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16 Jun 2008 : Column 682W—continued
Home visits and letters to parents of those young people whom intelligence suggests are known to carry weapons.
We are ensuring that the police have access to detection equipment through the provision of an additional 100 search arches and 400 search ‘wands’ this year, and we will provide additional equipment beyond this according to need.
We are working with the Youth Justice Board to ensure that young people convicted of knife offences receive focused interventions to change their behaviour and prevent them from reoffending.
In addition to focused local action, we launched on 29 May a knife marketing campaign investing £3 million over three years aimed at reducing youth knife possession. Developed by young people, the message “It doesn't have to happen” is being conveyed through posters, radio ads, viral video sharing and social networking sites. The campaign also focuses on engaging with mothers to encourage them to talk to their children about the dangers of carrying knives.
Police: Public Appointments
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will assess the adequacy of the advice given by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to police authority appointment panels for senior police posts. [209855]
Mr. McNulty:
The role of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary in the appointment process is a consultative one and they will provide advice to the police authority on the candidates as well as assessing
candidates. They are selected for their experience in policing, are independent and report to the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, who in turn reports to me and my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.
Police: South Yorkshire
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many uniformed and plain clothes police officers in all categories were in service in South Yorkshire at 1 January (a) 1979, (b) 1997 and (c) 2008. [211009]
Mr. McNulty: The requested information is not collected centrally in Police Personnel Statistics. Total police strength are available as at 31 March on an annual basis and are given in the following table:
| Police officer strength (FTE)( 1) for South Yorkshire | |
| 31 March( 2) | South Yorkshire police force |
| (1) Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. All officers less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave (comparable with previously published figures). (2) Annual figures are collected by financial year and given as at the last day of the year, 31 March. Data for 2008 will be published on 22 July 2008. | |
Pornography: Internet
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of the increase in the number of internet service providers using filters to prevent access to child sexual abuse images. [209618]
Mr. Coaker: The Government understand that 95 per cent. of consumer broadband connections are covered by blocking mechanisms that use the IWF list. Since 2004, blocking of these sites on consumer broadband in the UK has gone from nothing to 95 per cent. thanks to the work carried out by industry and the IWF.
The IWF processed more reports in 2007 than in 2006; however fewer reports were confirmed to contain child sexual abuse content which may be an indicator of the effectiveness of the voluntary blocking arrangements put in place by many UK service providers. The blocking initiative is designed to reduce the occasions when innocent internet users might accidentally be exposed to traumatic and unlawful images, diminish the re-victimisation of children by restricting opportunities to view their sexual abuse and disrupt the accessibility and supply of such content to those who may seek out such images.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further steps she plans to take to prevent producers of child sexual abuse images from hopping servers. [209620]
Mr. Coaker:
The Government encourage people who are inadvertently exposed to child abuse images to report the URL to the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF). Ninety-five per cent, of consumer broadband connections are now covered by blocking, based on the
IWF's list of known child sexual abuse URLs. Since 2004, blocking of these sites on consumer broadband in the UK has gone from nothing to 95 per cent. thanks to the work carried out by industry and the IWF. The number of sites hosted in the UK, potentially containing child abuse images is less 0.4 per cent., down from 18 per cent. in 1997.
There are difficulties in removing sites which originate outside of the UK's jurisdiction. The IWF 2007 annual report shows the longevity of some child sexual abuse sites and how they avoid detection by moving servers. This is a challenge for law enforcement because these sites hop between jurisdictions to avoid being closed down.
This issue might be taken up by the new UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS).
Prostitution: Young People
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of teenage prostitutes in (a) Leicester and (b) England (i) in the last 12 months and (ii) in the last 10 years. [208556]
Mr. Coaker: Statutory guidance issued in 2000 on safeguarding children involved in prostitution stated that all Local Safeguarding Children Boards should make arrangements to actively enquire into the extent to which children are involved in prostitution within their local area. This information is not collated centrally. However, research commissioned by the Department of Health in 2002 found that children were known to suffer this form of abuse in 111 of the then 146 Area Child Protection Committee districts, with an average of 19 girls and three boys in each area.
Security Industry Authority
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how regularly the Security Industry Authority meets representatives of the industry to discuss the regulator’s performance of its statutory duties. [210387]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 12 June 2008]: As part of its stakeholder engagement strategy, the SIA meets regularly with the private security industry. In addition, the SIA communicates to the industry through a variety of means which include meetings, conferences and the trade press. The chief executive of the SIA wrote directly to the industry on 3 March and 15 April 2008 to provide an update on performance, to report improvements that have been made to the licensing system, and outline what level of service can be expected from the SIA.
A copy of the SIA stakeholder engagement strategy can be found at:
Security: Members
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will seek advice from (a) the police and (b) other security agencies on the implications for hon. Members' safety of publication of their home addresses in accessible form. [209162]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 6 June 2008]: The Home Office maintains an ongoing dialogue with the police and the security agencies in relation to the safety and security of public figures, including any matters that could affect Members of Parliament as individuals or as a group.
Television
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on (a) commissioning and (b) funding the production of television programmes (i) in each of the last three years and (ii) in 2008-09 to date; what programmes these were; and which companies made them. [210241]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 11 June 2008]: In the last three years the Home Office has funded or part-funded the production of three television programmes outlined as follows:
Beat: Life on the Street focused on the work and role of police community support officers. It aired in the autumn of 2006. The Home Office spent £400,000 for the production of this series in the 2006-07 financial year. The series was made by Two Four Television. There was no commissioning cost.
A second series of Beat: Life on the Street was aired in January 2008. The Home Office spent £00,000 for the production of this series in the 2007-08 financial year. The series was made by Two Four Television. There was no commissioning cost.
A series about the work of front line officers from the UK Border Agency is currently in the final production stages. The Home Office spent £400,000 from its budget for 2007-08. The series is made by Steadfast Television. There is no commissioning cost.
To date in this financial year 2008-09 there has been no further spend.
Terrorism: Detainees
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been detained pre-charge under counter-terrorism measures for (a) up to three, (b) four to six, (c) seven to nine, (d) 10 to 12, (e) 13 to 15, (f) 16 to 18, (g) 19 to 21, (h) 22 to 24 and ( i ) 25 to 28 days; and of those detained which were charged, and for what offence, in those cases in which no legal proceedings are ongoing. [203949]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 7 May 2008]: Information on the number of individuals held in pre-charge detention under terrorism legislation is not broken down for the specific periods requested.
The following table, compiled from police records, provides statistics on the number of people held in pre-charge detention over 14 days and up to 28 days and the outcome.
| Pre-charge detention | |||
| Period of detention | Number of persons held | Charged | Released without charge |
The maximum period of detention pre-charge was extended to 28 days with effect from 25 July 2006.
To date, 11 individuals have been held for over 14 days pre-charge detention. Of these 11, eight people were charged as detailed as follows:
Six were charged following in Operation Overt, the disruption of an alleged plot to blow up an aircraft; one individual was charged following a counter terrorist operation led by Greater Manchester police and one individual was charged following his arrest in relation to the London and Glasgow incidents.
The length of pre-charge detention and resultant charges is as follows:
One individual charged with having information about an act of terrorism (section 38B, Terrorism Act 2000). This case was subsequently dismissed by a judge due to insufficient evidence.
One individual charged with conspiracy to cause explosions (section 3 (1a), the Explosives Substances Act 1883).
Three individuals charged with conspiracy to murder (section 1 (1), Criminal Law Act 1977) and Preparation of Terrorist Acts (section 5, Terrorism Act 2006). The latter charge has subsequently been amended by the Crown Prosecution Service for two of the individuals to a charge of conspiracy to commit an act of violence likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft (section 1(1), Criminal Law Act 1977).
One individual charged with preparation of terrorist Acts (section 5, Terrorism Act 2006).
One individual charged with preparation of terrorist Acts (section 5, Terrorism Act 2006), possession of a prohibited weapon (section 5(1), Firearms Act 1968), possession of ammunition (section 1 (1b), Firearms Act 1968), possession of a silencer without a firearms licence (section 1 (1b), Firearms Act 1968). The charge of preparation of terrorist Acts for the second individual was subsequently amended by the Crown Prosecution Service to a charge of conspiracy to commit an act of violence likely to endanger the safety of an aircraft (section 1(1), Criminal Law Act 1977).
One individual charged with attending a place for instruction or training in terrorism (section 8, Terrorism Act 2006) and collection of information (section 58 (1) (a), Terrorism Act 2000).
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been detained on suspicion of terrorist or related offences but were released by the police or security services because they were not able to compile enough evidence to charge them within the 28-day period allowed for detention without charge within the Metropolitan Police Authority in the last two years. [208717]
Mr. McNulty: To date, 11 individuals have been held for over 14 days pre-charge detention, six individuals were held for the maximum 27-28 days, of which three individuals were charged, and three individuals were released without charge.
Nine out of the 11 individuals were arrested in August 2006, following Operation Overt the disruption of an alleged plot to target aircraft. This led to six individuals being charged, and three were released, one individual was charged on the 27-28 day of detention following his arrest in a counter terrorist operation led by Greater Manchester Police in August 2006. One individual was
charged on the 18-19 day of detention following his arrest in relation to the incidents in London and Glasgow in June-July 2007.
| Period of detention | Number of persons held | Charged | Released without charge |
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the evidential basis is for her proposals that detention of terrorist suspects for a maximum of 42 days before charge is necessary; and what discussions she has had with (a) police forces, (b) the Crown Prosecution Service and (c) the security services in determining the number of days. [209974]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 10 June 2008]: We set out our case for our proposal in a letter to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 6 December 2007. This can be found at:
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