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30 Mar 2010 : Column 927W—continued
Asylum
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding applications for asylum were received by the UK Border Agency before 1 March 2009. [324517]
Mr. Woolas: The UK Border Agency have interpreted the question as asking for the number of asylum applications which were made before 1 March 2009 and which have been neither granted, withdrawn, are successful at appeal or removed. This would include applications made both to the New Asylum model (NAM) and cases within the CRD legacy.
The number of outstanding asylum applications which were made since the introduction of the new Asylum model (NAM) in 2006 and prior to 1 March 2009 is contained in the following table:
The above figure (40,640) does not include cases being dealt with by the Case Resolution Directorate (CRD)(1).
(1) This is because the Agency is unable to accurately report on these outstanding cases. As reported in February 2010 to the Home Affairs Select Committee, 52 per cent. of the concluded cases were data errors and required no further action. Therefore, any such report would be unable to accurately represent CRD cases with outstanding applications.
Counter-terrorism
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which non-governmental organisations have received funding under the Prevent strand of the Contest counter-terrorism strategy to date. [318270]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 24 February 2010]: The Government fund a range of groups, including non-governmental organisations, under the Prevent strategy.
The disclosure of specific or detailed information on which organisations and individuals are actively engaged in delivering the Prevent strategy could place them at considerable and unnecessary risk of harm, and would also threaten national security. I am, therefore, unable to provide specific details.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to evaluate the effectiveness of his Department's Prevent programme; and if he will make a statement. [318539]
Mr. Hanson: The effectiveness of the Prevent strategy, which forms part of Contest, the Government's counter-terrorist strategy, is already under continuous review and evaluation. Key deliverables are routinely assessed in order to monitor progress against the strategy, the delivery of benefits and demonstrate value for money.
Additionally, the effectiveness of the Prevent strategy is measured by NI
35: Building resilience to violent extremism and PSA Delivery Agreement
26: Reduce the risk to the UK and its interests.
As the Prevent strategy develops and progresses, we continue to develop further methods of evaluation.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the data collected on individuals through the Channel Project for identifying those vulnerable to violent extremism are shared with the security services. [322928]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 18 March 2010]: It has been the established policy of successive Governments to neither confirm nor deny in response to questions concerning the intelligence and security agencies.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms are in place for individuals identified by the Channel Project to seek to have their details removed from police force records. [322929]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 18 March 2010]: Under the Data Protection Act 1998 the Chief Constables of each police force are the Data Controllers of all information placed by that force on to local force systems. Only they can authorise the amendment or deletion of any record.
Through the Data Protection Act a person may apply to the police, for disclosure of and disposal of any personal information held. The police should then make a decision regarding disclosure and disposal, on a case by case basis, under the terms of the Act.
The management and use of information within the police service is done in accordance with Management of Police Information (MOPI) 2006 guidance. This sets standards for the review and retention of information and the disposal of information if it is no longer considered necessary for police purposes.
The Code of Practice on the Management of Police Information (MOPI) defines policing purposes as: protecting life and property, preserving order, preventing the commission of offences, bringing offenders to justice and any duty or responsibility of the police arising from common or statute law.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding has been allocated for expenditure on advertising in respect of the anti-terrorist hotline in the financial year 2009-10; what payments his Department has made to each media outlet in respect of such advertisement; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such advertisement in meeting the objectives set for it; and if he will make a statement. [324025]
Alan Johnson [holding answer 24 March 2010]: The total cost of advertising for the anti-terrorist hotline in 2009-10 was £1,005,587. A breakdown by media outlet is provided in the following table:
| Media outlet | Payments made in 2009-10 (£) |
Assessment of the 2009-10 advertising campaign will commence in April 2010. However, the police value the
hotline-which is continually manned 24 hours each day by specialist counter-terrorism officers-as it provides the public with a facility through which they can confidentially provide information about suspected terrorist activity which could help to prevent a terrorist attack.
Crime: Nature Conservation
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings officials of his Department have had with the (a) Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime and (b) UK National Wildlife Crime Unit on reducing the number of illegal badger killings in the last 24 months. [324633]
Mr. Hanson: Officials from the Home Office have attended the steering group meetings of the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime which occur three times a year. Officials have also attended the tasking and co-ordination meetings for the National Wildlife Crime Unit which also occur three times a year.
We have not held separate meetings with either the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime or the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit to discuss illegal badger killings in the last 24 months.
Crime: South Yorkshire
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serious crimes of each category have been recorded in (a) Sheffield and (b) South Yorkshire in each year since 1998. [324964]
Mr. Hanson: The Home Office does not use the term 'serious crime'. Data are provided for the following offence categories: violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery. Data for South Yorkshire police force area are shown in Tables 1a to 1c from 1998-99 to 2008-09. Data for Sheffield Community Safety Partnership (CSP) are shown in Tables 2a to 2c. For CSPs (formerly known as CDRPs or Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships) data are available centrally from 2001-02 onwards. These tables have been placed in the Library.
There was a major change in police recorded crime recording practices in April 2002 that means that figures from 2002-03 are not comparable with figures prior to that year.
The introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002 brought in a more victim-focused reporting system, where victim accounts had to be accepted unless there was credible evidence to the contrary. In its first year, this was estimated to have artificially increased recording of violence against the person by 23 per cent.
From l April 2008 there were also changes in offence classifications which for the first time collected separate information on grievous bodily harm (GBH) without intent (rather than as part of a broader 'other wounding' category) and a clarification in the counting rules for grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent. This led to a step change in the levels of most serious violence for some police forces. This means figures for these offence categories for 2008-09 are not comparable with those for earlier years.
Departmental Internet
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms he plans to put in place to monitor and ensure compliance with the requirement that any electronic service provider tendering for Government contracts should deploy the list compiled by the Internet Watch Foundation in order to block access to websites known to host images of child sex abuse. [324130]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 25 March 2010]: The Home Department's Commercial Directorate has worked with the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to change the conditions under which contracts for internet services to Government Departments or Government Agencies were offered.
OGC has recently issued procurement policy which requires all procurement specifications for the provision of internet related services to include a requirement that the service provider must block access to those sites specified on the Internet Watch Foundation's (IWF) list.
The policy will be circulated to the Home Department's procurement community to promote this policy.
The main Home Department contract for IT services uses the IWF list to restrict access to the sites in question. As part of our contract management procedures this will continue to be monitored during the lifetime of the contract.
As part of our commercial best practice we will monitor all procurement specifications for the provision of internet related services to ensure compliance with this requirement.
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department's contract with Cable and Wireless for the provision of internet services expires; when he expects the tendering process for its replacement to begin; and what discussions he plans to have with (a) Cable and Wireless and (b) subsequent providers on access to sites identified with child abuse. [324269]
Mr. Hanson [holding answer 25 March 2010]: The Home Office currently has the ability to access the internet via its service contract with Cable and Wireless under the Government Secure Intranet (GSi) framework via Buying Solutions. This framework expires in August 2011 with individual service contracts expiring no later than February 2012.
It should be noted that the GSi is not the only or exclusive method by which the Home Office, or indeed any Government Department, can gain access to the internet.
The tendering process for the replacement framework is already under way, beginning in December 2009 and targeted for delivery spring 2011.
The replacement frameworks will require internet service providers to offer filtering facilities to block access to specific sites.
We have been working with the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) to change the conditions under which contracts for internet services to Government or Government agencies were offered. It is now a requirement that all suppliers block access to those sites specified on
the IWF's list. This will apply to all new contracts offered for supply of these services, and we would strongly urge all suppliers, or those wishing to become suppliers, to ensure that they take the IWF list.
Departmental Training
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2010, Official Report, column 81W, on departmental training, on what dates the sessions of media training were provided; which organisations provided that training; what the cost was of that training; and to which Ministers that training was provided. [315801]
Mr. Woolas [holding answer 5 February 2010]: Ministers of the Home Department engaged in the following media training:
Liam Byrne on 23 January 2007 with Kim Fletcher;
Meg Hillier on 11 July 2007 with Angela Coles;
Alan Campbell on 17 October 2008 with internal training providers.
Information on costs relating to media training by external suppliers is not held centrally.
Designated Public Places Orders
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance has been given to local authorities on the extent of geographical areas to which a Designated Public Places Order can be applied. [324484]
Mr. Hanson: The Home Office published Guidance on Designated Public Place Orders (DPPO): For local authorities in England and Wales on 23 December 2008. This guidance can be accessed on the following website:
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