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Asylum Seekers

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate his Department has made of the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors who went missing in the UK in (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001, broken down by (i) nationality, (ii) age at disappearance and (iii) gender. [29677]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 24 January 2002]: The Home Office does not centrally record information on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors who have gone missing in the United Kingdom, and no estimate has been made on this number.

Information on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors in 1999 and 2000, broken down by nationality, is published in the annual statistical bulletin "Asylum Statistics 2000", a copy of which is available in the Library, and from the Home Office

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Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. Annual figures for 2001 are not yet available.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how notification of appellants' representatives will take place under the rules contained in SI, 2001, No. 4014; by whom; at what point after promulgation by the adjudicator or tribunal of their determination this will happen; if an appellant is detained at the same time as service of the determination on them, what instructions there are to notify representatives of the fact; and whose responsibility it will be to do so. [27511]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 16 January 2002]: Appellants' legal representatives will be notified of determinations by Immigration and Nationality Directorate staff. For those served by post, a copy of the determination will be sent to the representative at the same time as the determination is sent to the appellant. In the case of determinations served in person, representatives will be notified by fax, normally on the same day, but in any case within 24 hours. It is for the appellants to advise their legal representatives that they have been detained, should they wish to do so.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the purpose is of the new asylum procedure rules in S.I., 2001, No. 4014 in regard to failed asylum appeals where (a) a certificate has been upheld and (b) leave has been refused to appeal to the IAT; which agency will be instructed to carry out service; what instructions have been given and are proposed to be given on (i) method of service, (ii) timing of service, (iii) entry/and search of premises, (iv) detention and (v) removal; and where those instructions will be published. [27510]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 16 January 2002]: The rules provide for asylum appeal determinations in cases where the appellant has no further statutory right of appeal to be sent to the Home Office by the Immigration Appellate Authority for service on the appellant. The purpose of this is to reduce the opportunity for absconding at this stage by enabling the Home Office to serve the determination in person where appropriate.

Service is undertaken by the Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate either by post or in person. Almost all determinations will be served within 48 hours of receipt in the Home Office: the remainder will be served within a further six weeks, to be exceeded only in exceptional circumstances. No new powers relating to entry, search, detention or removal arise from these rules.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the expected time delay is between the date of the determination of the adjudicator or tribunal and the date of service of the decision on the failed appellant under the rules contained in S.I., 2001, No 4014; and what the usual period of delay is between the date of the determination in a successful appeal and the sending of full refugee status papers to a successful appellant. [27513]

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Angela Eagle [holding answer 16 February 2002]: We anticipate that almost all determinations received by the Home Office under these rules will be served within 48 hours. The remainder will be served within a further period which would exceed six weeks only in exceptional circumstances.

There have been delays in implementing allowed appeals but additional resources have now been provided and the majority of cases should now be being processed within 24 days of the date of determination.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy that no removals will take place following service of the determination without (a) prior and reasonable notice being given to the appellant's representative and (b) the appellant being given the opportunity to receive legal advice following the introduction of S.I., 2001, No. 4014. [27512]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 16 January 2002]: Appellants' legal representatives will be notified of determinations at the same time as appellants for those served by post, and on the same day or within 24 hours for those served in person. The decision to obtain legal advice is a matter for the individual concerned but is open to appellants at that stage.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason a copy of the Procedure Rules relating to S.I., 2001, No. 4014 has not been placed on the HMSO website. [27515]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 16 January 2002]: A copy of the rules was placed on Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) website on 4 January 2002.

Prisoners (Wrongful Convictions)

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many funding applications have been received to operate aftercare services for wrongfully convicted prisoners; and what procedures have been used to assess them. [39695]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 1 March 2002]: We have received one unsolicited application. No procurement exercise has been undertaken.

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress the working party considering aftercare for wrongfully convicted prisoners has made; and if he will make a statement. [39696]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 1 March 2002]: Proposals for a support and advice service are being finalised by officials. Ministers will be considering these proposals shortly.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the instances in which his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or after the agreed credit period in the financial year 2000–01. [32032]

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Angela Eagle: Instances where the Home Office, its agencies or non-departmental public bodies failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or paid after the agreed credit period in the 2000–01 financial year were:

	Percentage
Main Home Office	11.4
Agencies	6.9
Non-departmental public bodies	10.9

Arthur Andersen

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost to his Department has been of services provided by (a) Andersen and (b) Accenture, Anderson Consulting for (i) accountancy services, (ii) consultancy work and (iii) other work in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [32104]

Angela Eagle: My Department has not used the services provided by (a) Andersen (b) Accenture or Andersen Consulting for either accountancy or consultancy work since 1997.

Departmental Events

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by his Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in each of the last four years, giving the title, purpose, date and cost of each. [34179]

Angela Eagle: Information is not held centrally on sponsored events run on behalf of the Department on non-departmental premises.

A breakdown of expenditure on this basis could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Prisoners (Wales)

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many male prisoners from Wales are held in prison in England, broken down by offences for which they are held. [37119]

Beverley Hughes: Information can be provided only on the basis of a prisoner's court of first committal as home address is not consistently recorded on central records.

Offence	Number of male prisoners committed in Wales currently in custody in England
Violence against the person	402
Sex offences	245
Burglary	290
Robbery	155
Theft and handling	125
Fraud and forgery	13
Drug offences	191
Other offences	189
Offence not recorded	7

The information given is for 31 January 2002 when there were altogether 3,358 male prisoners in England and Wales who were committed in Wales. There were 63,814 male prisoners in total.

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