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Immigration and Nationality

Telephone Enquiry Bureau

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many telephone calls were made by the public to the Immigration and Nationality Telephone Enquiry Bureau in each year since 1997; and what the average response time was for each year. [90850]

Beverley Hughes: The Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau answered 959,812 calls from members of the public during 2002. Data are not available prior to 2002 because the telephone equipment in use at that time was not able to provide data that differentiated between calls received from members of the public and those from Members of Parliament or other Government Departments and agencies.

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The average response time during 2002 for those held in the queue was four minutes and 44 seconds for callers on the General Enquiry line, 25 seconds for callers on the Application Forms line and five minutes and nine seconds for those on the National Asylum Support Service line.

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff worked at the Immigration and Nationality Telephone Inquiry Bureau in (a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000, (e) 2001 and (f) 2002; and what the average level of days absent was in each year. [90988]

Beverley Hughes: Records are available for the years from 2000. The number of full-time equivalent staff employed in the Immigration and Nationality Telephone Enquiry Bureau was 127 in April 2000, 101 in April 2001 and 110 in April 2002.

Data are not recorded in terms of absenteeism. Sickness absence for the Home Office is recorded and published by the Cabinet Office.

Immigration Reception Centre, Oakington

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applicants are resident at the Immigration Reception Centre at Oakington. [89798]

Beverley Hughes: In order to maximise the impact of the non- suspensive appeal provisions, Oakington has since 7 November 2002 taken only claimants from the 10 EU accession states (Cryprus, the Czech Republic, Eatonia, Hungary, Lativa, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia) listed as 'safe in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002'. Claims from these countries will be refused and certified as clearly unfounded, generating a non-suspensive appeal (NSA) right, unless the Home Secretary is satisfied they are not.

In these cases, applicants are detained at Oakington for their decision and until removal, unless it is judged necessary to transfer them to secure detention. The daily intake at Oakington has so far been dependent on claims from persons entitled to reside in these 10 countries. Numbers dropped significantly in December 2002 and have so far remained low in January 2003.

As a result, from 12 January 2003 Oakington has resumed a level of intake from the list of 40 previous nationalities from the Oakington suitable list. This will enable us to make best use of Oakington while retaining the flexibility to give absolute priority to the 10 nationalities at present covered by the NSA process and to wider use of that process at present under consideration.

On 10 January 2003 32 people were detained at the centre.

Operation Street Cred

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his assessment is of Operation Street Cred on the Wirral. [90897]

Mr. Denham: Further to my answer to my hon. Friend of 19 September 2002, I am advised by Merseyside Police that a formal review of Operation

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Street Cred will be undertaken shortly. I understand that local feedback from the public has been positive and Merseyside Police believe Operation Street Cred has contributed to a significant decrease in reported youth disorder since its introduction in June 2002.

Over-stayers

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many over-staying visa-holders have been given exceptional or other leave to remain in each of the last five years; whether such leave implies a right for dependants to join them; and what call on public funds such persons are entitled to make. [91251]

Beverley Hughes: There are no data available on how many over-staying visa-holders have been given exceptional or other leave to remain. The requested information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.

Where a person is granted exceptional leave to remain, family members would normally qualify to join them only after that person has been in the United Kingdom for four years. Applications may be considered before that point, but entry clearance for dependants will only be granted where there are compelling compassionate circumstances.

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons who do not have leave to remain in the United Kingdom are resident in each county in England. [91253]

Beverley Hughes: Information is not available on the number of persons unlawfully present in particular counties in England (nor is there any information available about the total number in the UK as a whole).

However, the Home Office has commissioned a study which considers methods of estimating the size of the illegal population. At present, there is no defined method for estimating the size of the illegally resident population in the UK.

Police Authority Funding

Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of funding will come from (a) the precept, (b) Government revenue settlement, (c) other Government grants and (d) other income for each police authority in England and Wales in the financial year 2003–04. [91101]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 16 January 2003]: The overall provision for policing that will be supported by grants in 2003–04 is £9,683 million. This is an increase of 6.2 per cent. or £566 million over the provision for 2002–03. The proportion of funding from the police precept, Government grants and other income is not yet available. Police authorities have until 1 March 2003 to set precept levels for 2003–04.

Police Retirements

Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the expected retirement rate is for uniformed officers in each Police Authority area over the next five years. [91079]

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Mr. Denham: This information is not collected centrally. Overall retirements from the police service are expected to rise, reflecting historic patterns of recruitment to the service.

Postcodes

Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what use his Department and its agencies make of postcode areas for (a) the collection and publication of data, (b) devising formulae for the distribution of grants and awards and (c) the delivery of services; and when such usages were last reviewed. [87744]

Beverley Hughes: The available information held centrally is set out as follows:

(i) Collection and publication of data

The Home Department uses a postal address file in major surveys conducted by the Home Office such as the British Crime Survey, Home Office Citizenship Survey and Crime and Justice survey. This involves sampling at postcode sector level (or sometimes in segments of postcode sectors). Sampling is undertaken by independent survey companies and the Home Office is not informed of which areas/addresses have been selected to ensure that the anonymity of respondents is preserved but they do attach other data to the survey datasets using the postcode link (eg indices of local deprivation).

Also, statistics showing the area of residence of asylum seekers supported by the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) are currently published for NASS-defined administrative regions and cluster areas. Recent analysis of postcode information recorded on the Asylum Seekers Support System (ASYS), the administrative system maintained by NASS, has allowed provisional statistics to be compiled for standard administrative areas (Government Office Regions and Local Authorities). In the case of those asylum seekers in receipt of subsistence only support, this provides much greater geographical detail than is currently available. These statistics are currently being quality assured and are intended for publication once this process is complete.

(ii) Formulae for the distribution of grants and awards

The Home Department is responsible for devising formulae to allow for the effective distribution of police grant and geographic information (such as postcodes) are used. These data form part of an annual assessment of population within Force and Basic Command Unit (BCU) boundaries (based on estimates of population movement and of changing boundaries within or between Forces).

The information is based on the most current estimates of population and demography available, and is updated at least every year. In addition the forthcoming analysis of the Census will lead to a more substantive revision than is normally the case, as these figures will be used to re-normalise estimates. In addition to the Police Funding Formula, these population changes within Basic Command Units contribute to the crime rates for certain offences. For example Robbery is commonly quoted as a rate per

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1,000 (resident) population, as boundaries change and populations change this is therefore reflected in the rates calculated.

Each year based (in some part) upon the demography within a BCU, the home department also revise the so-called BCU families. These families group BCU's in clusters, this grouping uses many variables, and again as boundaries change the characteristics of each BCU changes and this can be reflected in a change of grouping. These groups are currently used for comparison of performance and identifying exceptional performers such that this 'good practice' can be shared.

(iii) Use of postcodes in the delivery of services

In certain instances the Home Department and its agencies work with police and Criminal Justice System (CJS) agencies on special operations which have a specific geographic location such as a specific crime 'hot spot'. Special Home Office funding is often used to support these operations. In these cases the postcodes are more incidental than proactively driving the delivery of services.

The Home Department used postcode data for the locks for pensioners scheme. To be eligible for the scheme the house had to be in a BCU with an above average burglary rate; the Home Department had to translate BCU areas into postcodes so that the scheme managers could tell whether applicants were eligible.

The scheme officially ended in June 2002—ie that was the last day that applications were accepted—but surveying and installation work continued after that date. Most, if not all, should be completed this month.

We also used postcode data on the Crime Reduction Website (www.crimereduction.gov.uk) to provide a facility for people to check if they were eligible for the scheme. Now that the scheme has finished, the facility has been removed.

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