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Ministerial Meetings (US)
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 17 March 1999, Official Report, column 671, on meetings with US counterparts, if she will list the dates and locations of her meetings with the head of USAID since 1 November 1998. [80818]
Clare Short:
Since 1 November 1998 to date, I have had no meetings with the head of USAID although I have spoken to him on the telephone.
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Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff who have worked as professional statisticians in her Department and its predecessor have left on early retirement in each of the past 10 years. [81176]
Clare Short:
One professional statistician left on early retirement in 1997.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff by grade are employed as professional statisticians in her Department; how many of these staff have been accepted as fast stream by the Civil Service Selection Board; and how many have been granted chartered statistician status by the Royal Statistical Society. [81198]
Clare Short:
My Department has 13 professional statisticians, in the following grades:
| Grade | Number |
|---|---|
| Chief Statistician (Senior Civil Service) | 1 |
| Senior Statistician (former Grade 6) | 1 |
| Statistician (former Grade 7) | 9 |
| Temporary Assistant Statistician | 2 |
| Eleven have passed the Civil Service Selection Board and 2 hold chartered status with the Royal Statistical Society | |
CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the total number of occasions when (a) departmental and (b) non- departmental special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity since 2 May 1997. [76832]
Mr. Chris Smith: Between 2 May 1997 and 28 February 1999, my Special Advisers have made visits on four occasions in an official capacity. All travel complied with the requirements of the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.
Millennium Dome (Sponsorship)
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the sponsorship secured for the Dome takes the form of cash payments (a) for construction work and (b) for other purposes; and what is the estimated value of gifts in kind. [78378]
Janet Anderson [holding answer 23 March 1999]: Each of the arrangements with individual sponsors differs in terms of the level of support for exhibit zones; associated National Programme activities and other aspects of the Millennium Experience. There is no direct correlation between the source of income and payment of invoices for particular aspects of the project. NMEC has been successful in achieving the majority of its sponsorship income target.
NMEC are currently preparing their accounts for the 1998-99 financial year for audit. To publish unaudited accounts would leave them open to misinterpretation. NMEC's audited accounts for 1998-99, which will
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differentiate between the cash and value-in-kind components of sponsorship, will be published in due course. NMEC does not accept gifts in kind.
Mr. Edwards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received concerning the cancellation of the British Open Squash Championship 1999. [81345]
Mr. Banks:
I have not received any representations concerning the cancellation of the British Open Squash Championship 1999 which was due to be held in March. The Sports Councils are working closely with the Squash Rackets Association, the event organisers, who are hopeful of staging the event in November of this year at a venue yet to be confirmed.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the benefits of the United Kingdom becoming a member of the World Tourism Organisation. [81401]
Janet Anderson:
My Department consulted other relevant Government Departments and the British Tourist Authority last year about the advantages of joining the World Tourism Organisation. We concluded that UK membership would not represent best use of the money available to support tourism.
Failed Asylum Seekers
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current size of the backlog of failed asylum seekers liable for removal; and by when he expects that backlog to be cleared. [78664]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 29 March 1999]: As at November 1998, the latest date for which a figure is available, the estimated backlog of failed asylum seekers liable for removal was 24,000. That figure represents a snapshot, taken from Immigration and Nationality Directorate port and enforcement databases, of failed asylum seekers, excluding dependants, who have exhausted their rights of appeal (including any who did not submit an appeal against the refusal of asylum) and who are liable for removal.
The backlog figure includes a number of cases where there are one or more barriers to removal such as absconding, judicial review or lack of documentation. Therefore, it is unlikely ever to be the case that the whole of the backlog will be cleared. In light of the unpredictable influence that legal and other barriers exert on the removal process, it is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of when the backlog is likely to be cleared. However, we made clear in the Immigration and Asylum White Paper our commitment to strengthen enforcement of immigration controls. We have already taken a number of steps to deliver that commitment and further measures are included in the Immigration and Asylum Bill.
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Some 12,500 failed asylum seekers were removed or departed voluntarily between May 1997 and February 1999. This number is greater than the combined annual totals for 1993 to 1996.
Mr. Clappison:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many deportation orders were (a) signed and (b) enforced in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [78636]
Mr. Mike O'Brien
[holding answer 29 March 1999]: The information requested is given in the table. It should be noted that some deportation orders may not be immediately executable because of legal reasons, or other barriers to removal such as absconding, and that in some cases where a deportation order has been signed, it is later decided that deportation is no longer appropriate. The Government will further reduce the use of Deportation Orders under the Immigration and Asylum Bill by increasing the use of administrative removal.
| Deportation orders signed | Deportation orders enforced (7) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1,880 | 900 |
| 1997 | 1,200 | 820 |
| 1998(6) | 980 | 690 |
(6) 1998 data are provisional
(7) A deportation order enforced in one year may have been signed in an earlier year. It should be noted that some deportation orders may not be immediately executable because of legal reasons, or other barriers to removal such as absconding, and that in some cases where a deportation order has been signed it is later decided that deportation is no longer appropriate.
Note:
All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Methylamphetamine
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seizures of methylamphetamine have been made by (a) police and (b) HM Customs, in the last 10 years; and what was the total quantity seized. [79902]
Mr. George Howarth:
Figures for the number of seizures of methylamphetamine made by the police and Customs and submitted to the Forensic Science Service for analysis between 1995 and 1998 are given in the table. It should be noted that full information is not available for 1996 and 1997. Equivalent figures for earlier years
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can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Not all seizures of controlled drugs are necessarily submitted for analysis. Details of all seizures, whether analysed or not, can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Year | Number of seizures | Quantity seized |
|---|---|---|
| Police | ||
| 1995 | 12 | 309 grams, 1 tablet |
| 1996 | 7 | 23 grams, 25 tablets |
| 1997 | (April-December only) 34 | Less than 7 grams, 743 tablets |
| 1998 | 81 | 7.75 grams, 4,955 tablets (includes one seizure of 3,000 tablets and another of 400 tablets) |
| Customs | ||
| 1995 | Not available | Not available |
| 1996 | (July-December only) 1 | 0.96 grams |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 2 | 19.24 grams |
Source:
Forensic Science Service
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