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Immigration Service
Sir Norman Fowler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the impact of the refurbishment works at Lunar House on the operation of the Immigration Service. [71728]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on 3 December 1998, Official Report, column 251.
Freedom of Information Bill
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of work on the draft Freedom of Information Bill. [70864]
Mr. Straw: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan) on 10 February 1999, Official Report, columns 257-59.
Parentline and Childline
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much (a) core and (b) project funding he is providing in the current financial year for (i) Parentline and (ii) Childline; and how much he is providing for Childline's work on bullying in schools. [70707]
Mr. Boateng: In the current financial year, the Home Office is providing £108,000 to Parentline to help them expand the service they provide into a national freephone helpline for parents. This is in addition to £25,000 from the Department of Health under their section 64 grants programme and £35,000 funding from the Department for Education and Employment to the National Stepfamilies Association for a joint project with Parentline.
The Home Office does not fund Childline.
Asylum and Immigration Appeals
Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the (a) average, and (b) longest time taken by his Department to grant leave to enter or remain to a person whose asylum appeal had
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been allowed in 1998; and if applicants were entitled to (i) benefits and (ii) family reunion as a refugee pending the grant of such leave. [70718]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
I regret that information regarding the time between a final appeal outcome and a subsequent decision to grant leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
A person whose asylum appeal has been allowed is not entitled to benefits of family reunion until leave as a refugee has actually been granted. Once such leave has been granted benefits will be backdated to the date they ceased.
Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many decisions to deport made under section 3(5)(6) of the Immigration Act 1971 with a right of appeal not limited by section 5 of the Immigration Act 1998 have been (a) made, (b) withdrawn after an appeal against the decision was allowed and (c) withdrawn in other circumstances since the introduction of section 5 of the 1998 Act. [70728]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Section 5 of the Immigration Act 1988, as amended, places certain restrictions on the right of appeal where a decision is taken to make a deportation order against a person under section 3(5)(a) or section 3(5)(aa) of the Immigration Act 1971, or under section 3(5)(c) against a family member of such a person.
Information at the level of detail requested could be obtained only through the examination of individual records and is, therefore, available only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many final decisions on asylum applications were taken by an officer of administrative officer grade in 1997 and 1998, broken down by (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful applications. [70733]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
I regret that the information on how many final decisions on asylum applications taken by an administrative officer grade in 1997 and 1998 could be obtained only by examination of individual case records and is, therefore, available only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact which delays to the development of the new casework system are having on the processing of asylum claims and other services provided by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. [70908]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate caseworking operation is at present being reorganised and new ways of working are being introduced as part of the business change and modernisation initiative. The disruption has caused a temporary reduction in service standards and in numbers of casework decisions.
Under the privately financed contract for the Casework Programme the financial risk of late delivery of elements of the Programme is carried by Siemens Business Services. There is no reason to believe the delay in delivery of the full casework information technology application will reduce casework decisions or service standards over the contract period.
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Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were removed as illegal entrants in each year from 1993 to date. [70736]
| Number of persons | ||
|---|---|---|
| Removed as illegal entrant | Departed voluntarily (16) | |
| 1993 | 3,410 | 380 |
| 1994 | 2,740 | 550 |
| 1995 | 2,570 | 590 |
| 1996 | 2,860 | 540 |
| 1997 | 3,690 | 820 |
| 1998(15) | 1,990 | 420 |
(15) 1998 figures relate to the first half year, 1 January to 30 June.
(16) Persons departing 'voluntarily' after illegal entry action had been initiated against them.
Note:
All figures are rounded.
Leave to Remain Applications
Mr. Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for further leave to remain have been (a) made in the prescribed form and (b) treated as invalid because they were not made in the prescribed form for each quarter since prescribed forms were introduced. [70729]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since 25 November 1996, it has been obligatory for persons wishing to make an application to vary the duration and/or conditions of their leave in the United Kingdom to use the application forms prescribed for this purpose. Statistical information on the total number of applications received was recorded from February 1997 onwards, but this did not record individual categories. Information on the total number of applications received and the number of applications deemed invalid is given in the table. It is not possible to provide a more detailed breakdown between the different types of application forms received.
| Valid applications | Invalid applications | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | ||
| Q1 | (17)8,639 | (17)3,264 |
| Q2 | 20,395 | 11,059 |
| Q3 | 23,162 | 9,309 |
| Q4 | 29,628 | 8,180 |
| 1998 | ||
| Q1 | 27,115 | 6,822 |
| Q2 | 26,858 | 5,711 |
| Q3 | 27,563 | 4,625 |
| Q4 | 22,904 | 3,754 |
(17) Counting during Quarter 1 did not begin until part way through the quarter
The figures recorded relate to postal applications only.
Mr. Coleman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy on granting family reunion to persons with
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exceptional leave to remain for less than four years in the United Kingdom where they are unable to maintain and accommodate family members. [70734]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
People with less than four years' exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom, whether or not they are able to satisfy the maintenance and accommodation requirements of the Immigration Rules, are not normally allowed to be joined by their pre-existing spouse or minor dependent children under the terms of the family reunion concession.
Fiona Mactaggart:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for leave to remain for an indefinite period on the grounds of marriage to a British or settled spouse from (a) women and (b) men were (i) granted and (ii) refused in (x) 1996, (y) 1997 and (z) 1998 to the latest convenient date; and of those refused, for each year, how many were refused because his Department was not satisfied (1) that the couple intended to stay together permanently as husband and wife, (2) that there was adequate accommodation available, (3) that there was adequate maintenance available and (4) other grounds; and of those refused for reason (1), in how many cases domestic violence was alleged. [70710]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The available information is given in the table. Allegations of domestic violence are not separately recorded.
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998(18) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women | |||
| Grants | 17,570 | 16,160 | 18,300 |
| Refusals: | |||
| No intention to live together | 380 | 250 | 160 |
| Other reasons | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Men | |||
| Grants | 11,900 | 10,700 | 12,900 |
| Refusals: | |||
| No intention to live together | 430 | 190 | 160 |
| Other reasons | 20 | 20 | 10 |
(18) Provisional
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