Previous Section Index Home Page

9 Oct 2006 : Column 536W—continued


Special Advisers

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the dates of employment are of each special adviser employed in his Department. [89201]

John Reid: The dates of employment of the three Home Office Special Advisers are as follows:

Tagging

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost was of the electronic tags and tagging system in each year since 2001. [87209]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The annual cost of electronic monitoring in England and Wales in each financial year since 2001-2002 is shown in the table:

The current contracts, which commenced on 1 April 2005, have provided a saving of about 40 per cent. during 2005-06.

Annual cost (£ million)

2001-02

37.8

2002-03

64.0

2003-04

77.5

2004-05

102.3

2005-06

59.6


Thames Valley Police

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to strengthen Thames Valley Police officer numbers. [91665]

Mr. McNulty: It is a matter for the Chief Constable in consultation with the police authority to decide the number of staff employed by the Thames Valley Police. At the end of March 2006 the force had 4,229 police
9 Oct 2006 : Column 537W
officers, an increase of 534, or 12.6 per cent. since 1997. In addition police staff numbers have increased by 930 over the same period to 2,755 in March 2006. The force also had 130 Police Community Support Officers in March.

Thames Valley Police is benefiting from additional Government funding from the Neighbourhood Policing Fund (NPF) to increase the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). With support from the NPF the Thames Valley Police has a target of 417 PCSOs by April 2007.

Theft Act

Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has issued to police authorities on (a) prosecuting and (b) recording incidents covered by section 3, on ‘making off without payment’, of the Theft Act 1978; and if he will make a statement. [89262]

Mr. McNulty: The Home Office Counting Rules contain the rules by which police forces in England and Wales count and classify crimes. The Rules are revised annually and the latest version was published on 1 April 2006. The current Rules include the following wording regarding the recording practice for 'making off without payment offences':

The Crown Prosecution Service have responsibility for prosecuting these offences and make decisions in accordance with the guidance issued to Police Officers and Crown Prosecutors by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been made under section 3, on ‘making off without payment’, of the Theft Act 1978 in the Humberside Police Authority area in each of the last nine years; and if he will make a statement. [89263]

Mr. McNulty: Data from the Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates court, under section three, on ‘making off without payment’, of the Theft Act 1978 in the Humberside Police Authority, 1996 to 2004 are contained in the following table.

Statistics for 2005 court proceedings will be available in the autumn of 2006.


9 Oct 2006 : Column 538W
Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to section 3 of the Theft Act 1978 in Humberside police force area, 1996 to 2004( 1,2)
Prosecuted

1996

37

1997

25

1998

17

1999

19

2000

28

2001

21

2002

20

2003

20

2004

31

(1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform.

Trials Abroad

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what support the Government have provided for the three former employees of Nat West in securing a fair trial in the United States. [90281]

Dr. Howells: I have been asked to reply.

We are offering the same level of consular support to the so-called “Nat West Three” that any other British national facing trial in the United States would receive. While our role is primarily a welfare one, we do provide information about the local legal system and lists of local lawyers. We have no reason to believe that the trial will not be conducted in accordance with international standards of fairness. We do consider making representations if a trial of a British national abroad does not meet those international standards. However, we cannot ask for any special treatment for British nationals and we cannot interfere in another country’s judicial system.

Under-age Drinking

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been for the sale of alcohol to minors in (a) licensed and (b) off-licence premises in each of the last 10 years. [90283]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is provided in the table. It is not possible to identify whether the prosecutions relate to licensed or off-licence premises as the data held centrally are not collected at that level of detail.

Data for 2005 will be available in November.

The offence of sale of alcohol to a person under 18 can attract a penalty notice for disorder (PND). The offence was added to the PND scheme on 1 November 2004, and there were 113 Penalty Notices issued for the offence in November and December of that year. Provisional data for 2005 show that a further 2,009 penalty notices were issued for the offence in 2005.


9 Oct 2006 : Column 539W
Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences related to the sale of alcohol to persons under 18, England and Wales 1995-2004( 1,2)
Offence description Principal statute Year Proceeded against Found guilty

Selling etc. intoxicating liquor to person under 18 for consumption on the premises

Licensing Act 1964 S. 169 A & B as added by Licensing (Young Persons) Act 2000 S.1

1995

198

108

1996

251

119

1997

214

125

1998

310

157

1999

204

115

2000

130

56

2001

155

53

2002

168

105

2003

604

416

2004

836

590

Wholesaler selling intoxicating liquor to person under 18

Licensing Act 1964 S.181 A(1) as added by Licensing Act 1988 S.17

1997

1

1

1998

1

1

1999

1

0

2000

2

0

2001

3

0

2002

2

0

2003

12

3

2004

5

3

(1) These data are provided on the principal offence basis.
(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Source:
RDS—Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) licensed and (b) off-licence premises have lost their licences due to the sale of alcohol to minors in each of the last 10 years. [90284]

Mr. Woodward: I have been asked to reply.

This information is not held centrally.

Statistical returns recording on and off-licensed premises operating under the terms of the Licensing Act 1964 (the 1964 Act) are collated and published every three years. Accordingly, between 1996 and 2006, statistics are only available for the years 1998, 2001 and 2004. The number of on and off-licences revoked or not renewed for any reason are as follows:


9 Oct 2006 : Column 540W
Licences revoked 1998 to 2004
Year to 30 June On-licensed premises Off-licensed premises Total

1998

215

102

317

2001

132

51

183

2004

273

81

354


These licences would have been revoked or not renewed by the licensing justices for a variety of reasons, including sales to persons under 18. Reasons for each decision are not recorded.

The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24 November 2005 and replaced on and off-licences issued under the 1964 Act with a new system of personal licences to sell alcohol and a separate licence for premises. Statistics for revocations of licences, under the new system, are not currently held centrally; information should however be available from local licensing authorities.


Next Section Index Home Page