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Departmental Staff

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate total annual staff costs for his Department and its agencies by nation and region of the UK; and if he will make a statement. [6853]

Mr. Blunkett: Information on Home Office staff cost estimates for 2001–02 (including the Prison Service Agency, the Passport and Records Agency and the Forensic Science Service) by nation and region of the United Kingdom is provided in the table shown. >

£000

RegionTotal
Scotland8,886
North East86,484
Yorkshire and Humberside131,821
North West142,348
Merseyside28,672
West Midlands109,463
East Midlands104,497
Eastern110,802
Wales30,052
Northern Ireland2,177
London469,024
South East215,910
South West98,661
Total1,538,797

Asylum Seekers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number and proportion of asylum seekers to the UK who (a) are educated to (i) degree level, (ii) higher A-Level or equivalent level and (iii) Standard/GCSE or equivalent level, (b) are qualified as (i) doctors, (ii) nurses and (iii) teachers, and (c) have skills in high technology and IT related sectors; and if he will make a statement. [7002]

Angela Eagle: The information available is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only by examining individual case records and by consulting the asylum seekers themselves.

Departmental Spending

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the total annual running costs for buildings used, owned or rented by his Department for each nation and region of the UK, and estimate the average cost per sq m for properties used by his Department as a whole, and by region and nation of the UK. [6855]

Mr. Blunkett: The estimated running costs and average running cost per sq m for the Home Office (non-prison) estate by region and nation of the United Kingdom are as follows:

RegionEstimated running costs(31) (£000)Estimated average running cost per sq m(32) (£)
England
North East6,414234
North West12,217264
Yorkshire5,003280
East Midlands6,385376
West Midlands7,495115
East England2,688105
London45,227257
South East38,537220
South West352156
England total124,319225
Scotland3,734343
Wales2,366123
Northern Ireland486239
UK total130,906224

(31) Running Costs include the annual rental charge, rates, utility costs, cleaning, maintenance and security guarding

(32) The floor area figures used are net internal area


These figures do not include the Probation Estate, which became part of the Home Office estate on 1 April 2001. I will write to the hon. Member with these figures shortly.The figures for the Prison Service are collated by the 15 Prison Service Areas, 13 of which are regional. The other two areas are Female and High Security establishments.

Area(33)Estimated running costs(34) (£000)Estimated average running cost per sq m(35) (£)
East Midlands North2,75320
West Midlands3,29314
Manchester, Mersey and Cheshire3,68115
North East2,77521
Lancashire and Cumbria3,99621
Yorkshire and Humberside4,67716
East Midlands South3,28020
Thames Valley and Hampshire5,35626
Eastern4,75820
Kent, Surrey and Sussex6,43022
London3,84721
South West7,74328
Female Prisons4,08823
High Security Prisons5,50017
England total52,58920
Wales1,27714
UK total53,86620

(33) The figures relate to the Operational Directorate of the Prison Service and cover prison establishments. The Prison Service headquarters figures are included in the main Home Office figures.

(34) Running costs relate to rents, council tax, utilities and maintenance. Security guarding and cleaning are not identified separately on the Prison Service finance system. The figures do not include rates.

(35) Figures for the floor area are gross.


The difference in the running cost between the main Home Office and the Prison estates is due to the fact that most of the Prison Service estate is freehold, whereas most of the main Home Office estate is leasehold. Rent accounts for the major running cost expenditure in the figures for the main Home Office estate.

Crown Court Trials

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) either-way cases and (b) all cases heard in magistrates courts were sent to Crown court for sentencing in each of the last three years. [7852]

Mr. Keith Bradley: The available information, taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database, is shown in the table.

Numbers and percentages of defendants committed to the Crown Court for sentence by offence type—England and Wales 1999

Triable either wayAll offences
Number of defendants proceeded against479,9171,881,765
Number of defendants committed to the Crown Court for sentence19,32420,417
Percentage of defendants proceeded against who are committed to the Crown Court for sentence41

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of those who elected for trial in Crown court in either-way cases, including those found not guilty, had previous convictions. [7853]

Mr. Keith Bradley: Data from a sample of offenders sentenced during four weeks in 1999 show that 68 per cent. of those found guilty for a standard list offence at the Crown court had one or more previous convictions for a standard list offence. No data are available on whether those acquitted had previous convictions.

Refurbishment Projects

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) building and (b) refurbishment projects are planned by his Department in (i) the current year and (ii) the next financial year; and what the costs will be of each project. [6586]

Mr. Blunkett: The Department does not maintain central records of every building and refurbishment project. The following table lists currently planned Home Office, including Prison Service capital construction projects (individual projects estimated to cost over £2 million) split between private finance initiative (PFI) and non-PFI which covers the projects on-site or expected to be on-site in 2001–02 and 2002–03. The figures given are total costs, previous expenditure, and estimated expenditure in the current year and future years. The Department is not directly responsible for the construction costs of PFI projects and these costs have not been shown. Projects for non-departmental public bodies are not included. >

Project £000 at 2001–02 prices Total anticipatedComments (figures include for fees,
Projects costing over £2 millionFY 2001–02FY 2002–03Future yearsexpenditureVAT and contingencies
Collection Summary:
Prison Service (capital)27,71477,97860,993166,685
Immigration Service136,0003,1000139,100
National Police Training13,30015,33220,00048,632
United Kingdom Passport Agency85Planned expenditure not yet known
Total anticipated expenditure177,09996,41080,993354,417
PFI Projects:
Home Office Marsham StreetPFI contract not yet signed
Ashford PrisonPFI contract not yet signed
Peterborough PrisonPFI contract not yet signed
>
Home Office Prison Service
Aylesbury2,1312,1822,5816,894
Birmingham8001,711642,575
Brockhill/Hewell G3522,475562,883
Buckley Hall02,00002,000
Camp Hill1,3572,4855214,363
Cardiff01,7443652,109
Dorchester4981,932622,492
Downview3,0007,000010,000
Drake Hall02,0005002,500
Durham2,7281,9284,7730
Durham02,0327,6349,666
Eastwood Park02,6003002,900
Everthorpe2102,052552,317
Feltham07002,0002,700
Feltham01,3001,3002,600
Gartree2,3522,5948,3590
Gartree002,2252,225
Hull2,12411,00833613,468
Kirkham2003,567603,827
Leeds5002,2233003,023
Lincoln01,9092,1784,087
Long Lartin5202,0892,7445,353
National Programme8,77522509,000
Onley921,3914,2575,740
Pentonville03,0007,00010,000
Portland02,7507,88810,638
Preston03,5402,8316,371
Wakefield05,0151,8086,823
Wakesfield7,5007,500
Wandsworth1,7712,9171164,804
Wandsworth1,5001,5003,000
Wealstun5,0601,3206,380
Winchester3041,6096802,593
Winchester1,0881,1482,236
Ashford (PFI)Contract not yet signed
Peterborough (PFI)Contract not yet signed
Prison Service total27,71477,97860,993143,951
Immigration Service(36)
Immigration Service136,0003,1000139,100
Immigration Services total136,0003,1000139,100
National Police Training
Redevelopment Harrogate1,00015,00020,00036,000
Cmbran3,350913,441
Ryton8,9502419,191
National Police Training Total13,30015,33220,00048,632
Home Office
Marsham Street PFIContract not signed
United Kingdom Passport Agency
Relocation85Future expenditure not yet known
United Kingdom Passport Agency85000

(36) Information on the capital costs of individual projects is not divulged as it is commercially sensitive. The table sets out the total contractually committed expenditure for projects let by this office and relates to the Yarl's Wood, Harmondsworth, Dungavel and Oakington projects. (On both Harmondsworth and Yarl's Wood, there was significant expenditure during 2000–01 which is included in the figure shown in the 2001–02 column).