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10 Mar 2009 : Column 278W—continued
Animal Experiments
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which organisations (a) she and (b) other Ministers in her Department have met to discuss the proposed revision to European Council Directive 86/609/EEC on the protection of animals used for research or other scientific purposes in the last 12 months. [260529]
Meg Hillier: The European Commission proposal for a draft directive for the protection of animals used in scientific procedures to replace directive 86/609/EEC was published in November 2008. I have met with the Animal Procedures Committee, the All Party Parliamentary FRAME Group and the BioIndustry Association to discuss aspects of the draft directive, and participated in a European Scrutiny Committee debate on the same issue. I am also due to meet representatives from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) later this week (12 March).
I have also received written representations about the draft directive and Home Office officials have met with
a wide and representative cross-section of relevant stakeholder groups to discuss its provisions. The Home Secretary and other Home Office Ministers have not been involved in any of these discussions.
Animal Experiments: Primates
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost of using (a) an F1 generation and (b) an F2 generation non-human primate bred for research purposes in research under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and on what basis her estimate is calculated. [260527]
Meg Hillier: No estimates have yet been made of the cost of using F1 and F2 generation non-human primates bred for research purposes in research under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
We will consider these costs in preparing a partial impact assessment in respect of the European Commission’s proposal for a draft directive for the protection of animals used in scientific procedures to replace Directive 86/609/EEC. We will publish the impact assessment when we consult formally on the draft directive.
Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the use of penalty notices for disorder by police community support officers; and if she will make a statement. [260067]
Asylum
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of failed asylum seekers living in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [248431]
Mr. Woolas: Since the phasing out of embarkation controls in 1994 no Government have ever been able to produce an accurate figure for the number of people who are in the country illegally and that includes unsuccessful asylum seekers. By its very nature it is impossible to quantify accurately and that remains the case.
As part of the Government’s 10-point plan for delivery, by 2010 over 95 per cent. of non-EEA foreign nationals will be counted in and out of the country. This is part of a sweeping programme of border protection which also includes the global roll-out of fingerprint visas, watch-list checks for all travellers before they arrive or depart from the UK and ID cards for foreign nationals.
The Government’s plans, set out in “Enforcing the Deal” published on 19 June 2008, set a clear goal to target and remove the most harmful people first, working with local authorities and enforcement agencies to shut down the privileges of the UK to those breaking the rules.
Copies of this document are placed in the Library of the House. It is also available to view at:
Asylum: Sudan
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have signed voluntary return forms in relation to the Darfur region. [241018]
Mr. Woolas: Those who apply for the Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP) operated on behalf of the UK Border Agency by the International Organisation for Migration sign a Declaration of Voluntary Return on application.
From January 2008 to November 2008 six people applied to return to the Darfur region of Sudan via the VARRP.
The figures provided are based on management information. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, is subject to change and should be treated as provisional.
Asylum: Zimbabwe
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have signed voluntary return forms in relation to Zimbabwe. [241019]
Mr. Woolas: Those who apply for the Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP) operated on behalf of the UK Border Agency by the International Organisation for Migration sign a Declaration of Voluntary Return on application.
From January 2008 to November 2008 216 people applied to return to Zimbabwe via the VARRP.
The figures provided are based on management information. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols, is subject to change and should be treated as provisional.
Cannabis: Chelmsford
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people (a) were arrested and (b) received on-the-spot fines for possession of cannabis in West Chelmsford constituency in each of the last five years. [261806]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally.
The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, which includes the category of drug offences.
From these centrally reported data we are not able to identify specific offences from within the main offence groups.
The offence of possession of cannabis was added to the penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme on 28 January 2009. Information on the number of PNDs issued in 2009 are due to be published in November 2010. Additionally information on notifiable offences detected in 2009-10 by means of a PND is due to be published in July 2010.
Chernobyl: Children
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the government of Belarus on measures to allow children from that country who have visas to enter the UK for the purposes of tourist visits to depart Belarus without hindrance; and if she will take steps to put in place an agreement with the government of Belarus to facilitate such visits. [261364]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 6 March 2009]: The Government for many years facilitated the travel of Belarusian children coming to the UK from Chernobyl contaminated areas on charitable programmes. The Belarus authorities’ decision last year to suspend these visits pending the signing of a bilateral agreement with the UK and other destination countries means that we no longer issue visas to children wishing to enter under these programmes.
Since last autumn there have been regular contacts with the Belarusian authorities aiming to conclude a bilateral agreement. These have been official level contacts between the British ambassador and the Department of Humanitarian Activities in Minsk, as well as between the UK Border Agency and the Belarus embassy in London and the Department of Humanitarian Activities.
This is progressing well and we hope to find a solution soon that will enable summer visits to take place.
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to conclude the draft agreement with Belarus concerning the travel for medical treatment abroad of children from that country. [261460]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 6 March 2009]: Since the decision by the Belarus authorities to suspend visits to the UK by children from Chernobyl contaminated areas on charitable programmes, there have been regular contacts between the British ambassador and the Department of Humanitarian Activities in Minsk as well as between the UK Border Agency and the Belarus embassy in London and the Department of Humanitarian Activities in Minsk. These have focused on the negotiation of a bilateral agreement. This is progressing well and we hope to find a solution soon that will enable summer visits to take place.
Community Relations: Islam
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has had discussions with representatives of the Muslim community on the threat of terrorism committed by Somalis in the UK. [260893]
Mr. Coaker: As part of my work to protect the public and to reduce the threat to UK interests, domestically and internationally, I meet regularly with representatives from all our community and faith groups, Muslim and non-Muslim, to discuss the threat and causes of terrorism in the UK.
Crime Prevention
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to tackle (a) gun crime, (b) urban crime, (c) rural crime, (d) credit card fraud and (e) fraudulent and spam phishing e-mails. [260872]
Mr. Alan Campbell [holding answer 9 March 2009]: The information is as follows:
(a) The Department has taken a range of steps to deal with gun crime including setting up the Tackling Gangs Action programme, which ran from September 2007 to March 2008. The programme saw a reduction of 51 per cent. in firearms-related injuries and a 27 per cent. drop in all recorded firearm offences across the four TGAP areas. Communities in those areas reported being more aware of police activity during TGAP and a further £1.8 million has been allocated to build on these successes.
One of the key strands in our programme of work is prevention—empowering communities to work with local agencies to take action to prevent gun crime and gang culture and offering support to parents to challenge their children’s behaviour.
We have also been working with the police to develop state-of-the-art imaging technology to provide information and intelligence on firearms used in crimes.
NABIS, which went live in November, is an invaluable tool to police forces round the country. We are of course also continuing to work with SOCA and HMRC to prevent and detect illegal firearms entering the UK.
(b) and (c) The Government's current crime strategy 2008-2011 covers the spectrum of crime—from antisocial behaviour to serious organised crime—whether it takes place in an urban or rural setting. The strategy framework aims to: intervene early to prevent offending, take action to reduce opportunity through situational crime prevention, and ensure that there is robust enforcement and action to reduce re-offending. These are all applicable to both urban and rural settings. The strategy, which has been built upon by the Policing Green Paper and measures in the Police and Crime Reduction Bill, placed real emphasis on local flexibility to tackle local priorities to allow local partners to tailor their response to reflect local need (where issues arising from an urban or rural setting might occur).
(d) We are working closely with the credit card industry to encourage wider adoption by retailers and cardholders of new anti fraud initiatives, with particular emphasis on card not present fraud, such as verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode.
More generally, Government have allocated £29 million over three years to implement the recommendations of the fraud review. This includes the creation of a National Fraud Strategic Authority, launched last October; a new national lead force role for the City of London police; and a National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC), expected to be fully operational in 2010, which will radically streamline the way that the public report fraud to the police. The NFRC will also equip law enforcement agencies with a powerful intelligence tool and help form the basis of better prevention advice and alerts to fraud threats for business and the public.
(e) The Government introduced statutory controls in the UK on unsolicited spam e-mails under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, which came into force on 11 December 2003. They provide a first line of defence against the kind of unsolicited e-mails that many people object to where they have no knowledge of the advertiser or the products being marketed. The regulations require that unsolicited spam e-mails must not be sent to an individual subscriber unless prior permission has been obtained or unless there is a previous relationship between the parties. The regulations can be enforced against an offending company or individual anywhere in the European Union (EU).
Crime Prevention: Prostitution
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has allocated to the Government’s Co-ordinated Prostitution Strategy in the last 12 months; and how much of this has been allocated to the Ugly Mugs scheme. [258309]
Mr. Alan Campbell: £69,000 was allocated to initiatives arising from the prostitution strategy in 2008-09. None of this money was allocated to the Ugly Mugs scheme which was initially expanded with the support of Home Office funding but is not provided with continuous funding through the prostitution strategy.
Crime: Property
Dr. McCrea:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the national property crime
rate was in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008 and (d) the last four months of 2008. [259428]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The property crime rates per 1,000 population in England and Wales for 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 are given in the following table.
Figures for the last four months are yet to be published and are not available. The most recently published recorded crime statistics are up to September 2008. Figures up to December 2008 will be published on 23 April 2009.
| Recorded property crime( 1) rates per 1,000 population, England And Wales | |||
| Offences recorded | Population | Rate per 1,000 population | |
| (1) Property crime includes burglary, offences against vehicles, other theft offences, fraud and forgery, and criminal damage. | |||
Crimes of Violence: Victims
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to Table 1.03 of her Department’s Statistical Bulletin 02/09 on homicides, firearm offences and intimate violence 2007-08, if she will break down the figures by age of victim. [258704]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is given in the following tables.
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