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6 May 2009 : Column 280W—continued
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what her latest estimate is of the number and proportion of people in each police force area who had their DNA stored on the DNA database and who had not been charged or convicted of a crime, who had subsequently had their DNA and personal information removed from the DNA database; and if she will make a statement; [269534]
(2) what recent estimate she has made of the number and proportion of people in each police force area with DNA stored on the National DNA Database as the result of a police investigation into a criminal offence who had not been (a) charged and (b) convicted of the crime under investigation; and if she will make a statement. [269509]
Mr. Alan Campbell:
The National DNA Database (NDNAD) is designed to match DNA taken from crime scenes with that taken from individuals. It does not hold information on whether those with records on
it have been charged or convicted, as this is not necessary for its purpose. Some data on whether those on the NDNAD have convictions are available from the Police National Computer (PNC), but not as part of its routine functions and not within the cost limit for parliamentary questions. However, the National Policing Improvement Agency does periodically obtain information on the number of people on the NDNAD who do not currently have a conviction recorded on PNC.
When data were last obtained from PNC they showed that at 31 March 2008 857,366 people on the NDNAD who had been sampled by England and Wales police forces did not have a current criminal record on PNC. However, this figure includes those who have been convicted and their records deleted, and those where proceedings are still ongoing, as well as those who have never been convicted. It would be possible to break this figure down by police force area only at disproportionate cost.
More up to date information showing the number of people on the NDNAD in England and Wales with no current criminal record on PNC will be available shortly.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for student visas from (a) Pakistan and (b) Algeria were interviewed by UK-based immigration staff in each of the last 10 years, excluding appointments for biometric checks; and how many of those granted a visa were subsequently granted an extension of leave to remain in each of the last 10 years. [270456]
Mr. Woolas: This information is not centrally recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were granted to applicants from (a) Pakistan and (b) Algeria in each of the last 10 years. [270457]
Mr. Woolas: The number of student visas issued to nationals of Pakistan and Algeria in each of the last five calendar years is shown in the table. Data held for previous years are not considered to be reliable.
| Nationality | ||
| Student visas issued | Pakistan | Algeria |
| Note: The data are unpublished and should be treated as provisional. | ||
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether people who are outside the UK may apply to be subject to the transitional arrangements under the Tier 1 for post-study workers. [272061]
Mr. Woolas: People outside the UK are not able to apply for leave to enter under the transitional arrangements for Tier 1 (post-study work).
Firearms: Crime
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes involving a firearm were recorded in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years. [271257]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Available information relates to violence against the person crimes recorded by Hertfordshire police, in which firearms (excluding air weapons) were reported to have been used from 1998-99 up to and including 2007-08. The data cannot be broken down to a more local level.
| Violence against the person crimes involving firearms( 1) (excluding air weapons): Hertfordshire police force area, 1998-99 to 2007-08 | |
| Recorded crime (n umber of offences ) | |
| (1) Firearms are taken to be involved in a crime if they are fired, used as a blunt instrument, or used as a threat. (2 )Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by some police forces implementing the principles of the National Crime Recording Standard before 1 April 2002. (3) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002, which may have resulted in inflated figures for some crime categories. Figures before and after this date are not directly comparable. | |
Forced Marriage
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of forced marriages which took place in (a) Luton, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) East of England region in the last 12 months. [271426]
Mr. Coaker: The Government's Forced Marriage Unit (a joint Home Office and FCO Unit, established in 2005) deals with a significant number of forced marriage cases every year. In 2008, the unit began keeping more detailed statistics on all reportings of forced marriage that were referred to the FMU. These statistics are not broken down by local area, but are broken down by regions.
During the whole of 2008 the unit received reports of over 1,600 possible forced marriage cases. Of those who gave a location, 5 per cent. were in the eastern region.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding her Department is providing for specialist support for organisations dealing with forced marriage in 2009-10; and if she will make a statement. [271427]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Following a successful pilot in 2008 the joint Home Office/Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) has allocated £84,000 to its Domestic Programme fund for 2009-10. Specialist organisations will shortly be invited to apply for funds for project activities which support delivery of the FMU’s 2009 and 2010 action plan. The Unit also separately funds support and awareness raising activity overseas, including in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
The Home Office has also allocated a total of £3.5 million to the nine Government offices for the regions and the Welsh Assembly for 2009-10 to support initiatives to tackle domestic violence. A number of regions have chosen to allocate specific funding to local initiatives tackling forced marriage in their areas.
Forced Marriage: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of forced marriages which took place in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire in the last 12 months. [272158]
Mr. Coaker: The Government's forced marriage unit (a joint Home Office and FCO unit, established in 2005) deals with a significant number of forced marriage cases every year. In 2008, the Unit began keeping more detailed statistics on all reporting’s of forced marriage that were referred to the FMU. These statistics are not broken down by local area, but are broken down by regions.
During the whole of 2008 the unit received reports of over 1,600 possible forced marriage cases. Of those who gave a location, 5 per cent. were in the Eastern region.
The unit intervened to provide direct support in 420 cases. Of these cases 213 were assistance cases where interventions were made overseas, and 207 were reluctant sponsor cases where immigration support was given.
G20: Greater London
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the policing of the G20 demonstrations in the City of London on 1 April 2009; and what assessment she has made of effectiveness of the use of the kettling procedure to control demonstrators. [270848]
Mr. Coaker: The Home Secretary has regular discussions with the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police which have included the policing of the G20 protests.
Tactics used to police protests are operational matters for the chief officer of the force concerned. The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has invited Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to review the police tactics involved in policing G20, including containment, to assess their effectiveness.
Heathrow Airport: Detainees
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to publish her response to the report of the Independent Monitoring Commission on immigration detention conditions at Heathrow Airport; and if she will make a statement. [272062]
Mr. Woolas: Both the chief executive of the UK Border Agency and I have already responded to the chair of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for Heathrow. The Agency is appreciative of the work of the Board at the airport, and many of the suggested improvements identified in the report had already been identified and are therefore work in progress. Detention Services have, however, made further improvements a priority for the coming year.
Hillsborough Stadium: Disclosure of Information
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what papers held by her Department on the Hillsborough disaster she plans to publish in addition to those which have been placed in the Library. [271669]
Mr. Coaker: Government Departments holding papers on the Hillsborough tragedy are currently exploring the most appropriate means for reviewing undisclosed papers and, wherever possible, arranging for their disclosure. A statement will be issued once an appropriate way forward has been determined.
Human Trafficking
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for trafficking for (a) sexual exploitation and (b) labour exploitation since the inception of the Act. [271357]
Mr. Alan Campbell: 425 people have so far been arrested for trafficking for sexual exploitation under the relevant sections of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
161 people have been arrested for trafficking for the purposes of forced labour since the inception of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of victims of human trafficking who are repeat victims. [271449]
Mr. Coaker: The nature of human trafficking makes it difficult to provide a precise estimate of the number of victims in the United Kingdom, including those who are repeat victims. Our current estimate of the number of victims is that at any one time in 2003 there were up to 4,000 women in the UK who were victims of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
The United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre continues to work on providing a more up to date estimate of the number of victims. We will be in a position to provide a more up to date estimate of the overall number including repeat victims by the end of the year.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she will publish her Department's report on the Pentameter 2 operation against human trafficking; what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the operation in Bedfordshire; and if she will make a statement. [271454]
Mr. Coaker: Gloucestershire constabulary will be publishing a report on the outcomes of Pentameter 2 in the near future.
Identity Cards: Airports
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether airside workers will be able to request removal of their data from the temporary National Identity Register (a) on leaving their job during the course of the pilot, (b) at the end of the pilot and (c) at any other time. [258105]
Mr. Woolas: It is planed to start issuing identity cards from the second half of this year to airside workers at Manchester and London City airports. Identity cards issued to British citizens may be used for travel in Europe instead of a passport and will be valid for 10 years. Accordingly, the core identity information relating to all those issued with identity cards will be held securely on the National Identity Register and, in a similar way to information currently held for passport issue, would not be removed simply at the request of the card holder.
Information will continue to be retained on the National Identity Register, in accordance with section 3(1) of the Identity Cards Act 2006 only for so long as it is consistent with the statutory purposes for it to be recorded in the Register.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many clandestines were detected in vehicles attempting to enter the UK from France in 2008. [272463]
Mr. Woolas: From 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008 a total of 28,007 attempts by clandestines to enter the UK illegally were prevented. This figure includes multiple attempts made by individuals. The clandestines were detected by the UK Border Agency, alongside its partners at the Juxtaposed controls in Calais, Coquelles and Dunkerque.
Note:
These figures have been sourced from locally collated management information held within locally accessed computer systems and do not represent National Statistics. They have not been the subject of National Statistics protocols and verification and should therefore be treated as provisional and subject to change.
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