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Asylum Seekers

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of people seeking

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political asylum and being held in custody as of 14 May, the length of time each person has been held in detention and their nationality. [30512]

Mr. Kirkhope: The available information is for those held in detention as at 30 April and is given in the tables.

Table 1: Number of people recorded as detained on 30 April 1996(2) who had sought asylum at some stage, by length of detention

Length	Total number detained
0-1 Month(2)	181
1-2 Months	143
2-6 Months	280
6-12 Months	106
12 Months+	15
Total	725

(2) These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

Table 2: Number of people recorded as detained on 30 April 1996(3) who had sought asylum at some stage, by nationality

Nationality	Total number detained
Nigeria	114
India	93
Algeria	67
Gambia	44
Ghana	38
Sri Lanka	37
Turkey	33
Zaire	32
Pakistan	23
Bangladesh	22
China Peoples Republic of	22
Romania	21
Czechoslovakia	12
Angola	11
Lithuania	8
Afghanistan	7
Albania	7
Iran	7
Kenya	7
Ivory Coast	6
Niger	6
Poland	6
Russia	6
Somalia	6
Tanzania	6
Ecuador	5
Sierra Leone	5
Colombia	4
Cyprus	4
Jamaica	4
Yugoslavia	4
Bulgaria	3
Ethiopia	3
Lebanon	3
Liberia	3
Peru	3
Uganda	3
South Africa	3
Cameroon	2
Georgia	2
Iraq	2
Montenegro	2
Palestine	2
Sudan	2
Togo	2
Zimbabwe	2
Nationality doubtful	6
Others	15
Total	725

(3) These figures include people who have been in detention for less than a month. Because of the delay in recording receptions into, and releases from, detention and the large number of persons detained for a short period, the figures should be used with caution.

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Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the protest by asylum seekers in Rochester prison on 17 May. [31197]

Miss Widdecombe: At approximately 20:30 hours on 16 May, 69 overseas nationals detained at Rochester refused to return to their cells at the end of the normal association period. The reason for the protest is not known at this time and is currently subject to an internal Prison Service investigation. However, it is thought that it may be linked to possible reductions in association time.

The protest was passive, but the detainees refused to participate in negotiations with staff. At 01:00 hours on 17 May, a direct order was given to the detainees to return to their cells, but they refused to comply. Prison Service control and restraint teams were deployed to clear the wing. Some detainees offered passive resistance by rolling themselves into a ball. The wing was cleared by 01:30 hours with no serious injuries to staff or detainees.

Following clearance of the wing, 10 detainees barricaded themselves into a cell, but this was quickly overcome with no resistance.

Departmental Staff

Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list (a) the number of (i) male and (ii) female employees, (b) the number of officials employed at each of the principal grades and the number and percentage of women employed at each of these grades and (c) the number of staff employed at administrative grades and the number and percentage of these staff who are women in his Department on 1 April.[30545]

Mr. Howard: Figures for the number of male and female permanent non-industrial staff and the number of officials employed at each of the principal grades and percentages of women employed at those grades in the main Home Office on 1 April were as follows. A breakdown by administrative grades is not available for that date; figures shown refer to the staffing position on 24 May. Figures for the Prison Service are as from 1 April.

	(a) Male			(b) Female
Area	(i) Full-time	(ii) Part-time	Total	(i) Full-time	(ii) Part-time	Total
Home Office main (includes immigration and nationality directorate)	4,515	37	4,552	3,627	668	4,295
United Kingdom passport agency	539	36	575	815	217	1,032
Forensic science service	362	3	365	311	121	432
Fire service college	65	0	65	60	7	67
Prison service	29,369	307	29,676	6,582	1,083	7,665
Total	34,850	383	35,233	11,395	2,096	13,491

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Home Office staff by grade equivalents

Grade level equivalents	(a) Male	(b) Female	Total	Percentage female
Grade 1	1	0	1	00
Grade 2	6	0	6	00
Grade 3	20	5	25	20
Grade 4	8	0	8	00
Grade 5	57	12	69	17.39
Grade 6	75	8	83	09.64
Grade 7	337	123	460	26.74
Senior executive officer	458	157	615	25.53
Higher executive officer	980	555	1,535	36.16
Executive officer	2,094	1,743	3,837	45.43
Administrative officer	824	1,830	2,654	68.95
Administrative assistant	685	1,393	2,078	67.03
Total(4)	5,556	5,826	11,382	51.19

(4)Includes 11 full-time male employees with obsolete grades or non-mandate grades.

Home Office administrative staff (excluding grade equivalents)

Grade	(a) Male	(b) Female	Total	Percentage female
Grade 1	1	0	1	00
Grade 2	6	0	6	00
Grade 3	12	6	18	33.33
Grade 4	2	0	2	00
Grade 5	57	13	70	18.57
Grade 6	62	7	69	10.14
Grade 7	267	131	398	32.91
Senior executive officer	194	102	296	34.46
Higher executive officer	482	391	873	44.78
Executive officer	662	836	1,498	55.81
Administrative officer	779	1,594	2,373	67.17
Administrative assistant	786	1,567	2,353	66.59
Total	3,310	4,647	7,957	58.40

Prison service staff: administrative staff shown by grade equivalent. Prison officer grades shown separately

Grade level equivalents	(a) male	(b) female	Total	Percentage female
Grade 1	0	0	0	0
Grade 2	1	0	1	0
Grade 3	8	0	8	0
Grade 4	9	2	11	18.18
Grade 5	52	10	62	16.12
Grade 6	117	16	133	12.03
Grade 7	243	24	267	8.98
Senior executive officer	448	111	559	19.85
Higher executive officer	366	231	597	38.69
Executive officer	1,471	1,051	2,522	41.67
Administrative officer	560	1,932	2,492	77.52
Administrative assistant	1,681	1,350	3,031	44.53
Total	4,956	4,727	9,683	48.81
Prison grades
Governor 1(5)	48	2	50	4.00
Governor 2(5)	69	7	76	9.21
Governor 3(5)	119	16	135	11.85
Governor 4(5)	297	42	339	12.39
Governor 5(5)	411	28	439	6.37
Governor 5 (accelerated promotion scheme)(5)	35	23	58	39.65
Principal officer(5)	1,261	41	1,302	3.14
Principal officer (accelerated promotion scheme)(5)	11	8	19	42.10
Senior officer(5)	3,365	183	3,548	5.16
Prison officer(5)	17,564	2,165	19,729	10.97
Prison auxiliary(5)	1,540	423	1,963	21.55
Total(5)	24,720	2,938	27,658	10.62
Grand total	29,676	7,665	37,341	20.52

(5) Specific prison service grades. Grades 1-5 were abolished on 1 April 1996 on the establishment of the senior civil service. The relevant figures in the above tables refer to the grades to which the staff concerned previously belonged.

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Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary for the Home Department (1) how many people were detained in Birmingham prison, under Immigration Act powers in (a) March and (b) April; and what were the nationalities of those detained; [31183]

(2) how many of those people detained in Birmingham prison under Immigration Act powers were deported during the months of March and April. [31184]

Miss Widdecombe: At the end of March, 63 prisoners in Birmingham prison were recorded as being held under Immigration Act powers. At the end of April, 48 prisoners were held; a breakdown by nationality is given in the table. Provisional information shows that 37 persons were discharged and deported from Birmingham prison during March and April.

Population of Immigration Act detainees(6) in HM prison Birmingham on 30 April 1996; by nationality

Nationality	Number
Algeria	8
Bangladesh	2
India	27
Nigeria	2
Pakistan	2
South Africa	2
Others	5
Total	48

(6) Provisional figures.

Dr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who had applied at some stage for asylum were deported from Birmingham prison in January, February, March and April. [31186]

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Mr. Kirkhope: The information requested is given in the table.

Number of asylum detainees at Her Majesty's prison Birmingham who were deported, by month.

Month	(7)Number deported
January	4
February	2
March	1
April	1

(7)Left by means of a deportation order, enforced or supervised departure.

Dr. Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who had applied at some stage for asylum were detained in Birmingham prison during April; and what were the nationalities of those detained. [31293]

Mr. Kirkhope: The information requested is given in the table.

Population of asylum detainees at HM Prison Birmingham on 30 April by nationality.

Nationality	Number
Algerian	7
Indian	15
Pakistani	2
Others	4
Total	28

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