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16 Jun 2006 : Column 1422W—continued
Zimbabwe
Kate Hoey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of (a) UK imports from Zimbabwe and (b) UK exports to Zimbabwe (i) was in each of the last three years and (ii) has been in 2006. [77692]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
| Value of the trade in goods for UK imports from, and UK Exports to Zimbabwe from 2003 to 2006 (year to date) | ||
| £ million( 1) | ||
| (a) Imports | (b) Exports | |
| (1) Value of goods declared. (2) Data are provisional and subject to update. (3) 2006 data are for January to April. Source: HM Revenue and Customs - Overseas Trade Statistics | ||
Home Department
Asylum/Immigration
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account his Department takes of (a) a local authority’s performance in implementing the Hillingdon judgment and (b) the availability of appropriate welfare support when placing asylum-seeking children with local authorities. [76643]
Mr. Dhanda: I have been asked to reply.
The DfES collects annual statistics through the National Data Collection exercise on the number of children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), who become looked after and the age at which they cease to be looked after. These figures show how local authorities are supporting looked-after children who are UASC.
Neither the Home Office nor the Department for Education and Skills places children with individual local authorities. However, immigration service and National Asylum Support Service officials do make referrals to local authorities of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who appear to them to be children in need, within the meaning of the Children Act 1989. Where there is any doubt about the identity of the responsible local authority, this takes place in accordance with guidance that has been agreed with the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS).
The Home Office in partnership with DfES and relevant local authorities intends soon to consult on how consistent standards for the accommodation and support of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children might best be developed. The Home Office in partnership with DfES and relevant local authorities intends soon to consult on how consistent standards for the accommodation and support of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children might best be developed.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost was of detaining an individual in an immigration removal centre for one week in the latest period for which information is available. [76491]
Mr. Byrne: The average direct cost (not including overheads) of holding an individual in an immigration removal centre for one week is £812.
Correspondence
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 4 April from the hon. Member for Aylesbury (reference B9272/6) about the application for leave to remain of Mr. S. K. of Aylesbury (case reference K426659). [76345]
Mr. Byrne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the hon. Gentleman on 14 June 2006.
Mr. Wareing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Liverpool, West Derby of 10 March in respect of the case of Ms Jane Okah Agwola. [76697]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 13 June 2006]: I replied to my hon. Friend on 14 June 2006.
Criminal Justice Act
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional probation officers will be recruited in the London area to provide increased supervision of defendants following the implementation of the custody plus provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. [76867]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 12 June 2006]: In September 2004, prior to the start of the Act’s implementation, staffing in the London probation area stood at 2,459. By April 2006 it had risen to 2,759. The area is looking at further increases to take account of work arising from the Act and its other responsibilities.
Most of the sentencing provisions in the Criminal Justice Act were implemented in April 2005. We are working towards an implementation date of autumn 2006 for custody plus but we shall not go ahead unless we are satisfied that the national probation service can cope with the additional work.
Defendant Anonymity
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the granting of anonymity to defendants in certain cases in some EU member states and the implications for open justice. [77477]
Mr. Sutcliffe: None. Open justice is a fundamental principle of our criminal justice system which requires no support from comparative research. Nor would research into the practice in other EU jurisdictions necessarily be of assistance in forming a view on this issue, as defendant anonymity needs to be considered in the context of individual countries’ criminal justice systems generally.
Departmental Expenditure
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on IT systems in each year since 1997; what the purpose of each system is; what the outturn against planned expenditure of each system was; and what the outturn time for implementation against planned time was. [41322]
Mr. Byrne: Since 1997 the Home Office has spent the amounts in the following table on its IT systems.
The increases over the years reflect an increasing usage of, and reliance on, technology to support all aspects of the Department's business. In addition, step changes reflect increases in scope of the central figures. For example, the creation of the National Probation Service in April 2001 brought probation IT costs within the scope of the Department's IT expenditure for the first time. New major IT contracts in the core Home Office and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate have also affected the profile of expenditure.
Detailed project information on: purpose; outturn against planned expenditure; or outturn time for implementation against planned time, for each IT system cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate costs.
| £ | |
Departmental Security
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which companies have contracts for providing security at his Department’s premises. [73669]
Mr. Byrne: The companies which currently have contracts for providing security at the Department’s premises are as follows:
Capita
Carlisle Security
Chubb Security Personnel Ltd.
First Security Group
Group four Securicor
ICTS Ltd.
Legion Security
OCS
Pegasus Security Group
Taylormade Investigations Security Services Ltd.
The list does not cover buildings where the Home Office is the minority occupier of premises and a contract has been placed by another Government Department as the major leaseholder with responsibility for perimeter security.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employers in the West Midlands have been prosecuted for employing illegal immigrants in each of the last 10 years. [75378]
Mr. Byrne: The Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform shows that in the last 10 years there has been one prosecution in the West Midlands for employing illegal immigrants and this occurred in 2004.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Immigration and Nationality Directorate will reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood, of (a) 4 April 2006 on behalf of Tafie Ahmed Saleh (Home Office reference number S1123081, acknowledgement reference B9194/6) and (b) 9 January on behalf of Mr. Tamburai Chirewo and Mrs. Tamari Chirewo (Home Office reference C1140345). [76468]
Mr. Byrne: The information is as follows.
(a) The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to my right hon. Friend on 13 June 2006.
(b) The Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to my right hon. Friend on 13 June 2006.
Miscarriages of Justice
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many outstanding applications for compensation are being considered by the Independent Assessor to the Home Secretary on Miscarriages of Justice, broken down by the number of years the case has been under consideration. [76921]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There are currently 27 cases with the Independent Assessor for final assessment of compensation. Of those, two were submitted to him more than two years ago, two others more than one year ago. Those four applications form part of a large number of applications that arose from a series of quashed convictions relating to a wide-ranging fraud case. There are complex and overlapping issues affecting the whole group. All the applicants involved, including those who made final submissions, have been asked for further information in relation to their application. In a number of cases replies have not been received. The remainder were submitted to him within the last 12 months. Of those, 12 were submitted within the last three months, three between three and six months ago, seven between six and nine months, and one, also arising from the complex fraud case referred to, between nine and 12 months.
The four cases referred to the Assessor more than one year ago have all had interim payments awarded by him, and of the remaining 23 which were referred within the last year, 20 have had interim payments.
A further 109 cases have had eligibility confirmed by the Home Secretary. In these cases final submissions have not been made by the applicants and information regarding the level of compensation being claimed is awaited from the applicants or their representatives, before final assessments can be considered by the Assessor.
Mohammed Hussain
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the use of restraint on Mohammed Hussain in Rainsbrook secure training centre between July and August 2005; [77137]
(2) whether oxygen was provided to Mohammed Hussain following an incident of restraint at Rainsbrook secure training centre between July and October 2005; and if he will make a statement. [77138]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I will write to my hon. Friend.
Police
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers were employed by each police force in each of the last five years. [75902]
Mr. McNulty: The available information is given in the table. Community support officers were introduced as part of the Police Reform Act 2002 so data are only available from 2003 onwards.
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