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Asylum Seekers Accommodation Centres

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the initial sites for possible asylum accommodation centres were identified; which outside consultants were involved in the process; and how much they were paid. [42654]

Beverley Hughes: The initial sites for accommodation centres were identified through a programme of searches involving major landowners, including other Government Departments, for properties that met a set of criteria. This included looking for sites with the capacity to cater for several hundred residents plus facilities either as new-build or conversion, a non-urban location and a reasonable geographical spread beyond the south east of England. This work was supported by property consultants Lambert Smith Hampton and planning consultants CgMs Consulting.

The information relating to fees paid to external consultants cannot be divulged as this is subject to commercial confidentiality.

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Civil Penalty Charges

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil penalty charges, established under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, have been issued; and how many clandestine entrants have been found in lorries, since 22 February. [69694]

Beverley Hughes: Since the implementation of penalty provisions for road vehicles on 3 April 2000 and as at 31 March 2002, a total of 1,429 penalties have been imposed in respect of 7,516 clandestine entrants.

Between 22 February 2002 and up to 31 March 2002 for which the latest information is available, a total of 267 clandestine entrants have been found concealed in road vehicles arriving at Dover.

Right of Entry

Mr. Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account is taken of whether a child was conceived within a lawful marriage overseas in determining right of entry to the United Kingdom to join a parent who is a British national. [69733]

Beverley Hughes: Under the Immigration Rules, a child aged 18 or under can be granted entry to join one parent in the United Kingdom, provided that the other parent is dead or that the parent here had had sole responsibility for their upbringing. A parent is defined as the father as well as the mother of an illegitimate child (where he is proved to be the father).

Illegitimate birth overseas to a British citizen father and non-British citizen mother would usually mean that the child was not a British citizen. However, discretion within the British Nationality Act 1981 can be used to register as a British citizen the illegitimate child of a British citizen father. Also, if the parents of an illegitimate child subsequently marry, and the law of the country in which the father is domiciled legitimises a child of the relationship upon the parents' marriage, the child will be treated as having been born legitimate. The child would then be regarded as a British citizen from birth and would be entitled to enter and remain freely in this country.

Asylum Applications

Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many duplicate applications for asylum have been detected through matching fingerprints since 1993. [69308]

Beverley Hughes: Some 6,700 individuals have been detected as having made two or more applications through the matching of fingerprints since 1993.

Passport Service

Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the UK Passport Service will publish its annual report and accounts for 2001–02. [71806]

Beverley Hughes: The United Kingdom passport service annual report and accounts 2001–02 has been published today and I am pleased to say that copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

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Israeli Embassy and Balfour House Bombings

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conclusions the British scientists investigating the 1994 Israeli Embassy and Balfour House bombings reached on (a) the type and amount of explosive and mechanism used in the bombings, (b) where the explosives were made up, (c) where the car bombs were assembled, (d) who wrote the letters claiming responsibility and (e) who drove the cars; and what reports were received from Israeli scientists following removal of samples from the sites. [67862]

Mr. Blunkett: An appeal to the House of Lords is pending in relation to these events. Since the matter is therefore sub judice it would not be right for me to comment.

Terrorist Organisations

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those terrorist organisations that make use of anti-coagulant as part of their armoury; and if he has undertaken liaison work with the Department of Health on this issue. [68334]

Mr. Blunkett: We do not disclose information on the weaponry or capability of any terrorist organisation, but we monitor the terrorist threat to the United Kingdom closely and remain vigilant, taking all necessary precautions. I liaise closely with my right hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on these matters.

In addition, Home Office officials are in regular contact with officials from the Department of Health and other Government Departments on all aspects of counter- terrorist contingency planning.

Terrorism

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made as a result of the initiatives undertaken since September in the fight against terrorism; how much expenditure his Department has incurred in pursuing the fight against terrorism in the financial year 2001–02; and if he will make a statement. [69188]

Mr. Blunkett: By 11 July, 137 people had been arrested since 11 September 2001 under the Terrorism Act 2000. In addition, 11 people have been detained under Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. Two of those have since left the United Kingdom voluntarily. It would not be appropriate, for security reasons, to publish details of Home Office expenditure on counter-terrorism.

International Sikh Youth Federation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received concerning the banning of the International Sikh Youth Federation. [68016]

Mr. Blunkett: The organisation itself has made representations to the proscribed organisations appeal commission. In addition, I have received a small number of letters from members of this House, and from the public.

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Parliament Square Demonstrations

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contingency plans (a) there are and (b) are being developed to prevent demonstrations on Parliament Square from disrupting traffic and endangering pedestrians. [62169]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 17 June 2002]: Demonstrations in the area of the Palace of Westminster are subject to the Sessional Order, and policing arrangements for any demonstration always take into account the need to maintain the safety of the public. The policing is the operational responsibility of the Commissioner.

England Fans

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many England fans were banned and prevented from visiting Japan and Korea for the 2002 World Cup; how many such fans were found to have travelled to Japan or Korea; how many England fans were deported from Japan or Korea, and for what offences they were deported; and if he will make a statement. [69946]

Mr. Denham: 1,053 people were prevented from travelling to the World Cup by the conditions of their football banning orders. One individual subject to a banning order attempted to enter Japan but was intercepted by the Japanese immigration authorities and returned to England. No England fans were deported from Japan and Korea for misbehaviour but two individuals were deported by the Japanese Immigration Bureau following revocation of their landing permission. In accordance with commitments given during passage of the Football (Disorder) (Amendment) Act 2002, a detailed report on the World Cup security operation, including the impact of football-related legislation, will be submitted to Parliament on receipt of closing information from the Japanese authorities.

Criminal Records Bureau

Rachel Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Criminal Records Bureau will publish its annual report and accounts for 2001–02. [71807]

Hilary Benn: The criminal records bureau annual report and accounts for 2001–02 have been published today, and I am pleased to say that copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representations he has received from (a) potential umbrella registered bodies and (b) others concerning the financial implications of operating as such a body with the Criminal Records Bureau; and if he will make a statement; [30530]

(2) if he will provide funding to assist umbrella registered bodies with additional costs incurred in setting up an office and processing applications from volunteers to the Criminal Records Bureau; [30529]

(3) how many organisations have registered as umbrella registered bodies with the Criminal Records Bureau; and what the Bureau's original estimate was. [30528]

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Mr. Denham: We have been determined that employers and organisations wishing to use the Criminal Records Bureau's service will have a ready means of access. To meet the needs of those employers and organisations which do not wish to register with the Bureau in their own right, we have encouraged others to consider acting on their behalf, as umbrella bodies. It would have been inappropriate to plan on the basis of a pre-determined target number of umbrella bodies. As at close of play on 2 July, some 852 organisations had been registered as umbrella bodies.

Higher-level disclosures will be issued free of charge to volunteers. A number of representations have been made by potential umbrella registered bodies and others. We are not persuaded that it would be appropriate for additional Government funding to be made available for the purpose of establishing umbrella bodies.

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