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3 Dec 2007 : Column 775W—continued
Litter: West Midlands
Lynda Waltho: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers police have to take action against those caught (a) dropping litter and (b) fly-tipping; how many (i) prosecutions were brought and (ii) penalty notices were issued under each power in each of the local authority areas in the West Midlands in each of the last five years. [168862]
Joan Ruddock: I have been asked to reply.
Dropping litter is an offence under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, punishable by a fixed penalty fine, which can be set locally by a council within a range of £50 to £80, or prosecution (with a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction). Police community support officers, persons accredited under community accreditation schemes, parish councils and local authority authorised officers have enforcement powers, although responsibility rests primarily with the local authority.
Data on the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued and cases taken to court can be found on the DEFRA website at www.defra.gov.uk
The deposit of waste without a licence, or fly-tipping, is an offence under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The offence carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. Due to the serious nature of fly-tipping, there is no FPN available. Local authorities must prosecute offenders through the courts.
Flycapture, the national fly-tipping database, was set up in 2004 and records the number of fly-tipping incidents dealt with by the Environment Agency and local authorities. The database also records enforcement actions taken, including prosecutions.
Data are available from April 2004 onwards and are as follows:
| Fly-tipping prosecutions taken | |||
| Local authority | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
| (1) No data. | |||
Passports: Proof of Identity
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she expects all the offices in the National Identity Scheme network serving first-time passport applicants to be operational by the end of 2007. [166092]
Jacqui Smith: Based on current estimates, the Identity and Passport Service is scheduled to roll out 62 of the interview office network by the end of 2007. The remaining seven are scheduled to open in early 2008.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether electronic data on deaths and naturalisation is used to check passport applications. [166093]
Jacqui Smith: The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) currently runs automated checks for all passport applications against electronic records relating to infant deaths provided by the Office of National Statistics and the General Registry Office for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Passport applicants' naturalisation details are checked against electronic data from the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA). These checks commenced in December 2006. The link to BIA will be fully automated in 2008 to improve the efficiency of these checks.
An automated service to introduce identity and death checks against electronic data from the Department for Work and Pensions will be deployed in December 2007 and will be operational from February 2008.
Police Custody: Greater London
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police cells and (b) custody suites there are in each London borough. [169271]
Mr. McNulty: The provision of police custody accommodation in London boroughs is a matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and the Metropolitan Police Authority.
Police Custody: Suffolk
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much the Border and Immigration Agency and its predecessor paid Suffolk police authority for use of its police cells in each of the last five years; [167907]
(2) how much the Border and Immigration Agency pays Suffolk police authority to use a police cell for a 24 hour period. [167908]
Mr. Byrne: The Border and Immigration Agency has paid Suffolk police authority the following amounts for use of police cells in each of the last four years. Data for 2002-03 the fifth year is not readily available because of change of computer system.
| Amount (£) | |
| n/a = not available. | |
The Border and Immigration Agency pays Suffolk police authority incidental expenses at cost to use a police cell for a 24 hour period. These expenses include meal costs, interpreters and female staff as appropriate.
Police: Cars
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cars were in use in (a) England, (b) London and (c) each London borough in each year since 1997. [166925]
Mr. McNulty: This information is not collected centrally as it is a matter for individual police forces.
Police: Disciplinary Proceedings
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many SO19 officers are currently suspended from duty; and what percentage of the total SO19 squad those suspensions represent for each police force. [169246]
Mr. McNulty: Authorised firearms officers within the Metropolitan Police Service now serve within CO19 Specialist Firearms Command. Information is not collected centrally on the number of authorised firearms officers suspended from duty in police force areas.
Police: Road Traffic Control
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of police funding for 2007-08 has been allocated to traffic policing in each police force area in England and Wales; how many dedicated traffic police officers there were in each police force area in each year since 1997; what percentage of the number of police officers these figures represent in each case; what recent discussions she has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers on the number of dedicated traffic police officers; and if she will make a statement. [166881]
Mr. McNulty: Government funding for police authorities is chiefly allocated using a funding formula that provides an assessment of the relative need of each police force in England and Wales.
Funding for traffic policing is not separately identified. Decisions on the distribution of resources are matters for the Chief Officer and the police authority.
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