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31 Jan 2011 : Column 662W—continued
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there were in each police authority in each year since 2002. [36930]
Nick Herbert: Available data relates to police community support officer strength for each police area in England and Wales, each year from 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2010 and provisional statistics for 30 September 2010. They are provided in the table.
The first police community support officers started work in September 2002, following legislation which was introduced as part of the Police Reform Act 2002. Therefore, data on police community support officers are not available prior to 31 March 2003.
Police: Demonstrations
Dr Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings she has had with (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) the Trades Union Congress (TUC) concerning preparations for the TUC demonstration on 26 March 2011; and if she will make a statement. [35702]
Nick Herbert: Ministers routinely meet the Metropolitan police to discuss a range of policing issues including the policing of large-scale events in London. Home Office Ministers have not met with the TUC about preparations for demonstrations.
Police: Freedom of Information
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what date the Association of Chief Police Officers will be made subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [36282]
Nick Herbert: The Government plans to bring the Association of Chief Police Officers within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act by October 2011.
Police: Manpower
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the relationship between (a) levels of public spending and (b) police numbers and the incidence of crime. [34757]
Nick Herbert: The Government believe that police forces can make savings while protecting the frontline. We do not accept that reducing costs will cause an increase in crime. What matters is how resources are used and how officers are deployed.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been employed in each of the last five years in Harrow; and if she will make a statement. [36648]
Nick Herbert: Constituency level data are not collected centrally. Available data relates to police officer strength for Harrow Basic Command Unit from 31 March 2005 to 31 March 2010.
The latest annual Police Service Strength Home Office Statistical Bulletin was published in July 2010 and relates to 2009-10. It can be found at:
Bulletins for this and previous years are deposited in the Library of the House.
| Police officer strength, Harrow Basic Command Unit, 31 March 2005 to 31 March 2010( 1) | |
| As at 31 March: | Police officers (full-time equivalents) |
| (1) These figures are based on full-time equivalents that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Figures include those officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave. | |
Police: Pensions
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether police pensions will continue to recognise the arduous and hazardous conditions of police work after implementation of the proposed changes. [37269]
Nick Herbert: The police pension schemes are included in the scope of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission, led by Lord Hutton. The commission will make recommendations on how public service pensions can be made sustainable and affordable in the long-term and fair to both the public service workforce and the taxpayer. The Government will consider the commission's findings before proposing any changes to the police pension schemes. Any changes will be subject to the normal consultation processes in line with statutory requirements.
Public Interest Immunity Certificates
Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many public interest immunity certificates Ministers in her Department have signed since May 2010; and what issues they covered. [36288]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 26 January 2011]: Our records show that the Secretary of State considered six certificates in the relevant period. Certificates related to criminal proceedings, civil proceedings, and the inquests into the London bombings of 7 July 2005. Certificates covered material the disclosure of which would cause real damage or harm to the public interest, including national security. Applications made on national security grounds included those necessary to protect the identity of witnesses from the security and intelligence agencies through screening and anonymity, including applications under the relevant criminal legislation.
Radicalism: Publications
Mr George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the effects on levels of public protection of the publication and dissemination of radical literature on bomb-making; and if she will make a statement. [33981]
Nick Herbert: The Home Department has not received representations from third parties on this subject. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary regards it as being one of great importance and therefore ensures that all information received on this subject, from whatever source, is factored into decision and policy making on counter terrorism.
Regional Asset Recovery Team
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse was of the regional asset recovery team in each of the last three years; how much the team has raised in each of the last three years; what plans she has for the future of the team; and if she will make a statement. [36339]
James Brokenshire: For the previous three years there have been five multi-agency regional asset recovery teams. Their cost and amounts recovered is as follows:
| £ | ||
| Annual cost | Value of orders enforced | |
From 1 April 2010 four additional teams were created; all regions of England and Wales are now covered by RARTs.
Scientific Expertise on the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the cost to her Department of including scientific expertise on the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs. [36403]
James Brokenshire: This Government are committed to evidence-based policy-making. High quality scientific advice in the complex field of drugs is of the utmost importance. Scientific expertise is therefore integral to the work of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The Department does not differentiate costs in relation to members of the ACMD between those who do, or do not, have scientific expertise. Neither the chair nor members of the ACMD are in any way remunerated for their work (travel and subsistence costs are reimbursed in accordance with Home Office guidelines). Specific costs are therefore not available. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is sponsored by the Home Office and its total budget is given in annual reports available at:
Special Constables
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for the role of special constables in future arrangements for police training; and if she will make a statement. [37205]
Nick Herbert: There are currently a number of national initiatives concerning training and the Special Constabulary. The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) has recently launched Initial Learning for Special Constables (IL4SC). This is a national learning curriculum for trainee Special Constables.
In addition to the continuing support for the National Senior Leadership Programme for Special Constables of Senior Rank, the NPIA is planning to develop a programme for volunteer first line managers, which will help improve the retention of new and existing Special Constables.
In line with the Government's commitment to increase the number of volunteers, it will continue to support the development of the Special Constabulary in England and Wales.
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables posts she expects to be created in each police authority area during the Comprehensive Spending Review period. [37207]
Nick Herbert: Individual police forces are responsible for determining their own recruitment requirements in order to meet local policing needs. In line with the Government's commitment to increase the number of volunteers, it will continue to support the development of the Special Constabulary in England and Wales.
Terrorism
Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to disseminate detailed accounts of the activities of convicted terrorists to the public as part of the Prevent strategy. [32152]
Nick Herbert
[holding answer 21 December 2010]: The Government's review of "Prevent" is examining effective ways of countering terrorist ideology. The dissemination of any material concerning counter-terrorism
investigations must however take account of the legal and operational impact of making such information public.
Theft
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of incidents of customers leaving without paying for goods or services in each year from 2005 to 2010. [36345]
James Brokenshire: It is not possible to estimate the number of such incidents.
The Home Office are responsible for collecting recorded crime statistics from the police in England and Wales. There are various offence classifications which include incidents where 'customers leaving without paying for goods or services' could be recorded. Crimes will be recorded by the police in the appropriate classification depending on the individual circumstances of the offence. Figures for offences of shoplifting are published in Table 2.04 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 'Crime in England and Wales 2009/10':
Other examples of this type of incident such as making off without payment for fuel, or leaving a restaurant without paying for the meal would be recorded as fraud offences, as appropriate, and cannot be separately identified from the other frauds recorded by the police.
UK Border Agency: Northern Ireland
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect on services provided by the UK Border Agency in Northern Ireland of the proposed reduction in the Agency's staff numbers. [36991]
Damian Green:
The priority of the agency remains to secure the border and to control migration while we play our part in reducing the public deficit. We are committed to programmes such as e-Borders and the Immigration Case Working system that will help to reduce the threat of terrorism, crime and immigration
abuse and replace costly and outmoded paper work, respectively. These programmes will help improve our productivity and efficiency and will mean that we can target our resources on those people likely to cause most harm to the UK. As a result the UK Border Agency will be able to deliver its objectives while reducing the budget by up to 20% in real terms over the next four years.
Vetting
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department's reviews of the (a) vetting and barring scheme and (b) criminal records regime will take account of (i) the findings and recommendations of the Bichard Inquiry and (ii) statutory provisions safeguarding children and vulnerable people. [35599]
Lynne Featherstone: The Government have commissioned a review of the Vetting and Barring Scheme and the criminal records regime which we expect to report in the next few weeks. We shall consider carefully and respond to the outcomes and recommendations of the review.
Like Lord Bichard, the Government have made the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults the key priority for the reviews, but ensuring that this is achieved in a way which is proportionate and which removes unnecessary barriers to volunteering or working with these groups.
Western Sahara: Politics and Government
David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the threat to UK security from Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. [35015]
Nick Herbert: I receive regular assessments on the terrorist threat to the UK and our interests overseas from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre.
The main threat posed by Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb to UK nationals is kidnap in North and West Africa. A British national was kidnapped and murdered by Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb in May 2009.
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