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8 Jan 2007 : Column 443W—continued
DNA Database
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people under 18 years who have DNA profiles stored on the national database have not been charged or cautioned for an offence; and if he will make a statement. [102070]
Joan Ryan: Data on whether persons with a profile on the national DNA database have been charged or cautioned for an offence is not held on the NDNAD, but is held on the police national computer. However, the data requested is not currently available routinely from the PNC.
The last available data on this issue was provided in the reply given by my hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Andy Burnham), on 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 367. It was obtained from data extracted from the PNC for monitoring and research purposes.
Updated information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by cross-searching approximately 3 million records retained for such persons on the PNC.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of (a) murder, (b) manslaughter, (c) grievous bodily harm and (d) rape have been solved as a result of the retention on the DNA database of DNA profiles taken as a result of previous arrests that had not led to successful prosecutions. [109536]
Joan Ryan
[holding answer 19 December 2006]: The most recent figures available are the result of research carried out in January 2006 that indicates that:
37 murders/manslaughters, 16 attempted murders and 90 rapes have so far been linked to people who had DNA samples taken on arrest but who were subsequently not proceeded against for the arresting offence.
The figures are not collated as a matter of course and no further research has taken place as this would be a major project taking approximately two months.
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA profiles were recorded on the national DNA database in each of the last two years. [109591]
Joan Ryan: In 2004-05, 521,117 subject sample profiles were added to the national DNA database. In addition, 59,048 crime scene sample profiles from unsolved crime scenes were added to the Database.
In 2005-06, 715,239 subject sample profiles and 68,774 crime stain profiles were added to the NDNAD.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of people on the DNA database have been convicted of a crime. [112657]
Joan Ryan: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Mr. Crabb) on 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 491 and the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, Home Department to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) on 13 December 2006, Official Report, column 1108.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost is of collecting and entering one DNA profile onto the national DNA Database; and if he will make a statement. [113421]
Joan Ryan: The costs for collecting and processing one DNA sample fall to individual police forces and establishing this is dependent on the contractual agreement between the force and the forensic supplier. This information is deemed to be commercially confidential.
Driver Improvement Courses
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether acceptance of a place on a driver improvement course offered by Bedfordshire police in lieu of prosecution involves admission of liability for the alleged offence on the part of the motorist. [112804]
Mr. McNulty: Acceptance of a place on a driver improvement scheme does not require admission of liability for the alleged offence on the part of the motorist.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of fees for the driver improvement course offered by Bedfordshire police service to motorists is received by the service. [112805]
Mr. McNulty: The national driver improvement scheme is managed by a steering group chaired by the Association of Chief Police Officers and with representatives from the Home Office and Department for Transport. Courses within the scheme are provided by independent contractors on behalf of the police and payment is to the service provider. Information on local contractual arrangements is not available centrally.
Efficiency Gains
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will break down by area of expenditure the £445 million efficiency gains set out in paragraph 6.18 of the pre-Budget report; and how much of those gains was achieved from externally procured or contracted services. [109752]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 19 December 2006]: The Department has reduced the cost of providing asylum support by £161 million since 2004-05 by renegotiating accommodation contracts with external contractors and ensuring that new contract arrangements minimise the payments of voids (contracted accommodation which we paid for regardless of occupancy). We have also released £221 million by ensuring applicants are given the right status, clearing older cases out of the system and improving processes to cease support efficiently and £63 million by increasing the use of more efficient pre-planned initial accommodation rather than expensive emergency accommodation.
Escort Services
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments his Department has made to security firms for (a) detention and (b) escort services provided to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate since 2005-05, broken down by services provided (i) in England and Wales and (ii) involving escort work overseas; which 10 businesses were paid the greatest amount for such service in that period; and what the amount was in each case. [109723]
Mr. Byrne: The Secretary of State for the Home Department does not separately record what payments were made for services exclusively provided in England and Wales for detention services or in country escorts.
Overseas escorts were undertaken in the period May 2005 to November 2006 as follows:
| £ | |
Foreign Prisoners
Mr. Clegg:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases involving foreign prisoners claiming to be wrongfully detained after the end of their sentence have been settled (a) out of court
and (b) in court in each of the last two years, broken down by the month in which they were settled. [109673]
John Reid: This information is not kept centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Furniture
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by his Department on furniture made by British firms in each year since 2000. [105137]
Mr. Byrne: Information on the amount spent by the Department on furniture made by British firms since 2000 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Gershon Review
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent by his Department and agencies in order to achieve Gershon efficiency savings; whether these costs were included in reports of headline efficiency savings; and if he will make a statement. [108359]
Mr. Byrne: The baseline and approach to assessing increases in value for money in my Department are set out in the technical note, available via:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/sr2004-value-for-money-tech-note/SR2004-Value-Money-Target?view=Binary.
The focus of the Department’s value for money programme is to stimulate genuine improvements in outcomes, including the effective delivery of public services at the front line.
Harmondsworth Centre
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of those resident at the Harmondsworth Immigration Detention Centre on 29 November 2006 have (a) been bailed, (b) been transferred to (i) other immigration detention centres, (ii) secure prison accommodation, (iii) open prison accommodation and (iv) police cells and (c) remained resident at Harmondsworth since that date. [109588]
John Reid: Of the detainees resident in Harmondsworth immigration removal centre on 29 November, none were bailed. However 422 detainees were transferred to other places of detention: 309 to other immigration removal centres, 102 to Prison Service accommodation and 11 to police stations, while 60 remained in Harmondsworth.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the results of internal inquiries into disturbances at Harmondsworth Immigration detention centre before 29 November. [109603]
John Reid:
An investigation was carried out by the head of security group, HM Prison Service following the disturbance at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre on 19/20 July 2004. A copy of this
report was placed in the House of Commons Library on 16 November 2006. (HC 1265)
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his written statement of 30 November 2006, Official Report, column 115WS, on Harmondsworth, what assessment he has made of the (a) reasons for and (b) effect of the delay in the arrival of the Prison Service Tornado teams until 6 am. [109604]
John Reid: Prison Service Tornado teams were dispatched throughout the night from prisons all over the south of England. Arrival times at Harmondsworth depended on the distance prison service staff would have to travel. All prison service staff were fully briefed before entering the centre.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will conduct an inquiry into the disturbances at Harmondsworth immigration detention centre on 29 November. [109605]
John Reid: An inquiry will be conducted into the disturbances at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre on the night of 28 November. A decision on who will undertake this investigation is currently being considered.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the contract to run the Harmondsworth immigration detention centre includes provision for his Department’s press office to deal with press inquiries on behalf of the contractor (a) at all times and (b) in response to specific events. [109681]
John Reid: The Contract between Harmondsworth detention services and the Secretary of State for the Home Department (‘the Authority’) to run Harmondsworth IRC does not include provision for the Authority’s press office to deal with press inquiries on behalf of the contractor (a) at all times and (b) in response to specific events.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees have been removed from Harmondsworth immigration removal centre following the incident on 28 November; and where they have been accommodated. [108285]
Mr. Byrne: The number of detainees removed from Harmondsworth immigration removal centre following the incident on 28 November was 422. The detainees have been relocated to other removal centres within the immigration detention estate and to prisons.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Warley of 5 September on behalf of Mr. Kumar of Capethorn Road, Smethwick. [113113]
Mr. Byrne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) wrote to the hon. Member for Warley on 22 December 2006.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time taken by the forgery unit of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to resolve a case was in the latest period for which figures are available. [112728]
John Reid: The IND intelligence service national document fraud unit (NDFU) is responsible for conducting examinations of suspect travel documents for the immigration and nationality directorate. Those requiring urgent witness statements for court proceedings are processed within 24 hours others within five working days. Where a statement is challenged by the defence in a court case, a full expert statement is provided within 10 days. All other requests for travel document examination are processed within 28 days.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases the forgery unit of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate are working on. [112729]
John Reid: I am advised that in an average month, the IND intelligence service national document fraud unit, which is responsible for suspect document examination in the immigration and nationality directorate, will conduct between 1,300 to 1,500 examinations. In November 2006, 1,432 document examinations were conducted.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many forged document cases at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate are unsolved. [112735]
John Reid: The national document fraud unit is the principal unit responsible for the examination of suspect travel documents in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and undertakes examinations on a rolling basis as detailed in the answer provided to the hon. Member (parliamentary question 112728). As such, there are no unsolved cases.
Justice and Home Affairs: Passerelle
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government are opposed in principle to the use of the passerelle in justice and home affairs. [113496]
Joan Ryan: I refer the hon. Member to the statement given to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 18 December 2006. As my right hon. Friend noted, the Government firmly believe that the current focus should be on getting JHA policies and cooperation right and it welcomed the emphasis on practical co-operation in the conclusions from the European Council. As we stated at the December Justice and Home Affairs Council, the Government regard the current debate as over.
Langley House
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there are any plans to renegotiate the contract with Langley house to supply secure beds to the Home Office. [113397]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The national probation directorate has had in place a service level agreement with Langley house trust since February 2003. Under the terms of the SLA, places are available across most of its projects, some of which have 24-hour staffing cover, as well as nine enhanced supervisions beds. Officials are currently in discussions with Langley house trust about an agreement to provide supervised accommodation in 2007-08 for offenders managed by probation areas, which will supersede the existing SLA.
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