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8 Mar 2007 : Column 2148W—continued
Entry Clearances: Domestic Service
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic worker visas were issued by his Department in each year since 1987, broken down by country of origin. [125428]
Dr. Howells: I have been asked to reply.
As the information requested by my right hon. Friend is lengthy I have arranged for a copy to be sent to my right hon. Friend and a copy will also be placed in the Library of the House.
My right hon. Friend should note the Foreign and Commonwealth Office electronic resources only go as far back as 1998 for domestic worker visas and that the database did not provide reliable data until 2004. Data prior to this date cannot be guaranteed to be 100 per cent. accurate.
Entry Clearances: Indian Subcontinent
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for entry clearance for the purpose of marriage were made by women under the age of 21 years in the calendar year 2006 from (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Bangladesh. [125657]
Dr. Howells: I have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the following table.
The hon. Member should note the Foreign and Commonwealth Office keeps central statistics for applicants aged under and over 18, rather than under and over the age of 21.
| UK visa applications received by women coming to the UK on the basis of getting married (calendar year (CY) 2006) | |||
| Fiancée | |||
| India | Pakistan | Bangladesh | |
| UK visa applications received by women coming to the UK on the basis of joining their husband (CY 2006) | |||
| Wife | |||
| India | Pakistan | Bangladesh | |
Escape Histories
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether escapes, attempted escapes or absconds from prison are added to an individual's criminal record. [116210]
John Reid: While lawfully at large an individual who escapes or absconds from prison is recorded by the police on the Police National Computer (PNC) Wanted/Missing Index when notified by the prison. Such details do not however form part of an individual’s conviction history unless charged and convicted for escaping or absconding from prison.
Georgi Markov
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information (a) his Department and (b) the police have concerning the whereabouts of Francesco Gullino, the alleged assassin of Georgi Markov in London in 1978; [109532]
(2) what steps he is taking to resolve the case of the assassination of Georgi Markov before the statute of limitations comes into effect in 2008; [109533]
(3) what the outcome was of the interrogation of Francesco Gullino in Copenhagen by British detectives in February 1993; [109534]
(4) whether (a) his Department and (b) the police have had access to copies of the documents in the archive of the Intelligence Directorate of the former state security service compiled by the Bulgarian police investigation into the murder of Georgi Markov. [109535]
Mr. McNulty [holding answers 19 December 2006]: The investigation into the death of Georgi Markov is a matter for the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police.
Honours Investigation
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated cost has been of the investigation by the Metropolitan Police into alleged breaches of the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925 and the Political Parties and Referendums Act 2000. [112525]
Mr. McNulty: This is a matter for the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
Identity Cards
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which companies he has held meetings in relation to identity cards. [117778]
John Reid: I have not held any meetings with companies in relation to identity cards.
Informants: Prisons
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 29 January 2007, Official Report, column 138W, on informants: prisons, how many and what proportion of system managers responsible for overseeing the use of prison informants are in receipt of the new training package introduced in 2006; and if he will make a statement. [124868]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Authorising officers (we no longer use the term system manager) in 32 of the 34 establishments testing out the new policy and procedures have now received the new training package. This is 94 per cent. of the pilot sites or 23 per cent. of the prison estate overall.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 29 January 2007, Official Report, column 138W, on informants: prisons, whether awareness sessions qualify managers to become involved with prison informants; at what level this engagement takes place; and if he will make a statement. [124869]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The legislation and codes of practice do not set minimum standards for training. The awareness sessions for informant controllers and authorising officers will be supplemented by role- specific training available from 12 March 2007.
Channel 4 Dispatches
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the content of the Channel 4 Dispatches programme on extremism in some mosques, broadcast on 15 January 2007; and what decision has been made about whether criminal offences have been committed by any of the individuals featured. [119985]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 8 February 2007]: Responsibility for what is broadcast on television rests with the broadcaster, in this case Channel 4, and the independent regulator for broadcasting standards and content, Ofcom. It is therefore not for the Government to intervene in the content of individual broadcasts.
Moreover, the Government do not have a role to play in determining whether individual incidents constitute an criminal offence. That is an operational matter for the police and for the Crown Prosecution Service.
Kennet Prison: Manpower
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Prison Officers Association on the announcement to open the new prison HMP Kennet in Merseyside. [124411]
John Reid: No representations have been received from the Prison Officers Association following the announcement about HM Prison Kennet.
Ministerial Duties
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the roles and responsibilities of the Minister of State for Policing, Security and Community Safety are; and what areas he is responsible for in the answering of written parliamentary questions. [123601]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 26 February 2007]: I have responsibility for Policing, Security and Community Safety. This includes responsibility for police reform (including work force reform, restructuring and National Policing Improvement Agency); counter-terrorism; respect and antisocial behaviour.
Ministers at the Home Office are responsible for answering parliamentary questions on areas covering their own profiles. As Minister of State for Policing, Security and Community Safety I have additional responsibility for improving the Department’s performance, processes and systems in answering parliamentary questions.
Responsibilities of Ministers at the Home Office can also be accessed at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/organisation/ministers/
National Identity Register
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) setup and (b) running costs of the National Identity Register will not be offset by fee revenue. [122023]
John Reid: It is intended that the cost of the National Identity Scheme, which includes the National Identity Register, will be primarily funded by fee revenue from the products and services that arise from the Scheme.
Offenders: Learning Disability
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of state educated people with learning difficulties served prison sentences in each of the last 10 years; [125751]
(2) what percentage of people with learning difficulties in (a) England and (b) Lancashire have a criminal conviction; [125752]
(3) how many and what percentage of released prisoners with learning difficulties reoffended in each of the last 10 years; [125753]
(4) what percentage of convicted (a) murders, (b) rapists, (c) armed robbers and (d) perpetrators of fraud were recorded as having learning difficulties in each of the last 10 years. [125755]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information about the percentage of people with learning difficulties that have served a prison sentence is not collected. However, in its evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on prison education the Disability Rights Commission states that between 20 and 50 per cent. of men in prison have a specific learning difficulty.
Offensive Weapons
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many knife-related offences were committed in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [123883]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 27 February 2007]: From the information collected on recorded crime, it is not possible to identify those offences which are knife related. Such offences are not specifically defined by statute and details of the individual circumstances of offences do not feature in the recorded crime statistics.
Figures are collected for homicides involving the use of sharp instruments but they do not separately identify knife-related offences. The Home Office is working closely with ACPO to develop a knife-enabled crime action plan and is seeking to collate the numbers of knife-related offences for grievous bodily harm through the annual data requirement in 2007-08.
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the knife amnesty held in 2006. [124372]
Mr. McNulty: The knife amnesty was held from 24 May to the end of June 2006. Over that period, almost 90,000 items were handed in to police in England and Wales. This constitutes a substantial quantity of potentially lethal items taken off the streets. However, the amnesty was just one facet of our knife crime strategy, which focuses on tough enforcement through targeted operations such as Operation Shield run by the British Transport Police, education programmes, including the Be Safe programme which teaches young people of the dangers and consequences of carrying knives, and support for wider prevention work. We also support community-based initiatives and projects through the Connected Fund, which was established in May 2004 and has supported 300 groups so far. A further round of funding totalling £500,000 was announced on 1 March 2006. The latest round of funding was launched on 1 March and full details can be found at:
www.connected.gov.uk.
Further work is currently ongoing, for example the development of a knife-enabled crime action plan in conjunction with ACPO, and enhancements to data collection to enable the identification of certain knife-related offences.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library copies of the agendas for meetings of his Round Table on Guns, Knives and Gangs. [125091]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 5 March 2007]: I will arrange for copies of the agendas for the Round Table meetings to be placed in the Library of the House.
Police Custody
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new prisoners have spent their first night in police cells since Operation Safeguard was first implemented on 12 October 2006. [124828]
John Reid: Information on the number of ‘new’ prisoners held under Operation Safeguard is not held centrally. To obtain this information would require a review of individual case files. This could be done only at disproportionate costs.
Police: Age
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average age of police recruits was in each of the last five years. [121778]
Mr. McNulty: The information on all those recruited in the last five years is not held centrally.
| Average age (years) | |
| (1) Covers the period 1 November 2006 to 31 January 2007 | |
The table gives the average age of those who are successful at the assessment centre. Since July 2005 all candidates to joint the police service have gone through the assessment centre, but the averages for 2002-05 are based on the smaller numbers applying to the forces which first adopted the assessment centre. Since there are further checks to be undertaken (such as vetting, fitness and medical checks), not all the successful candidates are eventually appointed, and some may accept other job offers in the meantime. The table therefore gives only an approximation of the average age of recruits.
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