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18 Sep 2006 : Column 2484W—continued
Home Department
Asylum/Immigration
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Department will reach a decision on the immigration application of Fouzia Ilyas, ref. no. J1071072668. [90546]
Mr. Byrne: [holding answer 12 September 2006]: I refer to my written answer on 5 September 2006 confirming that Ms Ilyas was notified of a decision on her application on 18 January 2005 when at the same time her documents were returned to her home address.
British Crime Survey
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the number of crimes which may be omitted from the British Crime Survey due to crimes defined as victimless being excluded; and if he will make a statement. [90570]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 September 2006]: The recorded crime statistics collect details of certain victimless crimes which come to the attention of the police and are recorded by them but which are not included in the British Crime Survey. Specific examples of offences are possession of weapons, threat or possession with intent to commit criminal damage and Drug offences. In addition, there are certain victimless crimes in various offence classifications but they cannot be separately identified from other crimes where there is a victim. For example, a breach of a sex offender order can be deemed to be victimless but cannot be separately identified from other offences involving a victim which are also recorded under the crime classification ‘Offences against the State and Public Order’. For this reason, it is not possible to provide an estimate of victimless crimes.
Correspondence
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Woking concerning Mr. B. Fensome, ref M27866/5. [91165]
Joan Ryan: A reply was sent to the hon. Member for Woking on 14 September 2006 from Kevin Sheehan, deputy director of service delivery for the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) under delegated authority. Mr. Sheehan has apologised for this lengthy delay.
The original correspondence dated 14 November 2005 was received in the Home Office on 16 November but was then mislaid due to an administrative error.
Departmental Staff
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the senior civil service in his Department in pay band (a) one, (b) two and (c) three were (i) women and (ii) from ethnic minorities in each of the last five years. [88912]
Mr. Byrne: The percentage of senior civil service in the Department in pay band (a) one (b) two and (c) three were women (i) women and (ii) from ethnic minorities in the last five years is given in the following tables.
| Recorded female staff in the SCS | |||
| Percentage | |||
| As at: | Pay band 1 | Pay band 2 | Pay band 3 |
Parliamentary Questions
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he will reply to Question 73534, on holding in open prisons of those awaiting deportation, tabled by the hon. Member for Ashford for answer on 24 May 2006; [88267]
(2) when he will reply to Question (a) 73532, on those awaiting deportation, (b) 73533, on people awaiting deportation in open prisons, (c) 73531, on deportation of asylum seekers and (d) 73526 on the costs of tracking and detaining foreign criminals tabled by the hon. Member for Ashford for answer on 24 May 2006. [88239]
Mr. Byrne: The hon. Member has received replies to all of these questions.
Police
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government would permit the voluntary amalgamation of two police forces located in different English regions. [90589]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 September 2006]: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 19 June that we would not be proceeding with the mergers of police forces planned by my predecessor and this position has not changed. On 31 July, I invited police forces and police authorities, in the absence of plans to create strategic forces through amalgamation, to investigate further opportunities for greater collaboration and he made it clear that Government regional office boundaries should be respected but they should not be seen as inviolate in that context.
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what costs were incurred by West Mercia Police Authority (WMPA) in its work on the proposed amalgamation of West Mercia into a West Midlands Regional Force; and if he will reimburse WMPA for the costs incurred. [90664]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 September 2006]: West Mercia Police Authority has submitted a claim to the Home Office for £89,060.59 for the additional expenditure it incurred in relation to the consideration of the options for restructuring in the West Midlands region. We are currently considering this claim, and those received from other forces and authorities, and will respond as soon as possible.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers transferred to the Metropolitan police from each other police force in each of the last three years; and how many transferred from the Metropolitan police force to other police forces in each year. [91208]
Mr. McNulty: The available information is provided in the following table.
It is not possible to identify from which forces officers have transferred from or which forces they transfer to once they leave the Metropolitan police.
| Police officers (full-time equivalent) transfers into and out of the Metropolitan police service by year, 2004 to 2006 | ||
| As at 31 March: | Transferring in( 1) | Transferring out( 2) |
| (1 )Includes transfers from NCIS/NCS and from non-Home Office forces e.g. BTP. (2) Includes transfers to NCIS/NCS and to non-Home Office forces in England, Wales or abroad. | ||
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time police officers there were serving in the northern division of Cambridgeshire constabulary on 31 March (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006; and if he will make a statement. [91086]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 11 September 2006]: The information requested is set out in the following table. It additionally shows the number of police community support officers for the northern division. The deployment to divisions and to other specialist operational units is a matter for the chief constable of Cambridgeshire. I understand from the chief constable that in 2004-05 the force established a major investigations team and officers reporting lines were transferred from northern division to the investigations directorate. Also due to boundary changes officers transferred from the northern division to the central division with the realignment of Yaxley.
| Cambridgeshire constabulary—northern division | ||
| As at 31 March | Number of police officers | Number of police community support officers |
Prisons
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places at (a) closed prisons and (b) young offender institutions will be temporarily unavailable for accommodation during the 2006-07 financial year because of maintenance and refurbishment works; and if he will make a statement. [74795]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The National Offender Management Service plans a rolling refurbishment and maintenance programme for the whole prison estate. This results in between 1,500 and 2,000 places being taken out of use at any one time across the estate as individual projects are initiated and completed. This also includes open prisons.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders he plans to release early from young offender institutions following the request from the Youth Justice Board; which offences those to be released early have committed; and what plans he has to ease overcrowding in the long-term. [90857]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 7 September 2006]: The Youth Justice Board has not requested any change in the early release arrangements for young offenders under 18. Jointly with the Prison Service, the Board wrote to governors of young offender institutions on 27 July, asking them to ensure that young people who qualify for early release under the existing guidance are considered and approved as quickly as possible.
The Youth Justice Board is working with sentencers and youth offending teams to achieve greater consistency in sentencing practice across the country, which should reduce the number of young people sentenced to custody.
Public Enquiry Office (Croydon)
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice he received from (a) officials and (b) Government Ministers on the terms of reference for the Report on Investigation into Allegations about the Public Enquiry Office in Croydon. [73697]
John Reid: The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality set out the terms of reference for the investigation on 9 January 2006 following advice from officials.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the investigation by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate’s Security and Anti-Corruption Unit into allegations made by Mr. Anthony Pamnani will report; and whether the report will be published. [73699]
John Reid: I refer the right hon. Member to Mr. Gbedemah’s report on the investigation into allegations about practices within the Public Enquiry Office in Croydon, which was published on 14 March.
Recruitment (Police and Community Support Officers)
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the recruitment process for police community support officers; and if he will make a statement. [90951]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 11 September 2006]: We have consulted widely on the recruitment process for police community support officers, including the following organisations: the Association of Chief Police Officers, police forces, police staff associations, the central police training and development authority (Centrex), and the Association of Police Authorities. We have taken their comments into account in designing a national assessment process and agreeing national recruitment standards for PCSOs. These are being rolled out across forces during 2006-07.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the recruitment campaigns by the Metropolitan Police of (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers on staffing levels in neighbouring police authorities. [90955]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 11 September 2006]: The Home Office has not made any such assessments.
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average waiting time is for consideration of (a) police community support officer and (b) police officer applications. [90981]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 11 September 2006]: This information is not held centrally.
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