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Missile Defense
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria will govern whether the United Kingdom joins the United States Administration's missile defence programme. [1773]
Mr. Hoon: The US has not yet decided how it will seek to proceed with missile defence and has not put forward specific proposals for UK involvement. We have made clear that we would consider any such proposals carefully, in the light of circumstances at the time.
Aston Down
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will publish the date of the offer and the amount received by his Department from Serco for the purchase of the MOD site at Aston Down; [1349]
- (2) what proposals his Department has for the future use of MOD Aston Down. [1350]
Dr. Moonie: The former Defence Storage and Distribution Centre at Aston Down, which closed on 31 March, is surplus to requirements and is currently on the market for sale by public competition. The site is being advertised in the property press and the closing date for bids is 24 August. It has not been sold to Serco.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Strip Searches
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in upgrading the prisoner database; and what response has been given to the recommendation of the Searches on the Person Review concerning the statistical recording and monitoring of strip searches. [978]
Beverley Hughes: The Prison Service management board is to consider a proposal for upgrading the prisoner database—local inmate database system (LIDS)—later this year. The proposal for LIDS is to put the existing database onto a more modern computer system to improve sustainability and operational flexibility.
The requirement for statistical recording and monitoring of strip searches has been submitted to the Prison Service information technology (IT) provider, to consider whether inclusion in the LIDS upgrade is the most appropriate way of meeting this requirement.
3 Jul 2001 : Column: 99W
Asylum Seekers
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers whose application for asylum has been refused have been moved from their settled address to another area while their appeal is dealt with since the setting-up of NASS. [1124]
Angela Eagle: This information is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only through examination of individual case records.
As a matter of policy and practice, the national asylum support service (NASS) will move an asylum seeker it is supporting from their settled address only if the asylum seeker has requested it or there are exceptional circumstances which necessitate moving the asylum seeker.
Asylum seekers transferring to support from NASS because they have received a negative decision on their application or because they have reached the age of 18 will normally be moved from their current accommodation into NASS accommodation unless there are overriding reasons for supporting them in their existing accommodation.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the asylum support stakeholder group to meet; and if he will make a statement about its role. [1123]
Angela Eagle: The aim of the group as originally constituted was to act as a consultative forum at the time the asylum support scheme to be administered by the national asylum support service (NASS) was being set up. The asylum support stakeholder group has not met since NASS went live on 3 April 2000.
Currently, responsibility for formation of stakeholder groups rests with individual local authority regional consortiums responsible for asylum support issues.
Plans are being made to establish a new national forum on asylum support for consulting with interested parties.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications have been (a) rejected and (b) rejected as a result of being incorrectly completed in each year since 1995. [1469]
Angela Eagle: Information on the number of initial decisions to refuse refugee status from 1995 to 2000 is given in the table. Data on the number of refusals resulting from incorrectly completed applications are unavailable. However, such cases fall into the category of non- compliance, covering, for example, failure to provide further evidence as required, failure to respond to invitations to interview and failure to complete a statement of evidence form correctly or within the time allowed. Data on non-compliance are included in the table.
My hon. Friend may also be interested to know that in May 2001 79 per cent. of initial decisions were upheld on appeal.
3 Jul 2001 : Column: 100W
| Refusals(11) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Total | Non-compliance |
| 1995 | 21,300 | 2,085 |
| 1996 | 31,670 | 2,015 |
| 1997 | 28,945 | 3,615 |
| 1998 | 22,315 | 2,995 |
| 1999(12) | 11,025 | 1,085 |
| 2000(12) | 76,850 | 26,630 |
(11) All data have been rounded to the nearest five
(12) Data for 1999 and 2000 are provisional, and exclude decisions made under backlog criteria
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it remains his policy to end the use of prisons to hold asylum seekers by October. [1466]
Angela Eagle: The Government remain committed to their long-term strategy of reducing the use of prison accommodation to hold immigration detainees. However, even in the long term, for reasons of geography, security and control, there will continue to be a need to hold some detainees in prisons. The use of the dedicated detention facilities managed by the Prison Service at Haslar, Rochester and Lindholme does not at present have a set duration. The temporary use of 500 additional places made available by the Prison Service in a number of local prisons is being reviewed and the timing of the withdrawal of immigration detainees from these prisons is the subject of discussions with the Prison Service.
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the percentage of substantive family applications which received an initial decision within two months in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement; [1599]
- (2) what was the average time taken for an initial decision to be made on asylum applications by single applicants without dependants in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [1598]
Angela Eagle: Information regarding the average time taken to make an initial decision is not available for the whole of 2000.
Nearly two thirds (63 per cent.) of new substantive family applications lodged in the period of 1 April 2000 to 31 December 2000 had an initial decision within two months.
The average time taken for an initial decision to be made on asylum applications by applicants without dependants for decisions made in the period of October to December 2000, was 14 months.
Information on the average time taken to make an initial decision, separately identified for family and single applicants is not available for 1998 and 1999.
Miss Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of asylum applications included dependants in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [1597]
Angela Eagle: The information is given in the table. This information for 1998 and 1999 is published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletins "Asylum Statistics",
3 Jul 2001 : Column: 101W
copies of which are available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/ immigration1.html.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 13 |
| 1999 | (14)20 |
| 2000 | (14)10 |
(13) Percentages are based on the cases for which the information is recorded
(14) Provisional figures
HMP Garth/HMP Wymott
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on reductions in the number of prison officers at HMP Garth and HMP Wymott. [2022]
Beverley Hughes: As part of the substantial settlements which the Prison Service received from the Treasury under the comprehensive spending review and spending review 2000, the service is required to deliver 1 per cent. cashable efficiency savings each year on its baselines. Following studies by the Prison Service's management consultancy service, the governors of Garth and Wymott are seeking to agree with the Prison Officers Association a package of efficiency measures including regrading and civilianisation. The proposed reduction at Wymott is 18 prison officer posts and at Garth 10 officer and two senior officer posts, to be partly offset by increases in civilian staff and operational support grades. The governors are satisfied that these changes can be introduced without endangering the safety of staff or prisoners or the security of the establishments.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase the monitoring of the running of HMP Garth and HMP Wymott. [2024]
Beverley Hughes: All prison establishments are regularly monitored by area managers against over 40 key performance targets, and the deputy director general personally reviews performance monthly. Area managers visit every establishment at least eight times a year and therefore there are no plans to introduce monitoring for Garth and Wymott over and above the current level already provided.
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