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Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints were made about the service at IND in 1998. [65168]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
478 complaints were received during 1998 under the formal arrangements for handling complaints against members of the Immigration and
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Nationality Directorate staff. There is no central record of other complaints, for example, about delays or the merits of individual decisions.
Dr. Harris:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimates he has made of the number of foreign language students visiting the UK who outstay the residence rights under the terms of their visas; and what investigations he has made of this matter. [65279]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
I regret that the information requested is not available. It is not possible to produce estimates of students overstaying as no recordings of passengers leaving the United Kingdom is undertaken. The statistics available on deportation action against overstayers do not show the category under which the person was admitted to this country.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizens of Slovakia have sought political asylum in the UK in the last three months; how many applications have been accepted; and what were the figures in each of the last three years. [65263]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The available information is given in the table.
| Total applications | Total decisions | Grants of asylum | Grants of ELR | Total refusals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | |||||
| Slovakia | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 1996 | |||||
| Slovakia | 15 | 35 | -- | -- | 35 |
| 1997(11) | |||||
| Slovakia | 160 | 205 | -- | -- | 205 |
| 1998(11) | |||||
| Slovakia | 380 | 210 | -- | -- | 210 |
(10) Figures rounded to the nearest 5
(11) Provisional figures
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many citizens of (a) Bulgaria and (b) the Czech Republic have sought political asylum in the UK in the last three months; how many applications have been accepted; and what were the equivalent figures for each of the last three years. [64754]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The available information is given in the table.
(12) Figures rounded to the nearest 5, with '*' = 1 or 2.
(13) Provisional figures.
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Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the accommodation of medically-qualified asylum seekers as regards (a) the adequacy of the accommodation and (b) its proximity to institutions where they could use their qualifications or requalify. [65595]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: There is no central record of the representations received from medically qualified asylum seekers.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation he (a) has carried out and (b) plans to carry out with (i) local authorities and (ii) other relevant bodies regarding his proposals for a new support scheme for asylum seekers. [65565]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Consultation with local authorities and other relevant bodies regarding the proposals for the new support scheme has been carried out principally in the following ways:
- (a) through the White Paper: "Fairer, faster and firmer--a modern approach to immigration and asylum";
- (b) through the formation of a stakeholder group which contains representatives from local authorities, housing associations and the voluntary sector and who have been consulted extensively on a wide range of issues associated with the support proposals;
- (c) through consultation on a "process manual" setting out the way in which the support scheme is intended to operate and which I hope to publish shortly;
- (d) through ad hoc meetings between the relevant bodies and the asylum seekers support project team which has been set up to carry forward the proposals in the White Paper.
In addition the Asylum Seekers Support Project Team includes the seconded deputy chief executive of the Refugee Council and two seconded officers from local authorities.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis transitional funding relief to local authorities for asylum seekers will be allocated for (a) passported refugees, (b) asylum seekers who declared their intention at the port of entry and (c) other asylum seekers. [65573]
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Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Asylum seekers who declare their applications at their ports of entry may be eligible for income support and housing benefit. Other asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute may be eligible for support from local authority social services departments under the terms of the National Assistance Act 1948 and the Children Act 1989. In these circumstances, it is the Government's intention to reimburse local authorities in this financial year on the basis of a maximum unit cost provision of £165 per week for single adults; £230 per week for families (£240 per week for families in Inner London), £400 per week for unaccompanied children aged 15 or under; and £200 per week for unaccompanied children aged 16 and 17. Those asylum seekers who are subsequently recognised as refugees may also qualify for income support and housing benefit.
Mr. Forth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been found to be requiring NHS treatment on arrival in the United Kingdom in the past three years. [65468]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The information is not available to the Home Office.
Dr. Stoate:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the report of the Inspection of Medway Secure Training Centre will be published; and if he will make a statement. [66319]
Mr. Boateng:
The report has been published by the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) today, and copies of the report have been put in the Library. The report identifies shortcomings in the management of the Secure Training Centre (STC), and makes 32 key recommendations for improving the standard of service being provided by the contractor. All the recommendations have been accepted, and Rebound are taking urgent action to implement these recommendations. The Home Office will be monitoring progress in conjunction with SSI.
The report made a number of recommendations which required immediate action to strengthen management at the centre, and to improve operational procedures and monitoring. The Director at Medway has been working closely with SSI to implement these recommendations, and to introduce more effective strategies for dealing with difficult young people. A stronger management structure has been put in place to support the staff who were praised in the report for their enthusiasm and commitment. More staff are being recruited, and a programme of repair work has been completed.
The Government remain committed to the public/ private partnership approach, and to making a positive difference to the lives of persistent young offenders, who despite repeated efforts by the Youth Justice system continue to offend. STCs are a new and challenging initiative, and Medway as the first centre of its kind has had a difficult beginning, but action is now being taken to introduce the positive regime we require. I will be monitoring closely the position at Medway, and a further inspection will be undertaken by SSI later this year.
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