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Sexual Offences
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will complete the review into sexual offences; and if he will list those offences which are under review. [109057]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Sex Offences Review should be completed in the spring. The review has been asked to review the sex offences in common and statute law in England and Wales. These are primarily contained in the
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Sexual Offences Acts 1956 and 1967, the Criminal Law Act 1977 and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The review is also looking at the offences of indecent exposure (Vagrancy Act 1824; Town Police Clauses Act 1847); indecency with children (Indecency with Children Act 1960); burglary with intent to rape (Theft Act 1968) and the prohibition on sexual intercourse with patients in the Mental Health Act 1959.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of asylum seekers whose applications for asylum were refused who (a) were removed from the United Kingdom as a result of enforcement action, (b) left the United Kingdom voluntarily after enforcement action had been initiated, (c) left the United Kingdom voluntarily otherwise than as a result of enforcement action and (d) absconded, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [109213]
Mrs. Roche:
The available information on asylum removals and voluntary departures is given in the table. As requested, the information provided relates only to enforcement action and therefore excludes removals and voluntary departures of port asylum applicants under port procedures. There are no estimates of the numbers of failed asylum seekers who depart voluntarily before enforcement action has been initiated.
| Removed | Departed voluntarily(15) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | (18)-- | (18)-- | 390 |
| 1993 | (18)-- | (18)-- | 580 |
| 1994 | 700 | 170 | 870 |
| 1995 | 1,000 | 290 | 1,290 |
| 1996 | 1,720 | 430 | 2,150 |
| 1997 | 2,340 | 710 | 3,060 |
| 1998 | 2,720 | 720 | 3,440 |
| 1999(17) | (18)-- | (18)-- | 2,750 |
(15) Covers only those persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated.
(16) Deportation and illegal entry action. Does not include removals and voluntary departures of port asylum applicants under port procedures.
(17) 1999 data are provisional.
(18) Data not available.
Note:
All figures are rounded to 10.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of asylum seekers held in detention. [108878]
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Mrs. Roche:
A total of 985 persons were detained in immigration detention centres and prison establishments in the United Kingdom solely under Immigration Act powers on 31 December 1999. This figure is not recorded in such a way as to identify those who had applied for asylum at some point.
The latest reliable snapshot of detained asylum seekers relates to those asylum applicants detained in immigration detention centres, prison establishments and police cells solely under Immigration Act powers as at 30 December 1998 for port applicants and 4 January 1999 for in-country applicants. On those dates, 741 such persons were recorded.
Mr. Tynan:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds will be made available to assist in the Asylum Seekers Dispersal Programme with regard to (a) recurring revenue and (b) capital costs to local authorities. [108877]
Mrs. Roche:
In England and Wales for the period 1 April--5 December 1999, local authorities may recover costs associated with supporting asylum seekers subject to unit cost limits of £140 per week for single adults and £240 per week for families. In addition, local authorities may reclaim a maximum of £10 per week for capital investment to bring accommodation on-stream. Financial arrangements for the period 6 December 1999 to 31 March 2000 are still being discussed with the Local Government Association.
In Scotland, local authorities will be able to reclaim at the rate of £165 per week per person in this financial year.
Where local authorities provide accommodation after 1 April 2000 for the National Asylum Support Service, this will be on the basis of a contract between the Home Office and the local authority or local authority consortia concerned.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the backlog of unprocessed asylum applications to be cleared. [109210]
Mrs. Roche:
We remain committed to meeting the White Paper targets of clearing the backlog of asylum applications by April 2001.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the responses to his Department's consultation document on the proposed financial bond scheme for visitors. [108882]
Mrs. Roche:
Responses to the consultation document are now being considered, and we shall make available an analysis of them in due course.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the cost of administering a financial bond scheme for visitors to the UK. [108881]
Mrs. Roche:
The cost of the proposed pilot scheme will be absorbed within departmental budgets. The costs of operating any scheme subsequent to the pilot could not be assessed until a decision were taken on whether to make the scheme more widely available.
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Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will make a statement on the introduction of a bond scheme for visitors to the United Kingdom under sections 12 and 13 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1999. [108883]
Mrs. Roche:
We intend to make an announcement about the results of the consultation process on the design of a pilot study for financial bonds for visitors under sections 16 and 17 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 in due course.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library all correspondence between his officials and the legal representatives of General Pinochet. [108872]
Mr. Straw:
I have placed in the Library a letter dated 24 January from a Home Office official to Senator Pinochet's legal representatives which was disclosed in the application brought by Belgium for permission to bring judicial proceedings against the Secretary of State. All the correspondence between my officials and Senator Pinochet's legal representatives which has been disclosed in the current judicial review proceedings is now available in the Library. I do not at present propose to make available any other correspondence.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on recent initiatives local authorities have taken to improve community safety. [107340]
Mr. Boateng:
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 requires local authorities, jointly with police, to lead local partnerships to tackle crime and disorder in their area. The strategies which the 357 partnerships in England and Wales have produced show clearly the wide range of initiatives being undertaken. Coventry City Council is to be congratulated on selection as a Beacon Council in the field of preventing crime and disorder in town and local shopping centres.
Mr. Edward Davey:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the cost of graffiti to public and private property owners over the past four years; what plans he has to tackle the problem of graffiti on public and private property; and what recent guidance he has given to paint spray manufacturers and retailers concerning age limits on the sale of their products. [109249]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
Graffiti is a form of criminal damage, which is recorded in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin--Notifiable Offences. According to the Recorded Crime Statistics covering England and Wales from October 1998 to September 1999, there were 908,585 offences of criminal damage. There is no sub-total for graffiti and it is not, therefore, possible to estimate the costs of graffiti over the past four years.
The Government take all forms of criminal damage seriously. Under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, where the value of the damage is more than £2,000, the
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maximum penalty is ten years imprisonment for those over 18 and over, and up to two years detention in a Young Offender Institution for those aged 15-17.
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