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Proportional Representation
15. Mr. Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he had made of the use of proportional representation at elections in the United Kingdom. [126133]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government believe that an electoral system should be appropriate to the body being elected. The proportional voting systems used to elect the European Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Greater London Authority have resulted in those bodies being broadly representative of the people they serve.
Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) (No. 2) Bill
18. Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the police and magistrates on the Criminal Justice (Mode of Trial) (No. 2) Bill. [126136]
Mrs. Roche: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has received considerable support from all three police associations and the Magistrates Association for the measures which are in the Bill.
Asylum Seekers
19. Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress is being made in speeding up decisions on applications from asylum seekers. [126137]
Mrs. Roche: We are committing substantial new resources to speed up the asylum system. We have recently recruited 270 extra asylum decision-makers and a further 350 are due to be recruited this year. We are thoroughly overhauling processes across the system from end-to-end and across directorate and departmental boundaries. Decisions are currently well exceeding the number of new applications.
The number of decisions has significantly increased since the beginning of the year reaching over 11,000 in March, the highest monthly total ever recorded.
21. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons are registered as asylum seekers in the United Kingdom; and how many were registered (a) five and (b) 10 years ago; and if he will make a statement. [126139]
Mrs. Roche: The number of asylum applicants awaiting an initial decision at the end of April was 94,540. The comparable figure for the end of December 1994 was 55,255 and at the end of December 1989 was 12,240. The backlog of asylum cases is being progressively reduced and we are on course to make a substantial reduction by April 2001.
28. Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers, while in detention, (a) attempted suicide and (b) committed suicide in (i) 1996-97, (ii) 1997-98 and (iii) 1998-99. [126147]
Mrs. Roche: While the overwhelming majority of immigration detainees have claimed asylum at some point, it would be possible to distinguish them from non- asylum seeking detainees only at a disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
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The number of recorded attempts at self-harm by immigration detainees are as follows:
- (i) April 1996-March 1997: 14 attempts
- (ii) April 1997-March 1998: 20 attempts
- (iii) April 1998-March 1999: 23 attempts.
There were no incidents of suicide by immigration detainees between 1996 and 1999.
30. Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are made on private landlords seeking to house asylum seekers. [126149]
- 37. Miss Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what checks are made on private landlords seeking to house asylum seekers. [126156]
Mrs. Roche: Both private and public housing providers were invited to participate in the tendering process for providing accommodation for asylum seekers. With regard to private sector companies, we conducted thorough reviews which included an assessment of the potential provider's financial standing, suitability and quality of accommodation and support service infrastructure. In addition, we consulted the relevant regional consortia to ensure that local circumstances were taken into account and that the provider was suitable.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what priority will be given to cluster areas with (a) less than 1 per cent. ethnic minority populations and (b) low levels of public housing in the dispersal of asylum seekers. [127235]
Mrs. Roche: In researching cluster areas and deciding where asylum seekers might best be dispersed, the National Asylum Support Service has drawn on a number of sources for information about towns and cities across the United Kingdom. This includes census information and population data. Ethnic minority population and communities are taken into account in decisions on cluster areas, although there is no requirement to take account of a population of less than 1 per cent. specifically. The availability of accommodation is clearly a prime factor in the development of cluster areas. This may be either public housing or private housing.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account will be taken of seasonal factors that affect the availability of accommodation in seaside resorts when determining the dispersal of asylum seekers; and if he will make a statement. [127236]
Mrs. Roche: A number of factors in cluster areas affect the availability of accommodation and its suitability. The National Asylum Support Service aims to take all these factors into account when considering cluster areas and dispersal. As regards seaside resorts, the Home Office is in touch with relevant local authorities and with the British Resorts Association to look at the account that needs to be taken of specific characteristics of seaside areas.
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average number of dependants per asylum seeker included in new asylum applications received in the UK. [126814]
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Mrs. Roche: Applications for asylum to the United Kingdom are recorded on behalf of the principal applicant only and totalled 71,160 in 1999. It is estimated that the total was 91,200, including dependants.
Virtual Police Stations
20. Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will introduce virtual police stations across the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [126138]
Mr. Charles Clarke: I have no plans to introduce virtual police stations. Two research projects are being undertaken by the police with the assistance of the Home Office Research Award Scheme. One project is an examination of the mechanics for delivering police service on the internet and its likely impact. The other project is assessing the strategy of development of the use of electronic communication to increase police, and other agencies, contact with the public.
Most forces maintain informative websites on the internet.
Police Human Resources Policies
22. Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent guidance he has given to chief officers of police in relation to human resource policies within the forces. [126140]
Mr. Charles Clarke: Guidance on human resource policies has recently been issued on: Police Training: The Way Forward (May 2000); Crime Fighting Fund recruitment scheme (May 2000); Pensions (two circulars in March 2000); Tenure of police officers seconded to the National Crime Squad (May 2000); Police Health and Safety (May 2000); Auditing Organisational Culture within the Police Service Police (April 2000); and, Special Constables: Eligibility for recruitment (April 2000).
Hunting with Dogs
23. Mr. St. Aubyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's estimate of the impact on police resources as a result of an introduction of a ban on hunting with dogs. [126141]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We will be consulting with the police on the implications to them of the legislative options contained in the proposed Bill on hunting with dogs.
Prison Population
24. Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there are per 100,000 of the population in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany and (d) the Netherlands; and if he will make a statement. [126142]
Mr. Boateng: The available information is given in the table. It should be noted, however, that comparisons between penal statistics from different countries may be misleading due to differences in criminal justice systems,
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the types of sanctions available to the judicial authorities and the length of prison sentences imposed by the courts and served by offenders.
| Country | Rate(6) per 100,000 population in 1999 |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 123 |
| England and Wales(7) | 125 |
| Scotland(8) | 118 |
| Northern Ireland | 69 |
| France | 89 |
| Germany(9) | 95 |
| Netherlands | 75 |
(6) Based on estimates of national populations
(7) At 31 August
(8) Average daily population
(9) 1998 figures
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