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24 Jan 2007 : Column 1832W—continued


24 Jan 2007 : Column 1833W

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) for what reasons the drivers of vehicles with overseas registration plates cannot be traced to enforce penalties and prosecutions after they have been caught on camera committing offences; [110862]

(2) how many vehicles with overseas registration plates were caught on camera committing (a) speeding and (b) red light offences in England in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006; and how many drivers of these vehicles had (A) penalties imposed on and (B) prosecutions brought against them; [110863]

(3) what proportion of (a) speeding and (b) red light offences caught on camera were committed in vehicles with overseas registration plates in 2006; [110864]

(4) how many (a) penalties were imposed and (b) prosecutions were brought against foreign nationals for (i) speeding and (ii) red light offences in England in 2006. [110865]

Mr. Coaker: There are a number of practical problems in taking enforcement action against the drivers of foreign registered vehicles. We have taken a number of measures to improve the situation. These include a provision in the Road Safety Act 2006 which will allow the exchange of driver licensing and vehicle registration information with other countries. Further help will be provided by the European Framework Decision on the Mutual Recognition of Financial Penalties, which will allow penalties imposed by courts in one member state to be enforced in another and by the International Convention on the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications. The growing use of Automatic Number Plate recognition cameras, which check passing vehicles against various databases, is also helping enforcement against foreign offenders detected speeding and jumping red lights, since a person who succeeds in leaving the country without being dealt with for such an offence can have their vehicle’s number-plate recorded on a database and so be detected and dealt with on return here.

The information requested in respect of foreign registered vehicles detected by camera in the infringement of speed limits or jumping red traffic signals is not collected centrally.

Online Child Abuse

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders referred to in his statement of 10 January have been involved in online child abuse. [115550]

Mr. Coaker: The latest available information was set out in the Home Secretary’s statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16( )January, and in the Home Office press statement issued on 13( )January.

Passports

Mr. Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in Livingston constituency received free passports (a) in the last 12 months and (b) in the first year free passports were introduced. [117505]


24 Jan 2007 : Column 1834W

Joan Ryan: The Identity and Passport Service does not ask passport holders to keep their address up to date on our database. Therefore, the Identity and Passport Service cannot identify the number of current residents by geographical area that have taken advantage of the scheme to issue free passports to those applicants born on or before 2 September 1929.

However a response can be provided for residents of the United Kingdom:

PentiP System

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when the PentiP computer system is expected to be operational to process all fixed penalty notices and penalty notices for disorder; [114847]

(2) what the estimated cost is of establishing the PentiP computer system; and what the annual cost is expected to be of maintaining the system thereafter. [114848]

Mr. McNulty: The PentiP computer system will provide a single national data sharing system to process all fixed penalty notices and penalty notices for disorder. It is planned to be operational in 53 police forces (comprising 53 forces in England and Wales; eight forces in Scotland; the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and the British Transport Police) by September 2009. It is estimated that the system will cost, in total, £9.3 million over the period 2005-06 to 2009-10 to implement. Once implemented, the annual cost of maintaining the system, estimated to be approximately £140,000, will be funded by police forces and courts out of savings generated by replacing and rationalising existing penalty notice systems.

Police Officers and Community Support Officers

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police community support officers and (b) police officers were recruited to West Midlands police force in each year since 1997. [117377]

Mr. McNulty: The available data are given in the table as follows.


24 Jan 2007 : Column 1835W
Police officers and PCSO’s recruited to West Midlands police force, as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006 (FTE)( 1)
As at 31 March: Police officers Police community support officers( 2, 3, 4)

1997

393

1998

444

1999

466

2000

255

2001

553

2002

676

2003

792

0

2004

643

33

2005

542

106

2006

492

64

(1) Full time equivalent. This figure includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave
(2) Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data are not available prior to 2002-03
(3) Data are not available for Quarter 1 2002-03 (April to June 2002 inclusive)
(4) Data are not available for Quarter 1 2003-04 (April to June 2003 inclusive)

24 Jan 2007 : Column 1836W

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) community support officers were employed by each police authority (i) on 11 September 2001 and (ii) in each year since, broken down by (A) region and (B) police authority. [116855]

Mr. McNulty: Police service strength data are collected and published annually and data are given as at 31 March of the relevant year. Data from 31 March 2001 to 31 March 2006 have therefore been given in the following tables.

Police officer strength( 1) (FTE)( 2) by police force as at 31 March 2001 to 31 March 2006
Police force 2001( 3) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Avon and Somerset

2,994

3,096

3,149

3,401

3,384

3,389

Bedfordshire

1,036

1,069

1,106

1,181

1,215

1,198

Cambridgeshire

1,296

1,362

1,384

1,400

1,402

1,430

Cheshire

2,002

2,059

2,119

2,177

2,186

2,174

Cleveland

1,407

1,461

1,582

1,687

1,676

1,677

Cumbria

1,048

1,100

1,140

1,222

1,232

1,230

Derbyshire

1,823

1,848

2,003

2,070

2,070

2,046

Devon and Cornwall

2,934

3,053

3,202

3,283

3,369

3,493

Dorset

1,354

1,381

1,416

1,433

1,450

1,485

Durham

1,595

1,614

1,651

1,685

1,718

1,699

Essex

2,897

2,946

2,989

3,098

3,190

3,279

Gloucestershire

1,173

1,183

1,227

1,284

1,291

1,289

Greater Manchester

6,909

7,217

7,343

8,042

8.041

7,959

Hampshire

3,438

3,480

3,668

3,706

3,725

3,707

Hertfordshire

1,922

1,825

1,957

2,086

2,104

2,126

Humberside

1,917

2,058

2,105

2,213

2,230

2,224

Kent

3,319

3,355

3,487

3,576

3,586

3,599

Lancashire

3,255

3,304

3,339

3,550

3,551

3,583

Leicestershire

2,032

2,100

2,114

2,277

2,283

2,250

Lincolnshire

1,202

1,198

1,221

1,228

1,221

1,213

London, City of

703

764

808

853

876

869

Merseyside

4,081

4,125

4,099

4,122

4,317

4,269

Metropolitan Police

24,878

26,223

27,984

29,735

30,710

30,536

Norfolk

1,420

1,468

1,499

1,510

1,544

1,557

Northamptonshire

1,157

1,214

1,210

1,239

1,267

1,317

Northumbria

3,857

3,929

3,943

4,040

4,048

3,983

North Yorkshire

1,305

1,417

1,444

1,529

1,543

1,636

Nottinghamshire

2,275

2,330

2,411

2,484

2,502

2,477

South Yorkshire

3,197

3,199

3,183

3,279

3,265

3,255

Staffordshire

2,129

2,133

2,202

2,266

2,280

2,272

Suffolk

1,133

1,203

1,253

1,304

1,313

1,300

Surrey

2,066

1,992

1,906

1,913

1,915

1,922

Sussex

2,855

2,893

2,989

3,039

3,044

3,092

Thames Valley

3,703

3,762

3,833

4,034

4,114

4,229

Warwickshire

926

969

997

1,008

1,011

1,032

West Mercia

1,951

2,018

2,256

2,355

2,367

2,351

West Midlands

7,423

7,681

7,751

7,887

8,056

8,097

West Yorkshire

4,815

4,889

5,029

5,275

5,631

5,644

Wiltshire

1,120

1,157

1,158

1,217

1,222

1.219

Dyfed-Powys

1,055

1.132

1,149

1,160

1,174

1,182

Gwent

1,274

1,333

1,341

1,372

1,438

1,467

North Wales

1,444

1,506

1,539

1,603

1.652

1,617

South Wales

3,154

3,222

3,239

3,279

3,281

3,263

(1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items.
(2) Full-time equivalent excludes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.
(3) Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan Police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces.

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