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21 May 2008 : Column 385W—continued
Police: Information and Communications Technology
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines her Department has issued to police forces on their use of common IT software programmes to facilitate information sharing; and if she will make a statement. [200970]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 24 April 2008]: In July 2006, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Association of Police Authorities (APA) and the Home Office jointly published the Information Systems Strategy for the Police Service (ISS4PS). The strategy advises police forces and their authorities, as well as organisations that deliver national projects and services to the police service, to use the ISS4PS as a reference framework to plan information and communications technology services. This includes the development and implementation of systems in accordance with agreed standards, including those for software.
As part of the work it is doing to deliver a Police National Database, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) IMPACT Programme is producing data quality standards to ensure that force information can be shared in a consistent and compatible manner. The responsibility for the management, and use of information within the police service, rests with the chief officer of the police force that owns the information. The Management of Police Information (MoPI) Statutory Code of Practice issued to forces in November 2005 sets out the key principles and processes for the management of police information. Guidance was issued on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers in 2006 to accompany the Code and the NPIA is helping forces implement that guidance in all forces by 2010 as part of the IMPACT programme.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what IT software programmes are used by each police force to deal with (a) enforcement of licensing laws, (b) vehicle crime and (c) firearms crime. [200971]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 24 April 2008]: The day to day management of a force is the responsibility of the chief constable and their police authority. Records of software products that are used in force to deal with (a) enforcement of licensing laws, (b) vehicle crime and (c) firearms crime are not held centrally.
Road Traffic Offences: Cycling
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalties were issued to cyclists who contravened road safety laws in (a) England and (b) Manchester Central constituency in the last 12 months. [206519]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 19 May 2008]: This information is not collected centrally.
Road Traffic: Census
Mr. Greg Knight:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason police officers are conducting a traffic census on Rochester Row and
Warwick Way, London SW1 during May 2008; what the census is seeking to achieve; and if she will make a statement. [206522]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 20 May 2008]: I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the traffic census in Rochester Row and in Warwick Way was conducted on 14 May 2008 not by police officers but by agents acting on behalf of Transport for London (TfL).
This was part of a continuing traffic survey held at multiple sites over the week commencing 12 May 2008. Police officers were present to stop vehicles and direct their drivers to the survey points.
The information collected will help in the future planning process and policy development by enabling TfL to assess such issues as the impact of the central London congesting charging scheme on traffic levels, the demand for car parks in central London, the effects of road works on traffic flow and the effects of fuel cost increases on traffic levels.
Terrorism
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff in her Department work on the (a) Pursue, (b) Protect and (c) Prepare strands of the Contest counter-terrorism strategy. [202874]
Jacqui Smith: The Pursue, Protect and Prepare strands of the Government's strategy for counter-terrorism are dealt with in the Home Office by the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT). The Home Office also works with other Government Departments and agencies on these strands. Currently: 41 full-time equivalent Home Office staff are engaged directly on Pursue; 41.5 full-time equivalent Home Office staff are engaged directly on Protect; and, 34.6 full-time equivalent Home Office staff are engaged directly on Prepare. These numbers are subject to change in accordance with overall priorities. In addition, there are other members of staff in the Home Office who contribute to these strands of work as part of their wider responsibilities for counter-terrorism.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been (a) arrested and (b) charged over the failed car bomb attacks on London and Glasgow in June 2007. [204411]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 8 May 2008]: Six individuals were arrested in the UK in relation to the failed car bomb attacks on London and Glasgow in June 2007. Of the six, three individuals were charged and three individuals were released without charge.
Unfair Practices: Sales Methods
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the City of London Police on illegal share sales by boiler room operations; and if she will make a statement. [206946]
Mr. Coaker: I visited the City of London Police Economic Crime Department in July last year to discuss a number of fraud related issues, including their work on boiler room fraud.
The Home Office provides the City of London Police with additional funding over and above police grant each year to enable the force to operate as a “lead force” for investigating serious and complex fraud not confined to the Square Mile. This extra funding has enabled City to expand its Economic Crime Department and, among other things, establish Operation Archway, the national intelligence reporting system for boiler room fraud. Operation Archway has worked closely with other agencies, including police forces in this country and abroad, and a number of arrests have been made. Home Office officials are in regular contact with City of London police officers and receive regular updates about Operation Archway.
Written Questions
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will answer question 182216, tabled by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 22 January 2008, on websites shut down for terrorism-related reasons; and what the reasons are for the time taken to reply. [193571]
Jacqui Smith: I replied to the right hon. Gentleman on 3 April 2008, Official Report, column 1326W. My Department makes every effort to answer all parliamentary questions within the timescales set by the House however this is not always possible.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will answer question 183418, tabled by the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden on 28 January 2008, on Project Contest; and what the reasons are for the time taken to reply. [193583]
Jacqui Smith: I replied to the right hon. Gentleman on 22 April 2008, Official Report, column 1949W. My Department makes every effort to answer all parliamentary questions within the timescales set by the House however this is not always possible.
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