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Police (Upminster)

21. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the level of police resources in Upminster. [21125]

Mr. Denham: The Commissioner tells me that at the end of October Havering division had 323 police officers. This is 26 more than in December 2000. The Havering division also had 83 civilian support staff at the end of October.

In addition, the borough benefits from central and specialist services such as the territorial support group, traffic officers and specialist crime units, which are not budgeted for at borough level.

17 Dec 2001 : Column: 78W

Asylum Seekers

22. Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy not to extend the asylum seekers' identity cards to the population as a whole. [21126]

Angela Eagle: The Government have no plans to extend to the population as a whole the Application Registration Card which will shortly be issued to asylum seekers.

31. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made on his targets for the (a) deportation and (b) removal of failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants. [21135]

Angela Eagle: The current Service Delivery Agreement target relating to the removal of failed asylum seekers from the United Kingdom is to remove 30,000 in 2001–02; 33,000 in 2003–04; and 37,000 in 2003–04. The totals include dependants.

The 30,000 target for this year has always been ambitious and high risk. To enable us to reach and exceed 30,000 removals a year by 2003, we need to remove about 2,500 people a month. It remains our aim to achieve this monthly total by March 2002.

Published figures are not yet available for non asylum removals but there have been 5,330 asylum removals from April to September including 570 dependants.

35. Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum applicants have been removed from the country in the last 12 months. [21139]

Angela Eagle: There have been 5,330 asylum removals 1 from April to September including 570 dependants 2 .

Information on the number of asylum removals is published on a quarterly basis. The next set of data will be published on 28 February 2002 on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration 1.html.



Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he has granted permission to the Angel Development Corporation to house asylum seekers at the Centrex site at High Ercall, Shropshire; [19747]

17 Dec 2001 : Column: 79W

Angela Eagle [holding answer 4 December 2001]: The Angel Group is under contract to the National Asylum Support Service to provide accommodation for asylum seekers. Any discussions that have taken place have related to the services provided under that contract.

My officials are currently looking at a number of potential sites for use as accommodation centres but no decisions have yet been made on individual sites to be used.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many places are being sought to accommodate asylum seekers around the country; and how many have so far been filled; [19743]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 4 December 2001]: It is intended to establish a number of accommodation centres for asylum seekers, with a total capacity of 3,000, in order to trial the new approach set out in the Home Secretary's statement of 29 October. No decisions have yet been made about the location of the centres.

In 2002 the Home Office will run competitions for the development and operation of sites to be used as accommodation centres for asylum seekers. The criteria for the award of any contracts that might result from the competitions have yet to be determined.

No maximum capacity for individual accommodation centres has been set. The capacity of individual sites will depend on a number of issues, including the availability of existing accommodation and the availability of land for development.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's policy is towards asylum seekers from Zimbabwe in spring 2002. [22474]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 12 December 2001]: All asylum claims made by Zimbabwean nationals are considered under the terms of the 1951 United Nations convention relating to the status of refugees. The Home Office, in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, closely monitors the situation in Zimbabwe. A country assessment on Zimbabwe is produced by the Home Office and published on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's website. The assessment was revised in October 2001 and will be revised again in April 2002, taking into account the latest situation in Zimbabwe, particularly the presidential election that is due to be held there by April 2002.

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what locations the asylum seekers who left Cardiff prison last month were dispersed. [22184]

Angela Eagle: During the week commencing 12 November the remaining 20 immigration detainees held at Her Majesty's Prison Cardiff were transferred to Immigration Service detention facilities: 18 were transferred to Harmondsworth Detention Centre and two were transferred to Campsfield House Detention Centre.

17 Dec 2001 : Column: 80W

Legal Migration

24. Mr. Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide controlled legal migration routes into the UK. [21128]

Angela Eagle: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary made reference to his plans for sensible, controlled legal migration routes into the United Kingdom in his statement to the House of Commons on 29 October. Details of an entry programme for highly skilled migrants were announced in a reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs. Ellman) on 13 December 2001, Official Report, columns 1010–11W. Further details of specific managed migration policy proposals will be included in a White Paper to be published early in the new year.

Prison Service

26. Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the quality of management in the prison service. [21130]

Beverley Hughes: Evidence shows that performance in the Prison Service has been increasing year upon year. A key factor in this improvement is the overall quality of management in the Prison Service.

Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act

27. Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision he has made for the internment without trial of persons covered by the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. [21131]

Mr. Blunkett: None. No one is being interned. The provisions are allowing extended detention for suspected international terrorists who threaten national security and for whom there is no immediate prospect of removal requiring a limited derogation from European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) article 5 providing protection for the public and sending a strong signal to others.

Banning Order Appeals

28. Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals have been held against banning orders under existing anti-terrorist legislation in the last six months. [21132]

Mr. Blunkett: Since the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations)(Amendment) Order 2001 came into force on 29 March, there have been five applications to the Home Secretary for deproscription.

Four of those applications have so far been refused:


One application is still under consideration:


Three organisations have appealed to the Proscribed

Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC):


17 Dec 2001 : Column: 81W

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