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Immigration Rules

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will repeal paragraph 297(e) and (f) of the Immigration rules. [93519]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: There are no plans to do so.

Carer Policy BDI 2/95

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has reviewed the carer policy BDI 2/95. [93451]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: Yes. Details of the revised policy are set out in the Immigration Directorates' Instructions, a copy of which is in the Library, and is also available on the internet.

Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 7 July 1998, Official Report, column 427, on what criteria decisions to waive fines under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987 are made. [93449]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: The criteria for waiving charges are contained in Appendix A of the publication entitled "Charging Procedures. A Guide for Carriers", commonly known as the "Green Guide", a copy of which is in the Library. In addition, charges are normally waived in respect of passengers arriving without documents from stations with Approved Gate Check (AGC) Status. The criteria for AGC status are contained in section 7 of the "Green Guide". Charges are also waived in respect of inadequately documented passengers who are granted full refugee status in accordance with the 1951 United Nations Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees, as described in section 5 of the "Green Guide". Charges are also not imposed where a false document is produced unless the falsity of the document is reasonably apparent nor where a carrier is able to show that the required documents were produced to them when the passenger embarked for the United Kingdom.

Elections (Ballot Papers)

Mr. Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many tendered ballot papers were issued in (a) the 1997 General Election, (b) the 1999 European Election and (c) the 1999 and 1998 local elections. [93216]

Mr. George Howarth: In Great Britain, lists of tendered votes issued at general elections are retained by the Clerk of the Crown and, unless ordered by the House of Commons or the High Court, are destroyed after 12 months. Lists compiled at the European Parliamentary elections are retained by the local returning officer for 12 months and lists compiled at local elections are retained by the proper officer of the authority for six months and then, unless directed by order, respectively, of the High Court, or a county court or election court, are destroyed. The lists of tendered votes for the 1997 and 1998 elections are thus no longer available but those for the 1999 elections are available locally for inspection.

In Northern Ireland, where figures are kept centrally, 77 tendered votes were issued at the 1997 general election and 40 at the 1999 European Parliamentary election. No ordinary local elections were held there in 1998 or 1999.

Hunting Ban

Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what discussion he (a) has had (b) intends to have with animal welfare groups about the disposal of hounds used for hunting, following the introduction of a ban on hunting; [93488]

Mr. George Howarth: Representations have been received from hon. Members, members of the public and various organisations which support or oppose hunting. These include two Parliamentary petitions between May and December 1997, two in 1998 and 30 in 1999.

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No meetings have taken place between Home Office Ministers and either representative associations or animal welfare groups concerning the disposal of hounds. There are currently no plans for such meetings to be staged, nor have there been any such approaches for meetings.

Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his estimate of the number of hounds used for hunting; [93525]

Mr. George Howarth: We are actively considering ways of taking forward the issue of hunting and assessing the effects of any ban. The right of peaceful assembly will be taken into account, along with any exceptions and wider implications.

Various estimates of the number of horses and hounds used for hunting have been provided by organisations which support or oppose hunting.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Benefit Claimants (Hammersmith and Fulham)

Mr. Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims from residents living in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham for (a) incapacity benefit, (b) income support and (c) disability living allowance were received in each calendar month of this year; how many were (i) agreed and (ii) refused; and if he will make a statement. [92105]

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Mr. Bayley: The administration of benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Iain Coleman, dated 26 July 1999:



    The information is not available in the format requested. The Benefits Agency (BA) collects IS and IB claim statistics by BA district areas and DLA statistics by Disability Benefit Centre areas. These areas do not reflect constituency boundaries or Local Authority areas.


    The information that is available is provided in the attached annex.


    I hope that this is helpful.

Incapacity Benefit (IB) claims received/processed

IB claims receivedIB claims awardedIB claims refused
Ealing District
January 1999470114316
February 1999581161356
March 1999593132377
April 1999418----
May 1999426118290
June 1999502126391
Palace District
January 199944076271
February 199952661292
March 199955298297
April 1999455----
May 199942391266
June 1999453151352

Income Support (IS) claims received/processed

IS claims receivedIS claims awardedIS claims refused
Ealing District
January 1999931736268
February 19991,138840342
March 19991,136780347
April 19991,118865300
May 19991,028775292
June 19991,091804268
Palace District
January 19991,203776348
February 19991,252802384
March 19991,395972427
April 19991,188849310
May 19991,085772277
June 19991,154804272

Notes:

1. The Palace District comprises of the offices of Crystal Palace, Dulwich, Fulham, Kensington and Peckham.

2. The Ealing District comprises of the offices of Ealing, Acton, Notting Hill and Southall.

3. Figures for IB awards and refusals in April 1999 are not available because a system report was not received by DSS Analytical Services Division and it has not been possible to obtain a reprint.


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Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claims received/processed

DLA claims receivedDLA claims awardedDLA claims refused
Sutton DBC
January 19993,2271,7481,849
February 19993,7531,7071,883
March 19994,7511,9332,164
April 19993,9141,9302,124
May 19993,6131,6271,823
June 19993,9161,8281,787

Notes:

1. Sutton DBC covers a large part of South East England, including the whole of Hammersmith and Fulham.

2. Data relative to specific geographical areas is not routinely kept.

3. As at 31 May 1998 there were 4,338 people resident in Hammersmith and Fulham in receipt of DLA. Figures for May 1999 are not yet available.

4. The number of claims on which a decision is issued in a monthly period may not equate to the number of claims received. This is because a number of uncleared claims may have been carried forward form a previous statistical period. The information is provisional and may be subject to change.



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