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14 Jan 2008 : Column 1067W—continued
Police: Manpower
Mr. Ruffley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions since 2
May 1997 her Department has issued a correction to police numbers statistics. [176298]
Mr. McNulty: No official records are kept of all corrections to police numbers statistics since 1997. Corrections are however rare and usually occur only after corrected data have been supplied from individual forces. If corrections of errors are required the National Statistics protocols on errors and revisions are followed.
Where the error is significant, in that the resultant change would qualify or contradict the conclusions that would previously have been drawn from the data, the protocols would require that Home Office would amend the electronic version of the release as soon as possible and include a prominent alert on the website to notify users of the change.
On only one occasion since 1997 has a significant error occurred to police numbers statistics. The statistical bulletin on Police Service Strength in England and Wales for 30 September 2000 was re-printed after one large police force notified the Home Office of large corrections to its officer numbers. This was enough to affect the direction of the national trend. At the time, the bulletin was not produced electronically, but the correction was highlighted on the front page and a re-printed version issued to all subscribers, including the media.
Police: Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police authorities have been provided with private finance initiative (PFI) credits for new buildings and major refurbishments; what the capital value of each such project is; how many new buildings are proposed within each project; and at what stage they are in the PFI procurement process; [176309]
(2) which private finance initiative projects are (a) under way and (b) under consideration in each police force area in England and Wales. [176310]
Mr. McNulty: The following table lists all forces that have Home Office supported PFI projects either operationally in use or in construction.
Police: Vehicles
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pedestrians have been hit by police vehicles in each of the last five years; how many of these incidents have been investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission and what the conclusions were of each investigation. [176995]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 9 January 2008]: Responsibility for the collation and publication of studies and statistics relating to road traffic incidents involving police vehicles rests with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
Police: Volunteers
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to support volunteers who work for the police, with special reference to staffing police stations. [176063]
Mr. McNulty: Non-uniformed volunteers make a very useful contribution to the work of the regular police service in that they are able to undertake a multitude of tasks which help free officers for frontline operational duties. They can often bring with them a range of specialist and unique skills that may not be readily available, for example, knowledge of forensic accountancy in the context of fraud investigations.
There are a number of initiatives in place to support the work of police volunteer support staff who help to staff police stations. This includes the provision of best practice guidance and awards in recognition of outstanding achievement. There are currently around 3,000 non-uniformed volunteers, and it is envisaged that this number will increase through a marketing and awareness campaign.
The Special Constabulary is staffed by volunteers, but is not used to staff police stations.
Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seasonal agricultural workers scheme permit-holders are believed to have defaulted and failed to return at the end of the permit period in each of the last five years. [163620]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 15 November 2007] : The information requested is not available.
All allegations of employment abuse are treated seriously.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will ensure that the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme continues to recognise the distinction between migrants entering the UK and students gaining work experience in this country as part of their higher education courses before returning to their countries of origin. [165644]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 19 November 2007]: From 2008, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme will make no distinction between migrants entering the UK and students gaining work experience.
This distinction has been removed in order to ensure that while applications are accepted only from Romania and Bulgaria, in line with our obligations under EU law, there is a sufficient labour pool for SAWS operators to meet the SAWS quota.
In 2007, only 40 per cent. of the SAWS quota need be filled by applications from Romanian and Bulgarian workers, recognising the commitments some operators had made prior to announcement of the decision to restrict access to the scheme. In 2008, the SAWS quota will be 16,250, and applications will only be accepted from Romania and Bulgaria.
Written Questions
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer question 162141, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 6 November, on non-EU citizens. [171129]
Mr. Byrne: I answered the hon. Members’ previous question on 11 December 2007, Official Report, column 481W.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer question 162345, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 6 November, on the Worker Registration Scheme. [171130]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 December 2007, Official Report, column 481W.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer question 162352, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 6 November, on highly skilled workers. [171131]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 8 January 2008, Official Report, columns 453-54W.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to answer question 162672, tabled by the hon. Member for Hertsmere on 6 November, on highly skilled migrants. [171132]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 11 December 2007, Official Report, columns 481-84W.
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