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23 Mar 2009 : Column 107W—continued
Neighbourhood Policing Schemes
11. Mr. Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing schemes. [264805]
Mr. Coaker: Thanks to Neighbourhood Policing every community in England and Wales now has its own team dedicated to working with the local community to tackle the issues that matter to local people.
The Policing Pledge reinforces this offer. It guarantees national minimum standards of service, alongside a commitment to making Neighbourhood Policing teams accountable to the public through monthly public meetings and other public consultations.
Child Trafficking
12. John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to prevent the trafficking of children; and if she will make a statement. [264806]
Mr. Coaker: Alongside robust policing, we are implementing the trafficking convention, improving identification and support to child victims, piloting an assessment tool for practitioners, and introducing a national referral mechanism from April.
Statistics
13. John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the UK Statistics Authority on the preparation of statistical releases on matters within her Department's responsibility. [264807]
Mr. Woolas: My independent Chief Statistician discusses any relevant professional statistical issues with the National Statistician who advises the UK Statistical Authority on such matters.
Border Security
14. Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of UK border security arrangements in reducing crime and illegal migration. [264808]
Mr. Woolas: We have taken significant steps to improve border security through the integration of immigration and customs functions in the formation of the UK Border Agency. Legislation, presently in another place, will complete this process.
Increasingly close working between the agency and the police service will further enhance border security.
Online Crime Maps
15. Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the likely effects of online crime maps on levels of criminal activity. [264809]
Mr. Coaker: The provision of local crime maps is designed to strengthen Community Engagement and public confidence by ensuring that the public understand how crime is being tackled in their local area, what the local priorities are, who their local officers are and how they can get involved.
All 43 forces in England and Wales delivered crime mapping by the start of the year, and the NPIA is now evaluating progress—but with a primary focus on ensuring that crime maps deliver for the public.
Antisocial Behaviour
16. Mr. Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the mechanisms and powers used to reduce levels of anti-social behaviour. [264810]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Independent reports confirm the effectiveness of ASB tools and powers, including the National Audit Office report that two thirds of people stop committing ASB after a single intervention, rising to nine out of 10 after three.
The British Crime Survey and Audit Commission Survey found that perceptions of ASB as a problem fell between 2003 and 2006.
Identity Information: Cross-Border Travel
17. Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to track the identities of individuals entering and leaving the UK. [264812]
Mr. Woolas: The e-Borders system will allow us to count people in and out of the country by screening all passenger and crew data against watch lists in advance of travel. This will help us to identify those persons, including serious criminals and terrorists, who pose a risk to the UK and take action where appropriate.
These checks make up just one part if Britain’s triple ring of security alongside fingerprint visas for three-quarters of the world’s population and the roll-out of ID cards for foreign nationals locking them to one identity.
Departmental Spending
18. Mr. Heppell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effect of restricting to 1 per cent. the real terms growth of her Department’s spending for 2009-10. [264814]
Mr. Woolas: The Home Office budget for 2008-09 is £9.8 billion, and in 2009-10 it will rise to £10.1 billion, which represents real terms growth of 1.5 per cent. A growth in real terms of 1 per cent. would reduce the budget by £54 million.
Domestic Violence Victims
19. Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of services for victims of domestic violence. [264815]
Mr. Alan Campbell: We continue to improve service provision by extending the network of specialist domestic violence courts, independent domestic violence advisers and multi-agency risk assessment conferences. We also continue to fund helplines supporting victims of domestic violence.
In addition, the Violence Against Women and Girls Consultation includes specific questions about services available for victims of violence.
Trafficking of Women: Sexual Exploitation
20. Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to reduce levels of trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. [264817]
Mr. Alan Campbell: We have in place a comprehensive victim-centred strategy to tackle human trafficking contained within the UK Action Plan, published in March 2008 and updated in July 2008. This contains 85 actions across four key areas of prevention; investigation enforcement and prosecution; assistance and support for adult victims of human trafficking and child trafficking.
Human trafficking is a across-border crime. Internationally, we continue to work with our partners, especially the European Union and the United Nations to increase co-ordination and maintain a robust approach to the trafficking of women.
We recognise also the need for more to be done within the UK to tackle the demand for prostitution, and to this end, we have introduced clauses into the Policing and Crime Bill to criminalise the purchase of sex with a woman who has been trafficked or is controlled for gain.
London Olympics: Security
22. Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the level of security preparedness for the London 2012 Olympics. [264819]
Mr. Coaker: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s written statement to the House of 26 February, which sets out the Government’s strategy for securing the 2012 Games and the positive progress made on security planning.
S and Marper: DNA Data
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response the Government plans to make to the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights on the retention of DNA data in the case of S and Marper. [264802]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Home Secretary indicated in her speech to the Intellect Trade Association on 16 December 2008 that we will comply with the judgment.
That remains our position and we will publish a public consultation paper before the summer on implementation of the Court’s decision.
Cocaine
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to reduce the supply of cocaine in the UK. [264818]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Government’s strategy to tackle the supply of all illegal drugs is to bear down on all points in the drug supply chain, to disrupt criminal gangs, stifle drug supply and reduce the harm caused to communities in the UK.
The importation of drugs is targeted through strong border controls, including those operating in drug transit countries, international co-operation, intelligence from a network of overseas liaison officers, and the use of detection technology.
Within the UK, innovative approaches to intelligence gathering, the use of new powers such as crack house closure orders, seizing more assets from drug dealers, and measures to prevent drug dealers from re-establishing their businesses are all used to reduce the supply of drugs. The extension of Neighbourhood Policing is also enabling the police to tackle the drug issues of concern to local communities, providing a visible local response.
Anti-Semitism
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department plans to take to monitor and tackle offences related to anti-Semitism; and if she will make a statement. [264610]
Mr. Alan Campbell: From April this year the Home Office will receive data within the annual data requirement which will cover all hate crime. This new system will enable us to identify the number of crimes reported due to an individual being targeted because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or disability, although it is currently not possible to break down the data by the specific ethnicity or religion of the victim. The Association of Chief Police Officers will be publishing shortly a refreshed version of their “Hate Crime: Delivering a Quality Service” which provides good practice examples and tactical guidance to officers dealing with these crimes at the front line.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent reports she has received on levels of anti-Semitism in each police force area in England and Wales; and if she will make a statement. [264611]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Separate data on levels of anti-Semitism are not centrally collated, although Home Office Ministers have discussed the issue on a regular basis with chief constables and key interest groups.
Asylum: Deportation
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for which (a) countries and (b) regions of countries the Government does not carry out forced removals of refused asylum seekers because of conflict or generalised violence which makes it unsafe for them to be returned. [255870]
Jacqui Smith: We do not accept that there is currently any country in the world where it is unsafe for returns to take place on a blanket basis because of conflict or generalised violence. Instead, all cases are considered on their individual merits in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Asylum: Finance
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers (a) were referred to the National Asylum Support Service and (b) exited the National Asylum Support Service in each local authority area in the North East in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008. [264323]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 18 March 2009]: The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) no longer exists, although its functions continue to be exercised by the UK Border Agency.
Information on the number of asylum seekers that have applied for and exited support in each North East local authority area over a period is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Statistics on the numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support at the end of the quarter are published in tables 5 and 6 of the quarterly bulletin Control of Immigration; these statistics are broken down by Government office region and local authority.
Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
Further breakdowns by parliamentary constituency are available from the Library of the House.
Asylum: Palestinians
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications her Department has received from (a) individuals and (b) families from (i) the Palestinian Territories and (ii) the Gaza Strip in each of the last (A) 12 months and (B) five years; and if she will make a statement. [264168]
Mr. Woolas: The requested information is unavailable and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
However, information on the number of nationals from the Palestinian Territories that have applied for asylum in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2008, broken down by main applicant and dependants have been provided in the table.
Information on asylum is published annually and quarterly. Statistics for the first quarter of 2009 will be available in May 2009 from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
| Asylum applications( 1) received in the United Kingdom, 2004 to 2008, nationals from the Palestinian Territories | |||
| Of whom: | |||
| Year/month | Total | Principal applicant | Dependant |
| (1) Provisional figures rounded to nearest 5, (— = 0, * = 1 or 2). Figures may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding. | |||
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