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18 Oct 2007 : Column 1222W—continued
Crimes Against Property: Business
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it a requirement that crime against business is recorded as a separate category in official statistics; and if she will make a statement. [157784]
Mr. McNulty: The current recorded crime offence classification series does differentiate between robbery of personal property and robbery of business property, and also between domestic burglary and that of burglary in a building other than a dwelling. However, these categories will only represent some of the crimes against business which are recorded by the police. Offences of theft by an employee and fraud by company director are also included within the series.
The feasibility of police forces flagging commercial burglary offences is being examined as part of the regular annual data requirement review process by the Home Office and ACPO. These data are to be provided under a pilot scheme using a new crime recording
system which is currently being developed in the Home Office. It will enable a richer range of data to be collected from police forces. The feasibility of measuring crime against business will be examined during 2008-09.
Departments: Civil Service Agencies
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list her Department’s (a) executive agencies, (b) executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), (c) advisory NDPBs, (d) tribunal NDPBs, (e) trading funds and (f) public corporations in each financial year since 2005-06. [156632]
Mr. Byrne: The 2005-06 list of (a) executive agencies, (b) executive non-department public bodies (NDPBs), (c) advisory NDPBs, (d) tribunal NDPBs, (e) trading funds and (f) public corporations can be found in the publication Public Bodies 2006 at:
The 2006-07 list of (a) executive agencies, (b) executive non-department public bodies (NDPBs), (c) advisory NDPBs, (d) tribunal NDPBs, (e) trading funds and (f) public corporation will be published shortly on the Home Office website.
Departments: General Elections
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contingency preparations her Department made for the possibility of a general election in autumn 2007; and what the costs of those preparations were. [156999]
Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 16 October 2007, Official, Report , column 823W.
Departments: Internet
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hits the (a) most popular and (b) the least popular website run by her Department has received since 1 January 2007. [157898]
Mr. Byrne: Of all of the Home Office websites managed by the core Home Office web team, the main Home Office site (www.homeoffice.gov.uk) is the most popular, with 5,025,514 visits since January 2007 and 3,380,390 unique visitors (as at September 2007). The least popular site (by means of visitor numbers) is the website of the Technical Advisory Board (www.technicaladvisory board.org.uk), one of the Home Office advisory bodies. At September 2007, it had received 324 visits and 265 unique visitors since January 2007. This website is currently being migrated into the Home Office corporate website as part of our Transformational Government work.
Fibre Optics: Mitcheldean
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what purpose her Department requires fibre optic cables to be laid in Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire; and if she will make a statement. [158036]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 15 October 2007]: On the basis of the information provided, it has not been possible to ascertain whether the works identified by the hon. Gentleman are connected to the Home Office. If the hon. Gentleman could provide any further information that might be at his disposal, I would be more than willing to review the matter again.
Hampshire Constabulary: Firearms
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times police have been issued firearms in Hampshire in each of the last five years. [158752]
Mr. McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 11 October 2007, Official Report, column 718W.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate: Correspondence
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of letters sent by hon. Members to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in 2003 received a substantive reply within (a) three, (b) four, (c) six, (d) eight, (e) 10 and (f) more than 10 weeks; and if she will make a statement. [158973]
Mr. Byrne: Figures on the length of time taken to reply to hon. Members’ correspondence to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate received in 2003 are not available.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of letters sent by hon. Members to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in 2001 received a substantive reply within (a) three, (b) four, (c) six, (d) eight, (e) 10 and (f) more than 10 weeks; and if she will make a statement. [158983]
Mr. Byrne: Figures on the length of time taken to reply to hon. Members’ correspondence to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate received in 2001 are not available.
Immigration: Detainees
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average length of stay of detainees within the immigration detention estate was in each of the last five years. [158699]
Mr. Byrne: Statistics on persons recorded as leaving detention solely under Immigration Act powers during 2005 and between January to September 2006 broken down by length of detention have been published in the “Asylum Statistics: United Kingdom 2005” and “Asylum Statistics: United Kingdom 2006” bulletins respectively. This information was first available for 2005 and is the latest period for which information is currently available.
Snapshot details of people detained solely under Immigration Act powers for each of the last five years are also published in this series of bulletins. Immigration Research and Statistics plans to start
publishing statistics on all persons recorded as leaving detention solely under Immigration Act powers again (and full details on length of detention) as soon as the data quality problems associated with the new administrative system have been resolved.
We do not publish an average length of stay in detention since this would be potentially misleading and could easily be skewed by a small number of cases in the upper range.
Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office’s Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Lancashire Constabulary: Community Support Officers
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers are deployed in Lancashire. [158767]
Mr. McNulty: At 31 March 2007, Lancashire Constabulary had 374 PCSOs in post.
Members: Correspondence
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to the letter of 30 August from the hon. Member for Edinburgh West in relation to his constituent Mr. Nader El-Reah Almutbage. [158770]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 27 September 2007]: A reply was despatched on 27 September 2007.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Parliamentary Business Unit of the Immigration and Nationality Department will reply to the letters of (a) 25 June, (b) 31 July and (c) 11 September from the hon. Member for Edinburgh West on his constituent Mr. Abdul Rashid Abdullah. [158776]
Mr. Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency replied to the hon. Member on 15 October 2007.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will reply to the letter of 29 July from the hon. Member for Edinburgh West on his constituent Mr Denboba Natie. [158777]
Mr. Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 15 October 2007.
Metropolitan Police: Secondment
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been seconded to the Metropolitan police for counter-terrorism duties from regional police forces; and what the cost has been (a) in total and (b) for each regional police force concerned. [157319]
Mr. McNulty: The requested information is not collected centrally in the police personnel statistics.
The number of officers seconded to individual police forces is collected centrally, but the home force, reason for secondment and associated costs are not.
Office of Surveillance Commissioners: Valuation Office
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the Office of Surveillance Commissioners will amend its inspection priorities to undertake a first inspection of (a) the Valuation Office Agency and (b) the Valuation and Lands Agency. [158134]
Mr. McNulty: The Valuation Office Agency and the Valuation and Lands Agency do not carry out surveillance of individuals and do not operate covertly. Their officers always identify themselves when carrying out their duties.
Police Stations: 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. [158711]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 16 October 2007]: This is an operational matter for chief constables.
Police: Bournemouth
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account is taken in the manning formula for Bournemouth police of the number of visitors to Bournemouth every weekend. [157308]
Mr. McNulty: The deployment of police officers in Bournemouth at weekends is an operational matter for the chief constable of Dorset police.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of funding for additional policing during the Labour party conference in Bournemouth was provided by the Government. [157309]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office provides special grant to police authorities to pay for the additional costs incurred on policing the two main annual party conferences.
Dorset police submitted a bid of £4.5 million (revenue) plus £80,000 (capital) for the additional costs of policing the 2007 Labour party autumn conference, which was approved in full.
Police: Dogs
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dog handlers were employed by North Wales Police on (a) 31 December 2004, (b) 31 December 2005, (c) 31 December 2006 and (d) the most recent date for which figures are available. [156952]
Mr. McNulty: The information is shown in the following table.
| Police officers in North Wales whose primary function( 1) is dogs, as at 31 March 2004 to 31 March 2007 (FTE)( 2) | |
| Number | |
| (1) Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for individual chief constables. (2) Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. This figure includes those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. | |
Police: Finance
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to address geographical disparities in police funding. [158720]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 16 October 2007]: The Police Service in England and Wales has benefited from a significant increase in resources over a sustained period.
Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that distributes resources on the basis of relative needs and resources. A damping mechanism is subsequently applied to protect all authorities against financial instability which ensures that all authorities receive an increase in grant at least equal to the “floor” level on a like-for-like basis year-on-year.
The Home Office will announce a Provisional Finance Settlement for the police for the CSR years, 2008-09 to 2010-11, in late November/early December as in previous years which will take account of responses to the recent consultation exercise on local government formula grant distribution.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the outcome was of the meeting at Heathrow on 30 July of police and their oversight bodies from around the UK and representatives of her Department and the Department for Transport to discuss a common approach to police-industry service agreements covering security, resourcing and costs. [157829]
Mr. McNulty: The meeting that took place on 30 July 2007 was arranged by the Metropolitan Police Authority for an invited audience of police authorities and police forces to discuss progress on the implementation of the provisions of the Civil Aviation Act 2006. The Act requires the airport operator and police at designated airports to agree a Police Services Agreement, which must be in place by 7 November 2007. Attendees shared with each other the progress that had been made in their local negotiations with airport operators and what further work may be needed to reach agreement.
Policing: Luton Airport
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take steps to assist Bedfordshire police with the costs of policing London Luton airport following Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary 2006-07 assessments. [158500]
Mr. McNulty: [holding answer 16 October 2007]: Luton airport is not a designated airport and as such the airport operator is not required, by law, to pay for the policing of the airport.
Bedfordshire Police Authority has been receiving substantial financial assistance for the policing of Luton airport for a number of years.
The system of designation and the cost of policing airports was raised in the Independent Review of Airport Policing 2006. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport and I are currently reviewing the process to enable the recovery of associated policing costs from airport operators.
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