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Fingerprint Centres
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment was made of the pilot project for fingerprint centres for recovered stolen (a) cars and (b) other moveable property; and what conclusions were reached. [79565]
Mr. McNulty: The Metropolitan Police Service utilised one of the fingerprint development laboratories funded by the Home Offices’ Police Standards Unit. The part they played for recovered stolen vehicles was internally assessed by the force and the findings presented to the Police Standards Unit, the Government Office of London (the co-sponsor) and finally to the House of Lords European Secure Vehicle Alliance Parliamentary Group at a plenary session on the 5 November 2003 and a general meeting on 10 September 2003. The laboratories themselves are deemed particularly successful at reducing the time from crime to analysis, this approach was deemed successful and we were informed the force intended extending this approach across more of the force area.
Illegal Immigration
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants are living in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [74687]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the HAC by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 23 May 2006. No Government of the UK has been able to answer with accuracy because (a) successive Governments inherit an unknown number from its predecessor and (b) no complete records exist of the number of people who leave the country.
Knife Crime
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been found guilty of wounding someone with a knife in each of the last five years; and how many of these received a prison sentence. [77161]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The specific information requested is not available as we are unable to differentiate between the weapon(s) used in the various offences of wounding when supplying data.
M25
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police units were deployed from (i) Surrey police, (ii) Metropolitan police and (iii) Kent police at the incident in the vicinity of junctions 8 to 10 of the M25 and its subsequent closure on 9 June. [79314]
Mr. McNulty: I understand that the incident was dealt with only by Surrey police. The Metropolitan police and the Kent police were notified but did not attend. Surrey deployed both police officers and road policing community support officers, 27 in total. 14 police motor vehicles, one police helicopter and four police motorcycles were deployed.
Manor Lodge Approved Premises
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders Manor Lodge Approved Premises in Old Windsor could accommodate (a) before and (b) after refurbishment; and what percentage of sex offenders could be accommodated in each case. [77655]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information is as follows:
(a) Manor Lodge Approved Premises could accommodate 22 offenders prior to refurbishment.
(b) After refurbishment the Approved Premises could accommodate 24 offenders.
(c) The number of sex offenders accommodated in any Approved Premises, formerly bail and probation hostels, will vary at any one time.
Mohammad Sidique Khan
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information his Department received from the United States Administration on Mohammad Sidique Khan; and on what dates; [79817]
(2) whether his Department was informed by US authorities that Mohammad Sidique Khan was barred from entering the United States. [80011]
Mr. McNulty: It is our policy not to comment on speculation about specific intelligence matters.
Offenders (Licensed Release)
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders on licence have been given permission to travel abroad in each of the last 12 months. [79598]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Passports
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rules the Passport Office applies regarding the length of names. [80036]
Joan Ryan: The space available for the data fields on the personal details page of the passport is limited by International Civil Aviation Organisation standards. In the British passport this allows 30 characters for the surname plus 30 characters for forenames. Longer names are abbreviated on the personal details page and shown in full on the observations page.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2006, Official Report, column 1319W, on passports, whether other biometrics will be stored on the Passport Agency Support System; and if he will make a statement. [79043]
Joan Ryan: The Passport Agency Support System (PASS) only stores the facial image of the passport holder. In the future additional biometrics such as finger images will be collected. There are no current plans for these to be stored in PASS; an evaluation is in progress to decide the most suitable technical architecture solution for this purpose.
Police
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his written ministerial statement of 21 March 2006, Official Report, column 15WS, on police force restructuring, when he expects to make a report to the House on plans to restructure police forces in the South West. [71379]
Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, announced on 19 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1057-62, that he would not be laying any orders for Home Secretary initiated police force mergers before the summer recess. This will allow for further discussion and dialogue with police forces and police authorities on the best way forward including in the South West.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dogs were deployed by (a) Essex police, (b) the Metropolitan police, (c) City of London police and (d) Hertfordshire Constabulary in each of the last five years for which information is available, broken down by type; for what purpose they were employed by each force; what the cost of keeping the dogs was in each year in each case; and how many dog handlers were employed by each force in each year. [80178]
Mr. McNulty: Information for the number of dog handlers employed by each force is given in the table.
| Police officers and staff (fte)( 1) who based on their primary function are recorded as being dog handlers( 2) | |||||
| 31 March | |||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| (1)
This table includes full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded
to the nearest whole number. (2 )Dog handlers
includes those staff employed for general policing, drugs and explosive
detection duties. Figures are based on the primary role/function of
staff, including those staff with multiple
responsibilities. | |||||
The other information that has been requested is not collected centrally.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been issued on the circumstances in which it is appropriate for a police officer to use a caution for the first offence of a person exceeding the speed limit, rather than pressing charges; and if he will make a statement. [80179]
Mr. McNulty: Where a driver is detected committing a speeding offence it is an operational matter for the police to decide what action to take in the circumstances of that particular case. A number of courses are possible, including no further action, oral warning, caution, fixed penalty or report for prosecution.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has issued Speed Enforcement Guidelines, available on the ACPO website (www.acpo.police.uk). Elements of this guidance are also included in a section on speed enforcement in the Home Office's Revised Guidance on the Operation of the Fixed Penalty System for Offences in Respect of a Vehicle, available on the Home Office website, www.homeoffice.gov.uk. These documents provide guidance only and do not replace police discretion in individual cases.
Prison Service
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the (a) timing and (b) conclusions of the most recent review by the director of personnel at HM Prison Service on the arrangements for dealing with investigations under Prison Service Order 1300; [78089]
(2) when the Prison Service Management Board last reviewed the arrangements for investigations under Prison Service Order 1300; and what the conclusions of the board were. [78090]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The last formal review of PSO 1300 was carried out, under the direction of the deputy director general, in early 2003. As a result of this review, a revised version of PSO 1300 was published on 19 June 2003. In May 2005, the Prison Service Management Board asked the directorate of personnel to review Prison Service Order 8460, Conduct and Discipline. This review is still ongoing.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what role the Prison Service London area manager has in relation to the multi-agency public protection arrangements strategic management boards that fall within his area. [78091]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave on 20 June 2006, Official Report, column 1846W.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are made by Prison Service area offices to ensure that data submitted for the purpose of performance management are correct; and if he will make a statement. [78127]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Area offices are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of performance management data. New guidance has been issued which sets out with greater clarity what must be recorded. The data are collated monthly and are discussed when area managers visit establishments and at their regular bilateral meetings with the director of operations. The data will continue to be validated by line management controls and by both a self-audit process and independent audit.
Prisons
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the investigation of the previous governor of HM Prison Brixton; what the nature was of the (a) allegation and (b) investigation; and what the reason was for the subsequent transfer to the Home Office. [78197]
Mr. Sutcliffe: It would be inappropriate to comment while an investigation is ongoing.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) escape from closed prisons and (b) absconding from open prisons are criminal offences; and what the penalties are for escaping from each type of prison. [79619]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Escape from lawful custody is an indictable offence at common law, punishable by an unlimited fine or imprisonment.
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are in prison, broken down by (a) length of sentence and (b) category of offence; and what the date was of the most recent prison population data capture. [79848]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The most recent published data on (a) length of sentence and (b) category of offence, is for the prison population as at the end of April 2006 and can be found on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/prisapr06.pdf, tables 1 and 2.
Public Disorder
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were found guilty of (a) drunken and disorderly behaviour and (b) drunken and aggravated behaviour in (i) England, (ii) Bury St. Edmunds constituency and (iii) the Suffolk county council area in each year since 1997. [79396]
Mr. Coaker: Data from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing how many offenders were found guilty of drunkenness offences in England and Suffolk police force area are in the following table. We are unable to provide convictions for Bury St. Edmunds constituency, as the data is not available at the level of detail required.
Figures for 2005 will be available in the autumn of 2006.
| Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for drunkenness simple and drunkenness aggravated offences in (a) England, and (b) Suffolk police force area, 1997-2004( 1) | |||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | ||
| (1)
These data are on the principal offence basis. (2)
Figures not applicable, as penalty notices were not introduced until
2004. Source: RDS—Office for Criminal
Justice Reform. | |||||||||
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