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16 Sep 2009 : Column 2247W—continued
Police
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets his Department has set for police forces for 2009-10. [290878]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 9 September 2009]: As part of the Policing Green Paper, "From the Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our Communities Together", the Home Office stated that it would neither set nor maintain top-down numerical targets for individual police forces with the exception of one-to increase public confidence that the police and local councils are dealing with antisocial behaviour and crime issues that matter locally. Each police force will be expected to increase public confidence levels (to be measured by questions in the British Crime Survey) to achieve a 60 per cent. national average by 2012.
Police Act 1997/Data Protection Act 1998
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he plans to bring into force (a) section 112 of the Police Act 1997 and (b) section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998; [291127]
(2) what recent representations he has received regarding the unavailability of a basic disclosure service from the Criminal Records Bureau. [291128]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 14 September 2009]: Section 56 of the Data Protection Act 1998 will not fully come into force until Section 112 of Part V of the Police Act 1997, which relates to Basic Disclosures, is commenced for England and Wales. In its 2009-10 Business Plan, the CRB have committed to research how it can implement a Basic Disclosure service.
There are no records held of any recent representations made to the Home Office regarding the unavailability of Basic Disclosures.
Police Custody: Death
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have died in police custody in each year since 1990; and in respect of how many such deaths the coroner's court returned a verdict of (a) accidental death, (b) death by misadventure, (c) unlawful killing, (d) open verdict and (e) another verdict in each such year. [290620]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 9 September 2009]: The Home Office was responsible for publishing statistics relating to death following police contact which included 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: Essex
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what qualifications relevant to his appointment the Chief Constable of Essex Police holds; what his career in the Police Service has been to date; what process was followed in his appointment; and if he will make a statement. [290642]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 9 September 2009]: Jim Barker-McCardle, brings extensive policing experience and a strong track record to the role of chief constable of Essex.
He joined the police in 1981 serving in a number of uniform and detective roles in Kent. He rose to the rank of assistant chief constable in 1999 and was subsequently the deputy chief constable of Kent Police. He was most recently Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer of the National Policing Improvement Agency.
Chief Constables are appointed by police authorities subject to the approval of the Home Secretary and to police regulations.
An open competition is held by the Police Authority, who consider the suitability of candidates supported by reports from the applicant's chief constable (where they are not already at this rank), and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments to (a) the current and (b) each previous Chief Constable of Essex Police (i) have been made during each of the last three years and (ii) are planned for each of the next two years. [290643]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 9 September 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 24 February 2009, Official Report, column 687W which referred to Home Office circulars on chief constable pay. The salary for the chief constable of Essex is currently £144,510
It is for police authorities to determine other payments to chief officers in accordance with legislative requirements.
Territorial Waters
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vessels of (a) the UK Border Agency and (b) the Royal Navy were on patrol in UK territorial waters on average at any one time for the purposes of the interception of (i) illegal immigration and (ii) drug smuggling in the latest period for which information is available. [288542]
Alan Johnson: The UK Border Agency operates five offshore patrol ships in UK territorial waters and adjacent seas. These ships provide operational coverage for 365 days a year. Smaller craft (Rigid Hull inflatable boats) can also be deployed from the patrol ships and are capable of operating independently.
UK Border Agency vessels work regularly in support of operations by other agencies including the Royal Navy.
International Development
Afghanistan: Overseas Aid
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding for aid for Afghanistan has been (a) committed and (b) spent by his Department since 2001. [291369]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) publishes future programme allocations and out-turn expenditure figures each year in its annual report which is available in the Library of the House and on the DFID website at:
Overseas Aid: Education
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what percentage of its budget his Department spent on overseas education projects in each year since 1997. [291312]
Mr. Michael Foster: Details of the Department for International Development's (DFID) expenditure in the education sector is published annually in "Statistics on International Development", which is available online at:
The relevant figures are reproduced as follows:
| DFID bilateral expenditure and imputed multilateral expenditure on the education sector and as a proportion of totals, 1997-98 to 2008- 09 (£000) | ||||
| DFID bilateral expenditure | Percentage of total DFID bilateral expenditure | DFID imputed multilateral share | Percentage of total imputed multilateral share | |
Details are not yet available for DFID imputed multilateral share 2008-09.
Scotland
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department plans to make a submission to the Scottish Executive's National Conversation consultation on Scotland's constitutional future. [288959]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not submitted evidence to the Scottish Government's National Conversation. The Department did, however, submit evidence to the Commission on Scottish Devolution during its first phase of evidence gathering.
Justice
Children: Remand in Custody
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children were detained in custody with adults in each of the last five years. [287686]
Maria Eagle: Information on the number of young people under 18 years old who have been required to share accommodation with adults is not collected centrally.
Young people are not routinely required to share accommodation with adults. They will only do so in a small number of cases where there are exceptional circumstances, such as the need to manage disruptive and violent behaviour, and where this is considered to be the preferred course of action.
Community Orders: Publicity
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been placed on the high visibility payback scheme in each of the last 12 months. [287944]
Mr. Straw: Distinctive high visibility jackets have been worn by offenders sentenced to Community Payback since December 2008. The number of work projects on which distinctive clothing is used and the number of hours worked by offenders wearing distinctive clothing is monitored by the National Management of Offender Service. The number of offenders allocated to high visibility Community Payback work projects is not recorded. This is because the existing data provides a clear indication of the proportion of work undertaken in probation areas using distinctive clothing. The number of Community Payback work projects on which distinctive high visibility clothing was worn by offenders and the number of hours worked on these sites since December 2008 is shown in the following table.
| Month | Number of projects operated | Number of hours worked |
In the year April 2008 to March 2009 over 62,000 offenders successfully completed Community Payback sentences and approximately 8.4 million hours were worked.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people who have been placed on the high visibility payback scheme have not completed the scheme. [287971]
Mr. Straw:
In the period April to June 2009 75.3 per cent. of offenders sentenced to Community Payback successfully completed their sentences. All community sentences are rigorously enforced and following more than one absence without good reason, National Standards require that offenders are returned to court. If there is wilful refusal to comply with the sentence, the court may impose a prison sentence. Offenders may fail to
complete their sentences for a number of reasons, including revocation of the Community Payback sentence and the imposition of an alternative sentence following failure to comply, revocation as a result of illness, or revocation following the imposition of a custodial sentence for other offences.
Information relating to successful completion of sentences by offenders allocated to high visibility work sites is not available separately from the overall successful completion rate for offenders sentenced to Community Payback, not all of whom will have been allocated exclusively to high visibility work sites.
Criminal Injuries Compensation
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of the funds made available by the Criminal Injuries Board has been paid to (a) UK, (b) EU and (c) other citizens in each of the last three years; and if he will take steps to ensure that the country of origin and residence of those individuals who have received Criminal Injuries Compensation are (i) recorded and (ii) made available to the public. [291329]
Claire Ward:
Eligibility to apply for compensation under the criminal injuries compensation scheme (CICS)
is open to blameless victims of violent crime occurring in Great Britain, regardless of their nationality. Accordingly, as an applicant's nationality has no bearing on the assessment of his/her application for compensation, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), which administers the CICS, does not maintain statistics on the citizenship of compensation applicants. The information sought is not therefore available and for the same reason CICA has no plans to record this information.
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