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11 Jan 2005 : Column 473W—continued
Asylum Seekers
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children of asylum seekers were being detained in the UK on (a) 1 October 2003 and (b) 1 October 2004. [206244]
Mr. Browne: Information on the number of children of asylum seekers detained as at 1 October 2003 and 1 October 2004 is not available.
The latest available information shows that as at 25 September 2004, 40 of the people detained solely under Immigration Act powers were recorded as being under 18.
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This information is unavailable for end September 2003 since publication of this series commenced in early 2004 and related to children held as at 27 December 2003.
Information on the number of people detained solely under Immigration Act powers as at 25 December 2004 will be published on the Home Office website on 22 February 2005 www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the mean length of time children of asylum seekers spent in detention in the 12 months to November. [206247]
Mr. Browne: Information on the mean length of time that children are detained solely under Immigration Act powers over a period of time is not available. It would be available by examination of individual cases files only at disproportionate cost.
The latest available information shows that as at 25 September 2004, 40 people who were detained solely under Immigration Act powers were recorded as being under 18 years old.
Information on the number of people detained solely under Immigration Act powers as at 25 December 2004 will be published on the Home Office website on 22 February 2005 www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to monitor the reintegration of failed asylum seekers who have been returned to their country of origin. [206249]
Mr. Browne: Each asylum claim is considered on its own merits taking account of relevant country information, caselaw and factors specific to the individual claim. Where a decision has been taken that an individual would not be at risk if returned to their country and that decision has been upheld by the appellate authorities we consider that it is safe for that individual to be removed.
We do not consider it necessary to monitor the reintegration of failed asylum seekers who have been removed in accordance with the proper procedures. However, for those who wish to return voluntarily, the International Organisation for Migration arranges reintegration assistance which can consist of access to initial housing, facilitating access to employment, training opportunities, education and health services.
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied minors claiming asylum in England have been placed under the care of local authority social services in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [206702]
Mr. Browne
[holding answer 21 December 2004]: The information requested is not available. The table shows total number of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children who applied for asylum in the United Kingdom.
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(134) Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
(135) Unaccompanied at point of arrival, aged (or if no proof) determined to be 17 or under and not known to be joining a relative or guardian in the United Kingdom.
(136) Figures exclude disputed age cases.
(137) May exclude some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices.
(138) Not comparable with manual counts data prior to 2002.
(139) Provisional figures.
While awaiting the outcome of their asylum claims unaccompanied asylum seeking minors are not entitled to state benefits and are supported under the Children
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Act 1989 with maintenance and accommodation being provided by Social Services Departments of the Local Authorities. Information on asylum applications and removals are published quarterly on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Building Regulations
Ms Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought in each year since 2000 for breach of building regulations. [205484]
Paul Goggins: It is not possible from the statistics collected centrally on the Home Office court proceedings database to separately identify those defendants proceeded against for breach of building regulations from other offences under the Building Act 1984.
However, the number of defendants proceeded against for various offences under the Building Act 1984 are shown in the following table.
(140) These data are on a principle offence basis.
(141) Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.
(142) Persons proceeded against for other summary offences under the Building Act 1984 cannot be separately identified on the Home Office court proceedings database as they form part of a miscellaneous group which cannot be analysed.
(143) Not available.
Statistics for 2004 will be available in autumn 2005.
CCTV (Ports of Entry)
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many CCTV cameras there are at UK ports of entry; and for how long data on CCTV cameras at UK ports of entry is kept. [204446]
Mr. Browne: The UK Immigration Service is one of several authorities, who use CCTV cameras at UK ports of entry. The following information details CCTV cameras used solely by the Immigration Service.
The Immigration Service operates cameras at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. These are situated at key locations to record both arriving and departing passengers. Details of how many cameras are in operation at ports of entry and the data retention cannot be released, as this would compromise border control operations.
In addition to the systems operated solely by the Immigration Service access is provided at other locations by the port operators to their local systems.
Child Deaths (State Custody)
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to hold a public inquiry in every case where the death of a child in state custody occurs; and if he will make a statement. [207212]
Paul Goggins: Deaths of children in custody are rare. When they do occur we have carefully formulated arrangements for finding out the facts and drawing lessons from them. The Youth Justice Board conducts its own serious incident review, and this feeds into a wider inquiry conducted by the local Area Child Protection Committee. Where a young person was detained in a Young Offender Institution , the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman conducts an investigation. We propose to legislate at the next available opportunity to place the Ombudsman on a statutory footing, equipping him with statutory powers of investigation and extending his remit to investigate deaths to secure training centres. Any death in a local authority Secure Children's Home is investigated by the Commission for Social Care Inspection.
In addition, Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights requires a public investigation. This is normally met by an inquest. In two important Article 2
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cases this year, the House of Lords has specified how inquests can meet the procedural requirements of Article 2.
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