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27 Jan 2010 : Column 908W—continued
Human Trafficking
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many referrals of potential victims of trafficking to the National Referral Mechanism (a) a positive conclusive grounds decision has been made, (b) a negative conclusive grounds decision has been made, (c) a decision is pending and (d) no decision has been made. [310949]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 18 January 2010]: Between 1 April 2009 and 31 December 2009 there have been 527 referrals made to competent authorities within the National Referral Mechanism. The breakdown of decisions are as follows:
Immigration Controls
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions immigration judges have overturned a decision on an application made under each tier of the points-based immigration system since the implementation of that system. [312880]
Mr. Woolas: There is no right of appeal to an immigration judge for applications refused out of country.
The information for in country appeals is as follows:
Islam4UK: Wootton Bassett
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received in respect of proposals by Islam4UK to march in Wootton Bassett. [309641]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 11 January 2010]: The Government received a number of public and parliamentary representations about proposals from Islam4UK to march in Wootton Bassett. The Government condemn any group that promotes hatred and discord and the Home Secretary issued a statement on 4 January that he would support the operational judgment of the police in consenting to a ban if Wiltshire police and the local authority received an application to march from Islam4UK and, under the provisions of the Public Order Act 1986, sought a banning order.
The Home Secretary laid an order on 11 January which came into force on 14 January and which provides that Islam4UK and a number of other names should be treated as alternative names for an organisation which is already proscribed as Al Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will refuse permission to Islam4UK to hold a demonstration in the town of Wootton Bassett if that group requests permission. [310079]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 11 January 2010]: The Home Secretary issued a statement on 4 January that he would support the operational judgment of the police in consenting to a ban if Wiltshire police and the local authority received an application to march from Islam4UK and, under the provisions of the Public Order Act 1986, sought a banning order.
The Home Secretary laid an Order on 11 January which came into force on 14 January and which provides that Islam4UK and a number of other names should be treated as alternative names for an organisation which is already proscribed as Al Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect. While the proposed march in Wootton Bassett was of no relevance to the consideration which led to this Order, one of the consequences of proscription is to criminalise any meeting organised by, in support of, or addressed by a member of Islam4UK.
Passports: Fees and Charges
Chris Huhne:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the visa section of the British embassy in Berne received in overseas passport
fees in respect of passports issued in Switzerland in each of the last five years. [313539]
Chris Bryant: I have been asked to reply.
Our records show that our embassy in Berne received the following fees for passports over the last five years:
| £ | |
Passports: Forgery
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many forged passports have been seized each year since 1997. [312760]
Mr. Woolas: The following table details the detections of false passports encountered by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate of the Home Office (before 31 March 2007), the Border and Immigration Agency (between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008) and the UK Border Agency (since 1 April 2008).
| Number | |
Figures for 2009 are not yet available. Figures from 1997 to 2000 inclusive represent detections at the border only. Those from 2001 to 2008 inclusive detail detections at the border and those made in country by caseworking offices and enforcement officers. They do not include the numbers of inadequately documented passengers denied boarding by commercial carriers overseas working in conjunction with UK Immigration Liaison Officers and Managers (formerly Airline Liaison Officers) from the Risk and Liaison Overseas Network. Some of these passengers will have held false documents but precise figures for the numbers denied boarding for this reason are unavailable.
Police
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of police (a) time and (b) budget spent on tackling (i) acquisitive, (ii) sex work-related and (iii) drug-related crime. [310083]
Mr. Hanson: The table contains information on the percentages of police time and budget spent on dealing with acquisitive crimes, drugs offences, and non-crime incidents related to prostitution in 2007-08. It should be noted that prostitution is not in itself a crime.
Some incidences of other crime types (such as violence against the person) may be related to either sex work or drugs; time spent on these is not recorded separately, so it is not possible to give an estimate of time and budget spent upon them.
| Table A: Time spent on dealing with acquisitive crimes, drugs offences, and non-crime incidents related to prostitution in 2007-08( 1) | ||
| (a) percentage of time spent on dealing with( 2) : | (b) percentage of budget spent on( 3) : | |
| (1) Crime prevention activity is excluded from these figures, as it is not possible to break this activity down by the crime prevented. (2) Figures in column (a) exclude data from Staffordshire, which are not available. (3) Figures in column (b) exclude data from Essex, Staffordshire, Suffolk and Thames Valley, which are not available. (4) Acquisitive crime includes burglary from a dwelling, burglary from commercial or other premises, robbery, theft of or from a motor vehicle, and other theft. | ||
Police Patrolling
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what his policy is on single patrols; and if he will make a statement; [312924]
(2) whether he has made a recent assessment of the level of risk to the safety of police officers of undertaking single patrols; and if he will make a statement. [312929]
Mr. Hanson: In the Home Office's recent policing White Paper, "Protecting the Public: Supporting the Police to Succeed", we reiterate our support for police forces to develop patrolling strategies which maximise visibility and public engagement, and which increase efficient and effective deployment.
The advantages of single patrols go well beyond increased cost-effectiveness. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of single patrols at engaging communities, particularly at the level of neighbourhood foot patrol.
Greater community engagement and increased visibility are both crucial to increasing public confidence in the police. Figures released from the British Crime Survey on 21 January 2010 showed a 4 per cent. year-on-year increase in public confidence in the police and partners working together to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour (in the 12 months to September 2009).
The decision to employ single patrols is an operational policing issue, made by the police force in question.
Police: Manpower
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in each police authority area are deployed (a) to Iraq, (b) to Afghanistan and (c) elsewhere outside the UK; and how many are serving in specialist units outside their force area. [312999]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 25 January 2010]: There are currently eight serving and one retired UK civilian police officers deployed to Iraq. Of the serving officers two are from the Metropolitan Police Service, two from Hertfordshire and one from each of the following areas: Cheshire, Norfolk, Northumbria and South Wales.
There are currently 21 serving and eight retired UK civilian police officers deployed to Afghanistan. Of the serving officers 15 are from the Ministry of Defence police, one from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and one from each of the following areas: City of London, Leicestershire, Sussex, Kent and Northumbria.
There are currently 13 serving and two retired UK civilian police officers deployed to other countries on Peace Support Operations (mainly Kosovo and Georgia). Of the serving officers seven are from the Ministry of Defence police, two from the Metropolitan Police Service and one from each of the following areas: Hertfordshire, Surrey, Cheshire and South Wales.
In addition to the above longer-term deployments, which are typically for six to 12 months, shorter term police assistance overseas is provided on a frequent basis. In 2009, the Home Office issued 943 authorisations under section 26 of the Police Act 1996 to police officers and staff from forces in England and Wales in respect of travel overseas to provide assistance to an international organisation or other body engaged outside the UK in policing activities. The majority of these authorisations were in respect of short-term assistance on a wide range of policing matters to numerous countries.
The Home Office does not collect information on the number of officers serving in specialist units in the UK outside their force area.
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