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5 Mar 2009 : Column 1772W—continued
Antisocial Behaviour: Merseyside
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department holds statistics on the number of occasions Merseyside police officers have returned children aged 16 years or under to their homes after nine o’clock at night from a designated area since the introduction of this power. [259477]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Information received from Merseyside police for the period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008 show that 73 children aged under 16 were returned to their homes after 9 pm from a designated area in that police force area.
Asylum: Employment
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have applied for permission to work in the UK under European Directive 2003/9/EC since it was introduced; and how many of these applications have been (a) granted and (b) refused. [254613]
Mr. Woolas: Under the provisions of the European directive for reception of asylum seekers, since 5 February 2005 asylum seekers in the United Kingdom have been able to apply for permission to work when a decision on their asylum application has been delayed for at least one year and where that delay was not caused by the applicant. When such permission to work is given, it continues only until such time as the asylum claim is finally determined.
The requested information on the number of applications for permission to work under this arrangement and those granted and refused, is not collated and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost through examination of individual case records.
Closed Circuit Television
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of closed circuit television cameras in each local authority area in England (a) in total, (b) operated by or on behalf of local authorities and (c) operated by or on behalf of police forces. [259526]
Mr. Alan Campbell: This information is not available centrally, although this is one of the areas that we will be considering through the National CCTV Strategy in the future.
The National CCTV Strategy was published by the Home Office in October 2007 and contains 44 recommendations designed to increase and measure the effectiveness of CCTV in the United Kingdom.
Crime Prevention: International Cooperation
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has received representations seeking a review of the United Nations conventions on drug control which have been ratified by the UK; and what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of those conventions in meeting her Department’s objectives on drug control. [256805]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Representations to review the United Nations conventions on drug control were made to the Government during the debate on 22 January, in another place, on the ten-year review of the 1998 United Nations Political Declaration on countering the world drug problem. On 25 February I met Baroness Meacher, Lord Cobbold and Chris Mullin MP for further discussion of the Government’s approach to the ten-year review. The Government stands by the existing international drug control system under the three Conventions. It considers that the international system is a viable basis for control, and that there is no international consensus for reviewing them. The Government believes that the way forward is to build on existing international co-operation to improve the operation of the system.
Crimes of Violence
Dr. McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the national violent crime rate was in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) the last four months of 2008. [259514]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Victimisation surveys provide the best estimate of rates of violent crime because they include crimes not reported to or recorded by the police. There are separate surveys covering England and Wales (the British Crime Survey), Scotland (the Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey) and Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Crime Survey). All of these surveys report findings on the basis of financial years rather than calendar years.
The violent crime rate per 10,000 adults for England and Wales in 2006-07 and 2007-08 can be found in Table 2.02 in the latest ‘Crime in England and Wales 2007-08’ publication, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.
The violent crime rate per 10,000 adults for Northern Ireland in 2006-07 and 2007-08 can be found in Table A6 in the ‘Experience of Crime: Findings from the 2007-08 Northern Ireland Crime Survey’ publication at the following link:
The violent crime rate per 10,000 adults for Scotland for 2005-06 can be found in Table A2.4 in the ‘2006 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey: Main Findings’ publication at the following link:
Departmental Databases
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of maintaining the databases owned and managed by (a) her Department and (b) its agencies was in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008. [256151]
Mr. Woolas: The requested information is not held by the Department.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 238W, on departmental ICT, how many staff in her Department and its agencies have the status of embedded communicators and are not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book. [258589]
Mr. Woolas: The following table gives details of embedded communicators (members of the Government Communication Network) in these grades not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book. The Identity and Passport Service does not recognise communication grades.
| Embedded communicators | |
Departmental Internet
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish a copy of her Department’s website accessibility plan. [257224]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office intends to comply with Level Double-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (version 1.0 or the version 2.0 equivalent) by December 2009. A copy of the Home Office website accessibility policy is published at:
Departmental Sick Leave
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in her Department were on sick leave for (a) over 30 days, (b) over 50 days and (c) over 100 days in each of the last five years. [256327]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office management information database do not record sickness information in the categories requested and to obtain it would incur a disproportionate cost.
All Government Departments provide sickness absence data to the Cabinet Office which is subsequently published in annual sickness statistics. Sickness absence reports which contain information on the length of absences and date back to 2003 are available on the Cabinet Office website at:
Domestic Violence
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government's policy is on measures to reduce rates of domestic violence. [259552]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Government's National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan provides the framework to tackle domestic violence. The plan ensures agencies work together to identify, track and risk assess domestic violence cases and better share information so that more offenders are brought to justice, victims are protected and better supported; and further violence is prevented.
One of the key outcomes in our National Domestic Violence Reduction Delivery Plan is to reduce the prevalence of domestic violence, particularly in high incidence areas and/or communities. We are revisiting our delivery plan to ensure a greater focus on prevention. An example would be exploring how to change attitudes and behaviours of key audiences.
One initiative which is currently being promoted through the school curriculum provides scope for education on addressing the underlying causes of violence and abuse relationships. One example is SEAL (social and emotional
aspects of learning), which helps children develop their capacity to empathise, show respect and form positive relationships with other people. This can be expected to apply to any form of violent behaviour and thus prevent future incidences of domestic violence.
Domestic Violence: Females
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female victims of (a) murder and (b) manslaughter as a result of domestic violence there have been in each year since 2002. [259547]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Available data relate to currently recorded offences of homicide where the victim’s relationship to the principal suspect is ‘partner or ex-partner’ and were published in table 1.05 of “Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2007/08” (HOSB 02/09).
| Offences currently( 1) recorded as homicide where victim is female and relationship to principal suspect is ‘partner or ex-partner’, England and Wales, 2002-03 to 2007-08( 2, 3) | |
| Number | |
| (1) As at 4 November 2008, figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) Offences are shown according to the year in which they were initially recorded as homicide, which is not necessarily the year in which the offence took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (3) Data for 2008-09 are not yet published. | |
Domestic Violence: Offences Against Children
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children under the age of 16 years have been (a) murdered by their parents or carers and (b) subject to manslaughter as a result of domestic violence in each year since 2002. [259548]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Available data relate to currently recorded offences of homicide where the victim’s relationship to the principal suspect is ‘son or daughter’, and were published in table 1.04 of ‘Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2007-08’ (HOSB 02/09).
| Offences currently( 1) recorded as homicide where victim is aged under 16 years and relationship to principal suspect is ‘son or daughter’: England and Wales, 2002-03 to 2007-08( 2, 3) | |
| Year( 2) | Number |
| (1) As at 4 November 2008; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2 )Offences are shown according to the year in which they were initially recorded as homicide, which is not necessarily the year in which the offence took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (3 )Data for 2008-09 are not yet published. | |
Drugs: Crime
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice she has sought from addiction psychiatrists in formulating her policy on drug misuse. [257416]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Government’s drug strategy Drugs: protecting families and communities was published on 27 February 2008. The development of the strategy was informed by formal consultation of the public and experts in issues relating to drug misuse. The consultation document Drugs: Our Community, Your Say was launched on 25 July 2007, and the consultation period closed on 19 October 2007.
The Home Office received 1,001 formal written responses to the questions in the full consultation document and the shorter consultation leaflet. Responses were received from a wide range of bodies, including primary care trusts, mental health trusts, treatment services, and voluntary and community sector organisations, such as the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). A full list of organisations providing formal responses to the consultation is included as an appendix in the consultation report, which is available to download at:
While addiction psychiatrists were not explicitly targeted through the consultation process, we can be confident that opportunities were provided for their views to have been represented in the returns received from those organisations responding to the consultation. The Home Office continues to engage experts in a range of fields through regular policy seminars covering issues across the full breadth of the strategy.
Drugs: Misuse
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department allocated for programmes to counter the misuse of illegal drugs in each year since 1997; and whether she plans to increase the funding available for such programmes. [259558]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Home Office direct investment in programmes to counter the misuse of illegal drugs and to reduce the harm caused by their use is identified in the Home Office Departmental Report. Figures for each year since 2000-01 are set out in the table.
These figures do not take account of complementary mainstream funding made available by the Home Office which local partnerships draw upon to support delivery of the drug strategy. They form only one element of total Government labelled expenditure on the drug strategy, which in 2008-09 is almost £1 billion. Overall total Government labelled expenditure on the drug strategy has continued to rise since 2000-01.
Changes in the classification of funding in Spending Review 2000 mean that comparison with previous years is not possible.
| Home Office departmental report 2008: total expenditure by the Home Office on drugs | ||
| £000 | ||
| Resource | Capital | |
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