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19 Oct 2009 : Column 1248W—continued
Varosha
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the Turkish Cypriot claim to property rights in Varosha, as asserted by the land-holding foundation EFKAF; and if he will make a statement. [293699]
Chris Bryant: The Government have made no such assessment.
Home Department
Crime: Northumberland
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) crimes and (b) violent crimes were reported in (i) Blyth Valley and (ii) Northumberland in the last four years. [289374]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The available information is given in the following table.
A number of changes have been made to recorded crime in response to suggestions in the two reviews of crime statistics. One such change is that the term 'violent crime' is no longer used and we now provide figures for violence against the person.
| Table 3 Offences recorded by the police in Blyth Valley and Northumberland: 2005-06 to 2008-09 | ||||
| Number of offences | ||||
| 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Human Trafficking: Greater London
John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Metropolitan Police Service on the future of its specialist unit to combat trafficking in human beings; and if he will make a statement. [293856]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The deployment of resources and staff is a matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
Human trafficking is core police business and, as such, work to combat this crime should be mainstreamed into existing budgets.
The Government provide additional funding of £435,000 to the Metropolitan Police for the current financial year to enable them to do so in line with other forces in England and Wales. This was done on the basis that such work would be funded from within their existing budget from the financial year 2010-11.
John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether additional resources will be available for the Metropolitan Police to counteract any trafficking in human beings associated with the number of tourists expected to attend the London 2012 Olympics. [293863]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Human trafficking is core police business and as such should be resourced from within existing budgets.
Intelligence on human trafficking is assessed on a quarterly basis as part of the Olympics Organised Crime Threat Assessment. While intelligence does not suggest that there is any increase in human trafficking linked to the Olympics at the moment we remain vigilant. To this end the Clubs and Vice Unit of the Metropolitan police is working over the next three years to disrupt prostitution and recover victims, including victims of trafficking in the five Olympic boroughs.
Should the intelligence indicate an increase in trafficking we shall ensure that the appropriate measures are in place.
Police: Ethnic Groups
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) officers and (b) senior officers in the West Midlands police service are from ethnic minorities. [291530]
Mr. Hanson: Data on the number of minority ethnic officers in West Midlands police service broken down by rank, as at 31 March 2009, are provided in the following table.
This and other related data are published annually as part of the annual Police Service Strength Home Office Statistical Bulletin. The latest bulletin can be found at:
http://www. homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/policeorg1.html
and bulletins for this and previous years are deposited in the Library of the House.
| Minority ethnic officer strength in West Midlands police force, by rank, as at 31 March 2009, full-time equivalent | |
| Number | |
Rape: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of rape were reported in (a) Hemel Hempstead constituency, (b) Dacorum, (c) Hertfordshire and (d) England and Wales in each of the last five years; and how many of them resulted in (i) a prosecution and (ii) a conviction. [289461]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Information is not available in the form requested as it is not possible to track individual offences through to their outcome at court. The available information relates to the number of offences of rape recorded by the police in the last five financial years. Prosecutions and convictions data are based on the number of offenders and has been provided by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. These data are published on a calendar year basis and are counts of persons classified by their principal offence. For these reasons the two datasets are not directly comparable.
Table 1 gives the number of offences of rape recorded by the police in Dacorum, Hertfordshire and England and Wales. Data for Hemel Hempstead are not available. Table 2 provides data on the number of defendants proceeded against and convicted for all rape offences for Hertfordshire and England and Wales. Data for Hemel Hempstead and Dacorum are not available.
| Table 1: Offences of rape recorded in the Dacorum crime and disorder reduction partnership area, Hertfordshire police force area and England and Wales | |||
| Financial year | Dacorum | Hertfordshire | England and Wales |
| Table 2: Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for rape and attempted rape offences, Hertfordshire police force area and England and Wales, 2003 to 2007( 1, 2) | ||||||||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | ||||||
| Proceed against | Found guilty | Proceed against | Found guilty | Proceed against | Found guilty | Proceed against | Found guilty | Proceed against | Found guilty | |
| (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | ||||||||||
Terrorism
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what attacks on the UK were known to have been (a) planned and (b) executed by terrorist groups linked to (i) Afghanistan and (ii) Pakistan in the last 10 years. [293495]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 15 October 2009]: The majority of significant UK attack plots in this decade have had considerable links abroad, with a substantial proportion of these terrorist attacks and threats being associated with al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda and those groups and individuals affiliated to and influenced by them undoubtedly represent the greatest current terrorist threat to the UK. Al-Qaeda regards the UK as a key target, and as a potential source of recruits. As a result of international military action in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda has largely been forced out of its 'safe havens' and is now mainly based on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.
Work and Pensions
Employers' Liability Insurance Policies
17. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations she has received on the mandatory arrangements for recording employers' liability insurance policies; and if she will make a statement. [293513]
Jonathan Shaw: We have received a range of representations on this issue including from hon. Members.
While the vast majority of people can trace their employers' liability insurance policies easily, too many still find it very difficult.
We are working closely with the insurance industry to improve the tracing of old policies so that those who need to access civil compensation are able to do so.
Jobseeker's Allowance
18. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of the population in (a) the UK and (b) Upminster constituency is claiming jobseeker's allowance. [293514]
Jim Knight: 4.2 per cent. of the working age population in Great Britain and 4 per cent. of the working age population in the Upminster parliamentary constituency is claiming jobseeker's allowance.
Departmental Contact Centre
21. Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her most recent assessment is of the performance of her Department's contact centre; and if she will make a statement. [293517]
Jim Knight: As of September 2009, the Department for Work and Pensions is currently responding to 99 per cent. of all customer calls to make new claims to working-age benefits with an average wait of 15 seconds for the call to be answered. This equates to over 637,000 customers helped by Jobcentre Plus Contact Centres in the last month alone.
Polygamous Marriages: Benefit Payments
22. David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of people in polygamous marriages who are in receipt of income-related benefits payments. [293518]
Jim Knight: Information on the numbers of polygamous marriages within the benefits system is not collected at a national level. However, arrangements within the benefit system ensure there is no advantageous treatment for people in polygamous marriages.
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