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EC Association Agreement Applications
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the performance of Integrated Casework Directorate North in Sheffield since August 2002, with particular reference to the backlog of European Community Association Agreement applications. [121841]
Beverley Hughes: Casework performance is monitored on a weekly basis. Since the establishment of the unit in Sheffield last August to help reduce casework backlogs it has handled 20,128 European Community Association Agreement applications and made decisions on 17,027 of them.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reason there is no direct phone line available for (a) the public and (b) legal representatives to contact the integrated Casework Directorate North offices in Sheffield; what assessment he has made of the implications of this for the speed of dealing with outstanding European Community Association Agreement applications; and if he will make a statement. [121842]
Beverley Hughes: The Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau (INEB) was set up in December 1998 to field telephone enquiries for the whole of Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) from members of the public and legal representatives seeking general immigration advice or progress on outstanding applications. INEB telephone staff have access to the
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same information as caseworkers throughout IND, including those in ICD North, by means of the Case Information Database (CID). The intention in offering a call centre operation has always been to divert telephone enquiries away from caseworking staff to ensure that applications are resolved as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Callers are able to get through to INEB within one or two attempts and telephone staff have access to caseworkers in ICD North if detailed information is required for callers.
As a result of the additional caseworking capacity based in Sheffield, the number of outstanding European Community Association Agreement applications has been reduced to about 2,000 and the majority of new applications are being decided within eight weeks of receipt.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many European Community Association Agreement applications processed through the offices of Integrated Casework Directorate North in Sheffield have been delayed beyond the expected minimum over the last year; and if he will make a statement. [121843]
Beverley Hughes: Since the Sheffield casework unit was established in August 2002, some 6,745 European Community Association Agreement applications have been delayed beyond the expected minimum period although the majority have been decided within six months. The additional caseworking capacity introduced in Sheffield has made a significant contribution to the reduction of overall after-entry casework backlogs.
Local Food Chains
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an assessment by region of what help is forthcoming by (a) regional development agencies and (b) government offices to encourage local food chains. [121572]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 26 June 2003]: I have been asked to reply.
The level and nature of support for local food chains provided by Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and Government Offices (GOs) varies from region to region. The extent of this support will be determined by each region's priorities.
(a) RDAs are already providing support for initiatives such as research, pilot projects, local food groups, promotional activities and farmers markets. In addition, within the context of their regional economic strategies, each RDA, working closely with the GO and other relevant interests, is developing a regional plan to help deliver the Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food. Within these plans RDAs will be addressing issues such as:
- the production and supply of local produce by encouraging food hubs and shared facilities for food businesses;
- marketing of local food by linking local food producers with local retailers and tourism businesses ; and
- public procurement through the development of projects with local authorities and other public sector organisations to enable local food producers to bid for contracts on more equal terms.
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(b) Although GOs do not have funding to encourage local food chains they do carry out a number of services to support the local food sector. The GOs provide a signposting to and advice on the various sources of funding which include 'national' grants such as those under the England Rural Development Programme as well as the area based structural funds through the Leader and Objective 1 programmes. In addition, the GOs can provide a co-ordination role in sharing best practice amongst producers, processors and retailers.
Montserrat
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people from Montserrat were resident in the UK in the last year for which figures are available. [122200]
Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of people from Montserrat resident in the UK is not routinely recorded and is currently unavailable.
Information is available, however, on the number of people from Montserrat who have been granted settlement and so are allowed to remain indefinitely in the UK. The most recent data available are shown in the table.
| Year | Number of grants |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 5 |
| 1997 | 5 |
| 1998 | 2,495 |
| 1999 | 235 |
| 2000 | 250 |
| 2001 | 100 |
Note:Figures rounded to the nearest five.
The sudden increase in grants of settlement in 1998 reflects those Montserratians who arrived in the UK under the Government's voluntary evacuation scheme, which was introduced due to the severity of the volcanic activity on the island. There is no information available on whether or not those people granted settlement chose to remain in the UK.
National Asylum Support Service
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what performance indicators and output targets are used by the National Asylum Support Service to measure the efficiency of its service to asylum seekers and other stakeholders; and how the NASS performed against these performance indicators and output targets in the latest year for which figures are available. [120805]
Beverley Hughes: For the financial year 2002–03 the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) had a target to increase to 70 per cent. the proportion of applications for support decided within five working days by the end of March 2003. The latest outturn figure available shows that 38 per cent. of applications for support were decided (assessed and accommodation arranged) within five working days. It has not been possible to meet the target of 70 per cent. of applications decided by March 2003 because of delays in processing the backlog of applications.
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NASS also had a target to reduce the annual cost of support asylum seekers by maintaining the actual cost at £130 per week for single asylum seekers and £280 per week for families. The latest available figures show that the actual cost of supporting single asylum seekers was £120 per week and £276 per week for families.
In common with the rest of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, NASS is expected to respond to 95 per cent. of ministerial correspondence agreed with the Cabinet Office. During the year IND as a whole fell short of this target although there was continuous improvement in performance during the latter half of the year and further initiatives aimed at speeding up processing times are being planned. Letters from the public on general NASS issues should be responded to within 20 days of receipt. This target is being met.
Correspondence about individual support applicants is also subject to targets for response. Targets for response depend on the nature of the correspondence. Correspondence which can be fast tracked will receive meaningful action within three working days. Correspondence raising complex issues will receive meaningful action within 10 working days. For example, an application for a single additional payment will be assessed within three working days of receipt and the applicant is notified of the outcome at this stage. Any payment approved will be included in the support applicant's regular payment within three weeks of the application being made.
All targets are monitored to ensure compliance and any backlog is addressed to avoid unnecessary delay.
Offender Throughput
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the throughput of offenders in each probation area was in the last two financial years. [121955]
Paul Goggins: The number of offenders starting Probation Service supervision in each probation area in the last two calendar years is given in the table. This information is not available on a financial year basis.
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