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17 Nov 2003 : Column 681W—continued

Bechtel

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the contracts for consultancy and other work carried out by Bechtel for agencies responsible to his Department and its predecessor in each year since 1997, stating in each case (a) the nature of the work, (b) the value of the contract and (c) the duration of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [137887]

Fiona Mactaggart: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on the 27 October, Official Report, column 109W. This answer included information provided by the agencies responsible to the Home Office.

Biometrics

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research projects his Department has funded on the use of biometrics as a secure form of identification. [139225]

17 Nov 2003 : Column 682W

Beverley Hughes: We have funded a study by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) on the use of iris, fingerprint and face biometrics in an identity card scheme, the results of which are on the Home Office website.

We have funded research into fingerprints through the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) and its predecessors, from the 1970s, chiefly through periodic 'benchmark' tests of fingerprint matching systems to ensure accuracy and security.

We have also used biometrics in several operational programmes such as the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's ARC scheme.

Bomfords/Pontrilas Sawmills

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department following the raids last month on two employers in the Midlands, how many of the people detained were people who had claimed asylum, had been refused but could not be returned to their country of origin because it was not safe; how many, after investigation, were found to have the right to remain but had not obtained national insurance numbers; how many were found to have the right to work and a national insurance number; of the other employees working at Bomfords and Pontrilas sawmills who were interviewed, how many were found to have the right to remain but had not obtained national insurance numbers; and how many who had the right to work were being paid below the minimum wage. [137712]

Beverley Hughes: A total of 44 individuals were detained during the course of the operations at Bomfords and Pontrilas sawmills. None fitted the above criteria. The individuals were detained because they were removable from the United Kingdom.

The operations were aimed at the detection and removal of immigration offenders. Once an individual's immigration status was established, no further inquiries were conducted on site. It is not possible therefore to give details relating to the possession of national insurance numbers.

Once an employee established to an immigration officer that he or she had the right to remain in the United Kingdom, no further inquiries were required.

Inquiries were not made into exact pay levels at Pontrilas, but it is believed that there were no staff being paid less than the minimum wage. At Bomfords the majority of labour had been provided by agencies and were employed on a piece work basis.

Child Abuse (Investigations)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the outcome of discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers regarding mandatory audio and visual recording of police interviews with (a) complainants and (b) other significant witnesses in investigations of past cases of abuse in children's homes; [138473]

(2) if he will make a statement on discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers regarding the safeguards in investigations of past cases of abuse in children's homes. [138472]

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Ms Blears: I am corresponding with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) regarding the investigation of past cases of child abuse in children's homes.

I wrote to the hon. member on 4 November offering a meeting to discuss these matters.

Citizenship Applications

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it has taken to deal with citizenship applications in the last 12 months for which figures are available; how many citizenship certificates were issued in each year since 1993; and what the total income from citizenship applications has been since 1993. [133463]

Beverley Hughes: There are no data published on actual decision times to determine applications for British citizenship. Information on expected waiting times for citizenship applications are available on the IND website; www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk and is periodically updated. As at September 2003 the expected average processing times were:

Naturalisation7.7 months


Adult registrations1.7 months


Minor registrations7.9 months


Other registrations1.3 months

Delays arise in part because applications are not always accompanied by complete documentation. Thus, the time taken for a particular individual application may be significantly less than the average if all relevant documentation has been sent with the application form. Statistics on the applications for British citizenship granted since 1993 are shown in the table below:

Year	Applications granted
1993	45,795
1994	44,035
1995	40,515
1996	43,070
1997	37,010
1998	53,935
1999	54,900
2000	82,210
2001	90,295
2002	120,145

Information on total income from citizenship applications before 1996 is unavailable. Information for 2000–01 is also unavailable. Total income from citizenship applications from 1996–2000 and after 2001 are shown in the table.

£000s

Year	Nationality applications	ROA applications
1996–97	800,000	Not shown separately
1997–98	869,000	Not shown separately
1998–99	6,491,068	56,656
1999–2000	7,146,783	63,248
2000–01
2001–02	10,691,823	115,281
2002–03	18,155,419	62,731
1.4.03–30.9.03	6,478,410	48,917

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Community Support Officers

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Community Support Officers there are in Lincolnshire constabulary. [138227]

Ms Blears: There are currently 43 Community Support Officers on patrol within Lincolnshire police force and one vacancy.

The Home Office funds or part funds 42 of these posts. The other two, deployed within caravan sites in East Division's (Skegness), are wholly locally funded.

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Community Support Officers (a) there are in 2002–03 and (b) there will be in 2003–04 in each police authority in England and Wales. [138228]

Ms Blears: The table shows the number of Community Support Officers (CSOs) recruited by each force by 1 April 2003 and the Home Office estimate for the number of CSOs in each force on 1 April 2004.

The figures given include both Home Office funded CSOs and those CSOs funded by local arrangements who have already been recruited. I anticipate that the total numbers for April 2004 will be larger for some forces as they are working to recruit additional locally funded CSOs.

Force	CSOs recruited1 April 2003	Estimate CSOs recruited 1 April 2004
Avon and Somerset	12	46
Bedfordshire	0	12
Cambridgeshire	6	47
Cheshire	6	21
Cleveland	40	60
Devon and Cornwall	20	55
Dorset	7	7
Durham	10	35
Dyfed-Powys	0	5
Essex	10	55
Gloucestershire	0	60
Greater Manchester	160	185
Gwent	30	50
Hertfordshire	14	38
Kent	18	63
Lancashire	74	111
Leicestershire	28	45
Lincolnshire	32	44
Merseyside	40	100
Metropolitan Police	604	1,034
Norfolk	12	30
Northamptonshire	12	12
North Wales	0	8
North Yorkshire	0	37
Northumbria	0	45
Nottinghamshire	10	45
South Wales	0	50
South Yorkshire	14	42
Staffordshire	0	10
Suffolk	0	15
Surrey	52	63
Sussex	22	72
Thames Valley	0	8
Warwickshire	11	24
West Mercia	10	40
West Midlands	0	56
West Yorkshire	70	170
Wiltshire	15	25
Total	1,339	2,825

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Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers are deployed in each local authority area in Staffordshire. [137772]

Ms Blears: In May 2003 my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary allocated funding for 10 Community Support Officers (CSOs) to Staffordshire police force. The table shows the deployment of these CSOs in the local authorities of Staffordshire.

Local authority	Number of CSOs
Cannock Chase	0
East Staffordshire	2
Lichfield	2
Newcastle under Lyme	2
South Staffordshire	2
Stafford	0
Staffordshire Moorlands	1
Stoke on Trent	0
Tamworth	1

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