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Immigration
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people resident in Reading, East became UK citizens in 2001. [74759]
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Beverley Hughes: 90,2951 persons were granted British citizenship in the United Kingdom in 2001. Corresponding information on grants to persons in particular constituencies is not available, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have entered the UK for the purposes of (a) visiting, (b) study,
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(c) economic activity, (d) family reunion and (e) humanitarian protection in each year since 1997. [73748]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested on how many persons have entered the United Kingdom (UK) as visitors, students, for employment related and family reunion purposes are given in the table. The figures given exclude passengers who are not subject to immigration control, i.e. European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and Commonwealth citizens who have the right of abode in the UK.
| Purpose of journey | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visitors | 7,760,000 | 8,040,000 | 8,370,000 | 8,930,000 | 8,170,000 |
| of which: Business visitors | 1,530,000 | 1,530,000 | 1,600,000 | 1,770,000 | 1,610,000 |
| Students | 278,000 | 266,000 | 272,000 | 313,000 | 339,000 |
| Employment related | 145,000 | 161,000 | 173,000 | 179,000 | 186,000 |
| of which: Work permit holders (including dependants) | 62,975 | 68,385 | 76,010 | 91,825 | 108,825 |
| Working holidaymakers | 33,300 | 40,800 | 45,800 | 38,400 | 35,800 |
| Au pairs | 15,295 | 15,880 | 14,645 | 12,870 | 11,985 |
| Domestic workers | 15,640 | 15,825 | 14,890 | 14,290 | 10,465 |
| Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent, who are seeking or taking employment | 8,350 | 10,220 | 11,785 | 10,930 | 10,635 |
| Seasonal agricultural workers1 | 9,275 | 9,450 | 9,760 | 10,105 | 8,390 |
| Investors | 25 | 15 | 25 | 50 | 25 |
| Family reunion | 28,570 | 34,705 | 32,780 | 36,065 | 33,410 |
| of which: Admitted as a spouse or fiance(e) | 26,385 | 32,165 | 30,320 | 32,970 | 29,100 |
| Dependants2 | 2,185 | 2,545 | 2,460 | 3,095 | 4,310 |
Notes:
P Data are provisional
1 May be an underestimate of those who work as seasonal agricultural workers as they may enter through other admission categories.
2 Excludes those children granted settlement on arrival as it is not possible to separate those travelling independently for family reunion from those travelling with their parents. However, in each of the five years shown these total no more than 1,800.
Figures are rounded to the nearest five or to three significant figures
No data are currently available for the number of persons who have entered the UK for the purpose of humanitarian protection. It is not possible to provide information on how many asylum seekers entered the UK in any given period, because some arrive clandestinely and subsequently apply for asylum in-country rather than on arrival at UK ports. Others may enter legally with visas as visitors, or under another immigration status, and subsequently claim asylum.
The table below shows the number of applicants who applied for asylum in the UK, both at port and in-country, in each year between 1997 and 2001.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applications received | 32,500 | 46,015 | 71,160 | 80,315 | 71,365 |
| Applied at port | 16,590 | 23,345 | 29,455 | 25,935 | 25,210 |
| Applied in-country | 15,915 | 22,670 | 41,700 | 54,380 | 46,160 |
Notes:
P Data are provisional
1 May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices between January 1999 and March 2000. Excludes Kosovars evacuated from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia under the humanitarian operation which began in April 1999 who were granted exceptional leave for 1 year, and a number of grants of temporary exceptional leave given to Kosovars who arrived in the United Kingdom outside the evacuation programme, other than those who applied for asylum whilst in the UK. As at July 2000 the majority of those Kosovars who had arrived under the humanitarian evacuation operation had returned to (FRY) Former Republic of Yugoslavia.
Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
Ronald Biggs
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect the marriage of a prisoner to a foreign national has on the rights of (a) the marriage partner and (b) existing children to (i) remain in the United Kingdom, (ii) hold a British passport and (iii) obtain British citizenship. [73533]
Beverley Hughes: If the prisoner is not, himself, a British citizen or a person settled in the UK, then his status would not confer any entitlement on his spouse and children to remain in the UK. Providing that adequate funds were available, his spouse and children could seek leave to enter the UK for short periods to visit him in prison.
If the prisoner is a British citizen or person settled here, a foreign national marrying him would be able to apply for leave to remain here on the basis of the marriage. The application would be considered on its merits, taking into account the following factors:
- the length of the sentence;
- whether the marriage is subsisting and the sponsor (that is the prisoner) supports the application and intends to resume co-habitation on release;
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- whether the spouse is able to maintain and accommodate herself and any dependants without recourse to public funds, given that the sponsor is in prison.
Any dependent children (under 18) could apply for leave to enter or remain in line with the conditions of the spouse.
Marriage to a British citizen does not confer automatic British citizenship on a foreign national. The requirements for naturalisation must still be met, although they are less demanding than for naturalisation of someone not married to a British citizen.
A legitimate child born overseas to a British citizen father and non-British citizen mother may be a British citizen from birth, whilst an illegitimate birth overseas to such parents would usually mean that the child was not a British citizen. However, if the parents of an illegitimate child subsequently marry, and the law of the country in which the father is domiciled legitimates 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.
A person would not be entitled to hold a British passport without first obtaining British nationality.
Passport and Records Agency
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Passport and Records Agency intends to publish its annual accounts for 2001–02. [75393]
Beverley Hughes: The Passport and Records Agency Accounts 2001–02 has been published today and copies of the Report have been placed in the Library.
DEFENCE
Unpaid Advisers
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of the unpaid advisers appointed by him and his predecessor since June 1997, stating in each case (a) the date of their appointment, (b) the duration of their appointment and (c) the project or projects on which they have been engaged. [43377]
Dr. Moonie [holding reply 25 March 2002)]: No unpaid advisers have been appointed by Defence Ministers since June 1997.
For details of unpaid appointments made by the Ministry of Defence to task forces, review groups and other ad hoc advisory groups, I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer provided by my hon. Friend for Shipley (Mr. Leslie) on 16 November 2001, Official Report, columns 895W–96W.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many overseas visits have been undertaken by
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parliamentary private secretaries in his Department at departmental expense in each of the last four years; and at what cost to public funds. [36810]
Dr. Moonie [holding answer 25 February 2002]: Parliamentary Private Secretaries supporting Ministers in this Department have travelled overseas on Government business on three occasions. As military transport was used no additional costs were incurred. All travel complied with the requirements of the Ministerial Code.
Age Discrimination
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is towards age discrimination. [42581]
Dr. Moonie: The Ministry of Defence integrated age into its equal opportunity policy some years ago and the Department has a commitment that there should be no unfair discrimination on the basis of age. Action on diversity has and will continue to tackle any negative attitudes, particularly through the training and development of managers and through the monitoring of recruitment, selection and appraisal statistics.
The Ministry of Defence, like other Departments, has reviewed its age retirement policy in light of the Government's commitment to tackle ageism in the workplace as set out in the Code of Practice for Age Diversity in Employment published in 1999 and in the Performance Innovation Unit's Report ''Winning the Generation Game''. The review concluded that there should be no change. In the MOD, some two-thirds of the workforce have the option to retire anytime between the age of 60 and 65.
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