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19 July 2006 : Column 560W—continued
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers per 100,000 residents there are in each police authority in England. [85513]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is given in the following table.
Police Complaints Authority
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to Question 80515, how many days a year were expected from Sir Alistair Graham as a member of the Police Complaints Authority. [85989]
Mr. McNulty: Sir Alistair Graham was originally appointed as chair of the Police Complaints Authority in 2000 on a full time basis, but moved to a part time working pattern of three days a week in 2002, with the Home Office's agreement. That equates to 168 days per year before annual leave and public holidays had been taken.
Police DNA Database
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many records are held on the police DNA database. [82549]
Joan Ryan: As at 30 June 2006, there were approximately 3,457,000 DNA profiles of individuals retained on the National DNA Database. This figure includes 18,056 persons who have provided a DNA profile voluntarily.
In addition, there were 285,292 DNA profiles retrieved from unsolved crime scenes.
Police Force Restructuring
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of (a) the compatibility of police computer systems and (b) the implications of computer system compatibility for force restructuring in the West Lancashire and Cumbria areas. [83655]
Mr. McNulty: Police forces and authorities in the North West region submitted a cost benefit analysis of the best options for police structures in the region, including estimated Information Communication and Technology (ICT) costs, to my right hon. Friend the then Home Secretary (Mr. Clarke) in December 2005. This analysis was reviewed by the Home Office and a statement given by the then Home Secretary on 3 March 2006, Official Report, column 44WS.
A joint Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Association of Police Authorities (APA) and Police Information and Technology
Organisation (PITO) working group has been established to work in conjunction with police forces to ensure that all ICT requirements, and associated costs, are identified in the Reform Programme.
Police Houses
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the merits of the re-introduction of police houses on housing estates. [83673]
Mr. McNulty: No such assessment has been made.
Police Mergers
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials have been working on the potential merger of the Wales police forces since 1 September 2005, broken down by grade; and how much time each spent on the project. [86165]
Mr. McNulty: Since September 2005 there has been a team of approximately 10 FTE civil servants and seconded police staff working in the Home Office on police force mergers. Precise numbers and grades have fluctuated.
It is not possible to quantify how much of their time has been devoted solely to the merger of Welsh police forces.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what costs have been incurred by each (a) police force and (b) police authority in connection with the police merger proposals in Wales. [86166]
Mr. McNulty: This is a matter for the police forces and police authorities concerned and the information is not held centrally.
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet the Chief Constable for West Mercia to discuss his concerns over the proposed merger of West Mercia Police Authority with others in the West Midlands. [74338]
Mr. McNulty: I met the Chief Constable of West Mercia Police Force and the Chair of West Mercia Police Authority on 5 June 2006.
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation his Department held with hon. Members from (a) Lancashire and (b) Cumbria before a decision was made not to assist with the harmonisation of council tax levels should the merger of Lancashire and Cumbria police take place. [86378]
Mr. McNulty: No discussions have been held with hon. Members on this specific question.
Policy on council tax is decided by the Government collectively.
Police National Computer
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what categories of information are contained on the police national computer; and who has access to the information. [85356]
Mr. McNulty: The following categories of information are held on Police National Computer (PNC):
Vehicles—Both DVLA information and those suspected of being involved in crime.
Property—Certain specific categories of identifiable property such as plant, marine craft, firearms.
Persons—Any person who has been arrested for a recordable offence, convicted, reprimanded, or cautioned for a recordable offence, or is wanted or sought by the police.
The police have access to PNC data and limited access to certain data items is available to certain agencies who have a ‘policing’ responsibility. Any non police agency who has access to PNC data has had to apply for the access through an Association of Chief Police Officers group, which applies the guidelines agreed with the Information Commissioner.
Primates (Experiments)
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons his Department does not grant project licences for experiments on wild-caught primates; for what reasons exceptions are granted; and if he will make a statement. [85885]
Joan Ryan: In addition to the stringent requirements in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regarding the use of non-human primates, the use of wild-caught non-human primates in scientific experiments is subject to supplementary additional considerations.
We announced in 1997 that we cannot foresee any circumstances under which we would be prepared to issue licences under the 1986 Act for programmes of work involving the use of Great Apes (chimpanzees, pygmy chimpanzees, gorillas and orang-utans), and that exceptional justification would be required for the licensed use of other types of non-human primates taken from the wild.
The 1986 Act provides that non-human primates, whether captive bred or wild-caught, can only be used when no other species are suitable for the purposes of the programme to be specified in the licence, or that it is not practicable to obtain animals of any other species that are suitable for those purposes. For the use of wild-caught primates to be exceptionally authorised, there must be no appropriate alternative, no suitable captive-bred animals available and the likely benefits of the programme of work would have to fully justify their use.
In respect of applications to use wild-caught non-human primates, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate and the Animal Procedures Committee provide advice on a case by case basis on whether and on what terms such use should be licensed. Application of these stringent criteria has
meant that first time use of wild-caught non-human primates in scientific procedures has not been licensed in the UK for some years.
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