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Domestic Violence (Immigrants)

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the outcome of discussions between his Department, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office to address the issue of support for victims of domestic violence who are subject to immigration control. [97320]

Mr. Denham: We have widened the types of evidence acceptable to enable a victim of domestic violence to benefit from the concession under which a person in this position can apply for indefinite leave to remain. If evidence in the form of a court order or police caution is not available, we will accept more than one form of evidence from the following list:

a medical report from a hospital doctor confirming that the applicant has injuries consistent with being the victim of domestic violence;

a letter from a family practitioner who has examined the applicant and is satisfied that the applicant has injuries consistent with being the victim of domestic violence;

an undertaking given to a court that the perpetrator of the violence will not approach the applicant who is the victim of the violence;

a police report confirming attendance at the home of the applicant as a result of a domestic violence incident;

a letter from a social services department confirming its involvement in connection with domestic violence; and

a letter of support or report from a women's refuge.

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The domestic violence concession was incorporated into the Immigration Rules in November 2002. This will ensure that domestic violence cases attract a right of appeal and that the facts of the case leading to the decision can be considered by the Appellate Authorities.

The Government is continuing to consider the issue of access to public funds.

E-mail Addresses

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what e-mail address members of the public may contact (a) him and (b) each of the Ministers in his Department; and for each e-mail address if he will state (i) the date it became active and (ii) the number of e-mails received in each month since activation [97436]

Mr. Blunkett: The address used for all contact by e-mail to the Home Office is public.enquiries@ homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk, and has been in use since 1999. No separate addresses for individual ministers are maintained. Details of the number of emails received each month are not available, but rough estimates have been kept on an annual basis since 1999 as follows:

1999	17,500
2000	37,000
2001	51,600
2002	86,000

These figures do not however include the large volumes of campaign emails received regularly by the Home Office. Forensic

A new Correspondence Tracking System is being introduced currently which will more accurately track and monitor public and ministerial correspondence. From June 2003 the system will also be able to track and monitor public emails.

Forensic Computing Units

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what budget was allocated for forensic computing units for each of the last three years; and what the proposed budgets are for each of the next three years; [97542]

(2) how many whole-time equivalent staff were working in the field of forensic computing in each constabulary, in each of the last three years. [97541]

Mr. Denham: The information sought by the hon. Member is not held centrally.

It is the responsibility of chief officers and police authorities to decide on the number of staff and proportion of their funding which they allocate to the operation of forensic computing units.

In 2001/02 the Home Office provided £25 million over three years, over and above general police funding, for the purpose of fighting hi-tech crime; £10 million of which is being used to enhance the powers of local police forces to investigate criminal activity online and to examine computer data forensically. In terms of

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staffing this sum to date has resulted in the training of a further 54 network investigators and seven forensic investigators across forces.

Forensic Pathology

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons in each year since its introduction have sat the examination for a Diploma of Forensic Pathology; how many have passed; if he will place in the Library a copy of the syllabus and learning structure for teaching the Diploma; what qualifications are required to teach this Diploma; and how many persons are qualified. [97782]

Mr. Denham: The Diploma in Forensic Pathology run by the Royal College of Pathologists commenced in 1995, for candidates who are in full-time forensic practice, and hold Membership of the Royal College of Pathologists.

The structure of the examination consists of two parts. The regulations and syllabus relating to the Diploma in Forensic Pathology, detail the examination structure and requirements for admission; copies of which will be placed in the Library.

There have been 10 persons awarded the diploma since its inception but a breakdown by year is not available.

Examiners are senior forensic pathologists appointed by the Royal College of Pathologists.

Immigration Offences

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women were detained in prisons in England and Wales for immigration offences on 1 February; and if he will make a statement. [98094]

Beverley Hughes: Data on the number of people held in prisons for offences under the Immigration Act are not available.

The latest available data show that at 28 September 2002 there were 220 people held solely under Immigration Act powers in Prison Service establishments in the United Kingdom, information on the reasons for detention would only be available by examination of individual casefiles at disproportionate cost.

Data for the period October to December 2002 are due to be published on 28 February 2002 on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/whatsnew1 .html

Kent Policing Model

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 5 February, Official Report, column 329W, on Kent Policing Model, what assessment he has made of the function of non-intelligence focused police patrol within the Kent Policing Model. [97598]

Mr. Denham: The deployment of patrol officers within Kent is an operational matter for the chief constable. A framework of inspections and performance measurement is in place for Kent, as it is for all other police forces.

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Medical Jurisprudence

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons in each year since its introduction have sat the examination for a Diploma of Medical Jurisprudence; how many have passed; if he will place in the Library a copy of the syllabus and learning structure for teaching this diploma; what qualifications are required to teach this diploma; and how many persons are qualified. [97783]

Mr. Denham: The first Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence was awarded in 1962 by the Society of Apothecaries of London. The examination; which consists of two parts, was designed for registered medical and dental practitioners who have had experience of medico-legal practice.

The regulations and syllabus relating to the Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence, detail the examination structure and requirements for admission; copies of which will be placed in the Library.

The total number of diplomas awarded to date are 238. A breakdown of diplomas awarded, is available for the last 10 years and is detailed in the table:

	Candidates
Year	In the UK	Abroad	Total
1992	6	8	14
1993	4	7	11
1994	5	3	8
1995	1	3	4
1996	3	9	12
1997	0	2	2
1998	2	1	3
1999	2	3	5
2000	3	4	7
2001	2	2	4
2002	1	1	2

The Diploma is a self-learning course and there are no specific requirements to be an examiner. They are nominated by the British Association for Forensic Medicine (BAFM).

MI5 (Right of Access)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many subject access requests have been made to MI5 since the right of access was afforded; and how many have been granted. [97713]

Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 13 February 2003]: The Security Service has received 127 Subject Access requests under the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Security Service has disclosed personal data in 25 cases.

Nadhmia Auchi

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he has given to the application for the extradition to France of Nadhmia Auchi. [98315]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: For good and obvious reasons, it is our policy and practice not to comment, ahead of any arrest, on whether an extradition request for a particular individual has been received or is under consideration.

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