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17 Dec 2008 : Column 860W—continued
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) arrests and (b) convictions there have been for human trafficking offences under Operation Pentameter 2. [243330]
Jacqui Smith: Of the 528 arrests as a result of Operation Pentameter 299 were for human trafficking. Many of those arrested were charged with offences other than human trafficking, such as causing or inciting prostitution for gain and money laundering offences.
It is not possible to disaggregate the conviction figures to provide a breakdown of convictions resulting from Operation Pentameter 2 and many cases arising from that operation are still progressing through the criminal justice system.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department’s definition is of a person who has been trafficked. [244928]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The UK uses the definition of trafficking set out in the Protocol to the 2000 UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime called the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which states that:
“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Human Trafficking: Prostitution
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the research her Department used to inform its calculation that 80 per cent. of women working in prostitution have been trafficked into the UK. [242701]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Home Office has neither made nor cited this calculation.
Human Trafficking: Sentencing
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will break down the sentences issued to those convicted of human trafficking offences under Operation Pentameter 2 by (a) category and (b) length of sentence. [243331]
Jacqui Smith: It is not possible to disaggregate the sentences received as a result of Operation Pentameter 2 from those which may result out of other operations. Additionally many of cases are still progressing through the criminal justice system.
Human Trafficking: Sex Establishments
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the estimated number of UK sex establishments Operation Pentameter 2 visited. [243303]
Jacqui Smith: It is not possible to accurately state what proportion of UK sex establishments were visited under Pentameter 2.
Operation Pentameter 2 was an intelligence-led operation which involved a total of 822 premises being visited. Of these 157 were massage parlours/saunas, 582 were residential and 83 were other premises including airports, seaports and hotels.
Identity Cards: Nationality
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons identification cards for EEA citizens will not feature reference to the individual's nationality. [241613]
Jacqui Smith: For the majority of British citizens the identity card will also be valid as a travel document within the European Union.
EU citizens who are legally resident in the UK will be issued with an identification card. It will not be valid for travel and the holder's nationality will not be included.
Identity Cards: Overseas Residence
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances identity cards will be issued to people resident outside the UK at their time of application. [241655]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 9 December 2008]: Section 2(2) of the Identity Cards Act 2006 establishes that people aged 16 and over who are resident in the United Kingdom and people of a prescribed description who have either resided here or are proposing to enter the United Kingdom are entitled to be registered on the National Identity Register and to be issued with an identity card.
For the initial issue of identity cards to British citizens and EEA nationals from the second half of 2009, it is intended to allow airside workers who live abroad but still require a permanent airside pass to be eligible for enrolment in line with the rollout of identity cards agreed for relevant airports.
Islam: Marriage
Mrs. Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many mosques in Keighley constituency are registered to conduct civil marriage ceremonies; [242867]
(2) what estimate she has made of the number of weddings which took place in unregistered mosques in Keighley constituency which were not subsequently followed up by a civil ceremony in the last 12 months; and how many such weddings took place which were followed by a civil ceremony. [242868]
Meg Hillier: The Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 provides for places of religious worship, except those of the Established Church, to be certified to the Registrar General. A building has to be certified as a place of religious worship before it can be registered for marriages by the Registrar General under the Marriage Act 1949.
The Marriage Act draws a distinction between civil and religious marriages. Where a marriage is conducted in a registered building it may be solemnised according to such form and ceremony as the persons contracting the marriage see fit to adopt. Civil marriages may only take place in a register office or other building approved for that purpose by the local authority in which it is situated.
The register of buildings registered for the solemnisation of marriage is not held in a format that can be readily broken down into individual parliamentary constituency. The closest geographical area for registration purposes which includes Keighley is the registration district of Bradford and Keighley. There are 13 buildings that are registered for the solemnisation of marriage by those professing the Muslim religion in this registration district.
Information on the numbers of marriages in England and Wales is published in the annual reference volume Series FM2 Marriage, Divorce and Adoption Statistics, available from the House of Commons Library. However, figures for the number of marriages by building are not readily available. There are no records held of any ceremonies that are conducted by those professing the Muslim religion that are outside of the provisions in the Marriage Act 1949.
Police
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what mechanism evidence is gathered from police forces on the impact of migration on each force. [241856]
Jacqui Smith: The Migration Impacts Forum provides a means of proper, regular and organised dialogue with interested parties outside Government, focused on the wider impacts associated with migration experienced by local areas. Its role is to consider information from forum members, including the police, about the social implications of migration and any transitional impacts.
Police: Complaints
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Independent Police Complaints Commission has the power to investigate complaints about allegedly unlawful conduct by serving police officers. [243691]
Mr. Coaker: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has statutory powers under the Police Reform Act 2002 to deal with complaints and allegations of misconduct against the police in England and Wales.
Police: East Midlands Airport
Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to Leicestershire Police Authority of policing East Midlands Airport was in the last year for which figures were available. [244195]
Mr. Coaker: The costs of policing East Midlands airport are a matter for the chief constable of Leicestershire constabulary and the local police authority.
The figures are not held centrally.
Police: Essex
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how much was spent by Essex police force defending actions brought against them by victims of crime in each year since 2001; [244942]
(2) how much was spent by Essex police force defending itself against vexatious litigation in each year since 2001; [244943]
(3) which (a) barristers’ chambers and (b) solicitors’ firms have undertaken work for Essex police force in each of the last two financial years; and what the reason for the work and the fees paid were in each case; [244944]
(4) which 10 barristers instructed by Essex Police received the highest sums for this work in the last two financial years; how much each received; and if she will make a statement. [244945]
Mr. Coaker: The information requested is not held centrally. Decisions on the distribution of resources are a matter for the chief constable of Essex and Essex police authority.
Police: Floods
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent assessment is of the level of readiness of police forces to respond to incidents of flooding. [242711]
Mr. Coaker: Under the auspices of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, the Local Resilience Forum structure has, since its implementation in 2005, been the primary means through which police forces and other category 1 organisations collaborate to develop emergency plans which would include flood preparedness. Although police forces are engaged in the preparation of their own flood response arrangements, the majority of preparedness is achieved collectively through multi-agency planning.
All Local Resilience Forums have carried out assessments of the risks of emergencies in their areas, and I understand that most recognise flooding as a high risk. Most Local Resilience Forums have a collectively agreed multi-agency flood response plan; and nearly all of the main category 1 responders within them, including police forces, either contribute to these plans or take account of flooding incidents in their own emergency response plans. Most of the plans that exist had already been reviewed in the period following the summer 2007 flooding; and multi-agency plans are being further reviewed following the issue of new guidance from Government in February this year.
In his independent review of the 2007 floods, Sir Michael Pitt said
“during the emergency itself, there were excellent examples of emergency services and other organisations working well together; saving lives and protecting property. However, this was not always the case; some decision making was hampered by insufficient preparation and a lack of information”.
The Government will be responding to Sir Michael Pitt’s recommendations by the end of this year.
Police: Recruitment
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost of recruiting a police officer was in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [243365]
Jacqui Smith: This information is not held centrally.
Police: Resignations
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police recruits left the police force within two years of joining since 1997, broken down by police force area; and what percentage of leavers that figure represented in each year. [241803]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.
The numbers of officers voluntarily resigning or dismissed from each force with less than two years service are given in the following tables.
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