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HOME DEPARTMENT
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to require all correspondence sent to IND to be acknowledged. [145457]
Mrs. Roche: The Home Office's service delivery agreement for 2001-04, which commits all Home Office directorates, including the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), to replying to 95 per cent. of public correspondence within 20 working days by the end of 2001-02, does not require that such correspondence also be acknowledged. However, it is the policy of IND's integrated casework directorate to acknowledge the receipt of applications and other casework-related correspondence where an acknowledgement is requested.
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many files under the control of IND went missing in each of the last five years; and how many of these subsequently have been found. [145458]
Mrs. Roche: The information is not available in the format requested. At present, out of a total file holding of approximately 4.1 million, 15,855--or less than 0.4 per cent.--are recorded as lost. 7,507 of these have become lost since 1 January 1996 and have not yet come to light.
Many of the files recorded as lost have had new sub-files created on which action has continued.
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve the response times of IND to correspondence. [145459]
17 Jan 2001 : Column: 267W
Mrs. Roche: The Home Office's published service delivery agreement for 2001-04 commits all Home Office Directorates, including the immigration and nationality directorate (IND), to replying to 95 per cent. of public correspondence within 20 working days and 95 per cent. of ministerial correspondence within 15 working days by the end of 2001-02. Improving performance against published targets for dealing with correspondence will be a key aim of the customer communications foundation project, which will form part of the SIRIUS programme for modernising business processes across the Home Office, including IND.
IND has established two dedicated ministerial correspondence units within its integrated casework directorate in order to improve the service provided to MPs on casework-related correspondence.
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in the introduction of the casework programme of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate; and if he will make a statement. [144494]
Mrs. Roche: I refer my hon. friend to the first part of my answer to his question on 23 November 2000, Official Report, column 293W.
Human Rights Act
Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the guidance his Department issues to Government Departments on the effects of the Human Rights Act 1998. [144196]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The principal published guidance is:
- Guidance for Departments (developed by the Cabinet Office Constitution Secretariat);
- Core Guidance for Public Authorities (produced by the Human Rights Task Force); and
- Putting Rights Into Public Service (produced by the Human Rights Task Force).
Probation Service
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) probation officers and (b) probation service officers retired, per service, in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [145699]
Mr. Boateng: The centrally available information is as follows:
(32) January-June
17 Jan 2001 : Column: 268W
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) probation officers and (b) probation staff (i) were recruited, (ii) retired, (iii) resigned and (iv) were dismissed, in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [145701]
Mr. Boateng: The available information is as follows:
| Number of staff | ||
|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | Recruited(33) | Retired |
| 1996 | 277 | 223 |
| 1997 | 337 | 107 |
| 1998 | 561 | 170 |
| 1999 | 722 | 122 |
| 2000(34) | (35)-- | 50 |
(33) Recruited
(34) January-June
(35) Not available
Note:
Information is not collected centrally on the categories 'dismissed' or 'resigned', nor is any information available centrally on recruitment etc. for probation staff as a whole.
17 Jan 2001 : Column: 269W
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total case load undertaken by probation services was and what the average case load per probation officer was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [145698]
Mr. Boateng: The information is as follows:
| Number of persons | ||
|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | Total case load (Thousand)(36) | Case load per officer(37) |
| 1995 | 161 | 25.0 |
| 1996 | 171 | 27.7 |
| 1997 | 185 | 31.1 |
| 1998 | 204 | 34.4 |
| 1999 | 218 | 36.6 |
(36) At 31 December
(37) Per maingrade probation officer (whole-time equivalent of maingrade probation officers, excluding temporary and trainee, on fieldwork duties at 31 December). Excludes community service orders.
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time probation officers were in post (a) in each of the last five years and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available. [145700]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested is as follows:
| England and Wales | Number |
|---|---|
| 1995(38) | 6,994 |
| 1996(38) | 6,817 |
| 1997(38) | 6,631 |
| 1998(38) | 6,624 |
| 1999(38) | 6,920 |
| 2000(39) | 6,772 |
(38) Includes temporary and trainee staff. The 1995 figure includes Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire as at 30 June 1995.
(39) December
(40) June
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