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8 Mar 2010 : Column 114W—continued
| Table 2: Surplus staff, UKBA | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| n/a = not available. | |||||
| Table 3: Surplus staff, IPS | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| (1) Fewer than 5. | |||||
| Table 4: Surplus staff, CRB | |||||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Departmental Public Opinion
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on (a) focus groups and (b) other deliberative forms of public opinion research in each of the last 10 years. [319694]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 1 March 2010]: The information requested is not available.
Departmental Theft
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many thefts from his Department have been recorded in the last two years. [318994]
Mr. Woolas: There is no centralised reporting mechanism for recording of reported thefts in the Home Department. To gather the information required would incur disproportionate costs.
Deportation: Democratic Republic of Congo
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate recent reports of the treatment of asylum seekers who are returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo against their will. [320587]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency will investigate specific allegations that returnees to any country have experienced ill-treatment on return from the UK. Neither the UK Border Agency nor the independent courts have found credible evidence that unsuccessful asylum claimants involuntarily returned to Democratic Republic of Congo have faced ill-treatment upon return.
Detection Rates
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of trends in police detection rates in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [320586]
Mr. Alan Campbell: From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very small limited set of circumstances. This has significantly reduced the number of non-sanction detections which has been reflected in the overall detection rates.
The Home Office now uses 'sanction detections' as the preferred measure for detections data.
Sanction detections are offences which are cleared up through a formal sanction against an offender i.e. by an offender being charged or summonsed, cautioned, having an offence taken into consideration, receiving a penalty notice for disorder or receiving a warning for cannabis possession.
The sanction detection rate was 20 per cent. in 2004-05. The rate then rose in successive years between 2004-05 and 2007-08 when it was 28 per cent. The sanction detection rate remained at 28 per cent. in 2008-09, a rise of eight percentage points over the 2004-05 figure.
Detention Centres: Children
Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children (a) entered and (b) left immigration detention between April and December 2009; and how many of those who left detention in that period were (i) deported and (ii) released. [319000]
Mr. Woolas: Published management information indicates that 830 children entered detention solely under Immigration Act powers between April and December 2009 and 860 children left detention held solely under Immigration Act powers during the same period. Within these statistics, it is not possible to separately identify how many of the children were removed from the UK or released upon leaving detention. However, published National Statistics indicate that a total of 415 children were removed from the UK upon leaving detention solely under Immigration Act powers in the same period. As usual, figures are provisional and are rounded to the nearest five. Children are those individuals recorded as being under 18 years of age at the start and the end of their period of detention respectively and may have been detained more than once during that time.
This information has been extracted from the text and the tables of the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summary, United Kingdom-2nd to 4th Quarter 2009 publications which are available from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Disadvantaged
Keith Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many schemes aimed at (a) improving parenting skills, (b) supporting dysfunctional families and (c) providing diversionary activities for young people at risk of offending his Department has introduced since 1997; how much has been spent on such schemes;
and how much has been provided to local authorities in ring-fenced funding for each such scheme. [312220]
Mr. Alan Campbell: In relation to parts (a) and (b), these issues fall within the remit of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, who provided a response on 2 March 2010, Official Report, columns 1172-73W.
In response to part (c), the Home Office-funded Positive Futures programme was launched in 2001 and aims to prevent young people from becoming involved in substance misuse, crime and antisocial behaviour by engaging them in sport and arts based activities and supporting them to access education, training, employment and volunteering opportunities. The programme is delivered locally by a range of partners including local authorities and local and national third sector providers.
Total Home Office expenditure on the Positive Futures programmes is shown in the following table:
| Positive Futures programmes: Funding | |
| £ | |
| Note: Expenditure from previous years and a breakdown of individual grants to local authorities is not available without disproportionate cost. Source: Home Office Accounting System | |
In addition, in May 2004, the Home Office set up the Connected Fund, which provided small grants to local community organisations working primarily with young people and included work such as mentoring projects and diversionary activities. Over six rounds of funding, a total of £1.75 million was disbursed to 400 community organisations. However, it is not possible to disaggregate the amount of funding which was specifically used to support diversionary activities.
From 2009-10, we have made available £4.5million over three years to 150 organisations working to divert young people from gun, gang and knife crime through the Community Fund.
In December 2008, the Home Office launched a £500,000 funding stream for 2009-10 of the Youth Sector Development Fund, aimed at organisations working specifically with young people most at risk of becoming involved in gang and knife crime.
Domestic Violence
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Islwyn of 12 January 2010, Official Report, column 849W, on domestic violence, what timetable has been set for (a) funding for national helplines, multi-agency risk assessment conferences, independent domestic violence advisers and other domestic violence related services (b) the development
of an online directory of violence against women and girls services; and when those services will be operational. [320117]
Mr. Alan Campbell: As soon as the formal budget delegation has been received we will be able to make announcements in relation to funding for national helplines, MARACs and IDVAs. The announcement will be made by the end of March at the latest.
We are still working with other Government Departments and the sector to scope out the most effective model for the online directory of services and will set out a timetable for delivery when we have determined what the model should be.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Islwyn of 12 January 2010, Official Report, column 849W, on domestic violence, whether his Department uses methods other than the British Crime Survey to gather information about domestic violence. [320139]
Mr. Alan Campbell: The Home Office collects the following information about domestic violence:
Total number of reported domestic violence incidents (by police force area)
Number of incidents of reported domestic violence that involved victims of a reported domestic violence incident in the previous 12 months (by police force area)
Information from Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC) which includes the number of cases and repeat rate of victimisation (from each MARAC)
Number of homicides which gives figures by relationship between victim and suspect.
Ad-hoc social research projects are commissioned by the Home Office from time-to-time to inform the development and assessment of policy and practice on domestic violence. Typically these employ a mix of methods and often include qualitative interviews with victims and practitioners as well as the analysis of administrative data. Copies of Home Office social research reports can be found online at:
Domestic Violence: Forced Marriage
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on provision of transport to refuges for victims of domestic violence or honour-related violence; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that local authorities comply with that guidance. [320109]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Guidance has not been issued to local authorities on procuring transport for victims of domestic violence or honour-related violence.
Driving Under Influence
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists were (a) stopped on suspicion and (b) prosecuted for drink driving in 2009. [319754]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Information is not collected centrally on how many motorists were stopped on suspicion of drink driving. Information on breath tests held by the Home Office covers the number of screening breath tests carried out and of which number of positive/refused. This information is broken down by police force area level only. Please see chapter 4 of our most recent publication of "Police Powers and Procedures 07/08" for number of screening breath tests. See following link:
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