| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Police Numbers
Mr. Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to allocate the £35 million for extra police officers to each police authority. [95753]
Mr. Straw: The money will be allocated through the Crime Fighting Fund. Forces in England and Wales will be invited to bid for the money. Bidding guidance is being prepared and will go out shortly.
Deportations
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he proposes to take to deport from the United Kingdom those whose (a) immigration appeals and (b) asylum applications have failed. [95446]
Mrs. Roche: The Government have made clear their commitment to remove from the United Kingdom those persons who have no lawful basis of stay; this includes people whose immigration appeals have failed and who do not otherwise qualify to remain.
In order to effect a person's removal or deportation, it is often necessary to overcome a number of barriers such as a lack of documentation, further representations, absconding or the refusal of the person's home country to accept them back. The Immigration Service has instituted a range of measures aimed at addressing these difficulties and streamlining the process as a whole. Among the steps already taken are the establishment of a specialist documentation unit to liaise with issuing authorities, the tasking of a dedicated absconder tracing team and bilateral discussions with source countries.
In addition, the Immigration and Asylum Bill currently before Parliament contains a range of measures to tackle delays in the removal of failed asylum seekers and others whose appeals have been dismissed. These include provisions to create a new combined appeal process that will limit the scope for failed applicants to make successive appeals aimed solely at frustrating removal, a simplified administrative procedure to replace deportation in routine cases and procedures to restrict the activities of bogus representatives. Immigration officers involved in enforcement activity are also to be given enhanced powers to assist them in tracing absconders and others liable to removal and a new offence of using deception to avoid, postpone or revoke enforcement action will be created.
Mr. Malins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the last three years, how many deportation orders have been (a) made and (b) carried out. [95449]
Mrs. Roche:
The information requested is given in the table. It should be noted that some deportation orders cannot be enforced immediately, either for legal reasons or because of other barriers to removal such as absconding. There are also cases where a deportation order has been signed, but it is later decided that deportation is no longer appropriate.
28 Oct 1999 : Column: 964
| Deportation orders signed | Deportation orders enforced (11) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1,890 | 900 |
| 1997 | 1,210 | 820 |
| 1998 | 1,000 | 700 |
(10) 1998 figures are provisional
(11) A deportation order enforced in one year may have been signed in an earlier year
Note:
All figures are rounded to the nearest ten
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the efficiency of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate Headquarters in Croydon. [95681]
Mrs. Roche: In March, my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office (Mr. O'Brien), established a recovery project to identify and implement measures to bring the output of the Integrated Casework Directorate (ICD) back to acceptable levels. We are now seeing the effect of these measures. Since mid-September, overall weekly output has exceeded the average weekly level prior to reorganisation. ICD is taking forward a range of initiatives to improve productivity further so it can meet the targets set out in the Government's White Paper and to reduce the backlogs. Around 340 staff have already been recruited for Croydon and there are plans to recruit a further 200. A detailed business plan is being developed to enable the Directorate to deploy its resources to maximum effect.
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time taken by (a) the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and (b) himself to respond to hon. Members' letters on immigration matters. [95448]
Mrs. Roche: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington), on 25 October 1999, Official Report, column 687.
Jill Dando
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions he has discussed the Jill Dando murder inquiry with the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis; and if he will make a statement. [96269]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Ministers have no involvement in the conduct of this inquiry; it is an operational matter for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
State Visits (Policing)
Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what guidelines are issued to the Metropolitan Police on the screening of protestors from the sight of invited members of Governments during state visits to the UK; [96045]
28 Oct 1999 : Column: 965
Mr. Wilkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will require the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to report to his Department the number of occasions and the circumstances in which police vehicles have been used to screen peaceful demonstrators from the sight of state visitors to the UK during his term of office as Commissioner. [96047]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
I am advised by the Metropolitan Police that the deployment of vehicles in front of demonstrators is a tactic which would only be used when the proximity of demonstrators to Her Majesty the Queen or other protected persons, or the behaviour of demonstrators, was such that it was felt necessary to employ the tactic to ensure the security of the protected persons.
As far as can be ascertained, the only occasion during Sir Paul Condon's term of office on which it was felt necessary to employ this tactic during a State Visit was during the recent visit by the President of China. On one occasion, demonstrators had taken up a position without prior arrangement with police; on a second, missiles were thrown; and on a third, demonstrators broke through crowd control barriers.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations his Department has made to Cambridgeshire Constabulary about the policing of the state visit of the President of China. [96233]
Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what instructions he gave to the Metropolitan Police regarding the prohibition of peaceful protests during the state visit of the President of China. [96042]
Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research, and at what cost, is currently being carried out into less potentially lethal alternatives to the plastic baton round. [95894]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Home Office's Police Scientific Development Branch keeps a watching brief on "less-than-lethal" weapons which may be in use or under development in other parts of the world and keeps the police service informed of what it learns, but neither the Branch nor the police service have identified any alternatives to plastic baton rounds (other than CS, which remains available) which appear to merit extensive evaluation. A new design of plastic baton round which offers increased accuracy of aim is currently being developed under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, and the Northern Ireland Office.
28 Oct 1999 : Column: 966
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has assessed of the effects of mandatory drug tests in reducing crime rates. [95816]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The options for introducing drug testing at various points in the criminal justice system are currently being assessed. This will include consideration of the evidence base for the contribution the testing can make to reducing drug related crime.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to revise the level of fees charged by the Passport Agency. [96055]
Mrs. Roche:
No decision has been taken on any passport fee increase. Fees are currently being reviewed, and various options are under consideration.
(2) what guidelines are issued to the Metropolitan Police on the removal of placards and flags from peaceful demonstrators during state visits to the UK. [96046]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |