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23 Feb 2009 : Column 128W—continued
Police recorded crime does not specifically collect data on youth crime, although age of suspect is recorded in the homicide collection.
The BCS asks respondents who have been victims of violent crime whether they believed the offender to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. Figures on the proportion of violent incidents where the victim believed the offender to be under the influence of alcohol are regularly published in the annual Crime in England and Wales publication. Copies of these publications are available in the House of Commons Library (the most recent publication is Crime in England and Wales 2007-08).
Police recorded crime does not specifically collect data on alcohol related incidents, although whether the suspect has been drinking alcohol or not is included in the homicide collection. Furthermore, data on breath tests are collected including how many are positive or refused.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were charged with each type of alcohol-related offence in (a) the year before and (b) the year following the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003. [254495]
Jacqui Smith: Charging data are not held centrally.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions for being drunk and disorderly there have been in each of the last 15 years. [254499]
Jacqui Smith: The number of persons found guilty at all courts for being drunk and disorderly in England and Wales, from 1993 to 2007, the latest available, are given in table 1.
Additionally, penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) are available for issue for this offence. The number of PNDs issued to persons aged 16 and over for being drunk and disorderly from 2004, when the scheme was implemented in all 43 police forces in England and Wales, to 2007 are given in table 2.
| Table 2: Number of penalty notices for disorder issued to persons aged 16 and over for offences of being drunk and disorderly( 1) in England and Wales from 2004 to 2007( 2) | |
| Number | |
| (1) Data include the following offence descriptions and corresponding statutes: Being found drunk in a highway or other public place, whether a building or not, or on licensed premises—Licensing Act 1872, section 12; Being guilty while drunk of disorderly behaviour—Criminal Justice Act 1967, section 91. (2) 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. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Evidence and Analysis Unit. | |
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2008, Official Report, columns 713-4W, on alcoholic drinks: crime, how many of those found guilty of refusing to obey an instruction to stop drinking in a designated public place in each of the last five years received a fine of (a) up to £100, (b) £101 to £250 and (c) over £250. [254525]
Jacqui Smith: The number of people fined, and the level of fines received, for refusing to stop drinking and surrender alcohol in a designated public place can be found in the following table.
| Number of persons fined for drinking alcohol in a designated public place, by amount, all courts 2007 | ||||
| Up to £100 | £101 to £250 | Over £250 | Total | |
| Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice (2003-2006) Ref: AHA378-08 (15 October 2008) (2007) Ref: Sent (OMSAS) 025-09 (4 February 2009) | ||||
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in the Chelmsford division of the Essex police force area were charged with alcohol-related offences in the year (a) before and (b) following the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003; and with which offences such people were charged. [254836]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Charging data are not held centrally.
Alcoholic Drinks: Young People
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations she has received on the use of under 18 year olds by police forces for test purchases of alcohol in pubs. [247772]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Home Office has not received any recent representations on the use of under 18s in respect of test purchases. However, officials have regular discussions with both ACPO and, during campaigns, with individual police forces on a number of issues encompassing their enforcement work, including the use of test purchases.
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the use of those aged under 18 in making test purchases of alcohol in public houses on behalf of the police. [248332]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 19 February 2009]: The Government encourage local areas to undertake test purchasing to ensure that alcohol is not sold to children, but the use of those aged under 18 in test purchase operations is a local operational matter, and as such is a matter for the chief constable. However, both ACPO and LACORS have produced guidance on this matter.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) individuals and (b) establishments have been prosecuted for selling alcohol to minors in (i) Mid Dorset and North Poole constituency, (ii) each local authority area and (iii) England in the last 12 months. [250752]
Mr. Alan Campbell:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1025-34W. Information held on court proceedings cannot
be broken down by constituency or local authority area. The table as referred to holds the data requested broken down by police force area and for England and Wales.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) individuals and (b) establishments have been prosecuted for selling alcohol to under age people in (i) Stroud District Council area, (ii) Gloucestershire and (iii) south west England in each of the last five years. [250788]
Mr. Alan Campbell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1025-1034W. Information held on court proceedings cannot be broken down by council area. The table as referred to holds the data requested broken down by police force area which includes Gloucestershire police force. Data for the south-west region include Devon and Cornwall constabulary, Dorset police, Avon and Somerset constabulary, Wiltshire constabulary, and Gloucestershire constabulary.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) individuals and (b) establishments have been prosecuted for selling alcohol to under-age people in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each of the last five years. [251337]
Mr. Alan Campbell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 3 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1025-34W. Information held on court proceedings cannot be broken down by individual areas so data on Hemel Hempstead is not available. The table as referred to holds the data requested broken down by police force area which includes Hertfordshire police force.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to discourage the selling of alcohol to underage people in public houses. [253115]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Government take the issue of selling alcohol to under-age people very seriously indeed. The Home Secretary announced in her speech on 6 February 2008, that a number of new measures and possible steps would be taken to crack down on crime and antisocial behaviour which is fuelled by alcohol. This includes highlighting the message that it is not acceptable for young people to drink in public places.
The Home Office co-ordinated enforcement campaigns have provided support to police and trading standard officers in the use of the extensive powers available under the Licensing Act 2003 in relation to children. Indeed successive Alcohol Misuse and Enforcement Campaigns (AMECs) from 2004 and Tackling Underage Sales of Alcohol Campaigns (TUSAC) since 2006 have reduced the test purchase failure rate from approximately 50 per cent. to approximately 15 per cent. Additionally, we have recently launched a new £4.5 million enforcement campaign in 190 areas, with a particular focus on the 50 areas of most concern to us from January to March 2009. The Home Office also supports the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS), as well as initiatives which seek to reduce the number of under-age sales such as “Challenge 21”.
The Government have also introduced legislation to create an enabling power to introduce a new mandatory code of practice for alcohol retailers and to take forward the legislative announcements as set out in the written ministerial statement following the Licensing Act review and the Youth Alcohol Action Plan, namely: the creation of a new offence of persistent possession of alcohol in a public place by a person aged under 18, and amending the ‘persistent selling’ offence from three sales to an under 18 in three months, to two sales in three months.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) quantity and (b) value of alcohol was confiscated under the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 in each year since its implementation. [255635]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Information collected centrally and held on the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database does not identify the quantity or value of alcohol confiscated under the terms of the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997.
However an alcohol confiscation campaign took place in February 2008 following a pilot in October 2007. 165 out of the 227 basic command units (BCUs) took part in the campaign and the result was that over 21,000 litres of alcohol (70 per cent. beer) was confiscated in over 5,000 separate seizures from individuals and groups of more than 23,000 young people. Activity in both campaigns focussed on school holidays and weekends when young people were most likely to be engaged in this activity.
Animal Experiments
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) larvae, (b) embryos and (c) foetuses were used in animal scientific procedures in each of the last three years. [255484]
Meg Hillier: The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 protects animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes. Protected animals include immature vertebrate animals, in the case of a mammal, bird or reptile from halfway through gestation or incubation and in any other case, including immature forms of Octopus vulgaris, when they become capable of independent feeding.
We have no reliable data from which to estimate the numbers of immature forms used during the period in question. For the purpose of the annual statistical report of animal use project licence holders are required to declare if immature forms have been used, but not to provide estimates of the numbers used. This is because, in the case of some immature forms, such as fish fry, it is impossible to count and record accurately the numbers used for work licensed under the Act.
I would refer the hon. Member to that document.
Assaults on Police
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many sickness days were taken due to assault in each police force in 2007-08; how many days were lost per police officer on average due to assault in that year; and what the cost to each police force was. [256743]
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