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24 Nov 2008 : Column 816W—continued
Departmental Pilot Schemes
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which pilot projects initiated by her Department in the last two years have not proceeded to further roll-out. [211844]
Mr. Woolas: Trialling or piloting systems and processes, or their component parts, is normal practice throughout the lifecycle of projects large and small. Records of such trials and pilots are not held centrally. Details of their status and rollout could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Grieve:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 21 October
2008, Official Report, column 259W, on Departmental procurement, what payments her Department made to Heathrow Gymnastics Club in 2007-08; on what dates; and for what purpose in each case. [233443]
Jacqui Smith: Pursuant to the answer of 21 October 2008, Official Report, column 259W, on departmental procurement, based on the purchase order data held in the Home Department’s financial database, the details of the payments made to Heathrow Gymnastics Club in 2007-08 are as follows:
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which companies her Department has purchased goods and services of a total value above £1 million in each of the last three years; and how much was spent in respect of each such company. [234454]
Mr. Woolas: I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 November 2008, Official Report, column 794W.
Deportation
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations have been made to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission on cases of deportation on the grounds of threat to national security; how many cases there are where individuals are awaiting deportation; how many applications have been rejected in the last (a) year and (b) five years; how many cases are awaiting tribunal decisions; what the average length of time taken to process a tribunal case has been since the Commission’s inception; and in how many cases individuals are under watch on bail after a successful appeal against their deportation. [237099]
Mr. Woolas: There are 12 cases where individuals are subject to deportation on national security grounds and 11 of these are at various stages of the appeals process. In the past year, one national security deportation case has been determined by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC). That appeal was dismissed. In the past five years, a further 12 national security deportation appeals have been determined by SIAC; three were allowed, and the other nine were dismissed. Two national security deportation cases are currently awaiting hearings before SIAC.
The Home Office does not collect information about the length of time taken between an appeal being lodged with SIAC and a determination issuing.
As a matter of policy, we do not comment on operational matters affecting national security. I therefore cannot say whether or not any of those who have had their appeals allowed (or where the notice of intention to deport has been withdrawn) are subject to surveillance.
Detention Centres: Children
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many minors have been held in detention centres for the purposes of immigration control in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) age and (b) sex. [227896]
Mr. Woolas: The requested information is not available; the Home Office published the number of persons recorded as leaving detention in the UK solely under Immigration Act powers between January 2005 and September 2006. The accompanying table shows the number of children who left detention by age and sex for this period. Information outside this time period is not available.
National Statistics on detention are published annually and quarterly in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Control of Immigration. Information on the number of persons detained, as at the last Saturday of the quarter, broken down by sex and those who are under 18 years of age, are published in table 10 of the Quarterly Asylum Bulletin, which is available in the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Drinking Banning Orders
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions (a) she and (b) departmental officials have had with Ministerial colleagues and officials in the Ministry of Justice on the (i) introduction and (ii) enforcement of drinking banning orders. [232899]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Home Office Ministers and officials continue to have discussions with their counterparts in the Ministry of Justice about the introduction of legislation, including Drinking Banning Orders (DBOs). However, a decision has been taken not to commence these powers in the light of recent developments; an improvement in alcohol-related disorder problems and the Government’s Alcohol Strategy which sets out the way forward for tackling alcohol misuse. We will continue to monitor the situation and take stock at a later date on whether, in the light of this, there is a need to commence DBOs.
Driving Offences: Fixed Penalties
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices for speeding were issued to drivers in each year since 1997 for which records are available. [237932]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The information requested on fixed penalty notices covering the period from 1997 to 2006 (latest available) is provided in the following table.
Information for 2007 is due to be published in early 2009.
| Number of fixed penalty notices issued( 1) for speed limit offences( 2) , England and Wales 1997-2006 | |
| Number issued | |
| (1) Includes fixed penalties paid where there is no further action (2) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973. (3) Revised since original publication following amendments received from forces. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | |
Driving Under Influence: Drugs
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work her Department has carried out since December 2005 on a detailed specification for a device to facilitate roadside testing for the presence of illegal drugs. [237183]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 18 November 2008]: The Department's advisers in the Forensic Science Service and HO Scientific Development Branch have been working together, with outside experts and in consultation with manufacturers, to prepare such a specification. This work is continuing.
Drug Seizures
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to increase awareness in local communities of seizures of assets from drug dealers. [234560]
Jacqui Smith: Police forces are encouraged to consider adopting campaigns like “Payback” and “Rat on a Rat” to increase awareness in local communities. In addition we issue quarterly data to the media on amounts of money paid back to local police forces, under the asset recovery incentive scheme, from assets seized from drug dealers and other criminals.
Drugs: Crime
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds her Department has allocated to the Street Level Up initiative for tackling drug dealers (a) in each of the last two years and (b) for the next two years. [234553]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office allocated a grant payment of £75,000 to the Street Level Up initiative in 2007. A further grant payment of £50,000 has been agreed for 2008.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criminal asset sharing agreements are in place between the UK and other countries under the Drugs Action Plan 2008 to 2011. [234556]
Jacqui Smith: There are currently six Asset Sharing Agreements already in place between the UK and the following countries; Canada, USA, Jamaica, Colombia, the Netherlands and UAE. The UK can also enter into ad hoc agreements.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been issued to police on the powers and sanctions available to them to tackle the supply of illegal drugs on streets in the last 12 months. [234557]
Jacqui Smith: The National Police Improvement Agency published Practice Advice on the Investigation of drug offences (Level 1) in 2008.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces (a) are participating and (b) are planned to participate in the Street Level Up initiative for tackling drug dealers. [234558]
Jacqui Smith: There are seven police forces currently participating in the Street Level Up initiative, in addition to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. They are:
Avon and Somerset
Devon and Cornwall
Dorset
South Wales
Sussex
Greater Manchester
Merseyside.
The initiative is work in progress and aims to encourage additional forces to participate over time.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the national drug intervention programme regional representative group proposed in the Drugs Action Plan 2008 to 2011 was established; how many times it has met; who the members of the group are; and what the running costs of the group will be in 2008-09. [234563]
Jacqui Smith: The first Drug Interventions Programme regional representatives group, known as the Drug Interventions Programme Regional Operational Group (DIPROG), was held on the 21 May 2008. It has since met on 9 September 2008 and its next meeting will take place on 9 December 2008.
Membership consists of representatives from the Home Office Drug Interventions Programme and Prolific and Priority Offenders teams, the National Treatment Agency, Ministry of Justice (National Offender Management Service and HM Court Services), Crown Prosecution Service, Welsh Assembly Government, Association of Chief Police Officers, regional Government Offices and National Treatment Agency teams.
The group’s members attend meetings as part of their role, and cover their own travel and other expenses. The Home Office provides the venue for meetings either using Government buildings or, where it is unavoidable, bought conference facilities. Final costs for 2008-09 are not yet available.
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