London Bombings Inquiry
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had in the last month about a public inquiry into the 7 July bombings; and if he will make a statement. [80835]
Mr. McNulty: The Government have carefully considered the possibility of a public inquiry into the 7 July London bombings but has concluded that this would not add to our understanding of the causes of those atrocities. The Government continue to hold this view. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary and officials in my Department have had a number of discussions on this issue recently with families of the victims of the bombings.
A number of parliamentary and other inquiries (some of which are complete and some of which are on-going) address specific aspects of the events. A public inquiry would divert resources at a time when the police and agencies are actively engaged in the continuing investigation into the events of 7 July and the detection and prevention of further atrocities.
Mohamed Kargbo
Mr.
Chope: To ask the Secretary of State
for the Home Department when the application by Mr.
Mohamed Kargbo, of Christchurch (reference: K414597) for indefinite
leave to remain, received by his
Department on 24 June 2004, will be determined; and if he will make a
statement.
[76132]
Mr. Byrne: Officials from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to Mr. Kargbo’s legal representatives on 23 June 2006 with details of the outcome of his application.
National Insurance Numbers
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals applying for a national insurance number and referred to the immigration and nationality directorate due to (a) suspicion about their eligibility to work in the UK, (b) the use of false documents and (c) other reasons were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted in each of the last five years. [75857]
Mr. Byrne: Information on the number of investigations and prosecutions from specific referrals to the immigration and nationality directorate (IND) from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) could be obtained only by individually searching IND databases for the outcome of each referral received.
| October 2004 to March 2005 | April 2005 to March 2006 | |
| Note:
Invalidated management information which excludes IND's border control
directorate crime team investigations as they fall outside the
referrals
process. | ||
Non-custodial Sentences
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to question 78652, what the differences are between the non-custodial sentences referred to. [80501]
Mr. Sutcliffe: This table describes the community sentences and other relevant community disposals available for young offenders. Further information on these sentences is available on the Youth Justice Board Website.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to provide a substantive answer to Question 63882, on Khalid Rashid; and if he will make a statement. [78509]
Mr. McNulty[holding answer 19 June 2006]: I replied to the hon. Member on 21 June 2006, Official Report, column 2016W.
People Trafficking
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what prosecutions have been successfully concluded for people trafficking; and what the nationality was of those convicted of this offence in cases where proceedings are complete. [77907]
Mr. Coaker: To date there have been 29 convictions for trafficking for sexual exploitation under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, in 15 different cases. Prior to 2003, the Immigration Act 1971 was adopted for trafficking offences. There was one conviction in 2003 under that piece of legislation. The nationalities of the people convicted of trafficking offences are Albanian, Kosovan, Macedonian, Lithuanian, Turkish, Chinese, Moldovan and Thai.
To date there have been no convictions for trafficking for labour exploitation under the Asylum and Immigration (treatment of claimants etc) Act 2004.
Police
Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the proposals for the merger of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire police forces. [25363]
Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the then Home Secretary, announced on 11 April that he was initiating the statutory consultation process on this merger. However, the Home Secretary announced on 19 June that he would not be laying any orders for Home Secretary initiated mergers before the summer recess. This will provide the opportunity for further discussion and dialogue.
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department where Cumbria and Lancashire's new merged police force headquarters will be based. [61322]
Mr. McNulty: The location of the new Headquarters will be a decision for the chief constable and police authority of the newly merged force.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many meetings his civil servants have had with chief constables to discuss police restructuring in England and Wales. [68620]
Mr. McNulty: Senior officials and other members of the Home Office police restructuring team have met chief constables and other colleagues on numerous occasions from police forces and authorities throughout England and Wales to discuss police restructuring.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made with the proposed mergers of police forces in the North East region. [76812]
Mr. McNulty: On 3 March my right hon. Friend, the then Home Secretary, announced his intention to initiate a merger of the police forces in the North East.
My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, announced on 19 June he would not be laying any Home Secretary initiated amalgamation Orders before Parliament before the summer recess. This will allow further discussions to take place and outstanding matters to be resolved.
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which members of the (a) Cumbria and (b) Lancashire police authority (i) supported and (ii) opposed the merger of Lancashire and Cumbria police. [81704]
Mr. McNulty: That information is a matter for the police authorities concerned and is not held centrally.
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which sites are being considered as a possible headquarters for the merged Lancashire and Cumbria police force; and when a decision on the site will be made. [81705]
Mr. McNulty: The location of the headquarters for a merged Cumbria and Lancashire police force will be a matter for the Chief Constable and police authority of the newly merged force.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from people in Yorkshire supporting the police mergers. [61675]
Mr. McNulty: We have received a number of representations from people across the country, both in favour of, and opposed to police force mergers.
It is not possible to identify those relating to Yorkshire separately.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take in relation to police authorities who do not submit business cases on the proposed police structure reforms by the 23 December deadline. [39464]
Mr. McNulty: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in answering his question and will write to him in full.
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that the Cumbria Police Authority remains a separate organisation. [50812]
Mr. McNulty: No. My right hon. Friend has made it clear that the new merged force will have a single police authority.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate of the cost of the police restructuring proposals has been carried out by his Department; and when they will be published. [48617]
Mr. McNulty: For areas where options have been identified as viable and effective a case for amalgamation has been provided. The cases for amalgamation contain indicative projected costs for amalgamation of the relevant forces. These documents have been sent to the police forces and police authorities concerned.
They are also available on the Home Office website—http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/police-reform/Force-restructuring.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with (a) the Minister of State in the Department for Constitutional Affairs and (b) other ministerial colleagues on the possible impact of proposed police force mergers on court services; and if he will make a statement. [64734]
Mr. McNulty: Discussions are ongoing with colleagues on the possible impact of proposed police force mergers.
Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many responses (a) favourable to and (b) opposed to a full merger of the Yorkshire and Humberside police forces his Department has received. [64984]
Mr. McNulty: To date, the Home Office has received submissions on merger options for Yorkshire and the Humber police forces from North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside police forces and authorities. All of these considered a full region merger as a viable option among a range of proposed possibilities.
Yorkshire and Humber Regional Police Force
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the proposed timetable is for the establishment of the new Yorkshire and Humber Regional Police Force; and if he will make a statement. [67510]
Mr. McNulty[holding answer 2 May 2006]: I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's announcement on 19 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1057-62W and the letter which he sent to all hon. Members on that date. He said that the formal objection period for the Yorkshire and Humber merger, which would have expired on 11 August, will be extended. The replacement timetable will be subject to further discussion.
Prisoner Deportation
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the nationality is of those foreign nationals who following a prison sentence should have been considered for deportation; whether the UK has active deportation arrangements with each country concerned; and whether deportation may not be possible because of the political situation in each country. [68656]
Mr. Byrne[holding answer 8 May 2006]: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has updated the House on this matter in a written ministerial statement on 29 June 2006, Official Report, column 18WS and the Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Department (IND) wrote to the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee on the 29 June on the number of cases where foreign national prisoners were released without proper deportation consideration. A copy of the letter has been placed in both Libraries.
Prisoners (Licensed Releases)
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were charged with offences committed whilst they were released on (a) special purpose licence, (b) resettlement day release licence, (c) resettlement overnight release licence and (d) child care resettlement licence in each year between 1997 and 2006. [79024]
Mr. Sutcliffe: To provide the information required would involve a manual interrogation of the individual records for each prisoner. This could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
However, temporary release failures represent 0.1 per cent. of the number of licences issued each year. These failures include other breaches of licence conditions such as prisoners returning late from temporary release and prisoners returning under the influence of alcohol as well as commission of offences.