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14 Jan 2009 : Column 805W—continued
Police: Economic Situation
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what projections she has made of trends in the level of demand for police services as a result of the economic downturn; and what consideration she has given to allocating additional resources to police services in this respect. [246954]
Mr. Coaker: Since March 2003, overall crime has fallen by 18 per cent., exceeding the 15 per cent. target set out in the Home Office's public service agreement. That reduction is greater than would have been forecast based on socio-economic factors alone, and we are confident that the right policies and systems are in place to continue to cut crime and that they provide the flexibility needed to respond to future economic challenges.
Decisions on the distribution of local resources in response to varying demands are matters for the chief constable and the police authority for the force concerned.
The three-year funding settlement for the years 2008-09 to 2010-11 that we announced last year reflects the Government's continuing commitment to improve policing and reduce crime further. The police service in England and Wales has benefited from a significant increase in resources over a sustained period. On a like-for-like basis Government grant for the police will have increased by over 60 per cent. or over £3.7 billion between 1997-98 and 2010-11.
Repatriation: China
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many repatriations of people from the UK China has (a) accepted in each year since 2001 and (b) agreed to accept in each of the next four years. [246237]
Jacqui Smith: The information is as follows:
(a) Information on destination data of those removed from the United Kingdom has only been available since 2004.
The figures provided here are the number of Chinese nationals removed to China in each year. Figures include enforced returns, voluntary departures and assisted returns.
| Number | |
(b) We do not have an agreement with China that restricts how many returnees will be accepted in coming years.
Seized Articles: Motor Vehicles
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motor cars have been seized wrongly owing to (a) inaccuracies in and (b) omissions from the Motor Insurers’ Database in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by police authority in England. [241519]
Mr. Alan Campbell: This information is not collected centrally. The police are empowered to seize any vehicle where the driver cannot produce a valid certificate of insurance and there are reasonable grounds for believing he or she is driving without appropriate insurance. In forming their opinion the police will typically refer to the Motor Insurers’ Database and the dedicated police helpline provided by the Motor Insurance Bureau to help resolve any apparent discrepancy between database information and assertions by the motorist.
Serious Organised Crime Agency
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many cases were being investigated by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in which criminal confiscation action had been initiated in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the UK as at 31 March 2008; what the estimated value of the assets restrained in those cases was; in how many such investigations SOCA has obtained a confiscation order; what the value of assets affected by such orders is; and what the estimated value of assets restrained under such orders is; [243844]
(2) how many criminal investigations were opened by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; what value of assets have been restrained in such cases in each year; in how many such cases assets have been restrained in each year; what estimate has been made of the value of assets under investigation in such cases in each year; how many such cases related to criminal confiscation investigations in each year; and how many such cases resulted in persons being charged in each year. [243790]
Mr. Alan Campbell:
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) undertakes a range of operational activity in order to fulfil its functions as defined in sections 2 and 3 of the Serious Organised Crime and
Police Act 2005. As referred to in its latest annual report, SOCA's contribution to the UK Serious Organised Crime Control Strategy in the two years since it was formed has been:
2006-07: 404 operations and projects.
2007-08: 459 operations and projects. In addition, as at 31 March 2008 SOCA was undertaking 173 inquiries (single strand investigations).
Operations are multi-faceted and the activity is tailored to that which is most likely to have the greatest impact on harm at the time. During the lifetime of an operation a SOCA investigation may switch between a criminal investigation and an investigation that seeks to disrupt an individual, group, or criminal activity other than by way of a criminal investigation and vice versa, or it may look to prosecute some members of the group and use civil or other powers against others. SOCA does not therefore hold information on the number of separate criminal investigations within operations. Information on the number of arrests and convictions flowing from SOCA's work is set out in the SOCA annual report.
Every SOCA tasked operation will include a financial element and criminal confiscation will be pursued where appropriate. Where SOCA has decided to take forward a criminal confiscation investigation in conjunction with a criminal investigation, these investigations are in persona i.e. against the person not in rem i.e. against the property.
SOCA therefore does not measure each criminal investigation in terms of assets involved, but in terms of the criminal's benefit from their conduct.
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