To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the relevance for practice in the UK of the review of the use of tasers being carried out by the US Department of Justice. (82247)

[holding answer 4 July 2006]: This review is a long-term study by the National Institute of Justice that will be conducted in stages. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) are in regular communication with them via the Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations. No major issues have been identified by the study to date. Tasers in the UK are only made available to authorised firearms officers as a less lethal alternative for use in situations where a firearms authority has been granted in accordance with criteria laid down in the ACPO Manual of Guidance on Police Use of Firearms.