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17 Mar 2010 : Column 946W—continued
Crime: Salford
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) crimes, (b) crimes of domestic burglary and (c) violent crimes there were in Salford in (i) 1997 and (ii) the last 12 months for which figures are available. [322411]
Mr. Alan Campbell: Information for Salford is not available centrally prior to 1999-2000. In 2008-09, there were a total of 26,549 crimes recorded by the police in the Salford Community Safety Partnership area. Within this total, there were 2,182 offences of domestic burglary and 4,657 offences of violence against the person.
Crimes of Violence: Statistics
Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the figure for police recorded violence would have been in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 1998-99 using current counting rules; and what methodology was used to establish these figures. [321889]
Mr. Hanson: It is not possible to provide an adequate estimate the number of violent offences the police would have recorded in 1997-98 or 1998-99 based upon the current counting rules as the effect of changes made to these rules cannot be fully quantified over time.
Additionally, there was a major change to the counting rules in April 1998, where the way in which crime was counted changed and the coverage of offences increased. For example, the assault without injury was included for the first time-then termed common assault. Given that the change in 1998 was related to an extended offences coverage and a move to counting crimes on a per victim rather than per offence basis it was reasonable in these circumstances to assume that the change had a one off impact on trends
In April 2002, the National Crime Recording Standard was introduced. This brought in a more victim-focused reporting system, where victim accounts had to be accepted unless there was credible evidence to the contrary. This was proposed by ACPO to ensure better consistency in recording throughout England and Wales.
The Home Office published an online report entitled 'National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS): an analysis of the impact on recorded crime' in July 2003 which evaluated the impact of NCRS on recorded crime figures. The full report can be found here:
The report estimates that the introduction of NCRS led to a 23 per cent. increase in recording of overall violence against the person offences in 2002-03.
However, the estimate of 23 per cent. relates to an estimated effect in the first year of operation of the NCRS. No similar estimate was made for subsequent years as changes continued to be bedded in. However, the Audit Commission undertook substantial audit work on crime recording in the years following NCRS introduction up until 2006-07, this indicating a generally increasing level of NCRS compliance across forces. Furthermore, it is known that some forces had taken steps to make their recording of crime more victim-oriented prior to the formal introduction of NCRS.
It was not possible to estimate the impact of the NCRS directly beyond the first year of its operation given the inherent difficulties that would arise in asking the police to consider how they would have previously recorded crime under the less well defined rules.
The British Crime Survey is the best guide to long term trends in crime as it has employed a consistent approach to the counting of crimes experienced by the population resident in households over time. Its count of crime is unaffected by changes in level of reporting of crime to the police, in police recording practice or police activity. The survey is one of the largest of its kind and incorporates the experiences of more than 46,000 households in England and Wales. It has one of the highest response rates of voluntary household surveys and is viewed of high quality by independent experts. The BCS records a 41 per cent. decline in violent crime between 1997 and 2008-09.
More information on the current counting rules can be found here:
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each of the last 10 years. [320466]
Mr. Woolas: Information on expenditure on office refurbishments over the last 10 years is not held centrally and could be researched only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from his Department's buildings in each year since 2005. [316795]
Mr. Woolas: Central Government Departments and their Executive agencies report carbon dioxide emission data from their offices annually as part of the Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) reporting process. The latest assessment of government's performance against these targets was published by the Sustainable Development Commission on 18 December 2009
The following table provides a breakdown for carbon dioxide emissions from offices in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) 2008-09 by the Department, as previously reported:
| Carbon dioxide emissions (tonnes of CO 2 ) | |
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on external consultants and advisers by (a) his Department and (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible in 2009. [317654]
Mr. Woolas: Information on the Home Department's, inclusive of the Criminal Records Bureau, United Kingdom Border Agency and Identity and Passport Service agencies, total consultancy expenditure for the latest financial year available, FY 2008-09, is as follows:
| Table 1: Total consultancy expenditure: Home Office headquarters, UKBA, CRB and IPS | |
| Financial year | Expenditure on consultancy services (£ million) |
Information on non-departmental public bodies' consultancy expenditure for the latest financial year available, FY2008-09, is as follows:
| Table 2: NDPBs' consultancy expenditure | |
| NDPB | FY 2008-09 (£) |
Consultancy and advisory services cover the provision to the Home Office of objective advice and assistance relating to strategy, structure, management or operations of an organisation in pursuit of its purposes and objectives. The use of external consultants provides the Department with specialist knowledge, skill, capacity and technical expertise that would not otherwise be available.
The Department's overall expenditure on consultancy services represents a small part of the Home Office's overall spend, and at the end of the first half of the current financial year, it stood at some 5.8 per cent. of total overall expenditure, down from 8 per cent. in the previous year.
The Department has in place a series of workstreams designed to bear down on departmental reliance and expenditure on consultancy and other external resources, including being the first Government Department to have introduced (in 2009) prescribed daily fee rates for contractors.
Departmental Paper
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) suppliers and (b) brands of (i) paper and (ii) paper products his Department uses; and what his Department's policy is on the procurement of those materials. [320028]
Mr. Woolas: During the current financial year the Home Department's (a) supplier of (i) paper is Office Depot and its suppliers of (ii) paper products are Office Depot and Lyreco.
The brands of paper used by the Department are: Office Depot, Xerox, Mondi IQ, Evolve, Conquerer, Niceday, Epson and Hewlett Packard.
Paper supplied by brand is as follows:
The brands of paper products used by the Department are: Office Depot, Niceday, Sealed Air, Post-It, Pukka, Tyvek, Lyreco, Impega, Sasco, Elba, Tucson, Collins and Black N Red. The paper products supplied by supplier and brand are as follows:
As part of its commitment to the Government's sustainable procurement agenda, the Department's policy is to comply, where possible, with the appropriate 'Quick Win' options.
'Buy Sustainable-Quick Wins' is a set of sustainable specifications for a range of commonly-purchased products which include paper. The products assessed were chosen for their environmental/financial impact, scope for environmental improvement and political or example-setting function.
'Buy Sustainable-Quick Wins' are comprised of both a set of mandatory minimum standards at the market average level and best practice specifications. These best practice specifications are more stretching than the mandatory minimum.
The Department has tailored its catalogue to allow purchasers the option to buy all ranges of paper that comply with the quick wins agenda.
Deportation: Overseas Students
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas students were deported from the UK for extremist links in each year since 1997. [321683]
Mr. Woolas: No foreign nationals with leave to be in the United Kingdom as students have been deported on national security grounds since 1997.
Detention Centres
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum-seeking families from (a) Afghanistan, (b) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (c) Somalia have been detained at (i) Dungavel House, (ii) Tinsley House and (iii) Yarl's Wood in each of the last six years. [321095]
Mr. Woolas: The information is not held centrally and could only be provided by checking individual records over the period requested at a disproportionate cost.
Published National Statistics on the number of adults and children held in detention solely under Immigration Act powers on a snapshot basis are published quarterly and are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics website at:
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the capacity is at (a) Dungavel House, (b) Tinsley House and (c) Yarl's Wood for detainees; and whether that capacity has ever been reached in each case. [321096]
Mr. Woolas: The capacities at each of the named centres are:
(a) Dungavel House
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