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Crime Statistics
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recorded level of violent crime was in Wellingborough in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2005-06. [79708]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 22 June 2006]: Wellingborough is a Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) area. Partnerships were set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and data are only available from 1999-2000. Data for 2005-06 are due to be published on 20 July.
Crime Trends
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned on crime trends in the UK following the accession of EU countries in May 2004; and if he will make a statement. [79418]
Mr. McNulty: No research has been commissioned on crime trends in the UK following the accession of EU countries in May 2004. However, the Home Office does routinely monitor and publish trends in crime, as measured by the British Crime Survey (BCS) and police recorded crime, on an annual and quarterly basis. The latest quarterly publication is available on the web at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb0606.pdf
This publication shows that since peaking in 1995 total BCS crime has fallen each year. The next annual publication of crime trends is due to be published in July 2006.
Criminal Records Bureau
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Criminal Records Bureau checks have been carried out, broken down by the number of weeks taken to process the check. [79014]
Joan Ryan: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has issued 8,936,032 Disclosures up to and including the financial year 2005-06. The number of Disclosures issued in each financial year is as follows:
| Number | |
Information on the number of weeks taken to process the checks during these periods is not available in the format requested.
The CRB
operates to a set of published service standards (PSS), which for the
financial year 2005-06 was to process 93 per cent. of Standard
Disclosure
applications within two weeks and 90 per cent. of Enhanced Disclosure
applications within four weeks. The CRB’s performance for that
financial year against the PSS for Standard Disclosure was 99.6 per
cent. During this same period, the performance against the PSS for
Enhanced Disclosure was 84.6 per cent. The CRB recently published its
Five-Year Strategy and Business Plan 2006-07 and the PSS for the
financial year 2006-07 for Standard Disclosures is 90 per cent. within
10 days and for Enhanced Disclosures 90 per cent. within 28
days.
Departmental Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in each of the last three years; and what percentage this represented of the total number of staff in each case. [75115]
Mr. Byrne: The number of staff that did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report of the last three years; and what percentage this represented of the total of staff in each case, is shown in the table.
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | ||||
| Number( 1) | Percentage( 2) | Number( 1) | Percentag( 2) e | Number( 1) | Percentage( 2) | |
| (1)
Of staff receiving 'unacceptable
mark'. (2 )Of staff receiving 'unacceptable mark'/centrally recorded annual report marks awarded in period. (3) Including Immigration and Nationality Directorate. | ||||||
EU Citizens (Criminal Records)
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been given to immigration officers at UK entry ports on the entry to the UK of individuals from EU accession countries who have a criminal record in their own country; and if he will make a statement. [79420]
Mr. Byrne: Guidance for immigration staff is set out in the immigration directorate instructions. This makes it clear that where an immigration officer is aware that a national of one of the EU accession states has a criminal record and, that as a result of that record, a genuine present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society is perceived, then an immigration decision to exclude may be made.
Knives
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knives have been handed in during the amnesty in Tamworth constituency. [80133]
Mr. McNulty: Figures for the number of items handed in during the first week of the knife amnesty have been collected at force level. A total of 17,715 items were surrendered in England and Wales. Staffordshire police reported that they received 383 items.
Legislation
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which Government Bills sponsored by his Department he has bid for in the next Session of Parliament; and if he will make a statement; [77772]
(2) which Government Bills sponsored by his Department remain to be introduced during the 2005-06 Session. [77771]
Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Straw) on 16 June 2006, Official Report, column 1431W.
Mohammed Abdul Kahar
Mr. Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to discover the identity of the Whitehall source quoted by the News of The World as stating that Abul Koyair fired the weapon which wounded Mohammed Abdul Kahar in the incident on 2 June; and if he will make a statement. [76239]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 June 2006]: It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on alleged leaks of information.
National Firearms Licensing Management System
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the data cleansing exercise required of police databases before the full implementation of the National Firearms Licensing Management System. [79035]
Mr. Coaker: Live testing of the National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS) began in two forces on 5 June and if successful it will be rolled out to all forces by March 2007. The data cleansing exercise is needed before an interface with PNC can be successfully made. This will be carried out on a force by force basis after each has been migrated to NFLMS.
Passport Service
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures the Passport Service follows when a passport is reported as not having reached its destination; and if he will make a statement. [79013]
Joan Ryan: Where a passport is reported as not received by Secure Mail Services (SMS), who provide the Identity and Passport Service’s (IPS) secure delivery service, information held is checked to establish the date, time and location of delivery. Couriers record details of the property they deliver to and these are compared to the description given by the applicant.
SMS investigate all such losses and provide a response to the Identity and Passport Service within one week.
Where IPS is satisfied that the applicant has not received the passport the document is recorded on the IPS Lost and Stolen database to ensure it cannot be used. A replacement passport is then provided to the customer.
In the rare event of the theft of passports while in the delivery process, they are immediately cancelled, placed on the Lost Stolen and Recovered database and reissued.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of passports dispatched by courier did not arrive at their destination in the last period for which figures are available. [79021]
Joan Ryan: From the commencement of Secure Delivery in February 2004 to January 2006, Secure Mail Services have delivered around 13 million passports and supporting documents. The estimated number of losses during this two year period is 1,626, equating to less than 0.013 per cent. of items despatched.
During the last year of the Royal Mail contract in 2003, 3,593 passports were reported as undelivered, equating to around 0.06 per cent. of passports issued. The introduction of Secure Delivery has therefore seen an 80 per cent. reduction in the annual number of losses from within the delivery process.
Police
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers (a) were recruited and (b) left the service in Greater London in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06. [77643]
Mr. McNulty: Police personnel data are collected on a financial year basis and the latest information available is for 2004-05.
In 2004-05 the City of London police force recruited 14 full-time equivalent (FTE) police community support officers (PCSOs), and no PCSOs were recorded as leaving the force during this period.
During the same period the Metropolitan Police recruited 971 PCSOs (FTE), and 249 PCSOs (FTE) left the force.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will postpone the merger of Cumbria and Lancashire police authorities to allow time for further consultation. [79803]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 22 June 2006]: As my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, announced on 19 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1057-58, we hope to lay the Order to provide for the merger of Cumbria and Lancashire police forces before the summer recess. This is a voluntary merger supported by both chief constables and both police authorities and we see no need for additional consultation.
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reconsider the merger of Essex police force in the event that the Essex-wide consultation being run by Essex county council and Essex police authority demonstrates public opposition to the merger. [79983]
Mr. McNulty: Under the terms of the Police Act 1996, before making an order for a merger of police forces (other than where the merger is a voluntary one), the Secretary of State must give notice of his intentions to every affected council and allow for a period of objections.
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will of course consider any objections he receives to any proposed merger very carefully.
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent meetings (a) he and (b) representatives from his Department have had with (i) Essex county council, (ii) Essex police authority and (iii) the chief constable of Essex police regarding the proposed merger of Essex police force. [79984]
Mr. McNulty: Home Office officials have held meetings with the Essex chief constable and the police authority jointly on 29 March and 24 May, with the deputy chief constable on 19 May, and with the police authority on 28 April. I held a meeting with the leader of Essex county council on 31 May.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures will be included in the planned reorganisation of police forces to improve responses to local neighbourhood concerns in (a) England and Wales, (b) Crosby and Formby and (c) Merseyside. [78527]
Mr. McNulty: By April 2007, neighbourhood policing will have been introduced to every community in England and Wales, and by April 2008 every area will have its own dedicated neighbourhood policing team. Neighbourhood policing puts local people's own concerns and priorities at the heart of local policing. Neighbourhood policing teams will be highly visible, will engage with communities to understand their priorities, and will tackle these issues in partnership with local partners. Neighbourhood policing will be protected and supported by the proposed reorganisation of police forces by getting more resources to the front line and keeping them there. The creation of strategic forces to deal with major investigations or public order incidents will help safeguard local policing by reducing the need to abstract officers from neighbourhood policing teams.
I understand that neighbourhood policing is well established in many parts of Merseyside police force area (which helped to pilot the neighbourhood policing approach) including Crosby and Formby.
Police Operation (Forest Gate)
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Cabinet Office briefing room mechanism (COBRA) considered the merits of the anti-terrorist police operation in Forest Gate on2 June 2006 in advance of the operation taking place. [79584]
Mr. McNulty: The decision on whether to mount any anti-terrorist operation is an operational matter for the police. A meeting of officials was held in the Cabinet Office briefing room, at which the Metropolitan police informed relevant departments of their intention to conduct this operation and its likely scale given the public safety issues involved. Both the merits of the operation and how it was to be conducted were matters decided solely by the Metropolitan police.
Police Vehicles
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) injuries and (b) fatalities have been recorded in London in each of the past five years which were sustained as a result of a collision involving a police vehicle; and in how many of those incidents the police vehicle was travelling above the speed limit, broken down by borough. [75343]
Mr. McNulty: The available information for the numbers of casualties and degree of injury from road traffic collisions resulting from immediate/emergency response and police pursuits on public roads involving the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police is provided in the table. Figures are not held centrally at individual borough level.
Figures are not held centrally on those incidents where police vehicles were travelling above the speed limit.
| Degree of injury from road traffic collisions involving police forces in the London area | |||||
| 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | |
| (1
)The Metropolitan Police are unable to provide data for
2002-03. | |||||
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