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18 Sept 2003 : Column 930W—continued
Sudden Oak Death Disease
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in what species of plant sudden oak death disease has been identified in the UK within the last year. [130612]
Mr. Bradshaw: As at 16 September 2003, phytophthora ramorum (the cause of the syndrome sudden oak death in the USA) has been confirmed in the following species:
| Family | Species |
|---|---|
| Caprifoliaceae | Viburnum davidii |
| Viburnum farreri (syn. Viburnum fragrans) | |
| Viburnum lantana | |
| Viburnum opulus | |
| Viburnum plicatum | |
| Viburnum tinus | |
| Viburnum x bodnantense (Viburnum farrerii x Viburnum grandiflorum) | |
| Viburnum x burkwoodii (Viburnum carlesii x Viburnum utile) | |
| Viburnum x carlcephalum x Viburnum, utile | |
| Viburnum x pragnense (Viburnum rhytidophyllum x Viburnum utile) | |
| Ericaceae | Kalmia latifolia |
| Leucothoe fontanesiana | |
| Pieris formosa var. forrestii | |
| Pieris formosa var. forrestii x Pieris japonica | |
| Pieris japonica | |
| Rhododendron augustinii | |
| Rhododendron balfourianum | |
| Rhododendron brachycarpum | |
| Rhododendron ferrugineum | |
| Rhododendron ponticum | |
| Rhododendron hybrids—hybrids found infected have been derived from crosses involving Rhododendron arboreum, Rhododendron campylocarpum, Rhododendron catawbiense, Rhododendron campylocapum, Rhododendron caucasicum, Rhododendron dichroanthum, Rhododendron facetum, Rhododendron forresti, Rhododendron fortunei, Rhododendron galactinum, Rhododendron geraldii, Rhododendron grande, Rhododendron griffithianum, Rhododendron griersonianum, Rhododendron mscimum, Rhododendron ponyivum, Rhododendron dmitnoeii, Rhododendron strigillosum. Rhododendron viscidifolium, Rhododendron wardii, Rhododendron yakushimanum and possibly other species | |
| Oleaceae | Syringa vulgaris |
| Taxaceae | Taxus baccata |
| Theaceae | Camellia japonica, Camellia reticulata, Camellia x williamsii (Camellia saluenensis x Camellia japonica) |
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people are being employed by her Department (a) directly and (b) on a sub-contractual basis to survey gardens and nurseries for sudden oak death disease; and at what cost. [130613]
Mr. Bradshaw: About 85 inspectors from Defra's Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate, the Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate and the Central Science Laboratory are employed directly to survey gardens and nurseries for phytophthora ramorum in England and Wales.
Five people from outside the Department have been employed on a contractual basis for the period July to October 2003.
The cost of employing staff working directly on survey work and of those employed on a contractual basis since 1 January 2003 is estimated at about £400,000.
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Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many cases of sudden oak death disease have been reported to her Department in the last year. [130614]
Mr. Bradshaw: Nine confirmed reports from private nurseries and other independent consultants have been received by the Department in the last year.
Sugar
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent representations she has received on the proposed reform of the sugar regime [129636]
Mr. Bradshaw: Although the European Commission have said that they are considering the future of the EU sugar regime, no specific proposals for reform have so far been tabled.
We have, however, received representations from a range of interests within the UK industry including beet growers, beet processors, cane refiners and companies who use sugar in the manufacture of their products, as well as from our traditional overseas cane sugar suppliers and organisations concerned with developing country issues.
There appears to be a general consensus that the current sugar regime is unsustainable, although there are differing views on the best way forward. We shall take account of all the views expressed to us as discussions proceed.
Sustainable Development
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to make available to the general public information on the work of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. [130358]
Mr. Morley: The work of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) is communicated comprehensively through the United Nations1 own website http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/index.html and wider communications programme. Our own UK Government Sustainable development website http://www.sustainable-deveiopment.gov.uk/ contains a link to this site. Non-governmental stakeholders are consulted by HMG officials prior to the UK's attendance at these meetings, and are usually represented on the Government delegation. CSD's work is also included in Command Paper 5898 "The United Kingdom in the United Nations" published this month http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/Cm5898.pdf, copies of which were deposited in the HoC Library on Friday 5 September.
Varroa Mites
Mr. David Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to combat the spread of Varroa mites; and if she will make a statement. [130356]
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Mr. Bradshaw: Defra funds a range of measures to assist the beekeeping sector in England through its bee health programme, which is delivered by the National Bee Unit (NBU), part of the Central Science Laboratory. In 2003–04, the programme will cost £1.235 million Under these measures, the NBU provides a free diagnostic and inspection service to beekeepers for varroa as well as training and technical advice to help them become more self-reliant in controlling the pest through improved bee husbandry. The NBU is also carrying out routine screening throughout England for varroa mites that are resistant to authorised pyrethroid-based treatments, having first detected them in August 2001. This year Defra also expects to spend around £248,000 on research and development to support our bee health work. This includes a three-year project that extends an earlier MAFF-funded investigation by Horticulture Research International on the use of entomopathogenic fungi as a biological control of varroa.
Arrangements for bee health matters in Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of the Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly respectively.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Antisocial Behaviour Orders
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of offenders subject to an antisocial behaviour order have subsequently been arrested (a) once, (b) one to five times and (c) more than five times. [129099]
Ms Blears: Information on the number of persons who have been issued with an antisocial behaviour order and have subsequently been arrested is not collected centrally.
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of individuals in the age groups (a) 12 to 14, (b) 15 to 17, (c) 18 to 21 and (d) 21 plus, who have been found guilty of breaching an antisocial behaviour order received (i) a custodial sentence and (ii) a detention and training order; and if he will make a statement. [129114]
Ms Blears: The available information, relating to England and Wales for the years 1999, 2000 and 2001 is contained in the table.
Data for 2002 will be available in December 2003.
(16) Includes secure training order, young offender institution and immediate imprisonment.
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Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there have been in the last six months for breach of an antisocial behaviour order in the north-west of England. [129470]
Ms Blears: Statistics of court proceedings for 2003 will be published in the autumn of 2004.
Asylum Seekers
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied minors sought asylum in the UK in each of the last three years. [127863]
Beverley Hughes: The information requested is given in the table. The data relate to applicants aged 17 or under. The data for 2002 are from new, more reliable, electronic sources, and are not fully comparable with data for previous years obtained from manual counts.
| Total | Applied at Port | Applied in Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000(20) | 2,735 | 1,395 | 1,340 |
| 2001(20) | 3,470 | 1,645 | 1,820 |
| 2002(21),(22) | 6,200 | 1,240 | 4,955 |
(17) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
(18) Unaccompanied at point of arrival, aged (or if no proof) determined to be 17 or under and not known to be joining a relative or a guardian in the UK
(19) Figures exclude age dispute cases.
(20) May exclude some cases fodged at Local Enforcement Office and postal applications.
(21) Figures not comparable with manual counts data prior to 2002.
(22) Provisional figures.
Information on asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum seeking children is published annually in the statistical bulletin "Asylum Statistics United Kingdom", a copy of which is available in the Library, and from the RDS web site:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what support and advice he is giving to refugee and asylum support organisations to assist asylum seekers with travel to Croydon to lodge an asylum application; [128201]
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- (2) what support he is giving to asylum seekers to enable them to travel to Croydon to lodge an asylum application. [128202]
Beverley Hughes: Those seeking asylum should claim on arrival in the United Kingdom or as soon as practicable thereafter. If their claim is post arrival it should be made at an Asylum Screening Unit (ASU). The three ASUs are in Croydon, Liverpool and Solihull.
There is no provision to fund the travel of those seeking to lodge an application for asylum.
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the operation of section 55 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. [128203]
Beverley Hughes: Section 55, which came into force on 8 January 2003, is one of a package of robust Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act measures to restore credibility to the UK asylum system.Since February 2003, a number of test cases have been before the Courts. The most recent Court of Appeal hearing was on 27 August and the judgement is expected shortly. Statistics on the operation of section 55 have been published in the Home Office Asylum Statistics for the first and second quarters of 2003. We will continue to monitor its impact closely.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on how the European legislation on immigration will affect the amount of money the Government spends on financial aid for asylum seekers. [128682]
Beverley Hughes: As part of the package of measures designed to establish minimum standards on asylum foreseen by the 1999 Tampere European Council, the Council Directive laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers (2003/9/EC) contains provisions for financial aid for asylum seekers. This lays down minimum standards for the material reception conditions of asylum seekers and their dependants.
Member states are required to transpose the Directive by the 6 February 2005 and work to take this forward is continuing. This will have a limited effect as the UK already meets the directives' provisions relating to financial allowances for asylum
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure that asylum seekers who come to the United Kingdom as children do not stay for a period longer than that to which they are permitted once they turn 18 years of age. [128683]
Beverley Hughes: Unaccompanied asylum seeking children who are permitted to stay solely because of a lack of reception and accommodation arrangements in their country are not granted leave beyond their 18th birthday. Once they turn 18 they must leave or apply for an extension of their leave. If that application is refused, or they do not submit any such application, their details are passed to the relevant local enforcement office for removal action. Removal action in these cases is undertaken as a matter of priority.
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Mr. Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were (a) accepted and (b) rejected in (i) 2002 and (ii) 1997. [128727]
- (2) what percentage of asylum applications were rejected in each year since 1997. [128728]
Beverley Hughes: The table shows the outcomes of initial decisions made by the Home Office since 1997. These statistics relate to initial decisions only and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions. Initial decisions in any given year may relate to applications made in earlier years.
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Overall, it is estimated that 42 per cent. of the applications in 2002 resulted in grants of asylum (10 per cent.) or of exceptional leave to remain (23 per cent.), or in allowed appeals (10 per cent.). Comparable data are not available for 1997, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case files. Exceptional leave to remain has now been replaced by Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave with a much tighter set of criteria.
Information on the number of asylum applications and initial decisions is published quarterly on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
| Initial Decisions(25) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases considered under normal procedures | Backlog clearance exercise | |||||||||||
| Year | Total decisions | Recognised asrefugee and grantedasylum | Not recognised asrefugee but grantedexceptional leave | Total Refused | Granted asylum orexceptional leaveunder backlogcriteria(27),(28) | Refused underbacklog criteria(27),(29) | ||||||
| (26)— | (26)— | (26)— | (26)— | (26)— | (26)— | |||||||
| 1997 | 36,045 | (100) | 3,985 | (11) | 3,115 | (9) | 28,945 | (80) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 1998 | 31,570 | (100) | 5,345 | (17) | 3,910 | (12) | 22,315 | (71) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 1999 | 33,720 | (100) | 7,815 | (36) | 2,465 | (12) | 11,025 | (52) | 11,140 | (90) | 1,275 | (10) |
| 2000 | 109,205 | (100) | 10,375 | (11) | 11,495 | (12) | 75,680 | (78) | 10,325 | (89) | 1,335 | (11) |
| 2001(R) | 120,950 | (100) | 11,450 | (9) | 20,190 | (17) | 89,310 | (74) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 2002(P) | 83,540 | (100) | 8,270 | (10) | 20,135 | (24) | 55,130 | (66) | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
(23) Decisions do not necessarily relate to applications received in the same period.
(24) Figures (other than percentages) rounded to the nearest 5.
(25) Information is of initial decisions, excluding the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.
(26) Percentages for cases considered under normal procedures and those within the backlog clearance exercise are calculated separately.
(27) Cases decided under measures aimed at reducing the pre 1996 asylum application backlog.
(28) Includes cases where asylum or exceptional leave has been granted under the backlog criteria.
(29) Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds.
(P) Provisional figures.
(R) Revised figures,
n/a Not available.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will outline the procedure used in deciding where to place asylum seekers. [128734]
Beverley Hughes: The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) is responsible for accommodating and supporting destitute asylum seekers and their dependants. Asylum seekers who request that accommodation be provided to them will be dispersed on a "no-choice" basis to one of the cluster areas around the UK. Cluster areas are ideally based in towns and cities where suitable accommodation is available and where there is potential to provide a link with existing multi-cultural communities and where the support of local voluntary and community groups is available.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much individual asylum cases cost (a) central and (b) local government in each year from 1997 to 2002. [128735]
Beverley Hughes: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate within the Home Office assumed responsibility for the direct costs of supporting asylum seekers from April 1999. The average costs per week for the years 1999–2000 to 2001–02 are as follows.
| Singles | Families | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 (estimated) | 150 | 220 |
| 2000–01 | 134 | 287 |
| 2001–02 | 122 | 278 |
The costs include payments made to local authorities for accommodation, as well as those made to the private sector. Further information on any other costs to local or central government, specifically related to asylum seekers, is not currently available.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans to provide transport to allow asylum seekers held at the proposed Bicester centre to travel to Aylesbury and other towns; and what his estimate is of the cost of such a service to public funds. [129397]
Beverley Hughes: As a requirement of planning approval the operating contractor of the accommodation centre at Bicester will run a minibus service, principally for the use of staff and visitors, to provide an alternative means of travel to the private car. The service will operate between the accommodation centre and the towns from which it is anticipated that the centre's employees will be drawn; these are expected to be Bicester, Oxford,
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Aylesbury and Banbury. Asylum seekers supported at the accommodation centre will be allowed to use the minibus service subject to capacity, as well as compliance with reporting and residence requirements.
We are in the process of appointing a contractor to design, build and operate the accommodation centre. Therefore the estimated cost of the minibus service is commercially confidential.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are detained under immigration law; and of these how many are awaiting removal from the UK. [130018]
Beverley Hughes: As at 28 June 2003 (the latest date for which information is available) there were 1,355 asylum seekers detained solely under the Immigration Act. Information on the number of these who were awaiting removal would be available only by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
Information on the number of asylum applicants detained solely under the Immigration Act is published quarterly on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html. Data for those detained at the end of September 2003 will be published at the end of November.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children of asylum seekers have been held in detention in each of the last 12 months; and what the average length of time is for which each child is held. [130019]
Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of children of asylum seekers detained in each of the last 12 months and the length of time for which they were held could be collated only at disproportionate cost. However, we are reviewing the quality of data on all immigration detainees to assess whether more data can appropriately be published and, if so, how.
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