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7 May 2009 : Column 370W—continued
Home Department
Community Relations: Finance
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the planning guidance, Safer places: a counter-terrorism supplement, whether the £5 million of funding is (a) additional funding, (b) to be delivered in one year and (c) available to local planning authorities and other bodies. [272433]
Mr. Coaker: The extra £5 million funding comes from the Home Office budget for the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism (OSCT). It was allocated as part of the budget setting round for 2009-10. The funding will support regional and local delivery of work to improve the protection of crowded places as set out in the Government’s consultation document “Working Together to Protect Crowded Places”.
The Government will allocate this funding based on priorities identified by local partnerships and risk assessments carried out by counter-terrorism security advisers (CTSAs).
Departmental Databases
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects automated supply of crime and detection data from existing police force management systems via her Department’s data hub to be fully operational. [273018]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office data hub will receive crime, detections and police personnel data from police forces in England and Wales. The system is currently being tested and test data extracts have now been received from 28 forces. It is planned that the system will be fully operational by the end of the financial year 2010-11.
Departmental Manpower
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people will be employed in the Confidential Intelligence Unit in each of the next three years; what budget has been established for the Unit in each such years; and if she will make a statement. [271980]
Jacqui Smith: There is no organisation called the Confidential Intelligence Unit, nor are there any plans to set one up.
Police: Accountability
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces in England and Wales have implemented the Justice Seen, Justice Done programme. [273021]
Jacqui Smith: The Justice Seen, Justice Done programme is about raising public awareness and knowledge of the services and actions the public should expect from the police and other agencies—especially the commitments set out in the Policing Pledge.
All 43 forces in England and Wales have been involved in the Justice Seen, Justice Done programme through their local promotion of the Police Pledge.
Police: Powers
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what timetable she has set for the completion of the review of the use of powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. [273015]
Jacqui Smith: The Government launched a three month consultation period on 17 April. Once we have had an opportunity to consider the responses to the consultation we will bring Consolidating Orders before Parliament at the earliest opportunity. The orders will set out which authorising officers in which public authorities may authorise specific covert investigatory techniques and for what purpose.
Police: Standards
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to (a) finalise and (b) implement the single top-down public confidence measure for police forces; and whether a method for measurement of the indicator has been agreed. [273031]
Jacqui Smith: Following a period of consultation with all police forces and authorities, the single top-down public confidence target was announced on 5 March 2009. Forces and authorities have until the end of March 2012 to reach their individual targets, which when achieved will mean that, nationally, 60 per cent. of the public agree that the police and their partners are dealing with the crime and antisocial behaviour issues that matter locally.
The target will be measured using the British Crime Survey question which asks whether respondents agree that:
“the police and local councils are dealing with the antisocial behaviour and crime issues that matter in [their local] area”.
As a joint measure it deliberately promotes partnership working between the police and councils as that is what is needed to tackle local problems.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on (a) the Policing Objective Analysis model and (b) the development of force value for money profiles to provide improved data on the individual component costs of policing functions; and what timetable has been set for their completion. [273033]
Jacqui Smith: The Association of Chief Police Officers have developed the Policing Objective Analysis model and obtained agreement with forces and the Association of Police Authorities to commence its use from April 2009. The first year’s results will be available at the end of the 2009-10 financial year.
Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary (HMIC) is taking forward the development of force Value for Money profiles. HMIC plan to make the first set of profiles available to police authorities and forces in autumn 2009.
Police: Surveillance
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what timetable she has set for the introduction of new codes of practice on the use of (a) covert human intelligence sources and (b) covert surveillance; and when she expects these codes of practice to enter into force. [273016]
Jacqui Smith: The Government launched a three month consultation period on 17 April. Once we have had an opportunity to consider the responses to the consultation we will bring an Order before Parliament to bring revised Codes of Practice into force at the earliest opportunity.
Police: Technology
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much ring-fenced funding each police force will receive for spending on new technology to fight crime in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; and how much such funding each force received in 2008-09. [269233]
Jacqui Smith: All police forces in England, Scotland and Wales have received ring-fenced funding under the mobile information programme. Funding has been awarded in two phases:
Phase one forces received £40,126,510 during 2008-09
Phase two forces received £14,646,348 during 2008-09 and are due to receive £14,890,846 during 2009-10
This brings the total funding to forces to £69,663,704. No forces will receive funding from the programme in 2010-11.
Details of phase two awards have not been released at this time, to ensure their commercial interests are not prejudiced as they negotiate contracts. The following forces received awards in phase 2.
Table 2: Phase 2
Association of Chief Police Officers—Terrorism and Allied Matters
City of London
Cleveland
Cumbria
Durham
Dyfed-Powys
Greater Manchester
Gwent
Hampshire
Merseyside
Norfolk
Northumbria
North Wales
Serious Organised Crime Agency
South Wales
South Yorkshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Sussex
West Mercia
West Midlands
Wiltshire
Terrorism
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2009, Official Report, column 1265W, on terrorism, what mechanism exists to measure progress on the proposal to establish a civilian force of 60,000 workers trained to deal with terrorism incidents. [270191]
Jacqui Smith: Local police counter-terrorism security advisers (CTSAs) submit regular returns to the police National Counter-Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO). The returns cover the activities CTSAs have undertaken, including Project Argus, in order to raise awareness of counter-terrorism in the business community and help them identify what they can do to help prevent and recover from a terrorist attack.
Vetting
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) standard and (b) enhanced record checks were processed by the Criminal Records Bureau in each police force area in 2008-09. [269698]
Mr. Malik: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has issued 3,208,966 enhanced disclosures and 359,990 standard disclosures between April 2008 and February 2009. In total, the CRB has issued 3,568,956 disclosures during this time.
The CRB cannot provide figures broken down by police force area. This is because standard disclosures are processed without any requirement for the police forces to conduct checks and several different police forces may be required to conduct checks in order to produce one enhanced disclosure.
Solicitor-General
Courts: Travel
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2009, Official Report, column 1209W, on courts: travel, when she plans to write to the hon. Member for Torbay. [272636]
Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
I replied to the hon. Member on 5 May 2009 and will arrange for a copy of my letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
Work and Pensions
Carer’s Allowance
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of allowing people receiving the basic state pension but who would be eligible for carer’s allowance if they were under state pension age to receive full payment of both, in each of the next six years. [257198]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 29 January 2009, Official Report, column 696W.
Civil Servants: Pensions
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1446-7W, on civil servants: pensions, whether the Pensions Regulator has issued guidance in relation to investing in with-profits pension funds. [270173]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The pensions regulator has not issued any guidance in relation to investing in with-profits pension funds.
Council Tax Benefit
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the expenditure required from the public purse to raise personal allowances for council tax benefit to £193 per week for all households, excluding households with a couple where one or both are aged 65 years or over, in circumstances where the current level of capital allowance is (a) maintained and (b) abolished; and if he will estimate the number of households which would pay (i) a reduced rate of council tax and (ii) no council tax as a result of such a change. [273284]
Kitty Ussher: The table shows estimates of the cost and number of council tax benefit (CTB) beneficiaries; and the saving and number of losers, if the personal allowance in CTB was £193, for all households excluding households with a couple where one or both are aged 65 years or over in circumstances where:
Option A—Current level of capital allowance is maintained
Option B—Current level of capital allowance is abolished
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