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25 July 2006 : Column 1324W—continued
All figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
Information on the reasons for refusal of individual applications, and the outcome of appeals, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Prisoners with sentences of three months to less than four years with an HDC eligibility date in the periods specified, and number released on HDC: wounding (inflicting GBH) and assault with intent to cause GBH | ||
| Prisoners with sentences of three months to less than four years with an HDC eligibility date in the period | Number released on HDC | |
| Notes: ‘—’ Indicates nil or less than three. - nil or less than 3 These statistics are based on information recorded on the central Prison Service IT system at week ending 16 July 2006, Further updates and amendments may be made to records on this system in future resulting in revised figures. These figures have been rounded to the nearest five. | ||
Departmental Staff
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants at grade 5 or above have been disciplined over failures in the UK immigration system since 1 January; and if he will make a statement. [73891]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 5 June 2006]: Since January, there has been no disciplinary action against any member of the senior civil service in relation to the work of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.
In setting up the Immigration and Nationality Directorate as an Executive agency of the Home Office we will establish stronger accountability arrangements and set demanding targets for performance and delivery.
Dogs
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take the necessary steps to record and publish the number of dogs that (a) go missing and (b) are stolen in each year in England and Wales. [87761]
Mr. McNulty: There are currently no plans to separately identify from the recorded crime statistics collected by the Home Office the number of dogs stolen. Information on dogs reported missing is not collected by the Home Office.
Engagements
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety last visited Watford in her official capacity. [54058]
John Reid: My right hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Hazel Blears) did not visit Watford in her official capacity as a Home Office Minister.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) public speeches and (b) official visits he has made since 5 May 2005; and how many letters he sent in this period. [55706]
John Reid: I have undertaken 72 public speeches, 19 official visits and sent 1,017 letters since the 5 May 2005. Each speech and visit was conducted in accordance with the ministerial code.
The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/peers correspondence. The report for 2004 was published on 6 April 2005, Official Report, column 137. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House. The report for 2005 will be published in due course
Extradition
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department of which individuals the United States is seeking extradition from the UK on grounds of terrorist affiliation. [87574]
Mr. McNulty: Seven people wanted by the US on charges connected to terrorism are the subject of extradition proceedings. It is not our policy or practice to list the names of those concerned.
Fraud
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what his estimate is of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) fraud excluding large-scale fraud in each of the last three years; [89114]
(2) what his estimate is of the cost of fraud outside (a) the responsibility of the City of London police and (b) London in 2005-06. [89115]
Mr. Coaker: There is no recent reliable estimate of the cost of fraud, although a Home Office commissioned report in 2000 estimated the total economic cost of fraud then to be around £14 billion. The figure six years later is likely to be considerably higher. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has commissioned a study on the nature, extent and economic impact of fraud which will report later this year. The Home Office has actively helped with the tendering process and the terms of reference for the project.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with (a) national banks and (b) the police regarding the prevention of identity fraud. [89123]
Joan Ryan: Work on identity fraud reduction is led by the Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC) and supported by the Identity Fraud Forum (IFF). The IFSC and IFF include members from the police and the British Bankers' Association, as well as representatives from other sectors. The IFSC and the IFF meet regularly to take forward the Government's work on reducing identity fraud and to co-ordinate this activity across all sectors. A number of sub-groups meet on a regular basis to identify, scope and prioritise opportunities to reduce identity fraud.
In particular, we have established a network of Single Points of Contact in all police forces, as well as in a range of Government Departments and agencies, for dealing with identity fraud investigations and prosecutions. Also, a number of banks have produced co-branded versions of the Home Office identity theft leaflet for their customers. The leaflet explains how to keep personal information safe, how to get help if one is the victim of identity fraud and what is being done to combat the problem.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many identity thefts were reported in each London borough in each of the last five years; and how many resulted in a conviction. [88667]
Joan Ryan:
The Government take the problem of identity fraud very seriously. There is no single offence of either identity theft or identity fraud. On 7 June 2006 we brought into force sections 25 and 26 of the Identity Cards Act 2006 which created new criminal offences of being in possession or control of false identity documents. These offences relate to a wide range of identity documents, including passports, driving licences, ID cards and immigration documents. The maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment for an offence of possession with intent to use the document
for establishing registrable facts about another person, such as name, address, date of birth and other personal details, and two years imprisonment for possession without reasonable excuse. Investigation of offences under these provisions is already underway and statistics on the number of prosecutions and convictions will be published in due course.
There is also a range of other criminal offences to combat identity fraud. These include, for example, the offences in the Theft Acts of 1968 and 1978 of obtaining property by deception (property includes money), obtaining services by deception and obtaining a money transfer by deception. The number of these offences that were committed using a false or stolen identity is not recorded centrally and it is not possible to provide figures for London boroughs or any other area. However, identity theft and identity fraud questions were incorporated into the British Crime Survey in 2005 and the results should give us more information on the number of victims and the types of fraud that are being committed.
Gun Crime
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) West of 17 July 2006, Official Report, column 66W, on gun crime, why the requested data is not in a form suitable for publication. [87680]
Mr. McNulty: From 1986 to 1996-97 firearm offences data collected centrally did not include reference to whether weapons were held legally or illegally. Attempts were made between 1997-98 and 2003-04 to collect these data, but there were concerns over their quality. There is a difficulty for the police being able to identify whether a firearm used in an offence was legally or illegally held, particularly if that firearm was not retrieved. As a result the data for this period were not published. Because of these concerns, and following consultation with police force representatives, the data ceased to be collected centrally from one April 2004.
Human Trafficking
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is a specific department within the Serious Organised Crime Agency that deals with combating human trafficking. [82697]
Mr. McNulty: One of top priorities for the Serious Organised Crime Agency is the combating of organised immigration crime, which includes human trafficking. The responsibility for this work is shared by a number of different departments within the Agency.
Illegal Drugs
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by law enforcement agencies in the fight against illegal drugs in the last three years. [87679]
Mr. Coaker: The Government made available £380 million of direct annual expenditure for drug supply reduction activity in each of the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. These figures represent expenditure by agencies with the Concerted Inter-Agency Drug Action Group (CIDA) including National Crime Squad, National Criminal Intelligence Service and HM Revenue and Customs. It does not include any expenditure of the Police Grant in policing local drug markets.
Illegal Imports (Animal Products)
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions were brought in each of the last six years for illegally importing products of animal origin into the UK; and how many resulted in a custodial sentence. [85617]
Mr. Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have had responsibility for anti smuggling controls on products of animal origin since 11 April 2003.
The number of prosecutions taken forward by HMRC for products of animal origin (POAO) illegal imports offences, is set out in the following table:
| April to March | Number of prosecutions |
All prosecutions were successful.
Of these nine prosecutions, one conviction (in June 2005) resulted in the imposition of a 28-day custodial sentence. The most recent prosecution led to a fine and the individual found guilty was deported.
Details of prosecutions taken by local authorities, specifically for offences relating to illegal imports meat into the UK, are not held centrally.
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