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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
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.
Prisons
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nurses, doctors and other specialists in psychiatric and mental health care for vulnerable and at risk children and young adults have been employed by the Prison Service in each of the past 20 years. [86244]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on the number of staff employed by the Prison Service in the psychiatric and mental health care of vulnerable and at risk children is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on family contact for female prisoners of the re-roling of HMP Bulwood Hall as a male prison. [81200]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We have examined the impact of the change on the 100 women prisoners still in custody who were relocated from Bullwood Hall and their average distance from home is now in fact slightly less. It therefore seems unlikely that there will be a significant adverse impact on family contact. All women’s prisons aim to maintain and promote family contact.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money was paid in bonus payments to (a) governor grade staff and (b) operational staff at each prison establishment for each of the last 36 months; who authorised the payments; and if he will make a statement. [85481]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Accurate information as to the amount of money paid to (a) governor grade staff and (b) operational staff in bonus payments is not held centrally and could only be obtained by reference to paper records held at individual prison establishments, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have occurred to the service level agreement developed as part of the performance testing exercise at HM Prison Wandsworth since its acceptance in December 2004; and if he will make a statement. [85482]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Wandsworth prison was awarded a Service Level Agreement (SLA) from April 2005, following the successful performance test.
The SLA is a living document and has been reviewed to reflect priorities for 2006-07 and maintain the drive for improved performance. As a result, more demanding targets have been set in some key performance areas.
The area manager and the regional offender manager continuously monitor delivery of the SLA ensuring that performance levels are sustained.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners currently detained were drug dependent on entering prison, broken down by age group. [85567]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Figures showing the percentage of prisoners who are drug dependent on entering custody are not held centrally. However, several research studies conclude that around 55 per cent. of those received into prison are problematic drug-users (PDUs) with 80 per cent. reporting some misuse. In certain prisons, up to 80 per cent. test positive for opiates on reception. A further study shows the breakdown of percentage drug misuse by age, in the 12 months prior to prison. It has also been reported that 76 per cent. of young men (18-21) were assessed as dependent on at least one drug.
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) treatments and (b) support are provided in prisons for drug misuse problems. [85590]
Mr. Sutcliffe: For drug misusers in custody, a comprehensive range of treatment and support is available. These address low, moderate and severe drug dependency and consist of:
Clinical services (detoxification and/or maintenance prescribing programmes), available in all local and remand prisons;
CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare services), available in all adult prisons;
Juvenile Substance Misuse Service available across the Juvenile estate
Drug Rehabilitation Programmes -116 drug rehabilitation programmes, 40 of which are the Short Duration Programme, running in 103 establishments.
Wider resettlement needs are addressed through the Drug Interventions Programme and for those released on licence by the Probation Service.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers have been subjected to disciplinary action as a result of allegations of racism in each of the last three years; how many prison officers have been convicted as a result of a criminal prosecution; and how many officers have been (a) fined and (b) dismissed as a result of disciplinary proceedings. [86208]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Central records on disciplinary cases involving public sector prison staff are currently being revalidated by reference to records held in individual prisons. I will write to my hon. Friend once this exercise has been completed.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of (a) remand and (b) sentenced prisoners with psychiatric disorders, broken down by severity of disorder. [85405]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on the number of prisoners with psychiatric disorders is not held centrally.
Private Security Companies
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of private security companies in England and Wales have been granted approved contractor status; and how many and what proportion of these have been granted a licence dispensation notice. [79265]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 20 July 2006]: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) estimate that around 2,500 security firms in England and Wales are eligible to apply for Approved Contractor Status (ACS). Of these just over 200, or 8 per cent. have been granted Approved Contractor status since the scheme came into force on 20 March 2006. This means that at 3 July approximately 15,450 operatives may be legally deployed under licence dispensation. All firms approved to date have been authorised to use licence dispensation within specified limits and subject to ACS terms and conditions.
Private Security Industry Act
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people requested a licence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 in each month since April 2005, broken down by type of licence. [76846]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 19 June 2006]: Valid applications that could be processed in each month since April 2005 are represented in the following table. The Security Industry Act do not produce specific reports for each month broken down by sector. A number of applications that were not valid (for example because key documents were not enclosed) have also been received.
| Number of valid applications received by the SIA | |
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have requested an application for a licence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 but have not yet received the application form, broken down by type of application. [77001]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 19 June 2006]: This information is not available. However, the Security Industry Authority's (SIA's) despatch policy is that upon receipt of a telephone request the SIA sends out an application form within two days by first class post. There are two other methods for ordering application forms—companies can request via a bulk process and individuals via the website. These systems currently distribute applications within three to four days with delivery by data post and first class post respectively.
Probation Service
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account he has taken of rurality in the consultation process on proposed reform of the probation service. [86396]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The consultation for the proposed reform of the probation service ran from October to December 2005, during which a number of respondents raised concerns about how locally specific arrangements would work. The new process for commissioning probation services will take account of the differing needs of differing areas. Through regional structures NOMS commissioners will engage stakeholders to inform their commissioning decisions on the range and volume of services that are needed and commissioned.
Racial Hatred
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will investigate allegations of incitement to racial hatred at the (a) Hawza Ilmiyya College and (b) the Islamic College of Advanced Studies, Willesden, London; and if he will make a statement. [65775]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 25 April 2006]: The decision to investigate allegations that individuals and organisations are using inflammatory language or messages is one for the chief officer of the police force concerned.
Sheriffs
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has considered proposals for (a) elected and (b) appointed sheriffs to be established as part of measures to combat crime and antisocial behaviour. [84298]
Mr.
McNulty: We have considered a wide range of options for
making services more responsive and accountable to local priorities on
issues of crime and antisocial behaviour. The review of the Crime and
Disorder Act 1998 committed to strengthening the effectiveness of Crime
and Disorder Reduction
Partnerships (CDRPs) by setting national standards. These will require,
among other things:
Elected local authority members responsible for community safety issues to play a full part in setting community safety priorities;
Subjecting CDRPs to periodic scrutiny by local authority Overview and Scrutiny Committees;
Requiring Basic Command Unit Commanders and senior representatives of other responsible authorities to hold regular Face the People sessions to respond to issues raised by local communities; and
The introduction of the Community Call for action to enable local communities to trigger intervention by the local authority scrutiny committee if community safety issues have not been adequately addresses by the police or their partners.
Setting out requirements on CDRPs/Community Safety Partnerships to consult, communicate and engage with their communities.
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