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16 July 2007 : Column 54W—continued
Crime: Victims
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received on the information given to British victims of crime when their assailant is released from prison outside the UK. [149345]
Mr. Hanson: I have been asked to reply.
The statutory victim contact scheme operates in cases where the offender has been convicted of a sexual or violent offence and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment or more, in England and Wales only. In the case of life sentences, the probation service will be told of any decision to repatriate a foreign national prisoner, so that arrangements can be made to inform the victim or the victim's family of the impending transfer. Ministers have no record of receiving any representations about the provision of information to British victims of crime when the offender is subsequently released from prison outside the United Kingdom.
Departments: Common Purpose
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department paid to Common Purpose in each of the last five years; for what purpose; and what the outcome of the expenditure was. [147602]
Mr. Byrne: The amount paid to Common Purpose UK by the Home Office in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table.
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
The purpose and outcome of this expenditure was:
Training expenditure: to raise awareness of leadership issues within the community.
Grants: to fund a project on the under- representation of refugee and black minority ethnic groups in board level appointments.
The spend covers the core Home Office, including what is now the Border and Immigration Agency, and the National Offender Management Service and Office of Criminal Justice Reform, both of which are now part of the Ministry of Justice.
Essex Police: Prosecutions
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of legal action brought against Essex police are awaiting a hearing; and how many cases against Essex police were (a) settled out of court and (b) won by the police in each of the last five years. [149335]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office does not hold this information which is a matter for the Essex Police.
Immigration
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times she has used discretionary powers to allow an individual (a) to come to the UK and (b) to remain in the UK in each of the last five years. [147782]
Jacqui Smith: Under the Nationality and Immigration Act 2002, the Secretary of State was given discretionary powers to allow an individual to (a) come to the UK and (b) remain in the UK. Officials from the Border and Immigration Agency act on behalf of the Secretary of State to implement decisions based upon the use of these discretionary powers.
Each asylum and human rights claim is considered on its individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and European convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Claimants who meet the definition of a refugee in the 1951 convention are granted asylum. If they do not qualify for asylum but there are other circumstances which make them particularly vulnerable and engage our obligations under the ECHR, they are granted humanitarian protection or discretionary leave. If their application is refused, they have the right of appeal to the independent Asylum and Immigration tribunal. In this way, we ensure that we provide protection of those who need it.
Information provided in the table relates to grants of exceptional leave to remain, humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave (DL) made on asylum applications received in the UK, 2002 to 2006. Humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave (DL) replaced exceptional leave to remain from 1 April 2003.
| Principal applicants UK | |||
| Exceptional leave to remain | Grants of humanitarian protection | Grants of discretionary leave | |
| n/a = not applicable (1) Provisional Notes: 1. Figures rounded to nearest five. 2. Humanitarian protection (HP) and discretionary leave (DL) replaced exceptional leave to remain from 1 April 2003. | |||
Distinct from discretionary leave and humanitarian protection policy, it is possible to grant someone limited leave to enter outside the rules. However, it is also possible to grant someone limited leave to enter the United Kingdom under the category of “leave outside the rules”. There are two circumstances in which “leave outside the rules” will be considered in non-asylum and non-protection cases:
where someone qualifies under one of the immigration policy concessions; or
for reasons where there are particularly compelling circumstances.
Circumstances in which leave outside the rules is granted are rare and are only approved following ratification by a senior caseworker.
Figures for LOTR can only be obtained by the examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
Industrial Health and Safety: Coroners
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2007, Official Report, columns 1713-14W, on industrial health and safety: coroners, what steps she has taken to ensure that health and safety regulations requiring employers to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to health and safety to which employees are exposed while at work have been carried out by those responsible for coroners' officers. [149168]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 July 2007]: The responsibility for health, safety and welfare policy for police officers and staff transferred from the Home Office to the National Policing Improvement Agency on 1 April 2007. Coroners are appointed and funded by the relevant local authority. Coroner's officers are police staff members employed by local police authorities. The health and safety of coroners and coroner's officers are the responsibility of the relevant local authority, police authority and chief constable. No central data are maintained.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer the letter to her predecessor of 16 May 2007 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. M. Akhtar. [147548]
Jacqui Smith: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 4 July explaining the details of this case.
Police: BNP
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will estimate the cost of policing the British National Party Red, White and Blue Festival in Sawley, Lancashire in each of the last four years. [149460]
Mr. McNulty: This is an operational matter for the chief officer and the Police Authority and the information is not held centrally.
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers and other police staff were involved in policing (a) during and (b) in preparation for the British National Party Red, White and Blue Festival in Sawley, Lancashire in each of the last four years. [149461]
Mr. McNulty: This information is not held centrally. The deployment of police personnel to specific duties is an operational matter for the chief constable of Lancashire constabulary.
Police: CCTV
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of custody offices in police stations are equipped with fully functioning audio and visual CCTV in (a) Lancashire and (b) England and Wales. [150010]
Mr. McNulty: This is a matter for the chief constable of the Lancashire constabulary.
Police: Complaints
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was to police forces in (a) Essex, (b) Southend and (c) England and Wales of defending (i) complaints and (ii) litigation taken against the police in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [149336]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office does not hold this information; these are matters for the forces concerned.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) about its target for conclusion of a complaint against the police from the date of registration of the complaint and the average time taken per case since the IPCC was set up; and if she will make a statement. [149337]
Mr. McNulty: This is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which is responsible for the management of the police complaints system.
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is collected by her Department about complaints made against police
officers; what changes are planned; what recent representations she has received about complaints against police officers; and if she will make a statement. [149338]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office does not collect this information, which is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Any representations about complaints against police officers are also matters for the Independent Police Complaints Commission, to which complainants are referred.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken by (a) her Department and (b) police forces in England and Wales to learn any necessary lessons from cases investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission; and if she will make a statement. [149359]
Mr. McNulty: This is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which is responsible for the management of the police complaints system.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by (a) Essex and (b) Southend police on (i) own force investigations, (ii) supervised investigations, (iii) managed investigations and (iv) independent investigations in each of the last three years for which information is available. [149360]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office does not hold this information; these are matters for Essex police.
Police: Finance
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of funding of additional year-on-year posts of (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers in Gloucestershire was provided by (i) Central Government and (ii) local authorities in each year since 1997. [149368]
Mr. McNulty: The recruitment of police officers and police community support officers is a matter for the chief constable, in consultation with the police authority, in the light of their budget provisions.
Police: Manpower
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ratio of regular police officers to residents is in (a) Southend, (b) each borough in Essex and (c) England and Wales; and what each figure was in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2005. [149357]
Mr. McNulty: Information is available from 2003 in terms of numbers of officers per 100,000 population for each Basic Command Unit in Essex, including Southend, and is contained in the following table.
| Total police officers (full-time equivalent) per 100,000 population, as at 31 March | |||||
| 1997 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| (1 )Excluding Stansted airport and central services Basic Command Units, where comparisons with residential population are inappropriate. (2 )Figures not collected centrally prior to 2003. (3) Re-named Essex Western in 2006, without change in boundary. (4) Officers in all 43 police forces, excluding secondments to National Crime Squad, National Criminal Intelligence Service and other central services. Figures prior to 2003 exclude officers on career breaks and maternity leave. | |||||
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