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20 May 2003 : Column 757W—continued

Deportations

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals, broken down by nationality, have been served with deportation orders on the basis that their removal from the UK was (a) conducive to the public good and (b) conducive to the public good as a consequence of a criminal conviction, in each year since 1997. [113364]

Beverley Hughes: The number of foreign nationals served with deportation orders on the basis that (a) their removals was conducive to the public good and (b) following a court recommendation in each year from 1997 is given in the table. Information on the nationalities of those people served with deportation orders is not available.

19971998199920002001(19)
Conducive to the public good(20)
Deportation orders made11012085175n/a
Following court recommendation(21)
Deportation orders made270280250335n/a

(19) Due to data quality issues information on deportation orders made is not available for 2001.

(20) Under section 3(5)(b) of the immigration act 1971.

(21) Under section 3(6) of the immigration act 1971.


Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there are specified offences which, if committed by a foreign national, would trigger deportation proceedings on the basis that their removal from the UK was conducive to the public good; and if he will make a statement. [113365]

Beverley Hughes: We will normally consider taking deportation action where someone subject to immigration control has been convicted of an offence under the Immigration Acts, any offence of violence against the person or any drugs offence, or any other offence where a custodial sentence of 12 months or more has been imposed. Deportation is not automatic, however, and each case is considered in the light of the individual circumstances.

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors are taken into consideration when a decision is taken to serve a deportation order on a foreign national on the grounds that his removal from the UK would be conducive to the public good. [113418]

Beverley Hughes: The principal factors which are taken into account when deciding whether or not to deport someone are set out in paragraph 364 of the Immigration Rules. In considering whether deportation is the right course on the merits, the public interest, including, where

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applicable, any national security implications, will be balanced against any compassionate circumstances of the case.

Drug Offences

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 29 April 2003, Official Report, column 354W, on drugs, if he will provide a breakdown of offences by substance. [113422]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Recorded crime data collated centrally on drug offences do not include information on the types of drugs involved. At the time of recording a drug offence the type of substance is not necessarily known by the police and it may be have to be submitted for forensic analysis.

However, this information is available for known drug offenders and is reported in the Home Office statistical bulletin "Drug seizure and offender statistics, United Kingdom". Copies are available in the Library. The latest year for which figures are currently available is 2000 and Tables S2.16 to S2.29A of the Supplementary Tables volume give detailed breakdowns.

Extradition

Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which countries the UK does not have an extradition agreement. [114610]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Details of the United Kingdom's extradition arrangements are not readily available on this basis. Those countries with whom the UK does have general extradition arrangements are listed in the table.

In addition, the Extradition Act 1989 enables special extradition arrangements to be made, in individual cases, with states with whom the UK has no general extradition arrangements. The UK is also a party to a number of international conventions which allow for the extradition of fugitives between ratifying states for specific offences, in the absence of general extradition arrangements.

Commonwealth countries which have been Designated by Order in Council under section 5(1) of the Extradition Act 1989

Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Canada, Dominica, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tonga, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

British Overseas Territories to whom the Extradition Act 1989 applies

Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, St. Helena and St. Helena Dependencies, South Georgia and South

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Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, The UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Cyprus), British Virgin Islands.

Parties to the European Convention on Extradition (ECE) of 1957 which are designated by Order in Council under section 4(1) of the Extradition Act 1989

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (The Former Yugoslav Republic of), Malta, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.

Countries with Bilateral Extradition Treaties with the United Kingdom (with date of entry into force)

Date
Argentina1894
Bolivia1898
Bosnia/Herzegovina1901
Brazil1997
Chile1898
Colombia1889
Cuba1905
Ecuador1886
El Salvador1882
Guatemala1886
Haiti1876
Iraq1933
Liberia1894
Mexico1889
Monaco1892
Nicaragua1906
Panama1907
Paraguay1911
Peru1907
San Marino1900
Thailand1911
Uruguay1885
USA1976, 1986

Other Arrangements

1. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Extradition arrangements with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are under the Extradition Act 1989 as amended by The Hong Kong (Extradition) Order 1997.

2. Republic of Ireland. Extradition Arrangements with the Republic of Ireland are under the Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965.

Faith Communities Working Group

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) terms of reference and

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(b) membership for the Home Office Working Group looking at the relationship between the Government and faith communities are. [114181]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 16 May 2003]: The terms of reference of the Working Group are as follows:


The Religious Issues Section of the Race Equality Unit within the Home Office provides the Secretariat for the Group, which also includes representatives of the Lord Chancellor's Department, Prison Service, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for Education and Skills, Department of Trade and Industry and the Inner Cities Religious Council within the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; and the Director of the Inter Faith Network for the UK. The faith community representatives are Canon Michael Ipgrave, Mr. Mark Sturge, Dr. Basil Mustafa (alternates with Mrs Uneiza Malik), Mr. Ishwer Tailor, Dr. Indarjit Singh OBE, Mr. Neville Nagler and Mr. Paul Seto.


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