| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
30 Jun 2008 : Column 730W—continued
Police: Rhyl
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are based in (a) Rhyl and (b) Colwyn Bay, broken down by rank. [214142]
Mr. McNulty: The requested information is not collected centrally in police personnel statistics. Rank data are available at police force level only.
Prostitution: Developing Countries
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken by the Government to prevent and discourage sex tourism abroad by UK nationals; and what funding has been allocated to such work in 2008-09. [213820]
Mr. Coaker: Section 72 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 amends the extraterritorial provisions of Sexual Offences Act 2003 to remove the dual criminality requirement. This will allow the prosecution of UK nationals for offences committed against children overseas even if the act committed is not illegal in the country where it was committed.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) was established in 2006 and tackling travelling UK sex offenders is part of its remit. It continues to work with UK police and police overseas to exchange information on intelligence on specific offenders and share knowledge on methods of discouraging offenders from travelling abroad to exploit children and apprehending those who do. We have provided CEOP with a budget of £5.77 million this year.
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking in international fora to encourage more countries to adopt extraterritorial laws to tackle child sex tourism. [213821]
Mr. Coaker: The UK actively participated in The Lyon/Roma group (G8 expert group for organised crime) which produced a G8 analysis of extraterritorial jurisdiction of sexual exploitation crimes.
The UK participated in the development of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. Article 25 obliges state parties to take extraterritorial jurisdiction over certain offences established in accordance with this convention. The UK indicated its support for this Convention by signing it on 5 May and is taking steps to enable it to be ratified.
Revenue and Customs: Closures
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the possible effects of the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices in Scotland on border and frontier protection; and if she will make a statement. [212945]
Mr. Byrne: The proposed closure of HMRC offices in Scotland is not expected to have any impact on border and frontier protection. This is because the proposals do not include any frontier office closures therefore Border Force staff and activity should not be affected.
The former HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue had policies of actively managing their estates to ensure value for money. The changes, as a whole, are designed to significantly improve customer service and value for money for taxpayers.
Suicide: Drugs
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what proportion of (a) suicides and (b) killings in (i) Lancashire, (ii) the North West and (iii) England the consumption of (A) alcohol and (B) illegal drugs was a contributory factor in each of the last 10 years. [213568]
Mr. Coaker: Neither the Home Office nor Ministry of Justice collect data on suicides in the general population.
Information available centrally on killings relates to homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales for each year between 1997-98 and 2005-06 where the principal suspect was known to be intoxicated at the time of the offence, and is shown in the following table. However, as this is based on information notified to the Home Office, rather than the actual case files held by the police or the court records, it may understate the true position.
| Table 2: Offences currently recorded( 1) as homicide by intoxication level of principal suspect( 2) : North West region( 3) ,1997-98 to 2006-07( 4,5) | |||
| Percentage | |||
| Principal suspect drink drug level at time of homicide( 2) | |||
| Year recorded( 4) | Been drinking alcohol | Taken an illicit drug | Both drinking alcohol and taking an illicit drug |
| (1) As at 12 November 2007; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) From the information supplied to the Home Office, the principal suspect is known to have been intoxicated at the time of the offence. These may include cases where drink/drugs was not the primary factor. The figures are affected by recording changes, most notably in 2001-02 when some forces made use of a new notification system. (3) Includes the police forces: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside. (4) Offences are shown according to the year in which 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. (5) Data for 2007-08 are not yet published. | |||
Surveillance
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which public bodies are entitled to request the right to intercept individuals' emails and correspondence; and if she will make a statement. [213902]
Mr. McNulty: The public authorities concerned are: the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service, GCHQ, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, the Metropolitan Police Service, the Police Service for Northern Ireland, Scottish Police forces, HM Revenue and Customs and the Defence Intelligence Staff.
The interception of communications such as telephone calls, e-mails and letters is governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which requires that authorisation is given only when it is necessary and proportionate with regard to human rights.
UK Border Agency: Correspondence
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are made by senior officials to ensure accuracy of replies to hon. Members from the UK Border Agency before they are sent, with particular reference to the reply of 19 June 2008 to the hon. Member for Walsall North (ref. B1178885). [214416]
Mr. Byrne: Gill Mortlock, the Regional Director for the UK Border Agency North West Region wrote to my hon. Friend on 26 June 2008 to clarify this issue.
Wood
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much timber and timber products were procured by her Department in each of the last five years; and at what cost. [213774]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office actively seeks to buy all wood and wood products (including furniture) from legal and sustainable sources. Data on quantity are no longer recorded centrally. We have data on two years within the last five: these are set out as follows:
| £ | ||
| Value of timber | Value of timber products | |
| (1) Includes Prison Service. | ||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |