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18 Sept 2003 : Column 941W—continued
Immigration
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 July, Official Report, column 1068W, on immigration, how long it takes on average to perform the checks to which he refers. [128518]
Beverley Hughes: When the decision is taken by an immigration officer to release a person on temporary admission the number of checks undertaken depend upon the individual circumstances of the case.
The average time taken to perform the checks varies in view of this. However, given that some checks, such as the computerised Warnings Index, involve using information readily to hand to the Immigration Service they can be carried out immediately. Where the information has to be obtained from an outside agency, such as the police national computer or electoral registrar, the checks can take longer, but should still ordinarily be completed within a matter of hours.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce British citizenship tests for immigrants; how long they would take to complete; who will oversee the testing; and if those who fail will be deported. [129106]
Beverley Hughes: The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act received Royal Assent on 7 November 2002. Section One, which relates to these requirements, will come into force by Commencement Order once its new requirements have been finalised.
The "Life in the UK" advisory group, appointed by my right hon. friend the Home Secretary to look at the content, conduct and implementation of programmes of study, published its final report on 3 September. A copy has been placed in the Library. The Government are considering their recommendations and no firm conclusions have yet been made about the nature of tests and who will oversee them.
Naturalisation applicants must have indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom. They will not therefore be liable to removal solely on the basis of their lack of language skills or knowledge of life in the UK. As now, naturalisation applicants will be able to re-apply if they are unsuccessful.
Independent Documentation Centre
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the outcome was of the consultation in 1998 on the establishment of an independent documentation centre to provide country of origin information in assessing the cases of asylum seekers; [129767]
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Beverley Hughes: The Consultative Group on Country Information reported in December 1998. It recommended, inter alia, that an independent documentation centre should be established to provide country of origin information for use in the asylum process.
Home Office Ministers considered this recommendation, but at that time IND's priority was to support the recovery of asylum decision output through the expansion and improvement of advice to caseworkers, including implementing other Consultative Group recommendations about the format and content of country of origin information material produced by the Home Office's Country Information and Policy Unit (CIPU).
In 2001, the Home Office commissioned research into the production and use of its country of origin information material. By this time, the CIPU had established a track record for accurate research, with its reports being widely used as source documents by other countries and for material produced by non-governmental organisations. It was therefore decided to await the outcome of the research before proceeding with a feasibility study on the Independent Documentation Centre proposal.
The research, which was published on 1 September 2003 in a report entitled "Country of Origin Information: a user and content evaluation", noted the on-going debate about whether an independent documentation would be the best way to assure the objectivity of the country of origin material used in the asylum process. The report suggested that if it was decided not to proceed with the independent documentation centre, measures should be taken to ensure country of origin information produced by CIPU was impartial and objective. The full text of the research is available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/r211.pdf
Rather than establishing an independent documentation centre, it was decided to build upon CIPU's existing structures and strengths, and introduce measures to ensure the quality and accuracy of the country information products used in the asylum process. The Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 provided for an independent Advisory Panel on Country Information to be established to provide recommendations on the content of Home Office country information and help to ensure that it is as objective as possible. The Advisory Panel will also meet the report's recommendations that an expert panel of topic and country specialists should be set up to review CIPU's material and that steps should be taken to improve consultation with external stakeholders.
The Advisory Panel is chaired by Professor Stephen Castles, Director of the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford and held its first meeting on 2 September 2003. The minutes of the panel's meetings will be published in due course.
Iraq
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Defence and (b) the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
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Affairs on allowing British police officers to volunteer to go to Iraq to help train the Iraqi Police Force; and if he will make a statement. [129326]
Ms Blears: I have agreed to a request from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to ask the Association of Chief Police Officers to seek up to 200 volunteers to create a pool of United Kingdom police officers for potential deployment to Iraq to assist in the reform of the Iraqi Police Service. The pool is intended to sustain the deployment of up to 100 United Kingdom officers at any one time.
Officers will be deployed only when conditions are right. The security position will be reviewed regularly.
Leave to Remain
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis the figures of (a) £155 and (b) £250 were set for charges for in-country applicants wishing to extend their stay in the UK. [127102]
Beverley Hughes: Fees are set under Treasury rules to recover the full administrative cost entailed in considering applications and no more. This is calculated by taking the overall costs of processing applications divided by the number of decisions we expect to make.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated revenue per year is from the introduction of charges for in-country applicants wishing to extend their stay in the UK; what estimate he has made of the impact in the UK; and if he will consider applications for the fee to be waived. [127106]
Beverley Hughes: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced in February 2002 in his White Paper "Secure Borders, Safe Haven: Integration with Diversity in Modern Britain", that he would be introducing charges in order to fund the modernisation of IND. The regulations were laid on 10 July. IND already charges fees in respect of Nationality applications and for Travel Documents, and since 1 April 2003 for Work Permits.
We continue to welcome the many foreign nationals who choose to study, work and live in the UK—they boost our economy and add to our thriving cosmopolitan society. Many apply to extend their stay each year, and it is right that they should meet the costs of that. The Government have made significant investment in recent years to improve all aspects of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, including the standard of service people receive when they submit applications. Charging will help us to continue to improve the efficiency and speed with which we process these applications, leading to ever higher levels of customer service.
I have decided that all those who can legally be charged will be. Therefore, the only exemptions to this are EU nationals (and third country nationals who are their dependants); those making a claim for asylum or for protection under Article 3 of the ECHR; people applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain on the grounds
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of domestic violence where, at the time of making of the application, the applicants appear to be destitute; and those exempt from immigration control.
Any further exemptions would leave an unfair burden on the general taxpayer or threaten the much needed service improvements which will be facilitated by charging.
The estimated revenue for introducing charging for leave to remain applications is £90 million.
Merseyside Police Force
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian support staff were employed by Merseyside Police in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2002. [129472]
Ms Blears: The information is given in the table.
| Police officers | Police staff | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2000 | 4,085 | 1,458 |
| 31 March 2001 | 4,081 | 1,418 |
| 31 March 2002 | 4,125 | 1,532 |
| 31 December 2002 | 4,180 | — |
(30) Figures are full time equivalents
Source:
Home Office Statistics
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