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7 Nov 2006 : Column 1342W—continued
Mr. Byrne: Ministers review and authorise detention of children beyond 28 days where necessary on a weekly basis; we only seek to detain families with children for more than 28 days in exceptional circumstances.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many transfers of long-held immigration stamps were completed in (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03, (c) 2003-04, (d) 2004-05 and (e) 2005-06, broken down by cost option. [91133]
Mr. Byrne: Prior to the introduction of a separate fee in April 2005 the costs and volumes for transfers of long-held immigration stamps were reported as part of the overall leave to remain figures. The department did not therefore collate information in the format requested and it could now be produced only at disproportionate costs.
The resource accounts for the financial year 2005-06 detailing the cost and volumes for the transfer of long held immigration stamps are still being finalised and are yet to be audited by the National Audit Office.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent transferring long-held immigration stamps in (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03, (c) 2003-04, (d) 2004-05 and (e) 2005-06; and how much of the sum was accounted for by (i) operational costs, (ii) staffing costs and (iii) overhead costs in each case. [91134]
Mr. Byrne: Prior to the introduction of a separate fee in April 2005 the costs incurred for transfers of long-held immigration stamps were reported as part of the overall leave to remain figures. The Department did not therefore collate information in the format requested and it could now be produced only at disproportionate costs.
The resource accounts for the financial year 2005-06 detailing the cost and volumes for the transfer of long-held immigration stamps are still being finalised and are yet to be audited by the National Audit Office.
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the number of people living in the UK who (a) have and (b) have had asylum seeker status. [74127]
Mr. Byrne: Information on the number of people living in the UK who have at some point claimed asylum is not available.
Information on asylum applications is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin Asylum Statistics United Kingdom. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
British Citizenship (Hong Kong)
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many and what percentage of children from Hong Kong who received their British citizenship certificates after February 2006 have made complaints to the Department about their certificates containing errors; [95560]
(2) What the average waiting time was for children from Hong Kong who applied for British citizenship after February 2006 for their British citizenship certificates; [95561]
(3) How many children from Hong Kong have applied for British citizenship since February 2006; and how many of these are waiting for their British citizenship certificates. [95562]
John Reid: The requested information cannot be obtained without examination of individual records at a disproportionate cost.
Burglaries
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on the level of burglaries of (a) domestic and (b) commercial properties; and if he will make a statement. [97311]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Secretary has received a number of representations regarding levels of burglary from Members’ constituents and from the public in letters and e-mails but to identify individual instances where these crimes may have been raised separately from crime in general would be available only at disproportionate cost.
CCTV Evidence
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make provision for closed-circuit television images to be able to be copied for use by the police in criminal investigations. [97746]
Mr. McNulty: While most CCTV systems do have some provision for closed-circuit television images to be able to be copied for use by the police in criminal investigations, it is fair to say that many of the digital CCTV systems currently in use do, from time to time, cause difficulties to some police forces. This issue has been highlighted in the National CCTV Strategy which is currently under development.
The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) have produced advice (available on their website) on the UK Police requirements for Digital CCTV systems. This guidance can significantly alleviate many of the problems that are being encountered. HOSDB are also working with the industry to influence the design of new digital CCTV systems which better map to current and future policing needs.
Channings Wood Prison
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2006, Official Report, column 75W, on Channings Wood Prison, what recent progress has been made on (a) the Jamaican prisoner and (b) each of the other 31 cases of foreign nationals to whom he refers; whether the Jamaican prisoner to whom he refers has been deported; and what plans there are for the 29 other foreign national prisoners in prison. [68428]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 8 May 2006]: In the Home Secretary's oral statement of 9 October 2006, he provided an update on the deportation of foreign national prisoners and also explained that the director general of the immigration and nationality directorate had written to the Home Affairs Committee on the same day. This letter contains a progress update on the 1,013 cases released without deportation consideration and also further information on the enforcement resources used in dealing with these cases.
A copy of this letter has been made available in the Library of the House.
Child Pornography
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 19 June 2006, Official Report, column 1051W, on child pornography, what progress has been made by the UK internet industry against the target for all internet service providers to have blocked access to sites abroad containing child pornography by the end of 2007. [95712]
Mr. Coaker: In June, we set the UK internet industry a target to ensure that by the end of 2007, all internet service providers (ISPs) offering broadband internet connectivity to the UK public, prevent their customers from accessing those websites. Those large providers that do not already have solutions in place for all their domestic broadband customers are continuing to roll their solutions out. A number of smaller ISPs have begun work on the implications for them. We will meet them again around the end of this year to review progress.
There has been much discussion on the practical issues among the smaller ISPs and through ISPA, the ISP association. We continue to discuss ISPs’ progress towards the target and wider issues in tackling illegal images of children with the industry, the Internet Watch Foundation and law enforcement.
Cigarette Lighters
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of the Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations 1999; what recent representations he has received about the operation of the regulations; and whether he plans to amend them. [99281]
Mr. Coaker: The Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations banned the supply or sale of butane cigarette lighter refills to people under the age of 18 in 1999. There are currently no plans to amend this order. The Government have targeted the abuse of butane cigarette lighter refills by inhaling as a priority under its Volatile Substance Abuse framework, published in July 2006, and is developing plans to raise awareness of the law and promote its enforcement. The Secretary of State receives a number of representations on volatile substance abuse and this was the subject of an adjournment debate in the House of Commons on the 24 May 2006.
Citizenship Ceremonies
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people took part in citizenship ceremonies in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in 2005. [98672]
Mr. Byrne: The numbers of people reported to the Home Office as having attended citizenship ceremonies in the UK during 2005 are:
| Number | |
Committal Hearings
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of committal hearings resulted in the case being heard in the Crown court in each of the last three years. [98497]
Ms Harman: I have been asked to reply.
I am unable to provide the information requested. The Department’s IT systems are unable to track the volume of “either way” cases being heard in the magistrates courts that give rise to the cases being transferred to the Crown court.
The LIBRA project, which is currently being piloted, will allow for the consistent production of this data.
Control Orders
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many control orders which allow officials to search a home have been served since their introduction. [95048]
Mr. McNulty: It is normal practice to include a provision for searching the home of an individual subject to a control order in order to assist enforcement of the order. An example of the obligation can be found in Annexe two of Lord Carlile’s report of the Independent Reviewer on the operation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, which was published on 2 February 2006. Responsibility for searching the home of an individual subject to a control order is an operational matter for the police.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which individuals have breached control orders; [95610]
(2) how many control orders have been breached in each of the last 12 months; [95611]
(3) what measures have been taken against those who have breached control orders in the last 12 months; [95612]
(4) how many individuals under control orders his Department has lost contact with; [95613]
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many suspects subject to a control order have breached the conditions of their order in the last (a) 12 and (b) three months; [95907]
(2) how long (a) he and (b) his officials had been aware that a suspect subject to a control order had absconded; and if he will make a statement; [95909]
(3) what plans he has to ensure that no further suspects subject to a control order are able to breach the conditions of that order; and if he will make a statement; [95910]
(4) what plans he has to review the legislation on control orders; and if he will make a statement. [95911]
John Reid [holding answers 20 October 2006]: Monitoring and enforcement of control orders, and investigation of alleged breaches, are operational matters for the police. A breach of a control order, without reasonable excuse, is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years imprisonment. The Government do not give a running commentary on individual breaches of control orders, which can range from the relatively minor to more serious incidents resulting in charges being brought. This is an operational matter for the police and prosecution authorities. However, I can confirm that there have been no convictions for a breach of a control order.
In the two cases referred to in the recent media coverage, my officials and I were informed without delay about the breaches, and all those who needed to know for operational reasons were informed as quickly as possible. Both individuals are subject to anonymity orders, which are a standard part of the operation of the control order regime. Anonymity orders protect the privacy of the individual and can help the police in the enforcement and monitoring of the control order. In these two cases, the police believe that there would be a substantial operational disadvantage in lifting the anonymity orders at the present time.
Lord Carlisle, as the Independent Reviewer, produces an annual report on the operation of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. This includes reporting on breaches of control orders.
The Government keep all counter terrorism legislation under review to ensure that it continues to meet the threat from terrorism that we face. As I announced on 28 September, I am currently undertaking a wide ranging review of the UK’s counter terrorism strategy and this will include looking at existing legislation. In particular, I am reviewing what more might be necessary to improve the effectiveness of the control order regime, as well as seeking to appeal
to the House of Lords to overturn the Court of Appeal’s judgement on 1 August 2006 which forced me to weaken the obligations in some control order cases. I will update the House on the outcome of the review in due course.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suspects are subject to a control order. [95902]
John Reid: There are currently 15 control orders in operation, six of which are in respect of British nationals.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines are issued by his Department on action to be taken in the case of a suspect breaching the conditions of his control order. [95903]
John Reid: Enforcement of breaches of control orders is a matter for the police and the prosecution authorities.
Correspondence
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 20 July from the hon. Member for Warley regarding Mrs. Nagina Bi. [95674]
Mr. Byrne: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 20 October 2006.
Crime Statistics
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of (i) youths, (ii) adult males and (iii) adult females from Coventry in custody following sentencing who experienced (A) drug dependency health problems, (B) alcohol dependency health problems and (C) serious mental health problems in each year since 2001. [97163]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 30 October 2006]: The information requested is not collected according to prisoner domicile. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Jim Cousins) on 24 October 2006, Official Report, column 1814W for the national statistics.
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recorded rate of crime was in Sunderland for (a) burglary of dwellings, (b) violence against the person, (c) vehicle crime, (d) robbery, (e) sexual offences, (f) total violent crime, (g) theft and handling of stolen goods and (h) criminal damage in each year since 1997. [99830]
Mr. Coaker: Since 1999-2000, data have been collected for Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) which are broadly equivalent to local authority areas. Available information for Sunderland CDRP is given in the following table.
| Recorded crime per 1,000 population for Sunderland CDRP | |||||||
| 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| Note: The introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002-03 means data not comparable with later years. | |||||||
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