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20 Jun 2006 : Column 1834W—continued
Extremist Exploitation
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking towards making young people less vulnerable to being influenced and exploited by extremists. [76813]
Mr. McNulty: Together with the Muslim communities, we are taking forward projects designed to reduce the risk of radicalisation of vulnerable young people. Examples of these projects are; The National Roadshow of Influential Populist Scholars, work with the UK Youth Parliament seeking new and effective tools for engagement and youth workshops to challenge the radicalisation of Muslim youth. The Prison Service have commissioned a three year project on how prison service policies on preparing prisoners for release meets the needs of Muslim prisoners. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office have a full programme of media intensive visits by British Muslim delegations to a number of countries in the Muslim world. And as a Government we are committed to prioritising policies that tackle the real and perceived socio-economic inequalities confronting Muslim communities today. As well as focusing on tackling the issue of young Muslims being influenced and exploited by extremists, the Home Office has funded a number of initiatives in Burnley, Oldham and Bradford which are involved in engaging young people at risk of joining far right extremist organisations. The Home Office also works closely with Rewind a project aimed at tackling issues of racism among young people. We are also supporting an initiative in Blackburn with Darwen which will bring together young girls across faith groups to discuss issues of racism and extremism.
Firearms
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many incidents a deactivated gun that has been reactivated was used in shootings and armed violence in England and Wales in the last five years; and which of these incidents resulted in murder. [77610]
Mr. McNulty: Data for recorded crime involving specific types of imitation firearms in England and Wales have been collected centrally only since April 2004.
In 2004-05, police recorded one violent offence that involved a deactivated firearm. The weapon was used as a threat and did not result in injury.
Iris Scans
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the results were of the airport-based Iris Recognition Immigration System pilots; what percentage of iris scans were successful; and if he will make a statement. [78121]
Joan Ryan:
The IRIS Project Board agreed on 5 May 2006 that the project should exit its pilot stage.
At that point the IRIS enrolment biometric acceptance rate was 99.53 per cent. compared to the contract pilot acceptance criterion of 98 per cent. I will make a written statement to the House on the overall results of the IRIS Project Report once it is complete.
Knives
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knives have been handed in during the amnesty in Houghton and Washington East constituency. [76334]
Mr. McNulty: Figures for the number of items handed in during the amnesty are being collected at force level. The number of items surrendered after the first week in Northumbria is 617. Final figures will be published after they have been collated following the end of the amnesty (30 June).
London Terrorist Attacks
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average compensation paid to those who lost (a) one and (b) two limbs as a result of the terrorist attacks on 7 July 2005 was; and whether further consideration is being given to increasing the sums involved. [68700]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 8 May 2006]: Compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is paid on the basis of a tariff (scale) of awards for injuries of comparable severity. The tariff awards for the loss of limbs are as under: loss of one leg below knee £33,000, loss of one leg above knee £44,000, loss of one hand or arm £44,000, loss of both hands or arms £110,000, loss of both legs £110,000. Victims who lose a limb are likely to be eligible for additional compensation for loss of earnings, loss of future earning capacity and the costs of special care. Such compensation will vary according to individual circumstances.
In most such cases final settlement of the claim will not be possible until the final prognosis for recovery is clear, and a final assessment can be made with regard to lost earning capacity and the costs of future care. However, a substantial interim award or awards will be made where a final determination cannot be made for some time. We announced on 8 June 2006, Official Report, column 38WS, that we were making an extra donation of £2.5 million to the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund to give assistance to bereaved and the injured victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The further support was being made on a special, one-off basis in recognition of the exceptional circumstances of the London bombings, rather than under the rules of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which would require a change to legislation.
Mentally Ill Prisoners
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who work with mental health patients have been murdered by patients in each of the last 10 years for which records are available. [76779]
Mr. McNulty: The requested data are not collected centrally for inclusion on the Homicide Index.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will answer Question 51888 tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South on 10 February 2006 on transport for prisoners. [65398]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I replied to the hon. Member on 18 May 2006, Official Report, column 1220W.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will provide a substantive response to question 63667, tabled by the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight on 30 March, on the Security Industry Authority. [70112]
Mr. Coaker: I refer the hon. member to the reply given 6 June 2006, Official Report, column 299W. I can confirm that in the 10 weeks following the offence date of 20 March 127 warnings have been issued and the SIA have conducted six operations as part of “Operation Forewarn”. The SIA has a regionally-based compliance team of 33.
People Trafficking
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of people trafficked into the UK for (a) sexual slavery and (b) forced labour in each year since 1997, broken down by country of origin. [74856]
Mr. Coaker: It is difficult to make an accurate assessment of the number of people trafficked into the UK for sexual or labour exploitation and particularly by reference to the year and country of origin. An indicator of the number of victims involved in this type of trafficking is the number of referrals to the Poppy project. Since the scheme's inception in 2003 a total of 184 women who met the criteria for the project have been referred to it (out of a total of 451 referrals between March 2003 and the end of March 2006). However, the scheme operates mainly in London and has tightly focused criteria, so the number of victims nationwide is likely to be higher. A breakdown of the country of origin for women who met the criteria for the Poppy project follows. Operation Pentameter, a police-led, multi-agency initiative aimed at tackling the trafficking of human beings for sexual exploitation has resulted in the rescue of 75 women since its launch on the 21 February. These cases are subject to on-going investigation and as such it would not be appropriate to disclose the country of origin of the potential trafficking victims. The Home Office has commissioned CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, to conduct an intelligence gathering exercise to scope the problem of child trafficking in the UK; initial findings are expected in the autumn.
There is currently little information on the scale of trafficking for labour exploitation and officials are considering ways in which our knowledge can be improved. Illegal working statistics may provide some
indication of the possible size of the illegal working market. Statistical returns are provided on a monthly basis by local enforcement offices, showing the breakdown by nationality of those encountered during illegal working operations. There is currently no facility available to record whether those encountered have been trafficked for the purpose of labour exploitation. However, following are statistics available for illegal working operations for each financial year since 2002 with the top five nationalities identified (figures are not available prior to 2002). 2002-03—A total of 301 operations were reported; a total of 1,099 offenders were encountered. Poland, Lithuania, Brazil, Ukraine and Pakistan were the top five nationalities identified in descending order. 2003-04—A total of 697 operations were reported in 2003-04; a total of 2,304 offenders were encountered. Brazil, Poland, Lithuania, Bangladesh and Ukraine were the top five nationalities identified in descending order. 2004-05—A total of 3,314 operations were reported in 2004-05; a total of 9,227 offenders were encountered. Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Brazil were the top five nationalities identified in descending order.
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to expand the Poppy scheme for victims of human sex trafficking. [74859]
Mr. Coaker: In April the Home Office entered into a two-year, £2.4 million funding agreement with Eaves Housing for Women for the expansion of the Poppy project. This funding will not only provide for the existing crisis provision service for up to 25 women, it will also meet the costs of 10 additional “step-down” places which will help the women to live semi-independently with less intensive support, and the development of a resource pack for victims, service providers and law enforcement agency staff. It will also introduce the first ever specialist national outreach service in the UK for victims trafficked into sexual exploitation. Whilst the project remains London based it will continue to take referrals from across the country and provide a national service. We are currently looking at how best to utilise other existing local service providers to support victims and will continue to consider the feasibility of further extending the Poppy model of support to other areas in the future.
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were identified as victims of child trafficking in the UK in each year between 2001 and 2005; from which countries they came; what percentage of those children had been sexually abused; and through which agencies most of those victims of child trafficking were found. [75972]
Mr. Coaker: The Government have no centrally collated data on the number of children trafficked into the UK. The Home Office recognises there is an urgent need to improve its intelligence on this issue and for this reason have commissioned a scoping project in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPS) to estimate the scale and nature of the problem including source countries. Additionally newly established Minors Intelligence Teams based at Croydon and Liverpool Asylum screening units now provide monthly reports on children who have been identified as being at risk including those that they believe have been trafficked.
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taking to deter child trafficking into the UK. [75974]
Mr. Coaker: The Government have taken a number of steps to deter child trafficking into the UK. They have, for example, strengthened the legislative framework by including the offence of trafficking children in the Sexual Offences Act, 2003 and the Asylum and Immigration Act, 2004. Additionally, the Sexual Offences Act introduced new offences of “abuse of children through prostitution and pornography” which aim to protect children under the age of 18. The law enforcement response to human trafficking is co-ordinated by Reflex, the multi agency task force on organised immigration crime, established in 2000. Reflex has been working closely with police forces in the regions to increase awareness of human trafficking and build capacity to tackle it. A key thrust of its activity is to develop our intelligence base, thereby improving our knowledge and understanding of the extent and nature of child trafficking within the UK. The establishment of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) on 1 April 2006 brings a renewed focus on improving intelligence and targeting those organised crime groups causing the most harm. The previous Home Secretary (Mr. Clarke) made clear in his letter to all chief constables, in June 2005, that police forces should increase their efforts against organised immigration crime, focusing particularly on human trafficking. A national action plan is being developed this year incorporating the responses from the UK consultation on tackling human trafficking. The action plan will include measures to deter child trafficking. Responses to the plan from stakeholders are currently being collated with a view to publishing a summary report of these on 21 June 2006. The Government are increasing their engagement with developing countries in helping to eradicate the root causes of trafficking such as poverty, social exclusion, discrimination against women, girls and inequality. The Government are working with several overseas countries to prevent human trafficking by helping to tackle poverty and removing the conditions that lead to forced migration. The Government are also seeking to build the capacity of these countries to combat trafficking by improving ways of stemming the problem. Through our embassies and consulates we are working to raise awareness in source countries on the dangers of trafficking among potential victims.
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what programmes are in place to ensure that recovered children are not re-trafficked. [75975]
Mr. Coaker: Children who have been identified as having been trafficked and who are considered to be at risk are looked after by local authorities under section 20 of the 1989 Children Act. The arrangements for trafficked children as for other children in need in the UK are matters for local authorities to decide based on careful analysis of the risks, the needs and the circumstances facing that particular child.
The Home Office National Asylum Seekers Service (NASS) is conducting a review together with the Department for Education and Skills, to ensure that
safe arrangements for lone asylum-seeking children who have been assessed as being at risk from traffickers can be incorporated in those for other unaccompanied foreign national minors in need of support. This work will be carried out in partnership with the most knowledgeable and experienced local authorities. Her Majesty’s Government are aware that children returned to certain countries could be put at risk of further harm, with the likelihood of being re-trafficked. As a general principle, therefore, children will only be returned, where it is considered both possible and safe to do so and only after a full assessment of each case has been thoroughly carried out. Before considering the return of a child, full consideration is given to the Government’s obligations under the immigration laws and the European Convention on Human Rights and the unique circumstances of each case including an assessment of the country of origin.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which counterparts in other countries he (a) has discussed and (b) plans to discuss actions to tackle the growth in human trafficking. [78810]
Mr. Coaker: My right hon. Friend Tony McNulty, along with Lord Goldsmith attended the G8 meeting on 15 and 16 of June the agenda for which included human trafficking. The Government are actively involved in discussions on how to tackle trafficking with other EU countries as part of the EU Action Plan which we initiated. We will keep under review the need for bilateral discussions as and when they arise.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Government have transposed the Council of the European Union’s Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings into UK law; and if he will make a statement. [78811]
Mr. Coaker: The UK has met its international obligations with the introduction of a range of offences covering trafficking into or out of the UK for sexual exploitation under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and Section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. With regard to trafficking for non-sexual exploitation, the UK is compliant with the framework decision following the introduction of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004, the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2004 and relevant sections of the Immigration and Asylum Act 2006. An explanatory memorandum to this effect was cleared from scrutiny in the Lords on 13 June.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information the Government have provided to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s Global Programme Against Trafficking in Human Beings for the purposes of establishing a trafficking database. [78814]
Mr. Coaker:
UN Office on Drugs and Crime trafficking trends database collects a wide range of open source information on trafficking including both qualitative and quantitative information provided by the UK Government. The information provided by the UK Government includes estimates of the volume of
trafficking by country, details of trafficking cases dealt with by the criminal justice system, characteristic profiles of victims/ traffickers and details of trafficking routes.
Police
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in favour of keeping West Mercia as a separate police force. [69976]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 10 May 2006]: We have received representations from West Mercia police force and authority in favour of allowing West Mercia to stand alone as a strategic force. We have also received correspondence in favour of this option from members of the public and other interested parties in the West Mercia force area.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many misconduct sanctions have been imposed on police officers in each of the last five years, broken down by type of sanction. [75403]
Mr. McNulty: The misconduct sanctions imposed on police officers in each of the last five years for which statistics have been collected, broken down by sanction, are as follows:
| Disciplinary punishments or misconduct sanctions awarded | |||||
| Most serious outcome | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 |
| Sources: 1. Police Complaints and Discipline England and Wales, 12 months to March 2003 Home Office 2. Police Complaints and Discipline England and Wales, 12 months to March 2004 Home Office 3. Police Complaints: Statistics for England and Wales 2004-05 IPCC | |||||
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