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Immigration Officers

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many immigration officers were recruited in each of the last 10 years. [191451]

Mr. Browne: The number of immigration officers recruited in each of the last 10 years is:

	Number
1995	95
1996	31
1997	2
1998	1
1999	50
2000	257
2001	417
2002	417
2003	289
2004(59)	135

⁽⁵⁹⁾ To 26 May only.

These figures do not include serving staff who moved into the IO grade as a result of transfer or promotion.

Indefinite Leave to Enter

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times he has exercised his discretion on compassionate grounds and granted indefinite leave to enter in 2004. [194376]

Mr. Browne: Data on the number of persons granted indefinite leave to enter the UK on compassionate grounds is not available.

Since December 2003 persons seeking leave to enter at a port for stays of more than six months are required to hold a United Kingdom Residence Permit. It is not possible to say how many of those were granted on compassionate grounds.

There is no power of discretion to grant leave to enter for more than six months at a port of entry.

John Lennon Airport

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of immigration controls at John Lennon airport, Liverpool. [191485]

Mr. Browne: Since Liverpool airport has been in operation immigration officers have routinely attended all flights. All arriving passengers are examined by an immigration officer and those subject to control will
 
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have their details checked against the Warnings Index (a database of known immigration offenders). Local managers monitor flight schedules on a regular basis and adjust staffing rotas to ensure adequate coverage at all times and in accordance with risk assessment.

Furthermore there are a range of measures in place to stop inadequately documented passengers arriving in the UK. These include an informed and robust visa strategy; a network of airline liaison officers posted abroad; close co-operation with carriers, port authorities and our EU colleagues.

Knife Crimes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to prevent under-aged children from purchasing knives on the internet. [193069]

Caroline Flint: It in an offence to sell a knife to a person under the age of 16. It is the responsibility of the company selling the knife to ensure that the person is over 16. It is for the police to prosecute those companies who breach the law.

Lord Chief Justice

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last met the Lord Chief Justice; and if he will make a statement. [194377]

Paul Goggins: My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary has regular meetings with the Lord Chief Justice. He last met the Lord Chief Justice on 5 May 2004, and has spoken to him on a number of occasions since then.

Mobile Phones

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mobile phones were used by (a) Ministers and special advisers and (b) officials in his Department in each year since 1997; how many were (i) lost and (ii) stolen; and what their cost was. [191445]

Fiona Mactaggart: Records on mobile telephony are not held centrally and in order to obtain information would incur disproportionate costs. I can, however, provide information on mobile phones and associated equipment purchased via our Central Procurement unit since 1997, which is as follows:

	£
1997	175.00
1998	5,516.16
1999	163,933.83
2000	146,201.48
2002	64,750.00
2003	78,018.22

Information is not held centrally on call and line rental charges and could be provided, again, only at disproportionate cost.

NGOs

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are taken to ensure that
 
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where a non-governmental organisation is supported by a charitable trust there is a clear separation between the two organisations. [194842]

Fiona Mactaggart: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the Government Department responsible for the regulation of charities in England and Wales. The Director of Policy and Strategy at the Charity Commission will write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library.

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what guidance is given to non-governmental organisations on creating clear separation between charitable trust and campaigning activity; [194843]

(2) how the Charity Commission ensures that non-governmental organisations with charitable status comply with the relevant regulations. [194844]

Fiona Mactaggart: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the Government Department responsible for the regulation of charities in England and Wales. The director of policy and strategy at the Charity Commission will write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Library.

Night Clubs

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the criteria are for the granting of licences to night clubs; and whether the location of CCTV cameras are taken into account by licensing authorities. [197874]

Mr. Caborn: I have been asked to reply.

For a nightclub to trade under current law, a licence for the provision of alcohol and a special hours certificate must be obtained from the licensing justices and a music and dancing certificate of suitability from the local authority. For a club to be granted a liquor licence and a special hours certificate, the justices must be satisfied that the applicant is a "fit and proper" person, and that the whole or any part of the premises is structurally adapted, and bona fide used or intended to be used, for providing members with music and dancing and substantial refreshment to which the supply of intoxicating liquor is ancillary. Conditions may be attached to these permissions in appropriate circumstances, including those which require the use of CCTV cameras on or outside the premises, by either the licensing justices or the local authority.

Offender Management

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the number of (a) male high security, (b) male category B, (c) male category C, (d) male category D, (e) male local, (f) male remand, (g) female local, (h) female closed, (i) female open, (j) male closed young offender institutions and (k) male open young offender institutions juvenile places that will be required in each of the 10 areas under the new National Offender Management Service structure in each of the next five years. [168836]

 
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Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will, in the immediate future, continue to plan its requirement for prison capacity for all categories of prisoner on a national basis, taking account of suitable regimes and factors such as closeness to home.

In due course NOMS will move towards a regional framework, with Regional Offender Managers commissioning places according to local need. Planning for some aspects of the prison estate, such as the accommodation for high security category A prisoners will, however, remain co-ordinated centrally.

Offender Assessment

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in encouraging the Prison Service and Probation Service to share data relating to the Offender Assessment System needs assessment. [197678]

Paul Goggins: The Offender Assessment System (OASys) was developed for use in both the National Probation Service and the Prison Service. There are clear benefits in having a common tool.

When the two services' OASys IT systems are connected to one another next year it will be possible to pass completed assessments electronically between them, quickly and securely. Until then staff are expected to send assessments in hard copy and have been reminded of this by the National Probation Directorate and Prison Service Headquarters.

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