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Pentonville Prison
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recently concluded report of the investigation into allegations of staff corruption at HM Prison Pentonville; [121104]
(2) what progress has been made in investigations into alleged staff corruption at HM Prison Pentonville; and if he will make a statement. [121106]
Mr. Sutcliffe: No. It is not Prison Service policy to disclose the contents of internal investigations for reasons of confidentiality. Nine investigation reports have been concluded, and four disciplinary hearings have been opened. Three investigation reports are outstanding.
Police
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of police time was spent on frontline duties by (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk constabularies in each year since 1997. [118671]
Mr. McNulty: Information on time spent by police officers on front line duties has been collected since 2003-04 and is set out in the following table.
| Percentage of time spent on front line policing—eastern region forces | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Force | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2008( 1) |
| (1) Target. |
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed in non-geographic police forces; and what the total budget was for all such forces in the last period for which figures are available. [119131]
Mr. McNulty: The non-geographical police forces, i.e. those which are established by legislation other than the Police Act 1996, are the responsibly of a number of sponsoring Secretaries of State but not the Home Secretary. The Home Office does not collect data on their total staffing and budgets.
Police Cells
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were housed in police cells during the recent activation of Operation Safeguard; how many have been housed in police cells since Operation Safeguard ended; what the cost of detaining inmates in police cells has been since the end of the activation of Operation Safeguard; and if he will make a statement. [111743]
Mr. Sutcliffe: During the period 12 October to 22 December, Operation Safeguard was used on around 4,500 occasions. These figures do not correspond precisely to the number of prisoners, as some prisoners may have been held in police cells for more than one night. Prisoners can also be held in “lockouts” under an informal agreement with police forces.
From 22 December 2006 to 22 January 2007, during which Operation Safeguard was deactivated, the number of prisoners accommodated in police cells overnight varied on a daily basis and was dependent on court activity and the management of regional prison population pressures. Operation Safeguard was reactivated on 22 January.
Police forces submit their costs in arrears and the cost cannot yet be calculated.
Police and Court Cells
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Court Service on the use of court cells as overnight accommodation for prisoners. [112325]
John Reid: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) aims to maximise use of all available space within the prison estate. The chief executive of NOMS formally reactivated Operation Safeguard on Monday 22 January.
The Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs have been discussing the possibility of limited use of court cells on a contingency basis.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any prisoners have been housed overnight in a court cell since the introduction of Operation Safeguard. [112326]
John Reid: Yes. A small number of prisoners were housed overnight in court cells.
Police Community Support Officers
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives his Department has introduced to promote public awareness of the difference between police community support officers and special constables. [112030]
Police Stations: Wales
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) maintenance, (b) operational, (c) refurbishment and (d) total running costs were for each police station in Wales in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [119904]
Mr. McNulty: The management of the police estate and costs associated with this are matters for each police authority and the chief officer, who are responsible for assessing local needs.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police stations in Wales (a) closed and (b) opened in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [119907]
Mr. McNulty: The management of the police estate and allocation of resources are matters for each police authority and the Chief Officer.
Police: Complaints
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances the Independent Police Complaints Commission would require an investigation into the conduct of (a) police officers and (b) police employees to be carried out by a police service other than that which employs those subject to investigation; and if he will make a statement. [119502]
Mr. McNulty: This is a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is an independent body established by the Police Reform Act 2002.
Police: East Midlands
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in total Government funding for each of the five East Midlands police forces was over the last three years. [120734]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is set out in the table.
| Percentage change in total Government grants for East Midlands police forces 2004-05 to 2006-07 | |||||||
| 2004-05( 1) | 2005-06( 2) | 2006-07( 3) | |||||
| Police authority | Total Government grants( 4)( ) (£ million) | Annual change in total grants (Percentage) | Total Government grants (£ million) | Annual change in total grants (Percentage) | Adjusted total Government grants( 5)( ) (£ million) | Total Government grants (£ million) | Annual change in total grants (Percentage) |
| (1 )2004-05 actual increase in general grant for all police authorities was 3.25 per cent. (2) 2005-06 the minimum increase in general grant for all police authorities was 3.75 per cent. (3) 2006-07 the broadly flat rate increase in general grant for all police authorities was 3.1 per cent. (4) Total Government grant comprises: Home Office Police Grant, Department for Communities and Local Government Revenue Support Grant and National Non-Domestic Rates; Specific Grants: Crime Fighting Fund, Basic Command Unit funding, Community Support Officer funding, Neighbourhood Policing Fund, Rural Policing Fund, Special Priority Payments, Forensic DNA Expansion Grant and Capital Grant. (5) Adjusted for comparison purposes following the transfer of pensions and security funding from general grant in 2006-07. (6) Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire's low annual change in total grant increases was due to the change in pension and security funding arrangements in 200607. They are receiving less in pensions grant because they need less. (7) The Police Standards Unit have been working with Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire police forces since spring 2004 on a number of projects to help improve performance. The forces have been provided with £0.8 million (Northants) £0.7 million (Notts) for 2004-05, £1.2 million (Northants) £0.6 million (Notts) for 2005-06 and an estimated £0.5 million (Northants) £0.6 million (Notts) for 2006-07 in project funding. (Included above). (8) Northamptonshire received a large one off payment for Airwave in 2003-04 which reduced their overall funding increase. |
Police: Firearms
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many authorised firearm officers were employed in (a) England and Wales and (b) the West Midlands police authority area in each year since 1997. [119880]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 8 February 2007]: The number of authorised firearms officers in police forces in England and Wales since 1996-97 are shown in the following table. Statistics for 2005-06 are likely to be announced in the spring.
| Number of authorised firearms officers (AFOs) 1996-97 to 2004-05 | |||||||||
| 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | |
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