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13 May 2004 : Column 570W—continued
Identity Theft
Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the international standards of biometric data were agreed; and how many countries have agreed them. [173050]
Mr. Browne: In May 2003 the Air Transport Committee of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) agreed world-wide standards for the introduction of biometrics in travel documents to protect against fraud and forgery. ICAO is a United Nations organisation with 188 contracting states.
Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what standards the new passport biometrics will be required to meet; and whether they are compliant with US standards. [173051]
Mr. Browne: The Air Transport Committee of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) agreed that the primary biometric identifier should be a facial image stored on a contactless radio frequency chip. Also that additional biometrics may be used by nations on a bi-lateral basis; fingerprints and iris being agreed for this purpose. These standards were accepted and endorsed by the Committee as the globally interoperable standard and implemented through the International Standards Organisation (ISO), Standards Committee SC37. The USA along with the UK are active participants in this standards work.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place for staff in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to raise matters of concern with (a) their superiors and (b) ministers. [160515]
Mr. Browne: [holding answer 11 March 2004]: Home Office staff can raise concerns or matters of conscience either with the Head of Department or confidentially with a nominated official outside their line management chain and, if still dissatisfied, have the right to raise the matter with the Civil Service Commissioners. If events develop so rapidly that it is not possible to follow this procedure, staff may write to the Head of Department who will advise the Departmental Minister, if applicable, and inform the Head of the Home Civil Service. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced on 30 March column 1433 that a telephone hotline would be set up alongside the existing procedures for staff to raise concerns or matters of conscience.
National Identity Register
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he proposes to ensure that information stored on the National Identity Register concerning and individuals' address is up-to-date. [170260]
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Mr. Browne: The draft Identity Cards Bill published on 26 April includes a requirement under clause 12 for an individual to whom an ID card has been issued to notify prescribed changes which affect the accuracy of the Register. This will help to ensure compliance with the Fourth Principle of the Data Protection Act 1998 which states that personal data should be accurate and, where necessary, kept up-to-date.
Drivers are already used to the requirement to notify a change of address to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and we expect that people will want to keep their details up-to-date otherwise their card will be less useful to them. Failure to update prescribed details may result in the imposition of a civil penalty not exceeding £1,000 under clause 12(6).
Online Advice
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information is available online giving guidance to people from EU accession states on living and working legally in the UK. [165055]
Mr. Browne: Full guidance about the rights and responsibilities of accession nationals wishing to work and live in the United Kingdom for accession nationals was published on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate websites, www.workingintheuk.gov.uk and www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk on 27 April 2004.
Police
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers were employed by the Metropolitan Police on 1 January 2004. [170871]
Ms Blears: On 1 January 2004 the Metropolitan Police Service employed 1157 Community Support Officers.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fully qualified police officers were employed by the Metropolitan police on (a) 1 May 1997 and (b) 1 January. [170872]
Ms Blears: Information on police numbers is collected quarterly. The Metropolitan Police Service had 26,677 police officers on 31 March 1997. This had increased to a record number of 29,441 officers on 31 December 2003. All police officers are available for duty from the day of joining the force.
Additionally the Metropolitan police had 12,093 police staff and 1,431 Community Support Officers at the end of December 2003.
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the total Metropolitan police uniformed force is accounted for by police community support officers. [170997]
Ms Blears:
The Metropolitan Police Service does not keep records of which Police Officers and staff members are currently working in uniform. The table shows the total strength of Police Officers, Staff, Traffic Wardens and Community Support Officers as of 1 January 2004. Community Support Officers account for 2.7 per cent. of the total strength of the force.
13 May 2004 : Column 572W
| Personnel | Strength |
|---|---|
| Police officers | 29,886.27 |
| Police staff (excluding CSOs and Traffic Wardens) | 11,772.59 |
| Traffic Wardens | 543.30 |
| Community Support Officers | 1,157.14 |
| Total | 43,359.3 |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) traffic police, (b) mounted police, (c) police dog handlers, (d) armed response team officers and (e) Criminal Investigation Department officers there are in Lancashire. [171232]
Ms Blears: Published information on police strength by police force area is available for rank, gender and ethnicity but not function. Figures on Police Strength for March 2003, were published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 11/03, copies of which are available in the library or on the internet site: http://www. homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbpubs1.html.
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in full-time police officers in South Ribble has been since 1997. [171659]
Ms Blears: South Ribble is in the Southern Basic Command Unit (BCU) of Lancashire Constabulary. BCU strength figures are only available for March 2002 and 2003. The information is given in the table.
| Strength | Percentage change | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2002 | 462 | — |
| 31 March 2003 | 500 | +8.2 |
Racial Equality Councils
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the racial equality councils that have been successful in securing section 44 funding; and what the total funding allocation was. [169737]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Commission for Racial Equality notified applicants of its funding decisions on Thursday 6 May.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racial equality councils are estimated to be in danger of closure as a result of recent allocations of Commission for Racial Equality section 44 funding for 2004–05. [172860]
Fiona Mactaggart:
The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) advises me that following its initial assessment based on grant previously awarded and local knowledge, potentially up to 11 racial equality councils may be in danger of closure. In the event of closure or significant reduction in services provided, CRE staff will work with local councils, Government Offices and Local Strategic Partnerships where appropriate to ensure there is local ownership, support and continuity of services in the areas affected.
13 May 2004 : Column 573W
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the Commission for Racial Equality has decided to grant its section 44 funding to groups other than racial equality councils. [172861]
Fiona Mactaggart: Section 44 of the Race Relations Act 1976 sets out the purpose for which grant may be awarded. It does not prescribe which types of bodies may receive financial assistance and therefore does not limit such assistance to racial equality councils.
We warmly welcome the Commission for Racial Equality's policy of using the Getting Results programme to support any innovative project which is making a difference to race equality and race relations within its local community.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were received for Commission for Racial Equality section 44 funding in each of the last five bid rounds. [172862]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Commission for Racial Equality is collating this information. The chair of the CRE will write to my hon. Friend in due course.
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