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19 July 2006 : Column 547W—continued
Foreign Prisoners
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) non-British EU nationals and (b) non-EU foreign nationals are held in prisons in England and Wales, broken down by their country of origin. [79775]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on the nationality of foreign nationals held in prison establishments in England and Wales is given in the population in custody detailed table 2.14 of Offender Management Caseload Statistics Quarterly Brief October to December 2005, available at the following web address:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcs.html
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last whole number.
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the foreign nationals detained at (a) Highdown and (b) Downview prisons on 1 July 2005 had been released by 1 April 2006; and how many of those released have subsequently been deported. [84102]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 12 July 2006]: Information on discharges is not available in the detail the hon. Gentleman requests.
Forensic Science Service
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of tests by the Forensic Science Service in each region were completed within (a) four weeks, (b) six weeks, (c) two months and (d) three months in the last period for which figures are available; how many took more than three months; and if he will make a statement. [85354]
Joan Ryan: The percentage of cases completed by The Forensic Science Service (FSS) in each region within the timeframes specified is displayed in the attached tables, which distinguish between performance for the analysis of DNA suspect samples for inclusion on The National DNA Database, and scientific examinations conducted for forensic casework in respect of the range of offences investigated by police forces. The data is shown for 2005-06 and quarter one of 2006-07 (April to June 2006).
| Table 2: Quarter one 2006-07 (April to June 2006) Percentage of tests completed by the FSS for forensic casework (exclusive of Road Traffic Alcohol cases) | |||||
| Region | 28 days | 42 days | 60 days | 90 days | >90 days |
| Table 3: 2005-06 Percentage of tests completed by the FSS for DNA suspect samples uploaded onto The National DNA Database | |||||
| Region | 28 days | 42 days | 60 days | 90 days | >90 days |
| Table 4: Quarter one 2006-07 (April to June 2006) Percentage of tests completed by the FSS for DNA suspect samples uploaded onto The National DNA Database | |||||
| Region | 28 days | 42 days | 60 days | 90 days | >90 days |
GCHQ
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the conditions of service are of staff employed at GCHQ; and if he will make a statement. [85571]
Mr. Hoon: I have been asked to reply.
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an autonomous Department under the ministerial responsibility of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Staff at GCHQ are members of the Home Civil Service.
Terms of employment and conditions of service for GCHQ are laid out in the GCHQ Staff Handbook and are based upon the Civil Service Management Code produced by the Cabinet Office.
Highdown/Downview Prisons
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners were detained at (a) Highdown and (b) Downview prisons on 1 July 2005; how many of these were foreign nationals; and how many had not had their nationalities determined; [68060]
(2) how many foreign nationals are detained at (a) Highdown and (b) Downview prisons; when these detainees are due to be released; and how many will be considered for deportation. [84101]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on the prison population at Highdown and Downview as at 30 June 2005 is given in the following table.
There were approximately 190 foreign national prisoners in Highdown, and 130 foreign national prisoners in Downview, at the end of May 2006.
The figures have been drawn from the prisons administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
Information on release dates of individual prisoners is not issued publicly.
As my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary made clear in his written ministerial statement of 23 May 2006, Official Report, column 79WS, all non-EEA nationals who are given a custodial sentence should face deportation; and deportation should happen as early as possible in that sentence. He set out the eight priority areas in this area to achieve this objective which he has asked management to address.
| Highdown | Downview | |
HM Prison Service
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is available to commissioning authorities of investigations within HM Prison Service to ensure that investigating officers do not have personal interests in the outcome of the investigations they are commissioned to conduct. [85478]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Guidance to commissioning authorities on the appointment of investigating officers is contained in Section 3.B of Prison Service Order (PSO) 1300—Investigations.
“Investigators must have no significant conflicts of interest with the matter or persons under investigation. Should such conflicts arise within the course of an investigation the matter must be immediately referred to the commissioning authority”.
This is a mandatory requirement and commissioning authorities must ensure that this requirement is met.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will expand specialised training to include screening and referral of potential trafficking victims for all front-line responders within the law enforcement, immigration, medical, educational and social services; and if he will make a statement. [80350]
Mr. Coaker: We are currently in the process of considering the responses to the consultation paper with the aim of producing a final UK action plan later in the year which will provide an end-to-end approach of tackling the problem of trafficking in human beings.
One of the areas being looked into is how to ensure an effective multi agency strategy including a review of the training requirements of all involved staff.
This will build on the work undertaken so far within the Immigration Nationality Directorate (IND) which is in the process of providing specialised training to 600 immigration officers at ports; the production of an online toolkit for all immigration officers; the establishment of the Airline Liaison Officer Network; the establishment of social work teams at five ports and asylum screening units principally to identify the particular needs of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and to safeguard their welfare.
Additionally, IND recently ran a seminar on tackling human trafficking for senior and specialist IND staff, plus representatives from the National Crime Squad, the Metropolitan police and other key stakeholders which identified the challenges we face in this area and recommendations for taking forward work to deal with these challenges.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many human trafficking incidents have been (a) reported and (b) successfully prosecuted in each London borough in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [82981]
Mr. Coaker: Statistics for trafficking are not broken down for each of the London boroughs but are provided for London as a whole.
There are currently two pieces of legislation which criminalise trafficking. The Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force in May 2004 and the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004 which came into force on 1 December 2004.
Prior to the introduction of this legislation there was only one conviction for a trafficking offence under the Immigration Act 1971 and this was in London.
Following the commencement of the dedicated trafficking offences in 2004, the convictions in London are as follows:
| Number | |
| (1) No convictions. | |
To date there have been no convictions for trafficking for labour exploitation.
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