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17 Nov 2004 : Column 1589W—continued

Hamas

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to include Hamas in the Home Office list of terrorist organisations. [197621]

Mr. Blunkett: The military wing of Hamas, Hamas-lzz al-Din al-Qassem Brigades (HIDQ), was added to the list of proscribed organisations in 2001 under the terms of the Terrorism Act 2000. The list is kept under regular review. However, as a matter of policy we do not comment on whether a particular organisation is being considered for proscription. Such decisions are and will continue to be taken only after the most careful consideration and on the basis of the best possible security advice.

HMP Dovegate

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether psychotherapy courses in respect of HMP Dovegate have been curtailed since February. [192731]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 25 October 2004]: The Therapeutic Community at Her Majesty's Prison Dovegate provides intervention based on psychotherapeutic principles. It has functioned continuously from 12 November 2001 to the present time. Whilst adjustments to the total programme have been made to the programme during 2004 no Psychotherapy courses have been curtailed.

Home Detention Curfews

Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have been returned to custody for non-compliance with home detention curfew conditions in each of the last 24 months. [190203]

 
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Paul Goggins: The information requested is provided in the table. These statistics are based on information recorded on the central Prison Service IT system at week ending 24 October 2004. Further updates and amendments may be made to records on this system in future, resulting in revised figures.
HDC recalls for non-compliance with HDC conditions England and Wales, October 2002-September 2004

	Number
October 2002	78
November 2002	79
December 2002	102
January 2003	101
February 2003	88
March 2003	102
April 2003	103
May 2003	114
June2003	101
July 2003	123
August 2003	136
September 2003	174
October 2003	162
November 2003	122
December 2003	147
January 2004	160
February 2004	141
March 2004	134
April 2004	157
May 2004	152
June2004	140
July 2004	156
August 2004	160
September 2004	132

Horse Passports

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what authority the Greater Manchester Police has demanded sight of horse passports from horse riders on the road. [193485]

Ms Blears: Greater Manchester Police have no recollection of any incidents of this kind, and without precise details of time, dates, names etc. such information would be difficult to trace.

Identity Cards

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the European patents that will require licensing to implement the design of the biometric identity card system as authorised in Identity Cards—The Next Steps, column 6020. [194823]

Mr. Browne: No decision has been taken on the technologies or the implementations of these technologies which will be used for the identity cards scheme.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the government of the Republic of Ireland since November 2003 on the implications of the proposed identity card for (a) Irish citizens living in Great Britain and (b) persons living in Northern Ireland who under the Good Friday agreement may define themselves as Irish citizens. [195908]

 
17 Nov 2004 : Column 1591W
 

Mr. Browne: The Government have continued to keep in contact with the Irish authorities about our plans. We have discussed the implications of our plans for Irish citizens and those living in Northern Ireland who under the Good Friday agreement may define themselves as Irish citizens.

The constitutional position of Irish citizens resident in any part of the United Kingdom will be unchanged by the plans for introducing a national identity cards scheme.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate has been made of the cost of the identity card to the holder. [196628]

Mr. Browne: At our current best estimates, the indicative fee for a combined package of 10-year passport and ID card would be £85.

By 2008, 87 per cent. of the adult population are expected to hold a passport, and therefore most individuals will get the combined passport/identity card package. The cost of the stand-alone card will be subject to demand and volumes.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the basis was for the budget allocation for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in 2004–05. [196588]

Mr. Browne: The budget for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in 2004–05 was allocated on the basis of planned expenditure for that year, in line with the PSA targets for the Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs with regard to regulating entry to the United Kingdom. The basis for the budget allocation was the provision of sufficient funds to meet those targets.

Immigration Officers (Complaints)

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has commissioned regarding the nature of complaints made against immigration officers. [197810]

Mr. Browne: Allegations of misconduct or inefficiency against individual immigration officers are investigated under the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) formal complaint procedures.

The investigation process is monitored by the IND Complaints Audit Committee (CAC), an independent body appointed by myself to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of the complaint investigation system.

The CAC produces an annual report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, which includes an analysis of the number of complaints received and the nature of allegations investigated over the period covered by the report.

The most recent CAC Annual Report published in July 2004 covers the 12-month period ending 31 March 2004, and is available in the Library.
 
17 Nov 2004 : Column 1592W
 

Iraq

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British police officers have visited Iraq in an official capacity since the fall of Saddam Hussein; and what the purposes of the visits were. [194962]

Mr. Blunkett: A representative of the Association of Chief Police Officers has visited Iraq three times in a formal capacity: on two occasions regarding the deployment of UK civilian police and on one occasion with a senior UK military officer to advise on the development of the Iraqi security forces.

There are currently 43 serving and one retired UK civilian police officers seconded to Iraq and working with the Iraqi Police Service in both Basra and Baghdad in an advisory, training and mentoring capacity. The officers are from forces in England and Wales, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Ministry of Defence Police. In addition to the 44 police officers currently working in Iraq a further nine officers have completed a tour in Iraq in a training capacity and have since returned to their home force.

There are also occasional additional ad hoc visits associated with operational policing issues.

Muslim Association of Britain

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate the activities of (a) the Muslim Association of Britain and (b) Dr. Azam Tamimi, spokesperson for the Association in relation to recent broadcast comments on incitement to UK citizens to become suicide bombers. [197133]

Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 9 November 2004]: The investigation of alleged criminal activity is a matter for the police service. Anyone with concerns that the actions of an individual may be criminal should report their suspicions to their local force. In the case of suspected terrorist acts, they could also call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

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