| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
9 Feb 2009 : Column 1673W—continued
Police
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition her Department uses of front line duties in determining how police officer time is allocated. [253687]
Jacqui Smith: The front line policing measure was based on the proportion of police officer time engaged in frontline activities. It was introduced to cover the period from April 2004 until March 2008. In line with the Government’s drive to reduce police bureaucracy and to remove centrally imposed top down targets (except one on improved levels of public confidence), the measure has been discontinued.
Police Custody
Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police station cells in England were closed for health and safety reasons in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) location and (b) police authority; how many are scheduled for closure; and how many are under review; [254144]
(2) what timescale has been estimated for closure of all police station cells which have been classed as unsuitable to house detainees on health and safety grounds; [254145]
(3) whether police authorities have access to additional grant funding to cover the cost of providing replacement police cells for those closed on health and safety grounds; [254146]
(4) what police cell closures have taken place in the Central Division of Cambridgeshire constabulary in each of the last five years; and what cell provision is planned. [254164]
Mr. Coaker: The management of the police estate and allocation of resources are matters for each police authority and chief constable, who are responsible for assessing local needs.
Police: Demonstrations
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for each of the demonstrations about Gaza and Israel held since 1 January 2009, how many police were injured; what damage to police vehicles took place; and what the cost of policing was; and if she will make a statement. [248609]
Mr. Coaker: Information provided by the Metropolitan Police Service is that to date police officers have reported 55 assaults by protestors and nine police vehicles have been damaged. The Metropolitan Police Service estimates that the total cost of the policing operation, between 29 December 2008 and 24 January 2009, is £2.7 million.
Police: Electronic Surveillance
Chris Huhne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the police remotely accessed personal computers (a) in the UK
and (b) outside the UK without the owner’s consent in each of the last five years; under what powers this remote searching took place in each case; and if she will make a statement. [247112]
Jacqui Smith: Police investigations are independent of Government and there is no requirement on the police to report to Government authorisations made under the relevant legislation. That is, under Part III of the Police Act 1997 that provides lawful authority for police interference with property.
Part III of the Act is overseen by the Chief Surveillance Commissioner whose Annual Report is laid before the House and can be found on the internet at:
Police: Welsh Language
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what costs each police force in England and Wales incurred on (a) translation and (b) interpretation between Welsh and English in each year since 2000. [254199]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 4 February 2009]: The information requested is not held centrally. Decisions on the distribution of resources are matters for the Chief Constable and the Police Authority for each force concerned.
Smuggling: Tobacco
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many offences of supply of illegal and counterfeit tobacco were recorded in each police authority area in each of the last five years; [253970]
(2) how many (a) charges and (b) prosecutions were brought for offences relating to the supply of illegal and counterfeit tobacco in each of the last five years. [253973]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is not available.
The following table shows the number of cases brought and the number of criminals sentenced for tobacco offences in each of the last five years.
| Cases brought | Number of people sentenced | |
Tackling Knives Action Programme
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether any of the search wands allocated to the Tackling Knives Action Programme were redeployed from other uses; [252151]
(2) whether any of the search arches allocated to the Tackling Knives Action Programme were redeployed from other uses; [252153]
(3) how many new search wands her Department has purchased in each of the last 10 months; [252114]
(4) how many new search arches her Department has purchased in each of the last 10 months. [252115]
Jacqui Smith: As part of the Tackling Knives Action Programme, the Home Office provided funding for the purchase of additional search arches and wands, supplying a total of 85 arches and 589 wands for the TKAP police forces. These commitments were over and above any equipment already available to TKAP forces and did not involve any redeployment of equipment. It is not possible to break this down by month.
In addition, prior to the establishment of the TKAP, the Home Office separately provided police forces in England and Wales with a total of 100 portable search arches and 400 wands to support search operations.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Bankruptcy: Hampshire
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people were declared bankrupt in (a) Southampton, (b) Test Valley borough and (c) the ceremonial county of Hampshire in each year since 1997. [251097]
Mr. McFadden: Table 1 shows the number of bankruptcies in (a) Southampton, (b) Test Valley and (c) Hampshire in each year from 2000 to 2007, derived from postcodes provided by bankrupt individuals(1,2). Earlier years figures are not available.
(1) Classifying bankrupts into administrative geographies is done using the postcode that the bankrupt individual provides. The use of this in assigning an individual to a borough is thus only as reliable as the postcode information provided.
(2) In particular, inaccurate or missing postcodes mean that the numbers in the above table will be subject to an element of missing data. Nationally, this proportion has been decreasing from about 12 per cent. in 2000 to less than 4 per cent. in 2007.
| Table 1 | ||||||||
| Number | ||||||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
Beer: Prices
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent discussions he has had with Pubcos on beer pricing. [253986]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 3 February 2009]: I have not met with Pubcos to discuss beer pricing. This is a commercial matter for the businesses concerned.
Business: Government Assistance
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funds his Department provides to assist companies to attend trade fairs for the purpose of new business development. [253321]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment provides grant support for small and medium sized enterprises to exhibit at overseas trade fairs under the Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP). Grants are set at £1,000, £1,400 or £1,800 depending on the exhibition. From 1 April 2009 the support limit has been raised so that an eligible business may receive up to six grants in its lifetime (the previous limit was three). Details of TAP support are on the UKTI website at:
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009, Official Report, column 561W, on departmental buildings, what (a) works and (b) refurbishments were carried out in each Minister's office in each of the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each. [252382]
Mr. McFadden: The previous answer referred to by the hon. Member included spend incurred in August 2007 following refurbishments resulting from Machinery of Government changes. The following information therefore dates back to August 2007.
The following costs relate to the Department's accommodation refurbishments for both Ministers and their outer offices:
August 2007: £36,643.
May 2008: £352;
June 2008: £265,991 (included major demolition, construction and redecoration work to standardise and 'future proof offices should ministerial numbers increase in future;
July 2008: £11,016;
September 2008: £19,958.
January 2009: £57,040.
Departmental Sick Leave
Jenny Willott: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in (a) his Department and its predecessor, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which his Department has responsibility who gave (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders as the reason for their absence was in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [241352]
Mr. McFadden: Information for 2004, 2005 and 2006-07 for the Department, its predecessor and its agencies can be found on the civil service website at:
Stress, mental health and behavioural disorders all fall within the category of ‘mental and behavioural disorders’.
For years prior to 2004, sickness absence data is not available in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
India: EU External Trade
Mr. Soames: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the EU/India free trade agreement under negotiation includes provision for movement of workers from India into the UK. [253508]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 2 February 2009]: We would expect the chapter on international trade in services in an EU/India Free Trade Agreement to include provisions on the temporary movement of highly-skilled professionals both from India to the UK and from the UK to India.
At this point, FTA negotiations with India generally are at an early stage. Negotiations on services are at a very early stage and there has been no exchange of offers in services.
Minimum Wage
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what percentage of 18 to 21 year olds in (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment are being paid the national minimum wage; and if he will make a statement. [254122]
Mr. McFadden: According to the ONS April 2008 Annual survey of Hours and earnings: (a) around 2 per cent. of all full-time 18 to 21-year-olds earn £4.60 an hour (the 18 to 21-year-old national minimum wage in April 2008). (b) Around 4 per cent. of all part-time 18 to 21-year-olds earn £4.60 an hour in April 2008.
The percentages reported above do not include those in employment reported as earning less than the 18 to 21-year-old national minimum wage rate.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |