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13 July 2006 : Column 2024W—continued
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for using a handheld mobile phone while driving since the offence was introduced. [82711]
Mr. McNulty: Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform for the years 2003-04 (latest available) is given in the table. 2005 data will be available early in 2007.
| Proceedings at magistrates courts for the offence of use of hand held mobile phone while driving( 1 ) England and Wales, 2003-04 | |
| Number of offences | |
| (1)Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Regulations 110(1), 110 (2) and 110 (3). Introduced 1 December 2003. Source: Court Proceedings Database. | |
Drunk and Disorderly Fines
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many £80 fines for being drunk and disorderly were collected in each of the last 12 months. [79170]
Mr. McNulty: Provisional data held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that in 2005, 36,309 Penalty Notices for Disorder were issued for being drunk and disorderly in England and Wales. In 20,463 of these cases the penalty was paid, with a further 14,161 unpaid tickets registered as fines for collection or enforcement by the courts. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Feltham Young Offender Institution
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a report of the Prison Service’s investigations into the receipt by the Governor of Feltham Young Offender Institution of business class ticket upgrades from British Airways. [84404]
Mr. Sutcliffe: No investigation has been commissioned. The Governor’s upgrade to Business Class for an outward flight to Australia was unsolicited and did not require declaration.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a report of the Prison Service’s investigations into the Governor of Feltham Young Offender Institution's conduct towards a fellow officer of governor grade. [84405]
Mr. Sutcliffe: It is not Prison Service Policy to publish any internal investigation or inquiry report. Such reports are confidential, covered by the data Protection Act 1998.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the security lapses that led to the recent escape attempt from Feltham Young Offender Institution; and if he will make a statement. [84406]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Governor of Feltham commissioned a disciplinary Investigation into the attempted escape. The final report has just been received back, and the Governor is currently considering what action to take, but will be accepting a number of recommendations including holding a disciplinary hearing.
Fixed Penalty Notices
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued for (a) consumption of alcohol and (b) selling alcohol to under-age people in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Bedfordshire, (iii) Cambridgeshire, (iv) Essex, (v) Hertfordshire and (vi) Norfolk in each year since the penalty force for the disorder scheme came into use. [75389]
Mr. Coaker: The offences of sale to, and consumption of alcohol by, under 18s were added to the penalty notice for disorder scheme on one November 2004. Data from the penalty notices for disorder database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of penalty notices issued for (a) consumption of alcohol by, and (b) selling alcohol to, under-age people in the requested police force areas in November and December 2004, as well as provisional data for 2005, are provided in the following table.
| Number of penalty notices for disorder issued in 2004 and provisional data for 2005 for sale and consumption of alcohol by under 18s in selected police force areas( 1) | ||||
| DA07—sale of alcohol to a person under 18 | DB09—consumption of alcohol by person under 18 on licensed premises | |||
| Police force area | 2004 (November to December) | 2005 (provisional) | 2004 (November to December) | 2005 (provisional) |
| (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | ||||
GovNet Expo 2006
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is to his Department of supporting GovNet Expo 2006. [79222]
Mr. Byrne: The Department is not directly supporting the GovNet Expo 2006. However we have taken up an exhibitors stand at the event to publicise our work on encouraging the involvement of the third sector in delivering services to the public. The cost of the stand is £8,225.
Hunting
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost to police forces maintaining public order at hunt meetings was (a) before and (b) since the Hunting Act 2004 was introduced; and if he will make a statement. [73327]
Mr. McNulty: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training has been provided to police on the enforcement of the Hunting Act 2004. [84109]
Mr. McNulty: The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has issued specific guidance to forces and provided a training package covering strategic and tactical considerations in relation to the enforcement of the Hunting Act 2004. Furthermore, the initial police learning and development programme (IPLDP) provides all forces in England and Wales with the flexibility to tailor their individual training packages for new police officers to meet the needs of the community that they serve. Legislation that is especially relevant to the policing of a particular community will be incorporated within the delivery of the programme in that area, thus paving the way for student officers to develop a more detailed understanding of local issues at an early stage in their careers.
Industrial Espionage
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) foreign nationals and (b) British nationals have been prosecuted for industrial espionage in each year since 1997. [80246]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not held centrally, as there is no specific offence that relates to industrial espionage.
Intelligence Databases
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2006, Official Report, column 720W, on intelligence databases, on what dates the procedures listed came into force; and if he will make a statement. [83817]
Mr. McNulty: Since 1995, local police forces have held the responsibility for creating and updating data on PNC. Since that date, those forces have also been responsible, for putting in place arrangements with their local non police prosecuting agencies to receive data on people those agencies are seeking to prosecute. The Criminal Records Bureau commenced providing criminal records disclosures in March 2002. The Police National Database is to be introduced in 2009-10.
Motorcycle Theft
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorbikes have been reported as stolen in each London borough in each of the last five years. [82819]
Mr. McNulty: In the recorded crime statistics, thefts of a motorbike cannot be separately identified from other vehicle thefts. Some statistics for motorbike thefts were published in the Bike Theft Index 2005. A copy of this document is available at:
http://www.secureyourmotor.gov.uk/downloads/biketheftlores.pdf
Home Office Findings 269 entitled ‘The extent of motorcycle theft’ gives national statistics for 2001-03 and is available at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/r269.pdf
People Trafficking
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer of 20 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1840-1W, on people trafficking, what discussions are being held with countries other than G8 and EU member states on combating human trafficking. [81828]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 3 July 2006]: There have been a number of discussions on human trafficking countries outside of the G8 and EU member states. The Home Office, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development are involved in capacity building projects, the sharing of good practice and awareness raising campaigns on trafficking in a variety of source and transit countries. The countries involved are Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, the Greater Mekong region (parts of Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam) and West Africa (including Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Niger and Togo). The UK has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on human trafficking with Nigeria.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support will be provided under the Government’s Action Plan for Tackling Human Trafficking for (a) programmes providing protection for trafficked persons who are repatriated and (b) to ensure that individual victims are not re-trafficked after deportation. [76674]
Mr. Coaker: A three month public consultation exercise on the proposed UK Action Plan was launched on 5 January 2006. The consultation addressed the issue of repatriating victims of trafficking and ensuring victims are not re-trafficked. The summary of responses was published on 21 June. The responses will be considered in the course of developing the UK Action Plan on human trafficking which we aim to publish at the end of the year.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place to identify, rescue and protect child victims of trafficking in England and Wales. [78812]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 20 June 2006]: We have introduced a number of measures to identify, rescue and protect the victims of child trafficking in England and Wales. Guidance issued to Immigration Officers provides advice on how to identify any child entering the UK who may be at risk, whether they are travelling alone or with adults, and what action to take.
The Government are currently working towards developing the “Paladin” model whereby joint working between Immigration, Police and local authority social services ensures best practice is applied in identifying children at risk. Furthermore, a change to Immigration Rules on 12 February 2006, enables Immigration Officers to carry out more robust checks on the identity of children passing through ports of entry. For example, the names of all non EU accompanied children will be recorded and, for visa nationals, the visas will carry details such as the child’s photograph, whether the child should be accompanied or unaccompanied and, if accompanied, the person with whom they should be travelling.
The visa application form will also cover details of the parent/guardian, accompanying adults and sponsors of the child. Specially trained teams of Immigration Officers have also been established at 22 ports to deal
with cases of unaccompanied children, and arrangements for round-the-clock referral to police and local authority children’s services where this is necessary.
These arrangements will support the development of even closer working arrangements between Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), the police and local authority children services departments. Additionally, the Immigration Service is becoming more involved in the work of the newly established Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards in local areas covering major ports of entry.
The Home Office National Asylum Support Service (NASS) currently reimburses local authorities who receive unaccompanied asylum seeking children into their care with a total of £140 million per annum. Partnership plans to provide safer arrangements for children who have been trafficked are being incorporated into a Home Office/DFES joint review of how local authorities accommodate children from abroad. The review will aim to deliver improvements by ensuring unaccompanied asylum seeking children are placed in local authority areas where specialist services exist to deal with their specific needs.
The review is also designed to increase specialisation, end inconsistencies in treatment and enable the retention and development of expertise.
We have also commissioned the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to carry out an analysis of intelligence data to identify potential numbers of children who may have been trafficked. The results of this exercise will lead to further in depth analysis in order to refine the Government’s response to tackling human trafficking.
Police
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his written answer of 20 June 2006, Official Report, column 1845W, on police, what form the policy review of the police injury award system will take; and what the timescale of the review will be. [84077]
Mr. McNulty: The review will be led by Home Office officials reporting to the Police Minister. The review will include a public consultation exercise, to which the police staff associations, police forces and authorities will be able to comment. I will consult the Police Negotiating Board on any recommendations arising from the review which require changes to regulations. Officials are in discussion with the staff associations about the timing of the review.
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the number of community-based police with full enforcement powers in Wales. [83731]
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