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4 Dec 2006 : Column 144W—continued
| Number of persons cautioned for drug dealing( 1) offences, City of London and Metropolitan police force areas, 1997 to 2004 | ||
| City of London | Metropolitan | |
| (1 )Unlawful supply and possession with intent to supply unlawfully. | ||
Ethnic Groups (Criminal Activities)
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will undertake research into potential links between ethnic groups and particular criminal activities better to inform police investigations. [101607]
Mr. Coaker: Building up an in-depth understanding of the nature of crime—and victimisation—in particular communities is a fundamental part of good operational policing.
At the national level, the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey conducted by the Home Office in 2003 examined self-reported offending across different ethnic groups. The research found that, controlling for the age profile of the different groups, White persons
continued to have a higher than average rate for offending in the last year, while for those of mixed ethnic origin there was no difference from the national average. Asian and black persons had lower offending rates.
The Office for Criminal Justice Reform, as part of its wider research programme, is conducting research in order better to understand the over-representation of members of black and minority ethnic communities in the criminal justice system, including the over-representation of these groups as victims of crime.
Eye Tests (Motorists)
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many eye tests the police have conducted on motorists in each of the last five years; and what proportion of drivers tested had eyesight below the required level. [106422]
Mr. Coaker: The information is not held centrally.
Gender Equality
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish his Department's gender equality scheme. [101476]
Mr. Byrne: In line with the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities)(Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930), laid on 10 November 2006, we expect to publish my Department's gender equality scheme by30 April 2007.
HMYOI Huntercombe
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will assess the effect on (a) safety and (b) child protection of the late arrival of young offenders at HM Young Offender Institution Huntercombe, Oxfordshire. [105848]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 28 November 2006]: The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is aware of the effects of late arrival and is addressing the problem across the young offender institutions. The national reception procedures provide that, where, because of late arrival or for other reasons, a full vulnerability assessment cannot immediately be made, the young person must be managed as vulnerable pending full assessment.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average delay is in processing applications by the immigration and nationality directorate for variation of leave to remain in the United Kingdom. [101332]
Mr. Byrne:
The requested information is not available and could only be obtained by examination of individual records at a disproportionate cost. The immigration and nationality directorate measure
progress against their published service standards and these are shown on the immigration and nationality directorate website at:
www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/6353/11464/servicestandardsjuly.xls.
Ministerial Travel
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the occasions since he has held his present office when he has used (a) rail services, (b) the London Underground, (c) tram or light railway services and (d) buses in connection with his ministerial duties. [101987]
John Reid: I have made 14 journeys by train in connection with his ministerial duties. I endeavour to use public transport wherever possible and practical to complete my journeys taking into account security considerations. All such travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in ‘Travel by Ministers’.
Mobile Phones (Driving)
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued in Essex for using hand-held (a) mobile telephones and (b) other electronic devices when driving a motor vehicle in each year since the offence was introduced. [106071]
Mr. Coaker: Available information taken from the annual Home Office publication “Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales Supplementary tables”, 2003 to 2004 (latest available) is given in the table. The data provided are unable to separately identify the use of hand held device or similar hand held devices while driving. 2005 data will be available in 2007.
| Fixed penalty notices issued for the offence of use of hand held mobile phone while driving( 1,2 ) within Essex police force area, 2003-04 | |
| Fixed penalty notices issued (number of offences) | |
| ‘—’ = nil fixed penalty notices issued. (1) Offences under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, Regulations 110 (1), 110 (2) and 110 (3). (Introduced 1 December 2003). (2) Includes hand held mobile phone or similar hand-held devices while driving. Note: 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 police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used. | |
National Identity Register
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether data from the National Identity Register may be shared with private sector organisations. [106522]
Joan Ryan: Under the Identity Cards Act, accredited private sector organisations may be provided with a limited set of information to enable them to verify a person’s identity as laid out in section 12 of the Act. This can only be done with that person’s consent and there are no powers to share data with private sector organisations for other purposes.
Organised Crime
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure that information on the activities of organised criminals is shared between police forces in England and the Northern Constabulary; and if he will make a statement. [106294]
Mr. Coaker: The sharing of information between forces on individual organised criminals is an operational matter for chief officers of police. At a national level the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) each year produces a national intelligence requirement for serious organised crime which is sent to all police forces in the UK and acts as a guide to identifying gaps in knowledge and priorities for filling them. SOCA also produces a threat assessment which describes the current knowledge of the various serious organised crime threats to the UK.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made by the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the potential for organised criminal gangs to extend their activities to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. [106652]
Mr. Coaker: The Serious Organised Crime Agency’s current assessment of the threat to the UK from serious organised crime is contained within the 2006-07 UK Threat Assessment, which was published on 2 July 2006. The Threat Assessment focuses on the threat to the UK as a whole, rather than looking at specific UK geographical areas. However, new and emerging trends in organised crime are addressed within the Threat Assessment, where appropriate. The UK Threat Assessment is currently being updated for 2007-08 and publication is planned for spring 2007.
Prisoner Education
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons have received funding to improve their education facilities in each of the last five years; how much each received; and on what the money was spent in each prison. [106220]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table shows education building projects funded by the National Offender Management Service since 2002. The date shown reflect the year when the facilities were ready for use. Where a value of £0 is shown, the project was completed but the expenditure included within another project.
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