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13 Nov 2007 : Column 82W—continued
Crime: Victims
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people aged 65 years and over in (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk have been victims of crime in each of the last five years. [162590]
Mr. Coaker: The information requested is not available centrally. Details of the age of victims of crime are not available from the recorded crime statistics. The British Crime Survey collects details of the victim's age and can look at victimisation of those aged 65 and over at a national level. However, this data cannot be reliably broken down at either regional or police force area level.
Crimes of Violence: Retail Trade
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the incidence of physical violence against retailers in
the last 12 months; what representations she has received on the subject; and what steps she intends to take to reduce the levels of physical violence against retailers. [162075]
Mr. Coaker: Figures on physical violence against retailers are not available from the recorded crime series as no details of the victim’s employment are recorded.
We are aware of the concerns of retailers and retail organisations about threats and actual violence against shop staff and we are fully committed to working with them, both through the National Retail Crime Steering Group and through other means, to address these concerns.
We also support Usdaw’s ‘Freedom from Fear’ campaign and the Union has been invited to nominate a representative to attend future meetings of the National Retail Crime Steering Group.
Handguns: Ireland
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has received reports of illegal guns arriving in mainland Great Britain through the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement. [163010]
Mr. Coaker: Advice from HM Revenue and Customs is that there is little or no current intelligence to suggest that prohibited firearms are being brought into mainland Britain from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Motor Vehicles: Glass
Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is made available to police forces in England and Wales on enforcement of the visual light transmission standard imposed by Regulation 32 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. [161905]
Mr. Coaker: Enforcement of Regulation 32 is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police and for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. No central guidance has been issued and information is not collected centrally on how much forces spend on equipment to test compliance.
Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money was spent by police forces in England and Wales on equipment capable of measuring compliance with the visual light transmission standard imposed by Regulation 32 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 in each of the last five years. [161947]
Mr. Coaker: Enforcement of Regulation 32 is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police and for the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency. No central guidance has been issued and information is not collected centrally on how much forces spend on equipment to test compliance.
Offensive Weapons: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of knife crime were reported in Milton Keynes in each year between 1997 and 2007. [162749]
Mr. Coaker: The requested information is not yet available. Data on knife-enabled grievous bodily harm and robbery offences have been collected centrally since April 2007. Figures for 2007-08 will be published in July 2008 in the next annual ‘Crime in England and Wales’ volume. It will, however, be possible to provide breakdowns only at police force area level.
Police: Doctors
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was to each police authority in England and Wales of employing healthcare professionals at custody suites in each of the last five years. [162089]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 November 2007]: The allocation of resources within each force area is a matter for the Chief Officer and the Police Authority.
Police: Tourists
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information her Department uses to estimate the number of tourists visiting police authority areas in England and Wales; [162092]
(2) what adjustments are made to the police formula grant in England and Wales to take account of the numbers of tourists visiting individual police authority areas. [162093]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 12 November 2007]: A new funding formula for allocating police general grant was introduced in 2006-07. During the discussions on the new formula, in which representatives from ACPO and the APA and the wider policing community were involved, it was concluded that no reliable indicator of tourism exists.
A full consultation on options for change took place in the summer of 2005-06 where all representations were fully taken into account.
Security Guards: Licensing
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the fee is for applying for a Security Industry Authority licence for security guarding; and what the fee was in each of the last two years. [162579]
Mr. Coaker: Since 6 April 2007, the fee for applying for a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence has been set at £245 for two years, subject to review.
Before this date, the SIA licence application fee was £190.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the impact of the licensing regime on the UK security industry, with particular reference to the costs of and delays in issuing licences. [162801]
Mr. Coaker: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) published research in July 2007 on the impact of licensing on security guards and door supervisors. This is available on the SIA website at:
Stop and Search
Mr. Jeremy Browne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the power to
authorise stop and search for offensive weapons within a specified area for the period of 24 hours under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 was used by a senior police officer in each year since the Act came into force. [163714]
Mr. Coaker: Available information on stops and searches of persons or vehicles under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 from 1995 to 2005-06 can be found in the following table.
| Searches of persons or vehicles under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and resultant arrests England and Wales | ||||
| Number | ||||
| Stops and searches in anticipation of violence | ||||
| Total searches | Number of persons found to be carrying offensive weapons or dangerous instruments | Arrests for offensive weapons | Arrests for other reasons | |
| (1) Figures updated since publication of the 1998-99 Bulletin. (2) Figures updated since publication of the 2002-03 Bulletin. (3) Figures updated since publication of the 2003-04 Bulletin. (4) Figures updated since publication of the 200-05 Bulletin. | ||||
Terrorism: Detainees
Mr. David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the people detained without charge on suspicion of terrorist offences since July 2006 were released (a) before 10 days, (b) between 11 and 20 days, (c) between 21 and 26 days, (d) on the 27th day and (e) on the 28th day. [164010]
Mr. McNulty: The 14 day detention period came into effect on 20 January 2004 and the maximum period of detention pre-charge was extended to 28 days with effect from 25 July 2006. The following table, compiled from police records, provides details, to date, of the numbers of individuals charged or released and held from between 14 to 15 days and through to 27 to 28 days. We do not collate statistics for the timescales requested.
| Period of detention | Number of persons held | Charged | Released without charge |
Wales
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what contracts his Department has with external consultants; what the total value, including all VAT and disbursements, of these contracts are for the current financial year; how long each contract lasts; and what the forecast total value is of each contract. [163808]
Mr. Hain: In the current financial year my Department entered into a short-term consultancy contract which started on 11 April and ended on 10 May 2007 at a total cost of £4,700.
Departmental Expenditure
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales at which functions his Department incurred expenditure on hospitality in 2006-07; and how much expenditure was incurred at each function. [162813]
Mr. Hain: During 2006-07 the Wales Office spent £12,265.41 on hospitality for the following events:
| Event | Cost (£) | |
|
Wales Office Reception for Government of Wales Act 2006 London | ||
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