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Licensing Act 2003: Enforcement Costs

Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:

What extra funding they will make available to police forces in 2004–05 to cover any additional work arising from the Licensing Act 2003. [HL644]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Association of Chief Police Officers has made representations to us about this and we have promised to look into their concerns. We want to work together to ensure that the new legislation impacts properly.

The licensing fees will, for the first time, fund enforcement of licensing conditions by local authorities. We estimate that a minimum of 60 per cent of the premises annual charge will go to enforcement—about £30 million. In contrast, the existing licensing system does not provide any resources for enforcement. Furthermore, through streamlining the administrative licensing process, the Licensing Act 2003 should save the police up to £15 million annually.

Fees are not meant to pay for the policing of the night-time economy, for example dealing with street drinkers and anti-social behaviour. That is why we have been developing separate policy proposals for
 
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tackling alcohol-related crime and disorder which we outlined in our consultation document Drinking Responsibly: The Government's Proposals on 21 January.

Metropolitan Police: Reports of Violence Against the Person

Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many calls made to the Metropolitan Police between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. in each month of 2003 and 2004 respectively were classified as "violence against the person" in the divisions of Barnet, Wimbledon (Merton), Croydon, West End Central and Charing Cross respectively. [HL645]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The requested information has been supplied by the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and is given in the table:
Violence against the person calls between 01.00 and 04.00 in selected London Boroughs/Division

	Borough/Division
Month	Barnet	Merton	Croydon	West End Central	Charing Cross
Jan-03	38	25	76	58	48
Feb-03	22	14	71	66	42
Mar-03	46	16	82	57	31
Apr-03	40	34	68	45	31
May-03	53	13	104	56	38
Jun-03	45	29	74	53	37
Jul-03	65	32	98	69	38
Aug-03	55	31	89	60	43
Sep-03	54	24	72	62	36
Oct-03	47	19	70	60	24
Nov-03	54	19	84	74	47
Dec-03	63	23	76	98	36
Jan-04	50	30	79	70	33
Feb-04	62	14	72	91	46
Mar-04	48	19	70	46	32
Apr-04	45	20	67	75	33
May-04	63	27	94	83	44
Jun-04	51	18	76	58	36
Jul-04	35	18	89	73	58
Aug-04	64	25	100	80	60
Sep-04	37	14	62	59	38
Oct-04	36	26	81	80	34
Nov-04	54	26	56	72	39
Dec-04	59	22	66	80	34

Offenders Convicted of Murder: Compassionate Release

Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many convicted murderers were allowed out of prison on compassionate grounds in the past two years; and in each instance what is:

(a) the name of the individual;

(b) the length of time out of prison;

(c) the reason why compassionate leave was granted; and

(d) the places visited or stayed at by the individual whilst out of prison. [HL920]
 

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Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Between 1 December 2002 and 30 November 2004, 1,273 licences were granted on compassionate grounds for offenders serving sentences for murder. We do not comment on individual cases, so it is not possible to provide the offender-specific information requested. However, the following table provides a breakdown of the main purposes for which compassionate release was granted. The statistics are based on information recorded on the central Prison Service IT system.

Total licences granted	1,273
Carer (e.g. sole carers to visit children)	98
Deaths (e.g. attending funerals)	43
Domestic circumstances (e.g. tragic personal circumstances)	17
Medical (e.g. Hospital appointments)	1,018
Religious Service (e.g. Marriage)	97

Drink Driving

Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many convicted drink-drivers were under the age of 18 in each of the past five years. [HL981]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Information for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, from 1998 to 2002 (latest available) is given in Tables A, B and C respectively.
Table A. Total finding of guilt for offenders aged under 18 at all courts for offences of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, England and Wales, 1998 to 2002

Offence type	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Unfit to drive drive through drink or drugs (impairment) [RTA88,s4(1)]	35	46	60	58	66
Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit [RTA88,s5(1)(a)]	1,386	1,459	1,491	1,652	1,630
Driving and failing to provide specimen for analysis (breath, blood or urine) [RTA88,s7(6)]	112	112	131	141	152
In charge of motor vehicle while unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) [RTA88,s4(2)]	6	6	7	12	12
In charge of motor vehicle with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit [RTA88,s5(1)(b)]	27	38	30	38	38
In charge of motor vehicle and failing to provide specimen for analysis (breath, blood or urine) [RTA88,s7(6)]	5	12	9	11	14
Failing to provide specimen for initial breath test [RTA88,s6(4)]	18	16	13	12	17
Total	1,589	1,689	1,741	1,924	1,929

Table B. Drink driving offences with a charge proved for offenders aged under 18, Scotland, 1998 to 2002.

Year	Numbers
1998	180
1999	184
2000	163
2001	166
2002	221
Total	914

Table C. Number of persons aged under 18 convicted of drink driving offences in Northern Ireland Courts: 1998 to 2002

Offence	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Driving when unfit through drink or drugs	5	8	3	1	2
Driving with excess alcohol	0	1	0	0	0
Driving with excess alcohol in breath	11	5	12	11	10
Driving with excess alcohol in blood	2	3	2	1	2
Driving with excess alcohol in urine	0	0	0	0	1
In charge when unfit through drink or drugs	0	0	1	0	0
In charge with excess alcohol in breath	0	0	1	0	1
In charge with excess alcohol in blood	0	0	0	0	1
Failing to provide specimen of breath for preliminary test	1	2	2	0	1
Failing to provide specimen when driving unfit	0	1	2	0	1
Failing to provide specimen when driving with excess alcohol	0	0	0	2	1
Total persons aged under 18 convicted	19	20	23	15	20

Internet Service Providers: Co-operation with Law Enforcement Agencies

The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether existing regulations of United Kingdom-based units of large global internet service providers may be contributing to the perpetuation of cyber crime and hampering effective co-operation with law enforcement agencies. [HL1025]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I understand that this issue arose during presentations given at the Computer and Internet Crime Conference in London in January, and these comments were subsequently reported in the media.

The time taken to recover material of evidential value from the UK based units of multinational internet service providers does vary on a case-by-case basis. While there is a positive attitude towards investigative co-operation from all companies with bases in the UK, where information is required from companies with headquarters outside the UK, as with any request for mutual legal assistance the provision of information may take longer than a domestic request.

United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are the benefits to the United Kingdom of membership of the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees. [HL1038]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We are proud of the UK's record in providing a safe haven for refugees, many of whom are fleeing in fear of their lives from the most desperate human cruelty and we remain committed to the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees.
 
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The Government strongly believe in engaging with other states to address refugee and asylum issues. Membership of the UN Convention is vital to this objective. Membership also allows us to participate in UN led initiatives such as "Convention Plus" that build on the principles of the convention by addressing the challenges posed by refugee situations today.

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