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Mr. Baldry: I have asked the entry clearance officer in Islamabad to let me have a report on the application from Mr. Tariq Mahmood. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision is to be taken by the United Kingdom post in Islamabad on the application by Mrs. Najon Ul Noreen, Ref: IMM/C1222, to enter the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry: I have asked the entry clearance officer in Islamabad to let me have a report on the application from Mrs. Najon Ul Noreen. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision is to be taken by the United Kingdom post in Islamabad on the application by Mr. Iftikar Hussain, Ref: B1475, to enter the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry: I have asked the entry clearance officer in Islamabad to let me have a report on the application from Mr. Iftikar Hussain. I shall arrange for the hon. Member to receive a substantive reply from the migration and visa correspondence unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as soon as possible.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Asylum
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people made applications for asylum to his Department in the last half of 1993 and the first half of 1994; and of these how many waited (a) less than three months, (b) between three and six months, (c) between six months and a year and (d) over a year for a decision;
(2) how many people who made applications for asylum to the Home Office in the last half of 1993 and the first half of 1994 waited for a decision (a) for less than three months, (b) between three and six months, (c) between six months and a year and (d) for over a year.
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Mr. Nicholas Baker: In the period 1 July 1993 to 30 June 1994, 25, 660 applications for asylum, excluding dependants, were lodged in the United Kingdom.
As at 30 September 1994, an estimated 11,100 decisions had been taken on the 25,660 applications for asylum lodged between 1 July 1993 and 30 June 1994; of these decisions an estimated 3,600 waited less than three months for an initial decision on their asylum application; 3,000 waited between three and six months; 4,100 waited between six and 12 months; and 500 waited longer than 12 months, while an estimated 14,600 applications were outstanding.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many asylum seekers have been waiting for a decision on their claim for asylum for (a) over one year, (b) over two years and (c) over six years;
(2) who is the longest-delayed applicant for asylum; and how long has the applicant waited for a decision on his case.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Information on the length of time applicants have been waiting for an initial decision on their asylum application or the longest outstanding case is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of asylum seekers detained are those who are yet to have their application refused or granted or are contesting refusal of their application (i) in 1991, (ii) in 1992, (iii) in 1993 and (iv) in 1994.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The information is not available in the form requested. However, on 14 October 1994, 658 people detained under immigration powers had sought asylum at some stage. Of these, 177 had applications still under consideration and the remainder had had their applications refused. Of these, 386 had an appeal pending.
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of asylum seekers were initially detained (a) in 1991, (b) in 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The available information suggests that less than 1.5 per cent. of people who have sought asylum are detained. Information on the percentage of asylum seekers detained in a given year can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nationals of the former Yugoslavia formerly resident in the area of Kosovo and of Albanian ethnic origin who had applied for political asylum in the United Kingdom and whose political asylum applications have been refused have been returned to any part of the current Federal Republic of Yugoslavia over the past 12 months.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: During the period 1 October 1993 to 30 September 1994, no nationals of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia/Montenegro, have been returned to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Serbia/Montenegro. Information on the original residence or ethnic origin of asylum seekers is not separately identifiable in the statistics.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether all the provisions of the resolution on manifestly unfounded applications for asylum, agreed by the European Ministers meeting on 30 November 1992
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and to be implemented by 1 January 1995, have now been incorporated into national law.Mr. Nicholas Baker: The procedures contained in the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 and the immigration rules relating to applications for asylum that are judged to be without foundation are fully consistent with the principles contained in the resolution.
Homicides
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of (a) male victims of homicide and (b) female victims of homicide in 1993 were killed by their current or former spouses, cohabitees or lovers.
Mr. Maclean: Provisional figures for 1993 show that 6 per cent. of male victims and 40 per cent. of female victims of homicide in England and Wales were killed by their current or former spouses, cohabitants or lovers.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many homicides were recorded in England and Wales in 1993; and in how many cases were the victims (a) male and (b) female.
Mr. Maclean: Provisional figures for 1993 show that at 5 August 1994, 606 offences were currently recorded as homicide in England and Wales, involving 375 male and 231 female victims.
Deportation
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigrants were recommended for deportation in 1993 and how many were deported; how many appeals against deportation are currently pending; and how many such appeals were determined in 1993.
Mr. Nicholas Barker: A total of 310 court recommendations of deportation were made, and 410 persons were removed under deportation powers following such a recommendation, in 1993. These figures exclude persons issued with a notice of intention to deport because of a breach of conditions of leave to enter or remain, or because their deportation was deemed to be conducive to the public good. Data on appeals against such court recommendations are not separately available.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of (a) the questionnaire which has been distributed to the member states in the context of title VI of the European Union treaty on the conditions under which EU member states refrain from deporting aliens and what rights they enjoy and (b) the United Kingdom Government's responses.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: No. These are working documents, which do not fall within the criteria for deposit in accordance with the Government's scrutiny arrangements for title VI matters.
Dogs
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 26 May, Official Report , column 280 , if he will list the different forms of identification for dogs considered by the Government before the introduction of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
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Mr. Nicholas Baker: The methods of identification considered were tattooing, ear tagging, ear studs, collar tagging and microchips.
Immigration
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports have been made by marriage registrars, and from which registration areas, to the Registrar-General, that marriages are suspected to be solely for immigration purposes, in each year since 1992, to the latest convenient date; and in how many of these instances information has been passed on to his Department.
Mr. Sackville: I have been asked to reply.
The information will be placed in the Library. During 1993 superintendent registrars reported 361 cases to the Registrar General where they suspected that a proposed marriage had been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls. Of this number, information in respect of 304 was passed to the Home Office. So far this year, to 14 July 1994, 270 reports have been received from superintendent registrars, of which 194 have been referred to the Home Office.
Refugees
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for refugee status are outstanding; how many individuals are covered by these applications; and what is the average length of time taken to determine an application.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: At 30 September 1994--the latest date for which the information is available--the estimated number of asylum applications outstanding is 52,760 which comprises an estimated 69, 500 principal applicants and their dependants.
The estimated average length of time between the receipt of an asylum application and the decision, for cases decided on applications for asylum received since the introduction of the Asylum and Immigration Appeal Act 1993, from 26 July 1993 to 30 September 1994, was 4.7 months.
European Union (Visas)
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in respect of the proposal of the German presidency of the European Union that visa requirements be waived for third-country nationals resident in European Union states, where such persons are seeking to travel in transit or for short stays, as soon as possible and before the entry into force of the draft convention on the crossing of external borders of the European Union;
(2) if he will now place in the Library copies of the (a) draft resolution on admissions of self-employed persons from third countries, (b) draft resolution on admission of students and (c) draft resolutions of the principles for distributing refugees among the member states of the European Union which has been submitted for consultation, which, according to the German presidency of the European Union, have been submitted in accordance with the provisions of title VI, "Co-operation in the Fields of Justice and Home Affairs".
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Mr. Nicholas Baker: These documents are being made available to Parliament in accordance with the arrangements for keeping it informed of work being carried out under title VI of the treaty on European Union, together with explanatory notes setting out the Government's views on each of them.
Family Reunification
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether all the provisions of the resolution of harmonisation of national policies on family reunification, adopted at the European Ministers meeting of 1 June 1993 and to be implemented by 1 January 1995, have now been implemented.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The immigration rules which came into effect on 1 October are fully consistent with the principles contained in this resolution.
Police Compensation Claims
Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims have been made for compensation for wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment for each year for the past five years for which figures are available, by police authority; how many of these claims have been settled each year, by police authority; how much compensation has been paid, by police authority, each year; how many individuals are involved; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean: This information is not collected centrally.
Wheel clamping
Mr. Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he now has to bring forward measures following the publication of the consultative paper, "Wheel clamping on Private Land."
Mr. Maclean: The Government are considering what action it would be appropriate to take in respect of wheel clamping on private land. The consultative paper referred to produced much useful information from interested parties. It did not, however, produce any consensus on how to ensure that any measure introduced to prevent or deter irresponsible and heavy-handed wheel clamping on private land does not prevent sensible measures from being taken to control genuine parking problems. We will make our conclusions known as soon as possible.
Party Conference Costs
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the policing costs associated with the annual conferences of (a) the Liberal Democrats, (b) the Labour party and (c) the Conservative party; and who meets the costs.
Mr. Maclean: I understand from the forces concerned that the latest estimated costs of policing the 1994 party conferences are:-
|£
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Liberal Democrats | (Sussex) |3,500
(b) Labour Party | (Lancashire)|90,000
(c) Conservative Party |(Dorset) |2,600,000
The normal police funding arrangements apply with expenditure attracting 51 per cent. Home Office police grant.
Entry Visas
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department following the request made by the United Kingdom post in Islamabad, when Mr. Gul Nawaz, resident in the United Kingdom, is going to be interviewed in connection with inquiries being made into the application by Nasreen Akhtar, Ref: GU100/18990, to enter the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The Immigration Service at Leeds Bradford airport will shortly contact Mr. Hafiz Gul Nawaz to offer him an appointment for an interview within two months.
Mr. & Mrs. Kwabena Aidoobofour
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the honourable Member for Deptford will receive a reply to her letters of 3 February, 12 April and 31 May concerning Mr. and Mrs. Kwabena Aidoobofour.
Mr. Nicholas Baker [holding answer 7 July 1994]: My hon. Friend the Minister of State wrote on 8 August.
United Nations (Civil and Political Rights)
Mr. Mates: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government submitted to the United Nations their latest periodic report under the international covenant on civil and political rights.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The United Kingdom's fourth periodic report under the international covenant on civil and political rights was submitted to the United Nations on 7 October 1994. On the same day copies of the report were placed in the Library.
European Union (Readmission)
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which third states his Department is negotiating readmission agreements regarding the return of their nationals from the United Kingdom on (a) the basis of the principles for the conclusion of such agreements which were drawn up during the Belgian presidency of the European Union and are referred to in the agenda of the German presidency and (b) any other basis.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Students
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if Northern Ireland students are free to accept offers of places for courses in universities in Great Britain if similar courses are available in universities in (a) Northern Ireland or (b) the Republic of Ireland; and if grants are available to Northern Ireland students enrolled in university courses in Great Britain if similar courses are available in (a) Northern Ireland or (b) the Republic of Ireland.
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Mr. Ancram: Yes. Students from Northern Ireland are free to attend courses at universities in Great Britain and are eligible for awards whether or not similar courses are available in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
Arts Council
Mr. John D. Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons were employed by the Northern Ireland Arts Council in each of the past three years; and how many were (a) Roman Catholic and (b) Protestant in each of these three years.
Mr Ancram: The information requested is as follows:
|January|January|January
|1991 |1992 |1993
------------------------------------------------------
Number employed |105 |108 |102
Community Background:
(a) Roman Catholic |38 |41 |41
(b) Protestant |51 |51 |47
(c) Non-determined |16 |16 |14
Health Care
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list those areas which have developed joint commissioning operations for the planning and purchasing of primary and secondary health care in their area; and what are the principal organisational models used.
Mr. Ancram: The planning, management and delivery of health and personal social services in Northern Ireland have been integrated since 1973. There are four health and social services boards and they, together with GP fundholders, are responsible for the commissioning of primary and secondary care.
PRIME MINISTER
Official Hospitality
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Prime Minister what has been the total amount spent on official hospitality by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies for each year since 1990.
The Prime Minister: Expenditure on official entertaining by my office for each year since 1990 was as follows:
Year |£ ---------------------- 1990-91 |23,830 1991-92 |40,976 1992-93 |30,023 1993-94 |21,793
I have asked my right honourable Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to provide information about expenditure on official entertaining by the Cabinet Office and agencies.
Macclesfield
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has any plans to pay an official visit to Macclesfield.
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The Prime Minister: As I have said before to my hon. Friend, I very much hope to be able to come to his constituency when my diary permits.
Ministerial Responsibilities
Dr. Marek: To ask the Prime Minister when the list of ministerial responsibilities after last summer's changes was delivered to the Vote Office.
The Prime Minister: The first batch of copies of the September 1994 edition of the "List of Ministerial Responsibilities" was delivered to the Vote Office on 4 October.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 20 October.
Sir Peter Tapsell: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Thursday 20 October.
The Prime Minister: This morning I presided at a meeting of the Cabinet and had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House, I shall be having further meetings later today.
Intelligence Unit
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Prime Minister how many persons are attached to the intelligence unit in the Chief Whip's offices at 12 Downing street and in the House of Commons; what is the purpose of the unit; and to whom it is accountable.
The Prime Minister: There is no such unit.
HEALTH
Women's Aid Federations
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much funding has been provided by her Department to (a) the Women's Aid Federation England and (b) the Welsh Women's Aid Federation in each of the past 10 years;
(2) how much funding has been provided from central Government to Women's Aid in each of the last 10 years, listing the amount provided by each Department.
Mr. Sackville: The information available is shown in the tables.
Table 1
|DH Funding to |Welsh Office Funding
|Women's Aid |to
|Federation (England)|Welsh Women's Aid
Year |£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |Nil |*
1986-87 |29,590 |*
1987-88 |98,000 |*
1988-89 |121,961 |108,526
1989-90 |110,000 |129,693
1990-91 |130,000 |169,658
1991-92 |144,650 |212,901
1992-93 |199,200 |226,742
1993-94 |201,020 |238,687
1994-95 |199,200 |248,752
Figures are rounded to the nearest £.
*Figures not readily available.
Funding for Women's Aid - From all Government Departments Table 2
|<1>Dept of Health |<2>Scottish Office|Welsh Office |Northern Ireland |Home Office |Department of the
|<2>Office |<3>Environment
Year |£ |£ |£ |£ |£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1985-86 |34,422 |308,017 |* |32,049 |- |-
1986-87 |66,011 |424,503 |* |33,350 |- |-
1987-88 |98,000 |591,622 |* |60,633 |- |-
1988-89 |196,961 |627,517 |108,526 |45,669 |- |6,439,000
1989-90 |110,000 |894,348 |129,693 |127,617 |6,200 |2,124,000
1990-91 |150,000 |1,228,781 |169,658 |155,031 |5,380 |1,737,000
1991-92 |144,650 |1,318,242 |212,901 |197,009 |8,075 |5,183,000
1992-93 |199,200 |1,220,371 |664,742<2> |128,631 |10,273 |5,370,000
1993-94 |201,020 |1,800,349 |742,333<2> |215,191 |30,650 |5,809,000
1994-95 |199,200 |1,738,111 |704,597<2> |132,299 |17,000 |3,175,720
All figures are rounded to the nearest £.
*Information for earlier years not available.
**Includes funding for a national housing coordinator for Women's Aid Federation (England) Ltd: £17,887.
Notes:
<1> Funding for Women's Aid Federation (England) and local child care projects. It excludes some central funding for child care projects allocated
through voluntary organisations.
<2> Includes funding for national organisation and local projects.
<3> Funding for women's aid projects allocated by the Housing Corporation.
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London Ambulance Service
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will instruct the South Thames regional health authority to publish weekly the number of occasions for the preceding week when response times of emergency ambulances of the London ambulance service exceeded 34 and 45 minutes respectively,
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together with a numerical summary of the category of relevant causes.Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of calls to the London ambulance service are answered within (a) 10 minutes, (b) between 10 and 20 minutes and (c) 20 to 30 minutes.
Mr. Sackville: The London ambulance service has supplied the information in the table.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 1994 |11,822 |29 per cent.|24,811 |60 per cent.|3,557 |9 per cent. May 1994 |12,917 |29 per cent.|26,806 |60 per cent.|3,611 |8 per cent. June 1994 |11,837 |26 per cent.|26,807 |60 per cent.|4,523 |10 per cent. July 1994 |12,468 |27 per cent.|28,024 |60 per cent.|4,843 |10 per cent. August 1994 |12,883 |29 per cent.|26,588 |60 per cent.|3,503 |8 per cent. September 1994 |12,850 |30 per cent.|26,297 |60 per cent.|3,300 |8 per cent. Source: London Ambulance Service internal statistics
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Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the size of the population covered by (a) the London ambulance service and (b) each of the ambulance services covering larger populations.
Mr. Sackville: The estimated size of populations served by the London ambulance service and larger urban and rural services is shown in the table:
Service |Population
-----------------------------------------------------
London Ambulance Service |6,936,400
Urban
Manchester |2,601,116
Mersey |2,408,900
Surrey |1,179,400
South Yorkshire |1,297,884
West Midlands |2,619,231
West Yorkshire |2,128,421
Rural
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |1,515,001
Essex |1,472,397
Hampshire |1,409,803
Kent |1,532,457
Lancashire |1,398,909
Northumbria |1,432,931
Nottinghamshire |1,017,267
Staffordshire |1,046,853
Two Shires |1,187,906
West Country |1,921,567
Notes:
1. Population summaries are mid-1992 as used for
1993-94 summary KA34 information.
2. "Larger ambulance services" taken as those
serving populations of more than one million.
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many maintenance depots the London ambulance service operates.
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulance men and women work for
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the London ambulance service; and what is the average rate of absenteeism.Mr. Sackville: The latest centrally held information is that at 30 September 1992 there were 2,010--to the nearest 10 whole-time equivalents-- ambulance men and women in the London ambulance service. According to figures supplied by the London ambulance service in August 1994, absenteeism in accident and emergency services was 8 per cent. and in patient transport 8.5 per cent.
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paramedics are employed by the London ambulance service; and what was the comparable figure five years ago.
Mr. Sackville: According to information supplied by the London ambulance service, there are 455 paramedics in the service now, compared with only seven in 1989.
Mr. John Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulances are operated by the London ambulance service; what is their average age; and how many days the ambulances spend on average out of service.
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