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12 July 2006 : Column 1896W—continued
Mr. Plaskitt:
The social security schemes of all the member states of the European Union are co-ordinated by EC Regulation 1408/71. It provides for member states to pay their state pensions to pensioners resident in other member states at the same rate as if
they were living in the paying state. The UK also makes winter fuel payments to people aged 60 or over living in other member states provided they qualified for a payment before leaving the UK.
The UK maintains bilateral social security agreements with many EU member states, including Denmark, Austria, Belgium and Cyprus. They were entered into before the application of Regulation 1408/71 and continue to be of relevance to the Crown Dependencies, where they also apply, as their social security schemes are outside the scope of co-ordination under the EC Regulation.
The EC legislation relating to private pensions is council directive 98/49/EC on safeguarding the supplementary pension rights of employed and self-employed persons moving within the community. The directive ensures that the occupational pension rights of scheme members who move from one EU member state to another are protected. The provisions of the directive have been implemented in the UK through an amendment to the Pensions Act 1995. Section 66A of the Act ensures that occupational pension schemes cannot have different rules for members who have accrued pension rights in the UK but who now reside overseas.
Pre-CSR Report
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the (a) Treasury and (b) Cabinet Office regarding the pre-comprehensive spending review report; and if he will make a statement. [82751]
Mrs. McGuire: The Secretary of State has had and will continue to have wide-ranging and regular discussions with the chief secretary about the 2007 comprehensive spending review, as a matter of key importance to the Department for Work and Pensions medium and long-term planning.
Home Department
Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been prosecuted under the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations in the last five years. [81074]
Mrs. McGuire: I have been asked to reply.
The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004 is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the police on behalf of the Department for Transport which has the policy lead.
HSE has taken seven prosecutions under the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004 and predecessor legislation.
One further prosecution has been taken under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. This prosecution related to the 2004 Regulations.
One of these prosecutions was taken against an individual person.
One of these prosecutions was taken against a partnership.
Information on police prosecutions is unavailable; the Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform holds information on all prosecutions including police prosecutions but does not separately identify the offences requested.
Debt Collectors
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) his Department and (b) its (i) executive agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies use the services of private debt collectors. [71062]
Mr. Coaker: The Security Industry Authority, a non-departmental public body of the Home Office, is the only part of the Home Department that uses private debt collectors. They are employed for the recovery of licence debts and court costs only
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when sections (a) one and (b) four of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 will be implemented. [75062]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 is the biggest overhaul of domestic violence legislation for 35 years. It is a key part of the Government’s aim of putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. The Act has been rolling out in stages since January 2005. The remaining provisions will be implemented as appropriate.
Foreign Prisoners
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has conducted on the causes of the increase in the number of foreign nationals in prisons in England and Wales over the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [68872]
John Reid: The Home Office regularly monitors the size and make-up of the foreign national prisoner population and trends within it. Information on this is published in Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Home Detention Curfews
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners sentenced for crimes involving violence have been granted home detention curfews in the last 12 months. [46395]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 30 January 2006]: Prisoners who are subject to the registration requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and those serving extended sentences for serious violent or sexual offences are statutorily ineligible for HDC. Furthermore, prisoners with any history of sexual offending and those serving sentences for certain serious offences such as manslaughter, child cruelty, possession of an offensive weapon, possession of a firearm with intent, certain explosives offences and racially aggravated offences are presumed unsuitable for release unless there are exceptional circumstances. All eligible prisoners must pass a careful risk assessment before release on HDC is possible. No prisoner who is considered to present a significant risk to public safety or of re-offending during the curfew period is released on HDC. The information requested, as recorded on the prison IT system, is provided in the following table.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set up a (a) specialised immigration status for trafficking victims and (b) shelter capacity for trafficking victims; and if he will make a statement. [80352]
Mr. Byrne: The Secretary of State already has the discretion to grant periods of leave to trafficking victims, or to defer removal while the facts of the case are established. There are currently no plans to create a specialised immigration status for trafficking victims.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate have been granted British citizenship in (a) the last 12 months, (b) the last five years and (c) the last 10 years; and what the country of origin of each such employee is. [77117]
John Reid: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
David Davis:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long Mr. Dawute has been employed by the Immigration and Nationality
Directorate; how long Mr. Dawute has been employed at Lunar House in Croydon; and whether Mr. Dawute continues to carry out his duties. [73686]
John Reid: James Dawute was employed by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate from 12 August 2002 to 1 June 2006. He was employed at Lunar House in Croydon from 22 December 2003 to June 2006. Mr. Dawute was dismissed on 1 June 2006.
National Offender Management Service
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the head of Prisoner Escort and Custody Services at the National Offender Management Service is; how many people have held the position (a) permanently and (b) temporarily in the last four years; and if he will make a statement. [78166]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The current head of the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service is a senior Prison Service manager on loan to the National Offender Management Service. Two other people have held this post in the last four years. There was a short temporary appointment between May and October 2002, and a permanent appointment from then until August 2005.
Operation Safeguard
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date prisoners were last held in police cells under Operation Safeguard; in which criminal justice areas they were held; and what the status of the prisoners was. [75433]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Prisoners were last held under Operation Safeguard on 20 December 2002. Details of prisoners held under operation Safeguard were only recorded by police constabulary area. The following forces held prisoners: Cheshire, Cleveland, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, Dyfed Powys .Essex, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Metropolitan, North Yorkshire, Northumbria, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Surrey, Sussex, West Mercia, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Wiltshire.
Information on the status of the prisoners held is not available.
Parliamentary Questions
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to question (a) 76539 and (b) 76540, on oxycodone hydrochloride, tabled by the hon. Member for Castle Point for answer on 12 June. [84114]
Mr. Coaker: The two questions 76539 and 76540 on oxycodone hydrochloride were answered on 6 July 2006, Official Report, column 1330W.
Prison Service
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of staff employed in the London area office of HM Prison Service receive the RHS allowance; and if he will make a statement. [74016]
Mr. Sutcliffe: It is assumed the hon. Member is referring to Required Hours Addition (RHA). Of the 29 staff employed in the London area office, four are currently in receipt of RHA.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding charities have received from the Prison Service in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion of the total prison service budget this represented in each year. [84402]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Prison Service works with many charities that provide a service to the Prison Service for which they are remunerated. However, the accounting system does not identify charitable organisations and the total paid to these organisations could be provided only at a disproportionate cost to the benefit. The following table shows the donations made by the Prison Service in the last five years.
| Donations to charities by the Prison Service 2001-06 | ||
| Donation | Percentage of spend (less than) | |
| Note: As a result of changes to the accounting systems to obtain information for earlier years could be done only at a disproportionate cost. | ||
Prisons
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deaths in prison were deemed to have (a) been caused by and (b) involved (i) other inmates and (ii) prison officers in each prison, in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [82927]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The number of apparent homicides in prisons in England and Wales, 2001-2005, and where they occurred, is shown in the following table. The perpetrator in each case was another prisoner.
| Number of apparent homicides | |||||
| Prison | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
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