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Migrant Workers

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the National Association of Citizen Advice Bureaux on advice to migrant workers. [199410]

Mr. Browne: Home Office officials have frequent contact on a range of immigration issues with the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB), who are represented on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's main stakeholder discussion group, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate User Panel which meets every six months.

Our records also indicate that discussions took place between Work Permits UK (WPUK) and NACAB in relation to a leaflet produced for overseas nationals in summer 2003. The leaflet entitled "Useful Information for the Work Permit holder", provided information to foreign nationals working in the UK who may be at risk of exploitation. The leaflet was translated into seven languages: Chinese, Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu, Bengali and Hindi. NACAB endorsed WPUK's leaflet, and CAB offices throughout the UK were supplied with English versions and the translated versions were made available on request.

Office of Government Commerce

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which stages of the Office of Government Commerce Gateway process the identity cards project has passed through. [201404]

Mr. Browne: The Office of Government Commerce completed a Gateway Zero Review of the Identity Cards Programme in January 2004.

Passport Renewal (Charges)

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what charges are made to Commonwealth citizens who wish to renew their passports to allow continued residence in the UK; whether these charges apply to residents whose country of birth is a member of the EU; and if he will make a statement. [200327]

 
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Mr. Browne: Commonwealth and other foreign nationals (non-EEA) who wish to renew their passports and currently have indefinite leave to remain endorsed in their previous passport should apply for a No Time Limit endorsement to be placed in their new passport.

No Time Limit applications currently attract a charge of £155 for postal applications and £250 for Premium, same day, service at the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's (IND) Public Enquiry Offices.

Those who wish to transfer limited leave to remain to a new passport can currently do so free of charge at an IND Public Enquiry Office, by making a Transfer of Condition application.

The fee levels for leave to remain applications are currently under review and IND have been undertaking a public consultation on various fee ranges. The consultation is due to close on 8 December 2004. IND aim to introduce the revised fees on 1 April 2005. This is likely to include a charge for Transfer of Conditions.

Charges for leave to remain applications do not apply to residents whose country of birth is a member of the EU.

Passports

Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many complaints have been received of passports being delivered to the wrong address when despatched from passport offices within the last 12 months; [201187]

(2) how many passports have been reported as missing within the last 12 months after being despatched from passport offices. [201188]

Mr. Browne [holding answer 1 December 2004]: Since 9 February 2004, when secure delivery was introduced, the UK Passport Service (UKPS) have received 538 complaints about passports being delivered to an incorrect address. These have been, or are being, investigated by UKPS or SMS who are the secure delivery provider.

The number of passports delivered to the wrong address is 0.01 per cent. of the total number of passports delivered by SMS.

Over the same period 675 UK passports have been reported as missing after being despatched from UKPS premises. Of these 210 have been confirmed as lost or stolen, 87 have been recovered and the remaining 478 are under investigation. In comparison in the final year of the Royal Mail contract 3,593 passports were reported lost or stolen.

Police Advice Bodies

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total budget is in this financial year for (a) the National Centre for Policing Excellence, (b) the National Policing Improvement Agency, (c) the Police Science and Technology Unit, (d) Police Powers and Leadership Unit and (e) Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in 2004–05; what the budget for equivalent services was in 1997; and how many staff are employed by each body. [201190]

 
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Ms Blears: There have been a number of changes in police scientific and technological services in recent years, which mean that the organisations with policy and operational responsibility for them are not the same as those which existed in 1997, nor do current functions entirely match those carried out in 1997.

The National Centre for Policing Excellence (NCPE) was established in April 2003. It employs 361 staff and has a total budget of £15.5 million of which £5.5million is funded by the Home Office directly. CENTREX, the national police training provider, of which the NCPE is a directorate, provides the balance of NCPE funding.

The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) will be established by the end of 2006–07. The Agency will rationalise the existing national bodies concerned with delivering improved policing outcomes. The NPIA will be cost neutral and it is intended that the streamlined arrangements will reduce the resources currently applied to the bodies that it will replace.

The Police Science and Technology Unit (PSTU) no longer exists and budget information for 1997 is not readily available.

The Police Leadership and Powers Unit was established in June 2000. It currently has a budget of £125 million and employs 85 staff.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary currently employs 128 staff and has a budget in 2004–05 of £9.2 million.

Expenditure by the Inspectorate in 1997–98 was £5.1 million.

Police Officers' Pension Scheme

Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many widows of police officers who are beneficiaries of the police officers' pension scheme lost their pension rights as a result of cohabitation or remarriage in each of the last three years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of restoring pension rights to these widows;. [200366]

(2) how many widows of police officers who lost their police officer pension scheme benefits as a result of remarriage or cohabitation in the last three years have subsequently (a) had their pensions restored on compassionate grounds and (b) had their pensions rights restored following the ending of the second marriage or cohabitation;. [200383]

Ms Blears: This information for all forces in England and Wales is not

held centrally.

Ports

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which British shipping ports have the use of (a) stationary lorry scanning equipment and (b) mobile scanning equipment. [201516]

Mr. Browne: The United Kingdom Immigration Service (UKIS) deploys fixed new detection technology, such as Heartbeat Detection equipment at the juxtaposed controls in France, and it is loaned to the
 
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port authorities at Calais, Coquelles, Oostende, and Vlissingen. UKIS do not currently operate fixed equipment at UK ports.

The United Kingdom Immigration Service operates mobile VACIS Gamma ray scanning unit, as a joint operation with Her Majesty's Customs and Excise (HMC and E), which is deployed to support intelligence-led freight search operations.

HMC and E deploy mobile scanning equipment at various ports throughout the UK.

Yarls Wood

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to which individuals the Home Office sent advance copies of the Prisons Service Ombudsman's Report on the disturbance and fire at the Yarls Wood Removal Centre; and when advance copies were sent out. [201519]

Mr. Browne [holding answer 2 December 2004]: Following discussion with Mr Shaw, advance copies were sent to all parties immediately affected by the report. The advance copies were sent shortly before the report's publication.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to implement the recommendations in the report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman into the disturbance and fire at the Yarls Wood Removal Centre. [199792]

Mr. Browne: Stephen Shaw makes 76 recommendations, the majority of which we accept and have either already been implemented (26), or are being reviewed regarding the practicalities of introduction. Following the review of the recommendations we will produce an action plan that will be published in early 2005.

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