| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
9 Mar 2004 : Column 1463W—continued
Eastern European Immigrants
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what tests he will use to determine whether immigrants from Eastern European countries are eligible for immediate access to (a) benefits, (b) NHS treatment and (c) education following accession to the EU in May. [153095]
Beverley Hughes: As a result of the measures we announced on 23 February, nationals of the accession states (other than Cyprus and Malta) will be eligible for income-related benefits only if they have worked lawfully in the UK for a continuous period of 12 months. This restriction will apply for two years and may be extended. Those in work on a low income will be entitled to the normal work-related benefits.
From 1 May EU-wide reciprocal health rules will apply to the accession states. Temporary visitors from these states can access immediately necessary treatment but their home state will have to pay the bill. There will be no automatic entitlement to free treatment for pre-existing conditions unless the home country authorises and pays for that care.
Anyone who is deemed to be "ordinarily resident" in the UK, that is to say that they are living lawfully here for settled purposes, is entitled to receive free NHS care. People from accession states working here legally will therefore be entitled to the full range of NHS treatment free of charge along with all other residents.
Nationals from the accession states will be eligible for education as are nationals of existing EU states.
Emergency Calls
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average police response time to (a) grade one emergency 999 calls and (b) other 999 calls is, broken down by region; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure the effective prioritisation of 999 calls. [158844]
Ms Blears: This information is not collected centrally. Responsibility for prioritising calls and deciding the most appropriate time to respond to 999 calls lie with the chief officer in each police force area. However, the vast majority of forces are committed to attending to calls requiring an immediate response within 10 minutes for urban areas and 20 minutes for rural areas.
EU Enlargement (Health Staff)
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether (a) midwives and (b) nurses from (i) Poland and (ii) other EU accession states will be able to work in the United Kingdom after accession. [156862]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 27 February 2004]: Relevantly qualified midwives and nurses from Poland and other EU accession states will be able to work in the United Kingdom after accession.
All nationals from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania who find work in the UK will be required to apply to register with the Home Office under the new 'Worker Registration Scheme' as soon as they find work.
9 Mar 2004 : Column 1464W
Fines
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many on-the-spot fines were issued in each police authority area (a) in total and (b) per 10,000 population since their introduction, listed in descending order of number per 10,000 population. [157703]
Ms Blears: Penalty notices for disorder were piloted in four police forces for a period of 12 months from August and September 2002. Five police forces were involved: the British Transport Police (in West Midlands area only), West Midlands and Essex Police (both forcewide), North Wales Police (initially in their Central Division and then forcewide from April 2003) and the Metropolitan Police (Croydon Division). During the pilots over 6,000 penalty notices were issued.
An evaluation report is being compiled and will be published. The report will provide a detailed breakdown of the penalty notices issued during the pilots.
The penalty notice for disorder schemes is currently being rolled out to all police forces in England and Wales and is due to be in place nationally by 1 April.
Gambling
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the change in the need for assessment and treatment of problem gambling among offenders consequent on the provisions of the draft Gambling Bill, with particular reference to young offenders. [158670]
Paul Goggins: No assessment has been made of any change in the need for assessment and treatment of problem gambling among offenders as a result of the provisions of the draft Gambling Bill.
Home Curfew
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders were placed on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme between January 1999 and 31 January 2004, broken down by (a) sex and (b) police authority. [159309]
Paul Goggins: Between January 1999 and 31 January 2004 there were around 78,600 males and 8,600 females placed on the Home Detention Curfew (HOC) Scheme.
Information on numbers placed on the HDC Scheme by police authority is not available.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants were (a) detected attempting to enter the UK clandestinely and (b) detected later in the country in each of the past five years. [147063]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 20 January 2004]: The number of people against whom illegal entry action was initiated in each of the last five years for which information is available is shown in the table.
9 Mar 2004 : Column 1465W
| Number of persons | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 16,500 |
| 1999 | 21,165 |
| 2000 | 47,325 |
| 2001 | 69,875 |
| 2002(15) | 48,050 |
(15) Provisional figures
Illegal entry action is initiated against those people who are detected entering the country clandestinely or by means of deception, either verbal or documentary.
Though the figures include those people who were identified as having entered the country clandestinely they are not separately identifiable, as such this information would only be available by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
The figures show a high level of activity in 2001 compared to the preceding and following years. This was caused by the large increase in asylum seekers in 2001.
Moreover, although numbers of people subject to illegal entry action fell by 31 per cent. in 2002 compared to 2001, the number of removals increased by 33 per cent. in the same period.
This information and other statistics on the immigration and asylum system are published annually in the Command publication "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom" a copy of which is in the House Library and can be found on the Home Office website http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were detected trying to enter the UK illegally in 2002; how many of them subsequently claimed asylum; how many were returned before claiming asylum; and how many were removed after their asylum claim was rejected. [152862]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 4 February 2004]: Illegal entry action was initiated against 48,050 people in 2002. Illegal entry action is initiated against those people who are detected entering, or having entered the country clandestinely or by means of deception, either verbal or documentary.
Information on the number of these persons who subsequently claimed asylum, is not available and would be so by the examination of individual case-files only at disproportionate cost. Measures in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Bill will make it more difficult for those who only applied for asylum after being notified of an immigration decision to have a credible claim..
This information and other statistics on the immigration and asylum system are published annually in the Command publication "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
9 Mar 2004 : Column 1466W
Accession Treaty Nationals
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's immigration policy in relation to applicant countries. [154481]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 12 February 2004]: Under the Accession Treaty nationals from the 10 new member states joining the EU on 1 May will have the right to travel freely across the European Union allowing them to visit, live and study in any other member state.
The Treaty allows current member states to restrict freedom to work on eight of the 10 new member states for up to seven years from accession (Cyprus and Malta are exempt from the transition period).
In line with my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary's announcement to the House of Commons on Monday 23 February, the Government have decided to allow free movement to those who genuinely want to come and work here via a workers registration scheme. They will be required to be self-supporting while they look for work.
From 1 May, nationals of the new member states will be able to enter the UK through the EU channel at ports of entry. They will be admitted to the UK on production of their national identity card or passport.
Workers from Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic will be required to register with the Home Office as soon as they find work.
Once a national from one of these new member states has been lawfully working in the UK labour market for a continuous period of 12 months, they will gain full EU rights and will therefore no longer be subject to the workers registration scheme.
The remaining candidate countries (Bulgaria and Romania) are expected to join the EU by 1 January 2007, subject to meeting the EU acquis criteria. Until the date of accession, nationals from these countries will remain subject to full immigration control.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |