| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
14 Jul 2003 : Column 56W—continued
Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act
16. Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. [125070]
Beverley Hughes: Section 55, which came into operation on 8 January 2003, is one of a package of new measures to move towards a more streamlined and cohesive asylum system. Statistics on the operation of section 55 up to 31 March 2003 were published at the end of May 2003, and we are continuing to monitor the impact closely.
Child Protection
17. Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with promoting (a) Child Rescue Alert and (b) the Safety House project as national child protection schemes. [125071]
Paul Goggins: A Child Rescue Alert scheme completed its pilot in Sussex at the end of May 2003. Its purpose is to find children who have been abducted. The Homicide Working Group of the Association of Chief Police Officers has recommended that the scheme be implemented under nationally agreed standards.Sussex police are currently waiting for the British Safety House Association to provide more details about the Safety House project, before they give further consideration for this development.
20. Dr. Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will introduce new laws to combat the trafficking and sexual exploitation of children within the UK; and if he will make a statement. [125074]
Beverley Hughes: The Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act introduced a new criminal offence of trafficking for control over prostitution with a maximum penalty of 14 years.
The new Sexual Offences Bill also introduces a new offence of commercial sexual exploitation of a child, which will protect children up to 18, covering a range of offences, including buying the sexual services of a child, and causing, facilitating or controlling the commercial sexual exploitation of a child in prostitution or pornography.
Prisons
18. Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in dealing with prison overcrowding. [125072]
Paul Goggins: Where imprisonment is the most appropriate punishment, it should be used. An additional 4,500 prison places will be provided over the next three years. Other reforms include the use of Home
14 Jul 2003 : Column 57W
Detention Curfew; this will help create a more appropriate balance between the use of custody and community supervision.
Passports
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to reduce passport fraud. [125073]
Beverley Hughes: As indicated in its 2003–08 Corporate and Business Plan, the UK Passport Service is taking forward a range of initiatives to reduce passport fraud through improved fraud detection and prevention. These include:
- establishing from December this year a new more comprehensive database for the recording and dissemination of lost, stolen and recovered passport information;
exploring the benefits of using private sector and other Government databases in establishing identity;
introducing secure delivery for the despatch of all passports;
increasing the professionalism of its fraud investigation capability through the creation of fraud and intelligence units in each of its offices, and strengthening training and support for these units;
developing its IT systems to undertake more automatic checks, to better link passport records to an individual, and to identify passport fraud;
investigating the use of biometrics to improve the security of the passport book;
changing the law to make passport fraud offences arrestable, and by creating a new offence relating to being in possession or control of false identity documents, without reasonable cause; and
actively working with law enforcement agencies to apprehend, disrupt and dismantle the activities of those involved in passport fraud.
Illegal Immigration (France)
Mr. Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has agreed with the French Government to ensure that illegal immigration from the Calais area is not displaced to other routes. [125075]
Beverley Hughes: We have agreed with the French to establish juxtaposed controls at Dunkirk and Boulogne as well as Calais. This will help counter immediate displacement from the Calais area by those seeking to use documents to board ferries. In addition those hiding in freight traffic bound for the United Kingdom are being targeted by the use of UK personnel detection technology loaned to French ports. Calais already has the capability to screen 100 per cent. of freight and screening will be introduced at Dunkirk and Cherbourg.
We continue to meet regularly with the French to discuss how these projects and others relating to increased cross channel border security can best be taken forward. We are also in the process of providing new detection technology to Belgian ports.
14 Jul 2003 : Column 58W
Crime Fighting Fund
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on the effectiveness of the Crime Fighting Fund. [125077]
Ms Blears: None. The Crime Fighting Fund has proved extremely effective in helping to deliver record numbers of police officers. By September 2002 the police service had 131,548 officers in England and Wales.
Anti-Drugs Projects
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer to the honourable Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-Thomas) of 30 June, Official Report, column 11W, on drugs, if he will list the anti-drugs projects funded from recovered assets, and the amount of money awarded in each case. [124958]
Caroline Flint: In 2002–03 16 anti-drugs projects were awarded funding for 1–3 years from recovered assets at a total cost of £6.5 million. The projects were:
- South Buckinghamshire Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (Slough)—"Criminal Justice Treatment Project"—to set up a drug treatment clinic with a doctor, nurse and counsellor—£220,000
Community Focus (Hull)—"User Involvement Project—to involve drug misusers in identifying and reviewing service provision—£99,400
West Glamorgan Council on Alcohol and Drugs Abuse (Swansea)—"Community Outreach Drug Prevention Initiative"—to provide equipment and advice to heroin addicts and get new people into treatment—£136,718
No Limits (Southampton)—"Young People's Substance Misuse Project"—to provide advice and counselling on drugs issues—£219,472
Brigend County Borough Council—"Brigend Rapid Access Points"—to offer a rapid appointment for assessment and access to treatment for drugs misusers—£462,500
Gwellheans Recovery (Cornwall)—"Caseworker"—to focus on relapse prevention and positive re-integration back into the community—£66,671
North East Council on Addictions (Newcastle)—"The Integrated Treatment/Outreach Programme"—to provide a range of services to prolific substance misusers—£189,612
Reading Drugs Action Team—"Oxford Road Drugs and Street crime Initiative"—Full-time worker to provide advice and support to homeless drugs misusers—£155,000
- Southern Focus Trust (Portsmouth)—"Havant Young People's Access"—a drop-in facility to divert young people from drugs and crime—£276,659
Corby Borough Council—"Project Diversion"—working with disengaged or at risk young people £37,000
Torfaen County Borough Council (Pontypool)—"Musical Youth"—to engage young people through the medium of music—£82,627
14 Jul 2003 : Column 59W
-
Pro-active Drugs related Projects
Lancashire Constabulary—"Drugsline"—Confidential telephone line for the public to contact the police with drug related information—£47,685
Drugscope (London)—"Drug Education for Hard to reach Parents"—to provide information and education about drugs issues—£81,334
Surrey Drug Action Team—"Confidential no-fault Inquiries into Drug Deaths in Surrey"—£10,000
Clouds (Wiltshire)—"Interventions towards the Significant Other"—to provide support for carers of substance misusers—£253,699
Merseyside Police —"Middle Market Drugs Investigation"—to disrupt Class A drug trafficking—£4,236,379
Asylum Applications
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many decisions were made on asylum applications in each year from 1997–2002; and what percentage were granted asylum, including those granted on appeal; [125338]
14 Jul 2003 : Column 60W
- (2) how many applicants for asylum were granted exceptional leave to remain in each year from 1997–2002; and what percentage this was of the total number of applications. [125339]
Beverley Hughes: Following changes to policy in relation to granting of exceptional leave to remain (ELR) in the second half of 2002, the proportion granted ELR fell in Q3 2002 and in Q4 2002.
The available information is provided in the tables. This shows that the initial decision figures for any given year do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same year. Similarly, appeal outcomes for any given year do not necessarily relate to initial decisions in the same year.
It is estimated that (up to and including appeals at the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) 19 per cent. of applications made in 2000 and in 2001 resulted in grants of asylum. The corresponding figures for grants of ELR for applications made in 2000 and in 2001 were 14 per cent. and 23 per cent. respectively.
Precise information on the number of appeals that result in a grant of asylum or ELR could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case records.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001(7) | 2002(7) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total initial decisions(8) | 36,045 | 31,570 | 33,720 | 109,205 | 119,015 | 82,715 |
| Cases considered under normal procedures5 | ||||||
| Total | 36,045 | 31,570 | 21,305 | 97,545 | 119,015 | 82,715 |
| Granted asylum | 3,985 | 5,345 | 7,815 | 10,375 | 11,180 | 8,100 |
| Granted asylum (percentage) | 11 | 17 | 37 | 11 | 9 | 10 |
| Granted ELR | 3,115 | 3,910 | 2,465 | 11,495 | 19,845 | 19,965 |
| Granted ELR (percentage) | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 24 |
| Refused | 28,945 | 22,315 | 11,925 | 75,680 | 87,990 | 54,650 |
| Refused (Percentage) | 80 | 71 | 52 | 78 | 74 | 66 |
| Backlog clearance exercise6 | ||||||
| Total | — | — | 12,415 | 11,660 | — | — |
| Granted asylum or ELR under backlog criteria | — | — | 11,140 | 10,325 | — | — |
| Granted asylum or ELR under backlog criteria (percentage) | — | — | 90 | 89 | — | — |
| Refused under backlog criteria(11) | — | — | 1,275 | 1,3365 | — | — |
| Refused under backlog criteria(11) (percentage) | — | — | 10 | 11 | — | — |
(5) Figures (other than percentages) rounded to the nearest five.
(6) Decision figures do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.
(7) Figures for 2001 and 2002 are provisional and subject to change.
(8) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
(9) Cases considered under normal procedures may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria.
(10) Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
(11) Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
| Total determined | Allowed (percentage) | Dismissed (percentage) | Withdrawn (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 21,090 | 6 | 86 | 8 |
| 1998 | 25,320 | 9 | 84 | 7 |
| 1999 | 19,460 | 27 | 57 | 16 |
| 2000 | 19,395 | 17 | 80 | 2 |
| 2001(14) | 43,415 | 19 | 79 | 2 |
| 2002(14) | 64,405 | 22 | 76 | 3 |
(12) Figures (other than percentages) rounded to the nearest five.
(13) Appeals figures do not necessarily relate to initial decisions made in the same period.
(14) Figures for 2002 are provisional and subject to change.
14 Jul 2003 : Column 61W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |