§ Mr. TimmsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps are being taken to monitor the use of Internet and other electronic networks for obscene material relating to children; [21188]
99W(2) what consultations have taken place between his Department and the Association of Chief Police Officers for drawing up a national police strategy to deal with computer pornography on the Internet. [21185]
§ Mr. MacleanMonitoring by the police of the Internet and other electronic networks for child pornography is an operational matter for chief officers.
The recently established inter-departmental working group on obscenity, which includes a police representative, is currently examining the problem of child and computer pornography, including the adequacy and effectiveness of the relevant law and its enforcement. This work will be complemented by that of the Association of Chief Police Officers working group on computer pornography which has been established to offer guidance on training and investigation techniques.
§ Mr. TimmsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought under section 43 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 for the distribution of obscene material between computers using telephone lines within the United Kingdom. [21186]
§ Mr. Nicholas BakerIt is not possible from the information held centrally to identify offences under section 43(1)(a) of the Telecommunications Act 1984—the sending, by means of public telecommunications system, a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character—from other summary offences under the same Act. However, our statistics show that in 1993, the latest available, there were 1,147 prosecutions and 725 convictions for summary offences as a whole under the aforesaid Act.