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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: NOMS 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.
Sudbury Open Prison
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of (a) stay and (b) sentence was of detainees in Sudbury Open Prison in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [91027]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 11 September 2006]: Information on the average length of stay at Sudbury prison is not centrally available, and providing information based on manually stored records could be achieved only at disproportionate cost. The following table gives the population in Sudbury prison by sentence length band at 30 June in each year since 2002. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system and although shown to the last individual the figure may not be accurate to that level.
| Sentence lengths of prisoners in Sudbury open prison as at 30 June each year | ||||
| < 12 months | 12 months <4 years | 4 years + | Total | |
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were detained in Sudbury Open Prison on the latest date for which figures are available; how many had been convicted of (a) murder, (b) grievous bodily harm, (c) sexual offences and (d) rape; and if he will make a statement. [91028]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 11 September 2006]: From data held on the prison IT system, there were 531 prisoners detained in Sudbury Open Prison on 31 July 2006, of whom 172 were held for offences of violence against the person. Information by individual category of offence is not available because the figures are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed. There were no prisoners held in Sudbury Open Prison for sexual offences including rape on that date. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system and although shown to the last individual may not be accurate to that level.
Terrorism
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested in the UK under anti-terrorism legislation in each year since 1 January 2001; how many were charged; for which offences; under which legislation; on which day into the period of their detention each of those charged were charged; how many of those arrested were released without charge; and on which day into the period of their detention of those released without charge were released. [90558]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 September 2006]: Statistics compiled from police records show that between 11 September 2001 and 31 March 2006, 997 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT). Of these people, 154 were charged with offences under TACT and 79 of these were also charged under other legislation.
A further 175 were charged with offences under other legislation. During this period 570 people were released without charge. The Home Office does not collate information on the length of time an individual is detained prior to being charged or released and this could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
Yarl's Wood
Alistair
Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the
Home Department what the (a) nationality, (b) sex,
(c) date of birth and (d) immigration status is of each
of the seven detainees who escaped from Yarl’s Wood following
the fire on 14 February 2002 and whose
whereabouts remain uncertain and what their current status within the UK
is.
[79191]
Mr. Byrne: I am advised that the information requested about the seven detainees who escaped and who remain out of touch with IND from Yarl’s Wood, following the fire on the night of 14 February 2002 is set out in the following table.
| Nationality | Sex | DOB | Status at time of escape | Current status |
Health
Acute Hospital Budgets
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much and what proportion of the overall budget for acute hospital expenditure for each primary care trust has been spent purchasing (a) procedures and treatment from independent providers operating within the UK and (b) for patients who have travelled outside the UK for treatment in the last five years. [87659]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The expenditure is not separately identified from the annual financial returns of primary care trusts.
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