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Entitlement Cards/Identity Fraud
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish a summary of the responses to the consultation paper on Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud. [138663]
Beverley Hughes: On 11 November 2003, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary made a Statement to the House announcing the publication of "Identity Cards—A Summary of Findings from the Consultation
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Exercise on Entitlement Cards and Identity Fraud". This followed a lengthy public consultation under Cabinet Office guidelines.
The publication summarises the responses and the results of surveys and polling which demonstrated substantial commitment to some form of identity card, a term the public preferred to the term "entitlement card".
The Government has decided to begin the process of building a base for a national compulsory identity cards scheme. The scheme is a key part of a comprehensive strategy to contain threats from illegal migration and working, organised crime and terrorism, identity theft and fraud and fraudulent access to public services, for example by illegal immigrants who have no entitlement to them.
Imams (Entry Clearance)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Imams have been given clearance to enter and remain in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [136104]
Beverley Hughes: Information on the number of Imams given clearance to enter and remain in the United Kingdom in each of the last five years is not available except by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
Immigration
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used by immigration officers, who release a person from immigration detention, to determine whether an address is suitable as one where the person will be required to live under the terms of the temporary admission; and what checks immigration officers are expected to carry out before releasing a person from detention to ensure an address meets these criteria. [124238]
Beverley Hughes: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 11 July 2003, Official Report, column 1068.
Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what actions he is taking to ensure that UK immigration rules are fully compliant with the Human Rights Act 1998. [132234]
Beverley Hughes: Paragraph 2 of the Immigration Rules states that all immigration staff will carry out their duties in compliance with the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998. In preparing changes to the Immigration Rules, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary takes detailed advice as part of his consideration of questions of compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights from the Immigration and Nationality Directorate officials and Home Office lawyers. Judgments in individual immigration appeal cases raising human rights issues are also carefully examined for any wider potential implications for the Rules.
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out his (a) proposals and (b) targets for improving the speed and quality of service for those who seek to enter the United Kingdom lawfully under the immigration rules. [134049]
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Beverley Hughes [holding answer 23 October 2003]: The UK Immigration Service is committed to processing bona fide passengers with minimal delay, and has signed up to international standards for passenger processing times. These are embedded in the UK Immigration Service's annual business objectives, and are kept under review.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) standards for processing passengers are:
- 45 minutes for non-EEA passengers,
with minimal delay for EEA passengers.
The Immigration Service is currently drawing up service level agreements with a number of port operators to monitor passenger processing times.
Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the benefits to the UK economy of authorised immigration. [134136]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 27 October 2003]: In 2001 the Home Office published a wide ranging review of the effects of migration on the UK Economy, and in 2002 its Research Directorate published four separate research reports on migrants' fiscal effects and their labour market outcomes and impacts. The studies considered various aspects of immigrants' characteristics and contribution to the UK economy.
The overall impact is positive—migrants have no significant adverse impact on non-migrants' employment and, if anything, had a positive impact on wages, suggesting they bring complementary skills. The evidence demonstrates that migrants contribute to economic growth, productivity, innovation and public finances. The fiscal study estimated that immigrants made a net £2.5 billion contribution to the economy in 1999–2000. Immigrants also help fill jobs that companies have been unable to fill from the domestic labour force.
Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will amend paragraph 302 of the Immigration Rules to permit an accompanying child to be granted a two year visa. [134555]
Beverley Hughes: The Immigration Rules will be changed shortly so that children qualifying under paragraph 302 of the rules may be granted limited leave to enter for up to two years.
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances the Department may retain for up to three years the passport of an individual applying for (a) SET (M) and (b) SET (F). [135318]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 30 October 2003]: In both cases a passport is normally held while the application is being considered. It is unusual for documents to be held for three years as non-asylum applications are normally considered within a 12-month
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period. However, only in exceptional circumstances where, for example, a further investigation is required by the Immigration Service might this time be exceeded.
Documents can be returned on request at any time before a decision has been made although they may not be endorsed.
Immigration Checks (Northern Ireland)
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what immigration checks are in place at airports and ferry terminals in Northern Ireland; and under what legislation they are operating. [133296]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 21 October 2003]: Permanent immigration controls operate on passengers arriving in Northern Ireland from outside the Common Travel Area (i.e. the United Kingdom (UK), Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland) under powers contained in the Immigration Act 1971 which allows immigration officers to examine passengers for the purpose of determining whether they qualify for entry, and to refuse entry to those who do not.
Permanent facilities exist for examination of such passengers at Belfast International airport and temporary facilities operate at other airports within Northern Ireland as required. No permanent control facilities exist at any ferry port as there are no regular international ferry services.
In addition to the above arrangements, UK Immigration Service has a responsibility for detecting immigration offenders within the UK, including Northern Ireland.
Separate powers exist within the 1971 Act which enable Immigration Officers to arrest those reasonably suspected of being in the UK unlawfully and for the detention, pending removal from the UK, of those found to be here unlawfully.
UK Immigration Service staff periodically conduct exercises at the main air and ferry ports in Northern Ireland to identify immigration offenders travelling between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Offenders so identified are arrested or detained under the powers referred to above.
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions there are upon immigration checks at airports and ferry terminals within Nothern Ireland in relation to the Common Travel Area; and on what basis immigration officers distinguish between those travelling within the CTA and those outside it. [133297]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 21 October 2003]: The Immigration Act 1971 places statutory obligations upon airlines and ferry companies to ensure that passengers arriving from outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) are presented to an immigration officer, who has the power to examine them for the purpose of determining whether they qualify for entry, and to refuse those who do not. At Belfast International airport a separate pier exists for international passengers. At other airports, and when necessary at ferry ports, ad hoc arrangements are made to ensure that international passengers are similarly segregated from those on journeys within the CTA.
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No immigration controls operate on passengers travelling on journeys within the CTA. However, if identified by a police officer or by other sources of intelligence, Immigration Officers may arrest or detain immigration offenders travelling on flights within the CTA or indeed anywhere in the UK, with a view to their removal from the UK. In doing this they use separate powers of arrest and detention contained within the 1971 Act.
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