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9 July 2007 : Column 1339W—continued
Departments: Publications
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department was of the unfinished research paper Review of Current Business Crime Research. [129080]
Jacqui Smith: The research review of Business Crime research was undertaken in November 2003. It was used internally but not placed into a final published report although it has now been released under the Freedom of Information Act. The cost of the research was £6,350.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department was of the unpublished research paper Evaluation of the ACU Mentoring Programme. [129082]
Jacqui Smith: The research into the ACU Mentoring Programme was undertaken between April 2003 and March 2004. It was used internally but not placed into a final published report although it has now been released under the Freedom of Information Act. The cost of the research is estimated to have been £100,000.
Detainees: Transport
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2007, Official Report, column 1508W, on detainees: transport, how much was spent on in-country escorts for immigration detainees in each of the last five years. [147771]
Jacqui Smith: The total spent on in-country escorts for immigration detainees in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table. The expenditure covers all in-country escorting activity, not just between removal centres, and includes the operating costs for holding rooms, which form part of the overall in-country escorting contract. The rising costs reflect the greater escorting activity arising from increased removals activity over the last few years.
| £ | |
Drugs: Misuse
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps her Department is taking to investigate misuse of Ritalin and other methylphenidate-based drugs for recreational purposes; [147502]
(2) what discussions she has had with her colleagues in the Department of Health on the use of Ritalin as a recreational drug. [147503]
Mr. Coaker: There have been no steps or discussions as the Home Office has no evidence, other than anecdotal, to suggest that Ritalin is being misused for recreational purposes.
Firearms: Crime Prevention
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed on Operation Trident; what assessment she has made of the merits of rolling out the programme to other large metropolitan cities; and if she will make a statement. [147139]
Mr. Coaker: The Metropolitan police advise that the total number of people employed on Operation Trident is 375, which includes police staff as well as police officers.
We fully support the work of intelligence-led police operations such as Operation Trident and other operations to tackle guns and gangs.
Similar operations have been established in other areas affected by gun crime—for example, Operation XCaliber in Greater Manchester.
Immigration Controls
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether fast track immigration controls apply to individuals travelling by helicopters and private aircraft. [146582]
Mr. Byrne: Fast track immigration facilities are currently only provided at Heathrow Terminals 1, 3 and 4 at the request of airlines and the airport operator, BAA . It is not therefore available to individuals arriving by helicopters and private aircraft.
Immigration Controls: Uniforms
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what formal consultation process was undertaken before deciding on (a) the need for a new uniform and (b) the design of the uniform for border security staff. [147779]
Jacqui Smith: The IND Review set out seven programmes for change. Programme seven states that we will
‘Introduce a new visible presence and uniforms at our borders to strengthen deterrence and reassure the public’.
The design of the uniform was informed by a programme of consultation including staff focus groups. Staff representative groups and trade unions have also been fully consulted since the project began. The design took into account staff working conditions, views from staff representative groups and uniforms of like organisations.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Border and Immigration Agency last changed its uniform. [147780]
Jacqui Smith: Frontline Border Control staff within the Border and Immigration Agency will be uniformed for the first time by the end of September 2007.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the letter of 30 May from the hon. Member for Walsall North (ref M11832/7). [147724]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 5 July 2007]: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 4 July 2007.
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the letter of 30 May from the hon. Member for Walsall North (ref M11719/7). [147725]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 5 July 2007]: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 4 July 2007.
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the letter dated 29 May 2007 from the hon. Member for Woking on Mrs. A. Day, ref. B14852/7. [147828]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 5 July 2007]: The Border and Immigration Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 2 July 2007.
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to letters from the hon. Member for Woking dated 26 February, 30 March and 8 June concerning Mr. Lika, ref LR1918010943/1. [147829]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 5 July 2007]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 4 July explaining the details of this case.
National Policing Improvement Agency
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2007, Official Report, column 1236W, on the National Policing Improvement Agency, when he expects the Chief Executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency to produce his first report on performance and issues facing the agency; how many times the Chief Executive will produce such reports per year; and whether each report will be published. [146694]
Mr. McNulty: The first report by the Chief Executive of NPIA to ministers on performance and issues facing the agency will be submitted in mid July 2007. The report will be submitted to Ministers on a quarterly basis and will not be a published document. The Chief Executive will produce an annual report published to Parliament soon after April 2008.
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004
Mr. Clegg:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish the
Pilot Evaluation Report on the operation of section 9 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004. [147756]
Jacqui Smith: The evaluation of the section 9 pilot was published on 25 June 2007 and is available on the Border and Immigration Agency website,
A written ministerial statement detailing future implementation of the section 9 provision was also published on 25 June 2007, Official Report, column 9WS.
Northumbria Police: Manpower
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) community support officers there were in the Northumbria police force area in each of the last 10 years. [147451]
Mr. McNulty: The information is shown in the following tables.
| Police officer strength( 1) (FTE)( 2) as at 31 March 1996 to 31 March 2006—Northumbria police force | |
| Number | |
| (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. | |
| Police community support officer strength( 1) (FTE)( 2) as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2006( 3) —Northumbria police force | |
| Number | |
| (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) Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data is not available prior to 2002-03. (4 )Strength figures as at 31 March 2005 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table. | |
Offensive Weapons: Greater London
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) fatalities and (b) serious injuries were caused by knife attacks in each London borough in (i) 2007 and (ii) each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement on the steps being taken to reduce knife crime, with particular reference to its prevalence among the young. [147486]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 4 July 2007]: Data for the number of fatalities caused by knives and sharp instruments is not available at borough level. The following table gives figures for the Metropolitan and City of London police force areas. Figures for the number of serious injuries caused by knife attacks are not currently available. However, new data collection arrangements from April 2007 will provide more detailed statistics on knife related violence. The British Crime Survey reports that knife crime as a proportion of all violent crime is broadly stable at 6-7 per cent.
There is, of course, grave concern at the recent tragic incidents involving young people and knife crime. Work on tackling knife crime is being taken forward through the Home Secretary's round table on guns, knives and gangs, which has developed an action plan focussing on the themes of policing, powers and prevention. Legislation has recently been tightened in relation to knives, with the doubling of the maximum sentence for possession of a bladed instrument in a public place without good reason from two to four years. In April, a new offence of using someone to mind a weapon (including a knife) was introduced; and in May school staff were given powers to search pupils for knives.
On 26 June, in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers, we published guidance on tackling knife enabled crime, to provide police officers with a menu of options which they might use in their area. We also support police work to tackle knife crime such as Operation Blunt, run by the Metropolitan police, and Operation Shield, run by the British Transport Police, which uses search arches and other technology to search people travelling on the transport network with weapons.
We recognise that policing and legislation are only part of the picture, however, and are also supporting educational projects such as the Be Safe programme, which helps young people understand the risks and consequences of carrying knives, and the Damilola Taylor Trust's “Respect Your Life, Not a Knife” campaign, which is encouraging young people to pledge not to carry weapons. We are also supporting local community organisations working to tackle knife crime through our Connected Fund. The sixth round of the fund was recently completed, and funding is now being provided to more than 100 projects in England and Wales to support local work.
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