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21 Apr 2009 : Column 594W—continued
G20: Greater London
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her latest estimate is of the policing and security costs incurred in respect of the G20 summit. [269476]
Mr. Coaker: As of 7 April 2009, the total estimated policing and security costs incurred by the Metropolitan Police Service in respect of the G20 summit amounted to £7.2 million.
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers from
forces other than the Metropolitan police were deployed to police the G20 summit. [269685]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 20 April 2009]: The policing of the G20 Summit was a joint operation between the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the City of London Police and the British Transport Police. The MPS inform me that additionally 329 police officers from other forces assisted in the policing of the G20 Summit. In addition firearms recovery dogs and their handlers were brought in for a total of 12 officer days.
Heroin: Afghanistan
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the percentage of heroin sold in the UK which originated in Afghanistan in the most recent period for which figures are available. [269819]
Mr. Woolas: We estimate that more than 90 per cent. of the heroin which reaches the UK originates in Afghanistan.
Identity and Passport Service: Consultants
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the (a) Identity and Passport Service and (b) National Identity Scheme spent on external consultants in 2008. [267452]
Mr. Woolas: Since the merger of the Home Office Identity Cards programme and the UK Passport Service to create the Identity and Passport Service on 1 April 2006, projects to deliver passports including facial images and fingerprints, identity cards and other improvements have been necessarily combined. As much of the technology and operational processes needed to implement identity cards is also required for the implementation of these new passports, this is the most cost-effective way to deliver these initiatives.
Much of the work conducted by the Identity and Passport Service cannot be categorised, both financially and operationally, as contributing towards either the introduction of passports facial images and fingerprints or identity cards alone. The work is accounted for as future development projects and the cost of external consultancy only attributed to these projects for the 2008 calendar year was £31,923,000.
The spend for IPS as a whole for external consultants in the 2008 calendar year was £34,958,000.
Immigration: Zimbabwe
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Zimbabwean citizens were granted (a) asylum and (b) right to remain in the UK in 2008. [269486]
Mr. Woolas: Information on the number of Zimbabwean citizens that were granted (a) asylum and (b) right to remain in the United Kingdom in 2008 can be found in table B of the supplementary tables published with the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary—Fourth Quarter 2008. This table shows applications received for asylum in the UK (excluding dependants) and initial decisions broken down by country of nationality.
2008 figures are provisional and may be subject to change. These publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
Immobilisation of Vehicles
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009, Official Report, column 386W, on the immobilisation of vehicles, when she plans to publish the results of the feasibility study undertaken by the Security Industry Authority on options for the compulsory licensing of vehicle immobilisation companies who work on private land. [269522]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Home Secretary announced on 3 April her intention to launch a formal consultation in late April on the options for how best to regulate the wheel-clamping industry. The Government’s preferred option will be to introduce compulsory licensing by the Security Industry Authority of wheel-clamping companies.
The consultation document includes the results of the feasibility study. It will be published at the end of April, and copies will be placed in the House Libraries.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2009, Official Report, column 385W, on immobilisation of vehicles, what proposals she is considering in relation to (a) signage and (b) fines. [269766]
Mr. Woolas: We will launch a formal consultation in late April considering how best to regulate the wheel-clamping industry. The Government’s preferred option would introduce compulsory licensing for all wheel-clamping companies, to ensure they uphold standards of conduct, which will be enforced if they are not met.
The details of the scheme will be decided after the public consultation, but are likely to include maximum penalties that can be charged and standards on signage, including size and visibility.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the letter dated 22 January 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Abduul Karim Barry. [263654]
Jacqui Smith: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 25 March 2009.
National DNA Database
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many DNA profiles of subjects aged (a) under 10, (b) 11 to 18 and (c) over 18 years were added to the national DNA database in 2008; and how many in each category have been added in 2009 to date; [265892]
(2) how many children under the age of 10 years had details on the national DNA database on (a) 1 December 2008 and (b) 1 March 2009; [266637]
(3) how many children under the age of 10 years have had their details added to the national DNA database since December 2008. [266638]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The figures given in Table 1 show the number of profiles added to the national DNA database (NDNAD) by police forces in England and Wales in 2008, broken down by age. The figures given in Table 2 show the number of profiles added to the NDNAD by police forces in England and Wales in 2009 (at 23 March), broken down by age. The age groups represent the age of an individual on the date when their profile was loaded on to the NDNAD. The figures show the number of profiles added to the NDNAD; some of these have since been deleted.
Information on the number of DNA profiles of children under 10 held on the NDNAD on 1 December 2008 and 1 March 2009 is not available and cannot be obtained retrospectively. However, information is available for other dates in December 2008 and March 2009. On 16 December 2008, there were 62 profiles held on the NDNAD by England and Wales forces of children who were aged under 10.
There were also a further 29 profiles of children who were aged under 10 when their profile was loaded on to the NDNAD but who were aged 10 or over on 16 December 2008. On 2 March 2009 there were five profiles held on the NDNAD of children who were aged under 10; and one profile of a child who was aged under 10 when his/her profile was loaded on to the NDNAD but who was aged 10 or over on 2 March.
Table 2 shows that four profiles from children aged under 10 have been loaded to the NDNAD since December 2008. The four samples may have been taken by forces and sent to a forensic laboratory for profiling before 16 December 2008, and then loaded on to the NDNAD by the laboratory at the end of the automated profiling process. These four profiles have since been deleted and at 5 March 2009 all profiles of children who were under 10 when their profile was loaded (regardless of current age) held by England and Wales forces had been deleted from the NDNAD.
| Table 1: Profiles added to the NDNAD by England and Wales forces in 2008, broken down by age | |
| Number | |
| Table 2: Profiles added to the NDNAD by England and Wales forces in 2009( 1) , broken down by age | |
| Number | |
| (1) At 23 March 2009 | |
Offences against Children
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) males and (b) females in each age group were charged with having sex with a minor in (i) the UK, (ii) the North East, (iii) Tees Valley district and (iv) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 12 years; and what proportion of those charged were convicted. [264408]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of sexual offences against children under the age of 18 years in England and Wales, the north-east region, and Cleveland police force area, by gender, and age group, for the years 1996 to 2007 can be viewed in the following tables 1 to 3.
Data provided are for those statutes where the age of the victim is specified.
Charging data are not held by the Ministry of Justice, hence proceeded against data have been provided in lieu.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 significantly modernised and strengthened the laws on sexual offences in England and Wales to provide extra protection to children from sexual exploitation. Data for the period 2004 onwards cannot therefore be directly compared to earlier years. Many new offences created by the Act will not have a direct equivalent under the old legislation.
Information for Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive and that for Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Office.
Data held by the Ministry of Justice cannot be further broken down to constituency level (i.e. Tees Valley district, and Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland); hence Cleveland police force area data have been provided in lieu.
These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
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