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15 Oct 2002 : Column 748W—continued
Personal Data
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have personal data relating to fingerprints or DNA stored on national police computers; and what percentage of these records relate to individuals who are (a) not criminals and (b) not suspected of any criminality. [74585]
Mr. Denham: On September 2002 the total number of profiles held on the National DNA Database was 1,884,450. Of these there were 55,032 profiles marked as acquitted. These were all taken under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) from all those charged with or informed they will be reported for a recordable offence, but against whom the prosecution was not proceeded with or who were subsequently acquitted by the courts.
The total number of fingerprints on the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) was 5,213,106 on 3 October 2002. Currently if a prosecution is not proceeded with or a person is acquitted by the courts, the fingerprint record is weeded from NAFIS once the result is recorded on the Police National Computer. In light of the changes in the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, further proposals are under consideration in relation to the system to allow for the retention of fingerprints on NAFIS in such cases.
The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 changes to PACE have been subject to Judicial Review. On 12 September 2002 the Court of Appeal ruled on the cases of S & Marper v. Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police that the new legislation did not breach the European Convention on Human Rights.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times the revised certificate he signed last December with respect to section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 has been used by the Security Service in relation to the disclosure of personal data to the Service; and if he will make a statement. [74583]
Mr. Blunkett: None in legal proceedings.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 June 2002, Official Report, column 1306W outlining circumstances in which the Security Service might provide an explanation of the operation of section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 and a copy of the revised certificate.
ID Cards
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the response of the Information Commissioner to his consultation concerning his recent proposals for ID/entitlement cards; and if he will make a statement. [74485]
Beverley Hughes: In line with the Government's code of practice on written consultations, all comments received on the consultation paper published by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 3 July may be published unless the person or organisation submitting them asks for them not to be.
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The consultation period closes on 10 January 2003. A response from the Information Commissioner has not yet been received. The Commissioner's office has confirmed that there would be no objection to placing a copy of its response in the Library and this will be done when it is received.
Immigration
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria his Department follows for (a) initiating deportation proceedings under the Immigration Act 1971 and (b) initiating denaturalisation proceedings under the British Nationality Act 1981. [74750]
Beverley Hughes: A person who is not a British citizen is liable to deportation on the grounds that this would be conducive to the public good, or if another person to whose family he belongs is being deported (limited to the spouse and any minor dependent children of the person being deported). He or she may also be deported following a recommendation made by a court under section 3(6) of the Immigration Act 1971.
Before any decision to deport is taken, all relevant factors are taken into account, including: age; length of residence in and strength of connections with the United Kingdom; personal history, including character, conduct and employment record; domestic circumstances; criminal record; compassionate circumstances; and any representations received on the person's behalf (paragraph 364–367 of the Immigration Rules (HC395 as amended)).
The criteria for deprivation of citizenship are set out in section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981. The grounds are that the person either obtained his nationality by fraud, has shown himself to be disloyal or disaffected towards Her Majesty, has unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy in time of war, or has been sentenced within five years of becoming British to at least 12 months imprisonment.
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the handling of the application for indefinite leave to remain by Irena Iotova Nikolova (C1059475) of Taunton. [74326]
Beverley Hughes: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate notified Mrs. Nikolova's representatives on 1 October 2002 that she had been granted indefinite leave to remain. A letter was enclosed apologising for both the delay in resolving her case and the administrative failures which resulted in the original application being erroneously refused. I echo those apologies.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the number of illegal refugees entering Britain in each of the last five years; [74486]
- (2) What estimate he has made of the number of refugees who have (a) entered Britain illegally, (b) remained in Britain after being refused asylum and (c) been given exceptional leave to remain in Britain after their asylum application has failed in each of the last five years. [74395]
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Beverley Hughes: The number of principal asylum applicants granted exceptional leave to remain in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years is given in the table.
| Year | Grants of ELR 1 , 2 | Granted ELR under clearance backlog exercise |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 3,115 | — |
| 1998 | 3,910 | — |
| 1999 | 2,465 | 10,195 |
| 2000 | 11,475 | 10,020 |
| 2001(p) | 21,175 | — |
Notes:
Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
1 includes reconsideration cases in 2000 or 2001 where an asylum decision by the Secretary of State is later required to be reconsidered as a result of additional information or significant changes in current circumstances and country information.
2 Data for 2000 may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria.
(p) Data are provisional and subject to change.
I regret that there are currently no estimates of the number of persons who have entered Britain illegally or remained in Britain after being refused asylum. The Research Development and Statistics Directorate of the Home Office has commissioned research to look at the methodology of sizing the illegal population and is due to report next year.
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many organisations, broken down by region and nation, have been approved for registration or exemption by the office of the Immigration Service Commissioner. [74142]
Beverley Hughes: As of 1 October 2002, the number of organisations registered with, or exempted by, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) was as follows:
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| Northern Ireland | Organisations registered with the OISC | Organisations exempted by the OISC |
| County Antrim | 1 | 16 |
| County Down | 1 | 7 |
| County Armagh | 0 | 3 |
| County Tyrone | 0 | 3 |
| County Fermanagh | 0 | 1 |
| County Derry | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 31 |
15 Oct 2002 : Column 752W
| Wales | Organisations registered with the OISC | Organisations exempted by the OISC |
|---|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | 0 | 1 |
| Bridgend | 0 | 1 |
| Caerphilly | 0 | 1 |
| Cardiff | 0 | 7 |
| Carmarthenshire | 0 | 3 |
| Ceredigion | 0 | 2 |
| Conwy | 0 | 1 |
| Denbighshire | 0 | 1 |
| Flintshire | 0 | 2 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 0 | 1 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 0 | 1 |
| Monmouthshire | 0 | 4 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 0 | 3 |
| Newport | 1 | 2 |
| Pembrokeshire | 0 | 2 |
| Powys | 0 | 3 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taff | 0 | 3 |
| Swansea | 0 | 2 |
| Torfaen | 0 | 1 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 0 | 3 |
| Wrexham | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 45 |
Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the time limits on early clearance certificates placed in passports abroad start from when the visa is granted and is given an early clearance certificate stamp. [73793]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
From 2 October 2000, entry clearances have conferred leave to enter. Leave to enter the United Kingdom is considered to commence on the ''valid from'' date on the entry clearance and not from the date of arrival in the United Kingdom.
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