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Euro 96
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's preparations for Euro 96. [24264]
Mr. Maclean: The Association of Chief Police Officers has developed plans in conjunction with the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the Football Association, the Home Office, the Department of National Heritage, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department of Transport, the Football Licensing Authority and the Football Trust. A group comprising representatives of these various bodies meets regularly. Ad hoc discussions with other agencies have also taken place.
There will be a national police co-ordinating centre in central London with links to eight regional centres being set up in the same areas as the football stadiums hosting the matches. Representatives from the police forces of each of the participating nations will be present to assist with dealing with any problems that may arise in respect of the visiting fans.
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Key features of these plans include the use of modern technology to transmit images of those involved in any disorder quickly to the regional centres; the use of closed circuit television at the stadiums to contain incidents before they can get out of hand; and the use of police intelligence officers or "spotters" to assist in the identification of known hooligans. Any persons intending to cause disruption will be identified and dealt with swiftly.
A European working group has been established to help with the development of the policing plans. We are confident that, with the great amount of effort being put into this competition, Euro 96 should prove to be an enjoyable and thrilling event for the hundreds of thousands of spectators who are expected.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Affairs Department if he has asked Europol to assist in the measures to tackle football hooliganism in the EU. [23736]
Mr. Maclean:
No. Neither the remit of the Europol drugs unit nor the Europol convention extend to football hooliganism. However, the United Kingdom's good practice guidelines that were adopted by the European Union on 19 March emphasised the importance of European police co-operation and contained measures for promoting this.
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many substantive asylum appeals have been heard since 10 November 1995 involving appellants from (i) Nigeria and (ii) Bosnia in which appeals were allowed by special adjudicators or in which his Department decided to withdraw from the appeal. [23513]
Mr. Kirkhope:
Reliable information for the period could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were subject to detention under the Immigration Act 1971 for more than 28 days at any time during 1995. [23514]
Mr. Kirkhope:
To provide the information requested would involve disproportionate cost. The most recent available information was given in a reply to a question from the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, North (Mr. Henderson) on 20 February, Official Report, columns 101-102.
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications from (a) Somalia, (b) Afghanistan, (c) Iran, (d) Iraq, (e) Bosnia, (f) Croatia and (g) the former Yugoslavia are in the backlog of undecided asylum applications in his Department; and how many of these applications from each country have been waiting more than two years for a decision. [23510]
Mr. Kirkhope:
An estimated breakdown of those asylum applications awaiting an initial decision as at 31 December 1995, by year of application, is given in the table.
| Applications outstanding(4) | Year of application(4) (5) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Per cent. | 1995 Per cent. | 1994 Per cent. | 1993 Per cent. | 1992 Per cent. | Pre-1992 Per cent. | |
| Afghanistan | 550 | 100 | 50 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 10 |
| Former Yugoslavia(6) | 5,405 | 100 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 45 | 5 |
| Iran | 1,010 | 100 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 20 | 15 |
| Iraq | 700 | 100 | 35 | 20 | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| Somalia | 2,085 | 100 | 50 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| All nationalities | 69,650 | 100 | 30 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 20 |
(4) Provisional figures rounded to the nearest 5.
(5) Approximate estimates rounded to nearest 5 per cent.
(6) Includes Bosnia and Croatia which are not separately identifiable.
2 Apr 1996 : Column: 119
Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the asylum appeals withdrawn in 1993, 1994 and 1995 were (a) withdrawn by his Department and (b) withdrawn by the appellant; and in how many of the latter cases the appellant had been granted leave to remain on grounds not raised in the appeal. [23512]
Mr. Kirkhope: Fifty asylum appeals were withdrawn in the period August to December 1993--the period in 1993 after the Asylum Act 1995-255 in 1994 and 1,000 in 1995. Information on the reasons for withdrawal could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Omar Bakri Mohammed Fostok
Mr. Allason: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had about the political activities of Omar Bakri Mohammed Fostok born in 1958 in Aleppo, Syria. [23735]
Miss Widdecombe: We have received eight letters about Mr. Omar Bakri Mohammed Fostok. It would be contrary to our normal practice to disclose the details of them.
Immigration Application Forms
Mr. Mark Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make the use of application forms compulsory for foreign nationals wishing to apply for leave to remain in the United Kingdom. [24591]
Mr. Kirkhope: I have today laid an immigration rules change which will make the use of application forms for a variation of leave to enter or remain compulsory from 3 June. I have placed copies of the forms I have prescribed in the Library. The scheme will not cover applications under European Community law or applications for asylum. The immigration and nationality department has been operating a voluntary trial of application forms since June 1995. Experience of the trial has shown that the forms enable us to provide a more efficient service to genuine applicants at a cheaper cost to the public purse. A more efficient system will also improve the immigration control.
European Common Visa List
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to implement the European common visa list. [24592]
2 Apr 1996 : Column: 120
Mr. Kirkhope: We have today laid a statement of changes to the immigration rules which implements the European Union common visa list. With effect from 4 April, nationals of Bahrain, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Guyana, Kuwait, the Maldives, Mauritius, Niger, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Qatar, Suriname, United Arab Emirates and Zambia will require visas to visit the United Kingdom in addition to those countries of whose nationals visas are currently required.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the total expenditure of his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies on publicity for each of the years (a) 1979-80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95 and (f) 1995-96 (i) to date and (ii) as estimated for the whole year; what estimate he has made of such expenditure for 1996-97; and if he will break these figures down to indicate expenditure on (1) advertising and (2) press and public relations. [11400]
Sir John Wheeler [holding answer 25 January 1996]: The information requested for the Northern Ireland Office, Northern Ireland Departments and their agencies is listed.
| Year | Advertising | Press and public relations |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | (7)469 | (8)282 |
| 1989-90 | 7,863 | 1,401 |
| 1991-92 | 10,567 | 1,660 |
| 1993-94 | 7,814 | 1,898 |
| 1994-95 | 8,088 | 1,968 |
| 1995-96 (to date) | 5,263 | 1,677 |
| 1995-96 (estimate) | 8,856 | 2,078 |
| 1996-97 (estimate) | (9)8,774 | 2,186 |
(7) Expenditure not available from Departments of Economic Development and Agriculture.
(8) Covers expenditure by Departments of Finance and Personnel, Agriculture and Education.
(9) Budget for 1996-97 not yet known in Department of Education.
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