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15 July 2009 : Column 406W—continued
G20: Protest
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to take steps in response to the report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary on the G20 protests; and if he will make a statement. [285933]
Mr. Hanson: The Government welcome the interim report by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary on the G20 protests and will be working closely with the police to ensure the conclusions and recommendations are properly addressed, and co-ordinated with the recommendations coming out of other reviews into the policing of the G20 summit and the policing of protest by the Home Affairs Committee and the Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Human Trafficking: Babies
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on the adequacy of legislation on the trafficking of babies into the UK; and if he will make a statement. [273057]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Following discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service we have introduced a clause in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill to amend Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004.
This amendment will allow for the prosecution, under trafficking legislation, of those who bring small children or vulnerable adults into the country for the purpose of obtaining benefits, and where the role of the child or vulnerable adult is entirely passive.
Human Trafficking: Convictions
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2009, Official Report, column 192W, on human trafficking, how many people from each country were (a) arrested for and (b) convicted of human trafficking offences in each of the last five years. [282151]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The numbers of arrests and convictions for human trafficking broken down by country of origin is set out in the following table:
| Arrests | Convictions | |
Illegal Immigrants: Deportation
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements his Department has made with the French Government to fly back to their country of origin potential illegal entrants into the United Kingdom from France; when he expects the first such flights to happen; how costs will be split between the Government and the French Government; and what payments in cash or benefits in kind will be made to those placed on such flights. [243113]
Mr. Woolas: The United Kingdom (UK) continues to work with France-one of our closest European partners-in fighting illegal migration. Our shared determination has already created one of the toughest border crossings in the world at Calais. As part of this co-operation, the UK and France are assessing the feasibility of joint return flights to fly back to their country of origin potential illegal entrants who have no lawful basis with which to be in either country.
The UK Border Agency does not disclose information in advance about the dates or destinations of charter flights in order to ensure the safety and security of our own staff, our contractors, and those we are seeking to return. Additionally, the Government of the country of origin may request that we do not publicise our operation as a condition of granting clearance for the flight. As there are currently no firm arrangements in place for the UK and France to operate a joint flight, there has been no agreement about cost allocation or whether any payment to returnees is appropriate. Any details about costs or breakdown of costs to an airline contracted for the purpose of a joint flight would be regarded as commercially confidential.
Jersey
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) his Department and (b) police forces in England and Wales have received any requests from Jersey police to provide information about elected members of the state of Jersey. [286137]
Mr. Hanson: The Home Office has received no such reports. Neither are we aware of any such reports being received by police forces in England and Wales.
National Security Strategy: Electromagnetic Pulses
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had on electromagnetic pulses in the context of the National Security Strategy; and if he will make a statement. [286183]
Mr. Hanson: The Government's updated National Security Strategy takes into account the threat posed to UK interests by the full range of 'threat actors'; a definition which includes natural hazards, as well as individuals or organisations with malign intent.
The associated Cyber Security Strategy of the United Kingdom, published alongside and reflected in the National Security Strategy update, considers a number of methods of cyber attack, including those that generate high levels of power that can damage or disrupt unprotected electronics.
Both strategies were produced in consultation with experts within and outside Government.
Offensive Weapons
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps he has taken to tackle knife crime; and if he will make a statement. [283215]
Mr. Hanson: In March my predecessor announced an extra £5 million to tackle knife crime and increase targeted police action to tackle a minority of young people who commit serious violence, regardless of the weapon involved. In June I committed more than £2 million to support over 150 organisations who work with young people to tackle knife crime and support victims.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on promoting anti-knife initiatives in the last 12 months. [284114]
Mr. Hanson: The Home Office spent a total of £1,918,979 on promoting anti-knife initiatives in the last complete financial year 2008-09 (this figure is composed of advertising media, PR and print costs but excludes supplier fees, production and VAT).
Offensive Weapons: Amnesties
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of knife amnesty programmes; and if he will make a statement. [282087]
Mr. Hanson: On 26 June 2007, following the national knife amnesty in 2006, the Government published a best practice guide for local police forces and practitioners providing a tactical menu of options to tackle knife-enabled crime at a local level. This was developed closely with ACPO and was developed drawing on the local lessons learned from the national amnesty.
The 2006 knife amnesty was held from 24 May to the end of June 2006. Over that period, almost 90,000 items were handed in to police in England and Wales. This constitutes a substantial quantity of potentially lethal items taken off the streets. The amnesty was just one facet of our knife crime strategy, which focuses on tough enforcement, education programmes and support for wider prevention work. We are continuing our support to local initiatives and projects through the Community Fund, which was established in December 2008 and will provide financial assistance to 144 groups over three years.
Personation
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in (a) the East of England and (b) Suffolk reported being a victim of offences related to identity fraud in each of the last five years. [286268]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The information requested is not available centrally. The use of another person's identification details (or the use of false identification details), often referred to as identity fraud, is not in itself an offence in law. It is the action that is undertaken using those identification details that needs to be considered in respect of whether an offence has occurred and should be recorded.
Police Community Support Officers: Clothing
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next expects to meet the (a) Head of the Home Office Scientific Development Branch and (b) President of the Association of Chief Police Officers to discuss stab-proof vests for police community support officers. [286907]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 14 July 2009]: The provision of stab-proof vests for police community support officers is not a matter for the Home Office Scientific Development Branch. However, I will discuss the issue of stab-proof vests for police community support officers in wider discussions on police equipment with the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers shortly.
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the average cost of equipping a police community support officer with a stab-proof vest. [286910]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 14 July 2009]: I have made no assessment of the cost of equipping a police community support officer with protective body armour. The equipping of police community support officers is an operational matter for chief officers of police.
Police Community Support Officers: Staffordshire
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers became full members of the police force in the Staffordshire Police Authority area in the most recent period for which figures are available. [285920]
Mr. Hanson: Eight PCSOs left their post in Staffordshire to become police officers in the financial year 2007-08.
Police: Stun Guns
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what analysis his Department has undertaken of the use of tasers by police officers in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [285340]
Mr. Hanson: Every use of taser by police officers in England and Wales is recorded and a report sent through to the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) for collection. This data is summarised and published on a quarterly basis and has been used to inform taser's operational effectiveness and its medical implications. The latest data can be found at:
HOSDB also published an evacuation of the 12 month trial of taser by specially trained units in November 2008.
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