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Overseas Travel
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 28 February 2002, Official Report, column 1542W, if she will provide details of the (a) destination and (b) purpose of the overseas trip undertaken by a special adviser in her Department between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2001; and if she will provide a breakdown of the costs incurred on the stated trip, including (i) travel, (ii) accommodation and (iii) subsistence allowance. [62959]
Estelle Morris: A special adviser from my Department accompanied the then Secretary of State, David Blunkett to China in June 2000. The purpose of the visit was to consolidate and develop bilateral relations between China and the UK.
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For the costs incurred on the above trip I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 February.
Specialist Schools
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the criteria used to select specialist schools. [63079]
Mr. Miliband: The assessment criteria for specialist school applications are set out in published guidance. This is available to schools on request and can also be downloaded from the specialist schools website at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/specialistschools. Copies of latest edition of the guidance against which schools will make applications in October 2002 and March 2003 have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
European Languages Day
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department is taking to mark European Languages Day on 26 September. [60882]
Mr. Miliband: This Department, through the Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research (CILT), will be raising awareness of the day with the help of all the partners involved in last year's European Year of Languages. CILT are forming a working group to take this work forward. An award ceremony will take place on the day that will recognise about 12 innovative projects, ranging from primary school projects to adult education projects.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Entry Clearance
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against refusal of entry clearance were outstanding at the end of each (a) month since June 2001 and (b) June since 1997. [60830]
Beverley Hughes: Historical figures on the numbers of outstanding entry clearance appeals are not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Dungavel Detention Centre
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the only people who have been detained in Dungavel Detention Centre are those who (a) are subject to removal, (b) have committed an offence and (c) are regular absconders. [62699]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 18 June 2002]: The detention of those held in Dungavel House Removal Centre will have been considered in line with the published criteria referred to in the Government's 1998 White Paper "Fairer, Faster and Firmer". The criteria is as follows:
(a) where there is a reasonable belief that the individual will fail to keep the terms of temporary admission or temporary release; (b) initially to clarify a person's identity and the basis of their claim; or (c) where removal is imminent.
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Accommodation/Removal Centres
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the successful examples of the contracting out of the running of accommodation and removal centres referred to by him during the report stage of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, 11 June 2002, Official Report, column 767. [62702]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 18 June 2002]: Five removal centres have been contracted out successfully. These are Tinsley House to Wackenhut UK Ltd.; Dungavel to Premier Detention Services; Harmondsworth to Harmondsworth Detention Services Ltd.; Yarl's Wood to Group 4 Amey Immigration Ltd. and Campsfield to Group 4 Falk UK Global Solutions Ltd.
The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has also successfully entered into contracts with the private and public sector and social landlords to provide accommodation for asylum seekers who request accommodation and who are dispersed away from London and the south-east, thereby alleviating pressure on authorities in those areas.
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what have been the total salary costs of each of the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible in each of the last five years. [50292]
Beverley Hughes: Details of executive non- departmental public bodies' salary costs are available in each individual body's annual report. All annual reports are presented to Parliament and copies placed in the Library. The majority of bodies have also posted recent annual reports on their websites.
Asylum Seekers
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) Pakistan nationals and (b) Indian nationals have applied for asylum (i) on entry and (ii) after entry, in each of the last five years. [62288]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested is shown in the table.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000(15) | 2001(15) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals of India | |||||
| Total | 1,285 | 1,030 | 1,365 | 2,120 | 1,850 |
| Applied at port | 200 | 340 | 435 | 455 | 430 |
| Applied in country | 1,085 | 690 | 930 | 1,660 | 1,420 |
| Nationals of Pakistan | |||||
| Total | 1,615 | 1,975 | 2,615 | 3,165 | 2,810 |
| Applied at port | 645 | 950 | 925 | 865 | 625 |
| Applied in country | 970 | 1,025 | 1,690 | 2,300 | 2,185 |
(13) Figures rounded to the nearest five
(14) May exclude some cases lodged at local enforcement offices between January 1999 and March 2000
(15) Provisional figures
Information on asylum applications is published quarterly. The next publication will be available from 30 August 2002 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http:// www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1/html.
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Leave to Remain
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted exceptional leave to remain in Britain in each of the last five years for which statistics exist. [62292]
Beverley Hughes: The data requested are shown in the table.
| Granted ELR | Granted ELR under backlog clearance exercise | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3,115 | — |
| 1998 | 3,910 | — |
| 1999 | 2,465 | 10,195 |
| 2000(18) | 11,495 | 10,020 |
| 2001(18) | 19,510 | — |
(16) Figures are rounded to the nearest five, and exclude dependants
(17) Some cases decided under the backlog criteria may not be included, as they may be included in the figures showing cases considered under normal procedures
(18) Data are provisional
Information on initial decisions is published quarterly. The next publication will be available from 30 August 2002 on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ rds/immigration1.html.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against refusal of leave to remain in the UK were outstanding (a) at the end of each month since June 2001 and (b) since June 1997. [62380]
Beverley Hughes: Historical figures on the numbers of outstanding appeals against refusal of leave to remain in the United Kingdom are not recorded centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Genetic Modification
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the genetically modified animals whose creation has been authorised under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, indicating in each case the novel characteristics developed. [61089]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The production of genetically modified animals (as well as their use in experiments or other scientific procedures) is controlled under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The production and use of such animals allows new areas of medical and other scientific research to be explored: provides the potential for investigating a wide variety of conditions including cancer, cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis; and allows the quality of the science in many areas of research and testing to be improved. The Home Office does not maintain a central register of the lines produced of their physical characteristics. There are, however, a number of third party databases detailing genetically modified animals and their characteristics.
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