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19 May 2008 : Column 102W—continued


Departmental Aviation

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by her Department on flights (a) within England and (b) outside the UK in each of the last five years. [200494]

Mr. Byrne: Information on flights within England alone could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

The Department's recorded spend on UK and overseas flights is shown in the following table.

Home Office expenditure on flights
£ million
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08

UK

0.99

1.63

1.88

1.05

1.17

Overseas

0.42

2.59

1.65

2.19

1.39

Total

1.41

4.22

3.53

3.24

2.56


The aforementioned figures include expenditure by the core Home Office, the UK Border Agency, the National Offender Management Service and the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (the latter two transferred to the Ministry of Justice in 2007).

The Department expects all official travel to be carried out by the most efficient and economic means available, taking into account the cost of travel and subsistence, savings in official time, management benefit, and the needs of staff with disabilities. This is in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code and the Ministerial Code.

Departmental Catering

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of food and drink procured for working lunches attended by officials at which no external invitees were present in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [205522]

Mr. Byrne: An answer could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental ICT

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female members of staff in her Department were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if she will make a statement. [181358]

Mr. Byrne: The requested information is given in the following table.


19 May 2008 : Column 103W

Data for Blackberry and Personal Digital Assistants issued to staff for years 2005 until 2008 is shown in the table as follows.

It would not be economically viable to provide data for years 2001-04.

Blackberry and PDA
Male Female

2005

64

28

2006

163

74

2007

128

70

2008

4

4


In addition to these numbers there are another four PDAs issued to male members of staff since 2001, however it is not possible to specify the year they were issued.

Drugs

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officials in her Department were disciplined or dismissed for taking illegal drugs in each of the last five years. [205362]

Mr. Byrne: No members of staff within Home Office headquarters or the UK Border Agency were disciplined or dismissed for illicit drug taking between 1 January 2005 and 31 March 2008.


19 May 2008 : Column 104W

Information prior to 1 January 2005 is not held centrally within Home Office HQ or UKBA and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

No members of staff within the Identity and Passport Service or the Criminal Records Bureau were disciplined or dismissed for illicit drug taking between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2008.

Government House

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether Government House in Pimlico has been placed for sale on the market. [205402]

Mr. Byrne: The appointed sales agent expects to complete their due diligence and submit their disposal report imminently. A decision on timing and method of sale will then be taken.

Homicide

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of homicide there were where the killing arose from the use of (a) a sharp instrument and (b) a firearm in each police force area in each of the last 10 years. [203251]

Mr. Coaker: Available information relates to the number of homicides recorded between 1997-98 and 2006-07 where the apparent method of killing was sharp instrument or shooting.


19 May 2008 : Column 105W

19 May 2008 : Column 106W
Table A: Homicides currently recorded( 1) where apparent method of killing is sharp instrument( 2) , by police force area: England and Wales 1997-98 to 2006-07( 3)
Year offence initially recorded as homicide( 4)
Police force area 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07

Avon and Somerset

3

5

5

3

4

4

4

4

2

3

Bedfordshire

3

2

1

2

7

1

1

4

3

3

British Transport Police

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Cambridgeshire

1

1

4

—

1

2

5

1

2

2

Cheshire

3

3

—

—

3

2

5

3

7

3

Cleveland

1

1

3

5

3

3

3

3

3

3

Cumbria

3

1

5

3

1

2

1

1

-

-

Derbyshire

2

1

2

1

4

2

3

2

2

3

Devon and Cornwall

8

6

1

5

6

2

3

10

5

5

Dorset

1

1

1

3

—

3

6

—

—

2

Durham

3

2

—

1

2

3

—

2

3

5

Dyfed Powys

—

2

—

1

—

3

—

—

2

1

Essex

1

5

9

2

10

7

5

—

6

9

Gloucestershire

1

1

3

—

3

3

2

2

—

2

Greater Manchester

16

14

10

14

23

19

17

15

11

12

Gwent

—

1

1

2

2

2

—

4

1

2

Hampshire

1

3

5

4

7

9

3

7

4

7

Hertfordshire

2

1

5

4

3

4

4

5

3

6

Humberside

2

2

2

2

3

5

8

3

1

7

Kent

7

3

8

4

10

6

4

4

7

6

Lancashire

6

2

1

15

4

10

12

11

1

4

Leicestershire

1

1

—

4

2

4

9

3

3

5

Lincolnshire

—

1

2

—

1

2

2

—

—

3

London, City of

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

1

Merseyside

8

11

6

13

3

12

10

14

10

10

Metropolitan Police

62

52

68

69

68

68

61

62

56

68

Norfolk

—

5

2

4

1

—

3

1

1

3

North Wales

2

—

2

1

2

4

—

5

2

1

North Yorkshire

1

—

1

—

—

—

1

3

2

—

Northamptonshire

2

2

1

3

3

5

1

—

6

6

Northumbria

11

5

9

5

4

8

8

6

7

10

Nottinghamshire

3

6

5

4

6

3

6

6

7

7

South Wales

9

9

6

3

10

1

3

4

2

7

South Yorkshire

2

3

4

4

6

7

2

7

6

3

Staffordshire

4

4

2

—

1

—

3

3

2

5

Suffolk

—

—

—

3

2

—

2

2

3

2

Surrey

1

1

1

1

2

1

1

4

3

-

Sussex

4

4

5

5

6

9

3

9

4

2

Thames Valley

7

7

8

3

9

13

3

6

7

6

Warwickshire

—

2

1

—

1

2

2

3

1

5

West Mercia

3

3

1

3

5

2

5

3

—

3

West Midlands

4

16

15

9

19

17

22

21

22

15

West Yorkshire

12

12

7

8

11

13

7

13

11

10

Wiltshire

2

—

1

—

3

2

2

3

1

1

Total

202

201

213

213

261

265

242

259

219

258

(1) As at 12 November 2007; figures are revised as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.
(2) Includes knives as well as other sharp instruments.
(3) Data for 2007-08 are scheduled to be published in January 2009.
(4) Offences are shown according to the year in which the police initially recorded the offence as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made.
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