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20 Apr 2009 : Column 220W—continued
Police: Finance
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has allocated for promotion of and publicity for its policing pledge. [268816]
Mr. Woolas: The total amount of money allocated to the promotion of and publicity for the policing pledge during the financial year 2008-09 is £3,427,521.
Radio advertising
National and regional press advertising
Online advertising and online search marketing
High street posters
Police: Greater Manchester
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will provide funding to the Greater Manchester Police Authority to pay for policing the new electronic border operations centre in Wythenshawe. [267073]
Mr. Woolas: The National Border Targeting Centre (NBTC) is a multi agency centre staffed with UKBA and police officers which is scheduled to open in late 2009. It is operated by the UK Border Agency and managed by Trusted Borders, which is responsible for providing 24-hour security as part of the e-Borders service contract.
The impact of the NBTC upon local policing resources is considered to be negligible. It is not expected that specific funding to the Greater Manchester Police Authority will be needed to pay for policing the new centre.
Police: Health
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2009, Official Report, column 1093W, on police: health, how many people took police fitness
tests in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what results were (a) achieved and (b) achieved for dynamic strength and endurance in each year. [269260]
Jacqui Smith: The available data are given in the tables placed in the House Library.
The Policing Green Paper announced that Sir David Normington, permanent secretary to the Home Office, would lead a review of the strategic data collection burden placed by the Home Office on police forces in England and Wales. Sir David’s report was published on 16 February.
Fitness tests data collection was one of the data streams cut. It was previously required by HMIC and recorded fitness test breakdown by gender, number of attempts, number taking the attempt and the fitness skill level tested. Given HMIC’s new mission after the publication of the Policing Green Paper, this data is no longer required by them. Forces have been informed not to provide the data in the 2009-10 annual data requirement notice thereby removing the burden on police support staff to collate and supply the data to the Home Office.
Police: ICT
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many hand-held computers have been issued to police officers; and how many police forces have received funding for hand-held computers from her Department in the last two years; [269238]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009, Official Report, column 1166W, on police: electronic equipment, what proportion of patrol officers have been issued with a hand-held device. [269242]
Jacqui Smith: All police forces in England, Scotland and Wales have received funding. A total of 31,607 hand held devices had been issued at 30 March 2009. All of the devices have been issued to officers performing front line roles, many of whom will be undertaking patrol duties. The operational duties of the officers receiving the devices are a matter for the chief officer of the force concerned.
Police: Marketing
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009, Official Report, columns 954-55W, on police: marketing, how many people had used the text back service on the date for which figures are available. [269229]
Jacqui Smith: The text back service has received 2,250 texts since it began on 2 March 2009 up until 1 April 2009.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2009, Official Report, columns 954-55W, on police: marketing, how much her Department plans to spend on advertising and marketing the Policing Pledge in the financial year 2009-10. [269230]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office plans to spend £3 million on advertising and marketing the Policing Pledge in the financial year 2009-10. This campaign will increase awareness and understanding of the Policing Pledge. The public have a right to understand what service level they can expect from their local police and how to hold them to account if standards are not met.
Police: South West
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers there were in Avon and Somerset in each year since 1988; and if she will make a statement. [269296]
Mr. Coaker: The available data are given in the tables.
| Police officer strength (FTE)( 1) by police force as at 31 March 1977 to 31 March 2008( 2) | |
| Avon and Somerset | FTE |
| (1) Full-time equivalent. All officers less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave (comparable with previously published figures) (2) This and other tables contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (3) Comparable strength (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). The Police Numbers Task Force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003. and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison. | |
| Police community support officer strength( 1) (FTE)( 2) by police force as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 20 08( 3) | |
| Avon and Somerset police force | FTE |
| (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent exclude those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data are not available prior to 2002-03. (4) Strength figures as at 31 March 2005 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table. | |
Police: Stun Guns
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) firearms officers and (b) non-firearms officers she expects to have received training to use Taser guns in 2009. [268390]
Mr. Woolas: Following the success of a 12-month trial in 10 police forces, the Home Secretary agreed on 24 November 2008 to allow chief officers of all forces in England and Wales, from 1 December 2008, to extend the use of Taser to specially trained units in accordance with current Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) policy and guidance. This sets out that Taser can only be used by specially trained units where officers would be facing violence or threats of violence of such severity that they would need to use force to protect the public, themselves and/or the subject(s). The number of specially trained officers in each police force is a matter for individual chief officers based on their own operational requirements.
Prosecutions: Costs
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate her Department has made of the average cost to a police force of (a) issuing a caution, (b) issuing a penalty notice for disorder and (c) bringing charges. [265751]
Mr. Coaker: The amount of time spent by police officers on issuing a caution, issuing a penalty notice for disorder, or bringing charges is not collected centrally, and there are no general estimates of the average costs to police forces of undertaking these activities.
Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 4 March 2008, Official Report, column 2479W, on the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre: Government Departments, for what reasons her Department paid for a room in the QE2 Conference Centre to hold its leadership away day; how much the booking cost; and why departmental buildings were not used for the away day. [252456]
Mr. Woolas: The Government's London estate has limited conference facilities and so from time to time the Home Office and other Departments are required to hire external venues for events.
We are not able to reveal the cost of the booking as this is a commercially sensitive issue between the Home Office and the QEII Centre.
The QEII Centre is owned by the Crown (Department for Communities and Local Government).
Repatriation
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many voluntary assisted returns to each country were made in co-operation with the International Organisation for Migration in 2008. [269178]
Mr. Woolas: The following table shows the number of assisted voluntary returns run by the International Organisation for Migration in 2008, by country of destination.
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