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Border Control

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing a UK border control police force. [24122]

Mr. McNulty: The Government has no plans at present to create a single border control police force or agency.

The White Paper One Step Ahead—A 21st Century Strategy to Defeat Organise Crime" tasked Customs, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) and the police to work together to develop options for providing more effective border controls through enhanced inter-agency co-operation.
 
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Noting the distinct and essential responsibilities of each of the three principal border agencies, the White Paper indicated that there were no plans to create a single border agency.

Nevertheless the White Paper pointed to much closer working between the border agencies. There is already considerable successful integrated working at both a local and national level between the border agencies.

With this in view, the Border Management Programme has been established to take this forward. It will provide more effective working between the agencies in order to maximise border security while minimising the impact on legitimate traffic.

In support of this closer working, the e-Borders programme will deliver a fully integrated border control system fit for the 21st century. It will develop a means of capturing and sharing relevant passenger information through compatible systems across Government providing a comprehensive secure system for all the agencies working together at the border.

Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government plan to introduce a UK border control police force. [16732]

Mr. McNulty: The Government have no current plans to create a single border control police force or agency.

There is already considerable successful integrated working at both a local and national level between the border agencies.

The White Paper One Step Ahead—A 21st Century Strategy to Defeat Organise Crime" in March 2003, tasked customs, IND and the police to work together to develop options for providing more effective border controls through enhanced inter-agency co-operation.

The Border Management programme has been established to take this forward. It will provide more effective working between the agencies in order to maximise border security while minimising the impact on legitimate traffic.

In support of this, the e-Borders programme will deliver a fully integrated border control system fit for the 21st century. It will develop a means of capturing and sharing relevant passenger information through compatible systems across Government providing a comprehensive secure system for all the agencies working together at the border.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average processing time has been of an application for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2001 in each year of its operation. [21259]

Fiona Mactaggart: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority advise that median number of days elapsed between receipt of the application and the issue of the decision at the Claims Assessment Stage for applications made under the 2001 Scheme for the years 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05 was 156 days, 221 days, 238 days and 258 days respectively.
 
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Domestic Violence

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what minimum statutory level of (a) funding and (b) other support local authorities are required to provide for victims of domestic violence; and if he will make a statement. [22427]

Fiona Mactaggart: There is no set minimum statutory level of funding that local authorities are required to provide for victims of domestic violence.

However, as part of the new three-year Local Area Agreement initiative between central Government and local government, funding to deliver local priorities will be available. Local partnerships will be responsible for identifying the need for addressing domestic violence as a local priority for improvement to enable them to prioritise their spending. The agreements are based on outcomes, indicators and targets aimed at delivering a better quality of life for people through improving performance on a range of national and local priorities.

In April 2005, the revised Best Value Performance Indicator BV225 was implemented. The indicator covers a range of activities that local authorities need to undertake to successfully address the problem of domestic violence. Its purpose is to assess the overall provision and effectiveness of local authority services designed to prevent and support victims of domestic violence.

European Return Fund

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress with discussions in the European Council on the minimum standards for return procedures and mechanisms for supporting removal efforts with a European Return Fund to be established by 2007. [20256]

Mr. McNulty: On 1 September 2005, the European Commission issued a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on common standards and procedures in member states for returning illegally staying third country nationals (COM (2005) 391 final). The Commission has presented this proposal and there has been a first exchange of views. The first formal reading of the proposal in the Council will commence in November.

On 3 May 2005, the Commission issued a proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and Council establishing the European Return Fund for the period 2008–13 as part of the General Management Programme Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows". The first reading of the proposal in the Council commenced in September. The first reading of provisions that are specific to the Return Fund is expected to be concluded in November. The first reading of those provisions that are common to the four instruments within the General Management Programme is expected to continue into the next presidency of the EU.

Identity Cards

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the maximum allowable cost for the stand-alone identity card. [19166]

 
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Mr. McNulty: The figure for an affordable charge for a stand-alone identity card has been arrived at following careful scrutiny of the costs of the Identity Cards Scheme over the summer by the Home Office, in full consultation with Treasury and other Government Departments.

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total planned budget is for the consultation, trialling and roll out of the Identity Card Scheme. [19167]

Mr. McNulty: The current best estimate for the total average annual running costs for issuing passports and ID cards to UK nationals is £584 million.

The Home Department is not breaking this cost down further because this information is commercially sensitive and discussion of estimated costs may prejudice the procurement process by limiting the Department's ability to secure value for money from the market.

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to publish the cap on the fee to be charged for the stand-alone identity card. [19168]

Mr. McNulty: It will be affordable within current Home Office spending plans to set a charge of £30 at current prices for a stand-alone identity card which is valid for 10 years.

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will lay before the House detailed proposals on the charging regime for identity cards, in line with the commitment given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, before the Identity Cards Bill completes Third Reading in the House. [19170]

Mr. McNulty: Details of an affordable charge for a stand-alone identity card have already been released, in line with the commitment given by the Home Secretary in June. Decisions regarding the detailed charging strategy have not yet been made. As the Home Secretary stated in June, the actual charges will be determined at the time of introduction of the scheme.

Additionally, the Identity Cards Bill was recently amended by the Government so that Clause 37(7) of the Bill allows for an affirmative resolution procedure to take place the first time a resolution is laid before Parliament setting the charge for identity cards. This will give Parliament greater scope for debate when this occurs.

The actual amount charged to a person will depend on future policy decisions on charging within the scope allowed by the Identity Cards Bill. Issues which the Government wishes to explore further on charging include:

refining estimates of revenues for the verification service as potential users develop more detailed plans for how they will use the scheme;

whether and to what extent offering cards at lower cost, for example to people on low incomes, may be possible;

cost estimates for some components of the scheme may change once the Home Office engages formally with suppliers as part of the procurement process.

 
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Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department's cost-benefit analysis of the identity cards scheme includes estimates for the benefits which are defined in paragraph 25 of the Regulatory Impact Assessment of 25 May as not yet quantified completely. [20865]

Mr. McNulty: The cost-benefit analysis of the identify cards scheme does include initial estimates for some of the benefits previously defined as not yet quantified completely in paragraph 25 of the Regulatory Impact Assessment of 25 May. Further analysis is under way to refine these estimates.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the graph on page 11 of his Department's document, Identity Cards Scheme—Benefits Overview" with dates on the time axis; and if he will publish the supporting evidence for the figures given in the graph. [20869]

Mr. McNulty: The date line to the graph on page 11 of the benefits summary document has been deliberately left out, as we are not in a position to know when Royal Assent is likely to be given to the Bill. This date will obviously influence the start date of the project and the timing of any benefits being realised.

The graph as it stands is flexible, as it represents annual movements in the benefits accrual. Therefore a reader of the graph could predict any start date for identity cards roll out, and then understand from the graph the progression of benefit accrual from that date.

The underlying analysis for this graph contains detail that currently could be prejudicial to the future procurement of the identity card scheme, which is driven by Royal Assent being granted.

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent estimate is of the (a) set-up costs, (b) annual running costs and (c) cost per card of the identity card scheme. [21354]

Mr. McNulty: The current best estimate for the total average running costs for issuing passports and ID cards to UK nationals is £584 million per annum.

The Home Office is not breaking this cost down further, nor publishing details of set-up costs, because this information is commercially sensitive and discussion of more detailed estimated costs may prejudice the procurement process by limiting the Department's ability to secure value for money from the market.

The current best estimate for the average unit cost of the combined passport and ID card package is £93. In addition, it will be affordable to set a charge of £30 at current prices for a standalone ID card which is valid for 10 years.

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of the Identity Card Scheme has been to date. [21382]

Mr. McNulty: The Government announced its intention to introduce legislation for an identity cards scheme in November 2003, following a six month consultation exercise. In preparation £28.66 million has been spent between the start of the 2003 financial year and the end of September 2005.
 
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Ms Butler: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what provisions have been made for (a) lone parents, (b) low income families, (c) the unemployed, (d) children and (e) students in relation to the proposed cost of identity cards; [21564]

(2) what assistance will be provided for people that cannot afford the proposed £30 identity card fee. [21565]

Mr. McNulty: It will be affordable within current Home Office spending plans to set a charge of £30 at current prices for a standalone identity card which is valid for 10 years. Further decisions have yet to be made on the detailed charging strategy to be in place before introduction of the identity cards scheme.

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