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22 May 2006 : Column 1498W—continued
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied children have sought asylum in the UK since 2001, broken down by ethnic group; and how many such applicants are (a) successful and (b) refused. [71238]
Mr. McNulty: The number of applications from unaccompanied children who seek asylum in the UK is published on a quarterly and annual basis, broken down by nationality. The number of initial decisions on unaccompanied minors who seek asylum in the UK is published on an annual basis, broken down by nationality and decision outcome. Figures for 2001 are not available. Figures broken down by ethnic group are also unavailable. The next quarterly publication covering the first quarter of 2006 will be published on 23 May 2006. The next annual publication covering 2005 will be published on 22 August. Both publications will be available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers there are in Bexley borough. [71316]
Mr. McNulty: Statistics are available on the number of asylum seekers who are in receipt of support from the national asylum support service (NASS) and published on a quarterly and annual basis, broken down by local authority.
The most recent publication covering the fourth quarter of 2005 and further historical publications are available on the Home Office research development and statistics website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is the policy of his Department to share asylum application files of failed asylum seekers with the authorities in their country of origin. [71415]
Mr. McNulty: The Asylum Policy Instruction (API) on the “Disclosure and Confidentiality of Information in Asylum Cases”, which is published on the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's website, makes it very clear that information provided by an asylum claimant will be treated in confidence. Details about the asylum claim will not be disclosed to the authorities in the country of origin without the explicit consent of the claimant.
All claimants are informed, however, that in the event their claim is unsuccessful it might be necessary for the Immigration and Nationality Directorate to contact the authorities in the country of origin to
obtain an emergency travel document for their journey home. Disclosure in these circumstances is limited to that which is necessary for re-documentation purposes, such as basic information about the claimant's identity, as well as fingerprints, photographs.
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how his Department assesses whether a country is safe enough to repatriate failed asylum seekers; and how often such assessments take place. [71416]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office continuously monitors the situation in all asylum intake countries taking into account information from a wide range of recognised and respected governmental and non-governmental organisation sources as well as current news reports. Asylum decision-makers take into account the situation in the country of origin as it affects each asylum applicant when making a decision on an asylum claim. The Home Office enforce the return of an individual only where it is satisfied that the person concerned will not be at risk and has been unsuccessful in any appeals against the decision in their particular case.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will instruct his officials to meet officials of Peterborough city council to discuss future funding of the invest to save project in respect of asylum seekers and economic migrants; and if he will make a statement. [71941]
Mr. McNulty: The Peterborough Asylum and Migration project is funded by the Treasury Invest to Save Budget and is strictly time-limited to a three year allocation. As sponsor department, officials in the Home Office have been in frequent contact with officials in Peterborough city council, and will be discussing with them the sustainability and exit strategy for the project.
British Transport Police
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the British Transport Police have transferred to the Metropolitan police force; and how many remain to be transferred. [68130]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Burglary
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mandatory three year prison sentences for burglary were handed down in each of the last five years. [69737]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is published in Table 2.7 of “Sentencing Statistics, England and Wales, 2004” (page 28). This publication can be found in the Library and also on the Home Office website, as follows:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1505.pdf
Capita Group
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many tenders (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries has submitted to his Department in each of the last three years; and how many tenders were successful. [61463]
Mr. Byrne: The information is not held centrally and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
Care Homes
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people applying for positions within residential care and nursing homes in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) the Staffordshire police area and (c) England are awaiting clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau. [71241]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information sought by the hon. Member for Tamworth is not available. The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is unable to provide information on Disclosure applications based on specific employment sectors and geographical areas.
The CRB aims to complete Disclosure applications across all sectors within the shortest time possible. Its published service standards are to issue 93 per cent. of Standard Disclosures within two weeks and 90 per cent. of Enhanced Disclosures within four weeks for all applications.
CCTV
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further steps he is (a) taking and (b) plans to take to promote the effectiveness of closed circuit television footage in combating crime and terrorism; and if he will make a statement. [72033]
Mr. Byrne: CCTV can be an important tool in the fight against crime and disorder. However, evidence shows that its potential has not been fully realised and that a national strategy is needed. The Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers are undertaking a joint review of CCTV to determine how it may be used more effectively in reducing and detecting crime and terrorism.
The review's findings will be known in the autumn, and will include recommendations on the infrastructure and future use of CCTV.
Civil Service Pension Scheme
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of members of the Principal Civil Service pension scheme in his Department joined the scheme before the ageof (a) 20, (b) 25, (c) 30, (d) 35, (e) 40, (f) 45 and (g) over 45-years-old. [61999]
Mr. Byrne: The information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's employer contribution rates to the principal civil service pension scheme are; what assumed rate of return underlies those contribution rates; and what the contribution rate would be if the assumed rate of return was in line with current redemption yield on index-linked gilts. [62000]
Mr. Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy), on29 March 2006, Official Report, column 1030W.
Community Service
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours a week must be worked by offenders sentenced to undertake a community service order. [69845]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The National Standards for the probation service require that offenders sentenced to unpaid work undertake a minimum average of six hours work per week
Conflict Management Vehicles
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is provided for those employed in the use of police conflict management vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [71646]
Mr. Byrne: All police officers wishing to become authorised firearms officers go through a rigorous assessment and training programme following the National Police Firearms Training Curriculum produced by the Association of Chief Police Officers.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what national guidelines are issued to police forces in England and Wales on the deployment of conflict management vehicles; and if he will make a statement. [71648]
Mr. Byrne: Guidance on the deployment of armed response vehicles in England and Wales is governed by Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) national guidelines. These guidelines can be found on the ACPO website (www.acpo.police.uk).
Correspondence
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department will reply to the letter of 6 February from the hon. Member for Aylesbury to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality about the case of Mr. P. C. (reference C1142200; CTS reference M24806/5) and the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville hospital. [70147]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 11 May 2006]: I replied to the hon. Member for Aylesbury on 11 May 2006.
Crime (Sentences) Act 1997
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the operation of section (a) 28, (b) 29, (c) 30, (d) 31 and (e) 32 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997; and what recent representations he has received about the operation of these sections. [69639]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sections 28, 31 and 32 of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 [as amended by the Criminal Justice Act 2003] relate to the Parole Board's powers to direct the release of life sentence prisoners and those offenders sentenced to Imprisonment for Public Protection and the licence conditions and recall to prison of such prisoners. Section 29 was repealed by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Section 30 allows for release in exceptional circumstances on compassionate grounds.
The main purpose of these sections is to ensure the protection of the public. There has been no indication or representations to the effect that the operation of these sections is inconsistent with this objective. The main criterion governing the Parole Board's consideration is the risk of serious harm that the lifer may be to others. The Parole Board is required to direct the release of any tariff-expired life sentence prisoner if it is satisfied that
“it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined”.
The Board plays a key role in the wider public protection arena. I am satisfied that it continues to discharge its responsibilities diligently and in line with the relevant directions and rules to which it operates. I am also satisfied that the Board recognises the need to continually improve the standards of its risk assessments and decisions in this important area.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of claims made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority have been processed within (a) six months, (b) 12 months, (c) 18 months and (d) over 18 months in each of the last five years. [40795]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is set out in the following table. It relates to the time from the receipt of an application to the issue of a decision by CICA to the claimant.
| Time from receipt of application to issue of decision at claims assessment stage | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Year decision issued | Less than 6 months | 6-12 months | 12-18 months | More than 18 months |
Departmental Expenditure
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on (a) advertising, (b) refreshments, (c) travel for Ministers and (d) stationery by the Home Office in each year since 1997. [31799]
John Reid: The information is as follows:
(a) The information on Home Office expenditure on advertising since 1997 is given in the following table.
(b) The information on Home Office expenditure on refreshments since 1997 is given in the following table.
(c) The information requested for travel for Ministers is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of overseas journeys undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These report information for the financial years 1995-96 to 2004-05. Information for 2005-06 will be published as soon as it is ready after the end of the current financial year.
(d) The information on Home Office expenditure on stationery is given in the following table.
| Financial year | Advertising expenditure (£ million) |
| Financial year | Refreshments expenditure (£) |
| Note: Refreshment expenditure includes hospitality and working lunches |
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