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Neighbourhood Watch
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many neighbourhood watch schemes are in operation; and if he will make a statement. [88646]
Mr. McNulty: Neighbourhood Watch groups are not required to register with the Home Office and therefore we do not have information on exactly how many schemes exist. However, Neighbourhood Watch schemes requiring public liability insurance cover funded by the Home Office need to register with the insurance provider, and the most recent figure for the number of schemes registered is 137,238 (as of 1 July 2006). Information on the number of schemes existing that have not registered for PLI is not collected.
News of the World
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has held with representatives of the News of the World in the last four weeks. [79809]
John Reid: The Minister has meetings with the media from time to time and this has included discussions with the News of the World.
Offenders (Licensed Release)
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders on licence given permission to travel abroad in the last 12 months have (a) returned late, (b) absconded and been re-arrested and (c) absconded and not been recaptured, broken down by the type of offence for which they were convicted. [79596]
John Reid: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, revised arrangements are being put in place in relation to life sentenced prisoners which require the notification centrally of any trip abroad that is due to take place and any trip which has been undertaken. This requirement forms part of a recent update to the Lifer Manual which shortly will be communicated formally to probation areas via a probation circular.
Parliamentary Questions
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department will answer questions (a) 44633 on the Probation Service, (b) 50812 on Cumbria Police Authority and (c) 64424 on crime in Cumbria, tabled by the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale. [75140]
Mr. McNulty: I replied to the hon. Member as follows:
(b) question 44633—5 June 2006, Official Report, column 297W; and
(c) question 64424—30 June 2006, Official Report, column 874W.
My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State (Mr. Sutcliffe) replied to (a) question 50812 on 3 July 2006, Official Report, column 883W.
Police
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stations have closed in (a) Devon, (b) Cornwall, (c) Somerset and (d) Dorset in each of the last five years. [76251]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 June 2006]: Information provided by the respective police forces is set out in the following table.
| Number of police stations opened and closed since 2002 | |||||||||
| Devon and Cornwall | Avon and Somerset | Dorset | |||||||
| Year (as at 31 March) | Open | Closed | Total | Open | Closed | Total | Open | Closed | Total |
| (1)
Data not
available. | |||||||||
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his assessment is of the costs and benefits of (a) no change, (b) a federated structure, (c) a single strategic force and (d) other strategic co-working arrangements for police force restructuring in Wales. [82367]
Mr. McNulty: The business case for the amalgamation of the four Welsh police forces, which was sent to Welsh police forces and police authorities with the then Home Secretary's notice of intention to merge on 3 March 2006, contained details of all the options that had been considered and HMIC's assessment of them.
The notice of intention to merge was withdrawn on 13 July.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future use of (a) Willesden Green and (b) Harlesden police station. [87490]
Mr.
McNulty: Questions about the use of the Metropolitan
police estate are for the Metropolitan Police Authority and for the
Commissioner. However I am informed by the Metropolitan police that
these stations are considered to be beyond their viable lives and may
be considered for disposal. MPS have confirmed that no Metropolitan
police station will
close unless a suitable replacement in the general
location has been provided. Full local consultation will take place.
The long-term accommodation strategy for the Brent area includes
enhanced custody centre facilities, a patrol base and safer
neighbourhood
bases.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults per head of population there were on (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers in each constabulary in 2005-06. [88963]
Mr. McNulty: Assaults on police community support officers are not recorded separately by the Home Office. They are recorded under the more general category of common assault if no injury results. If injury is involved they are recorded under the appropriate section of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
Statistics of assaults on a constable by police force area for 2005-06 are given in the table.
Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Point of Order on 12 July 2006, Official Report, column 1393, on police force mergers, if he will clarify the implications for the proposed abolition of West Mercia Constabulary and the creation of a regional West Midlands force. [85899]
Mr. McNulty: My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, made it clear in the House on 19 June and again on 12 July that he did not intend to proceed with enforced police force mergers. The notice of intention to merge which was issued to West Mercia by the then Home Secretary on 3 March has been withdrawn.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what undertakings he has given to chief constables and police authorities on central Government funding for police force amalgamations. [74594]
John Reid: The Government gave undertakings to meet 100 per cent. of reasonable set up revenue and capital costs of restructuring, net of reasonable savings.
As I said on 19 June, I do not, however, intend to proceed with enforced amalgamations. We will work with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities, as well as HMIC, to improve protective services, preserve neighbourhood policing and increase efficiencies through use of shared services.
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) street wardens there were in Hackney and Stoke Newington in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available. [85291]
Mr. McNulty: Information on police officers is not collected at constituency level.
Information has been collected centrally by Operational Command Unit since March 2003. The most recent figures are as at 31 March 2005, showing that Hackney had 789 full-time equivalent police officers. The deployment of police officers to OCUs and other specialist units in the Metropolitan Police is an operational matter for the Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis.
The Department for Communities and Local Government have collected information on street wardens sine 2001, and state that there are currently 30 wardens operating in Hackney.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) resignations and (b) retirements of police officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary there have been in each year since 1997. [85993]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is given in the following table.
| Full-time equivalent( 1) Police Officer resignations and retirements in Cambridgeshire (1997-2005) | ||
| As at 31 March: | Voluntary resignations( 2) | Retirements( 3) |
| (1
)Prior to 2003, FTE figures excluded those on career breaks or
maternity/paternity leave. These figures have been rounded to the
nearest whole
number. (2) Voluntary resignations does not include those who are dismissed and required to resign. (3) Retirements includes normal retirements and medical retirements. | ||
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