| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Non-UK Minors
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children not of UK
20 Jun 2002 : Column 529W
nationality have been brought into the UK for adoption by residents of the UK since the introduction of the Adoption (Inter-Country Aspects) Act 1999, broken down by nationality. [62213]
Beverley Hughes: The requested information is not currently available, as we do not identify children not of United Kingdom nationality brought into the United Kingdom for adoption separately in our statistics. This is currently under review to enable us to do so in the future.
There are only three sections of the Adoption (Inter-Country Aspects) Act that have been enacted at present. These provisions were enacted in advance of the main body to tighten controls on the assessment process as quickly as possible.
Immigration, Asylum and Citizenship Bill
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received from groups concerning the Immigration, Asylum and Citizenship Bill. [62201]
Beverley Hughes: We invited comments on the proposals in the White Paper, "Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain", and have placed copies of the 330 responses from organisations and individuals in the Library.
We did not undertake a formal consultation exercise when we introduced the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill. But we have received comments from a number of groups which we are taking into account during the Bill's passage through Parliament.
Youth Courts
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Department has to introduce (a) a hearings system and (b) an inquisitorial magistracy in youth courts. [60324]
Hilary Benn: We have no current plans to introduce an inquisitorial system in the youth courts, but are keen to investigate the possibility of pre-hearing arrangements.
Illegal Meat Imports
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment the Government have made of the potential use of illegal meat imports as a vehicle for bio-terrorism. [50441]
Mr. Morley: I have been asked to reply.
The Secretary of State for the Home Department is responsible for counter terrorism policy. The Government have a range of contingency plans in place to respond to terrorist threats including those from chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear agents. In relation to illegal imports of meat, my Department announced a Government action plan on 28 March to reduce the risks of illegal meat imports resulting in disease entering the UK.
20 Jun 2002 : Column 530W
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Legal Aid Solicitors
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will provide funding for the training of future legal aid solicitors. [62651]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Lord Chancellor has made £1.5 million available in this financial year to contribute to the costs of tuition fees and training contracts for prospective solicitors who undertake to carry out publicly funded work for at least two years after qualification. The Legal Services Commission (LSC) published a consultation paper "Developing Legal Aid Solicitors" on 12 June 2002. The paper sets out the details of two schemes which will provide support for up to 100 training contracts, and 100 LSC sponsorship grants, from September 2002. Copies of the paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Powers of Attorney
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the cost of fees to register powers of attorney over the last five years. [63119]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The fee for registering an Enduring Power of Attorney was set at £50 on 1 May 1990; at £75 on 1 October 1999; and at £220 on 17 April 2002.
Child Abductions
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many children have been abducted from the UK since 1 January. [62780]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Since 1 January this year, a total of 75 cases have been reported to the central authorities, under the Hague convention. The breakdown is as follows:
- 69 cases in England and Wales, involving 116 children;
two cases in Northern Ireland involving three children; and
four cases in Scotland involving five children.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much money has been spent on legal aid for asylum seekers in each of the last three years; how much of this was for the initial application; how much of this was for fighting appeals; how many asylum seekers were involved in legal aid procedures in both categories; and if he will make a statement. [46673]
Ms Rosie Winterton [pursuant to her answer of 7 May 2002, col. 68–69W]: In my original answer to the hon. Member's question I advised that total expenditure on immigration and asylum matters in 2000–01 was £88.3 million. This was incorrect and I apologise for this error. The true figure was in fact £81.3 million.
20 Jun 2002 : Column 531W
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Correspondence
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average response time was for responding to departmental correspondence; what percentage of letters took longer than one month for a response; and what percentage took longer than three months for a response in each of the last five years. [37447]
Mr. Straw: The information requested is not available. However the Cabinet Office publishes an annual report to Parliament on the volume of Members' correspondence received by Departments, and their performance against their service target. The Foreign and Commonwealth's service target is 20 working days. The report for 2001 was published on Friday 24 May. Copies of previous reports are available in the Library of the house. Figures for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for each year are as follows:
| Year | Total number of Members'correspondence | Percentage to in 20 working days |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 18,553 | 68.5 |
| 1998 | 19,493 | 66 |
| 2000 | 17,141 | 64 |
| 2001 | 18,551 | 78.5 |
Records of other correspondence received by my Department are not kept centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
I apologise to the hon. Member for the unacceptable delay in answering this question.
Computers
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many computers were replaced in his Department in each of the past three years; how the replaced units were disposed of and by which companies; and at what cost. [60732]
Mr. MacShane: Figures for the PCs disposed of in the UK over the last three years are as follows:
- 1999 PCs 488 Monitors 133
2000 PCs 150 Monitors 305
2001 PCs 180 Monitors 498.
Staff Numbers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff were employed by his Department on (a) 2 May 1997 and (b) 31 May 2002. [60894]
20 Jun 2002 : Column 532W
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 13 June 2002, Official Report, column 1402W.
Arms Trade
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his officials have had with the German Government regarding the re-export of MP5 submachine guns from Turkey to Indonesia by MKEK (Turkey) in 1999. [61986]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have had no such discussions with the German Government.
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his officials have had with other signatories to the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports on agreeing common standards for the re-export of small arms imported or transferred from non-EU countries. [61988]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: My officials have held no discussions with our EU partners about developing common standards specifically to control re-export from EU member states of small arms imported or transferred from non-EU countries. Such re-exports are covered by EU member states' arms export control legislation, and licence applications for such re-exports are subject to assessment against the EU code of conduct in the same way as other arms export licence applications, providing the same level of control as for any other arms exports.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |