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20 May 2009 : Column 1463W—continued
Identity Cards: Greater Manchester
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the rate at which voluntary take up of identity cards will occur under the Manchester pilot. [274195]
Mr. Woolas: No estimates have been made of the rate of voluntary take up of identity cards for the Manchester roll-out.
The take up in Manchester will provide an indication of the likely rate of take up to inform further roll out strategy for the National Identity Service.
Immigration Controls
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals were made by applicants under the Highly-Skilled Migrants programme where applications were refused because their savings fell below the required level; and how many such appeals were successful in each year that the scheme has operated. [272237]
Mr. Woolas: The information requested is not available for either in country appeals or out of country administrative reviews. This is because the UK Border Agency’s Case Information Database is unable to extract data on the specific reasons why an application is initially refused. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by the examination of a large number of individual case files.
Offenders: Deportation
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 5,589 suspected immigration offenders arrested in 2007-08 have subsequently been (a) charged, (b) convicted and (c) deported. [273738]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency records details of the number of individuals arrested as suspected immigration offenders, details of prosecutions, and the details of those removed on three separate systems. In order to achieve the required level of data quality, the cross-referencing of data between the three systems could only completed by the detailed examination of individual case records at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of persons removed and departed voluntarily from the UK on a quarterly and annual basis, as well as statistics on persons proceeded against for offences under Immigration Acts in England and Wales annually. National Statistics on immigration and asylum are placed in the Library of the House and are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
It should be noted, however, that the UK Border Agency would normally seek to remove an individual under such circumstances, rather than to prosecute them, as the former presents a more cost effective alternative.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to publish the next statistical bulletin on the operation of certain powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. [274718]
Mr. Coaker: The latest publication, “Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales 2007/08”, was published on 30 April 2009.
Chapter 2 contains statistics on stops and searches and certain other powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.
The bulletin can be accessed from the following link:
Publication of the 2008-09 bulletin is expected be within the next 12 months but a date has not yet been announced.
Police Custody: Death
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what persons in respect of which any inquests and other legal proceedings have been concluded have died in police custody since 1990; what the (a) date, (b) place and (c) cause of each death was; and what the coroner’s verdict was in each case where there was an inquest. [274434]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 11 May 2009]: The Home Office was responsible for publishing statistics relating to death following police contact which included date, place, cause of death and the verdict from any coroner’s inquest until 31 March 2004. Since 1 April 2004 the Independent Police Complaints Commission has been responsible for the collation and publication of such data.
The statistics between 1990-2000 are contained within Police Complaints and Discipline Bulletins and separately from 1997 on the Home Office and IPCC websites.
Police: Complaints
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding she plans to provide to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in each of the next three years; what discussions she has had with the IPCC on its future funding since January 2009; and if she will make a statement. [273867]
Mr. Coaker: The Home Office is providing funding of £36.7 million to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) for 2009-10. This includes funding for its remit in respect of serious complaints made against staff of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). In addition, the IPCC also receives funding from the UK Border Agency, and HM Revenue and Customs to fund its complaints investigation work in respect of those organisations.
Funding levels for future years have not yet been determined. The Home Office works closely with the IPCC to review its financial position and its performance on a regular basis to ensure that it can continue to deliver its statutory role and that it is making best use of its resources.
Police: Essex
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff of each (i) age group and (ii) sex were employed by Essex police in (A) 2007, (B) 2008 and (C) 2009 to date; [275588]
(2) how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff were employed by Essex Police Authority in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008 and (iii) to date in 2009, broken down by (A) age and (B) sex. [275603]
Mr. Coaker: The information collected centrally shows the number of police officers and civilian staff employed by Essex police on 31 March 2007 and 31 March 2008, broken down by four age groups (25 and under; 26 to 40; 41 to 55; and over 55) and sex. It is shown in the following table. Corresponding figures for 31 March 2009 will be available when the National Statistics bulletin Police Service Personnel, England and Wales, 31 March 2009, is published on 23 July 2009.
Separate figures for officers and staff employed by Essex police authority are not collected centrally.
| Number of police officers and staff employed by Essex police: 2007-08 | ||||||||
| Age group (HC) | Gender (FTE) | |||||||
| 25 and under | 25-40 | 41-55 | Over 55 | Total (HC)( 1) | Male | Female | Total (FTE)( 1) | |
| (1) Age group figures presented in terms of head-count (HC) as the more commonly used full time equivalent (FTE) measures not collected. (2) Police staff figures include police community support officers, designated officers and traffic wardens. | ||||||||
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) operational police officers per head of population there are in Essex Police; what recent discussions she has had with the chief constable of Essex police on this issue; and if she will make a statement. [275589]
Mr. Coaker: Latest available figures for police officers and operational police officers per head of population as at 31 March 2008 are shown in the following table. Deployment is not an issue that we would discuss. It is for the chief constable and the Essex Police Authority to reach decisions on the allocation of resources. We understand from the chief constable that over the next three to five years Operation Apex will increase the number of police officers by around 600.
| Number of officers and operational officers employed by Essex police on 31 March 2008 | ||
| Number (full-time equivalent) | Rate per 100,000 population | |
| (1) Any officer whose primary role (i.e. over 50 per cent. of their time) is directly to deliver the overarching aims of the police service. | ||
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she next plans to visit Essex Police Authority area; and if she will make a statement. [275590]
Mr. Coaker: The Home Secretary has no current plans to visit Essex, having visited the force in November last year. I visited Colchester in April this year.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when representatives of her Department last visited Essex Police Authority area; what issues were discussed; and if she will make a statement. [275592]
Mr. Coaker: I visited Essex on 9 April this year, while there I saw the SOS bus and visited Colchester police station.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions representatives of her Department have had with representatives of Essex Police Authority since December 2008 on the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if she will make a statement. [275593]
Mr. Coaker: There have been no conversations between Home Office Ministers or officials and Essex police authority on the release of information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since December 2008.
Police: Information and Communications Technology
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many and what proportion of police authority computers malware was detected in 2008. [275391]
Mr. Coaker: This information is not held centrally by the Home Office.
Police: Powers
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 23 February 2009, Official Report, columns 7-8WS, on policing: publication of reports by Sir David Normington and Jan Berry, what steps her Department is taking to review charging procedures to help police use their discretion more. [272985]
Jacqui Smith: The Home Office is committed to returning discretion to police forces and frontline officers by streamlining performance management, reducing bureaucracy, and improving supervision at all levels of the service.
Sir David Normington’s review set out how the Home Office will reduce burdens on police forces by removing or reducing the amount of information we collect from them, thus allowing police forces to spend less time filling out paperwork for the centre.
Jan Berry, the Reducing Bureaucracy Advocate, was appointed to help us cut the bureaucracy coming out of Whitehall and to challenge both Government and the service itself to make further reductions in unnecessary bureaucracy. Along with a reference group comprising frontline police officers and support staff she has been analysing common procedures undertaken by frontline officers and staff with a view to reducing the bureaucracy involved.
One of the areas that she has been looking at is the custody process, including charging practices. As I announced at the Police Federation Conference on 13 May, Jan Berry is now working with the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General on the
scope for streamlining the charging process so that the police get the best possible service and a quicker turnaround on decisions from the Crown Prosecution Service, and that police officers receive the appropriate advice to enable them to use their discretion confidently in making charging decisions.
Police: Standards
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) status and (b) delivery timetable is of the National Policing Improvement Agency’s project to (i) create a common operating environment for police officers and (ii) create innovative information services for citizens and partners of police forces. [273020]
Jacqui Smith: Following a commission from the National Policing Board, the National Policing Improvement Agency has established the Information Systems Improvement Strategy (ISIS). This programme of work will create both a common operating environment for officers and innovative information services. The ISIS programme is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
The programme’s focus for 2009-10 includes:
Delivery of a national crime mapping solution by September 2009
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