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23 Jun 2010 : Column 221W—continued
Demonstrations: Barking
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports she has received on disturbances to public order during the parade by the 1st Battalion of The Royal Anglian Regiment at Barking on 15 June 2010. [3823]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 22 June 2010]: The Metropolitan police inform me there were three arrests for public order offences during the parade by the 1st Battalion of the Royal Anglican Regiment in Barking on 15 June.
Departmental Manpower
Mr Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her estimate is of the cost to the public purse of proposed reductions in numbers of non-front-line staff in her Department and its agencies. [493]
Nick Herbert: We do not yet have a precise estimate of the reductions in non-front-line staff which will be needed this year. But we will be seeking to minimise the costs of those reductions, by using, in the first instance, recruitment freezes and normal turnover.
Departmental Official Cars
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the use by Ministers in her Department of cars allocated from (a) her Department's pool and (b) the Government car pool which are manufactured in the UK; whether Ministers in her Department are entitled to request the use of a car manufactured in the UK; and if she will make a statement. [2419]
Nick Herbert: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) on 14 June 2010, Official Report, column 290W.
DNA: Databases
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many convictions for serious offences attributable to evidence held on the National DNA database there have been since the database's inception. [3261]
James Brokenshire: Data on the number of convictions obtained in which DNA match evidence from the National DNA Database (NDNAD) was a contributory factor are not collected centrally.
However, data are available on the number of detections in which a DNA match was available. Table 1 shows the number of serious crimes detected in which a DNA match was available for each year from 2005-06 to 2008-09. Data are not available for earlier years.
The figures do not include: additional detections where an offender admits further offences following a detection for which a DNA match was available; or crimes detected as a result of one-off speculative searches of the NDNAD or from comparing DNA profiles in a forensic laboratory, procedures which are used mainly in the investigation of serious crimes such as murder and rape. Consequently, the figures provided in Table 1 under-represent the overall contribution of DNA matches to the detection of serious crimes such as murder and rape. It is also important to note that convictions are obtained through integrated criminal investigation, not through DNA evidence alone.
The source of the figures provided is the forensic performance data, which are collected by the Home Office from police forces. The figures for 2009-10 are not yet available.
The data provided are management information and have not been formally assessed for compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
| Detections of crimes in which a DNA match was available | ||||
| Serious crime categories | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| Notes: 1. A 'detection' means that the crime was cleared up and a DNA match was available. 2. The police data on forensic activity uses 12 broad crime categories. 3. The five crime categories listed above broadly equate to 'serious crime'. 4. The other seven categories of the forensic activity data (not shown) broadly equate to less serious crime e.g. burglary, vehicle offences, criminal damage, drugs offences etc. 5. The table gives data only for 'Detections in which a DNA match is available'. It does not include 'Additional detections where an offender admits further offences following a detection for which a DNA match was available'. 6 The 'Other violent offences' category of the forensic activity data include violence offences both with injury and with no injury. In the Recorded Crime Statistics, approx half of the crimes in the category 'Violence against the Person' (excluding homicide) are violence offences with no injury. It is likely that a similar proportion of the 'Other violent offences' category of the forensic activity data shown above are also offences with no injury. Source: Police data on forensic activity and detections | ||||
Drugs and Alcoholic Drinks: Crime
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take with local communities to reduce the level of drug- and alcohol-related crime. [3325]
James Brokenshire: The Government are committed to tackling drug and alcohol related crime wherever it occurs. Based upon the Coalition Programme for Government, a cross-department review of drugs policy is underway.
UK drug laws already provide the opportunity for criminal justice interventions with problem drug misusers to contribute to reducing drug misuse and drug-related crime. We will conduct a full review of sentencing policy to ensure that it is effective in deterring crime, protecting the public, punishing offenders and cutting reoffending. In particular, we will ensure that sentencing for drug use helps offenders come off drugs. In addition, we will explore alternative forms of secure, treatment-based accommodation for drugs offenders.
As clearly set out in the Coalition Agreement, we will also introduce a system of temporary bans on new emerging 'legal highs' to protect the public, especially young people, from drug harms and to combat unscrupulous manufacturers and suppliers who target young people In the Coalition Agreement the Government set out a clear programme of reform around alcohol licensing to tackle the crime and antisocial behaviour that is too often associated with binge drinking in the night-time economy. In particular, the Government set out six specific commitments. The Government will:
overhaul the Licensing Act to give local authorities and the police much stronger powers to remove licences from, or refuse to grant licences to, any premises that are causing problems;
allow councils and the police to shut down permanently any shop or bar found to be persistently selling alcohol to children;
double the maximum fine for under-age alcohol sales to £20,000;
permit local councils to charge more for late-night licences to pay for additional policing;
ban the sale of alcohol below cost price;
review alcohol taxation and pricing to ensure it tackles binge drinking without unfairly penalising responsible drinkers, pubs and important local industries.
Entry Clearances: Overseas Students
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for student visas were (a) granted and (b) refused in 2009; and how many such applications from each country of origin have been (i) granted and (ii) refused in 2010 to date. [3696]
Damian Green: The total number of student visas(1) issued and refused in 2009 was 303,635 and 104,536, respectively. The number of student visas issued and refused in the first Quarter of 2010 by nationality of the applicant is shown in the following table:
| Student visa applications: Main applicants January to March 2010 | |||
| Nationality | Applications | Issued | Refused |
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