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DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Central Office of Information
Mr. Elletson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what changes he plans to make to the Central Office of Information cash limit. [16299]
Mr. Willetts: The cash limit of the Central Office of Information is to be reduced by £188,000 following the transfer of the media advisory service to the Home Office.
Public Bodies
Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster what was the expenditure by non-departmental public bodies in (a) 1979-80 and (b) 1994-95 in (i) cash, (ii) real terms and (iii) as a percentage of gross national product. [14946]
Mr. Willetts: Information on expenditure by non-departmental public bodies is held centrally for executive bodies only; That for advisory bodies and tribunals could be produced only at disproportionate cost. For executive non-departmental public bodies, systematic central recording of costs did not begin until 1981-82. However, the Pliatzky "Report on Non-Departmental Public Bodies" in 1980 calculated executive non-departmental public body expenditure for the single year 1978-79. For that year, expenditure by executive non-departmental public bodies was £6,150 million--equivalent, in real terms, to £17,940 million at 1995 prices. This represents approximately 3.5 per cent. of gross national product in 1978-79. Expenditure by executive non-departmental public bodies in 1994-95 was £20,840 million; a figure equivalent to approximately 3.0 per cent. of GNP in the same year.
Increases in total expenditure since 1979 reflect new arrangements for channelling funds and new areas of programme expenditure. The Funding Agency for Schools and the Legal Aid Board, for example, now undertake functions previously performed by local education
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authorities and the Law Society respectively. Expenditure by these two bodies in 1994-95 totalled approximately £3,000 million.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what plans he has to ensure that his Department identifies the size of its suppliers by the number of their employees. [15598]
Mr. Willetts:
The requirement to seek information on the size of suppliers is covered in guidance issued to purchasing staff and it is planned to capture this information as part of the improvements to our procurement system to be introduced in 1996.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what plans he has to ensure that his Department identifies the size of its suppliers by the number of their employees. [15601]
The Deputy Prime Minister:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service.
Ms Ruddock:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how the promotion of sustainable development will be reflected in the implementation of the proposals contains in the White Paper, "Competitiveness: Forging Ahead." [15110]
The Deputy Prime Minister:
The 1995 White Paper "Competitiveness: Forging Ahead" outlined policy initiatives across the whole of government to help create the right framework and conditions for business to operate in a way that is both competitive and sustainable. In particular, it set out how the Government's tax and regulatory policies are being used to achieve environmental objectives.
The Government have encouraged, and will continue to encourage, industry to respond effectively to the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development. The White Paper set out how the Government are promoting to industry, and to small companies in particular, the benefits of positive environmental management and of best practice in the use of environmental technology and techniques.
The importance of environmental issues will be discussed further in the next competitiveness White Paper due to be published later this year.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the annual telephone costs to (a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) his Department's non-departmental public bodies staff for (i) 1995-96 and (ii) 1996-97; and if internal telephone directories are available to staff in all areas of (a) to (c). [11374]
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Mr. Willetts:
The estimated out-turn for 1995-96 is shown the following table:
| 1995-96 £ | |
|---|---|
| Cabinet Office | 751,500 |
| Cabinet Office Agencies1 | 539,650 |
| HMSO2 | 1,413,000 |
| COI | 272,550 |
(8) SAFE and the Buying Agency became OPS Agencies as from 1 January 1996; their costs have been included.
(9) Calendar year data.
The Cabinet Office has no executive non-departmental public bodies. Telephone costs for its advisory NDPBs are included in the figures above.
Estimates for 1996-97 are still being prepared as part of the Department's normal budgeting round.
Internal telephone directories are available to staff in all areas.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the most recently enacted legislation that he proposes to repeal by way of deregulation orders. [15886]
Mr. Freeman:
The most recently enacted legislation proposed for repeal is the Rag, Flock and Other Fillings Materials Act 1953 and the most recently enacted legislation proposed for amendment is the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992. These are, however, subject to the result of public consultation and scrutiny by Committees in both Houses.
Mr. Alan Williams:
To ask the Attorney-General how much has been spent on external legal advice for Ministers and civil servants in relation to the Scott inquiry since 15 January. [15927]
The Attorney-General:
No external advice has been sought since 15 January on behalf of individual Ministers or officials in Departments for which I am responsible.
Mr. Gapes:
To ask the Attorney-General what age restrictions are currently in force for recruitment to the Crown Prosecution Service. [15296]
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Butler:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people sought asylum in the
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United Kingdom in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what assessment he has made of trends in these figures over the last 10 years. [14353]
Mr. Kirkhope:
The total number of asylum applications in 1995 was 43,965. Information on applications made in 1986 to 1994 is published in table 2.1 of the Home Office statistical bulletin "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 1994", issue 15/95. A copy of this publication is available in the Library.
There has been a massive increase in the number of asylum applications received since 1988. The 1995 figure is nearly as high as the peak figure of 1991, which included a significant proportion of multiple applications made by individuals under different names. It represents a 34 per cent. increase on 1994 and is nearly double the figure for 1993. The upward trend underlines the need for the firm action the Government are taking to deter unfounded applications.
Mr. Henderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were refused and certified as being without foundation on the grounds that the asylum claim was frivolous or vexatious in (a) 1994 and (b) 1995. [15541]
Miss Widdecombe:
Provisional estimates indicate that, in 1994, between 300 and 400 asylum applications were refused on the grounds that the claims were frivolous or vexatious. It is estimated that there were fewer than 100 such cases in 1995. These figures may exclude some port applications refused as frivolous or vexatious which were dealt with under fast track procedures.
Mr. Henderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the total amount of liability incurred by all carriers under the Immigration (Carriers Liability) Act 1987; how much of that total liability has been paid; how much has been waived; and how much is outstanding. [15531]
Mr. Kirkhope:
A total of £89.604 million had been incurred to 31 January 1996. Of that sum, £53.327 million had been paid and £17.578 million waived following representations from carriers. A sum of £18.699 million remained outstanding.
Mr. Henderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the consequences for the applicant of an appeal to the Immigration Appellate Authority against a refusal under paragraph 345 of the immigration rules being (a) allowed and (b) referred back to the Secretary of State for reconsideration under paragraph 5 of schedule 2 to the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993. [15542]
Miss Widdecombe:
In either case, the consequences, including whether the claim was to be considered substantively, would depend on the circumstances, including whether further refusal under paragraph 345 was appropriate.
Mr. Henderson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of the number of asylum seekers currently detained under Immigration Act powers by (a) nationality, (b) gender, (c) place of detention, (d) length of detention and (e) immigration status at the time of application. [15551]
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Miss Widdecombe:
The information requested is given in the tables.
| Port | Illegal entrants | Deport | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 376 | 263 | 45 | 684 |
| Female | 42 | 5 | 2 | 49 |
| Total | 418 | 268 | 47 | 733 |
(10) These figures include people detained for under a month, because of the amount of lag created by the amount of people detained and released in under a month these figures should be used with caution.
| Length | Total number detained |
|---|---|
| 0-1 month1 | 194 |
| 1-2 months | 133 |
| 2-6 months | 296 |
| 6-12 months | 97 |
| 12 months + | 13 |
| Total | 733 |
(11) With the amount of detainees coming in and out of detention in under a month these figures should be treated as estimates.
(12) These figures include people detained for under a month, because of the amount of lag created by the amount of people detained and released in under a month these figures should be used with caution.
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 86
| Total number detained | |
|---|---|
| Prisons | |
| HMP Rochester | 136 |
| HMP Haslar | 90 |
| HMP Harmondsworth | 87 |
| HMP Winson Green | 41 |
| HMP Wormwood Scrubs | 12 |
| HMP Greenock | 10 |
| HMP Crumlin Road | 10 |
| HMP Brixton | 9 |
| HMP Wandsworth | 8 |
| HMP Armley | 3 |
| HMP Bristol | 2 |
| HMP Craiginchess | 2 |
| HMP Liverpool | 2 |
| HMP Doncaster | 2 |
| Others | 18 |
| Other places of detention | |
| Campsfield detention centre | 142 |
| Gatwick airport detention centre | 33 |
| Police cells | 33 |
| Queen's buildings | 17 |
| Dover harbour | 15 |
| Newhaven port | 15 |
| Stanstead airport detention centre | 15 |
| Port | 12 |
| Manchester airport detention centre | 6 |
| Birmingham airport detention centre | 3 |
| Others | 10 |
| Total | 733 |
(13) These figures include people detained for under a month, because of the amount of lag created by the amount of people detained and released in under a month these figures should be used with caution.
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many substantive asylum appeals to Immigration Appellate Authority special adjudicators were (a) allowed, (b) dismissed and (c) withdrawn in each quarter of 1994 and 1995. [15540]
Miss Widdecombe:
The information on outcomes of substantive appeals to adjudicators in 1995 is given in the table. Information for 1994 is published in table 8.4 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin "Asylum Statistics
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 87
United Kingdom 1994", issue 15/95. A copy of this publication is available in the Library.
| of which: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total substantive determinations | Allowed | Dismissed | Withdrawn | |
| 1995 | ||||
| January-March | 1,070 (100) | 2 | 82 | 16 |
| April-June | 1,255 (100) | 4 | 79 | 18 |
| July-September | 1,770 (100) | 4 | 82 | 14 |
| October-December | 1,830 (100) | 2 | 80 | 18 |
| Total (January-December) | 5,920 (100) | 3 | 81 | 16 |
(14) Figures are provisional and rounded to the nearest 5.
(15) Includes cases withdrawn.
(16) Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
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