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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

Region	Total
Scotland	8,886
North East	86,484
Yorkshire and Humberside	131,821
North West	142,348
Merseyside	28,672
West Midlands	109,463
East Midlands	104,497
Eastern	110,802
Wales	30,052
Northern Ireland	2,177
London	469,024
South East	215,910
South West	98,661
Total	1,538,797

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:

Region	Estimated running costs(31) (£000)	Estimated average running cost per sq m(32) (£)
England
North East	6,414	234
North West	12,217	264
Yorkshire	5,003	280
East Midlands	6,385	376
West Midlands	7,495	115
East England	2,688	105
London	45,227	257
South East	38,537	220
South West	352	156
England total	124,319	225
Scotland	3,734	343
Wales	2,366	123
Northern Ireland	486	239
UK total	130,906	224

⁽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 North	2,753	20
West Midlands	3,293	14
Manchester, Mersey and Cheshire	3,681	15
North East	2,775	21
Lancashire and Cumbria	3,996	21
Yorkshire and Humberside	4,677	16
East Midlands South	3,280	20
Thames Valley and Hampshire	5,356	26
Eastern	4,758	20
Kent, Surrey and Sussex	6,430	22
London	3,847	21
South West	7,743	28
Female Prisons	4,088	23
High Security Prisons	5,500	17
England total	52,589	20
Wales	1,277	14
UK total	53,866	20

⁽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 way	All offences
Number of defendants proceeded against	479,917	1,881,765
Number of defendants committed to the Crown Court for sentence	19,324	20,417
Percentage of defendants proceeded against who are committed to the Crown Court for sentence	4	1

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 anticipated	Comments (figures include for fees,
Projects costing over £2 million	FY 2001–02	FY 2002–03	Future years	expenditure	VAT and contingencies
Collection Summary:
Prison Service (capital)	27,714	77,978	60,993	166,685
Immigration Service	136,000	3,100	0	139,100
National Police Training	13,300	15,332	20,000	48,632
United Kingdom Passport Agency	85	—	—	—	Planned expenditure not yet known
Total anticipated expenditure	177,099	96,410	80,993	354,417
PFI Projects:
Home Office Marsham Street	—	—	—	—	PFI contract not yet signed
Ashford Prison	—	—	—	—	PFI contract not yet signed
Peterborough Prison	—	—	—	—	PFI contract not yet signed
>
Home Office Prison Service
Aylesbury	2,131	2,182	2,581	6,894
Birmingham	800	1,711	64	2,575
Brockhill/Hewell G	352	2,475	56	2,883
Buckley Hall	0	2,000	0	2,000
Camp Hill	1,357	2,485	521	4,363
Cardiff	0	1,744	365	2,109
Dorchester	498	1,932	62	2,492
Downview	3,000	7,000	0	10,000
Drake Hall	0	2,000	500	2,500
Durham	2,728	1,928	4,773	0
Durham	0	2,032	7,634	9,666
Eastwood Park	0	2,600	300	2,900
Everthorpe	210	2,052	55	2,317
Feltham	0	700	2,000	2,700
Feltham	0	1,300	1,300	2,600
Gartree	2,352	2,594	8,359	0
Gartree	0	0	2,225	2,225
Hull	2,124	11,008	336	13,468
Kirkham	200	3,567	60	3,827
Leeds	500	2,223	300	3,023
Lincoln	0	1,909	2,178	4,087
Long Lartin	520	2,089	2,744	5,353
National Programme	8,775	225	0	9,000
Onley	92	1,391	4,257	5,740
Pentonville	0	3,000	7,000	10,000
Portland	0	2,750	7,888	10,638
Preston	0	3,540	2,831	6,371
Wakefield	0	5,015	1,808	6,823
Wakesfield	—	—	7,500	7,500
Wandsworth	1,771	2,917	116	4,804
Wandsworth		1,500	1,500	3,000
Wealstun	—	5,060	1,320	6,380
Winchester	304	1,609	680	2,593
Winchester	—	1,088	1,148	2,236
Ashford (PFI)	—	—	—	—	Contract not yet signed
Peterborough (PFI)	—	—	—	—	Contract not yet signed
Prison Service total	27,714	77,978	60,993	143,951
Immigration Service(36)
Immigration Service	136,000	3,100	0	139,100
Immigration Services total	136,000	3,100	0	139,100
	National Police Training
Redevelopment Harrogate	1,000	15,000	20,000	36,000
Cmbran	3,350	91	—	3,441
Ryton	8,950	241	—	9,191
National Police Training Total	13,300	15,332	20,000	48,632
Home Office
Marsham Street PFI	—	—	—	—	Contract not signed
United Kingdom Passport Agency
Relocation	85	—	—	—	Future expenditure not yet known
United Kingdom Passport Agency	85	0	0	0

⁽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).

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