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7 Nov 2005 : Column 58W—continued
Illegal Workers
18. Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to prevent people who are in the country illegally from working. [24807]
Andy Burnham: The Government are firmly committed to tackling illegal migrant working. We have taken steps to strengthen the relevant legislation by reforming section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 and by supporting my friend's initiative on gangmaster licensing. We are introducing new measures for a civil penalty regime and a tougher criminal offence for employers in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill, currently before the House. Our strategy also involves increasing enforcement, encouraging compliance by business, and developing joint working between agencies responsible for enforcing workplace regulations. We have also increased removals of those in breach of immigration laws.
Violent Crime
19. Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department What measures he is taking to tackle Violent Crime. [24808]
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Hazel Blears: The Government are currently taking forward a very full range of work which will continue to reduce violent crime. We are introducing new measures which will give police and local communities the powers they need to tackle guns, knives and alcohol-related violence in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill which is currently before Parliament.
Identity Cards
20. Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the cost of identity cards. [24809]
Andy Burnham: Our current best estimate of the average unit cost of the combined passport and ID card package is £93; around 70 per cent. of these costs would be incurred anyway because of the worldwide move to biometric passports. Within our current financial estimates for the scheme it will be affordable to set a charge of £30 at current prices for a standalone ID card valid for 10 years.
Young Soldiers (Deaths)
21. Meg Hillier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the police inquiry into the deaths of young soldiers at Deepcut. [24810]
Hazel Blears: Devon and Cornwall police have completed their review of Surrey police's investigation into the deaths of the soldiers at Deepcut barracks.
This was submitted to Surrey police on 31 August 2005.
Traffic Offences
22. Dr. Pugh : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring forward proposals to make it an offence for occupants of cars to refuse to identify the driver after a serious offence has been committed; and if he will make a statement. [24811]
Fiona Mactaggart: It is already an offence to refuse to identify the driver of a vehicle when required to do so by the police. Section 172(2)(a) Road Traffic Act 1988 requires the keeper of a vehicle to give information required by the police about the identity of the driver of his vehicle where the driver is alleged to be guilty of any of a number of offences in road traffic legislation. Section 172(2)(b) requires any other person to give information which is in his power to give and may lead to identification of the driver. Section 172(3) RTA 1988 provides that it is an offence to fail to provide this information.
Asylum Seekers
24. Jeremy Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers are being held in detention. [24813]
Andy Burnham:
As at 25 June 2005, the most recent date for which published figures are available, there were a total of 2,155 individuals detained. Of these, 1,689 were recorded as having sought asylum at some stage.
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Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget for immigration centres designed to hold asylum seekers has been since 2001. [19385]
Mr. McNulty: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) budget on running immigration removal centres for each of the years from 2001–02 is supplied in the table.
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 61,941 |
| 2002–03 | 36,940 |
| 2003–04 | 50,439 |
| 2004–05 | 79,551 |
| 2005–06 | 81,908 |
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have been returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last five years; and how many failed asylum seekers are awaiting return. [22412]
Mr. McNulty: Information on the destination that failed asylum seekers are returned to is only available since January 2004. The number of asylum seekers returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2004 and June 2005 is given in the table.
Information on nationals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who are removed from the UK as failed asylum seekers are published on the Home Office website: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Information on the number of asylum seekers awaiting removal could be ascertained by examination of individual case files only at a disproportionate cost.
| Principal applicants removed | |
|---|---|
| 2004 | (11)15 |
| 2005(12) | (11)15 |
(9) Includes enforced removals, persons departing 'voluntarily' following enforcement action initiated against them, and persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration.
(10) Figures rounded to the nearest 5.
(11) Provisional figures.
(12) January to June.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what resources are made available to asylum seekers when they arrive in the UK; and what the cost was of the provision of such resources in the last year for which figures are available. [22951]
Mr. McNulty:
The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) contracts with both the voluntary sector and/or local authorities to provide services for asylum seekers on arrival in the UK. A network of initial accommodation sites provide a variety of services, including advice on the claim process, the claimant's rights and responsibilities while the claim is under consideration and the provision of health assessments (including TB screening). The cost
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of initial accommodation bed spaces during 2004–05 was £52.6 million. A further £11.7 million was spent on associated services.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to remove failed asylum seekers. [23095]
Mr. McNulty: Between 1994 and 2004, the number of failed asylum seekers (principle applicants) removed from the UK has more than trebled.
The Government have introduced a number of measures to ensure that we return those failed asylum seekers who have no basis of stay in the United Kingdom, and who fail to leave voluntarily. These include increased staffing; more intelligence led operations; increasing the use of charter flights; expanding the detention estate; enhancing contact management by introducing measures such as electronic tagging and promoting and increasing the number of voluntary returns and seeking greater co-operation from overseas counterparts to speed up documentation and open up more return routes.
Alcohol-related Crime
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to deal with alcohol-related crime. [23123]
Paul Goggins: The Violent Crime Reduction Bill contains new measures for the police and local communities to tackle alcohol-related violence. The new measures will target both the individual and the collective responsibility of the alcohol industry through Alcohol Disorder Zones, Drinking Banning Orders, 48-hour directions to leave and powers to close premises for up to 48 hours where alcohol is persistently sold to under-18s. The Bill will build on the Licensing Act 2003, which comes into force on 24 November and expands police powers to tackle badly run premises—through more effective reviews and revocation of licences where appropriate—as well as increasing many of the penalties and fines for alcohol-related offences.
We are also taking forward a comprehensive Alcohol Harm Reduction Programme which will tackle a range of alcohol harms, including crime, and is being implemented across Government. Recent activities in the programme have included a series of Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns in which the police have clamped down on binge and under-age drinking. And we have been working closely with the alcohol industry to develop a Principles and Standards document which will help retailers and producers to prevent sales to under-age children and drunks, put an end to irresponsible drinks promotions and put in place end of evening dispersal policies to help drinkers get home safely and quickly.
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