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9 July 2009 : Column 959W—continued
Non-Domestic Rates
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of gross revenue from business rates in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10 in England. [284505]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Local authorities reported that they expect the gross revenue (before deductions for reliefs and collection costs) to be raised from non-domestic rates in 2008-09 in England to be £21.475 billion. The corresponding figure for 2009-10 is £22.473 billion.
Regional Planning and Development: South West
John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the final regional spatial strategy for the South West will be issued. [285435]
Mr. Ian Austin: On 20 May, the High Court gave an oral judgment that the published Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England failed to meet certain requirements of the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive in respect of policies relating to three towns.
The Department and the Government office for the south-west are currently considering the potential implications for the Regional Spatial Strategy for the south-west, and an announcement is expected shortly.
Shared Ownership Schemes
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what recent discussions his Department has had with housing associations on lender support for shared ownership housing schemes; [284412]
(2) if (a) his Department and (b) the Homes and Communities Agency will urge lenders (i) in the private sector and (ii) partly or wholly in public ownership to maintain credit flows to first-time buyers to participate in shared ownership schemes. [284413]
John Healey: The Department and the Homes and Communities Agency are working with all major mortgage lenders, both directly and through the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association, in order to encourage increased availability of mortgages for shared ownership purchasers.
Social Rented Housing
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the number of households on social housing waiting lists which are (a) single-person, (b) two-person, (c) three-person and (d) four or more person households. [283241]
Mr. Ian Austin: Information on the size of households on social housing waiting lists is not available.
Social Rented Housing: Construction
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many socially rented housing units are included in schemes involving demolition and rebuilding in each region; and how many homes for social use will be provided by such schemes on completion in each region. [284700]
Mr. Ian Austin: Figures showing the number of socially rented homes included in schemes involving demolition and rebuilding are not held centrally.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
Mr. Sanders:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what measures his Department uses to assess the performance of the
Deposit Protection Service; and what the level of performance against those measures was in the latest period for which figures are available. [285432]
Mr. Ian Austin: The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) is required to submit monthly reports on 11 key performance indicators under the terms of its contract with Communities and Local Government. In addition, the Department holds quarterly monitoring meetings with the DPS at which any performance issues can be discussed. Over the 27 months that the scheme has been operating, the DPS’s performance has been consistently high, with targets regularly being exceeded.
Home Department
CCTV
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department and its agencies have provided to local authorities on the use of CCTV cameras fitted with microphones to tackle crime. [284148]
Mr. Hanson: Guidance to local authorities on the use of CCTV cameras fitted with microphones has not been issued by the Home Office or its agencies.
Community Policing: North West
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing schemes in (a) Merseyside and (b) Crosby constituency. [283187]
Mr. Hanson: HMIC has inspected every force in England and Wales to assess their capabilities in delivering neighbourhood policing and developing citizen focus. HMIC’s assessment in September 2008 was that all forces, including Merseyside police, had met this standard.
Community Support Officers: Equipment
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will issue guidance to chief constables on the use of stab-proof vests by police community support officers. [283940]
Mr. Hanson: In 2008 the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) was commissioned by the Home Office, Association of Police Authorities and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to undertake a review of the operational deployment and use of Police Community Support Officers (PCSO). Among other issues, this review focused on the issue of Personal Protective Equipment (including protective vests) and the core role and function of PCSOs. Following the review a number of general principles were agreed, one being that PCSOs would undertake public facing non-confrontational duties in uniform.
The NPIA will be publishing general risk guidance for all operational staff including PCSOs in late summer 2009.
ACPO issued guidance to forces in 2005, updated in 2007, on Police Community Support Officers.
Crime: Glastonbury Festival
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested for each category of offence at the 2009 Glastonbury Festival. [284105]
Mr. Hanson: The data requested are not collected centrally.
The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) recorded by the police forces in England and Wales. Data are not reported to the Home Office below police force area level. The most recent year of data available is 2007-08.
For more detailed information I would direct the hon. Member to Avon and Somerset police.
Crimes of Violence
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets he has set for the reduction of knife crime in the next three years. [282057]
Mr. Hanson: Under the Government's PSA 23 target, we are committed to reducing the most serious violence, including tackling serious sexual offences and domestic violence. No separate numerical target for knife crime has been set but we have made clear that the aim of the Tackling Knives Action Programme is to reduce the number of young people killed and seriously injured by knives.
Internet
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will discuss with Phorm the potential for the use of its technologies in surveillance of internet use for the purposes of counter-terrorism; [280981]
(2) whether his Department’s note on the applicability of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to targeted online advertising was based on the assumption that internet users would have to opt (a) in and (b) out in relation to the use of their data for the purposes of such advertising. [280891]
Mr. Hanson: The Home Office expressed an informal view about targeted online advertising and RIPA in response to a number of requests. That note concludes that targeted online advertising systems might be lawful if consent was “expressed appropriately”. It did not consider whether the advertising system was either opt-in or opt-out. The Information Commissioner has confirmed that consent should be given on the basis of an opt-in system.
No discussions have taken place between the Home Office and Phorm regarding the use of its technology for counter-terrorism purposes and none are planned.
The European Commission requested a reply within two months and the Government have responded accordingly. It would not be appropriate to disclose the response while the Commission is still considering it.
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons his Department monitors internet traffic. [282032]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 24 June 2009]: The Home Office does not monitor internet traffic.
Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on monitoring internet traffic in each of the last five years. [282033]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 24 June 2009]: The Home Office does not monitor internet traffic.
The Home Office does sponsor systems to enable communications service providers to store communications data that they are required to retain under the European Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC, or retain voluntarily under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 code of practice on data retention. Communications data are the who, when and where of a communication, but none of the content.
The Home Office spend on these systems over the last five years is shown as follows.
| £ | ||
| ATCSA | EUDRD | |
Knives: Amnesty
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to introduce a national knife amnesty. [284601]
Mr. Hanson: The Government do not have any current plans for the introduction of a national knife amnesty.
In June 2007, the Home Office and ACPO published Knife Crime Best Practice for police forces in England and Wales, including the use of knife amnesties. This built upon the lessons learned from the National Knife Amnesty run in partnership with ACPO in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from 24 May to 30 June 2006.
Police forces can if they wish run local knife amnesties taking advice from ACPO and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Members: Correspondence
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead of 10 December 2008 on computer server security. [262975]
Mr. Hanson: My right hon. Friend the former Home Secretary (Jacqui Smith) wrote to the hon. Member in June.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reply to the letter to his predecessor of 28 April 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Fazli Subhan. [280437]
Alan Johnson: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 2 July 2009.
Offensive Weapons
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on knife arches in the last 12 months. [284102]
Mr. Hanson: The Government have spent £421,557 on the purchase of search equipment, including knife arches and search wands, for police forces in the last 12 months.
The provision of search equipment for police forces was a key measure of the Tackling Violence Action Plan announced in February 2008 and the Tackling Knives Action programme which was announced in June last year.
Offensive Weapons: Amnesties
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department issues to police authorities on the organisation and conduct of local knife amnesty programmes. [282055]
Mr. Hanson: In June 2007, the Home Office and ACPO published Knife Crime Best Practice for police forces in England and Wales, including the use of knife amnesties.
This built upon the lessons learned from the National Knife Amnesty run in partnership with ACPO in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from 24 May to 30 June 2006.
Office of Cyber Security: Cyber Security Operations Centre
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) budget and (b) personnel his Department will provide for the (i) Office of Cyber Security and (ii) Cyber Security Operations Centre in the first 12 months of operation. [283488]
Mr. Hanson: The Office of Cyber Security (OCS) will be established in September 2009 to provide strategic leadership for and coherence across Government, and to establish a cross-Government programme to address priority areas in pursuit of the UK’s strategic cyber security objectives. The OCS will be established in and supported by the Cabinet Office. As a multi-agency body, it will include personnel from across Government; the exact staffing arrangements are currently being determined.
The Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) will be established at the same time to bring together existing multi-agency efforts to provide situational awareness, analysis and incident response co-ordination in the cyber security field, making sure that new and existing resources are used to best effect in the areas where they are needed the most. As a multi-agency body, in common with the OCS, the CSOC will include personnel from across Government; the exact staffing arrangements are currently being determined.
The additional resources for the Government’s overall cyber security programme will be reported to the House in the autumn.
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