its 2005-06 outturn against budget. The provisional position will be reported in the ‘Provisional Outturn White Paper’ which will be published prior to the summer recess in July.
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