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16 Nov 2004 : Column 1458W—continued
Theft/Criminal Damage
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will require offenders who have committed offences of theft or criminal damage and who are required to pay an on-the-spot fine to be registered in such a way as to enable their victims to seek compensation from the offender. [196114]
Ms Blears: Penalty notices for theft and criminal damage will be targeted at low level offences, normally those committed by first time offenders. The operational guidance issued to the police advises that the value should not exceed £200 for theft with values over £100 deemed exceptional, and over £500 for criminal damage with values above £300 deemed exceptional. Where an officer considers an offence suitable for a fixed penalty notice he is required to consult the victim and advise that this will remove the possibility of a criminal court awarding a compensation order. However, compensation may still be pursued through the civil courts.
If a victim wished to seek compensation he would be able to cite the issue of a penalty notice for the offence as evidence and the police would provide details of the offence and offender to facilitate this process.
It is expected that fixed penalty notices will be issued for offences usually involving low values where the victim is likely to benefit by not having to attend court and give evidence, but can see the offender punished by receiving an on the spot fine of £80.
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Visas
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons visa applicants are asked not to contact the Immigration and Nationality Directorate about their applications. [193551]
Mr. Browne [holding answer 25 October 2004]: A person applying for a visa or entry clearance must be outside the UK or Islands at the time of making their application and must apply to a diplomatic post designated for that purpose. The majority of these applications are decided locally by Entry Clearance Officers, to whom this function is delegated, without any reference to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND). In such cases, there would be no need for the individual concerned to contact the Immigration and Nationality Directorate about their application.
Visa applications may be referred to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for a final decision if discretion outside of the Immigration Rules is to be considered or deferred for further inquiries to be made in the United Kingdom. When this happens there would be no objection to the applicant making contact with IND direct.
Work Permits
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were submitted for work permits under the (a) seasonal agricultural workers scheme and (b) sector based schemes since May 2003; how many were approved; and to which countries' citizens they were issued. [194121]
Mr. Browne: The Immigration Employment Document used under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme (SAWS) is known as a work card. The scheme is run on behalf of the Home Office by Operators who are not required to maintain information on the numbers of applications made for work cards.
The numbers of applications that were approved, and for which a SAWS work card was issued, in 2003 was 23,329.
Between 30 May 2003 (the date SBS was launched) to 30 June 2004 28,102 Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) applications have been submitted, and 18,725 SBS permits have been approved.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were submitted for the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme between January 2002 and October 2003; how many were approved; from which countries applicants came; how many (a) applications and (b) approvals there have been since November 2003; and from which countries applicants came. [194122]
Mr. Browne:
The latest available information on the top 10 nationalities for the Highly Skilled Migrant's Programme is shown in the table.
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Data on applications approved for the period November 2003—June 2004 is incomplete as a number of these applications have not yet been decided.
(63) In line with IRSS Guidelines—stats may only be provided to 30 June 2004
Young Offenders
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the offences for which young offenders have been remanded in secure accommodation under section 130 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. [193583]
Paul Goggins: The information provided by the Youth Justice Board does not distinguish between remands to local authorities and those to other accommodation. It is not possible to provide a breakdown by offences.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young offenders have been subject to the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme since its launch; and what the recidivism rate has been of those who participated in it. [193584]
Paul Goggins: Between the start of the scheme in July 2001 and the end of August 2004, 10,831 young people have been subject to the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme . The recently published initial evaluation report showed a re-offending rate of 85 per cent. but a 43 per cent. reduction in the frequency of offending and a 16 per cent. reduction in the seriousness of offending.